Stalked in Silver Valley

by Geri Krotow

  Free and joyous, with Luther.

  * * *

  Luther made love to her two more times through the night, and he was stoked to discover that, true to her word, Kit knew what she wanted. She took as much as he was willing to give her, which was dang near everything.

  Except a promise.

  He listened to her showering as he stretched out on the bed. He’d taken his shower while making love to her against the tiled shower wall only minutes earlier. The vision of Kit being completely at ease and open with him was a precious gift he’d carry always, in his heart.

  Because he couldn’t be with her. Not after the ROC op was finished. Luther knew himself enough to know he didn’t know what he wanted after his undercover days ended. Whether he stayed with TH, or switched back to conventional LEA, he’d always want to be fighting the bad guys. Wherever in the world it took him.

  Kit was settled in Silver Valley. And even if she were the traveling type, he couldn’t risk his heart again. It had been crushed by Evalina’s betrayal, and he didn’t believe it would ever heal. He was as close to full recovery from his heartache as possible after tonight.

  But it wasn’t enough for Kit.

  You’re being stubborn. Tell her you love her.

  Luther stood and began to get dressed. He’d make sure Kit got into Josh Avery’s car, and then he’d complete his part of the mission. After that, he’d be out of Silver Valley and away from the constant tug on his heart.

  * * *

  Kit grabbed her purse and faced Luther in the apartment kitchen where he brewed coffee.

  “Josh just texted. He’ll be here in five.”

  “I know.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes, I heard the ding. And it’s almost four. I’d expect him to be prompt.”

  “Yeah.” She wanted to say so much, tell Luther the full truth. That she loved him. But he’d pulled back since she walked out of the shower. She’d never take another shower without thinking of how a shower with Luther went down. A blush hit her cheeks as she thought about how he’d gone down on her.

  Luther turned from the counter and faced her. He cupped her face with one hand. “Kit, there’s a lot that I could say right now.”

  “Don’t, Luther. I—I knew what I came over here for. So did you. Let’s not make it more than it needs to be.” A dratted tear plopped onto his hand, and he wiped it away, a soft smile on his lips.

  “It seems we’ve both learned a lot from each other.” The smile remained, but his eyes bore a sorrow she could only figure meant he still wasn’t ready to settle down. To at least make a decision to be with one woman. Her.

  “This isn’t goodbye yet, is it? We still have the op to get through.” After that, she’d have a long talk with her therapist and find a way to move forward. Because leaving Luther behind was going to hurt like nothing had before.

  The one difference was that she’d had the most happiness in her life to date. With Luther.

  “Yeah, the op.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead, just as her phone dinged. “That would be your cue.”

  He insisted on walking her down to the curb, where he opened the door for her. After she buckled her seat belt, she lifted her hand to the window.

  Luther responded in kind, giving her a brief wave.

  Josh shifted into Drive and they were off.

  Chapter 19

  One Week Later

  “Take this, Kit, you might need it.” Claudia stood next to Kit as she loaded the last of the comms gear into an unmarked van. In her hand Claudia held out a small handgun.

  “Claudia, I can’t take that.”

  “Not as an SVPD unsworn, no, you can’t. But as a Trail Hikers operative about to face down the worst enemy yet? You damn well can, and you will. Holster it to your ankle.” Claudia’s eyes were bright with determination.

  “Yes, ma’am.” After Kit found an ankle holster in the safe house supply cabinet, she quickly did as her boss had directed and then joined the caravan leaving the safe house for where they anticipated the ROC meeting was to take place. Ivanov and Markova had been tracked as they drove to an abandoned barn on the outskirts of Silver Valley. There were many such structures in various states of decay and all-out collapse, but this particular one was surrounded by acres upon acres of Christmas trees, as the current landowner rented it to a tree farmer.

  With a little research, SVPD had discovered the landholder was none other than Mishka Valensky, which explained how he’d continued money laundering after Vadim’s arrest. The tree farmer was an innocent civilian, a young woman trying to make a go of her new business.

