Dangerous Choice KO PL

by Barbara Freethy

  "The marshals picked her up a few minutes ago."

  Her heart sank, and anger ran through her. "Really? I thought I would get to say good-bye. This isn't right, Diego. You shouldn't have let them do that. You must have known I would want to say good-bye."

  "It was Bethany's choice, Tara. She said it would be too difficult, too painful, for her to say good-bye to you. She said you'd already had the conversation she wanted to have."

  "You should have told her that I would want to see her."

  "I did, but she refused. And, honestly, Tara, I think it was the right decision."

  "Are you going to feel that way if Mateo suddenly vanishes?"

  He stared back at her. "I know it's going to hurt—both of us—a lot. But this is what has to happen. It would never be a good time to say good-bye. I hope this won't be forever. But it's going to be for a long while. Michael will eventually have to testify at many criminal trials. And it will take the bureau, in conjunction with every other government agency, a long time to take down the Salazar network."

  She let out a sigh, knowing he was right, but it didn't make her feel better. "And when that's done?"

  "Maybe."

  "I want a better answer," she complained.

  "I wish I had one. But for now, that's all I've got."

  "Do you think the Salazars know that Pablo and Rico are dead?"

  "Yes. We already picked up six individuals working here in the LA area, and agents are preparing other raids and arrests throughout the country. Word will travel fast."

  Diego stood up as the door opened. Damon and Parisa entered the room.

  "Well, you both have been busy," Parisa said, giving Diego a hug and offering Tara a smile. "Wyatt filled us in on everything. I'm sure dealing with your long-lost brother in this complicated situation has been very difficult."

  "That's an understatement."

  "We need to have a meeting," Damon said. "With our team—just the five of us. I hope you can excuse Diego for a few minutes," he added to her.

  "Whatever you all need to do."

  "Someone will be in shortly with food," Diego said. "You must be starving."

  "I could eat."

  "I'll be back as soon as I can."

  Parisa lingered at the door as the men exited. "I'm glad you're okay, Tara. And I'm really happy your friend is, too."

  "Thanks. I appreciate that."

  As Parisa left, she took out her phone and turned it on. Her voicemail and text messages lit up. She'd read through them later. Instead, she punched in her favorite number.

  "Tara," her mom said. "Where have you been? I've left you a half-dozen messages. I know you're on vacation, but you can call your mother."

  Her heart swelled with love at her mom's familiar and loving voice. "Is everything all right?" she asked. "Are you and Dad okay?"

  "We're fine. How are you?"

  "I'm great. It's all good."

  "What have you been doing that's kept you so busy?"

  "Oh, just sightseeing."

  "You sound a little funny. Did you meet someone? Is that why you suddenly got so busy?"

  "Actually, I did meet someone. His name is Diego, and he's an amazing man."

  "Well, that sounds promising. Where does he live?"

  "That's the tough part. He lives in DC. I'm not sure if it's going to go anywhere, but even if it doesn't, I'm really happy I met him."

  "Oh, honey, don't let distance get in your way. You can teach anywhere."

  She was shocked by her mom's words. "But you and Dad are in California."

  "So? There are airplanes. DC isn't that far away."

  "You're suggesting I change my whole life for a guy I met less than a week ago?"

  "Not exactly. I'm saying that real love is worth the effort. Only you can decide if this guy fits into that category. I've never heard this tone in your voice before. It reminds me of when I fell in love with your dad, which was also fast and furious, by the way."

  "You didn't get married for two years after you met," she reminded her mom.

  "No, but I knew two days in he was the one for me. We just had to get through school and get our first jobs before we tied the knot. But we both saw right away that we had a forever kind of love. How does this guy make you feel?"

  "Happy, loved, protected."

  "Then he sounds like he has a lot going for him."

  "I think he's a little scared of love."

  "Most men are, honey," her mom said with a laugh.

  She smiled. "Probably true."

