by LENA DIAZ,
She smiled and cupped his face. “You both saved us. Thank you.”
Unable to resist a quick taste, he leaned down and kissed her.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Austin called out. “If you can quit drooling all over each other for a few minutes, I’m about to start a Skype session with Devlin, Mason, and Ramsey.”
Chapter Twenty-one
As Melissa took a seat beside Austin at the computer, Emily got up. Melissa gave her a questioning look.
“I’ve already spoken to Dev on the phone,” she said, turning to Jace. “He wants me to take Sebastian’s body to one of our guys at a lab near here. He can look for particulates that might help us figure out where Sebastian has been. It’s a long shot, but it could tell us where to look for whoever sent him after Melissa. Can you help me load him into my trunk?”
“No problem.”
Melissa pressed her hand to her throat, fighting nausea as Emily matter-of-factly brought in a body bag from her car as if this were a common occurrence in her life.
Maybe it was.
Emily waved good-bye as Jace lifted the now-full body bag over his shoulder and followed her out to the garage.
“Mel, you need some Pepto or something?” Austin asked. “You’re looking a little green.”
She forced her hand down. “No. I’ll be okay. That was just . . . weird.”
He shrugged. “You get used to it.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. And I’ve only been on the team a few weeks.”
She shuddered. “Maybe I do need some Pepto.”
He grinned and opened a drawer beneath the countertop. “Here you go. I always keep a supply of the chewable pills. Comes in handy when your main sustenance is pizza.”
She opened the little packet and popped the pills in her mouth. “If pizza bothers you, then why do you eat it all the time?”
“Because I like it.” He blinked at her as if she were crazy.
She laughed, already feeling better.
Jace strode back inside and made a beeline to the kitchen. After washing his hands, he sat down in the chair on the other side of Austin. “All right. Emily is on her way to safety. Devlin doesn’t have to worry about her. We can cut the BS.”
Austin grinned. “Nothing gets past you does it, genius?” He punched a button and typed in a string of numbers and letters.
“I don’t understand,” Melissa said. “Taking the . . . bag . . . was a ploy? To get Emily out of here?”
“Of course,” Austin interjected. “Dev’s overprotective. Or hadn’t you noticed? Em is smart and has a heart of gold. And she’s a damn fine detective. But when it comes to the hands-on stuff, she scares the hell out of all of us. It’s way better for the whole team if she’s preoccupied elsewhere while we go after the bad guys.”
“And you knew this?” she asked Jace.
“I figured as much. I heard stories from Devlin when we met in Savannah. Like Austin said, Emily’s strengths lie elsewhere.”
Melissa folded her arms on the desktop in front of her. “I feel like I’m always playing catch-up around you.”
Austin punched another button, then pressed ENTER. A Skype session filled the screen, showing Devlin, Mason, and Ramsey sitting together. From what she could see behind them, they were probably sitting in the back of a van, probably the same one they’d used to kidnap her and Jace last night.
“Is Em gone?” Devlin asked.
“She’s on her way,” Jace assured him. “Austin caught you up on everything here?”
“Yes. And it meshes with what we’ve found out. Ramsey, tell them what your police contact told you.”
Ramsey scooted closer to the screen, the number eighty-eight, his NASCAR idol’s racecar number, printed in bold red across his black T-shirt. “One of our contacts at Boulder PD was able to get a copy of the police lab’s analysis on dirt from inside the trunk of the Cadillac where the Councilwoman’s body was found. It contained a mixture of minerals and soil types that didn’t mean anything to the police but raised red flags for us enforcers. We know all about that mix of minerals because it was something they taught us during training, when they explained the merits of the EXIT training facility and how the minerals in the soil there could block most transmissions. That particular mix is rare and only happened as a result of the types of mining going on there for years.”
“So you think he was at this training facility?” Jace asked.
“We think there’s a high probability. We call it Enforcement Alley, our very own Kobayashi Maru, a pretty good trek outside of town.” He grinned. “Kobayashi Maru. Trek. Get it?”
