by April Hunt
“Showtime.” Cade hustled to open the back door, located on the far end of the break room.
“About damn time.” Grace stood, teeth chattering as she stepped inside. “Another minute and my eyelashes would’ve adhered to my eyebrows.”
“Didn’t think I’d have to practically bribe the kid to take the night off. The blocker’s up. You got Rhett’s access card?”
She tugged it out of her back pocket. “Yep. Let’s hope this is our golden ticket. Where’s this door?”
“Over here.” He led her over to the shelving unit and slid it aside easily.
“How very Sherlock Holmes. I’d be impressed if I wasn’t a little worried what Rossbach’s keeping down here.” As Grace swiped the badge over the scanner, they both held their breath until the red light flickered and turned to a solid green. The door unlocked with a heavy whoosh.
“Like magic.” Cade handed her the second flashlight from his belt loop. “Do you want to lead the way or should I?”
Grace gave the dark void a less than thrilled look and stepped aside. “Please. Feel free. If the monster beneath the stairs grabs you first, I’ll have time to get away.”
Cade snorted and flicked on his light. “Watch your step.”
The stairs creaked ominously as they descended. Cobwebs clung to the support beams over their heads, one catching in Grace’s hair.
She batted it away, wrinkling her nose. “One thing Rossbach and Winston definitely weren’t doing down here was spring cleaning. I don’t think this place has seen a dustpan in about ten years. Maybe longer.”
Reaching the bottom floor, Cade scanned his flashlight around the large room. It was as big down here as it was upstairs, except without the post-fab walls dissecting the place into smaller sections.
Grace nodded to their left. “Let’s divvy up. Start on the far ends and work our way to the inside.”
“Sounds good to me.” Cade went right. Boxes stacked two or three high were tucked into corners, some tightly sealed but others overflowing with coats and clothes. “What the hell are Rossbach and Winston doing down here in this mold trap? Organizing a clothing drive?”
“I think I found your answer,” Grace said from across the room. “You need to get over here. Now.”
The urgency in her voice had him hustling over to where she stood in front of a large table. Topographic maps and building blueprints littered the surface. He picked one up. “None of this makes sense. This map’s from some rural area in Texas, and this blueprint is for a residential condo complex. If he’s angling to make some kind of big terroristic statement, targeting soft spots like these ones aren’t going to do the trick.”
“He’s not going for big. He’s going for personal.” Grace brushed past him, her attention focused on something on their left. “Cade.”
“Yeah? We running out of time?” He rummaged through the small stack of additional blueprints, trying to find some kind of link from one to the other.
“We aren’t, but someone is, and it looks like a few people have already reached their expiration dates.”
“What do you me—?” His gaze caught on the board she was studying.
It almost looked like the murder board they made during the Cupid Killer case. They’d used an entire wall in the department meeting room and pinned up collected data and information, even pictures and relationships of all the BCK victims. It was a visual way to see everything in one spot instead of having it tucked away in multiple files.
This was different.
Six eight-by-ten photographs were pinned up in a row. All appeared centered around a different lone figure. And all but the last two images were marked with blaring red X’s.
“Is this what I think it is?” Cade asked.
“If you’re thinking it’s a hit list? Yeah. Pretty sure we found out what Rossbach’s Elite Guards do for him when they’re on the Outside.” She dug a camera from her coat pocket and went down the line, snapping pictures. “These guys are all wearing different military uniforms, and you’re more of an expert than me, but they look dated. I don’t think these are too recent.”
Cade studied the three pictures already crossed off. “Good eye. The first one’s Navy. The second one is definitely Army. And the third is a Marine. And if I had to make a guess, I’d say they’re all about twenty years old. Rossbach wasn’t even in the military, so how would he have crossed paths with any of these men? And what the hell could they have done to him that would’ve signed their death warrants?”