  "Tell him we want to meet him. You can bring him home for dinner. Your dad will test his barbecue skills and see if he's worthy to spend more time with."

  "Very funny. I don't know, but I'll think about what you said."

  "Good. Are you home now?"

  "Not yet. But soon. I'll call you when I'm back."

  "Okay. By the way, have you spoken to Bethany?"

  "I have. She's doing well. She's also in love."

  Her mother laughed. "Bethany is always in love."

  "I think this is also different for her."

  "Well, then I'm happy. Is he the man in London? Because I got a text from her a few minutes ago, and she said she was moving there, and that she wouldn't see us for a while, but she wanted to let us know she was happy and would miss us."

  She smiled to herself, happy that Bethany had found a way to talk to her parents. "I'm going to miss her, too, but she's making the right move. I'll talk to you later, Mom."

  "I love you, Tara."

  "Love you, too," she whispered, as she put the phone back in her bag.

  The conference door opened, and a blonde woman wearing navy-blue slacks and a white dress shirt under a blue blazer walked inside. She was carrying a bag of food that smelled delicious.

  "Hello," the agent said with a friendly smile. "I heard you need some lunch. I hope you like pad Thai."

  "I love it, and I am starving."

  "They're going to use this room for a meeting, so if you wouldn't mind coming with me, I can take you down to the kitchen snack area."

  "Sure," she said grabbing her bag off the floor. "I was getting kind of tired of this room anyway."

  She followed the woman out of the conference room and into the elevator. She was surprised when the agent pushed the button for the garage level but maybe that's where the kitchen was.

  "How did your interview go?" the woman asked.

  "It was fine. I'm happy to be done. Do you know Diego?"

  "I do. He's a good agent. Very smart, sometimes a little too smart."

  She wasn't sure what that meant, or why there was an odd tone in the woman's voice. "What did you say your name was?"

  The agent smiled as the elevator doors opened. She put her hand in front of the door. "After you, Ms. Powell."

  She stepped off the elevator, confused by the fact that they were in the parking garage.

  "Where are we going?" she asked, then gasped for a breath as a strong male arm came around her neck and some material was pressed against her nose that had a strong, sickening scent. Her head spun. She couldn't breathe. Everything was going black.

  She'd thought she was safe now. She'd been wrong.

  * * *

  "I figured out who met with Pablo," Wyatt said, as Diego, Bree, Parisa, and Damon huddled around a table in a conference room on the top floor of the building.

  Diego's pulse jumped at that piece of information.

  "You're not going to like it," Wyatt added. "It was Tracy Cox."

  His stomach turned over. He'd had that suspicion, but now it was confirmed. "Are you positive?"

  "Yes. We reviewed cameras all around the pier." Damon pointed to the monitor behind him and hit a button on the computer.

  Tracy's image appeared. She was walking down the pier while talking on the phone.

  "I don't have a picture of her and Pablo Salazar," Wyatt said. "But the fact that she's there, in the same location—it can't be a coincidence."

 
; "Where is she now?" Diego asked.

  "She's in the building," Parisa said. "I saw her a little while ago in the restroom. She didn't act like she was worried or agitated about anything. She was putting on her makeup."

  "She doesn't know we're on to her," he said. "We need to find her. Let's shut down the building." He paused as his phone buzzed. "Or maybe we don't have to. This is her." He connected his phone and put it on speaker. "Tracy. I'm glad you called. We need to talk."

  "It's a little late for that, Diego. Things are unraveling fast."

  "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "Are you with your pals—with Wyatt and Bree, Parisa and Damon? I saw you all heading into the conference room before I went to see Tara."

  "You went to see Tara? Why?"

  "Because she's part of this."

  "Part of what? Where is she?" His gut tightened with fear.

  "That's a good question, but not one I can answer. You know it's not an accident you're all here, right? The funding of the medical center wing was a ruse to get Damon and Sophie, Parisa and Jared into town. Tonight, you're all going to pay for leaving Jamie behind."

