“Of course,” Cole said. “I can send all of that information to you. I just want to know what happened that my niece was nabbed so quickly. It just seems uncharacteristic of you and your company.”
“The fucking FBI decided to get involved when a rogue agent made it a personal mission to find Miss Cole,” Cade said. “We think there’s someone from the government feeding Marino information.”
There was a pause on the other end before Cole said, “Ah. So, that’s why the FBI is suddenly involved in this. Miles, you were a bit cryptic over the last few messages about why you started working with them. I’m assuming that our deal still holds?”
“Yes,” Bryant replied. “You work with Gray Tower and the FBI to get Miss Cole back and try to bust Marino, and you can disappear with no charges as long as you stay the hell away from any more of this mess.”
“Consider me retired after this,” Cole said solemnly. There was a pause before Cole continued. “Let me talk to the suit who’s listening in right now.”
Paul cringed. He wasn’t sure why Cole wanted to talk to him directly, but he knew it wasn’t going to be good.
“Yes, Mr. Cole?” Paul said cautiously.
“Hello,” Cole’s voice cut in. “Before you say anything, I’d like to know who I’m talking to.”
“I am Special Agent Paul Anderson with the FBI,” Paul told him.
There was a long, uncomfortable pause at the end of the line.
Then, Cole asked, “What did you say your name was again?”
Fuck, this wasn’t just Peter Cole, the infamous arms dealer, Paul realized. This was Peter Cole, Ashlen’s uncle.
At that moment, Paul knew that Cole had recognized his name. He cringed at what would come next.
“Special Agent Paul Anderson,” he repeated and then held his breath.
“Paul Anderson, like my niece’s ex-fiancé?” Cole cut in. “Like the asshole who broke my little girl’s heart? That Paul Anderson? Or is this a different guy?”
Paul could feel all eyes in the room turn on him. He felt one pair in particular burning into him. Cade looked as if he were going to reach across the table and strangle him. The glare was so intense that Paul had to look away.
“That would be me,” Paul said, trying to steady his voice while he ignored the dangerous looks from Cade.
There was an uncomfortably long pause on the other end of the line. Paul loosened his tie a bit.
Finally, Cole replied, “You know, if the well-being of my niece wasn’t in question here, I’d refuse to work with you. But since she’s in danger, if you promise that your intentions are pure, I’ll go along with this.”
“I promise, sir,” Paul replied and let out a controlled sigh.
He could still feel Cade glaring at him.
“I got a message from Marino a few hours ago, threatening my niece if I did not deliver the shipment,” Cole continued. “I finally have said shipment after a huge delay. None of this should have ever happened in the first place.”
Bryant frowned and asked, “Do you know who was in charge of delivering the shipment to you? Why the delay?”
“The delivery was bounced around through a few different organizations before settling on a group called the Black Mark. Even after that, they took forever in their delivery.”
Paul watched as a few nervous glances were exchanged around the table. What was he missing?
“The Black Mark?” Paul questioned.
“My apologies, Agent Anderson,” Bryant said. “They’re a little outside of your area of the U.S. The Black Mark is a shadow organization that operates along the southeastern part of the country. We’ve had our eyes on them for a while now.”
Paul scratched the back of his head, trying to wrap his mind around this new information. There were a lot of criminal organizations that he knew of. He assumed that he knew all the big ones, but that wasn’t the case here. Then, it hit him.
“Why not just work with the Black Mark directly?” He asked.
“Most businesses want to eliminate the middleman,” Cole began. “But in my line of business, people like Marino feel better if someone like me deals with the shadier side of things. It’s more expensive but less messy for them.”
“You know you’re a shady bastard, right?” Hunter spoke up.
For once, Paul had to agree with the man. Peter Cole was a creep.
“I know,” Cole said, fessing up. “I’m trying to make right. I went too far, and now my niece is in danger.”
“You’re damned right you went too far,” Cade spoke up.
