Target Zero
Page 31
It was guilt.
You kept three. Found better spots for them.
That night, when she came home, you cooked her favorite meal and lit candles. You kissed her forehead and apologized. She tried to stay mad.
She couldn’t. She smiled.
“Imagine it,” she joked. “You, shooting a gun.” She laughed.
You grinned. “I know. It was a dumb idea.”
“Your heart was in the right place.” She put her hand on yours. “But we don’t need it.”
“You’re right.”
“They cause more harm than good. You know that, right?”
“I know that.”
He did know that. She had definitely been right.
Reid blew out a long breath and relaxed his white-knuckled fingers from the wheel as the memory faded. She didn’t know. Kate didn’t know about him, because he lied to her. And he kept up that lie right until the end. And now he was continuing it with his daughters—or one of them, anyway.
“It was to keep them safe,” he said to himself aloud. “You only lied to keep them safe.” And you keep lying. Did that keep them safe in February?
He shook the thought from his head. This was fatigue, nothing more. He turned onto Spruce Street and eased down the block until a familiar and most welcome sight came into view. He turned into the driveway and parked.
He reached for the door handle but paused, frowning. Thompson’s truck wasn’t in the driveway. Maybe they went somewhere? It was just before noon on a Sunday; where would they have gone?
Reid laughed at himself. Hadn’t he made a promise to try not to be so overprotective? Thompson obviously ran an errand. Good, maybe I can surprise the girls without a Smith & Wesson getting pulled.
He pushed his key as quietly as possible into the front door and turned it. He slipped inside the foyer and pushed the door closed again with his palm. He didn’t need to worry about the alarm as long as someone was in the house and had set it…
His keys fell out of his hands at the sight of the blood in the foyer.
He ran, sliding to the tile beside the body as his knees weakened.
He checked for a pulse. But he already knew by the look of the face that there hadn’t been one for hours.
Thompson was dead. He had been beaten and stabbed in the chest.
“No,” Reid said hoarsely. “No, no, no, no, no…” He was back on his feet, sprinting down the basement steps as fast as he could, half-stumbling down them and gripping the banister for support.
Sara’s cell phone, in its hot pink case, sat on the floor of the bottom landing.
The panic room door was wide open.
No one inside.
“God, no, please, no…” His fingers were trembling as he dialed 911 on his own phone, smearing the screen with Thompson’s blood. “Y-yes, my name is Reid Lawson, 241 Spruce Street. There’s… there’s been a murder…”
He told them that his two teenage daughters had been kidnapped, even as tears welled in both his eyes. Even though he shook so hard the phone threatened to fall from his hand.
He didn’t remember going back up the stairs, but suddenly he was in Maya’s room, tearing her comforter off the bed, looking beneath it, flinging open the closet, because she was here. She wasn’t gone.
She was here somewhere. She was smart. She had hidden. It had to be true.
In Sara’s room he saw the open window, the fire escape ladder unfurled, and his heart leapt. They got out. They used the ladder. Thompson gave his life to save theirs. They’re out there, safe, somewhere.
He convinced himself of it. He was certain of it. When his brain told him that they would have contacted him, called his cell phone, sent a text, called Linda, called the police, he swatted at the air in front of him as if he could physically push those thoughts away.
They’re safe. They’re fine. They got away.
Sara’s phone chimed in his hand.
He hadn’t realized he was still holding it.
His breath came in ragged gulps as he swiped across the screen to unlock it and checked the text message that had just come through.
It was a picture. And it came from Maya’s number.
The photo was of his girls. They were in their pajamas, huddled together in the backseat of a vehicle. Maya was holding her little sister. Both their faces were red, puffy from crying.
There was a message with it. They are still alive. For now. Come find me.
He dropped the phone as if it was on fire. The screen cracked.
As the sirens outside screamed, Reid did too.
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HUNTING ZERO
(An Agent Zero Spy Thriller—Book #3)
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In HUNTING ZERO (Book #3), when CIA operative Agent Zero finds out his two teenage girls have been kidnapped and are bound for a trafficking ring in Eastern Europe, he embarks on a high-octane chase across Europe, leaving a trail of devastation is his wake as he breaks all rules, risks his own life, and does everything he can to get his daughters back.
Kent, ordered by the CIA to stand down, refuses. Without the backing of the agency, with moles and assassins on all sides, with a lover he can barely trust, and being targeted himself, Agent Zero must fight multiple foes to get his girls back.
Up against the most deadly trafficking ring in Europe, with political connections reaching all the way to the top, it is an unlikely battle—one man against an army—and one that only Agent Zero can wage.
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Also available is Jack Mars’ #1 bestselling LUKE STONE THRILLER series (7 books), which begins with Any Means Necessary (Book #1), a free download with over 800 five star reviews!
HUNTING ZERO
(An Agent Zero Spy Thriller—Book #3)
Jack Mars
Jack Mars is the USA Today bestselling author of the LUKE STONE thriller series, which includes seven books. He is also the author of the new FORGING OF LUKE STONE prequel series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the AGENT ZERO spy thriller series, comprising six books (and counting).
ANY MEANS NECESSARY (book #1), which has over 800 five star reviews, is available as a free download on Amazon!
Jack loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.Jackmarsauthor.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!
BOOKS BY JACK MARS
LUKE STONE THRILLER SERIES
ANY MEANS NECESSARY (Book #1)
OATH OF OFFICE (Book #2)
SITUATION ROOM (Book #3)
OPPOSE ANY FOE (Book #4)
PRESIDENT ELECT (Book #5)
OUR SACRED HONOR (Book #6)
HOUSE DIVIDED (Book #7)
FORGING OF LUKE STONE PREQUEL SERIES
PRIMARY TARGET (Book #1)
PRIMARY COMMAND (Book #2)
PRIMARY THREAT (Book #3)
AN AGENT ZERO SPY THRILLER SERIES
AGENT ZERO (Book #1)
TARGET ZERO (Book #2)
HUNTING ZERO (Book #3)
TRAPPING ZERO (Book #4)
FILE ZERO (Book #5)
RECALL ZERO (Book #6)
Jack Mars, Target Zero