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They wasted no time pulling up satellite footage of the property, a one-bedroom apartment on the first floor in a low-rent district where the neighbors kept their heads down and knew it was in their best interest not to notice a temporary neighbor coming and going. As soon as the team had the intel, Cam issued orders.
“Let’s get eyes on him, and then we can notify the Feds.”
Cam, Marco, Maria, and Davies would be the four-person surveillance team, while Tank and Jennings stayed behind as Teag’s security and to interface with Jake. While Maria didn’t want to leave Teag’s side, she also wanted this nightmare to end for him, and she was therefore happy to help track down Ivanovich’s psycho ass.
Teag managed to get close enough to Maria before she left to whisper, “Be careful,” in her ear. Her fingers discreetly found his and gave them a squeeze, and then she was out the door.
The four piled into a rented SUV, dressed inconspicuously, with weapons hidden and tiny coms in their ears. Marco had a goodie bag with him full of high-tech toys used for advanced surveillance. Maria had a city map pulled up on an iPad, directing Davies, who was driving. From the passenger seat, Cam issued more orders.
“We’re going to confirm his identity and then sit on him until the Feds arrive. If he leaves, we follow. I’d love nothing more than to put a bullet in this guy’s head, but from what Alex told me, Ivanovich is responsible for a boatload of murders, and the Agency stands to clear all those cases if he’s brought in alive. And as much as I’d also love to take him in ourselves, we are not cleared to operate, so we stick to him like glue, but don’t engage. Got it?”
The team replied with a grumbled chorus of yes, sirs.
It was just after nine pm when they spotted Ivanovich’s rental car, parked on the street a block from his apartment building. Davies circled the block, then pulled over and parked a few spots away.
“Keep eyes on the car,” Cam ordered Davies.
Marco, Cam, and Maria exited the vehicle and jogged across the street.
“Do you think he has any kind of sensor or alarm system?” Maria asked.
“I’d expect at least motion sensors to alert him if the place is breached,” Marco answered. “But since we aren’t going to breach, no problem.”
Marco pointed at his bag of tricks and winked at Maria.
Marco was still something of an enigma. If Cam was generally closed-mouthed about his personal life, Marco was even more of a mystery. Ex-DEA and one of the top operatives at TSI, he’d been working with the team longer than Maria, but no one seemed to know much about him beyond his resumé. Honestly though, there was no one Maria would rather have at her back when hunting someone like Ivanovich.
Cam stopped at the front entryway to the building, leaning casually against the concrete wall. He pulled out his cell phone and pretended to scroll through social media. With his worn jeans, black t-shirt, and baseball hat sitting backward on his head, he blended into the background.
Maria and Marco continued around back where they had direct access to the exterior walls of Ivanovich’s apartment. It was a corner unit, with windows on two sides. According to the building plans, which Jake had sent to them earlier, the door to the apartment was the first on the left inside the building.
Maria stopped and backed herself against the wall, a few feet from the window. Marco joined her, then squatted down and reached into the bag.
“Infrared sensor,” he said, pulling a handheld device from his bag.
Maria grinned at the enthusiastic look on his face, like a kid in a candy store. Marco turned it on, took a half step back, and pointed it at the wall.
“This is the bedroom,” he whispered, moving a few more steps to the right. “No one in there.”
The sound of the exterior door opening startled Maria. Without missing a beat, Marco pushed her back against the wall, put his arm around her to hide the little sensor, and nuzzled into her neck. Maria sucked in a breath and stiffened, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Go with it,” he said, chuckling softly.
Two teen boys stumbled out the door, shoving one another and laughing. When they caught sight of Maria and Marco, one of them whistled. Marco turned his head and glared. The two looked vaguely alarmed and jogged off.
Maria cleared her throat. Marco looked thoroughly amused. “So,” he said, drawing out the word. “You and the rock god finally got it on.”
“What? Um, why would you say that?” Maria stammered.
“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me, until you’re ready to let everyone else know,” he said.
Maria opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie outright to her teammate. Trust was such an integral part of working together, it felt wrong to deny the truth, even if Marco’s opinion of her took a tumble.
“It won’t interfere with the job,” she said.
Marco looked at her sideways. “Ruiz, you’re solid.”
Maria breathed a small sigh of relief at his remark.
