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“His proposition didn’t dignify a reply,” she said.
***
Meanwhile, back at the townhouse complex, Mother, Tessman, and Taco returned to Woods’ unit. Tessman disabled the cable again and Mother and Taco went in, this time while Burke kept watch of the front of Woods’ home from the loft. They’d get spy tech installed on Woods’ laptop, by enabling Garcia or Smith at HQ to gain access via a flash drive that would enable a backdoor program.
At the bar, an alert sounded on Woods’ phone. He lifted it from the table. “Damn, internet’s out again,” he complained. “This is like the third time in a week.”
“How long does it usually stay off for?” Roth asked.
“Not usually longer than a half hour,” Woods said. “They’re upgrading the lines coming into our neighborhood to fiber and both the internet and the television keep having outages.
“I told you to invest in satellite for your internet. Starlink is becoming readily available, and it’s much more reliable,” Briana said with authority.
“Yes, and it’s also a lot more each month than basic internet,” Woods complained.
“Since when have you been strapped for cash?” she asked with a glare, focusing on her brother.
Roth felt the sudden tension. This conversation held some meaning to them. Briana Woods’ manner was the most serious that Roth had seen her act. Cam Woods broke the gaze with his sister and drank more of his beer. “It’s the principle of paying more for something than you should have to.”
Now that was odd. Roth filed that tidbit away. He’d share it with the team later. They ordered burgers and a third round of beers. Shortly after the waitress dropped them off at their table, Cam Woods got another alert indicating his internet was back up. He seemed relieved. Besides being tied into his home security system, why would it matter to him, Roth wondered. Could his computer have been running a program that was dependent on the internet while they were out? And if so, what could it have been? He’d have to run that by Garcia or Smith, whoever was in Ops when he got back.
The conversation lightened up and Briana returned to the fun, flirty girl she’d been.
“So, when are you heading out?” Roth asked her. “And where is home?”
“You sure ask a lot of questions,” she said.
“If you don’t ask, you don’t know. I move around a lot. I may find myself in your corner of the world some day and I’d love to look you up. That’s all.” He drew in a long drink of his beer, watching her roll his explanation around in her thoughts.
“Atlanta, Georgia,” she said. “But I travel a lot for work, so I’m rarely there.”
Hum. That was interesting. “What do you do for work?”
“Service and negotiations, freelance,” she said.
He had no idea what that could mean. And he didn’t get the chance to ask more as Cam immediately changed the subject to their mother and visiting her around Christmas. The two of them bickered about it. Woods insisted it was their turn to go see her, and a holiday in Florida, away from the cold, sounded good to him. Briana argued that it was both his and their mother’s turn to come to her place in Atlanta. Roth found the entire conversation confusing as it followed up on her comment that she’s rarely home as she travels a lot for work. It seemed contradictory to him.
Briana ordered the fourth round of beers when the server came to clear their plates after they’d eaten. It was a good thing they hadn’t driven the way these two were putting them away. And it was a Tuesday night. He’d love to see their alcohol intake on a Friday or Saturday night.
By the time they finished at the bar, it was after nine p.m., twenty-one hundred hours. In the five hours they’d been there, they each consumed seven glasses of beer and two shots of tequila, which were ordered by Briana. As they stepped back out into the cold night air, Roth zipped his jacket and jammed his hands into his pockets. His gaze scanned the lot, which was packed with vehicles now. He saw the Suburban. It was running. Lambchop was staying warm, warmer than he’d be during the ten-minute walk to return to the townhouse.
As they trudged through the tree line, Briana focused her gaze on Roth. “Did you serve?”
He knew what she was asking, but played dumb. “Serve what? Like a waiter or bartender? No, that’s one job I’ve never done,” he replied.
“No, served in the military?” she asked.
He shook his head no. “Why would you ask that?”
“No reason,” she said, even though alarm bells were going off in her head. He sure as hell acted like every other guy she knew who had been in the military or was a cop. It was how he moved through the trees. It was how he had scanned the room every few seconds. He’d even just scanned the parking lot. He considered his answers before he spoke, a very slight pause that was unnatural. It was even how he sat with his back against the wall that made her think this. Despite the fact that she found him attractive, and he was fun to flirt with, there was something suspicious about him. She didn’t trust him. That didn’t dampen the attraction, though.
Cam Woods was chatty as they headed back to the townhouse complex. Roth noticed that Briana was not. He glanced back at her, as she had fallen a few steps behind them. She looked deep in thought. He flashed her his best flirty smile. “You okay back there?”
“Yes, just trying to keep up. What’s the hurry?”
Only then did Roth realize he was setting the pace, and it wasn’t a leisurely walk they were taking. “Sorry,” he said. “I just want to get back as fast as we can. I’m cold.”
For some reason, she doubted that.
