Covert Intents: A Branson Family Novella

by Janie Crouch

  “The janitor? No, we definitely do not care about him. Although he was quite problematic at the university yesterday.”

  We? Who was we? And why did Lydia know about what happened on campus?

  Rachel stood. “I think you need to leave, Lydia.”

  Lydia stood also. She was taller than Rachel, probably stronger. Should she try to get around her? A knock on the door interrupted Rachel’s thoughts. Lydia wasn’t surprised by it at all.

  She grabbed Rachel’s arm and pulled her to the door a few feet away.

  When Lydia opened the door two men were standing there, the man with the gun from yesterday and another guy, bald. Maybe one she saw at the restaurant. Lydia was letting them in the apartment, obviously friendly.

  Rachel broke free from the other woman’s hold, sprinting toward the back door. But the first man caught her half way across the living room. He threw her so hard into the bookshelves lining Seth’s side wall that half of them fell over.

  What was it with this guy and trying to kill her with books?

  When he backhanded her and sent her stumbling across the floor, she realized that maybe he really planned to kill her with any means necessary.

  “You should’ve just told me what you know about Ryan, Rachel.” Lydia was tsk-ing and shaking her head. “Max here isn’t known for subtlety.”

  Rachel could feel blood in her mouth where her teeth had cut the inside of her cheek. She slid away from Max. The other guy was standing by the front door.

  “I don’t know anything about Ryan.” She pointed at Max. “And I don’t know anything about the microchip this jerk was talking about yesterday when he grabbed me.”

  “We know you have it,” Lydia said.

  “Why do you think that?” Rachel could hear her voice becoming hysterical and tried to rein in her terror. “You know I’m not in the computer department. Why would I have a microchip?”

  “Ryan gave it to you,” Lydia said.

  “No, he didn’t. Whatever reason you think he did, he didn’t. Okay? He’s in the hospital. How could he have given me anything?”

  “He gave it to you Thursday night, Rachel.”

  Reality dawned. That kiss. Ryan’s weird behavior. He’d given her the microchip, slipped it in her purse or something.

  “That’s right. Or did you really think he’d kissed you because he was interested?” Lydia smirked and looked Rachel up and down from where she half-laid, sprawled on the floor. “I still can’t believe the janitor wanted you. Especially once I saw him in street clothes.”

  Rachel ignored the crack about her and Seth. “That may be true, but Ryan never told me about it if he gave me something.”

  “He did. When I found out Ryan said he’d given it to some girl named Rachel, I knew he meant you.” Lydia leered at her. “Max tried to find the microchip at your house, then your office. He planned to question you, but your janitor boyfriend got in the way. I tried to call you last night to see if I could get any closer, but you didn’t answer.”

  Max was fed up with the talking. “Where’s your purse?” He grabbed Rachel by the shirt. She cringed, preparing for another blow.

  Lydia intervened. “Max, chill out. Her purse is in the kitchen.”

  Rachel whimpered as Max grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up, dragging her into the kitchen. He threw her against the refrigerator —the same refrigerator where Seth had kissed her so thoroughly last night— and watched as Lydia dumped everything from her bag onto the table.

  How long would it be before Seth returned? Her phone was in his bedroom. Did it have enough charge for her to turn it on and get one more call out of it? Could she even get to it at all?

  She knew the microchip was important. Important enough to send someone of Seth’s caliber undercover to stop its sale. Rachel needed to do something, but what could she do? There was no way she could get around Max.

  “It’s not in here,” Lydia said after she checked every section of Rachel’s purse and sorted through all its contents.

  Max grabbed both of her arms and rammed her against the refrigerator. “I am tired of playing games. Where is the microchip?”

  Tears welled out of Rachel’s eyes at the pain in her head. “I don’t know. I swear I don’t know.”

  “What clothing were you wearing on Thursday, Rachel?” Lydia said. “Think. Could he have slipped it in something you were wearing?”