  It took almost an hour to get to their preestablished listening post, and once there, Kit made sure her setup was to her liking. Amy, the other comms expert, sat next to her in the cramped workspace of the van. The distraction of preparing to bring in Ivanov and Markova kept Kit’s mind occupied, but not her heart.

  She wanted to kick herself for not telling Luther she loved him. What harm would it have done? She’d still be nursing a broken heart after he left Silver Valley, but at least if she’d told him, it would have given him the gift of knowing he was loved. Just as importantly, she would have lived in her truth.

  “Amy?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Do we know where any of the other TH units are yet?”

  “Um, yeah. Right here, here and here.” Amy pointed to other spots that surrounded the barn. Intel had already indicated that Markova and Ivanov were in the barn, hopefully unaware of the LEA presence. The barn was in a large clearing, and the TH, SVPD and other LEA waited for the arrival of the current remaining ROC hierarchy, led by Vlad Ivanov. Kit and Amy worked in a TH van alongside the SVPD comms van. SVPD personnel who weren’t also TH believed that the TH van was FBI. It allowed them to combine efforts without compromising TH’s shadow profile, nor any of its agents.

  Kit studied the map and guessed where Luther worked. She longed to text him but not now, during an op. Having at least an idea of where he was comforted her.

  Pounding on the back door startled them both. They exchanged annoyed glances. Everyone working the op was tired and on edge. It happened during most high-stress, high profile ops.

  “Keep running your comms checks. I’ll see who it is.” Kit stood and checked the small screen next to the door. A hidden camera revealed it was SVPD Officer Brad Morris, who wasn’t part of TH. She’d have to step out of the van as non-TH couldn’t see the elite technology only privy to TH.

  “Hey, Brad, what can I do for you?” She jumped down, closing Amy and the equipment away from his curious gaze.

  “Hi, Kit. I thought I saw you come in here. So now you’re working for FBI, huh?” He acted casually but she saw the tick jerking at the side of his eye.

  “You know I couldn’t answer that if I was. And I’m just helping out with some of the gear setup.” Lying wasn’t something she liked to do but had learned at the hands of a madman, to save her life. She had no problem doing it to protect classified material or Trail Hikers.

  “Chief Todd is gathering us all around to give one last briefing, and I thought you wouldn’t want to miss it.”

  She hadn’t paid attention to the SVPD schedule for the op as she was so involved with the TH end of things.

  And Luther.

  “Oh, okay, well, I think I should—”

  “He’s adamant that everyone at least listen in.” His eyes shifted to the van, behind her. “Unless you can listen in there?”

  She couldn’t reveal any of the capabilities of the comms equipment. “I guess you’re right. I should listen in. Let me tell my colleague that I’ll be gone for a bit. Where can I meet you?”

  “Over there, by that blue van.” He pointed to an unmarked vehicle and Kit almost grinned. LEA was really going to do this—bring down ROC.

  “I’ll be right over
.”

  As soon as Brad walked away, Kit cracked open the door and revealed her dilemma to Amy. “I should probably go, so that he doesn’t suspect we’re more than FBI.” In truth, she hoped to ask Colt where Luther was located. It was important that she find him after the op, to tell him what she should have last night.

  I love you, Luther.

  “Fair enough. Plus you might hear something we can use. I’ve got it here until you come back. So far there isn’t any sign of Vlad and his crew.” Amy turned her attention back to her gears, intent.

  “Right. See you in a few.” Kit stepped back out of the van, shut the door and walked off toward Brad.

  * * *

  “It doesn’t make sense that they’d hide out here for over a day. It has to be below freezing in that dilapidation.” Luther spoke to Colt, who nodded in agreement. They sat in an unmarked sedan, the barn visible through a row of Christmas trees. He fought hard to keep his thoughts on the mission and not drift back to how he’d spent last night.