Bryant cleared his throat and said, “Let’s focus on our new objectives: sabotaging the shipment, getting it to Marino, and using that as an in to infiltrate the warehouse where we think he’s keeping Ms. Cole.”
“Absolutely,” Cole said. “I’m in the next county over. Meet me by Belmont Abbey College in one hour. I’ll be in a parking lot with my truck. I’ll send you the directions. And Miles, tell the FBI no funny business.”
“You have my word,” Bryant said solemnly.
With that, the phone call ended. Paul looked at the other men around the table.
“I believe that Belmont Abbey College is not far from here. It shouldn’t take that long,” he told them.
“I know,” Bryant replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “My men will take you there. The sooner we get this mission started, the better.”
“Agreed,” Paul said, eying Cade who was still glaring at him.
Yeah, this was going to be a fun operation.
Chapter 21
Mercer had remained as calm as possible when he had heard that Anderson had been Ashlen’s ex-fiancé. He had remained level-headed when Cole had mentioned that Anderson had broken her heart. However, now that the meeting was over and they were heading over to the meet-up spot, he wasn’t sure if he could remain so calm.
“You never mentioned to me that you were engaged to her,” Mercer said quietly as he, Hunter, and Anderson drove to the designated location.
It felt as though a storm was brewing within him.
“I didn’t think it was relevant…or any of your business,” Anderson replied.
“At this moment in time,” Mercer growled, “Ashlen is my business. And I frankly did not like hearing Cole mention that you broke her heart.”
There was an odd look on Anderson’s face.
Then he replied, “Look, Cade, Ashlen and I had some issues when we were engaged. She called it off. That’s that. It doesn’t mean I don’t care about her or still love her. I do still love her. However, if you’re so concerned about someone breaking her heart, you can look in the fucking mirror. Because I’m pretty certain that you weren’t planning on settling down with her after you fucked her.”
Anderson’s words punched through Mercer’s heart like a knife. How the man knew that they had slept together was beyond him. Was it that obvious how much Mercer cared for her?
At first, Mercer was ready to punch the man’s face in, but after a moment of thinking about what Anderson had said, he was suddenly hit with a tremendous amount of guilt. Mercer had fucked Ashlen without any intention of sticking around for her. Yeah, he cared for her. Hell, he was in love with her. But at the end of all of this, Mercer knew he couldn’t provide Ashlen with what she needed. He was a broken-down marine with emotional issues. He couldn’t be the man she desperately wanted him to be.
So, he was going to wind up just like Anderson: breaking her heart.
Anderson must have known that he had hit a nerve with Mercer because he continued, “Ashlen has needs, Cade. It goes beyond sexual. She needs a provider, someone who will take care of her. She needs someone who will commit to marriage. Hell, she wants to have kids one day. Do you think you’re father material?
“I admire you for your service to the United States, Cade. I can’t say that I approve of your current job, but I understand why you do it. But really, do you think you’re in any position right now to give her what she needs?”
<
br /> Mercer turned his head from the agent and winced. His mind flashed back to that fateful day when he had lost his men. If he couldn’t even take care of his men, how would he take care of a wife…a child?
Anderson was right: Mercer was not right for Ashlen. When this was all over, he would have to let her go.
“Can you two knock it the fuck off?” Jack spoke up. “We’ve got a mission ahead of us, and I’d rather my guys not be in the middle of a pissing match.”
Mercer, Anderson, Hunter, and a few other Gray Tower agents had been driving in the back of a windowless van to the meet-up site. Though Mercer had thought the conversation had been quiet enough, he should have known that Hunter didn’t miss much.
“Understood,” Mercer said, trying to push thoughts of Ashlen out of his mind.
She was depending on him to be at his best. He needed to be on point.
