by Katie Reus
Vargas took another step back. “You lie!”
“One of my guys is going to open up the crate labeled X6. Tell your boy not to do anything stupid.”
“Fine.” Vargas nodded at his man.
One of the Delta Force guys kept his weapon trained on Vargas, but walked across the floor. He eyed everyone, then set his weapon down and opened the top of the crate. After digging through stuffing and bubble wrap, the agent gingerly pulled out the rigged pack of C-4 and held it up for everyone to see.
“There’s more placed all over this warehouse. And you’re within strike range, Vargas. You are not getting out of here alive if you don’t cooperate.”
When Vargas didn’t respond, he continued. “Let the girl go. You don’t have a way out of here. Even if you take her, you know we’ll be forced to shoot your plane down—but you and I both know you’ll never even get that far. We only want to know about your Middle Eastern contact.”
“I want immunity.”
Of course he did. Jack gritted his teeth. “It depends on your information.”
“I know names, times, dates, and meetings. You get it all as long as I get immunity.”
At that moment, the hangar door was pulled back. Jack didn’t bother turning around. He knew who it was. After disarming the outside security team, his guys had come in the back and through a ventilation shaft.
This would be Wesley coming in to wrap things up. His boss had heard everything and no doubt would deal with this scum.
“Who are you?” Vargas shouted.
Jack felt before he saw Wesley walk up next to him.
“My name is Wesley Burkhart. I’m deputy director of the NSA. You give us what we want, you’ll be granted complete immunity but you won’t be allowed to step foot in this country again. If you do, the agreement will be void. This is a onetime offer and if I don’t like what you have to say, I’ll hand you over to the DEA.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“You have my word and you have it in writing.” Wesley held up a piece of paper signed by the president.
Jack had known they’d have to deal with Vargas. He hadn’t realized Wesley had been this prepared. Though he should have expected it. The one thing he hated about this job was the politics. Intellectually he understood that sometimes it really was all about the bigger picture, but he hated making deals with someone like Vargas. Of course, Jack also knew that once they cut Vargas loose, his days would be numbered. Someone would kill him. A sniper, no doubt. The CIA, the NSA, it didn’t much matter who. The guy was a walking dead man.
Vargas shoved the girl away from him and laid his gun on the floor. He looked at the man still holding a gun on Johnson and bit out something in Spanish.
Jack figured out enough that Vargas threatened the guy’s family if he didn’t let the agent go.
Almost immediately the thug dropped the gun and put his hands behind his head.
“Sorry it had to work out like this,” Wesley said low enough for Jack’s ears only.
“It was inevitable.” Jack holstered his weapon and watched as the other men rounded up Vargas’s guys.
Wesley squeezed his shoulder. “Go check on Sophie. We can handle things from here.”
“Thanks.” Jack had turned to leave when Wesley stopped him.
“Check on her, but I want you to help interrogate Vargas.”
“No problem.” He hurried out of the building and borrowed one of the SUVs to drive down to their building.
The sensation humming through him right now was foreign. Different—better—than any rush he’d gotten before. Better than when he’d graduated from boot camp. He had no clue what the future held for them—hell, if they even had one—but he did know he was taking an extended vacation. If Sophie forgave him, they deserved a chance to see where this thing between them could lead. And some part of him he hadn’t known still existed was burning with hope that they might actually have a second chance.
There would be a ton of paperwork and days, maybe weeks, of questioning Vargas, but afterward, he was making some changes in his life. Starting with Sophie. Yeah, he’d lied, but they’d make it over that hurdle. He’d spend the rest of his damn life making it up to her if he had to. And he could think of plenty of ways to make it up to her.
As he pulled up to the building, one of his burner phones buzzed. Only the members of the team here had this number. Frowning at the unfamiliar number, he answered, “Yeah?”
“If you ever want to see your girlfriend alive again, you will do exactly as I say.”
“Who is this?”
“Thomas Chadwick. Now listen carefully. Sophie’s life depends on it.”
Chapter 21
Immunity: protection or exemption from something like prosecution.
Ten minutes earlier
Sophie stared at the live video feed and tried to digest the sight in front of her. Vargas had a gun to her best friend’s head.
She clutched the edge of the crappy fold-out table as she watched the horrifying events unfold on the computer screen. Pieces of wood were splintering off as she dug into the table. Hannah looked so scared it brought tears to her eyes. This whole thing was too surreal.
“Do you need a drink of water?” the man sitting next to her asked. He was one of the analysts.
Her eyes were glued to the screen. “No, thank you.”
Two more analysts sat behind them at another table. They’d been kind enough to set her up with her own computer so she could watch what was going on. Now she wished they hadn’t.
It was as if an invisible weight pressed down on her chest, making it impossible to breathe. In addition to Ronald’s video feed, which was now obstructed, a few of the field agents had worn cameras, giving her multiple views of the situation in the other warehouse.
