by Trish Loye
Missions had been used by someone as a cover to sell secrets.
Someone who was connected to the CIA.
Someone who now had a list of all the agents in Russia.
And that someone knew everything going on in his team.
He looked around the SUV. Mack, Dante, Lexi, and himself. They’d left Phil to deal with the scene. The only two left were the team’s CIA agents.
Edworthy and Tony.
“Lexi, any luck with Edworthy or Tony?”
“No.” She pulled out her laptop. “I’m going to track their phones.”
“Track Sutton’s too.”
A moment later, Lexi looked up. “Something’s weird. Edworthy and Sutton are at her sister’s place, according to their phones. But Tony isn’t there.”
“Where is he?”
“That’s it. I can’t find him. His phone is completely shut down.”
A vise-grip clamped down on his chest, making it hard to breathe. He had a really bad feeling. “ETA, Dante.”
“Five minutes.”
Fuck. He had a really bad feeling. “Make it three.”
“Wilco.”
The vehicle jerked forward and they accelerated around the next corner, just missing a passing truck. Within three minutes, the SUV screeched to a stop in front of a small, two-story house. Ryan was out and running toward it before he consciously thought about what he was doing. Dante was right beside him, his weapon out and scanning everywhere, assessing threats. Something Ryan should be doing, but his heart pounded too loud. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Then, a woman with dark hair, clutching a little girl to her, threw open the front door. “Ryan!” she called, waving them inside. Dante passed him and went inside to clear the house.
Ryan stopped on the porch. He’d met Amelia years ago. “What happened, Amelia? Where’s Sutton?”
“He took her. I was outside with Sophie, without my weapon.” She set her daughter down and took a breath as if she remembered her training and was trying to calm herself. “Tall man, mid-thirties, brown hair. He carried Sutton to his car and drove off before I could grab my gun. I have the license plate.”
“Not necessary. We know who he is.” Amelia and her daughter went inside while he stood on the porch, trying to control the anger raging through him. “Lexi,” he called. “Find Tony Wallis.”
Lexi pulled up beside him and opened her laptop right there on the porch. “His phone is off, but his SUV...shit!”
His heart stopped and his thoughts scattered in a moment of panic like he hadn’t felt since before he’d joined the navy. He couldn’t lose Sutton. Not again.
He closed his eyes for the briefest moment, seeking sanity. He was a fucking Navy SEAL commander, not a scared boy. He needed his cold logic, his cunning, and his courage.
He turned to Lexi and kept his voice calm. “You’re the best. You can do this. Find Tony Wallis for me.”
She looked at him with too-wide eyes. “I will.”
Good enough.
He walked into the house. A young girl, maybe seven, waited at the top of the stairs. Tears tracked down her cheeks, but she didn’t move or make a sound. He turned away. She was safe and physically fine. In the living room, an unknown dark-haired man lay in his own blood, his eyes open and unseeing, a wolf tattoo on his neck. Pavel Volkov.
Beside him, lying on his side, was Frank Edworthy. The man’s usually ruddy face was almost white with blood loss, but he still breathed. Barely. Amelia knelt beside him, pressing a towel on the bullet hole in his back, while Dante checked the man’s vitals.
An aura of cool calm overtook him as he assessed the situation. “Mack, could you see to the young girl on the stairs?” he asked.
She nodded and left.
“I called 911,” Amelia said. “They should be here soon.”
“Good,” Ryan said.
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault he has her.” The words burst from her like gunfire.
Ryan moved closer. “What do you mean?”
“When Sutton released me, I ran outside to check on Sophie, and then when I heard gunshots... I...I found her a hiding spot before coming back. I should have come back right away.”
He walked over to Sutton’s sister and laid a hand on her shoulder. “You made sure Sophie was safe.”
“Yes.” Her voice sounded too small.
“If you hadn’t done that, then your daughter might be dead. Or you.” He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “You did what you had to as a mother. You protected your child.”