  She’d worn jeans and a blouse. Nothing special. Nothing Ryan could’ve slipped something into except…

  “Maybe my sweater. It’s the only other place. It has deep pockets”

  “Get it.” Lydia said.

  Rachel had hoped they would leave her alone or that Lydia would come with her into the bedroom and not Max so Rachel could possibly get her phone, but didn’t have any such luck. She knew she had to get away from them. The first chance she got she was going to bolt. She’d have to get far enough from Max to do that.

  She noticed the cracked window as soon as she walked through the bedroom door. She was absolutely positive that window had not been open this morning.

  She’d made Seth close it last night since his bedroom faced the sidewalk. Call her old fashioned, but she didn’t want anyone walking by to be able to hear them while they were in bed together.

  But what did it mean? She glanced around trying not to give Max any idea she was doing so. The slightest movement of someone in the bathroom caught her attention. She looked away, not wanting to give the big man any reason to look in there. She knew there was nowhere to hide.

  She grabbed her cardigan from where it had ended up on the back of the chair in Seth’s room and handed it to Max.

  “I’ve got to go to the bathroom.”

  Max took the sweater from her and glanced at the bathroom. There was obviously no window in there. He pushed her toward the bathroom door. “Hurry up. If you’re not out in one minute, I’m coming after you. You won’t like that.”

  Rachel rushed into the bathroom and locked the door. She turned on the light, hoping to find Seth. Her jaw dropped and eyes widened as the shower curtain moved back.

  “Juliet?”

  What the hell was her cousin doing at her boyfriend’s apartment?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “What are you doing here?” The words were sputtered. Rachel barely remembered to keep her voice down.

  Of all the things that had happened to her over the last couple of days: elevator falling, crazy kisses, finding out Seth was a federal agent, getting kidnapped; finding her cousin in Seth’s bathroom was definitely the most impossible to believe.

  “I’m here to help. We’re going to get you out of this.”

  “We’re? Who’swe’re?”

  Juliet grabbed Rachel by the shoulders gently. “Rachel, we don’t have much time before that buffoon comes back in here. I’m here with Seth, Cam, and Sawyer. We know about Lydia. How many others are here?

  Rachel shook her head, trying to clear the mental cobwebs. “Two. Big guys. Scary.”

  “You’re hurt,” Juliet whispered, touching her cheek.

  “Not too bad. I’m okay.”

  “Alright. Just be ready.”

  “Ready for what?”

  “Just get out of the way when the guys and I come in.”

  Rachel shook her head slowly. “Okay. But why are you and the boys here? I don’t understand.”

  Juliet smiled gently at Rachel, and kissed her on her uninjured cheek. “Yeah you do, cuz. You’ve known for a while. Seen the things nobody else in the family has. You were just too polite to ask.”

  Of course. It all came together for Rachel. “You’re an agent too.”

  Juliet reached behind Rachel and flushed the toilet then turned her toward the door. “Try to stay out of dodge when the crazy goes down.”

  “Be careful. They’ve got guns,” Rachel said.

  “So do we, sweetie.”

  Juliet stepped back behind the shower curtain and Rachel walked back out the door.
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  The drive from the hospital to his apartment had been the longest twenty minutes of Seth’s life. He was thankful it was a Saturday and the notorious D.C. traffic wasn’t such a problem.

  Lydia was the other inside man. When the buyer couldn’t flip Ryan, he’d moved on to her. Evidently she’d been more willing. The Omega agents tailing Dr. Hudson had rushed his home on Cameron’s instructions a few minutes ago so they could bring him in, unsure if he was part of the ring or not.

  They’d found him handcuffed to a chair. Left there by his “lover” Lydia. She’d been staying close to him to avoid suspicion and gather whatever information she could. She’d left him alive only so she could get details from him if she needed anything else. Hudson had no doubt Lydia had planned to come back and kill him once she was sure she had everything she needed.

  Lydia could not be the one who’d hurt Ryan badly enough to put him in the hospital, but she was obviously running with people who were able and willing to commit such violence. Thugs who now had Rachel in their clutches.

