by Mandy Harbin
Gage shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not the mole, but I haven’t been honest, either.” He hesitated, and Brody wished Gage would just spit it out already. “I work for the FBI. I mean directly. I’m an agent.”
Okay, Brody didn’t think he’d say that. “But you’ve been here two years.”
“We’ve known Collins has had people on the inside, so I was placed here when communication was intercepted between Collins’ people and a payphone at the gas station in town about coordinating Xan’s next move here. Someone in the know understood how the feds operate and knew she would’ve been moved around the time he was up for parole.”
“It could’ve been any current agent who knew the game plan,” Hunter said.
“Or any former agent,” he said to Blade and then turned to Brody. “Jeff Coleman.”
“Former? We hadn’t been able to find out if he was still with the FBI or not.”
“We know now. Jeff “Cole” Coleman is Cal Sheppard.”
The blood roared in Brody’s ears. No way. No fucking way did he hear Gage right.
“That’s right,” Gage said, answering Brody’s unspoken denial. “Our very own Colonel is the mole.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Everything hurt.
As she came out of some kind of foggy state, Xan wasn’t sure where she was at or what had happened to her, but her body was screaming. And her throat hurt.
Maybe she had been screaming.
“Mi sei mancata! Oh, how I missed you.”
Her body might’ve been aching, but at the sound of that evil voice she hadn’t heard in over twelve years, it went completely numb. “Marco,” she breathed. She didn’t have to ask. She knew exactly who was standing near her, even though she couldn’t see.
Or move her hands and legs.
She was blindfolded and tied up. Her body started trembling. This was so not good. He’d wanted to kill her all those years ago, and it seemed now he’d get his wish. She couldn’t let herself think that. Not yet. There had to be a way out of this.
“Yes, tesoro. Mi hai mancato? Because I missed you,” he sing-songed, taunting her.
Hell no, she didn’t miss him, and if she got free, she wouldn’t miss him then, either—because she’d plant her foot right in his crotch. Yeah, she was big and brave all tied up and helpless, but if she let herself believe for one minute this situation was hopeless, she’d lose it. And she had to keep her wits about her.
“No answer, Dria? Are you ignoring me?” he growled.
Okay, best not to piss off the psycho ex who was hell-bent on doing a little killing and a little torturing—in no particular order. “Er, how did you find me?” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat as she tried to shift up so she wasn’t lying on the floor. God, she hoped it was the floor of some house because it felt—and smelled—as if she were in a barn. This town had grown on her, but she didn’t want to be cozying up to livestock.
“You were never lost, tesoro. I’ve had eyes on you since the day you crossed me. One doesn’t get to this station in life without a few men in his pocket. And I have several. Your precious Agent Cole has been an employee of my father’s since before I started taking on some of the responsibilities, which as you know, I was fairly young when I started doing my part.”
“What? Daddy couldn’t handle all the killing on his own, so he had to delegate? How tragic.”
“You’ve grown quite brazen, my dear. You used to not be such as bitch.” She heard him shuffle and then felt his breath on her face. A tremor shot through her, but she tried to mask it by shifting again. She didn’t want to show any fear. “I don’t mind bringing you to heel before killing you.”
Lightning pain sliced through her cheek when his fist connected with her face. Her head crashed into the stone floor and she saw stars behind the blindfold. Don’t pass out. If she did, it’d be over. For good.
He stepped away, and she silently thanked God for the reprieve. She tried to think back, tried to remember the last thing that’d happened to her before she woke up in this hellhole. She’d been at home with Colonel, wondering what the hell was taking Jack so long to get there so she could be with Scott at the hospital.
Scott. She stifled a sob. If she didn’t get out of this—and it wasn’t looking good—he’d be on his own, running from his father.
She couldn’t dwell on that now. It’d only make her emotional, weak. She needed to stay focused. Subtly twisting her hands behind her back—or at least she hoped she was doing it subtly, she had no idea if people were standing around her—she tested the binding. It barely moved. She wiggled her ankles and felt how constrictive those ties were too. Shit. Okay, she had to keep moving to loosen them. As she worked her hands and feet, she thought back to the house. She’d gone to the restroom, and when she came out, someone had attacked her from behind.
