by Mary Alford
Every Beat
Covert Justice, Book 1
By
Mary Alford
Published by Forget Me Not Romances, a division of Winged Publications
Copyright © 2017 by Mary Alford
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be resold, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Piracy is illegal. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, dialogue, incidents, and places either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Prologue
Frantic breathing warred with the staccato beat of her heart drowning out all other sounds.
Two hours had now past since their appointed meet time and he was a vapor. Gone. Disappeared into thin air. Her gut told her something bad had happened. Time became her worst friend. Every second behind enemy lines was one less chance she’d have at getting out of this thing alive.
The hackles on the back of her neck alerted her she was no longer alone. A twig snapped. Someone closed in. Instinct told her it wasn’t him and so she ran. The noise of her panicked heartbeat was deafening against her ear. The feeling of impending danger reverberated all around her and tracked her like a hunted animal.
Where was he? Fear for his safety threatened to swallow her up. She couldn’t leave him here. He was one of them. Up ahead, the broken down silhouette of what appeared to be a burnt out building emerged from the oasis of sand. Another victim of the war.
He’d never once missed a meet. Proof positive something had gone sideways. She reached the building and crouched behind what was left of a wall while trying the radio for help. There was only static.
Where are you?
As her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, her fate became apparent. There was nothing left of the building’s insides. No place to hide where she couldn’t be found and the enemy’s footsteps were all around.
Dear God, please don’t let it be like this. She didn’t want to die without saying goodbye to Jase. There were too many things that she'd intended to say to him one day. Things she needed to say…
She felt it then. The cold steel of an assault rifle’s barrel shoved hard against the back of her head. She froze.
“Drop it, Kate. It’s over.”
Disbelief almost dropped her to her knees. Him. No! It couldn't be. She trusted him.
After what felt like eternity, she did as he asked. This was not the enemy she been expecting. This was her brother in arms.
“You?” she asked, still not fully believing. “How could you do this?” Another far more terrifying thought occurred. “Did you?”
The barrel dug into her scalp. “Shut up.”
She turned to face her enemy. Her friend. One she loved and trusted.
With the end in sight and nothing left to lose, she lunged for him. “How could you betray your country like this? How could you betray us? How could you…” Someone grabbed her from behind in with a vise grip around her upper torso, restraining her.
He actually laughed at her. “Spare me the patriotism. You’re not that naïve. This has nothing to do with us.”
“What are you talking about? Did you…” She couldn’t bring the words out. Had he hurt Jase?
He laughed again, finding her weakness amusing. “So, the great Kate Willows is human after all. I always wondered. You should have listened to Jase. None of this would have happened if you’d stayed home where he wanted you. Where you belonged.” The maniacal grin that creased his face threatened to take away the last of her hope.
She fought her restrainer like a caged animal. “You won’t get away with this. There are operatives everywhere. They'll be here any moment. You can’t sweep this under the rug like you did the others.”
His reaction was another laugh. “You really think one little spy is all that important when it comes to these stakes. You overestimate your value, Kate. You always did, though.”
He stepped forward. Dropped the weapon and brought something else from his jacket. A knife. The glistening steel blade guaranteed the pain would be great.
“Goodbye, Kate. I wish I could say, I’ll miss you, but the truth is, I never really like you all that much and you’ve outlived your worth.” He motioned to the man holding her. His grip tightened and he grabbed a handful of hair, forcing her neck back. With one fluid movement, the knife sliced across her throat. Instantly, blood rushed from the wound, down the front of her shirt.
She tried to speak, to call out for help. The only sound that came forth was the gurgling sound of her blood gushing from the wound. She was helpless to do anything more than slump back against the man holding her as her life-giving blood drained from her body at a rapid rate.
He’d killed her. She could feel her life slowly slipping away. She was growing weak. The world around became faint. She struggled with her last bit of strength. Not like this. Her capture held her tighter. She couldn’t breathe. Jase. Where was he? Her thoughts grew fuzzy except for one. Jase.
As if on cue, the static on the radio was replaced by the sound of his voice. “Kate? Kate, are you there? Get out of there, it’s a setup. Get out of there.”
Chapter One
Light as blinding the noonday sun struck her face. “No.” She tried to put her hand up to shield herself against it, but she couldn’t move. Her arms felt as if they were glued to her sides.
“Hannah. Wake up, Hannah.”
Close by, a woman spoke. Her voice familiar.
Hannah struggled to open her eyes, but it was an impossible task. The woman’s voice was joined by others. She couldn’t make out what they were saying. She was so tired. She’d rest for a little while longer. Soon the voices faded, and then there was nothing … but him.
She could see him clearly. He looked sad. There were tears in his eyes. He held her hand and asked her not to leave. She knew him, but as hard as she tried she couldn’t remember how. Who was he? Why was he so sad?
What was happening to her…?
When she woke again, the light was gone. The room silent. She sensed a lot of time had passed. She’d never felt more disoriented. Her thoughts wouldn’t come together. How long had she been unconscious? Was he just a dream? Father, he seemed so real…
As did his grief.
