Serpenti

by Brooke Sivendra

  Reed opened a bag and passed Rachel and Abi a hat and pair of sunglasses each.

  Invisible chains constricted around Asher’s chest, and he felt like he was sending Abi to a certain death—or worse.

  He saw James eyeing him carefully, and he put on the best poker face he could manage, but Asher wasn’t sure how convincing it was.

  “Let’s go,” James said.

  Abi

  James Thomas walked beside her. “How are you feeling?”

  “Nervous,” Abi replied.

  James nodded. “That’s not a bad thing. Being alert and cautious will save your life. People die when they get complacent and overconfident.” He looked over his shoulder and said, “Confirm.”

  Abi didn’t bother asking—she knew James would only tell her what she needed to know and right now, she didn’t think she could handle much more.

  She thought she’d prepared herself, but it was only once they were in the car and exiting the palace that the gravity of what she was about to do set in. She blocked the memory of the anguish in Asher’s eyes as they’d said goodbye.

  “Come back to me,” he’d whispered with a choked-up voice.

  “If you hadn’t escaped in Adani, would you rather have survived and been taken by Lamberi, or would you have wished for death?” James asked her slowly.

  She met his eyes, and she realized Asher wasn’t the only troubled one. “Death,” she answered.

  He sighed heavily, seeming to weigh something in his mind.

  “Then take this,” he said, handing her a single white pill. “I’m going to be close to you the entire time, Abi. I’m going to do everything I can, and I’ve never lost a client, but,” he said, his voice sounding strained, “I understand what being taken by Lamberi means. If everything goes horribly wrong—which it won’t,” he added quickly. “But as a worst-case scenario, this is a cyanide pill. However, if you find yourself in his hands, give me time to get you back because I will shift heaven and earth to make that happen.”

  “How long is long enough?” she asked, swallowing hard.

  “Ninety-six hours,” he said, and she knew why he said that: if captives weren’t found after ninety-six hours, they were almost always never seen again.

  Abi sucked in a breath and her hand trembled as she reached for the pill. It was so small, so deadly, and she stared at it for a moment. She tucked the pill into her jeans pocket, making a mental note to destroy it when this was over and done with.

  “You didn’t tell Asher about this, did you?” Abi asked.

  “No,” he said, unapologetically. “It’ll only cause him to worry about things he can’t control. I’ve been where he is right now, and it’s a horrible position to be in.”

  Abi paused, taken aback by his honesty.

  “You let your girlfriend walk into the enemy’s hands?” Abi asked incredulously.

  James chewed on his cheek. “Yes, but that’s a long story. The enemy was actually her missing husband—he’s dead now, and she’s safe. She’s my wife now, by the way,” he said, seeming proud of himself.

  Abi was at a loss for words. She was surprised he’d freely given that information to her—maybe he’d done it to calm her and distract her—and if that was so, it had worked because now all she could think of was the missing husband and who he’d been.

  “You wouldn’t believe it even if I told you,” he said, correctly guessing where her mind had gone. “And I’m not going to tell you.”

  “Let’s make a deal,” Abi said. James raised his eyebrows but nodded, indicating he would hear her out at least. “If I survive this, you tell me that story,” she said.

  James grinned and she was surprised he could smile at a moment like this. But then again, she knew it wasn’t his first rodeo. “Deal, Abigail Bennett,” James said.

  They were silent for the rest of the trip but Abi’s mind was busy crafting scenarios of how James’s wife had faced off her missing husband. Had James killed him? Was it weird if he had?

  “Game time,” James said as the car came to a stop. Abi looked out the window, shocked they’d arrived so quickly. His method of distracting her had worked and she was surprised to find she felt measurably calmer than she had when they’d left the palace. She even noted James’s choice of words. Game time—maybe that was how he coped with the many stressful situations he found himself in. Perhaps he looked at it like a challenge, or a game. Abi opted to take that approach now, because the reality was far too frightening.