“If you want me to list all the reasons, I’ll be here all day. They could’ve looked at him wrong, or failed to give him the respect he believes he deserves. But my guess is it’s more personal.” Grace aimed her flashlight on the fourth pic, and Rhett’s profile came into view.
“Bet Rossbach threw that one up after Rhett escaped.”
“Because if he wanted to, Rhett could easily destroy everything he’s worked for.” Grace paused at the fifth picture and made a noncommittal grunt. “This picture’s not as clear as the others. It’s further away.”
Cade shifted down to the fifth image.
She was right. Taken from a distance, and at an angle that didn’t give more than a half-ass side view, there was no identifying the person’s face. The only thing that could be seen at all was the back edge of a military-grade Jeep…and a hell of a lot of sand.
Instead of a red X, the second-to-last image was marked up with a large—and literal—question mark. “He doesn’t know this one’s identity.”
“But he knows the last one.” Grabbing Cade’s hand, Grace drew him closer to the last pinned target.
His mind slowly registered the familiar face staring back at him.
Like the others, it was dated, probably at least twenty-five or more odd years old, but he’d recognize those blue eyes anywhere. Hell, he saw them every time he looked at himself in the mirror.
It was Hogan Wilcox.
His father.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Grace had known Rossbach’s room of mystery wouldn’t be an immersive shrine to early nineties boy bands, but she hadn’t expected to find a half-completed hit list either. Or that she’d know two people on it.
As they’d made their way back to the cabin to pick up Sarah, Grace had watched Cade carefully.
His relationship with Hogan Wilcox—if it could be called that—was tumultuous at best and nonexistent at worst. But it wasn’t for lack of trying on the former Chief of Staff’s part. Grace expected that the reason the retired Army General became Steele Ops’s financial backer was to rebuild the connection he’d lost when he left Cade, Zoey, and their mother.
Zoey had slowly accepted the former general’s reappearance over the last couple months. Cade not so much.
At the mention of Wilcox, he shut down, making Roman look talkative by comparison. And Grace didn’t have room to complain about the tight lips. She wasn’t much better when it came down to talking about the woman who gave birth to her, but it didn’t negate the fact that she wanted Cade to talk about it.
To her.
Eventually.
Right now they had a vice president’s daughter to kidnap.
With a silent timeclock ticking away, they found Sarah right where they left her. Seeing them, she sat straighter, her eyes narrowing in on them in hatred.
“If you don’t like the handcuffs, then you shouldn’t have plotted the world’s downfall,” Grace chided, not in the mood for the drama. She crouched down to her level. “We’re going to go for a little walk. You’re not going to run. You’re not going to cause a scene. And you are going to stay on your own two feet. I don’t want to drag you through the snow, but I will if I have to. You got it?”
Despite the death-ray glare she gave her, Sarah nodded.
Grace secured a second pair of handcuffs around her wrists before unlocking the first set and helping her get to her feet.
Cade came around the corner, one of their bug-out bags in ha
nd. “All set to get back to reality.”
They stepped out from the bathroom when someone knocked on the door.
“Grace?” A familiar deep voice called from the other side. Simon Reynolds knocked again, making the entire front door rattle. “I’m looking for Sarah. You seen her around?”
With quick reflexes, Grace secured Sarah’s gag into place. “Do not make a noise or this will end badly for someone. Do you hear me?” She caught Cade’s eyes and mouthed, “What do we do?”
“Back window.”
Each taking one of Sarah’s arms, they veered toward the far wall, where a small single-pane window barely let in a ray of moonlight.
“That’s gonna be a tight fit. Are you sure you’re going to be able to get through?” Grace asked.
“We’ll make do. You first, and then I’ll send our special package down to you. And I know I don’t have to express to you how quiet you need to be…”
“And yet you felt the need to mention it.” Grace tucked Magdalena back in her holster and nudged the window up, grimacing when it let out a hearty screech.
Simon Reynolds’s shadow could be seen pacing through the slat beneath the front door, and it paused before he knocked again. “Grace!”
