She finally began to breathe a little easier and the tightness in her chest loosened. She was reasonably certain that she was safe for the moment. Now it was time to get out of there and go help the man she loved.
She suddenly realized that there was just one problem with that.
As she stood on a street corner and looked around her heart began to sink. She had no identification and no money of any sort. Even worse, absolutely nothing around her looked familiar. Before she could find Jeremiah, she had to figure out where she was.
~
Mark was holding Rachel, rocking her back and forth while Traci fed Ryan and the rest tried to deal with the fallout from the fight and Cindy escaping. He himself was still a bit shell shocked, but he was trying to just be as calm as he could for Rachel.
Kyle was lying down with a frozen bag of something or other on his eye. His mom was busy fussing over him and ignoring the rest of them which was fine by him. The one he felt most sorry for was Don who looked about as helpless as a man could be in that moment. His daughter was gone and there was nothing he could do for her. Plus, his wife and son were in their own little world and both angry at him for not taking their side.
Geanie was wound up and Joseph was doing his best to try and keep her calm. Joseph himself looked on edge, frazzled.
Mark turned and looked at his wife and son. Traci had a serene expression on her face that frightened him given the circumstances. Just minutes before she’d been ready to kill Kyle.
So much for her celebrity crush on him.
It was silly, but that thought actually made him smile. He thought of Traci’s sister, the one always trying to impress people with stories of the famous people she’d met. Next time she brought up seeing Chuck Norris he’d wager her that Traci could take him in a fair fight. She didn’t have style or training but she more than made up for it with raw ferocity.
He’d always known that she was a passionate person, even if she usually held herself in check. What he’d seen a few minutes before had shocked him, though.
We all deal with stress and grief in our own way, he reminded himself.
Truth was he was proud of her. He was also very, very grateful she’d taken her frustrations out on someone he didn’t like. Once she was done with the babies he’d help her ice her hand just to make sure it didn’t swell too much. He’d be surprised if she hadn’t at least sprained her wrist.
He smiled down at Rachel who had settled down and was blinking at him sleepily. She’d been fed first and now she was thinking of taking another nap. That was fine by him. The grownups had unpleasant business to discuss.
“You doing okay, Hon?” he asked Traci softly.
She was humming to herself and she looked up at him, her face absolutely glowing. “Much better, thank you,” she said.
“Maybe I should encourage you to hit people more often,” he whispered.
“It did feel good,” she admitted with a gentle smile.
He shook his head. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“I love you more than the stars in the heavens,” he said.
She blushed and he could tell that she was pleased with his answer.
He walked over to Joseph and Geanie. Geanie had tears streaking down her cheeks. Unlike Traci she hadn’t been able to have the cathartic experience of punching Kyle. In that moment he felt sorry for her.
“Hey, you want to hold her?” he asked.
Geanie nodded eagerly. He gently handed Rachel to her and Geanie held her close, looking down at her with a smile.
Thank you, Joseph mouthed to him and Mark nodded. He was happy to help in whatever way he could.
Right now, they all needed each other, probably more than they ever had before. He tried not to think about Cindy and Jeremiah out there by themselves. There wasn’t anything he could do to help them. He could, however, help the people in that room.
He went and sat down next to Don. “How are you holding up?” he asked quietly.
“Better than could be expected,” Don said bluntly. “You?”
“I don’t honestly know. I’m pretty much on autopilot at the moment.”
“I get that.”
Don chuckled.
“What?” Mark asked.
“Your wife has a heck of a right hook.”
Mark shook his head. “After all these years she still surprises me.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“Sorry she punched your son.”
“Don’t be. He had it coming,” Don said with a sigh. “And frankly I’d much rather see your wife hit him than see Cindy hit him.”
“That makes sense. It’s probably a good thing Cindy was a lot more focused on what was happening out there than what was happening in here.”
“I just hope she’s safe,” Don said, worry creeping into his voice.
“She’s smart and a lot tougher than most people give her credit for. Herself included.”
“She was telling me about an incident involving darts.”
Mark smiled. “Yes, that was one of her more impressive acts. Her accuracy was uncanny. Almost as good as Jeremiah’s.”
“You played a game of darts with him?” Don asked.
Mark snorted. “More like tried to distract him with a game of darts and got my butt kicked.”
“What do you think of him?”
Mark hadn’t been expecting the question. He took a deep breath. “He was… is the best man I know. He loves Cindy more than anything. He’s loyal, intense, and not someone I’d ever want to cross. But I love him like a brother. I trust him. And right now, I’m very, very scared for him.”
“He has a lot of very loyal friends here. That’s unusual for a man like him.”
“What can I say? He’s an unusual guy.”
“Clearly.”
“Look, I know it wasn’t easy for him, learning to let people in, to make friends and build a community. I know it’s still not always easy. He always thinks he has to protect people.”
“Which is why we’re all here,” Don said, indicating the room.