She slowly opened her eyes, but the room around her was fuzzy. Soon the fuzz turned into blurred images. She blinked and the blur cleared. She was in a hospital room. She didn’t remember how she’d gotten here.
Hannah glanced around. Several people stood close by.
“She’s awake. Oh, thank goodness, our prayers have been answered. Hannah’s awake.” Someone squeezed her hand. She focused on the woman standing next to her bed. Her sister Beverly.
“We’ve been so worried. Do you know where you are?” Beverly asked.
The slew of IV tubes rendering her right arm immobile testified to the severity of her illness.
Hannah knew she had to say something to ease Beverly’s concerns. “I’m in the hospital, but I don’t remember what happened.” Her throat felt as dry as the desert. She tried to fit the pieces together, but it was as mixed up as a puzzle.
Beverly’s brows knitted together in a frown. “You don’t remember? You collapsed in your apartment two weeks ago. Your heart gave out on you. We rushed you here to Bethesda Naval Hospital because it was the closest. The good news is you’re going to be okay. You were lucky. There was a heart available and they we
re able to do the transplant right away. Everything’s going to be fine now.”
Two weeks! Impossible. Her thoughts scattered like dust in the wind. She tried to capture the faintest of memories. She’d been in her apartment reading one of her latest spy novels when… The pain had been excruciating. She’d managed to reach her cell phone and dial Bev’s number before collapsing.
“Rest now. Doctor Brannon promised to stop by soon. Michael went home to shower and change, but he’ll be back later today.” Beverly was talking too much. Her sister always talked too much when she was nervous.
“He’s going to be so thrilled to see you’re awake.”
Michael Ellis, her high school sweetheart, was supposed to stop by later that same night. He must have been scared to death when he’d learned about her collapse.
She’d been unconscious for two weeks. She’d almost died. Someone had. Somewhere another family mourned the loss of the one whose heart now beat in her chest. Tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, yet she couldn’t stop them. Someone had died while she lived. There had to be a reason for it.
Beverly’s pitiful attempt at a smile disappeared entirely. She no longer hid her fear. “Hannah, what it is?”
She shook her head. She didn’t know how to explain to her sister that she wasn’t the same person she’d once been.
Beverly snatched at her husband’s hand. “Go find Dr. Brannon. Now, Andy.”
* * * *
Four weeks later…
“Hey, babe. You sure are a sight for sore eyes.” Michael leaned over to lightly kiss her lips. She struggled to keep from pulling away. Since she’d woken from the coma, things had been different between them. Strained. All because of the mysterious man in her dreams.
But this was Michael. Her Michael. She loved him, right? So why didn’t she feel something … anything whenever he was close to her.
Always even-tempered and fun loving, Michael didn’t appear to notice the change in her behavior. “You really had us worried there for a little bit last night.”
Beverly threw Michael a disapproving look that was meant to convey she didn’t like his topic of discussion. “Michael, Hannah has been very ill. Of course she’s not quite herself.” Bev turned back to Hannah and smiled. “I’m going to find Andy and see if we can get something to eat. I’ll be back in a few.” She looked Michael square in the eyes. “Try not to do anything to upset her.”
He did a quick “cross-my-heart” gesture, which was met with another scowl. “I mean it, Michael.” Bev’s warning went way beyond simple concern for her health. Her sister didn’t want her to know something.
“What did she mean by that?” Hannah asked the moment Bev was out of earshot.
“You don’t remember?” Michael teased. “You were talking all sorts of crazy stuff right before you woke up.”
Hannah flinched at his attempt at humor.
“Like what?”
Michael grinned down at her. He knew she wanted to hear everything. In usual Michael fashion, he was going to play hard to get.
“Oh, nothing embarrassing, if that’s what you’re thinking. In fact, you had quite a story going on. You kept us all entertained with your spy story and a secret covert meeting in the middle of the night in the desert of Afghanistan of all places. You even had a showdown in an abandoned building, only that’s when you started to freak out, and Bev screamed for the doctor who gave you something to sedate you. You kept saying, ‘I’m sorry. I love you. I’ll always love you.’ Should I be worried?” Michael laughed.
Hannah closed her eyes and tried to hold on to the faintest of memories. She remembered … something. The heat of the desert. The fear pumping through her body. Him. The man in her dreams. She loved him, and he looked so sad. Before she could capture anything viably, the memories disappeared into thin air.
None of it made sense. It had been an emotional few weeks. She’d come close to death. Of course there were bound to be a few unexplained emotions.
“I thought we agreed not to talk about that.” Both Hannah and Michael turned their gazes toward the doorway where Bev had suddenly materialized. “Hannah’s been through enough. She wasn’t aware of what she was saying.”
Her sister came over, squeezed her hand, and smiled kindly. “If you ask me, it was probably something from one of those spy novels you’re always reading. In fact, when I found you after you collapsed that day, you had one sitting next to you on the bed. It’s certainly nothing to be concerned about. I’m sure once you’re feeling more like yourself, it will all be but forgotten.”