  Seth drove faster.

  The Bransons were right behind him in their car. Everyone had their phones on speaker to formulate a plan.

  “I have a front door, back door and window to my bedroom that is accessible from the road. But I don’t think I can fit through the opening.”

  “Could I, Seth?” Juliet asked. She was small enough.

  “Probably. You’ll need a boost.”

  “We don’t know how many people are in there. If Rachel is hurt or incapacitated.” Cameron pointed out what Seth could barely stand to think about.

  How had she come to mean so much to him in such a short time?

  “I think our best bet is to storm multiple doors at once. Draw their fire and attention away from Rachel.”

  It was a risky plan, not well formulated. But time was of the essence. Lydia and her crew knew the microchip was somewhere in Rachel’s possession —Ryan had told them that much. Once they found it, they wouldn’t have much reason to keep Rachel alive.

  Still, storming in, just the four of them, with no vests, no assault rifles, no backup and no plan except to stop Lydia and whoever she was in league with?

  The plan had holes large enough to drive a car through.

  “I’m willing to listen if anybody else has any better ideas,” Seth said after his statement met with silence.

  Rachel was these people’s family. They wanted her out unharmed just as badly as he did.

  “We’re with you Seth. A not-great plan is better than no plan at all,” Sawyer said.

  Seth had heard rumors about some of Sawyer’s “not-great” plans, including one that had involved punching their boss in the jaw and knocking him unconscious. But Sawyer still had his job, and even seemed to be on pretty friendly terms with Dennis Burgamy now, so maybe that story wasn’t true.

  “I’ll get through the window,” Juliet said. “Gather whatever intel I can. I know it’s hard, but everyone sit tight until I text you. We don’t want to make a mistake that will hurt Rachel.”

  The plan, or whatever it should be called, was formed. They had driven as fast they could to Seth’s apartment. Gotten Juliet through the window and now were waiting for her text.

  Seth’s phone buzzed and her text came through.

  Two big guys and Lydia. All armed. Rachel scared but not hurt. She knows we’re coming. But we need to move now.

  Seth felt part of the weight that had settled on his chest dissipate. Rachel was still alive. They had gotten here in time.

  Now he needed to focus on the task at hand. A raid in his own apartment. Fast.

  The odds for getting his security deposit back were not looking good.

  Sawyer had gone to evacuate the people who lived directly above and beside Seth. The apartment complex was pretty decent, but if bullets started flying, the walls may not stop them.

  When they got the word the other apartments were clear, Seth signaled Juliet. They would all move in ten seconds. Seth and Cameron were at the back door, Sawyer was at the front, Juliet would be coming into the living area from his bedroom.

  Engrained training took over for everyone. Seth didn’t have a key to the back door with him so they would have to break it to get in. He knew as soon as they slammed into it all hell would break loose.

  3-2-1.

  He motioned to Cameron and they hit it together, on the hinge side. A bolt would often hold against brute strength but hinges rarely did.

  Seth saw the two big guys immediately. One was from the university yesterday.

  “Federal agents. Put your hands in the air,” he called out.

  Both reached for their guns instead. Seth and Cameron scattered in different directions in the living room and dropped to the ground to divide their targets as both thugs fired their weapons.

  Seth heard his television smash into pieces behind him as a bullet hit it.

  Too close.

  He rolled and pushed himself quickly onto his feet as he shot off three rounds. The guy who had tried to take Rachel yesterday let out a groan before falling to the ground.

  At the sound of the first gun firing, Juliet had come out of the bedroom. The bald thug, about to take another shot at Cameron was stopped by a bullet to the shoulder that spun him around.

  “Drop the weapon, or the next shot won’t just wound,” Juliet told the man.

  The man grimaced but dropped the gun to the floor. Juliet kicked it away.

  “Down on the ground,” Seth told him. The man dropped to his knees.

  Where was Rachel and Lydia? Seth only had a second to wonder before Lydia walked out from the kitchen using Rachel as a human shield. She had her in a chokehold with one arm; a gun pressed to Rachel’s temple.