And that was all she remembered.
“I’ll kill her if you can’t, Collins,” a gravelly voice said and a shiver rocked her. She didn’t even try to hide it. It was Colonel’s voice. “I’ve killed other members of your family before.”
She gasped.
“Oh, that’s right,” Colonel said. “That little bit of info I fed Brutus was a lie. He didn’t kill your daughter. I did.”
Relief, because it hadn’t been Brody, swamped her, but it fought with the agony that consumed her. Marco had still ordered Tess’ death. And those emotions quickly turned to shame since she’d believed the lie and not trusted in Brody.
“Brutus,” Marco growled. “He doesn’t deserve to keep breathing.”
“Not much longer, sir. Your plan has played out perfectly.”
“Ah yes, well, of course it has,” Marco scoffed, and Xan heard him walking closer to her, so she braced herself for another strike. “You see,” he murmured as he knelt beside her, stroking her hair, “I’d gotten into a little trouble with some street thugs your lover, Brody Jackson, was running with, and he helped me out. I took him in, gave him a job. He’d lived his life on the streets, and I gave him paradise. And what did he do?”
Marco paused, and Xan realized his question wasn’t rhetorical. “Grew a conscience?” she offered.
He laughed as if that were the most absurd thing he’d ever heard. “Funny but no. He fell in love with my wife.”
What? That was impossible. Marco was trying to rile her up. She’d never met Brody before moving to Mayflower. “No way.”
“You think it’s impossible for a man to fall in love with a woman from afar as he discreetly watches over her? Or that I’m ignorant enough to let you around my employees? Oh no, I knew your loyalty was lost long ago. The only people you had contact with were family members and security. Brutus might’ve been my friend for many years, but he was also an employee. Therefore, off-limits to you. But he was around. Every day.”
Her head was swimming. Brody had been that close to her all those years ago. And he was in love with her then? She still couldn’t wrap her head around that.
“After I had Coleman here take care of that abomination you gave birth to, Brutus changed. Oh, it wasn’t right away, but I noticed him becoming distant. And when he planted that flash drive in my office and had the nanny send you in to retrieve some bauble, I knew his loyalty had strayed.” Marco leaned down, brushing his lips along her ear and she gagged. “He was too stupid to notice the cameras in my office.” Mercifully, he leaned away from her. “I sat back and watched everything unfold. So you see, tesoro, day one. And I would have killed you before you fled if Brutus hadn’t shot at me before I’d entered my study that night.”
She remembered hearing those gunshots, signaling Marco’s arrival, and then all hell had broken loose. Wow, it had been Brody.
“Brutus is a traitor, which is why I’ve named him that. He betrayed his one true friend in this world, and I do not tolerate betrayal. So that night, Coleman took Brody, beat him to within an inch of his life and dumped his body.”
Xan heard footsteps and then Colonel’s voi
ce. “Two days later, I went back and the son of a bitch wasn’t dead. I reported this to Marco, and he took it as a sign that Brutus was meant for greater things. I admitted him into the hospital, stayed with the FBI a few more years, handing off your case to other agents, making sure it was handled the way I needed it to be. Since you knew me as Cole and had only spoken to me on the phone, I had papers drawn up before I left, changing my identity and hiding that fact. Then I had surgery to permanently damage my voice.”
Ah, that was why she hadn’t been able to identify him before now as her former agent. “While Brutus went through all his surgeries and physical therapy, I retired and bought the garage. The old fucker didn’t want to sell, but I could be persuasive.”
Oh, she could image just how persuasive Colonel could be.
“Brutus’ amnesia was another gift. Because he didn’t know who he was, I let Coleman feed him some bits of truths with the lies. That way, if he ever did anything to investigate his past on his own, he wouldn’t have any reason to question what he’d been told.”
