by Bushman, LJ
“We’ll get them back. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure your kids are safe,” Joseph said quietly.
“I know you will. Between us, I’m sure we can get them back. It never should’ve happened in the first place.”
“That’s true. Only cowards prey on children.”
I looked up at him in time to spot Andrea pay off our waitress. My blood ran cold as my fury escalated. She approached our table, the two men from our previous encounter following in her wake.
“I see you brought Tweedledum and Tweedledee with you,” I said snidely. “What’s the matter? Afraid to face an agent and writer by yourself?” Probably not the best way to smooth relations over, but I wasn’t trying to smooth relations. I wanted her upset and off kilter. She was expecting me to be fearful, tearful, and on my best behavior. The bitch had another thing coming.
The two men stiffened and anger passed over their faces. Their hands moved to their holsters. They weren’t in uniform or camouflage, but everything about them screamed military training. I wondered if the hotel was routinely lax on their weapons policy. The pair carried their guns in plain sight.
Andrea smiled. “Clever. Open with an attack and throw off your opponents. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you have military training. You don’t. We checked after your little stunt at the hotel. You’re a divorced mom of two. A soccer mom, no less,” she added, surprise tingeing her words as she looked me over with distaste.
If she wanted to piss me off with her taunt regarding my kids, she was barking at the moon. I’d gone beyond anger and had it under control. “Don’t forget writer. It’s what pays for the soccer clothes.”
My complacent smile threw her, and for the first time since walking in, I saw a hitch in her stride.
I stayed seated, even though manners said I should move over in the booth to give her room. Joseph hadn’t scooted over an inch, either—or was it a centimeter here south of the border? No matter. My continuing silence infuriated Andrea. I saw it in her eyes. I bet it had been a long time since anyone defied her.
“We have a lot of ground to cover and a short amount of time to do it. If you want to see your kids again, then I suggest we get to it,” she said, her voice taking on a harsh edge previously missing in her taunts.
I stared at her a moment, let her see my blazing anger for a moment before I masked it again. “And I suggest you make sure my kids are well and unharmed. I’m holding you personally responsible for this fiasco.”
She didn’t need to know I planned to kill the people who had done the actual kidnapping. I hadn’t even told Joseph. He’d chalk up my talk and gripes to the empty threats of a distraught mom. He’d see differently later.
Someone knew the truth about me, the serum, all of it. If it got out that I became malleable as long as someone had my kids, they’d be in greater danger than they were already. Anytime someone wanted to control me, they’d abduct my children. Or worse. I needed to make it one-hundred percent clear, messing with my kids was a death sentence.
“Tell me,” I said, moving one hand to the top of the booth and drumming my fingers against it. “Who ordered the kidnapping? Someone had to have given the order before y’all met me. No lies, Andrea.”
I’d worked out the timing. They would’ve just had time to make it to the hotel after the phone call if they drove straight through and sped the entire way. Anyone not used to driving with kids in the car wouldn’t want to spend any longer than necessary on the road. Plus, they couldn’t risk stops where someone might realize the kids were prisoners. Although I was willing to believe they were close by, I wasn’t willing to believe they’d had it all set up and executed within hours of meeting me.
She stared at me, the wheels turning in her head, weighing her options.
“I did,” she said.
I stood up so suddenly, the two apes following her drew their weapons. I got in Andrea’s face, positioning her body between me and their bullets. “Bullshit. You’re not in charge, you said so yourself. You’re a higher up in the organization, that’s obvious. But you didn’t order it. If you’d ordered the kidnapping, you would’ve taunted me with it when I shot you. Tell me, how is your knee doing? I notice you’re walking fine.”
I’d put her on the spot. She didn’t know Agent Connelly knew about the virus or that he’d been scratched. Incredibly fast and efficient healing was a side effect, and those infected with the ultimate version likely healed even quicker. Even if Andrea hid the residual pain through sheer determination, there was no way she’d be healed yet if she was “normal.” She knew it as well as I did.