Jace rolled his eyes. “Tell me about this Enforcement Alley.”
Mason took Ramsey’s place in the middle of the screen. “You’ve heard of Hogan’s Alley?”
“Of course. The tactical training facility in Quantico where the FBI trains its special agents with shoot-out simulations, among other things.”
“Right. Well, Cyprian played off that decades ago and made his own version out in the foothills on top of a network of abandoned mines and called it Enforcement Alley. It’s where all the enforcers used to be trained. But it proved too dangerous, even for us. The mines beneath the town are unstable, with collapses happening and sinkholes appearing without warning. And there are caches of old TNT explosives buried in some of those mines, too unstable to be removed. After the body count got too high for even Cyprian to stomach, the town was shut down and fenced off. A new facility was built, and this one hasn’t been used since. Or at least that’s what we thought. Now we’re wondering if someone in EXIT is using it as a base of operations.”
“Stefano has to be the one who killed those Council members at the hotel,” Jace reminded them. When they’d eaten dinner last night, he’d caught them up on everything he and Melissa had found out. “So it makes sense that if he’s the one who sent Sebastian here, then he might be there waiting for Sebastian to return with Melissa.”
“You said Kobayashi Maru,” Melissa reminded him. “What does that mean?”
Jace eyed her as if she’d sprouted horns on the top of her head. “Star Trek? Captain James Tiberius Kirk? Any of that ring a bell?”
“Vaguely. Not really a sci-fi fan.”
He winced. “That needs to be rectified right away.”
Now it was her turn to roll her eyes.
“Kobayashi Maru was the name of a cadet training exercise in the Star Trek TV series,” Mason explained. “And it was the name some of us trainees started using instead of Enforcement Alley because it seemed impossible to pass the physical endurance tests and survival drills we were put through.”
“So we think, what, that the missing Council members are being held at this facility?” Jace asked.
“We do. If they’re still alive.” He glanced at Devlin and Ramsey before continuing. “We’re actually already here at Enforcement Alley. Our van is hidden in the woods on a hill that overlooks the east gate. That’s the closest we could get and still be hidden, without losing transmission quality from the limited cell-tower coverage and the minerals in the soil closer into town. Shortly after we got here, we saw an old black Mercedes pull through the gate.”
Jace and Melissa looked at each other.
“Wasn’t there a car like that on the mountain road?” Melissa asked. “Before our tire blew out?”
He nodded. “It passed the park where we were sitting less than a minute after your father’s chef drove by. That must be Stefano’s car.”
“No,” Melissa said. “He drives a red BMW.”
“I imagine he drives whatever he needs for a mission,” Jace said.
“Good point.”
“Bingo,” Ramsey said. “Stefano’s the one who got out of the Mercedes. Right in front of the old saloon. We’re thinking the Council members may be inside if they’re alive.”
“Cyprian Cardenas arrived a few minutes later,” Mason said.
Melissa’s heart sank. “That doesn’t
prove he’s involved with the Council’s disappearance. Maybe he was lured there by Stefano. Or someone had a gun on him.”
“No one had a gun on him.” His voice was short, clipped, leaving no doubt that he considered her father an active participant in whatever was happening to the Council. “We’re going to hike to the town and round up Cyprian, Stefano, and whoever else might be there and sort all of this out.”
Jace rose from his chair. “Send the GPS coordinates to my phone. We’ll go in together.”
“You got it.” The screen went dark.
Melissa jumped up and followed Jace to the wall of weapons. “I want to help. What can I do?”
“Help by staying here, where I know you’ll be safe.”
“This place wasn’t safe an hour ago.”
His jaw tightened. “That was different. You and Austin won’t let anyone in until I return. And since whatever is going down seems to be focused around Enforcement Alley, this is the safest place for you right now.” He rapped on one of the display cases. “How do I open this?”
Austin punched a few buttons on the computer. The glass covers on all of the cases flipped up and out of the way. “Be my guest.”
