Cease Fire

by Janie Crouch

  “Is there any way to trace this?” Roman asked quietly to the side.

  “Not from here,” Derek responded. “But if he’s broadcasting this to everyone in Omega, then somebody’s tracing it.”

  “I realize,” Freihof continued, “that my colleagues’ failures to kill the people we targeted may cause you not to take me so seriously. And again, that’s my fault. Never trust someone else to do a job you really should do yourself.”

  Freihof, showman that he was, slowly removed the hood from his victim’s head.

  Grace Parker.

  Roman looked into the eyes of the older woman he’d spent so much time talking to these last few months. The one who’d gotten him through not only the explosion that had almost killed him, but sorting through the feelings he had for Keira Spencer.

  “Damn it, where are they?” Lillian said.

  “I think that’s Grace’s home office. I met with her there a couple of times when I had required visits,” Roman said.

  Derek was already calling it in.

  But Freihof was too smart to waste time now that he’d let his location be known.

  “I’ll make this lesson quick,” Freihof said, nodding sincerely. “You call yourself the good guys, but that’s not always the case, is it? It’s time for you to pay for your sins.”

  The entire team rushed toward the screen as if they could do something when they saw Freihof take out a knife and stand behind Grace Parker.

  “It’s time for you to know the pain I’ve known.”

  Everyone watched helplessly as, with his words, Freihof slashed the knife across Grace’s throat. She died in front of them, none of them able to do a single thing about it.

  Chapter Six

  An odd mixture of devastated silence and barely concealed rage permeated the air of the Omega conference room two days later. The mood inside the building reflected the weather outside.

  A deadly storm was brewing.

  Another one of their own was dead. This time murdered in cold blood right in front of their eyes.

  Steve had called an all-hands meeting, knowing the team needed firm leadership now more than ever. Brandon Han stood at the front of the room with him. They both looked like everyone else in the room did: as if they hadn’t had a moment’s sleep since Grace’s death and wanted to break something with their bare hands.

  Preferably Damien Freihof’s face.

  Lillian sat next to Roman in the corner near the back. Tension fairly hummed through her small body.

  “I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to sit through a meeting,” she whispered to Roman.

  “I know. And Steve knows. Don’t worry.”

  The room was pretty evenly divided between investigative agents and SWAT, with a few crime lab scientists and computer experts thrown in. You could tell who the SWAT team members were even if they weren’t all similarly dressed in black cargo pants and formfitting dry-weave shirts.

  They were the ones—like Lillian—with a furious energy flowing through their bodies. They didn’t want to sit around having a meeting about how to catch Freihof, they wanted to be out there doing it.

  But they couldn’t do that, because once again, they had no idea where Freihof was located.

  “Grace Parker was one of our own,” Steve Drackett began. “A vital member of the Critical Response Unit and a personal friend to many of us. She’ll never be replaced.”

  Steve waited in silence for a moment.

  “Freihof has brought a war to us. To our own doorstep. We’re going to damn well make sure he regrets that.”

  Everyone in the room nodded. A few cheered. Everyone sat up a little straighter.

  “I’ve called you here today because I want to make sure everyone is up to speed on the case,” Steve continued. “Everyone is at risk, so we all need to have as much information about Freihof as possible. Brandon.”

  Lips tight, Brandon hit some buttons on the keyboard of the computer he stood by and brought up a timeline on the big screen.

  “Our history with Freihof goes back a long way. We thought it started five years ago when my wife, Andrea—before she was associated with Omega—was able to let Steve know about Freihof’s intent to blow up himself, and a couple dozen people, in a bank in Arizona.”

  Steve nodded. “Grace was there that day also.”

  Brandon paused for a moment, nodding, before continuing. “Freihof was stopped and sent to prison, but escaped last year. Andrea and I were both nearly killed when he reappeared in Arizona after his escape.” Brandon pointed to another spot on the timeline. “He showed back up here in Colorado two months ago, after not being seen for ten months.”

  A picture of Summer Worrall and her daughter, Chloe, came up on the screen. Roman saw Ashton Fitzgerald tense. The other man didn’t like to think about what had almost happened to his fiancée, and the child he considered to be his own daughter.

  “Two months ago, Freihof targeted Summer Worrall, because of her connection to us.” Brandon looked over at Roman. “We almost lost Roman in the explosion Freihof set, and Tyrone Marcus died.”

  Roman didn’t need a reminder.

  “A week after that, Freihof went after our friends in Texas, Caroline Gill and Zane Wales. Fortunately, the people he convinced to target them were not able to fulfill their mission—part of what Freihof was talking about when he killed Grace.

  “We had not seen or heard anything from Freihof for two months. Although we certainly had hoped he was gone for good, we knew that wouldn’t be the case.” Brandon looked around the room at everyone. “But things have changed now. Freihof has upped the ante.”

  Again, there were multiple muttered agreements.

  “Freihof has decided to get his own hands dirty rather than just use other people to do his killing, the way he has in the past,” Brandon said. “Up until now, part of his MO has been convincing others to do his dirty work for him. We’re not exactly sure why, probably part of some sort of elaborate mind game.