“Go,” Cade urged. “Light and quick.”
Grace sucked in a groan as she hoisted herself through the window. The wood frame bit into her fingers, making her realize that she’d taken off her gloves to handle the handcuffs. It was too late to go back for them now.
Ignoring the splinters gouging into her palm, she swung her leg over the edge and counted to three before plummeting the five feet to the ground. Her knees buckled from impact, but she stayed upright, looking up just as Cade struggled to get an uncooperative Sarah through the same window.
Grimacing, Cade held on to the young woman’s arms and slowly eased her down. She squirmed and kicked at the back wall, jarring his shoulders.
“Just drop her,” Grace whispered. “I’ll catch her.”
Sarah twisted. Her gag dislodged, and she immediately whipped her head—and her mouth—toward Cade’s arm. And bit.
“Fuckin’ A.” Cade cursed. “She bit me!”
“Simon!” Sarah screeched.
“Let go!” Grace ordered. “Now!”
Cade dropped Sarah into her arms. Grace immediately stifled her screams with her hands as Cade quickly flung himself through the window and retied the gag firmly into place. “There’s no way he didn’t hear that.”
On cue, voices drifted their way from around the corner of the cabin.
Cade tossed Grace their sat phone and hoisted their squirming cargo over his shoulder. “You better ring the guys and tell them that we’re coming in hot—and with a few friends. And do it while your lovely ass runs as fast as it can.”
* * *
If he hadn’t been concerned about the sound of barking dogs closing in on them, Cade would have marveled at Grace’s speed. She charged through the underbrush, paving their way off this damn mountain, their hope for a quiet extraction long gone.
His hand throbbed from where the vice president’s daughter nearly bit through his tactical glove, but he wasn’t about to make another rookie mistake. Hell, they couldn’t afford it, because he was a thousand percent certain Simon Reynolds and his Elite Guard buddies were the ones on their tail.
No way did he want to stick around and see how well trained they were or weren’t.
Grace glanced at the handheld GPS and nodded toward a familiar snow-covered rise. “This way.”
Digging her hands into the dirt, she pulled her way up the embankment until a large shadow hovered over them, extending a hand.
“About damn time you showed up to the party. Food’s getting cold.” Tank yanked Grace up the last two feet before taking a squirming Sarah Brandt out of Cade’s hands.
“Careful. She bites.”
Tank chuckled. “Good to know. Guess she wasn’t up for coming along quietly, huh?”
“Damn near lost my fingers,” Cade complained. “Funny how all that New Dawn complacency flew right out the window.”
“Rexie smells something,” someone shouted in the distance. “This way!”
“Fuck.”
“Change in plans.” Tank passed Sarah back to Cade, snatching the hat on her head. “Head south. Roman’s waiting with a few supplies. I’ll lay a false trail for the pooches to pick up, and then I’ll meet up with you guys later.”
“You sure separating right now’s a smart idea?”
The faraway voice shouted, this time a little closer.
Cade cursed. “Okay, yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
Tank flashed a wink and took off, heading in the opposite direction to the one they needed to go. This time, Cade took the lead.
His boots slipped on the slick ground, making the mile trek down toward the valley more than a little interesting. When they reached the rolling river that bisected the two mountains, he let out a soft sigh of relief.
Grace braced her hands on her knees and panted, each heaving breath creating a steam cloud around her head. “We lost them, but I don’t know how long that’s going to last.”
“Hopefully long enough to get off this damn mountain. We have about another mile before we meet up with Ro.”
“Fuck, I’m never going to feel warm again. I think my organs are turning to ice.”
Cade chuckled as they walked downstream. “It’ll be my personal mission to warm you back up again the second we’re alone. And speaking of our lack of privacy right now, someone got awfully docile. Can you check her?”
She peeked under Sarah’s head of hair. “She passed out…probably from the rush of blood flow to her head.”
