help her work off some of this steam. Pierce had no right checking up on her. She could do the job. This was her case. Finally. And she wasn’t going to let Pierce undermine Worth’s confidence in her.
In the lobby, she hesitated and considered the real facts here. As much as she would like to believe the end decision for giving her this case was based on her ability, she knew better. Especially considering the call Worth had gotten.
She was on this case because McBride had insisted.
For that, she owed him some amount of allegiance.
He waited in the parking lot by her SUV, the ever-present Marlboro tucked between his lips. That her gaze lingered there as she approached was not a good sign. Objectivity was essential. She couldn’t let him get to her on any level.
“I think you should program my number into your cell,” she suggested, reaching into her purse for her keys. She hit the remote to unlock the vehicle’s doors. If they were going to be working together they might as well act like partners. “And I want you to know I appreciate your vote of confidence. That you trust me enough to work closely with me, is …”—she shrugged, going for nonchalance—“flattering.”
Oh God. Did that sound as stupid as she thought?
McBride took one last drag from his cigarette before putting it out and finally meeting her gaze across the hood of her Explorer.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it trust, Grace,” he corrected in that arrogant way that he somehow managed to pull off as sexy. “My options were limited and you seemed like the safest bet. Let’s just hope we can get through this without regretting it.”
There was something about the way he said the words, the blatant uncertainty coming from the man whose reputation as the best had been unparalleled, unmarred by failure—except that once—that triggered her own insecurity.
For the first time in her career she wondered if she really had what it took to do this. What if everyone else was right and the past had damaged her somehow that doomed her to failure?
Only one way to find out.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Wal-Mart Supercenter
Hackworth Road
11:00 P.M.
Almost time.
Martin’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He had planned for so long. Waited and waited. Finally the time had come.
Nothing could stop him from succeeding with this mission.
At first the most difficult part of this challenge had been how to avoid the surveillance cameras. Every Wal-Mart was outfitted with equipment for continuous monitoring of both the interior and exterior of the building, including the parking lot. The idea made a person wonder about the clientele of a business that found such all-encompassing surveillance necessary.
But Martin knew it wasn’t entirely Wal-Mart’s fault or the everyday ordinary shopper’s for that matter. Unfortunately, as Wal-Mart should have learned, there were ways to get around even the tightest security. It was such a shame there weren’t more heroes like Special Agent Ryan McBride around to protect the innocent.
Rage lashed through Martin at the idea that those FBI fools had set McBride aside as if he were unimportant. They had used him for their own purposes then tossed him away as if he no longer mattered. Martin knew this for a fact. He and Deirdre, his beloved wife, had watched McBride’s career from the first time they had seen him on the news.
“Idiots,” he grumbled. Most of those FBI fools were nothing more than rats trapped in their humdrum offices, running around in circles and bumping into dead ends at every turn. None of them were as good as McBride. All put together they could not hope to fill his shoes.
Solving crime was Martin’s passion. He and Deirdre watched all the good crime and investigation programs on television. Not the make-believe ones like Law & Order or CSI . The docudramas that exposed the true story behind real-life events. They followed cases in the news religiously until their resolution. Nothing
In the lobby, she hesitated and considered the real facts here. As much as she would like to believe the end decision for giving her this case was based on her ability, she knew better. Especially considering the call Worth had gotten.
She was on this case because McBride had insisted.
For that, she owed him some amount of allegiance.
He waited in the parking lot by her SUV, the ever-present Marlboro tucked between his lips. That her gaze lingered there as she approached was not a good sign. Objectivity was essential. She couldn’t let him get to her on any level.
“I think you should program my number into your cell,” she suggested, reaching into her purse for her keys. She hit the remote to unlock the vehicle’s doors. If they were going to be working together they might as well act like partners. “And I want you to know I appreciate your vote of confidence. That you trust me enough to work closely with me, is …”—she shrugged, going for nonchalance—“flattering.”
Oh God. Did that sound as stupid as she thought?
McBride took one last drag from his cigarette before putting it out and finally meeting her gaze across the hood of her Explorer.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it trust, Grace,” he corrected in that arrogant way that he somehow managed to pull off as sexy. “My options were limited and you seemed like the safest bet. Let’s just hope we can get through this without regretting it.”
There was something about the way he said the words, the blatant uncertainty coming from the man whose reputation as the best had been unparalleled, unmarred by failure—except that once—that triggered her own insecurity.
For the first time in her career she wondered if she really had what it took to do this. What if everyone else was right and the past had damaged her somehow that doomed her to failure?
Only one way to find out.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Wal-Mart Supercenter
Hackworth Road
11:00 P.M.
Almost time.
Martin’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He had planned for so long. Waited and waited. Finally the time had come.
Nothing could stop him from succeeding with this mission.
At first the most difficult part of this challenge had been how to avoid the surveillance cameras. Every Wal-Mart was outfitted with equipment for continuous monitoring of both the interior and exterior of the building, including the parking lot. The idea made a person wonder about the clientele of a business that found such all-encompassing surveillance necessary.
But Martin knew it wasn’t entirely Wal-Mart’s fault or the everyday ordinary shopper’s for that matter. Unfortunately, as Wal-Mart should have learned, there were ways to get around even the tightest security. It was such a shame there weren’t more heroes like Special Agent Ryan McBride around to protect the innocent.
Rage lashed through Martin at the idea that those FBI fools had set McBride aside as if he were unimportant. They had used him for their own purposes then tossed him away as if he no longer mattered. Martin knew this for a fact. He and Deirdre, his beloved wife, had watched McBride’s career from the first time they had seen him on the news.
“Idiots,” he grumbled. Most of those FBI fools were nothing more than rats trapped in their humdrum offices, running around in circles and bumping into dead ends at every turn. None of them were as good as McBride. All put together they could not hope to fill his shoes.
Solving crime was Martin’s passion. He and Deirdre watched all the good crime and investigation programs on television. Not the make-believe ones like Law & Order or CSI . The docudramas that exposed the true story behind real-life events. They followed cases in the news religiously until their resolution. Nothing
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