“Yeah, exactly. I mean, I get it. I’m a cop. I work really hard to protect people that I care about, too. And sometimes I’m overzealous about it and sometimes I’m terrible at sharing how I’m feeling and asking for help.”
Don smiled. “From where I’m sitting, you’re doing just fine.”
“Thanks for that, I appreciate it. The truth is that for a while I thought Jeremiah was going to freak out and disappear. Then one day, I stopped worrying about that.”
“What day was that?” Don asked.
“Honestly? The day he stopped being a coward and asked Cindy to marry him. That’s when I knew he was staying forever.”
“Forever,” Don echoed.
“Yeah,” Mark said, feeling tears beginning to sting his eyes.
The two sat in silence for a moment and Mark knew they were both thinking about, both worrying about the same thing.
“He’s a real resourceful guy,” Mark said, his voice cracking. “He’s made it out of a lot of really impossible situations.”
Don nodded. “I’m sure he has. And he’s got a lot to live for.”
“Dang straight. Why, any moment he’s going to come waltzing in having vanquished all his foes. And he’ll give me holy hell for letting Cindy escape. And nothing I say will make a bit of difference. I can hear him lecturing me right now.”
Don smiled. “No one let her escape.”
“He wouldn’t see it that way,” Mark said. “But that’s fine,” he said, wiping at his eyes. His voice was starting to shake more, and he couldn’t control it. He finally stopped trying to. “I want him to come in here and yell at me, just chew me out like there’s no tomorrow and call me all kinds of names.”
“Because then he’d be alive,” Don said softly.
Mark nodded. “Then he’d be
alive.”
14
Cindy still had no idea where she was. None of the street names were even remotely familiar and she was starting to wonder if she was even still in Pine Springs. She honestly didn’t know how long the car ride from Joseph’s house to the underground bunker was. She was in an area that was mostly warehouses, and she didn’t see any place where she could ask to use a phone.
She finally found a payphone and snatched the receiver off the hook. Then she hesitated. She’d been about to call the church and see if she could get hold of Dave or someone else. She had no idea what story Martin had told her coworkers about her, Geanie, and Joseph’s absence, though, and didn’t relish having to dodge the real explanation. The same thing went for Liam. Even though he knew some of Jeremiah’s past, he was the man in charge of overseeing the current case against him. She couldn’t risk bringing him into the loop. Not now.
Finally, she realized there was only one call she could make. Fortunately, her job had necessitated her making the call often enough that she had the number memorized. She called the synagogue.
She listened in agony as Marie picked up the phone and a recorded voice asked her if she would accept a collect call from Cindy Preston. She practically sobbed in relief when Marie said “yes” and they were connected.
“Cindy? What’s wrong,” Marie asked, smart enough to know Cindy wouldn’t be calling the synagogue collect if it wasn’t an emergency.
“I’m so sorry, but I have a huge favor to ask. I need you to pick me up.”
“Okay. Where are you?”
“That’s just it. I have no idea. I’m at the corner of Chestnut Street and Evergreen Place.”
“Those names aren’t familiar.”
“To me either, but they have to be somewhere in or near Pine Springs. Maybe if you just look it up in a map program it will show you.”
“I’ll try.”
“Thank you. And please hurry. It’s a matter of life and death.”
Marie hung up the phone so fast she didn’t even say goodbye. Slowly Cindy put the receiver back. She turned and wrapped her arms around herself, praying that Marie would find her before anyone else did.
~
Jeremiah felt like a trapped animal, but he readied himself to act as the Iranian man approached the car. One of the other men shouted something that he couldn’t quite make out. Everyone laughed and the man who was approaching the car stopped, turned and shouted something back.
The other three walked toward him, gesturing to the rubble. He strained to hear what they were saying. He finally started to make out the words and his mind quickly translated.
A shame about Ashkan.
Don’t worry about him. He is with Allah now.
He was always too rash.
Yes, but thank Allah he took that weakling with him. He was a liability. I never understood why Ashkan recruited him.
Once the fire starts burning, the damp and the dry will burn together.
At least the devil of death is dead.
He can no longer interfere in our business here.
Or take more of our brothers.
He would have done well to kill all instead of just one.
It is not a mistake we would make.
Which is why we will kill his friends. We will not give them the opportunity to seek revenge later.
They have disappeared.
They will return once it is known that he is dead. We can kill them while they waste their tears for him.
We should search the area.
No need. Ashkan triggered the bomb on purpose. He killed the devil as he swore to do. No one could have survived that blast.
But we should be thorough.
We do not have time. We need to finish the transaction tonight before too many people ask questions about what happened here.
Agreed.
You all know what you need to do. Hazim, you take the dead man’s car and pick up our brother. We will meet in four hours at the hotel.
The three men turned back to the car they’d arrived in and Hazim, who was closest to him, pulled keys out of his pocket.
Jeremiah tensed, hoping the man wouldn’t open the trunk. To his relief Hazim walked past the back of the car. Seconds later he could feel Hazim climb into the front seat as the car settled slightly.
