Expired Hero

by Lisa Phillips

  This was insane.

  And why had she been dragged into the middle of it again?

  Because he thought Stuart cared enough about her that he would value her life more highly than justice, or his freedom. Kaylee didn’t even know if he did care about her that much. He certainly hadn’t told her as such, so she couldn’t know for sure. Maybe the basic value of life anyone had—not wanting an innocent to die. But his whole reason for being in Last Chance was to get that flash drive.

  He wasn’t going to give it up. Kaylee knew he would never be free if he didn’t get the evidence to the right person. And he deserved to be free.

  Just like the people in this town deserved to live.

  Twenty-seven

  Stuart hit the button and hung up the phone. “Silas wants the flash drive in exchange for Kaylee.”

  The men standing around him weren’t at all surprised. Zander sat on the edge of an unoccupied desk. Basuto ran his hands down his face, and Tate reached over to squeeze the back of his fiancé’s neck. Savannah’s lips pressed into a thin line.

  “I’m not qualified for this, but I’m still taking point on a kidnapping involving a woman who works with us.” Basuto stared him down. “We don’t go renegade.” He turned to Tate. “Call the FBI?”

  Tate nodded. “Good idea.” He moved away while sliding out his phone, probably to call his brother-in-law.

  Basuto spun back to him. “Did he say where?”

  “The old train station. I’m supposed to come alone and bring the flash drive. When he verifies its contents, he’ll tell me where to find Kaylee.”

  Zander shook his head.

  Basuto didn’t look much happier.

  Stuart said, “I don’t plan on waiting that long. I want to get her back now.”

  Detective Wilcox leaned back in his chair. “Hmm.”

  Basuto said, “What are you thinking, Savannah?”

  “We could go, set up now. But Nigelson could have eyes on the train station, and maybe that’s why he picked it. So that our commotion would alert him to what’s going on.”

  “I like the idea of an ambush.” Basuto asked, “Any indication he’s working with anyone else?”

  “Other than Trina?” Stuart asked. “No, and we don’t know that they’re level with each other. Could be she’ll jump to betray him, or she’ll spin us a line that has us chasing our tails, and then we lose Kaylee because we were too late.”

  He didn’t like any of those ideas. Zander shot him a commiserating look. Stuart didn’t need camaraderie now, just as he’d never had it before. Brad was his friend and colleague. They had worked together some, but they hadn’t been partners. Stuart never knew what the mission would be. And he never knew if he’d be alone, targeting someone, or working with them.

  It was why he’d kept Brad at arm’s length. Until they were captured together, and he started to care about the outcome. For both of them.

  Emotions weren’t good. They only compromised his judgment and made him care too much when what he needed was logic. Logic was what would get Kaylee back and enable him to keep hold of the flash drive for the sake of justice. Justice, and making sure both he and Brad—and Kaylee as well—got to live the rest of their lives in peace.

  There would be time for emotions later.

  “I want to talk to Trina.” Stuart asked Savannah, “Can you take the train station, work with Basuto, and make a plan for grabbing Silas if it comes to that?” He’d rather it didn’t, but if he couldn’t find Kaylee in time, they would need a Plan B.

  Basuto didn’t look especially happy but nodded his approval to the detective.

  She got up, grabbed her backpack, and strode out.

  Stuart turned to Zander. “You and Ted have the flash drive. After I talk to Trina, I’m going to get Kaylee.”

  Zander said, “When this is done, we need to sit Ted down and make him talk.”

  “Why?”

  “Something’s up.” Zander shrugged. “He claims he’s too busy to talk about it.”

  “But he’s been using that excuse for three months now.”

  Zander nodded.

  Basuto shifted his weight. “One problem at a time?” When they both nodded, the sergeant said, “Conroy needs to get back to work as soon as he can.”

  Stuart figured the police chief felt the same way, and that was why he didn’t say anything but, “Trina?”

  “So long as your conversation is in English.”