As a wave of nausea swamped her, she abruptly stood. The chair scraped against the floor, echoing loudly in the large room. She turned to the man sitting next to her. “Bathroom?” Saying any more was impossible. If she attempted she was likely to puke on his shoes.
His eyes widened, but he pointed toward the back. “Small one near the back door.”
Her shoes made rapid clacks as she sprinted across the floor. Focusing on the sound was the only thing that prevented her from hurling. Breathe in and out. She repeated it over and over, trying to push down the bile.
Her best friend and the man she’d never stopped loving were in that warehouse. If something happened to either of them, it would kill her.
The bathroom door made a soft snicking sound as it closed. She barely made it before emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Her entire body was chilled, but drops of sweat rolled down her neck and back.
When Sophie was finished, she closed the lid and flushed it. She forced herself to stand on wobbly knees. The stark white bathroom was cold and sterile, but at least the facilities worked. She turned on the cold water and rinsed out her mouth before splashing her face.
The icy sensation jolted through her. With shaking hands she grabbed a paper towel and patted her face dry. Clutching the side of the white sink, she managed to steady herself.
Over the past few days she’d surprised herself by keeping a level head. Maybe it was because Jack had been by her side the entire time. So contained and sure of himself. Now she felt anything but calm. His revelation last night had left her raw and shaken. Jack was Sam. Her first love. The only man she’d ever loved. She still couldn’t find the right words to say to him, but she wanted the chance to try. God help her, she prayed he was okay.
The door handle was cold as she grasped it. Clutching it, she pulled the door open and found herself staring down the barrel of a gun. She let out a terrified, instinctive yelp. Though she was ready to scream, she froze at the man’s words.
“Scream and die.” The analyst—T
homas something—roughly grabbed her arm and jerked her toward the lone back door. He kept glancing behind him, but his grip on the gun and her never wavered. “You’re coming with me.”
She seriously contemplated screaming but knew it would be a stupid move. He might shoot not only her, but the other two analysts too. She wouldn’t have that blood on her hands.
He shoved open the back door with startling force, then dropped her arm and pulled out a key fob. She jumped when an alarm beep sounded. He trained his gun on her once again and handed her the keys. “You’re driving.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“We’re just taking a little drive.” He took a step forward and pushed the gun to her chest.
She froze at the feel of cold steel pressing through her shirt. Uncontrollable shivers rippled through her. She’d only ever felt like this once before. When her foster father had pressed a knife to her neck—No! Keep it together, she ordered herself. After all she’d been through the past few days, now wasn’t the time to lose it.
She clutched the keys in her hand. The jagged metal piercing her skin forced her to think. Wordlessly she moved away from him and toward the SUV. He followed suit and got into the passenger side, never taking that gun off her.
“There’s a back way out of here, so follow my directions. If you listen, you just might make it out of this alive.”
She started the engine, then kicked it into drive. “Why are you doing this?”
“You’re my ticket out of the country.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and laid it in his lap. “Follow this way.” He pointed toward the right. The private airport was large, but the layout was simple.
She knew exactly where he was taking her. The back exit was where she and Jack had entered the first time. She kept driving parallel to the surrounding fence until they came to the opening. She started slowing the vehicle even before he ordered her to stop.
“Get out and roll the fence back. Don’t do anything stupid.” As if to prove his point, he shifted his gun to his other hand, straightening it in her direction.
Without looking at him, she slid from the vehicle and did as he instructed. If there had been neighboring woods or any place she could run, she’d have taken the chance. As it was, there was nothing but a semi-demolished building across the street. The building might provide some cover, but it wasn’t likely she’d make it across the four-lane road, over the other fence, and into the building without being shot in the back.
And she really didn’t want to die that way. Okay, she didn’t want to die period. The only thing that gave her hope was the fact that he hadn’t shot her yet. He needed her for something, which meant he would keep her alive until then.
“Turn left and follow this road until you see signs for 95 South, then get on,” he ordered as she slid back into the driver’s seat.
Then he pulled out a phone and dialed a number before pressing SPEAKER and placing it on the dash.
When Jack’s familiar voice came on the line, her hands jerked against the wheel.
“Yeah?” Jack said.
“If you ever want to see your girlfriend alive again, you will do exactly as I say.”
“Who is this?”
“Thomas Chadwick. Now listen carefully. Sophie’s life depends on it.”
Sophie clutched the wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. She thought about speeding up and trying to crash, but he was strapped in too and still firmly held the gun on her. If she tried, she’d probably end up shot.
“I’m listening,” Jack growled.
“You’re going to trade Vargas’s life for Sophie’s.”
“No.” Jack’s answer was automatic.
With that one word, Sophie’s heart cracked wide open.
“I don’t think you understand the situation.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Sophie watched her captor reach into his pocket. Before she realized what he was doing, he flashed a knife in her direction. With the click of a button, the blade whipped open and he sliced into her arm.
“Aah.” Instinctively she swerved as he cut her. She cried out as the pain registered. Blood dripped all over the seat and her jeans. Her arm throbbed, but the laceration was shallow at best.