✽ ✽ ✽
Ashlen had somehow been able to fall asleep, despite being so incredibly frightened by her situation. She supposed that her body was so banged up from the kidnapping that it was forcing her to sleep in order to heal. Her dreams were frantic and disturbing. She dreamed of that man raping her and of Mercer coming to rescue her but being shot dead. She had also dreamed of Paul coming for her, but as he was on the verge of getting to her, he was distracted by some other woman, though Ashlen hadn’t recognized her.
She woke up upset and frustrated.
And then she realized the gravity of her situation.
She rolled off the mattress and crawled to the toilet. Her neck hurt so badly, and her head pounded. Her stomach felt so awful that she tried to throw up in the dirty bowl. But since she hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in so long, all she could do was dry heave.
Rolling away from the toilet, she pulled herself up from the floor and to the sink. Her hands fumbled as she tried to turn on the faucet. The water that came out was brown at first but finally turned clear. She splashed her face with the water, trying to feel at least a little better. The water did feel good, but her body still felt awful. She slumped down to the ground, her head resting against the counter of the sink, and sobbed.
It was only a few moments later that Ashlen heard the locking mechanism on the door click. Then, the door swung open, revealing the large, bald man who had fondled her breasts earlier and another man. The other man looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him. He wasn’t wearing a grimy jacket and jeans like the bald man. He was wearing a well-tailored, designer suit that put the one that Paul had worn that day to shame. He had well-styled dirty-blonde hair and piercing dark brown eyes. This man exuded wealth from his presence.
“Hello, Miss Cole,” the man said. His voice was smooth and low. “I apologize for the accommodations, but if your uncle had maintained his part of the bargain, this would not be necessary.”
It was then that everything clicked.
This was Bruce Marino. She had seen him on the cover of magazines before for all his charitable contributions. If only the public knew what he was really like.
When Ashlen remained silent, Marino continued, “Now, Miss Cole, if you want to stay unharmed, I suggest you cooperate.”
He walked over to where she sat on the floor and held out a cellphone.
“Your uncle wants to talk to you.”
Ashlen gripped the cellphone in shaking hands. She could barely hold the stupid thing.
Holding the phone up to her ear, her voice squeaked out, “Hello?”
“Ash,” the concerned voice came from the other side. “Please let me know that you’re okay.”
“Uncle Pete,” she murmured. She could barely keep her voice above a shaky whisper. “Please come get me. I’m scared.”
“I know, sweetheart,” he tried to reassure her. “We’re coming for you.”
“We’re?” She asked softly, her hopes rising slightly.
She hoped that Mercer would be with him. She wanted him to hold her so badly that she ached.
Before her uncle could reply, Marino tried to snatch the cellphone away from her. When she realized that it was her only lifeline out of there, she tried to hold onto it longer. Angering, Marino slapped the phone out of her hand and then backhanded her across the face. The pain was sharp and blinding. She fell over and hunched into a ball on the floor.
“Stupid little bitch!” Marino yelled. “Always trying to take more than you should have—just like your uncle. I’m kind of hoping that your uncle is late on his shipment because I think I’m going to have the first go at you, just to teach you a lesson. It’s not like you’re that bad looking.” When she started sobbing, he continued, “Oh don’t worry, I’ll be the best man who’s ever taken you. You’ll be begging for me when I’m done with you.”
With that, Marino turned and strolled out of the room. The bald man sneered at her and took his hand to his crotch and rubbed it vigorously before leaving. The door slammed shut, and the locking mechanism clicked to signify that the door was locked. All Ashlen could do was shake and cry.
Her face hurt so badly where Marino had slapped her. She was dizzy and so extremely tired. She hadn’t eaten since Mercer had cooked her breakfast the previous morning. Ashlen could almost laugh; it seemed to be so long ago when she had been in the cabin with him. Now, everything had turned upside down.
Before she slipped off into unconsciousness, she realized that Marino would never let her leave alive, regardless of what her uncle did. She had seen him. Therefore, she could implicate him in all of this. She was basically dead. Unless she was rescued soon, she was fucked.
