His chest contracted at those sweet words. He wanted her to know how important she was to him, too. “I feel the same about you. You’ve made me realize how empty my life has been.” She took his hand in hers and kissed his palm. They smiled at each other because there were no more words needed. If God granted them the future, it was full of promise, in Jase’s book.
Almost there. It was almost over. He couldn’t let his guard down for a minute, though. Too much was at stake.
His favorite verse from the Bible came to mind. The one about those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. He needed God to renew his strength right now because they were both running on empty.
Jase grabbed his cell phone and tried Aaron’s number again. This time, it went straight to voice mail.
He didn’t like it. How had the men found them? Was it possible someone Aaron trusted was corrupt? His uneasiness increased tenfold.
He slowed the SUV’s speed to a crawl when he spotted a faded sign for the base.
“I think we should go the rest of the way on foot just in case.”
He parked the vehicle off the road and behind a dilapidated building. They got out, bundled up in their coats and started walking. Jase took out his cell phone and dialed Aaron’s number once more, but the call didn’t go through. The phone’s service was nonexistent. As they walked he mulled over the two men who had followed them. He didn’t believe for a second that they had accidentally happened upon them. Did they know about the meet up? What if they were walking straight into an ambush?
“Is everything okay?” she asked in a worried tone.
It was hard to reassure her when he his own nerves were creating a storm of doubt. “Yes. There’s no cell service through here.” He felt a stab of guilt. He couldn’t bear it if his mistake ended with her getting hurt.
“Jase...what’s wrong?” she asked point-blank.
He turned away from her searching gaze. “Nothing. I’m just ready for this to be over.”
She blew out a long breath. “Me, too. I’m not cut out to be a spy.”
Jase tried to smile as he glanced up. Dark, threatening clouds had begun to gather in the sky above, making it appear almost dark. The snow continued to fall harder and in the distance, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky. The storm was moving in quickly and the weather was deteriorating. They didn’t want to be out here when the skies opened up full force.
He gently tugged her closer. “We’ll get through this, Reyna. We will. And when we’re on the other side...” He didn’t finish. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead.
In the distance, thunder rolled across the horizon and he let her go. “We should keep moving. How are you holding up?”
“I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”
The edge of the storm caught up with them as they drew close to the edge of the base. Ice mixed with the fat flakes of snow fell harder and he feared their window for extraction had evaporated.
Jase stopped and gave her a hard look. He needed her to understand the importance of what he was about to say. “Reyna, listen, I need you to stay behind until I’ve had the chance to scope things out. Make sure everything’s safe before you go in.”
Her reaction wasn’t unexpected. “No, Jase, I won’t.” She never broke eye contact. “You could be killed. I don’t want you to go in there alone. Tell me what I should do.”
He framed her face with his hands. “I need you to stay behind, Reyna,” he repeated. “We could be walking into a trap and I can’t risk something happening to you.” He drew in a long breath. “And if I don’t come back, take the laptop and go back to the SUV.” He dug into his jeans pocket, produced the keys and handed them to her. “Get out of here as fast as you can and get the laptop to the US Attorney’s office.”
She stared at him with a mixture of horror and disbelief.
He gathered her close. “Promise me, Reyna. Do that for me if I don’t make it out. Show the US Attorney what we’ve deciphered. Tell him what we suspect. Don’t let them win.”
Tears filled her eyes and she whispered, “I will, I promise.”
He smiled at her answer. “Thank you. Are you ready to finish this?”
She returned his smile. “Yes.”
They reached a group of run-down buildings that looked as if they had once been the base housing. Jase was on edge and second-guessing his decision to leave Reyna here alone. He prayed he wasn’t making the worst mistake of his life. What if they found her first?
He spotted one of the houses still mostly intact. “Wait here and give me a second to check things out inside. If you see anything out of the ordinary, come get me.”
He took out his flashlight, drew his weapon and went inside. He shone the flashlight around. It didn’t look as if anyone had been in there in years. He took a quick look around and then went back outside.
“You should be safe here.” She followed him inside. He opened his backpack and took out an extra flashlight and the spare phone he’d brought with him and quickly programmed in his cell number and Aaron’s.
“Keep this with you but don’t try to call me. It should take me about another fifteen minutes to reach the airstrip. If I haven’t contacted you by then, get out of here.” He handed her the laptop and swallowed hard. “You won’t have much time before the brunt of the storm hits. The SUV should stand up to a lot of weather so you’ll be okay. Whatever you do, don’t stop. Keep moving.”
They stood facing each other and for the life of him, it felt as if he wouldn’t be seeing her again, and that terrified him more than anything.
“Jase, please be careful.” She reached for his hand and he drew her into his arms, gathering her close. “Promise me, you’ll stay alive. For me.”
He held her tight and everything around them faded away. She was the only thing that mattered to him.
“I’m so sorry, Reyna. I wish I could take it all away. Erase the bad things that happened over there. Change the way the last three years went. Eddie’s death...”
She nodded against his chest. “I know but it’s okay. It makes me realize we’re not promised tomorrow. In spite of everything, you and I are blessed beyond measure and I don’t want to take a moment for granted.”