  She looked over her shoulder to see a second car pull up behind her. How was Rachel right now? She was risking her life, and possibly ending up in Lamberi’s hands, for Abi.

  Abi exhaled a shaky breath.

  James passed her another weapon. “Just in case, but I have your back.”

  All words of thanks lodged in her throat. She stared at the weapon for a moment—it was all too real.

  “Game time,” James repeated with a little more conviction.

  “Game time,” Abi said as she saw Rachel approach the car. “Game time,” she whispered again, this time under her breath.

  She took one last look at James Thomas, hoping like hell he knew what he was doing and that he was every bit as good as she needed him to be.

  Abi tucked the additional weapon into the holster underneath her sweater. The walk to the meeting point was going to make her ankle ache, but they didn’t have any other option. She agreed James could hardly drop her off at the front entrance.

  She looked at Rachel and tried to give her a look of confidence. Rachel managed a small smile, but Abi knew there was nothing behind it. This was more than they’d trained for. More than they had ever experienced.

  “We’re going to be okay,” Abi said, to herself as much as to Rachel.

  Rachel smiled tightly. “Of course we are.”

  “Do you know that James’s wife faced off her missing husband and James killed him? She was his girlfriend then, and is his wife now,” Abi said, trying to distract Rachel.

  “Huh,” she said as they walked. “He told you that?”

  “That’s what you call a tease, right?” Abi asked, watching the streets carefully. She knew James had teams planted at every point along the street, but she would need to be alert too, if she was going to survive.

  “He doesn’t seem like the talkative type,” Rachel said, looking over her shoulder.

  “Look straight ahead,” Abi whispered. “I think he was trying to distract me, to calm me down. It worked, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of that story.”

  “I get the feeling that James, and everyone in that company, is full of stories,” she said.

  “Including Reed,” Abi said, stealing a sideways glance. She’d said it to test Rachel, but she was still trying to distract her mind enough that if they encountered trouble she’d be able to think and not freeze up. Rachel had proven herself on the field, but off the field was a different game. They knew the rules on the field when they were conducting IFRT business. Here, in Santina, facing Lamberi—they had no idea what the rules were.

  “Yes, Reed,” Rachel said like she didn’t care, but Abi thought Rachel had wondered about his past on more than a few occasions.

  “Informant has arrived early. Continue ahead,” James said through Abi’s earpiece. Abi pressed her earlobe, activating two-way communication.

  “Copy,” Abi said under her breath.

  “Do you think it’s weird that the informant came early?” Rachel asked, keeping her gaze straight ahead.

  “I don’t know,” Abi said, but she knew they were going to find out soon.

  “Informant looks nervous,” James said.

  Abi considered that. It wasn’t necessarily surprising—supplying IFRT with knowledge could land informants in serious trouble.

  “Copy. That’s normal,” Abi communicated, covering her mouth like she was coughing.

  “Informant has been seated at our table of choice,” James informed.

  Abi exhaled—everything
was going according to plan. She prayed that continued.

  Abi’s phone beeped and she opened her messages as she walked. There was one from James Thomas and it was a picture of a woman.

  Abi frowned. The woman seemed familiar, but Abi couldn’t place her.

  “Who is this?” Abi asked.

  “Your informant,” James said.

  Abi almost tripped on her feet. “She’s female. It’s rare that we meet female informants. Females usually keep quiet because they will pay a greater price if they’re discovered to have given information.” Abi was looking at Rachel, as if she was speaking to her, but something—or rather, someone—caught her attention.

  Troy.

  He looked up, his eyes narrowing at something ahead. Abi followed his gaze, but she saw nothing unusual.

  “James, Asher’s cousin Troy is here,” she said under her breath. “We’re walking past him now.”

  “We see him,” James said. “Keep going, he hasn’t recognized you. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

  “Is he a suspect?” Abi asked, fighting to keep her face neutral. Abi thought Troy was one of the only few people Asher had left that he trusted.