✽ ✽ ✽
Mercer was sitting in the back of the van with the rest of the team. It was time to go and meet up with Peter Cole. He had spent a considerable amount of the drive worrying about Ashlen. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through right now, and he blamed himself for whatever she was being put through right now. It had been his job to protect her, and he had failed miserably.
Before they filed out of the back, Anderson turned to him and said, “I was hoping to pick things up with Ashlen when this is all finished.”
Mercer grimaced in his seat but said nothing. He had already decided that once Ashlen was safe, he would leave her life. He didn’t deserve her, and she didn’t need him complicating things more. Yeah, he would have to break her heart, but he didn’t have to prolong the inevitable. As jealous as it made him feel to think about Anderson with Ashlen, Mercer knew it had to be. He just couldn’t provide for her as a stable FBI agent could.
“I won’t stop you,” Mercer murmured, rubbing the parallel scars on his face.
As much as an ass Pretty Boy Anderson seemed to be and as much as Mercer couldn’t stand the man, Anderson was probably a good match for Ashlen. Mercer felt jealousy and possession fill him until he could almost burst, yet he was willing to give her up so that she could have the life that she deserved, one that Mercer could not provide.
“Good,” Anderson said, nodding his head.
Anderson knew he had won. Mercer knew that Anderson had forced him into realizing where he stood with Ashlen; Mercer was just a lover, nothing more.
Mercer directed his attention back to the mission and pushed Ashlen out of his mind. Despite the back of the van being windowless, there were security cameras around all sides that allowed the occupants in the back to see everything. They had pulled off the highway into the small town of Belmont.
The beautifully haunting architecture of Belmont Abbey College loomed upon them. The van turned into a vacant parking lot and was put in park, the engine still running.
“We have a surveillance team getting in place right now,” Jack Hunter said, swinging around from his chair to look at Mercer.
Mercer nodded but said nothing. It would be a long, tense wait until Cole showed up. And then, the real fun would begin.
At four in the morning, no one bothered with the place. They waited for a while in silence. So far, it looked like Cole was not holding up his side of the deal.
Suddenly, Hunter held a finger to his lips and murmured something inaudible to another person on the team.
“Surveillance says there’s a semi coming,” he finally told Mercer.
Shifting in his seat, Mercer nodded. It only took a few moments before a white semi pulling a trailer drove up next to them. The truck stopped, and a man stepped out of it.
Hunter gave the order for everyone to move out. Mercer and the rest of the team complied, moving out to the crisp night air. The surveillance van would continue to keep eyes on them to make sure Cole didn’t pull any funny business.
Mercer recognized the man immediately when he stepped out of the car. Peter Cole had a remarkable family resemblance to Ashlen. He was just an older, male version of her in a lot of ways. He had the same light blonde hair that she did—only cut short with a dash of gray to it that made it look washed-out. His eyes were the same blue as hers.
Cole nodded in their direction as the team spanned out like a well-oiled machine and got to their places around Cole. Anderson held up the back as he was just along for the ride. This was Gray Tower’s mission now. There would be no more FBI fuck-ups.
“I’m glad to see you all,” Cole said casually.
Hunter walked up to him and extended his hand.
“I’m Jack Hunter. I’ll be overseeing this operation.”
“Miles tells me you’re the best,” Cole stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
“He’s right,” Hunter confirmed. “My team and I will complete this mission successfully.”
It was then that Hunter went around the group and did very brief introductions, including Mercer, Hale, and Anderson.
His eyes searched around the area before stopping at Anderson. Cole shook his head and mumbled, “Agent Anderson.”
Mercer watched as Anderson stiffened but said nothing. He had been told—no, commanded—not to do anything without being directly told to.
“I was in contact with Marino again,” Cole told the group. “He let me talk to Ashlen for a few moments as a way to let me know he means business.” Cole shook his head. “She’s in big trouble. I heard Marino abusing her already at the end of the call…That’s his way of punishing me for not following through with the deal in the first place.”
Perilous Games (Gray Tower Book 3) Page 17