  “Now now, folks. I’d hate for anyone else to get hurt. Especially Rachel here.”

  Seth, Cameron and Juliet all swung their weapons toward Lydia.

  “There’s no way you’re going to make it out of here alive, Lydia,” Seth said.

  Lydia shot one eyebrow up. “That may be true, but you can damn well believe I’m not going to let your precious little book nerd live if I don’t. So everybody put the guns down.”

  Seth lowered his weapon, as did Cam and Juliet. Where was Sawyer?

  “Now, put them on the ground.”

  They all reluctantly did so.

  “Look at you, all secret agent,” Lydia sneered. “I should’ve known when you showed up at the restaurant all kissing on this one that you were on some sort of undercover work. As if you’d be interested in her otherwise.” She jerked Rachel tighter.

  Seth looked at Rachel. Her breaths were short and labored as she tried to breathe around Lydia’s arm across her throat. Her eyes were terrified.

  Hold on, baby.

  “The reverse beauty and the beast story was just too good to be true,” Lydia continued. “When I realized I was being tailed today, I knew law enforcement was closing in, but I didn’t think it was you.”

  “She means nothing to me, Lydia. Just part of the case, like you said. And while I’d hate for any innocent life to be lost, there is no way I’m letting you walk out with that microchip. That’s worth more than any one life.” Seth forced himself not to look at Rachel as he said the totally untrue words. He could feel acid burn in his gut at the thought of playing on Rachel’s worst fears.

  Even if it meant saving her life.

  He saw the knob of his front door turn. Sawyer was using Seth’s key to enter. The distraction would be Seth’s chance.

  As Lydia took a step backwards with Rachel, Seth took a step forward. He caught Rachel’s eye, ignoring the tears brimming there, and motioned with his head for her to get ready to drop to the floor. She nodded. He hoped she understood.

  When the door clicked open, Lydia was momentarily distracted. Seth dove for the two women while Rachel just folded her legs and let her body weight drop her to the floor. Lydia couldn’t hold them both up so was forced to release Rachel. />
  Just in time for Seth to come crashing into Lydia.

  He heard a gunshot and felt a burn in his arm but was determined to get the harm away from Rachel. Once he landed on top of Lydia, wrestling the gun away and subduing her wasn’t difficult. He heard scuffling behind him and knew the Bransons were taking care of business also.

  “We’re all clear back here,” Cameron called out. “You okay, Seth?”

  “I’ve got Lydia. All clear.”

  “I’m calling local PD to get some uniformed officers to this place. The neighbors around here are probably scared to death,” Juliet said.

  Rachel was huddled against the wall, her big brown eyes struggling to take in everything going on around her.

  “You okay, cuz?” Sawyer asked, winking at her.

  She didn’t answer, just continued staring. She finally looked over at Seth.

  “You’re hurt.”

  Seth looked down at his arm where a bullet from Lydia’s gun had grazed him. Blood was oozing, but nothing serious. “Yeah, I’m going to need to get that looked at, but it’s really more a burn than anything else. I’m okay.”

  He reached toward her, wanting to run a finger down her cheek, to assure her it was all going to be okay. She had a bruise on the side of her face and marks on her neck. Not to mention she was in shock.

  But when she flinched away, Seth stopped. “Rachel…”

  “No, don’t talk to me right now. I don’t want to talk to any of you.”

  Her volume had picked up and her cousins had all stopped what they were doing and were staring at her.

  “Rachel…” It was Sawyer who tried this time. Youngest of the four Branson siblings. Amiable, charming.

  “No. You can’t come in here, rescue me like you’re some sort of super-commandos, then expect me to just roll with it. You’ve all lied to me. For years.”

  Juliet stepped forward. “Rachel, we couldn’t—“

  Rachel held out an arm to stop her. “I know. You couldn’t tell me. And I do understand that, believe it or not. But right now I want all of you to stay away from me.”

  Seth reached for her again. “I’m so sorry—“