“Sophie?” Jack’s deep voice raked over her.
Thomas answered. “She’s fine. Just a little cut. If you don’t do what I say, she’ll have bigger cuts all over her body. Bitch won’t be recognizable by the time you get to her.”
Ice chilled her veins. She’d die before she let that bastard torture her.
“Why do you want Vargas?” Jack asked.
“He owes me a lot of money and I can’t get out of the country without it or him. I need that money. It was only a matter of time before he gave you my name.”
For a moment Sophie’s world went fuzzy. That meant Vargas had definitely been captured. Before she ran to the bathroom, he’d still been free. “Is Hannah alive?” she asked before she could think about censoring herself.
“She’s fine,” Jack answered.
“One more word out of you, and I’ll cut through your muscle.” Thomas didn’t yell, but his voice had a deadly edge to it that told her he’d have no problem following through with his threat.
Biting her lip, she focused on the road in front of her and tried to block out the pain in her arm.
“As I was saying, you’ll bring Vargas to a location of my choice and I’ll give you the girl. It’s a simple trade and no one has to get hurt.”
Jack was silent on the other end for painfully long. “You know I can’t give you Vargas. He’s too valuable.”
Thomas looked in her direction, but she stared straight ahead. Tears stung her eyes, but she fought them back.
“You don’t care what happens to the girl?”
“Vargas is too valuable, so if that’s all you’ve got, you’re barking up the wrong tree.” Jack’s voice was monotone, uncaring.
Then he disconnected.
All the air sucked from Sophie’s lungs. Tears blinded her vision, but she managed to keep the vehicle straight. There was a sign for 95 South, so she turned right as the man next to her cursed.
“How long have you known Stone?” Thomas demanded.
“A few days.” Her words came out scratchy and unsteady. She tried to ignore the jagged talons of the raw pain raking through her, but it was impossible. Jack didn’t care what happened to her. She was expendable. A sob built in her throat, but somehow she managed to shove it down. Just barely.
“Damn it! I thought . . .” He tapped the gun against his leg, then made another call. Thomas didn’t put him on speaker this time, but in the quiet vehicle, she could hear every word.
Jack answered immediately. “I told you I’m not making a deal.”
His words were just one more nail in her coffin and one more punch to the gut.
“I can give you information on Vargas, but, more important, on his contact, Abu al-Ramaan. No matter what he says, Vargas doesn’t know shit about the man. I’ve got a list of probable targets and a list of Abu’s contacts along the East Coast and some in California. He wants to unleash biological terror within the next couple months. I’m the only man who can help you.”
“How could you possibly have this information?”
“You think I keep all my eggs in one basket? Vargas would kill or betray me with no problem. Unfortunately I need my fucking money. I’ve worked too hard to get shortchanged now. I know you guys will hunt me down, but with enough cash, you’ll never find me. It always pays to have a backup plan.” He sounded so proud of himself. So smug and sure.
“Where do you want to meet?”
“Uh-uh. You get Vargas, then head south. Once you’re on the road, call me and I’ll give you further instructions. If I even think you’ve brought a team, I’ll put a bullet in her head before
you can get within a mile.”
“Your information better be good.”
“Trust me, it is. Oh, and, Jack?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t waste your time trying to track me. I disabled the GPSs on all the vehicles earlier today.”
Jack hung up.
Thomas snapped the phone shut and glared at her. “Maybe you don’t mean as much to him as I thought.”
On one level Sophie understood national security was a priority, but this wasn’t just Jack rejecting her. She’d never say his name aloud, but this was Sam. Her Sam. And she wasn’t enough for him. A vise tightened and twisted around her heart, the screws puncturing so painfully it was all she could do to keep the vehicle straight. He might as well have reached into her chest and ripped her heart out with his bare hands. She meant nothing to Jack.
• • •
Jack slid his phone into his pocket with shaking hands. More than rage, raw fear snaked through his veins like liquid fire. Hanging up on Thomas Chadwick had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. It had been a huge risk and if Sophie hadn’t been part of the equation, he wouldn’t have second-guessed himself.
Chadwick needed Jack’s help, so Jack knew he wouldn’t kill Sophie. The only way to convince him of that had been to bargain. If Jack had given in too quickly, Chadwick would have realized just how important she was to him. Then he’d have had all the bargaining power and Sophie would be dead.
Jack exited the vehicle and pulled up the hangar door a few feet. The two other analysts still clacked away at their computer. Good. They didn’t know Chadwick was missing. Both glanced at him but just as quickly returned to what they were doing.
“Hey, I need Chadwick’s help. He’s over at Vargas’s hangar helping set up the interrogation room.” He casually dropped the information as he walked toward their table, trying to gauge their reactions.
The only female of the group frowned at him. “But Wesley said—”
“Change of plans. I’ve worked with Chadwick before and I requested him.”
“Fine.” The woman shrugged, then returned to her computer.