  “Everyone is a suspect until confirmed otherwise,” James said but there was no tone to his voice. He said it like he could be talking about her own mother. “Keep walking, you’re right on time.”

  Abi had refrained from looking at her wrist in case someone was watching, and she was relieved to hear they were on time. If this was a legitimate lead, the informant wouldn’t wait around for them—not to mention that her ankle was beginning to throb and the sooner she was there and could sit down for a minute the better.

  “Troy’s not following you,” James said.

  Abi supposed that should’ve given her some relief, but it was strange he had been there in the first place.

  “He lives in an apartment only a few blocks from here,” James said, once again accurately guessing where her mind had gone.

  “Copy,” Abi said as their location came into view.

  “We have your back and we have men inside,” James said. “Follow my lead and don’t make a move until I tell you to.” It was more of a warning than an instruction, and Abi remembered the warning Asher had been given in his office.

  Abi’s pulse quickened, and she wished she could give Rachel a hug or squeeze her hand. But it was too late for that. Now they had to muster all their courage as they walked into the lion’s den.

  Abi drew in a long, settling breath as she climbed the few short steps into the restaurant. She refrained from looking directly at the informant—which took all the willpower she had—but she did a quick scope of the restaurant, which she would’ve done on official IFRT business. If anyone was watching her, that wasn’t out of the ordinary. Then her eyes landed on the informant and Abi was sure she’d seen her somewhere before. If she had, that could be a good thing, as she might’ve seen her during a village visit. Abi would know when the informant told her which village she belonged to.

  And then Abi really wanted to know how the woman had gotten into Santina.

  The hostess led Abi and Rachel to the table and they took a seat. The informant had trouble meeting their eyes, and that either meant something was wrong, or she’d been a captive herself. If so, she definitely wasn’t a captive IFRT had rescued—the faces of those women were imprinted in Abi’s mind.

  “Hello,” Abi said gently. “Thank you for meeting us. We know the risks of taking such a step and we promise that whatever information you give us, we will make sure we use it to help people. This meeting won’t be for nothing.”

  The woman cleared her throat. “Many captives . . . too many . . .” She looked around nervously. “Location on map,” she said, visibly swallowing.

  She reached for her bag.

  “Hold,” James’s warning came through her earpiece. “I have a weapon on her. Don’t move.”

  Abi didn’t get up, but she placed her hand on her lap, ready to reach for her weapon if she needed. She doubted she could move that quickly if the woman suddenly pointed a gun at her, but damn if she wouldn’t try.

  But the woman pulled out a piece of folded paper and slid it across the table. She’d hesitated a fraction of a second and Abi’s own hand trembled as she reached for the paper.

  She unfolded it and her heart lurched as she did. It was a map of Adani, but it was the hastily scribbled writing that made her brain scream the written words.

  RUN.

  Abi

  RUN.

  “Don’t move!” James said.

  Every instinct told her to move, and the restaurant seemed to stop, like it was frozen in time. It even seemed silent, and Abi knew there was no way that could be true. But in that moment her world stopped.

  Lamberi was here and she knew it.

  “Do not move!” James yelled more urgently.

  Abi wanted to run, but she felt like James had somehow injected her legs with something and they were like dead logs attached to her body.

  “I’m sorry,” the informant whispered. “He’s going to kill my family.”

  “Who?” Abi asked, surprised she managed to force the words from her throat.

  “Martin. He walked past you as you walked in,” the woman said, her words rushed.

  Abi’s breath hitched in her throat. Surely James had footage of that. “Where is he now?” Abi asked, glad her mind was working even if her legs weren’t.

  “No one walked past you, Abi. She’s lying,” James said.

  Abi’s fear transformed to anger. What game was this woman playing? Why had she told Abi to run? To create chaos so she’d potentially lose any security guards that had followed her?

  “I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head.

  “Do you have a daughter?” Abi asked, knowing James wasn’t going to like her next words.