He shed his suit jacket and put one of the bullet-resistant vests over his dress shirt.
“Give me one of those,” Melissa said. “I’m coming with you.”
“No. You’re not.” He selected a wicked-looking serrated knife and slid it into a holder inside his right boot.
“Yes. I am. I have to protect you. And I have to protect my father, too.”
Jace paused in the process of shoving magazines into his pants pockets. “Protect your father? You do remember that he killed your boyfriend, right?”
She jerked back at his cruel reminder.
His face immediately softened with regret. “Mel, I’m sorry. That was—”
“The truth,” she whispered. “I’m not an idiot, Jace. I know that my father has done some horrible things. He should pay for what he’s done. But he should pay for his crimes in a court of law. Not at the hands of vigilantes.”
He stiffened, then shoved a magazine down into his left boot. After grabbing one last magazine, he faced her, his expression cold. “You act like I’m going out there to kill your father. I’m not a murderer, Mel. If I kill someone, it’s in self-defense. Or to save someone else’s life.” He gave Austin a curt nod and headed toward the garage.
Melissa ran after him. “Wait. We need to discuss this.”
He blew out a deep breath and suddenly looked very weary. “I understand your concerns. I really do. But you have to trust that I know what I’m doing.” He stepped through the door that led into the garage and pulled it shut with a loud click.
Melissa reached for the knob, then stopped. Honorable, brave, loyal, trustworthy. A few days ago, those were simply words on a background report. But Jace had proven them true over and over again. He was right. He knew what he was doing. Jace wouldn’t harm her father. She had to believe that and trust him. Dropping her hand, she turned around and joined Austin at the row of computers.
“Don’t worry, Mel.” His fingers clacked on the keyboard. “I figured this could happen last night when Devlin didn’t even try to talk me out of going on the mission. I knew he might sneak out and leave me here. Which is exactly what he did—while I was in the shower, the jerk. And I figured you’d end up left behind, too, because there was no way Jace would want you in danger. So I planned ahead.”
He made a flourish out of punching a function key. “Melissa, meet the Equalizer helmet cam. Or rather, the fake-button-on-my-brother’s-shirt cam.” The screen changed, showing a picture of a chain-link fence at the bottom of a hill. And below that, a dusty street with wooden buildings on either side. A black Mercedes sat out front, beside a black limousine.
“You put a spy camera on Devlin’s shirt, and he doesn’t know about it?”
“Clever, huh?” He grinned. “It’s not the first time either.”
“You’re brilliant.”
“Yeah. It runs in the family.” He shrugged as if it was his burden to bear.
Melissa smiled, her worries for Jace, and her father, settling down now that she could at least keep an eye on what was happening.
“Is there any sound?”
“Unfortunately, no. I need to work on that for next time.”
The picture they were seeing barely moved, probably because Devlin and the others were waiting on the hillside for Jace before making their approach. A burst of static turned the monitor into white snow for a moment. Then the picture reappeared, although a bit fuzzy and less clear than before.
“That shouldn’t have happened,” Austin muttered. He punched a few more keys. The picture stabilized.
They sat together for over thirty minutes, their view barely changing. Then it moved to the left, and Jace could be seen shaking Ramsey’s and Devlin’s hands before nodding to Mason and saying something to him.
“Here we go,” Austin said, as the angle shifted again. “They’re heading for the fence.”
Melissa tensed beside him, wishing they could hear what was going on.
The picture blinked again.
Austin frowned and keyed in a few more codes. But the closer the men got to the town, the fuzzier the picture became, and the more often it blinked.
“Can’t you make it clear again?” Melissa asked. She was clutching the countertop so hard, her fingers ached. The men were almost to the gate.
“That’s the best I’ve got. It’s the topography and the stupid minerals, I guess. I thought that was a load of crap, to be honest. I’ve never heard of minerals having that effect on electronics. Learn something new every day I suppose. All we can hope is that it will come through long enough to—” The picture went dark. He swore and typed a long string of commands. But no matter what he did, the picture stayed dark.