  “But what we do know is that he did not get the results he wanted, trying to convince others to do the killing. Their success rate was less than optimal.”

  “He succeeded in killing Tyrone,” Roman reminded everyone.

  Brandon nodded. “Yes, but Tyrone’s death was not the actual plan. He wasn’t the target.”

  “Although that doesn’t make Tyrone any less dead and it doesn’t mean that we’re not going to make sure Freihof pays for that,” Steve assured everyone.

  “Freihof has now decided that he wants to do at least some of the killing himself. Grace Parker was his first target. We don’t know anything except that she will not be the last,” Brandon continued. “This is the note that we found at the scene of Grace’s murder.”

  A new picture came up on the screen. A note very clearly written in bold stroked letters.

  When you lose someone you love it hurts.

  “What the hell does that mean?” Lillian asked. “If he thinks it hurts now, wait till I get him in my rifle sights.”

  There were a few soft chuckles around the room. But everyone felt the same way. Not a single person present would hesitate to take Freihof out if he or she had the chance.

  Brandon leaned against the table. “We’ve studied the video of Grace’s death. It led us to look in a different direction than we had been. Specifically, the sentences ‘You call yourself the good guys, but that’s not always the case, is it? It’s time for you to pay for your sins.’”

  A new picture came up on the screen, the photo of a beautiful blonde young woman.

  “Do you think that is his next intended victim?” Roman asked.

  “No.” Brandon shook his head. “She was actually our victim.”

  “Our victim? What does that mean?” Lillian asked.

  “It was six years ago,” Brandon respo
nded. “Some of you weren’t even here at that point. There was a raid at a federal reserve in Tucson. The hostage situation had gotten out of control and we were called in.”

  Roman nodded. He remembered that case, but wasn’t part of it. He’d been new on the SWAT team at the time, still in training.

  “I remember that incident,” Derek said. “The team was called in, we infiltrated the building. I think one of the bad guys was killed, and unfortunately, a couple of people were injured. And then there was some explosion, right?”

  “That’s correct,” Steve said.

  “Was Freihof one of the hostage takers in that situation?” Roman asked.

  Brandon shook his head. “No. Believe it or not, Freihof was actually one of the hostages. He and his wife, Natalie Freihof.” Brandon tapped the screen to draw their attention back to the picture of the woman.

  Now everyone shifted a little to get a better look at her. None of them really understood what was going on.

  “Okay, so psycho has a pretty wife,” Lillian said. “Is she an accomplice? Or maybe we can use her to get to him?”

  Brandon shook his head again. “No, she’s definitely not in on this and we cannot use her to our advantage.”

  Roman rolled his eyes. “Why? Because she loves him so much and thinks he’s such a stand-up guy?”

  Steve answered this time. “No. Because she died in that bank incident six years ago.”

  Derek looked shocked. “What? I don’t remember any report of collateral damage in that situation.”

  “No, it was never reported to us,” Steve said. “Evidently, Natalie Freihof was caught in the explosion that took place afterward. Records are unclear. She was taken away in an ambulance and then died. No report was filed or hearing opened, because we were never notified about it.”

  “How the hell did that happen?” Derek asked.

  Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. We’re trying to find out as many particulars as we can, but there are missing details about the case.”

  “In light of what we know, we think Freihof is blaming us for his wife’s death,” Brandon said.

  “Did we kill her?” Roman asked.

  Brandon shrugged. “We’re still trying to find out as much detail about this particular case as we can. But like we said, there is information that’s missing.”

  “So Freihof could’ve just decided that we killed his wife even though the hostage takers killed her, and that he is going to get revenge on all of us for something we didn’t even do,” Lillian pointed out.

  “Absolutely.” Brandon nodded. “Don’t doubt that Freihof is a sociopath and doesn’t need any real reason to kill people. But if he thinks we killed his wife, then he probably feels even more justified in his vengeance against us.”

  “And that’s why he’s been going after people we care about rather than just trying to pick off the team one by one,” Steve offered.

  It made sense in a sick sort of way. It was at least logical. He blamed Omega for taking his loved one, so he was taking theirs.

  “So now everyone is up to speed. Things occurring now stemmed out of that bank situation six years ago.” Steve rested his hands on the table. “We all want to catch the son of a bitch. And make no mistake, we will. But only if we work together as a team and we stay crisp.”

  Everybody in the room nodded and murmured agreement.

  Steve turned. “Derek, you take the team and see what you can figure out about the bank raid six years ago. Any details that weren’t in the files.”

  Derek nodded. “Roger that. SWAT, let’s head out.”

  The SWAT team stood, happy to have something to do that could possibly help nail Freihof.

  “Roman, we need you in here for a few,” Brandon said. “There’s been another development I think you might want to be aware of.”

  Roman frowned. He didn’t think he would be much help with the SWAT team, but he didn’t know what development could involve him.

  Derek nodded at him. “Just catch up when you’re through. We’re going to see what we can remember about the raid and then run the team course a couple of times to get some of this energy out.”