  How you want to spend every night. With Kit.

  “Yeah, well, has anything ROC ever done made sense?” Colt’s voice was resigned. Luther got it. They’d wait out here as long as it took. At least he knew Kit was ensconced in a comms van, relatively safe from what could turn into a shoot-out.

  Luther’s phone lit up and he quickly read the screen aloud to Colt. “Vlad spotted on highway, ten minutes out. Driving a late model SUV.” He looked at Colt. “Sounds like we’re going to get this wrapped up sooner than later.”

  Then maybe he’d stop playing chicken with his deepest fears and tell Kit how he felt. Except how did you tell a woman you were in love with her but knew you weren’t the one for her?

  * * *

  Frost-coated grass crunched under Kit’s work boots as she made her way over to the blue van. Brad leaned against the side of it, his gaze on her. He offered her a quick, friendly wave, and she smiled in response.

  “I didn’t know we had another van this close.” Not that she was in on the entire workings of the takedown. It would be easy to miss details here and there.

  “It’s going to take all of us to bring this to an end, that’s for sure.” Brad still looked nervous, and she saw him glance repeatedly toward the direction of the barn. It wasn’t more than two hundred yards away.

  “Hey, Brad, we’re going to get them, you know. Don’t worry.”

  “Worry? Oh, I’m not worried. Except I’ve been having some trouble with the gear that Chief assigned me.”

  She looked into the front of the van. “Who’s your partner?” No one worked alone during an op of this magnitude.

  “He’s in the back. Come on, I’ll introduce you.” She followed him to the back of the van.

  “Maybe I can help with the gear.” If it was comms equipment, she’d most likely be able to fix it.

  “That’d be great. Come on, I’ll help you up.” He grabbed her upper arm as he opened the back door wide, revealing an empty cargo area.

  Confusion, chased by cold fear, made Kit balk. “No, wait—”

  But Brad shoved her without deliberation into the back of the van and shut the doors tight before she could scrambled back up.

  “No, stop!” She screamed as loudly as she could, banged her fists on the door. This place was loaded with LEA. Someone had to hear her. The engine started and she ran to the wall between her and the driver’s seat.

  “Let me go, Brad! I don’t know what this is about, but you’ve got to stop and think about what you’re doing. Your wife, your kids!” Her throat already hurt and she recognized shock.

  Before she could fight anymore, the van lurched to a hard stop, throwing her backward. Her head slammed against the metal floor, hitting her where her head had taken a hit during her mission with Luther.

  Luther.

  * * *

  “Great news!” Claudia’s voice sounded over Luther’s headset. He looked at Colt, who heard the same. “FBI has apprehended Vlad Ivanov and his thugs at the side of the highway. Repeat, Vlad is neutralized. We are free to take in Ivanov and Markova.”

  Colt’s eyes sparked with relief. He spoke into the headset. “Proceed as planned. FBI will take over from—”

  “Wait!” Colt’s attention was on a blue van, barreling toward the barn. “Who the hell is that?”

  “Cease takedown until we ID that vehicle.” Claudia’s voice again, in full battle mode.

  Colt looked at Luther, then back out at the van. Luther’s skin crawled. It only did that when something important to him was threatened. Dread filled his belly. No, it couldn’t be Kit. She was in the comms van. As they watched, a man in plainclothes got out of the driver’s side and walked around to the back, where he opened the side door.

  “That’s Officer Brad Norris.” Colt’s confusion vibrated in the car. “What on earth?”

  Luther’s hands gripped the dash, as he and Colt sat helpless, waiting to see who came out of the van. When Officer Norris cleared the door and headed toward the barn, he wasn’t alone.

  He had Kit flung over his shoulder, limp and unconscious.

  “No!” Luther’s hand was on the handle, and only Colt’s decisive “Stop!” Held him back.

  “Luther, take a breath. We’ll get her. She’ll be okay. But we have to stay calm and figure out what he’s doing first. Got it?”