He slammed his fist on the table and shoved back in his chair. “We’re blind. We’ve got nothing.” The screen flashed again. “Wait, look.”
She squinted, trying to make out what was happening between the squiggly lines of interference. “They’re inside the fence.” Someone ran past Devlin, his pistol out in front of him. “That’s Jace! He’s firing at someone.” He ducked behind the limo and looked over the back of the trunk, aiming down the street.
“There.” Austin tapped his finger on the screen, pointing to a dark shape about a block away. Sunlight glinted off the gun in his hands. “They’re in a shoot-out.”
Melissa clasped her hands together. Be careful, Jace. Please be careful.
The camera angle shifted again. Devlin must have turned back to say something to Ramsey and Mason because they were on the screen. The interference was so bad it was difficult to make them out, even though they were just a few feet away. Mason said something. Ramsey nodded and stepped to the left. He suddenly flipped backward onto the ground. Devlin dropped down beside him.
Austin swore and covered the screen with his hands. “Don’t look, Mel. Damn it to hell. I can’t believe this.” He swore again, his voice shaking with anger.
Melissa sat in shock beside him. One moment Ramsey was talking and full of life. Then in the blink of an eye—or an assassin’s bullet—he was . . . gone.
“Put your hands down,” she choked through her tight throat. “We have to see what’s going on with the others.”
He blew out a breath and dropped his hands. Devlin appeared to be yelling at Mason who was still crouching beside Ramsey, his hands fisted in his dead friend’s blood-spattered shirt. The grief on Mason’s face was heart wrenching. Finally, Devlin jerked Mason to his feet and forced him to turn away from Ramsey’s body, facing the fake town again.
“Where’s Jace?” Melissa asked, bottling her emotions as best she could. Whether Ramsey had a wife, a girlfriend, a family, she didn’t know. But thinking about the tragedy that had just happened wouldn’t help anyone right now, not when the rest of the team was still in danger. What she had to focus
on was what was happening to the others.
Austin shook his head, squinting at the snowy picture. “I don’t know where Jace went. I can’t see squat.”
Devlin ran forward, his pistol extended in front of him, just visible at the edge of the screen. Mason jogged a few feet ahead and slightly to his left. Suddenly, an explosion of dust and dirt flew up, and the picture went dark again.
“What the hell was that?” Austin said.
She shook her head. “I have no idea. It’s like they just . . . disappeared.”
Austin’s face turned pale. His fingers flew over the keyboard, and a few seconds later the picture they’d just seen was on the screen again, replaying in slow motion. Dust flew up. He punched a function key, freezing the frame. “There.” He pointed. “See?”
She slowly nodded. “The street collapsed beneath them. Mason and Devlin must have fallen into one of those mineshafts Mason was talking about earlier.”
Austin sat back, tapping the table, his mouth in a grim line. “I didn’t see Jace. I think he went ahead, down the street. He may not even realize that something happened to them. Or maybe something happened to him, too.”
Melissa stared at the screen for a few more seconds, then jumped up. “They need help. I’m going out there.” She ran to the wall of weapons and vests and stared at them in frustration. “I thought I knew a lot about guns, but I don’t even know what half this stuff is. Help me, Austin. Please.”
He wheeled over to her. “You know I can’t—”
“You can’t what? Let me go? Try to stop me, and I’ll dump you on your ass.”
He held his hands up in a placating gesture. “Hey. Back up the Humvee, GI Jane. My brother is out there and could be wounded. I’m the last person who would try to stop you. What I was going to say is that I can’t help out there. Devlin was right not to let me go because my chair would just be a hindrance in that environment. But I can help you choose the guns and ammo you’ll need after you suit up in Kevlar. Mason’s car is in the garage. You can take that. I’ll give you the GPS coordinates to punch into the NAV unit. And then I’ll do what I do best from here.”