  Zander said, “I’ll observe with you, Sergeant. If there’s any Russian, I’ll translate.”

  Basuto glanced between Stuart and Zander. “Does everyone except me speak Russian?”

  Stuart shrugged.

  “Let’s go.” Zander pushed off the desk and stood. “I don’t want to leave Ted by himself with those files much longer.”

  Basuto led the way, glancing back over his shoulder. “You’re really worried about him?”

  “Something’s up. It’s making him nervous, but he won’t say what it is.”

  Stuart nodded. “He’s been like that for a few weeks now.”

  Basuto had them wait in the observation room while he brought Trina in. She looked like a cat locked in a crate who just knew something horrible was about to happen. In a second, the claws would be out, and she would be slashing away. It was clear Basuto had no intention of getting cut.

  When Stuart walked in and shut the door so that it was just the two of them—with Zander and Basuto watching through the glass—he didn’t move to the table. She was cuffed to a ring on the surface. She didn’t look at him. Her hair fell to the sides of her face, disguising her expression.

  As he walked to the table, her dark eyes tracked him.

  He decided to lean against the wall beside the glass so Zander and Basuto had a clear view of her. The fact it was out of spitting range was a huge bonus.

  “They’re outsourcing interrogations now? Seems strange one of my victims is here to take my statement.”

  Stuart shook his head. “I’m not here about you terrorizing Kaylee. Though, we’ll be talking about that. Rest assured.”

  She flashed a grin of white teeth in her haggard expression. “Can’t wait.”

  “You said your dad is Russian.”

  “Da.”

  “Nice. Really sells it.” He said, “Too bad just any ‘ol person can learn any language on an app. Doesn’t mean your heritage is any different, regardless of how well you sell it.”

  He was more interested in the fact she’d told him her dad taught her how to kill. How to hide. That was the information he needed right now. Namely, where Silas would have taken Kaylee to wait out the deal. A place no one would be able to find her.

  “Yeah.” Trina shrugged one shoulder. “He’s probably just one of those founders. Not a foreign intelligence agent hiding here for years. Because the fact none of y’all noticed would be pretty shameful, right?”

  “Not if he’s good.” Stuart would be irritated he hadn’t noticed something about the old man, but it wasn’t like he’d have guessed, “Russian sleeper agent.” If that was what Silas really was. He said, “I wasn’t looking for him. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got kind of a lot on my plate right now.”

  “Poor you. Least you’re not in jail.”

  “They offer you a deal yet—some kind of break in sentencing in exchange for cooperation?”

  “Why? You gonna do that?”

  “I have no authorization to do so.” He figured Basuto was freaking out behind the glass. “I’m not a cop or a prosecutor. I’m just a guy who needs information, and you’re a woman with nothing to lose who needs to look good in front of the judge.”

  “Maybe I’ll go for the insanity defense. I could pull off crazy.”

  Stuart winced just thinking about it. “Not a good long-term plan. Unlike telling me what I want to know. That could get you clout with the judge, right?”

  “Cause you’re the upstanding citizen who’s going to put in a good word for me?” She h
uffed. “You’re as bad as him. Pretending to be someone you’re not, trying to fool everyone. Guess what? He does it better.”

  “And he taught you everything he knows?”

  “Doubtful,” she scoffed. “No one could learn all that. The way he fooled them all in Vietnam, got in with that squad as one of them. A Last Chance boy. Came back here and helped them set up the town. No one even knew who he was.”

  “So why is he still here? And why does he want the flash drive.”

  Trina sniffed. “Who cares? That was like…decades ago? It’s a new millennium. No one cares about the Cold War or Russian agents. Everyone’s like, dead and stuff.” She shrugged. “Is it even a thing anymore? I don’t know.” She shot him a look, as though she doubted his intelligence.

  “You’d be surprised what I know.”

  “Then why are you asking me questions, Mr. Know-It-All.”

  “Because you have the chance to be helpful,” he said. “And the chance to repair some of the damage you did to Kaylee. Maybe even find a way to get her to forgive you for destroying her sense of safety.”