  The brutal obstacle course the team regularly ran together sounded like just what Roman needed. It was either that or punch a concrete wall.

  Grace Parker’s terrified face just before Freihof had killed her kept creeping back into his mind.

  “How you holding up?” Andrea asked, as everyone else left the room but the four of them.

  Roman just shrugged. No one could answer that question with any real honesty right now.

  “I know that you and Grace had been talking a lot over the last few months,” Steve said. “She was important to everyone and I’m sure important to you, too.”

  “Hell yes, she was important to me.” Roman felt his fists clench. “And we’re going to catch the son of a bitch and nail him to the wall. For what he did to her, for what he did to me. We need to stop him now, Steve.”

  “Believe me, that’s the plan.” The man rubbed the back of his neck. Roman knew Steve had to be just as frustrated at the sense of helplessness.

  Brandon turned so he was half sitting, half leaning against the conference table next to Andrea. “Roman, I know we don’t know each other that well, so I hope you don’t mind what I’m about to say.”

  Roman looked over at him. “Okay.”

  “I didn’t share all the information about what we found at the crime scene at Grace’s house because I didn’t think the SWAT team really wanted to know all the details about the investigation,” Brandon said.

  Roman folded his arms. “That’s probably not a bad assumption. Not that they don’t want to help or be involved, but it’s just not our forte.”

  Brandon nodded. “That’s what I figured.”

  “But you think I can help in some way?”

  “It’s about Keira Spencer,” Andrea said softly.

  Roman just looked at them. What did Keira have to do with Grace Parker? “Okay,” he said again.

  “Part of Freihof’s game is that he likes to leave clues. Clues about who his next target is going to be,” Brandon began.

  “They found a business card from where Keira and I used to work together. It was a...gentleman’s club,” Andrea said, hesitantly.

  Thanks to his mother, Roman already knew this. Maybe he should be grateful for that bomb she’d dropped two months ago. Otherwise it would’ve been dropped on him right now.

  “I know Andrea doesn’t announce that she used to be an exotic dancer before she came to work at Omega Sector,” Steve said, “but that’s actually where Grace and I first found her, and invited her to come work with us.”

  Roman rolled his shoulders. “Believe it or not, I was already aware of the history and the line of work.” Thanks, Mom.

  Andrea glanced over at Brandon before looking back at Roman. “I know you and Keira got a little close at the wedding.”

  Roman waited for the point.

  “We believe that Keira might be in danger,” Brandon said. “The card Freihof left had Keira’s stage name on it, encircled with a heart. We think he might be targeting her next.”

  Roman unfolded his arms, tension tightening his muscles. “She needs to be put into protective custody. Right now.”

  “We are not sure that she’s in real danger,” Steve said. “The card, her stage name on it, the way that Freihof is switching things up. These could all be false leads.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I won’t take that chance.”

  Everyone’s eyebrows rose at Roman’s adamant tone. He didn’t care. There was no way he was going to allow Keira to become the victim, even possible victim, of some madman.

  He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind for nearly two months. Her beauty, her strength, the way they’d been able to talk and jok
e with each other.

  The sex.

  Everything about Keira Spencer had been damn near perfect. Roman had regretted every single day how he’d let his mother manipulate the situation. Let her use shock value to cause him to back away from Keira.

  But the truth was, it wasn’t just what his mother had done that caused him to do so. It’d been the overwhelming feelings he had—still had—for Keira that had caused him to retreat.

  “Glad you feel that way,” Steve said. “Because I wanted to see if you’d be willing to do some protective detail work.”

  Roman didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”

  There was no way in hell he was going to let anything happen to Keira.

  And who was he kidding? He was dying to see her. To talk to her. He wouldn’t have lasted much longer. He would’ve been searching her out, asking her to give him one more chance.

  He didn’t want Freihof anywhere near her, but at least having a killer possibly targeting her gave him an excuse to get near her.

  “We appreciate you volunteering,” Steve said. “I’m going to leave you here with Brandon and Andrea. We’ll keep you updated immediately with any more information we get. And I’ll let Derek know where you’ve been assigned.”

  Roman nodded as Steve left.

  “I’ve been busy since the wedding and the honeymoon,” Andrea said in her soft voice. “I haven’t had a lot of time to talk to Keira in the last few weeks. She’s been very busy with the salon.”

  Roman nodded. “Yeah, I know that place means a lot to her.”

  “Keira doesn’t reveal a whole lot about her feelings. She’s strong and resourceful, and I totally respect that about her.” Andrea tilted her head sideways while she looked at Roman. “I know she was attracted to you even before the wedding, and you to her. I don’t need to be a wiz at nonverbal communication to have recognized that. It fairly crackled around the two of you.”

  Andrea had a gift at reading people’s expressions and body language. Even when they didn’t want to give away information.

  “Of course, your nonverbal communication right now is screaming guilt,” Andrea continued, standing up from the table she’d been perched against. “So I’m wondering if we’re making a mistake by sending you. Perhaps I was incorrect in the intimacy I sensed between you two.”