  His pulse jumped into his throat. "Are you working with Vincent?"

  "Yes. Vincent is a master manipulator and a blackmailer, but he pays well in both cash and connections. He hates you all. He's been torturing you for the past few years, and today is the grand finale. You could still win, but the cards are stacked against you. Everyone you love has been taken, and that includes Tara. It was actually quite easy to have her walk downstairs with me."

  He never should have left Tara alone. "Where did you take her?"

  "I didn't take her anywhere, but she's going to be where it all began. If you can figure it out in time, maybe you can rescue her—rescue all of them."

  "Where's Vincent?"

  "He's waiting. He's watching. It's been a long time for him. He wanted you to each know what it's like to lose someone you love. All the other stuff he did was a warm-up—a way to torment you, see if you could survive your secrets, your pasts. Of course, you all did. I think Bree started to guess in Chicago that Vincent was involved, but she couldn't get the rest of the way. Isn't that right, Bree?"

  "Help us," Bree pleaded. "You're not Vincent, Tracy. You know we didn't kill Jamie."

  "What I know is that all of you always come out on top. And people like me get screwed. I won't be seeing any of you again. I'm going to disappear, start over."

  "Vincent won't let you do that, Tracy," he said. "You know too much."

  "He's going to kill you," Parisa interjected. "Just like he killed every other agent he used to get to us."

  "I've done everything Vincent asked me to do—in Chicago with Bree, and then by sending Diego to Colombia."

  "That was Vincent's lead," he muttered.

  "Yes. He was disappointed that you and your brother didn't end up killing each other. He thought that would have been a fitting end, but since you now have someone else you care about, it's just as well."

  "Vincent knew my mother was dead? That Mateo was a Salazar?" He'd wondered who Tracy's source was, and now he had his answer.

  "Vincent knows everything. He has connections everywhere. You have no idea how powerful he is, how many people he can use to get what he wants. You'll never be free of him."

  "We can all be free of him if we take him out," he argued. "You can help us, Tracy. Tell us where everyone is."

  "If you remember that training mission, you might be able to discover their location. Oh, and Vincent said come alone. Or a lot of people will die. Good-bye, Diego. I thought at one time we might have something. But you didn't want me."

  "So, this is revenge?"

  "Actually, it's survival for me. Good luck."

  "Tracy, wait—" he shouted, but she was gone.

  As he looked around the room, he saw Wyatt on his phone. Then Wyatt swore and said, "Avery missed her show at Nova Star. Her assistant says no one knows where she is."

  "Nathan isn't answering," Bree said, her phone also at her ear.

  "Neither is Jared," Parisa put in, a grim look in her eyes.

  Damon was still on the phone, but he gave a furious shake of his head. "I'm getting voicemail for Sophie."

  Guilt swept through him. "I never thought Tara would be in danger here."

  "You couldn't have predicted this," Bree said, giving him a pained look.

  "You tried to tell us, Bree. You tried to warn us," he said. "Why didn't we go after Vincent?"

  "Because he was smart enough to always look like he was helping us," Parisa said.

  "Okay, let's think," Damon said, crossing his arms. "Vincent is using the people we love as hostages, which is the same setup as the training mission where Jamie lost his life."

  "Which means they're in an abandoned, condemned apartment building," Bree said. "It has to be here in Los Angeles." She sat down at the table and jumped onto her computer.

  "It will be as close to the building used in our training mission as possible," Damon continued. "Vincent is meticulous. We've seen that all along, in every step he's made. He's conniving, manipulative, and incredibly clever. Look at how he's played us. My God, it started with Sophie's father, Alan, Jamie's teacher at Quantico. And then Vincent went after Sophie and me and blew Wyatt's cover in New York, almost getting him killed."

  "And he figured out how best to get to me," Bree said. "By digging up my long-lost child and kidnapping her."

  "Then it was my turn again," Wyatt continued, a hard edge to his voice. "I knew Vincent's relationship with the Nova Star founder was no coincidence, but I couldn't prove anything."