Then again, if she wasn’t in on the secret of my full identity and immunity, she probably didn’t know I knew. This made my day. I smiled hugely at her. I loved flummoxing the enemy.
“I have a high pain tolerance threshold,” she said with bravado, tossing her hair a little. Now I knew her tell when she wasn’t being one-hundred percent forthright. Her threshold was probably quite high—compared to a humans. But it wasn’t the reason she moved so well.
“Maybe I’ll get a chance to test it,” I said. “If you’d rather I not, you better make sure my kids remain safe and healthy.”
“Your kids will be fine.” I saw fear behind her eyes. This may be the first time she’d been held accountable for her actions. “As long as you do what you’re told,” she added. What a piece of work.
“Enough posturing,” I said, irritated. “Tell us where we need to go and let’s get a move on. I want my kids safe in a bed of my choosing before the day’s out.”
Andrea turned to Joseph and looked him up and down. “You’re sure being quiet. She have you pussy-whipped,” she taunted.
He gave a devastating smile. At least, it devastated my pulse. Andrea reacted like any woman would, a flirtatious smile in return, softening her features. Even her stance loosened a little.
“On the contrary. I’m man enough to not have to prove myself to every bitch who tries to unman me.”
I wasn’t sure who was more surprised—me or her. His tone was pleasant and amiable, but his words stung. This side of Joseph amused me.
“We need to leave. Follow me,” she said and stalked through the restaurant.
I nodded at Joseph and followed behind her entourage. Finally, we were on our way to fulfill the original mission.
Surprisingly, they let us follow them in my car. It set off some alarm bells, but I went with it.
Once we were moving, Joseph turned to me. “So what’s the catch?”
“You mean about them letting me take the car?” At his nod, I continued. “I don’t know. I’d say it’s to hide our presence in case something goes wrong, but they had us check in under our names.”
“Maybe that’s part of the plan,” he said slowly, thinking out loud. “Maybe we’re supposed to disappear and our stuff found later. Or they want to get their hands on our stuff. How well is your other identity hidden?”
“No one is likely to find it. Not in a quick search. If they emptied the bag and x-rayed it they might find it. Otherwise, no way.”
“Good. I think Agent Robins would like any excuse to hold you prisoner. I never liked him much, but now…” He stopped and shook his head. “I hope I never become like him.”
“You won’t,” I said with confidence. “You’re nothing like him. Some of the things he does, you’ll likely find he was already doing them on a smaller scale before becoming one of the Infected.”
I looked over as I drove. I wasn’t sure he believed me, but at least he didn’t reject what I said straight off. “How’s your scratch?”
“Fine. It’s barely there now that I’ve cleaned it up. I put a bandage over it, in case…”
I knew exactly what he meant—in case he’d been infected. This way, if he bled, it would stay contained in the bandage. No point in risking spreading his blood everywhere.
We drove in silence, following the black Chevy Blazer in front of us. This group was so clichéd, I felt l
ike I’d jumped into a Hollywood movie. Maybe I had. Maybe the people in charge were working hard to portray a specific image. I envisioned all the scenarios that’d make a group want to portray themselves as a typical government agency while we travelled behind Andrea and company.
None of the reasons I came up with were believable. I shrugged and kept driving. We’d been on the road for an hour. Good thing I had a full tank of gas. We were in the middle of a desert-like area, similar to where I lived, outside of the irrigated area.
The roads felt narrow due to lack of shoulders and I sure wished I knew where we were headed. I glanced at Joseph. He was lost in thought. Probably going through things same way I was.
Everything depended on the next few hours. Not just the safety of my children. National security, the antivirus for Joseph, and maybe the people responsible would be revealed. It was a large burden to bear and Joseph had to be worried about failure. We were set up from the get go—me more than him. I wish I knew what in the hell was going on. Who knew the truth about me and kept it hidden from everyone else? I didn’t know whether to thank them or worry they considered me expendable.