“Can’t say that I’m sorry about that…but what I can say with one hundred percent certainty is that I’m going to have to buy one of those doughnut cushions, because my ass is one big black-and-blue.”
“There goes that idea I had for later.”
Cade smirked, about to tease back when something snapped in the distance. They both froze, and they heard it again. Cade lifted his finger to his mouth and nodded Grace left, away from the riverbank.
Simon Reynolds’s voice echoed through the trees, “It’s cute how you think we’re going to let you get off this mountain.”
Grace tugged Cade behind a fallen log. Ten yards away, the Elite Guard slowly stalked through the forest. Cade scanned the area and didn’t see anyone else. Reynolds was alone.
“I know you were in the PC basement. I know what you saw. Hell, I was the one who planned out each one of those kills right down to clean-up.” Simon chuckled. “Man, what a rush. There’s nothing like the feeling of righteousness when you know you’re about to correct a wrong, or the look of pure desperation when the other person realizes they’re about to pay for their misdeeds.”
Reynolds stepped through the thicket, not trying to be quiet. “And speaking of misdeeds. You two snuck downstairs before I could update our little board. There’s one more red X to go with the others.”
Reynolds stopped fifteen yards away and scanned the area around him. “When was the last time you saw your buddy Rhett, Grace? I bet it was a while ago, right?”
Grace sucked in a breath, and Cade reached out, squeezing her fingers.
“Now that was a retribution that had been a long time in the making.”
A gunshot erupted. Cade pushed Grace down, but the bullet flew wide over their heads, colliding with the tree to Simon’s right. He whipped around, and brought his own gun up, shooting wild. Someone drilled another barrage of bullets into the ground right in front of his feet.
He stepped back.
Another round of bullets pushed him backward even more as dirt and snow sprayed up, hitting him in the face. His back foot, landing on a slick moss-coated river rock, slipped out from under him. Reynolds’s arms flailed as he fought for balance, but it didn’t work. He teetered backward and tumbled ass-first into the rushing river.
Two
seconds after the splash came the goose call.
Grace dropped her head onto Cade’s leg and laughed. “Oh, my God. Those two and their damn goose calls.”
“You may want to put a little hustle in your bustle, kids, because our little firefight’s only going to bring the asshat’s friends that much faster,” Roman’s voice called out.
Grace trudged up to her cousin and planted a noisy kiss on his cheek. “Don’t tell the others, but you’re officially my favorite.”
“You mean I wasn’t before?” Roman teased dryly before breaking out into a grin.
Tank joined them, surprisingly out of breath for the former Special Forces operator, and reached to take Sarah’s load off Cade’s shoulder. “I hate to break up this reunion, but I don’t know how long those pups are going to be fooled.”
“I can’t go back to DC.” Grace’s protest turned all their heads.
“Grace—” Roman interjected.
“Yes, you can,” Tank said in unison.
Grace spun around to Cade, those gorgeous—and determined—brown eyes drilling into his. “I can’t. I need to make sure Rhett’s okay.”
“Reynolds could’ve been playing you to try and get you to react. Rhett’s picture wasn’t crossed off.”
“That doesn’t mean they didn’t get to him. They’ve been back less than a day. Maybe they didn’t have the time to mark it up.” Grace dropped their bug-out bag by her feet and started rummaging through it, pulling out an extra flashlight and a bottle of water. “I can go myself. Take Sarah and head back with Roman and Tank. That way you can check on your dad.”
“Like fucking hell am I leaving you alone on this mountain—or alone period with those New Dawn assholes out there,” Cade growled.
Her brown eyes snapped up to his.
“Don’t throw those pretty brown-eyed daggers at me,” he protested.
“I’d be throwing real ones at you if I had any in my possession.”
She probably would. He was grateful Roman’s favorite throwing knives were probably tucked away and out of her reach.
“Do you seriously think it’s a good idea to go traipsing up a booby-trapped mountain in the middle of the night?” Cade pleaded to her common sense.