This was a lot to take in and she was glad that they were doing a lot more talking and a lot least beating, but neither one had yet to say why Brutus was used like this, what the real plan was. “Why?”
Marco laughed bitterly. “You, tesoro. Coleman stayed with the FBI long enough for me to get more plants in there, so I’ve orchestrated your every move. And before you ask, no, Jack Parsons isn’t one of my men. I couldn’t risk having someone that close to you. If he didn’t roll, then I was fucked. I couldn’t take that kind of chance.
“As for Brutus, the betrayal of a friend is the darkest sin one can commit, and he had to pay for his sin against me. You’d think murder would be worse, but it’s not. In this business, loyalty means everything, so I punished him by giving him what he wanted. You. Coleman let the guys at the garage believe watching you was an official FBI assignment, when in fact, I’d ordered the official watch. I wanted to give him what he coveted, so I could hurt him. As soon as the sap fell for you all over again, I struck. Outing him as Tess’ killer was one way I caused him pain. Letting him live life without you after I kill you, is the other. I get my revenge against you, against him, and I get my son back. Perfect,” he purred.
Marco was beyond insane. Xan worked her hands and feet frantically. It didn’t matter if they knew she was trying to get away because she was as good as dead anyway.
“Enough talking.”
The blow was so fast Xan didn’t have time to prepare. The second one introduced her to darkness.
* * * * *
Brody paced frantically as Gage and Jack Parsons orchestrated the search and rescue of Xan with the twenty or so FBI agents crowded at the shop. They’d gotten a lead there was movement in an abandoned farm down highway 365. It was a vague lead, but he’d take what he could get.
“You wanna cigarette?” Blade asked. Brody was glad his closest buddy was here. He hated leaving Scott alone with Roc, but he felt better giving him a babysitting duty than having him cover his back. If things went to shit, Brody knew Blade and Bear would be there for him. There’d been too much animosity between Brody and Roc for him to let that asshole loose with a gun. He wouldn’t put it past the prick to nail him with a round just for shits and giggles.
“I thought you quit those fuckin’ things.”
“Naw. I try, but I don’t last very long. Any word on Colonel?”
He shook his head and started pacing again. Hell no, there hadn’t been word. What Gage had told him he’d found out had left Brody stunned. And he wasn’t the only one. Bear looked devastated. He’d been closer to Colonel than anybody else.
And the guys were all shocked to learn about Gage too. But in a good way. It seemed learning he was an undercover FBI agent propelled his status within the group from newbie to official member—but he wasn’t even really a mechanic, and he’d be leaving once this was over. Funny how things worked out like that. As Brody kept pacing, he saw Gage stepping away from the horde of agents, so he walked over.
“What’s up? I’ve gotta do something, man.” Brody was itching to get out of this damn place. He’d tear apart the whole state of Arkansas to find Xan if he had to.
“Adams confirmed the barn was a meeting place for him and Colonel. The feds cut him a deal, so he’s spilling his guts. Satellite imagery shows she was carried in and heat sensors suggest three people in the barn. We’re going in.”
“Let’s go.” Brody started to step away and Gage grabbed his arm.
“I can’t let you come. This is an official raid.”
Brody got right in his face. “Don’t fuck with me, Gage. I’m. Coming.”
Gage sighed. “Look, Brutus, I like you. If you tag along, you could do something reckless, end up behind bars.”
“I’ll take my chances,” he growled. “Either I’m coming with you, or I’m going without you.”
Gage glared at him for several seconds, narrowed his eyes and then nodded. “Behave.”
Yeah, he’d behave. Right after he sliced Colonel’s throat for letting that crazy-ass ex-husband of hers get a hold of her, but not before he put a bullet through that crazy-ass man’s chest for daring to harm what was Brody’s.
Not waiting for any signal, Brody dashed for his truck with Blade and Bear on his heels.
“Damn you, Brutus!” Gage called out as the other agents hustled into their vehicles.