Or worse, they’d orchestrated the assignment as a trap to obtain my DNA and do repeated testing on me. I sucked in a breath. Mexico was a fine place for them to coordinate a kidnapping. With everything happening so fast since my arrival, I wasn’t being my usual intuitive self.
“Fuck!” I slammed my hands on the steering wheel.
Joseph looked at me. I felt his eyes on me and winced. Calm, cool, and collected. Yep, that’s me. Except where my kids were concerned.
“What,” he asked when I didn’t say anything.
“I’m an idiot. The whole time I prepared for this trip I kept thinking someone might set me up to be a scapegoat or something. Ever since I fucking arrived, we’ve barely had time to plan the next move, much less look at what the hell’s happened and why.”
“True. What’re you thinking now?”
I loved how cool he was. Calm and quiet, but intense. “They showed up at my house the day after I left. They had to drive to get there. Remember your call as I left?”
He let out a short laugh. “How can I forget? I swear you think all FBI agents are incredibly stupid.”
Until him, I did think they were morons. “Remember how you asked if I was almost there? Everyone assumed I’d be to the hotel shortly after, right? Why? I took it as a sign of the lack of communication in your offices. But what if the mole in your office is the one who set it in motion, ordered me to leave early?”
“Early?” He looked confused, which made me uneasy.
“Yeah. I had a couple more days before the time I’d originally agreed to leave for Texas. I got a phone call in the middle of the night from the Suits that I didn’t answer.” No reason to tell him I didn’t want to deal with them after a night of killing another Infected and the strange attraction. “I got their message and made the changes to my plans, but it was sill late in the day before I left. Probably fifteen to twenty hours after the call. It only takes twenty-four hours to get here if you drive straight through.”
I glanced his way to see if he understood. I was gone less than one day and the kidnappers were at my house? These people worked fast, and I had already figured out they’d planned it ahead of time. Now it looked like the FBI mole was intimately involved with kidnapping my kids.
Fuck and double fuck. Joseph’s reaction was unpredictable. He was an FBI lifer if I’d ever met one. No tolerance for dirty cops. And he’d been exposed to the virus. Part of me knew he was the ‘protect women and children’ type. Would the virus change him before we saved my kids?
“You’re saying the FBI is involved with kidnapping your kids?”
I let out a rough sigh at the disbelief in his voice. “Nothing else makes sense.” I’d no idea how much time we had before we stopped and I wanted a plan in place. Now wasn’t the time for niceties.
Joseph let out a pained groan. He’d spent most of his adult life as part of an organization that went after kidnappers and home-grown terrorists. It had to be a kick in the ass to think an agent, or the agency as a whole might be hurting kids.
“But kidnapping?” He struggled against the idea.
“They fucking drugged and kidnapped me to ask me to do this mission. So yeah, forgive me if I find it damn easy to believe they’re capable.”
“Drugged you? The FBI drugged you?” Now I heard anger in his voice. Yep, he saw the whole picture and why I’d brought it up.
“Yeah, the Suits did it. Not before I blackened their eyes and broke one of their noses,” I told him with a not-so-nice smile on my face.
“Good for you. What’re we going to do if someone in the FBI is involved?”
I had my answer ready. He wasn’t going to like it. I knew this as sure as I knew my name—and all of my aliases.
“We’re going to get my kids out of there, with or without the antivirus.”
It would be hard to give up the antivirus, but I had to get the kids out of there. It’d be equally difficult for Joseph to leave the antivirus behind. I had to believe he had too much honor to put his needs above the kids’ safety. No, losing the antivirus wasn’t the part he would balk at.
“Okay. When we get back in the U.S. and your kids are safe, I’ll start an internal investigation to find the mole.”
Man, I liked this guy. I wished we’d met under better circumstances. “I need you to promise me something.”