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
He framed her face with his hands once more. “You don’t do that. Of all the people I’ve met, it’s easy to see you appreciate every moment God provides you.”
A tiny sob escaped as he leaned down and his lips brushed hers. She kissed him back with urgency in her touch.
But there were things he needed to say. He couldn’t leave them unsaid, knowing he might never see her again. He ended the kiss, stepped back and drew in a lungful of air. He wanted her to know how he felt about her. “I have to say this, because, well, because we don’t know what we’re facing when we get to the airstrip. And I want you to know how I feel about you.”
Tears fell from her eyes. “Jase...”
“I know there are lots of things standing between us right now, including Eddie, but I love you. I love you, Reyna and I haven’t said that to another woman since Abby. But I mean it, darlin’. From the bottom of my heart.”
“Jase.” As tears continued to stream down her face, she went back into his arms and burrowed close.
He lifted her chin and kissed her gently one more time. When he would have drawn back, ended their sweet kiss, she clung to him. He never wanted to leave her side, but if they were going to have a chance at a future together, they needed to finish the past once and for all and put it behind them.
Reluctantly, he put her away from him. “I’d better go. Stay here. Stay safe.” With one final lingering glance, he left her for what he hoped would not be the last time.
He loved her. She couldn’t believe she’d heard him correctly until he said it again.
/>
She was shaking and weak from emotion. Jase loved her.
Reyna moved as far away from the entrance as possible. Eight minutes. The cell phone’s clock said he’d been gone eight minutes. It felt like a lifetime. Her breath raced through her body at a mile a minute.
She was scared to death about her own feelings for Jase. She loved him but she’d loved Eddie, too. How could she simply move on with her life? Fall in love again as if her life with Eddie meant nothing? She owed him so much more. In a way, he’d died to protect her. She wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. Would she ever be?
She glanced out the window as the storm continued to grow in intensity. What if Jase didn’t come back? What if...what if he lost his life trying to protect her? Her stomach clenched in pain.
She couldn’t think about that now and not rush after him.
Ten minutes passed. On an impulse that Reyna could only explain as God-led, she took the laptop bag and stuffed it as far into the crumbing fireplace as she could. There was a tiny ledge up there. She placed it on it, then hunkered down close to the ground, her eyes darting around the darkness. The place smelled dank and dusty and the walls had holes in them.
Something ran across her foot and she clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Just a mouse. It was just a tiny little field mouse.
If she was going to keep her sanity, she needed help. She wrapped her arms tight around her body and prayed. Lord, we need You. Please help him. Please help me.
A noise close by drew her attention away from the prayer. She jumped to her feet and listened. Footsteps. Footsteps. Someone was close. Jase? No, it was too soon. She crept to the door and stopped dead in her tracks when a shadow fell across the entrance and someone blocked her way.
Two men dressed in full camouflage gear, their faces covered with ski masks, weapons drawn and pointed at her. Panic took hold and she turned on her heel to run back into the house when three more men stepped up behind her.
She started to scream, but a hand clamped over her mouth and someone whispered close to her ear, “Don’t scream, Dr. Peterson.” It was the man who’d threatened her at her house. Agent Martin.
“I’m going to take my hand away. Stay calm. This will all be over with soon. Do you understand?”
Her breath lodged in her throat. Somehow, she managed to nod and her attacker removed his hand and stepped back.
Agent Martin motioned to one of the men in front of her and he took her arm.
“It’s over, Dr. Peterson. You need to come with us. Now.”
FOURTEEN
Jase couldn’t get the woman in the photo out of his head. Her similarity to Abby was unsettling. It was impossible, surely. Abby was dead. She had been declared so in the field even though Kyle had later told him that in the chaos that had ensued after the firefight, her body had disappeared.
Still, the CIA had later confirmed Abby’s death. To do that they would have to have concrete evidence.
It was a crazy idea and it certainly didn’t add up with what Jase believed he knew about her. He’d fought side by side with her. Abby was a patriot.
By the time Jase reached the landing strip, the storm had turned the sky completely dark. He stopped close to one of the hangers, his heart drumming in ears, his breath shallow. They were more than an hour late. The airstrip appeared deserted. Aaron would be gone by now but had he left word for them? He thought about Reyna. She was at the end of her strength. She couldn’t go on much longer. He didn’t want to have to go back and tell her they were on their own again.
“Keep her safe, Lord,” he whispered under his breath.
He heard a noise close. Jase drew his weapon, his gaze panning all directions, looking for anything suspicious. Nothing.
He blew out a breath and then stepped out from behind his cover into the open. It made him feel exposed. He kept his weapon trained and continued walking, his gaze darting around each of the buildings looking for anything unusual. And then he heard the sound again. A twig breaking beneath a heavy footstep. He barely had time to turn, when the world around him flooded with blinding light.
“Drop it, Jase. It’s over.”
He recognized the voice. Her voice. Abby. His Abby. Abby was alive. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but now the truth was staring straight at him. His knees threatened to buckle at the realization that the woman he’d once loved had sold their entire team out for her own benefit.