Amelia bowed her head and her shoulders convulsed once before she lifted her head again. “Save my sister.”
He nodded. God, he wanted to promise her he would, more than anything. He pointed at Edworthy. “Can he speak?”
“A...bit.” Edworthy’s voice was no longer a mix of gravel and gruff. It sounded quiet and weak. “I should...have seen.”
He crouched down. “What did you miss?”
“Over the years...he got colder.” The man shuddered as if the effort of speaking cost him too much, but he kept going. “He started...dating Anna. He seemed to...change. But he...didn’t... He used her...as cover.”
Shit. They’d been searching through Tony and Edworthy’s records when they should have focused on Anna. Tony had used Anna as cover for what he’d done. “And she found out.”
“And killed her,” Mack finished. “It makes sense now.”
Lexi raced in. “Tony turned off his car’s GPS, so I couldn’t track him.” She almost bounced on her toes in her excitement. “But he’s using a CIA vehicle. The idiot didn’t realize we can turn the GPS back on in case the vehicle is stolen.”
“And?” Ryan demanded.
“I’ve got him.”
Ryan stood. I’m coming for you, Sutton.
An ache pulsed in Sutton’s head when she woke. An ache that reverberated in her shoulders, but she didn’t move or even open her eyes. Instead, she took stock of what she knew.
Her wrists were tied together overhead, while her body hung free, her shoulders bearing the brunt of her weight. Her feet touched the floor, thankfully. Cool air raised goose bumps on her skin and carried the taint of diesel fuel.
A garage?
No matter how she strained, she couldn’t hear anything beyond the distant sounds of an occasional car. Was she alone?
She cracked her eyelids and surveyed the dim but large room she was in. A truck with its hood open was parked on the far side. Tools and equipment lined the walls and a stack of tires stood on the concrete floor in the corner.
An industrial garage of some kind. She lifted her head and settled her weight on her feet. She barely smothered a groan as pain ricocheted between her head and shoulders. After a moment, she breathed easier.
Her arms had been pulled up by a large chain attached to a ceiling beam overhead. The chain attached to handcuffs around her wrists. From the numbness in her hands, she’d been hanging for a while, but the light coming in through the high, dirty windows said it wasn’t evening yet.
Did Ryan even know she’d been taken?
She turned slightly to see behind her and barely smothered a gasp. A worktable stood against the closest wall and on it was a neat, rectangular device. Four blocks of C4 with a small detonator and a digital timer attached. The clock read thirty minutes but it hadn’t started a countdown yet.
A door opened behind her and she swung around, something the handcuffs and chain let her do.
Tony Wallis walked into the open space from an interior office. “I’m glad you’re awake,” he said. “Now we can get started.”
She didn’t let any emotion color her voice. “Started?”
“I need to know what you know.”
“Everything,” she said. “And so does the whole team.”
His hand lashed out hard, striking her in the gut. Nausea and pain rolled and fought for dominance inside her. She gasped, but couldn’t get air.
“Bullshit,” he said calmly. “Y
ou only pieced it together when I gave you the info. Who else knows what you know?” A sly smile crossed his face. “Your oh-so-handsome SEAL commander?”
The thought of Tony going after Ryan sent ice spearing through her. “Fuck you.”
“Language.” He struck, using a flat palm to her stomach to cause pain without damage.
She choked on her own air as she gasped through the agony.
“But I’ll take that as a yes.” Tony tapped his chin. “I don’t think anyone else besides you two know, though. You wouldn’t take outsiders into your confidence.”
He walked to the bomb on the table. “Edworthy and Volkov are dead. Marchetti will be so focused on finding you that it will give me time to get away. I know he’ll be trying to track me. I almost hope he figures it out in time to see the fireworks.”
She had to keep him talking; he seemed past reasoning with but it was her only chance at this point. Maybe someone would come for her, but she had to give them time to find her.