  Trina shook her head.

  “You don’t want to know why I’m asking?”

  She said nothing.

  “What does he want the flash drive for? Why is he so desperate to get it?”

  She studied him. “What did he do?”

  “Tell me why he’d need the flash drive. You said he’s been here since the beginning of Last Chance. One of the founders, right?”

  She nodded.

  “That means he hasn’t worked in covert intelligence that whole time, or his absence would have been noted.” There was nothing in town he could have been reporting back on. Vietnam, Stuart believed. But now the Russian sleeper agent was nothing but an old man. “What does he want?”

  “Retirement.”

  “He doesn’t have enough money from the bank? I figured he was loaded.”

  “He wants to retire.” Trina leaned forward across the table. “To not be stuck here in this small-town dump, wasting his life away with stupid work no one cares about.”

  “He wants to go home.” Stuart said, “And he’s taking you with him?”

  She shrugged. “As great as Russia sounds, I’d rather take the money and move to LA. Or New York. Somewhere better than here.”

  “Cross your fingers. You could get a federal sentence that lands you in a California jail.”

  She blinked, lighting up a fraction. As though that sounded preferable to living as a free woman in Last Chance.

  Stuart did not understand women. He figured he never would.

  He put the pieces together. “He’s out of favor, and the flash drive will buy him a way back into Russia so he can live out his days in the motherland.”

  “Da.”

  Stuart switched to Russian, saying, “Where would he stash Kaylee while he made the deal with me to trade her for the flash drive?”

  She swallowed, her throat bobbing. Now she was going to feel bad that a good woman was in danger?

  “We both know she doesn’t deserve this. You dragged her in anyway, and it was sloppy work. Now you’re here. You think Dad is going to come for you when he buys his freedom? You’ve been scraped off. A loose end he no longer has to worry about.”

  “Like it’s going to work?” She rolled her eyes, using English again to say, “Stupid old man with his stupid plan. Everyone he worked with is dead by now. There’s no one left.”

  Stuart moved to lean his hip on the table, switching back to English as well. “Where would he keep Kaylee?”

  “What an idiot, right? He drags me into this, tells me we can make millions and get out from under this mountain of debt. Maybe I’m the idiot for believing him. This was probably his plan all along.”

  “Trina.”

  “What?”

  “Focus. I don’t have much time.”

  She said, “What do I care what he’s doing? I’ve been scraped off. Remember?”

  “Where would he keep Kaylee?”

  She huffed.

  Stuart grabbed the back of her head, turned it, and slammed her cheek on the table, holding her head there so she couldn’t move. He leaned close. “Where. Would. He. Keep. Kaylee, Trina? Tell me now or this situation you’re in will start to look like Christmas morning in comparison to what will happen next.”

  One way or another, he was going to get an answer. She didn’t want to look as though she’d given anything up? That was fine with him. But he was going to rescue Kaylee.

  Finally, she whispered to him.

  “Let her go.” Basuto pulled him away from Trina. He shoved Stuart toward the door, where he, in turn, slammed into Zander. “Get out of here. You’re done.”

  “Fine.” Stuart strode to the door, pulling out his phone so he could look up the address Trina had just given him.

  Twenty-eight

  The door swung open. Silas strode in, a jacket on. Under his arm, she spotted a handgun in a holster.

  Kaylee flinched at the sight of it. Why, now? She didn’t know. Trina had pointed one at her. The cops she worked with wore them on their hips. Somehow, on Silas, it seemed so menacing.

  “Looks like your boy came through.”

  “W-what?” She blinked, trying to remember what he was talking about. “Stuart?”

  He cut the cord that secured her to the sink pipe and grasped her bicep in a punishing grip, his fingers like a vice. “Let’s go. Leland is going to trade you for the flash drive. Everyone gets what they want, and you go home.”