He eyed me warily. His stare had weight, like his eyes tried to bore through my skin and see what the hell my brain was up to.
“What?” Yep, wary, even in his tone of voice.
“I want you to promise me you’ll get the kids out of there, even if it means leaving me behind.” There. I’d said it.
“What the hell? What kind of man do you think I am?”
“An honorable one. A man who will make personal sacrifices to protect others. I need you to be willing to sacrifice me if it means the difference between my kids’ safety and them getting hurt or killed.”
“Damn it, Serena. You really think I can abandon you. After last night? After you saved me?”
I laughed nervously. His reaction was more intense than I’d expected. “I’m counting on you to save my children, Joseph. You need to take care of them and hide them from this group so they can’t put my children in danger again. I’m trusting you with the most important things in my life. My children.”
The car went silent again, not a comfortable silence. It was intense. I waited impatiently for his answer. I asked a lot from him.
“I’m honored,” he said quietly.
“Well.” That had been unexpected. “Will you do it?”
“Yes. If I have to choose between saving your kids and saving you, I’ll choose your kids.”
“Thank you,” I said and left it for now.
Peering around, I realized we’d moved into an area with lots of trees. Some I recognized, some I didn’t. The car in front of us turned left and I followed. The road climbed an incline, getting steeper a mile or so in. The greenery turned lush and beautiful the farther away from the main road we got.
Another half hour up the hill, the tree line broke open. I slowed to a stop and took in the breathtaking sight. In front of me sat a home surrounded by pastures and fences. The hills rose up all around the house. It sat at a high point in the valley. Almost equal in height to where we currently were. The road to the house snaked down into the valley, around a slight curve and then back up a steep incline. The place was Heidi perfect right down to the goats—except for the huge warehouse looming behind the house.
My psychic senses went absolutely crazy, like a downed electrical wire. I felt it through my entire body as we drove up the long, windy drive and parked. Whatever was happening in that warehouse, I had a bad feeling I wasn’t going to like it. I double-checked my weapons, they were in place and hidden, including my suppressor Most of my weapons would be found on a search. Unles
s they were thorough, they wouldn’t find at least one knife, and hopefully, not my gun either. With a deep breath and one last look at Joseph, I stepped out of the car.
Chapter 13
Well shit. The place was first class. Joseph and I were led to the warehouse I’d noticed as we emerged over the hill. I asked Andrea about my kids’ whereabouts. She ignored me. I let it go for the moment; we needed to see the layout of the building. It would aid in our escape.
Yes, I thought in the terms of an escape already. Something told me they weren’t going to let me go so easily. My convenient writer front turned out to be convenient for those in charge of this mess, as well; they could pretend to be civilized with a mission to save the world.
Part of me wanted to sidle closer to Joseph for security. I didn’t. It would hamper both of us, interfering with our fighting skills. Besides, my energy flowed through me and I didn’t want him to feel it. It was intense. Anger from not seeing my kids right away made me tense and edgy. Power strung my nerves, charged them like a live wire does the ground. Heaven help anyone who startled me. My instincts were running full defensive mode.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t only my fighting skills that were intensified by my current state. I leaked sexual vibes to beat the band. I knew Joseph felt it when I heard him suck in a quick breath.
“This is what you meant before, isn’t it? All those almost-zombies like Andrea do the same,” he whispered.
“Yeah. It’s probably how she controls the non-Infected,” I said quietly. “Sorry. I’m too angry to stop it. Plus side is I’m a killer date.”
He snorted a laugh. One of our escorts looked at us suspiciously. I gave him the stink eye. He turned back, ignoring me. I snorted in derision. As tough as they acted and looked, they were schoolyard bullies. One turned and faced me, an AK-47 held across his chest. Okay, dangerous, killer bullies. Still, they backed down when someone stood up to them.
“He sure backed down quick,” Joseph said, as if reading my thoughts.
“You noticed, huh?”