“Did you ever have feelings for Anna?” she asked.
This punch sent her spinning and she coughed and choked, trying to get air in. She definitely needed a new tactic.
“I wish I could stay and have more fun,” he said. “But I have a party to get ready for. I have some people who are interested in the information I have.”
“The Russians.” Anger filled her, making her aches diminish. “You gave them secrets. You gave them Anna. And for what? Money?”
He shrugged. “The good life is expensive. And once I started selling secrets...it’s not something you can just stop.”
“You fucking traitor.”
His lip curled. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
“And what does the final list give you? What are you paying for now?”
“A new life. My friends are going to get me out of the country and set me up to start over.”
“I hope they turn on you like you’ve turned on your country.”
“This country did nothing for me.”
“You’re just a coward.”
“I’m not a coward.” He sliced a hand through the air. “I was forced to do this. Everything was fine before Anna interfered.”
“You’re trying to blame Anna? You’re not just a coward—you’re insane too.”
“I don’t expect you to understand.” He walked to the table behind her and waved a hand to indicate the C4 bomb. “I have to go. I’m out of time.” He gave a little laugh. “And soon you will be too.”
He depressed a button and the timer started counting down.
The word please was on the tip of her tongue but she bit it back. She would not beg this man, this coward, for her life. He’d already shown that he wouldn’t listen.
“Do you really think you’re going to get away with this?” she asked.
“I already have,” he said.
She jerked forward, rattling her chains, wishing nothing more than to get her hands on the bastard.
He laughed at her efforts. “I wish I could stay and watch you die.” He checked his watch. “But I don’t want to be anywhere near this place when it blows.” He whistled as he left the garage.
The clock said twenty-seven minutes. She studied her surroundings. The chain was looped around a steel beam overhead and padlocked. Her handcuffs were padlocked to the chain as well. She usually carried a bobby-pin or the universal handcuff key, but she had nothing in her pockets after the last few days of running for her life. And even if she did, it would take major acrobatic skills for her to get it out of her jean’s pocket, something that was beyond her even when she wasn’t battered and exhausted.
She tugged on her handcuffs anyway, knowing it was useless but unable to do anything else as she struggled like a wolf caught in a leg trap. She yanked and pulled and generally abused her wrists hoping to find some weakness in the metal, hoping her hands would somehow shrink so they could fit through the cuffs, wishing she’d been smarter and figured everything out sooner.
“Think, Sutton,” she muttered. She didn’t want to die in some stupid warehouse.
The minutes ticked down. She stopped yanking at the cuffs.
At the ten-minute mark, she let out a deep, heavy sigh. Her wrists and arms throbbed. A bit of blood trickled from scratches around her wrists. It seemed fate had decided her time was up. She hadn’t been smart enough to stop Tony. Instead, she’d ended up strung up, beat up, and about to be blown up. She snorted. A hysterical urge to laugh struck her. What a shitty way to end things.
She hoped Ryan had found Amelia. Hopefully, he’d be able to track down Tony before he escaped the country. She stared at the clock.
Only five minutes left.
Fuck. She did not want to die. She jerked on her chains again and cursed them. She wondered what Ryan was doing. Would he think she’d tried to go it alone? Would he know how much she wanted to wait for backup? For him and his team?
Would he know how much she actually cared about him? Prickling in her eyes made them water. She blinked it back, refusing to end her life full of sobs and regrets. If she couldn’t go out fighting, then she’d go out remembering the good times.
Images from years ago swarmed her mind. Not just of them making love, but of Ryan caressing her face. His smile when she’d done something that amused him. His laugh. Her throat tightened so much she couldn’t swallow, but she refused to give in to the despair of her situation. She’d found happiness once in Ryan’s arms; even if she couldn’t be what he wanted, at least she’d had that time with him. She only wished she could have more.
Two minutes.