  She’d seen him reading that book about successful people at his desk. Was that what this was, a way for everyone to win? Silas was on a path to get exactly what he wanted under the guise of pleasing everyone else so that he could get away with it. And then, before anyone would be able to put two and two together and figure out what had happened, he would be long gone.

  That was the worst thing she could think of.

  “Everyone wins except Stuart.” He would have nothing. Not even the ability to make his own choices for the rest of his life. “Don’t do this. The others who are here, men who kidnap and torture, will kill people over this. Innocent people. That can’t be what you want. You’ll never escape suspicion after terrorist attacks occur in town.”

  “Obviously Stuart would rather have you than the information on that flash drive, so we’re making a deal.” He studied her, looking her up and then down. “I can see why. Not that it surprises me.”

  Her stomach revolted. This whole thing surprised Kaylee plenty, not the least the fact Silas was leering at her. Stuart was really going to make the trade with him? That made no sense. He shouldn’t be exchanging her for the flash drive. Not when that meant he lost his shot at a safe, free future.

  He was giving up everything, and she wasn’t even worth it. This was awful. Stuart wouldn’t take long to realize what a mistake he’d made. Her life in exchange for his?

  Maybe he only wanted to repay the friendship Brad had shown him. A way to return the favor her brother had done him. No, she didn’t want him to save her that way either.

  Ugh. Her thoughts and emotions were all mixed up. She was making no sense. She understood why he felt it was his responsibility to do such a thing, and she could appreciate it, but still didn’t want him to give up the very thing he’d come here to find.

  Kaylee knew what she had to do.

  Silas turned to haul her to the door, intent on the trade. Not if she could help it, he wasn’t. No way.

  She had been scared for too long.

  Kaylee lifted her foot and slammed it into the back of his knee. She reached into his jacket for his gun, but he brought his arm down too soon. Their forearms struck. She cried out as the bone reverberated in her arm.

  The gun fell to the floor. She dove for it, desperate to grasp it in her hands.

  So she could kill him?

  Kaylee didn’t know if she could do it.

  Silas slammed his elbow into the back of her shoulder. Kay
lee cried out and fell to her hands and knees, her fingers twisted awkwardly under her palms.

  He reached beside her and picked up the gun. “No more games. We’re going.”

  She wasn’t going to do him any favors. She stayed right where she was. Kaylee wanted to drag this out as much as possible with the hope that Stuart would have more time to realize the truth and change his mind. He had to be doubting whether she was worth gambling with his future. Please, Lord. Don’t let him do this.

  She knew how much the truth being revealed meant to him. How much he deserved to find peace and healing. Kaylee was content with her quiet life. Her safe and peaceful existence had been perfectly fine for years. The last few months, since the package arrived, had been an anomaly. A detour in her life’s story that would be put to rights soon enough. Then everything would go back to normal, or some new kind of normal that had to be better than what she’d had before.

  But if Stuart gave up the flash drive to Silas Nigelson and whatever his crazy self wanted to do with it, things would all be over. Not better. Ever. Much worse than anything she could imagine. The fallout for them would be catastrophic. No peace. No safety. Stuart and Brad would have to live their lives on the run, and she would always be a weakness for them. A vulnerability for their enemies to exploit.

  “I said, we’re going.” Silas squeezed the tendon in her upper arm. “So quit messing around and move. This is your ticket out of here. Both of our tickets.”

  She winced as Silas hauled her to her feet. Her fingers hurt. Her entire body ached, bruised, and ready to collapse. But she managed to stay standing. She wanted to go to sleep in her nice comfy bed—not leaning against a wall where she couldn’t relax.

  And the last hour hadn’t exactly been relaxing, expecting to be murdered like her parents at any second.

  He dragged her to the hall now and then down a long corridor that looked like an abandoned office building that had been left to the elements. The window at the end had been smashed out and cool night air breezed in to ruffle her hair against her face. He continued to haul her toward the stairs and down through a lobby area, to a pair of glass doors. He used an app on his phone to unlock and then relock the doors, securing the building behind him.