His thoughts spun out of control. He couldn’t seem to wrap his head around it. Abby had betrayed him in the worst possible way. An unwelcome memory surfaced about a particular incident from the past that had always bothered him. It should have made him question her allegiance back then, but he’d been blinded by love.
Jase shielded his eyes against the floodlights trained on him. The smile was the same as the woman in the photo, only the person staring back at him held little resemblance both physically and emotionally to the warm, caring person he’d once thought had loved him.
“Abby... I can’t believe it. You’re alive. You look...different.”
“What? You don’t approve of the makeover?”
She had died her hair platinum blond and something was off with the color of her eyes. They were blue. Was she wearing...contacts? That wasn’t the most startling thing, though. Abby looked as if she’d aged twenty years since the last time he’d seen her. Her time on the run hadn’t been kind. Her face reflected the bitterness of her heart. Standing before him now was not the woman he’d once loved, but a cold-blooded killer.
When Jase finally managed to get control of the shock and betrayal he felt, he could see Abby was standing in front of a virtual army of men. He noticed one man in particular standing next to her. His heart dropped to his feet. Kyle. No, not Kyle. He couldn’t grasp it even though the reality was right before him.
Abby laughed with a sick delight when Jase realized he’d been set up. “That’s right. Kyle’s with our team now. It took some urging on my part. He was all set to help you as soon as he got your message. He was going to call in the full strength of the CIA to rescue you.” Shrugging cavalierly, she sneered. “Naturally, I couldn’t let that happen. You had to die for real this time. So I used a little...persuasion in the way of a carefully placed threat. He was willing to do anything I asked after that. Even find out the details of this meet.”
Jase felt as if someone had slugged him in the gut. It was bad enough to be betrayed by the woman he’d once loved, but Kyle? He couldn’t bear the thought. “Kyle?” Jase finally managed to choke out the words. “Is it true?”
Jase tried to read what he hoped was some hidden meaning from his friend, but nothing showed on Kyle’s face. He’d couldn’t believe his former handler had also sold him and Reyna out.
“How could you do it? I thought you were my friend. I trusted you.” Jase stared in disbelief. It was unimaginable.
Kyle’s expression was grim. “Sorry, buddy, but they threatened my sister. You know she’s sick.”
His friend had once told him everyone had their price. Had Kyle’s price been protecting his sister?
Jase forced himself to concentrate. Where was Aaron? No matter what Aaron had said, he didn’t believe his friend would abandon them without some other way out.
Jase wasn’t going to die without trying everything within his power to save Reyna. By now, she should have realized he wasn’t coming back. He needed a bluff to buy her time to escape. “Well, it doesn’t matter because you’ll never get away with it, Abby. Reyna’s on her way to the US Attorney’s office as we speak.”
Something Kyle said finally registered. They threatened my sister. You know she’s sick. As far as he knew, there was nothing wrong with Emily. She was attending a university back east. Was it a message? He focused on Abby. Nothing showed on her face. She hadn’t caught on.
Anger boiled inside of him at the horrible thing
s Abby had done out of what? Greed? He lashed out. “I loved you, Abby, and you betrayed me. You betrayed our entire team for what? Money. Power. Tell why you did it. Why did the people you claimed to care about have to die so senselessly? You owe me that much at least,” he demanded in a broken tone.
Abby smiled at his impassioned plea, but it didn’t take away the cold from her stare. “Foolish Jase. You always did buy into that whole ‘for God and country’ thing. Don’t you know the only person you can be loyal to is yourself? And you’re wrong about Reyna. My men have her by now. She should be here any moment. Did you really think I wouldn’t anticipate your next move?”
Panic swirled in his gut and made it hard to draw air into his lungs. They’d found Reyna, which meant there would be no help coming in time. He was on his own to save them.
From close behind, Jase heard the rustle of brush and five armed men emerged. One had a firm grip on Reyna’s arm.
Jase charged for them, ready to risk his life to save hers, but Abby’s next words stopped him dead in his tracks. He saw the weapon pointed directed at Reyna’s head. “I wouldn’t, Jase. Not unless you want me to blow her brains out right now. After all, she’s served her purpose. She led me to you.”
The men guarding Reyna stopped a few feet away from Jase and she jerked her arm free and ran to him. One of the men tried to stop her.
“Let her go,” Abby muttered. “She’s not going anywhere.”
Jase noticed the sheer disbelief on Reyna’s face right away. She looked white as a sheet as she stared at Abby in shock.
“Sara? What are you doing here?” Reyna asked in a strangled voice. Sara? Jase couldn’t believe it. Abby had pretended to be Reyna’s friend?
His heart broke for Reyna. She had no idea the woman who claimed to be her friend was the same person responsible for Eddie’s death. “Did they come after you because of me?” Reyna clasped her hand over her mouth. “Sara, I’m so sorry that I got you involved in this.”
Abby stared in shock at Reyna’s innocent remark.
Reyna frowned as she glanced from Abby to Jase. She could sense the tension between them, but she still didn’t understand.
Rocky Mountain Secrets: Rocky Mountain Sabotage ; Rocky Mountain Pursuit Page 33