  "I thought his relationship with my friend's fiancé was also an odd coincidence," Parisa said. "But he had such a plausible explanation. One thing is clear—Vincent likes a show. Tracy said he would be nearby, waiting and watching."

  "We need to find the building first," Bree said, her attention back on the computer.

  "I'm going to call Flynn, get the team in on this," Wyatt added.

  "They can do the groundwork, but the rescue is on us," Diego told them. "You heard what Tracy said. We're the ones who have to play this out."

  "Got it," Wyatt said tersely. "Let's get to work."

  Thirty minutes later, with Flynn's task force and an entire building of agents working on the parameters they'd been given, they zeroed in on a possible location—a ten-story apartment building in Long Beach that had been condemned within the past week. It was currently empty and awaiting a teardown by an out-of-state owner.

  Donning bulletproof vests and wearing their FBI jackets, the team took a black SUV to Long Beach. They were followed by Flynn and four other members of his task force in a second SUV and five additional agents from the LA office in a third SUV. The latter two groups would set up a perimeter around the apartment building, evacuate any neighbors in possible peril and provide backup if needed.

  Diego's heart was pumping hard as they drove across town, every red light, every bit of traffic making him want to throw open the door and start running. But that definitely wouldn't be smart, and if there was ever a time to exercise his brainpower, it was now, because Vincent was playing a mind game, and they had to figure out how to beat him at that game.

  He was sorry that Tara had gotten caught up in this. He couldn't lose her now, not after everything they'd been through together. She had to be terrified. And she'd been kidnapped right under his nose. He'd let her down. And even worse, he'd never told her how he felt about her. He'd resisted answering any questions about what was next, because he'd been afraid to commit, to make a promise he couldn't keep.

  But what the hell had he been so scared about? Loving her? Living with her? Spending the rest of his life with her?

  What a fool he'd been. He was in love with Tara. He had to get her back, so he could tell her. There was no other option.

  Twenty-Three

  It was five o'clock on Tuesday evening when Diego and his team pulled up in front of an a
bandoned ten-story apartment building, which was on a corner in a lower-income neighborhood. There was an empty lot next to the building that was filled with weeds and surrounded by a chain-link fence. On the other side of the building was a three-story apartment building.

  Flynn's group parked near that building and would evacuate any residents at that location and keep them at a safe distance until they could ascertain if the abandoned building had been wired with explosives as it had been in the training mission.

  The third SUV took a position at the other end of the block and on his command, they'd take the necessary steps to lock down the buildings on the opposite side of the street, which included two buildings that appeared to belong to the same apartment complex, a laundromat, and an insurance office that appeared to be closed for the day.

  Vincent was somewhere nearby, but at the moment their priority was on rescuing their loved ones.

  He followed Damon up to the front door of the building. There was a chain padlock on the door, which they used a tool to break through, and then stepped inside.

  The building smelled like rotting garbage, and there was the sound of rats scurrying away from the sound of their footsteps. There was an elevator, but he doubted it was operational. The stairs looked suspect as well. Apparently, the building had been condemned after several pipes burst, damaging the apartments so badly the owner had decided to tear the place down and start over.

  "Okay," Damon said, as they huddled around. Damon had taken command of that training mission, and they had decided to play this out exactly as they'd done before. Damon's eyes were cold blue steel, but Diego knew that Damon's heart was pounding a million beats a minute as he thought about Sophie. "Remember the obstacles we ran into before."

  "Shooter came in at the third-floor stairwell," Bree said.

  "Top floor stairwell door was booby-trapped," Wyatt put in.

  "Another shooter when we got through that door," Parisa said.

  "Then we deal with the explosive device on the apartment where the hostages are being held," he said. "Hopefully, we won't need to call in a bomb squad."

  "I think I can handle it," Wyatt said. Out of the group, Wyatt had the most experience with explosives.