He gritted his teeth. Riding in the trunk of a car was never ideal even under the best of circumstances. Life was about to get even harder really quick.
He could see the other car drive away. Even so, he dared not do anything. He didn’t know where the fifth man was, and he didn’t know where they were all supposed to be meeting. If he hoped for any shot at getting all of them he needed to ride this out. No matter what it cost him.
~
Mark was sitting at the table staring down a C.I.A. agent and he didn’t like it any more than Martin did.
“Where is she heading?” Martin asked.
“To help Jeremiah.”
“And where exactly is she going to do that?”
“I wish I knew, but you never told us where he was or where you found… what you found. I don’t know where he is or where she thinks he is. I just know there was no way you were going to hold her while he was out there injured.”
“She is stubborn, I’ll give her that,” Martin said with a sigh.
For a moment Mark almost felt sorry for the guy. He’d had to put people in protective custody before, and he knew how frustrating it was when someone just kept refusing to let you protect them.
“Look, you’ve got access I’m sure to all the cameras in the county. Between traffic cameras, security cameras, ATM cameras, I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard for you to find her,” Mark said.
Martin shook his head. “I can’t pull manpower to do that.”
There was a tension in him that had to go beyond his frustration over losing Cindy. Mark leaned forward, examining the other man closely.
“You’re running some kind of operation locally.”
“Of course we’re not.” Martin said. “We’re not the F.B.I. after all.”
“Yeah, I know you’re not supposed to operate on U.S. soil, but I believe there are exceptions when it comes to certain areas. Terrorism for instance.”
“You suspect someone of terrorism call the N.S.A.,” Martin said. “I’m just here to babysit.”
Mark shook his head and gestured around the room. “This goes beyond just helping out a colleague in a time of crisis. The terrorists who are after Jeremiah – there’s another reason they’re here, isn’t there?”
“You know with that suspicious and paranoid mind of yours, I’m surprised you’re not working for us.”
Mark held up his hands. “Not for me. My wife likes me home for dinner every night. Even if it is late some nights.”
“Most nights, I’m guessing. You seem pretty dedicated to your work.”
“You aren’t going to tell me anything, are you?” Mark asked in frustration.
“No, but eventually you’ll tell me something.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you want to protect Cindy even more than I do. Look, there’s a reason I’m talking to you first. As a law enforcement officer, you understand that it’s just too dangerous to have her running around out there. It’s dangerous for her, dangerous for everyone here, and dangerous for Jeremiah.”
He wasn’t wrong and Mark’s sense of loyalty and faith in his friends was being put at odds with every instinct he had as a cop.
“You’re too smart for your own good,” Mark growled.
“I’m as smart as my country needs me to be,” Martin countered. “Look, every second we lose at this point is crucial.”
Mark took a deep breath. “You think Jeremiah is dead.”
“If we were talking about any other man it would be a foregone conclusion. But, I’ve seen him in action. He’s one slippery son-of-a-gun when he has to be.” Martin
leaned forward and lowered his voice. “The fingers we found were severed clean.”
“Not blown off?” Mark asked, also dropping his voice.
“Yes, more like cut by something sharp. In fact, they were intact enough that we’ve got them on ice.”
“You mean, it would be possible to reattach them?”
Martin nodded. “But there’s less than ten hours at this point before that’s no longer even a possibility. If Jeremiah is alive he’s going to be in rough shape and he’s going to need a hospital soon or losing a couple of fingers will be the least of his worries.”
~
Jeremiah blacked out twice from pain as he got bounced around in the trunk. He was on the verge of losing consciousness a third time when the car came to a halt and the engine turned off. He fought through the haze of pain, knowing he had to be ready at a second’s notice if Hazim decided to open the trunk.
A far bigger threat at the moment, though, was that he was going to be sick. The motion of the car, the blood loss, and the pain were all combining to make his stomach churn. He couldn’t risk it, especially not now with the car stopped. Hazim would hear him vomiting and kill him while he was helpless.
Sneezing, coughing, and vomiting. They were the three deadly autonomic functions. Any one of them could get a man killed when he was trying to hide. He’d seen it before. He’d taken advantage of it before. He prayed that it wouldn’t be his undoing now.
His desperation started to grow, and he realized his only chance might be to act before his body betrayed him. He had a hand on the emergency release handle for the trunk. In his current physical condition he didn’t like his odds. He’d give himself one chance in five to come out on top. The only thing he had in his favor was the element of surprise. Unfortunately, he couldn’t move fast enough to really take advantage of that.
He heard footsteps retreating and he closed his eyes and prayed as hard as he could. Finally, the sickness began to ease up. Once it did, he set to work trying to figure out his best course of action. If he took out Hazim and the man he was picking up now then he would only have three left to deal with. The only problem was all he knew about the location of the others was that they were going to be at a hotel. Unless one of the men had some clue on them as to where that was then he’d be in trouble.
In the Presence of Mine Enemies Page 11