Sadness weighed her down and she let it. She hoped Ryan enjoyed his life and didn’t feel guilt when he figured out what had happened to her. He would, though, because he’d believe that he’d failed to protect her.
She should have put the pieces together sooner, but she’d let herself get so distracted by Ryan. None of this was his fault.
She sighed, remembering Ryan’s kiss, and watched the clock tick down.
A door in the far end of the garage banged open. Silence followed.
It must be a rescue! They’d found her, but they didn’t know what they were walking into!
“It’s clear, but there’s a bomb!” she yelled. “There’s less than two minutes.” Before she’d finished yelling, Ryan was in front of her, assessing the situation like the Navy SEAL commander he was. His dark eyes held hers for a second and so many emotions flitted across his face that she couldn’t read them all, until once again the commander stood in front of her.
Dante positioned himself in front of the bomb, studying it.
Ryan pulled a handcuff key from one of his pockets and freed her wrists. “Dante?” he asked.
“Not enough time.”
“Let’s move,” Ryan ordered, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him.
They raced for the door. Her ribs burned with each breath and she tried to pant through the pain. Adrenaline rushed her system. Ryan stayed just behind her, keeping pace. She pushed herself harder, knowing he wouldn’t go any faster than her, even if that meant being blown up by the bomb.
They cleared the door and kept running, racing for the black SUV in the parking lot.
A concussive boom blew out the windows of the garage. Ryan grabbed her from behind and drew her down, shielding her from glass and other debris.
When all she heard was crackling flames, she lifted her head. Ryan gripped her tight in his arms, staring back at the garage. The door had been blown off and she could see the flames inside between billows of black smoke. That same smoke escaped through the broken windows and left dark trails in the sky.
“We’d better get out of here,” Ryan said. “Someone’s going to call this in and we don’t want to be tied up answering police questions.”
He rose to his feet and helped her up as well. She leaned heavily on him, her limbs shaky and her head pounding and swirling.
Ryan slid one hand under her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “A
re you okay?”
She nodded, but she didn’t feel okay. That had been too close. Her stomach roiled with the aftereffects of adrenaline. “I...I will be.” Now that he was here.
Ryan slid an arm around her waist, helping steady her as they walked to the SUV. Once there, Dante got into the driver’s seat, while Ryan slid in next to her in the back. He made sure she buckled up and then kept close to her as Dante started the car.
Normally she’d object to him doing everything for her, but she was almost at her limit and it felt good to be taken care of, to know that someone was there to protect her if she let her guard down. She rested her head on his shoulder and couldn’t resist the urge to cuddle in close.
17
Ryan watched Sutton snuggle up to him, and he battled his urge to crush her to him. He kept his arm loose around her only by extreme force of will. He’d almost lost her and that...that was unthinkable. Sutton shifted as his arm tightened around her. He loosened it and she settled again.
She was safe.
He sighed.
They’d made it just in time and that had been thanks to Lexi’s skill and Dante’s driving. He owed them both a huge debt. One he intended to repay once this was all over. As it was, they nearly hadn’t made it in time. Lexi had stayed at Sutton’s sister’s house and directed them on the phone because she hadn’t wanted to lose cell reception while driving and perhaps lose the signal. When Tony’s car had started moving again thirty minutes ago, he’d made the decision to first check out this garage, rather than follow the car.
Thank God.
He caressed Sutton’s arm and set his lips against her hair, breathing in her scent, rather than squeezing her closer. She may not have told him that she wanted to be with him, but she trusted him and she wanted him. She had loved him once.
God, he wanted her to love him again.
“Where should I take you?” Dante asked from the front seat.
Damn. Their hotel had been compromised. He just wanted to store Sutton somewhere safe and then track down and kill Tony Wallis. But at least Wallis now thought she was dead. He wouldn’t know that she’d escaped. “Suggestions?”
“I’ll take you to my hotel. I know the security and it wouldn’t be odd for you to be seen in my company.”