Beverly arched a brow at Michael in a familiar manner Hannah recognized right away. It meant for him to keep his mouth shut on certain subjects. Michael held up both hands as if in defeat.
“What happened to you and Andy getting a bite to eat?” Hannah asked in hopes of changing the subject.
Bev pulled a face. “We were but the cafeteria’s closed. We’ll pick up something on the way home.”
At almost ten years her senior, Beverly had been taking care of Hannah since the day she was born. When their parents died unexpectedly in an auto accident, Beverly had been in her third year at The University of Florida. She’d left college behind for good to look after her baby sister. A few years later, she met and married Andy.
Bev worked hard to provide a stable home, and it hadn’t been easy because Hannah wasn’t like most kids. She’d been sickly for as long as she could remember. When Hannah was seven, the doctors told her parents it was only a matter of time before she would need a new heart. Hannah was grateful their parent’s hadn’t been forced to witness that day.
For all the things her sister had done for her, she owed her so much. Which was why she needed to hold it together. For Beverly.
She fell back on her strong faith and asked for courage. She wouldn’t have gotten through all those years being ill if it weren’t for her faith in God.
Physically, she had a long road ahead of her. She’d need weeks of recovery and a lifetime of taking anti-rejection drugs. It would be the New Year before she could even consider returning to her teaching position. But she was alive. She needed to keep that in prospective.
“You look tired. We should all leave. The doctor says if you continue to do so well, he expects to release you in another week possibly, but you need your rest.” Beverly all but shooed everyone from the room.
“Message received. I don’t want to anger big sister anymore.” Michael leaned over to kiss her again. She turned away so that his kiss landed on her cheek. He hesitated a second before saying, “I’m glad you’re doing better, babe. You should rest.” Hannah couldn’t look at him. She nodded.
Andrew, in his typical big brother manner, ruffled her hair. “See you tomorrow, kiddo. Stay away from those spy novels, you hear.”
Hannah tried to smile at his failed attempt at humor. “I will. See ya, Andy.”
When it was Beverly’s turn to leave, Hannah clutched her hand tight. Having Bev close made her feel safe. “Can you stay for a little bit? I’d like to talk. Until I fall asleep,” she added when Bev was about to refuse.
“Okay.” Beverly gave in at last. “Let me tell Andrew so he can hitch a ride with Michael. I’ll be right back.”
When she returned, she closed the door and pulled a chair closer to the bed. “How are you really? You look exhausted.”
Beverly appeared to regret her decision to stay behind, and Hannah was quick to reassure her. “I’m fine … at least I think I am, but I need to talk and I need you not to think I’m crazy.”
Beverly stared wide-eyed at her sister. “Now you’re really scaring me. Is this about the dream? I know you didn’t want to admit it in front of Michael, but you remembered part of it, didn’t you?”
Hannah didn’t know how to tell her sister what she’d begun to suspect. “That’s the thing, Bev. I don’t think it was simply a dream.”
Beverly swallowed hard. The uneasiness had returned to her eyes. “What do you mean?�
�
“There have been other … dreams. Bev, I think the dreams belong to someone else.” She took a deep breath and told her sister her deepest fears. “I think I’m remembering parts of my donor’s life through my dreams, and I think something dreadful happened to her.”
If possible, Bev looked even more terrified. “Hannah … you don’t know that. You don’t even know your donor was a woman. Those details weren’t released. It’s probably your thoughts getting jumbled up. You’ve been through so much.”
Hannah shook her head. “It isn’t. I’m positive she was a woman, and I need your help. I need you to find out who she was and what happened to her. I owe her my life, Bev. I’m alive because of her. Can you do this for me please?”
For the longest time, Hannah was positive her sister would refuse. Beverly stared at her torn between doing what was best for her sister and what Hannah desperately wanted.
Finally, Bev agreed. “I’ll see what I can do. But I’m not making any promises. The hospital was very adamant about keeping the identity of the donor anonymous. Still, I’ve been here long enough to know where the patient files are kept. I’ll see what I can find out.”
Hannah closed her eyes in relief. “Thank you. I owe you so much.”
Bev patted her hand. “Nonsense. You’re my baby sister. I’d do anything for you. Try not to worry, though. I’m sure all of this, the dreams, your feelings, are all nothing more than part of the heart transplant process.”
Chapter Two
“I have to caution you again, Agent McCoy, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Dr. Brannon followed the agent out of his office. “My patient is not out of the woods yet. She doesn’t need this unnecessary stress.”
“I’m sorry, doctor, but this isn’t your call. It’s a matter of national security. Someone from your team dropped the ball. Your patient discovered Agent Willows’ identity. Her file should never have been amongst the others. Now I have to do damage control, so frankly, I don’t care whether or not you think this is a good idea.” Agent Travis Ellis ignored the doctor’s warnings. He had his orders. Talk to the woman, tell her his name was James McCoy and he was working with the transplant unit. Find out what she knew and determine her threat factor. He intended to follow those orders to the end. No matter who stood in the way.