Game Plan: A Kira Brightwell Novel

Chapter 3

3

Kira stood at the kitchen sink washing the dishes to allow Rob some time to reconnect with his now foot-free laptop. Her hair was already back up in its usual ponytail and she had changed into her favorite Nine Inch Nails T-shirt. Hathor’s lean, furry body wound around Kira’s ankles as she worked. The regal black cat hadn’t cared for having so many people in the apartment and had spent most of the party holed up in Kira’s room.

Kira knew washing the dishes was likely a futile gesture, but she was going to be relying on Rob to hold the fort for the next few days. If she didn’t do them now, they would likely still be waiting for her when she got back. She also wanted to maintain the temporary illusion of a tidy apartment for as long as possible.

Once she had put the last of the dishes in the rack and wiped down the counters, she dried her hands and returned to the living room. Rob had returned to his usual position, hunched over Leia with his fingers tapping against the keyboard in a steady rhythm. A pair of phones sat side by side on the table, connected by a cable. His curls were already disheveled and there was a splotch of icing on his hoodie. Kira suppressed a sigh.

“Is the new phone ready?” she asked.

Rob looked up with a grunt. “Huh? Oh, yeah.” He disconnected them and held one up. “This one’s a clone of the original. Any calls or texts going to the original phone will be routed to this one as well. All your contacts, data, and apps have been copied over, minus the Procurer’s tracking app.” He shuddered. “I don’t know how you’ve been carrying the other one around all this time, knowing he could be watching your every move.” He eyed Kira’s original phone.

Kira shrugged. “I don’t like it either. But he had already been tracking me without me knowing it ever since Traversa took my phone. I can’t just leave it here in the apartment for days at a time. For all I know, he might even be keeping physical tabs on me and checking in to make sure I’m actually where the app says I am.”

Rob shuddered again. “That’s even worse.”

Kira hated it too, but she hadn’t seen any alternative if she wanted to keep the Procurer complacent. The last thing she needed was to rouse his suspicions. Still, it hadn’t made the past several weeks any easier. She had become much more jumpy than usual, constantly wondering who might be following her as she went about her daily routines. She didn’t even know what the Procurer looked like, which only made matters worse. She had no idea who she was looking for when she found herself looking casually over her shoulder. She had even found herself dreaming about an unseen stalker lately.

“Look, I’m sorry about the party,” she said in an effort to change the subject. “I thought it was a good idea.”

Rob tilted his head. “It wasn’t bad, actually. It was kind of nice. I know I don’t see my family as often as I should. I just wish my parents would give up on the whole teaching thing.” He rolled his eyes.

Kira nodded in understanding. Her own mother and sister were always harping on her to turn into something she was not. “Well at least Trevor was a distraction.” Her lips twisted in a wry smile. “Your mom seemed to like him.”

Rob’s expression darkened for a moment. “At least he stayed away from my sisters. He took forever to leave though.”

“He suspects,” Kira said as she toyed with the new phone.

“Yeah, well I guess he’s not a complete i***t. We have given him the brush-off a lot lately.”

“He heard one of us mention my passport the other day,” Kira said.

Rob’s eyes widened. “Does he know?”

Kira shook her head. “I told him I was planning to visit my grandparents this weekend.”

“So it’s up to me to cover for you.” Rob rubbed at his curls with an agitated sigh. “You know he’s probably going to come sniffing by here when you’re gone.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I can’t believe I’m saying this... But have you thought about taking him with you? I hate the idea of you going after the Procurer on your own.”

Kira bit her lip. “Do you really think that’s a good idea with what we have planned? Trevor’s not exactly Mr. Subtle. I would only be putting him in harm’s way and increasing my own risk of getting caught. And, well... it’s Trevor.” She made a helpless gesture.

Even though Trevor had become something of an unwanted sidekick, it still didn’t mean Kira was ready to trust him in such a precarious situation. Yes, he had proven himself useful recently—on several occasions, she was forced to admit—but he was also rash and unpredictable. Deep down, Kira still had a hard time not thinking of him as the vapid, entitled jock who had tormented her and Rob in high school.

“Fair point,” Rob admitted. If anything, he trusted Trevor less than Kira did. “What about Nick?”

Kira’s stomach knotted with guilt. “We’ve been over this. As much as I want to tell Nick, he’s also duty-bound to report anything I find out about the Procurer to his superiors. I don’t want to get closed out by the police. Besides, if anything goes wrong, he’ll have plausible deniability.”

Rob snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure that’ll be comforting when he’s attending your funeral.”

Kira waved his protests aside. She had a hard enough time convincing herself not to confide in Nick as it was. In addition to the chemistry between them, they seemed to be constantly thrown together by Kira’s work as a local problem solver.

“It’s all been decided. I’m meeting with Nick tomorrow.” Kira refused to say more on the subject.

Rob gave her a penetrating look. “Kira, are you sure about this? You don’t have to go through with it, you know.”

Kira’s palms had grown damp and her stomach clenched. She knew what she had planned was dangerous. But what else was she supposed to do? Walk around with a phone tracked by the Procurer and do nothing while he remained free to select his next victim? The police had only just learned about his existence over three years ago when Kira had managed to escape his clutches.