  “Yes,” the woman answered, but Abi didn’t know if it was a lie or not.

  “Then you’d better pray she never meets someone like me,” Abi said.

  The woman went still. “Why?” she asked, but Abi never got the chance to answer.

  Thunder boomed and cracked and Abi reached for Rachel as they dove to the floor. People began screaming and James was saying something through her earpiece, but she couldn’t hear him. Abi looked up to see the legs of the informant still sitting in her chair. Abi’s stomach churned when she realized the woman wasn’t moving at all—an odd thing given the restaurant had erupted into chaos. People were running now, and they were all headed for the back of the restaurant.

  They had to move.

  “Come on!” Abi said, tugging Rachel’s hand.

  Abi peered up while staying as low as she could underneath the table. She saw men fighting at the front and bodies lying all over the ground. Some were missing limbs and she knew they’d been killed by the explosion and thrown across the restaurant.

  Abi refrained from gagging as she realized a severed, charcoaled arm had landed not far from her.

  “Back! Go to the back!” James said, her earpiece clear once again.

  Rachel must’ve heard it too, because she was on her feet and running with Abi.

  Abi focused ahead, but she couldn’t forget the last thing she’d seen before they’d run from the table—their informant with a bullet between her eyes.

  Someone pushed Abi in the back and she hissed in a breath. Between her back and her ankle she was hardly in shape to run, but she knew she’d be dead if she stayed.

  Rachel’s grip on Abi’s arm tightened, keeping her upright. It wasn’t lost on Abi that Rachel was once again by her side when she needed her most.

  A figure came sprinting from the side and Abi’s first reaction was to draw her weapon. She realized in the last moment it was Reed, and her finger slackened on the trigger. “Easy,” he said calmly as he guided them toward the restaurant kitchen.

  People were running in all directions and the gunfire was deafening. Abi didn’t stop to look over her shoulder.
How many were shooting? How many were Thomas Security’s men? How many were Lamberi’s?

  Abi decided it didn’t matter.

  She needed to focus on themselves and with Rachel and now Reed by her side, their chances had just greatly increased.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Reed said as he flung open a door. Rachel didn’t hesitate as she ran into the darkness. Abi followed, and it took more than a few minutes for her eyes to adjust. James had said they’d chosen this location for a reason—for the exit possibilities—but Abi hadn’t fully realized the extent of the exit possibilities.

  The back of the kitchen had led into a maze of tunnels not unlike those underneath the palace, but Abi quickly realized she didn’t like tunnels without Asher. She felt claustrophobic and she hated the darkness that seemed to seep into her lungs, making it hard to breathe. Or perhaps it was fear that was suffocating her; Abi didn’t know.

  “Let’s go!” Reed said, grabbing Rachel’s hand. Rachel had Abi’s hand and they ran ahead. Reed had a small flashlight—he had obviously been prepared for this—but the light it provided was minimal. Abi didn’t think that was an accident, as it was just enough power to light their path but not enough to light up the tunnel and potentially alert their enemies they were coming until it was too late for them to react.

  Abi’s ankle was throbbing and it felt like it had doubled in size, but she didn’t stop to check. She blocked out the pain because she knew the pain of being taken by Lamberi would be much greater. She thought of the white pill in her pocket, and what she and James hadn’t spoken about. If she didn’t take the pill before ninety-six hours, she’d likely never have the chance. And if she took it too early, he might come for her and find she’d already killed herself.

  As they ran through the dark tunnel, Abi decided she wouldn’t take that pill. But if the opportunity came, she would hide it, and remember exactly where she placed it. If she was still there a few weeks later, she’d take it if she could get to it.

  Abi heard footsteps in the tunnel and they were moving fast. In the darkness she felt disoriented, and she wasn’t sure if the footsteps were ahead of or behind them. She didn’t know who they belonged to, but given that Reed’s pace had quickened, she assumed they didn’t belong to Thomas Security.