“Don’t worry, man. We’ll get her,” Bear said as he grabbed the oh-shit handle, white-knuckling it as Brody peeled out of the parking lot and onto the two-lane country highway. He sped, hitting ninety miles per hour within seconds. He passed a mailman and a tractor several minutes later, not slowing down.
Within fifteen minutes they’d arrived at the old farm. Brody slammed the truck into park, jumped out and ran toward the barn as the sounds of the agents’ vehicles neared.
“Brody,” Bear hissed, but ducked and ran behind him. Brody knew Blade would follow too. Brody ran around back, hearing what sounded like someone beating on flesh, and his blood froze. Gun drawn, he crept to the door, peering through the cracks.
Jesus Christ! Collins was beating the shit out of Xan. He couldn’t wait for the cavalry. All he had were his two buddies. They’d do. “I’m going in first. There’s a stall door on the east side. Blade you take that entrance. Bear, you go back around front. You’ve got fifteen seconds to get there. I ain’t waiting any longer,” Brody barely whispered.
The guys nodded and left quickly, quietly.
And as Brody watched Marco strike Xan again and again, that was the longest damn fifteen seconds of his life.
After he counted down those heart-wrenching seconds, he trained his gun on Marco but couldn’t get a shot at his chest like he’d envisioned earlier. No problem. His head would work just as well, so he took aim as he burst through the back door. Two shots and Marco keeled over.
The barn erupted in gunfire as Colonel turned on Brody, gun raised, but Gage popped Colonel before he could get a shot off.
As quickly as the gunfire started it’d ended, but Brody didn’t care. He ran straight to Xan, feeling as if he’d never reach her, hearing muffled shouting all around over the ringing in his ears. He fell to his knees before her and gently turned her. She was covered in blood, cuts, bruises. Oh God, this was bad. “Call an ambulance!”
If he lost her, he’d never forgive himself for not protecting her like he should have.
“I love you, baby,” he breathed into her hair as he rocked her blood-soaked body. “Please hold on.”
* * * * *
The last time Xan woke up from a foggy stupor everything hurt. This time, she felt as if she were literally dying. And if she wasn’t dead yet, she’d love for someone to finish her off.
She groaned as she tried to move, hearing the annoying little beats of a heart monitor and other hospital equipment she was all too familiar with considering her line of work, and suddenly hands were on her. “Mom?”
Oh crap. She w
as pretty sure she looked as bad as she felt, so she didn’t want Scott to see her like this. But then again, the last thing she remembered about Scott was that he was in the hospital. If he was in her room, then at least he’d been released. Or well enough to ditch his doctors. “Hi, honey,” she breathed.
“You scared us all there for a while.” He squeezed her. She could feel him shaking a little.
“Us?” Okay, he probably meant the proverbial “us” but she couldn’t help hoping it included a certain Viking she’d missed.
“Yeah, the doctors have been in here talking a lot about stuff I don’t understand, but Brody and the other guys have been here to help explain it to me. You’ve been in surgery getting your broken head fixed, and you punctured a lung and broke a leg, ribs, two fingers, nose—”
“I’ll be fine.” She had to cut him off because he started to sound a little hysterical. “What happened to Marco?” She didn’t refer to him as his father.
“Brody killed him.” The anger in his voice was much more preferable to the panic that was building a couple of seconds ago. “That Colonel guy was killed too.”
Cole. Once upon a time, she’d thought he was her savior, but he’d never cared about her protection, so she couldn’t bring herself to care that he hadn’t made it out alive. Now there was one less minion after her and her son.
“How long have I been here? Where have you been staying?”
“Coupla weeks. And I’ve been staying here as much as Chad’s mom would let me, but she’s been dragging me out to feed me and making sure I got to school and got some sleep.”
She was going to cry. Xan had never had a best friend, someone she could trust with the safety of her son, and now she couldn’t have asked for a better girlfriend.
“Brody’s been keeping me company up here, helping me with my homework and been trying to get me to play video games. Even bought me Bloodbath Five when it hit the stores last week.”