  “Yes.” But first chance he got, he was taking down the bastard who had Kit.

  Then he was going to tell her he loved her. Unless... Unless this ended like his last ROC op. And Kit ended up dead.

  * * *

  Kit came to as pain from a harsh blow to her solar plexus radiated through her rib cage. She coughed, wondering why the ground moved beneath her.

  Brad carried her, like a sack of kitty litter, over the ground and she had no doubt where to. Oh, no, she was going to die at the hands of him, or Ivanov, Markova or worse, Vlad.

  No. Stay focused. Luther. His faith in you.

  The gun was still strapped to her leg. Brad’s arms had her in a vice grip across the back of her thighs, and he hadn’t noticed the weapon between her ankles.

  Brad was SVPD and knew she was unsworn, unable to legally carry a weapon on duty. It never occurred to him to pat her down.

  Each step he took made the pain in her head streak down her neck, inflaming her body. But it gave her hope, because pain meant she was still alive, still had a chance.

  His grunts grew louder as he continued past Christmas trees, the branches scratching her. Something told her to remain quiet and limp. Let him think she was still unconscious.

  “Come no closer!” The female voice rang out from in front of her, and she realized he’d brought them to the barn. Kit had studied enough tapes of Markova to know her voice. What was Brad doing?

  “I’ve got what you need for your final negotiations. A gift from Mishka.”

  “Who is it?” Markova couldn’t see from wherever she stood.

  “Vadim’s wife.” Defiance roiled through Kit at his words. She would never be Vadim’s wife ever again. But it wasn’t worth expending her painful breath on correcting him.

  “You have Kit?” Ivanov’s voice. Deeper, but weaker than Markova’s.

  “Yes.” Brad dropped to his knees and threw Kit onto the ground. She kept her eyes closed, but maneuvered enough so that her butt hit first and she engaged her core muscles to keep her head from snapping back again. She had to stay alert, had to do her part.

  Luther.

  He’d tell her to pay attention and use her weapon. But it wasn’t going to be as easy as with Mishka. This time she had three adversaries, and Vlad Ivanov was inbound with countless others. Despair clawed at her concentration, and the old familiar anxiety started its persuasive chatter. It would be so easy to let go, to give it all up.

  Except Kit had fought too long and endured too much suffering
to give up now. If she made it through this, she’d have a chance to tell the man she loved how much he meant to her. Whether or not he reciprocated didn’t matter. She had to make it, to reach Luther one more time.

  As Brad continued to talk with Ivanov and Markova, she formed her escape plan.

  * * *

  “I can’t sit here any longer, Colt.” Luther had seen enough. When Kit’s limp body was dumped on the ground, he clenched every muscle against the pain she had to be feeling.

  “There’s hope, Luther. Did you see how she didn’t hit her head?”

  “Her head?” Luther replayed the scene in his mind as he continued to watch Brad shout back and forth with either Markova or Ivanov.

  “Yes. If she were unconscious, her head would have snapped back. But she kept her chin to her chest just long enough to protect it. She’s awake, and I’ll bet planning her escape.” Colt’s pride was evident.

  “She’s defenseless out there.”

  “She has a .22 strapped to her ankle.” Claudia’s voice broke his worst fear. She was in the comms loop with them.

  “That’s something, at least, but there’s only one of her and three of them. Someone has to be backup.”

  “We already have three snipers surrounding the barn, Luther.” Claudia was firm.

  “And I’m right here, with my sight on Markova’s figure in the barn window.”

  “Luther’s right, Claudia. He has a clear shot if he gets out of the car.”

  “Okay, go in. But at all costs, don’t distract Kit. Let her do her job, Luther.” Claudia gave him the go-ahead. Luther took the rifle he’d brought and slipped out of the car. He used the Christmas trees as cover, zigzagging closer to the best spot to take out Markova, and hopefully Ivanov. Before they could hurt Kit.