Wait... Four years.

The realization struck her like a blow. The anniversary of her abduction had passed a few weeks ago. For the first time, she had managed to forget about it with all her other distractions. She steadied herself. Either way, it had become clear that the Procurer had been active for some time, and had built up quite the reputation among the secret circle of his ‘clients’.

Kira swallowed and raised her chin. “It has to be this weekend. Kori is away for a conference. The phone is ready, and everything else is in place. I don’t know when we’ll get another chance like this.” She squared her shoulders. “We go ahead as planned.”

Detective Nick Foster sat at his computer, typing up case notes. The precinct was fairly quiet. La Valentia was a quiet town—most of the time. With September already in full swing, all the kids were back at school for the afternoon, which meant less chance for any mischief. The only sounds were the soft, mingled voices of his coworkers, the clacking of computer keys, and the odd ringing phone.

Nick leaned back in his chair to stretch his legs. He was a tall man, and his broad frame tended to get cramped if he sat at his desk for too long. His workspace was much more tidy than anyone else’s in the bullpen. The only adornments on his desk other than his computer were a few file folders, and a metal, embossed nameplate and matching holder for his business cards. He ran a hand through his closely cropped dark hair as he tried to focus on the task at hand. His hand stilled as he recognized the sound of a familiar voice coming from the direction of the front desk. He tilted his head with a mild frown.

Sure enough, a familiar ponytailed figure walked across the bullpen a moment later. Kira’s trademark jeans and T-shirt did nothing to disguise her lean, athletic frame. He was pleased to notice she was no longer walking with a limp. Her last case had left her with a kicked-in knee that had plagued her for weeks. His brown eyes darted across the surface of the desk once more to reassure himself he had left nothing out that he didn’t want her to see. He spent most of his spare time poring over every detail of the Procurer case, focusing mainly on Kira’s own abduction—the only evidence they had that the man existed in the first place. He lowered his hand and gave Kira a puzzled look as she approached his desk.

“You’re early,” he said with a teasing note of accusation. They were supposed to meet at the coffee shop, like usual. Kira Brightwell was one of the most intelligent people he had ever met. She never did anything without a reason.

Hell, I still don’t know what she found in those old case photos.

He had no idea why she had asked to see the police photos from her own abduction three years ago, and he knew better than to ask. All he could hope was that she would tell him when she was ready.

Kira shrugged. “I was running some errands close by. I figured it made more sense to meet you here instead.”

Everything about her manner was casual, but something he couldn’t quite put his finger on nagged at Nick. He held her gaze, but her green eyes gave nothing away.

“What are you working on?” Kira asked with a sly smile. She leaned across the desk to get a look at his computer.

Nick gave the screen an irritated wave. “Just a standard break and enter. Nothing as exciting as any of your cases.” He quirked an eyebrow at her. “What are you up to these days, anyway?” He did his best to match her casual tone—not that he expected it to get him anywhere.

Kira straightened with a flush that might have been guilty. “Nothing new. I’ve booked a trip to Toronto this weekend.”

Nick blinked. Something about her phrasing struck him as odd... “Your grandparents?” He gave no outward sign of his suspicions as he continued the thread of the conversation.

Kira nodded. “I haven’t seen them in a while. I feel like I need a change of scenery.”

“Can’t say I blame you. I guess that means I can count on a quiet weekend around here with you out of town?” He gave her a pointed look. Where Kira went, trouble always seemed to follow.

Kira looked chagrined. “Probably.”

“Too bad,” Nick said with a mock sigh. “It’s been far too boring around here lately.”

He didn’t want to push, but he left the opening hanging there. Kira was like a bird, resting in the palm of his hand. If he made any move to hold her, he knew she would only fly away.

Come on... I know you must be working on something related to the Procurer...

He was hardly stupid, and Kira knew that. He understood why she was reluctant to confide in him with his position as a member of the La Valentia PD, but he had put his ass on the line for her more than once, and he had been more than patient. Besides, they were friends. Didn’t she know she could trust him by now?

Kira flashed him a smile. “I’m sure you’ll manage one weekend without me wreaking havoc around here. Are you ready to go, or do you need more time?”

Just like that, the moment passed. Nick suppressed a surge of disappointment.

“Yeah, let me just pack up.” He averted his gaze as he signed off his computer and gathered his things.

I wish she would let me help her.

He had nothing but respect for Kira’s abilities, but the Procurer was dangerous, and Kira was only human. He was afraid her reluctance to trust anyone would get her into more trouble than she could handle someday. He had lost count of the times he had replayed the moment he had walked into Dr. Hall’s black-market organ harvesting facility to find her battered on the floor in his mind. Yes, she had taken Dr. Hall and his thugs down with her, but he suspected it had been a near thing. The risks she took when she was working a case were often higher than one of his fellow officers might willingly face without the luxury of a handgun and a trained partner. How much more would she be willing to sacrifice to take down the Procurer?

He was afraid to find out.