by Cara Carnes
“I have to admit I’m a bit surprised you’re here. Alone.” Marla looked back at the two men who’d dragged her inside. “She was alone, right?”
“Yeah, boss. We took her gun. She’s clean otherwise.”
Right. Zoey and Cord had put a miniature camera in her glasses and on the button of her jeans. So far they hadn’t noticed either of the two KBARs strapped to her calves. At least the weird suit Bree and Rhea had shoved her into seemed to be working. Dallas and Jud glared at her. Neither man spoke, but she noted the tension in their bodies, as though they both prepared to strike when given the chance.
“And I’m to believe you’d give HERA up that easily?” Marla walked over to the duffel and nodded for the computer geek to open it. “I’m not stupid, Viviana Chambers. Or do you prefer Quillery?”
“You can call me whatever the hell you want as long as you give me the six million for HERA and release Dallas and Jud.” Vi cocked her head toward the bag. “Plug the PC in and I can help you hook it up to your system. The two small cases are the drones.”
“Oscar can handle the setup,” Marla said. “I never mentioned paying you six million.”
Vi shrugged. “It’s worth a hell of a lot more than that and we both know it. I’ll need money to get away once this is over. I’m sick of the cloak and dagger bullshit. I want out. This is my ticket to a new life.”
“Smart decision.” The woman approached, heels striking against the concrete floor.
Vi watched Oscar’s progression as he yanked the computer out and hooked it up. Her pulse quickened. Hands fisted and unfisted at her sides. He set both cases down and opened them.
Perfect.
“What’s to stop me from putting a bullet in your brain right now?” Marla settled a gun against Vi’s head. “I could save myself six million.”
Chains rattled. Vi held her breath, hoping the two men stayed in place. Too many sudden moves would undermine Cord’s and Mary’s control of the drones once things got underway.
“You could, but that wouldn’t be very smart. HERA won’t operate until you have the codes. I’ll give you the first set once Oscar has it set up. I get my money, then you get the second set.”
“That kind of money will take some time,” Marla said.
“Bullshit. If you aren’t serious, I’ll leave. I’m not here to play games.”
“You’re here for whatever I say, bitch.” The woman grabbed her hair and yanked hard. “What’s the code?”
Vi glanced over at the computer and waited until the lights emanating from the shell were white instead of yellow. HERA was ready. She gritted her teeth in mock anger and rattled off the code. She repeated it a few times because Oscar wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.
“Now.” Marla yanked harder. Tears pricked Vi’s vision, but she forced a deep breath and ignored the sharp pain. “Give him the other code or you die.”
“Nice try,” Vi clipped angrily. “He enters that code before six million hits my account and this entire place goes sky high. Between what’s packed in the computer and the car outside, they’ll be scraping you off concrete for months.”
Marla shouted orders at the men to go check the car. She glared over at Oscar, who’d paled and stepped a few feet from the table. “Get to work. Give the bitch her six million. That’s nothing compared to what we’ll make on it.”
“Account’s already entered in the data menu,” Vi offered lamely. “Let me go. I want to make sure Dallas and Jud are okay.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You want HERA, you’ll let me see them. Get them down. Now.” Vi clenched her teeth and fisted her hands. “You’ve had your fun with them. Unhook them now and I’ll give you the codes once the money’s transferred. After I give you the codes, you can uncuff them.”
Marla signaled four of the men to comply with Vi’s request. The others closed in, weapons drawn. Vi waited until Jud and Dallas were lowered to the ground. Both men rotated and glared, but neither moved from where they’d been set. Vi closed the distance, careful to remain far enough away not to make the assholes with guns nervous. She huddled her hands near her body to shield the gestures Marshall and Nolan had taught her. They swore Dallas would understand them.
She doubted Jud would.
Dallas’s eyebrows furrowed. She repeated the gestures.
“You two okay?”
“You shouldn’t be here,” Jud clipped angrily.
“You’re okay.” Vi moved to Dallas. “You good?”
“Golden.”
Yes. Marshall said that’d be his response if he understood the message. “Good. I’m going to give Oscar the code, then we’ll be out in a couple minutes.”
“Money’s transferred.”
Marla grabbed her by the hair again and dragged her toward HERA. “The code. Now.”
Vi pulled back, wanting to stay far away from the drones, especially the newer ones with the super lethal gunk. She figured standing near them was like petting a cobra. Vi tried to do a full turn to give everyone watching a better view of where everyone currently stood, but it was easier thought than done. Vi rattled off the code that’d snap The Collective’s neck.
The virus had already snagged their account number and used the data they’d already gathered to cipher access to any other accounts they owned. They’d identified quite a few, but the final bits of data a live transaction offered would seal their fate. Vi almost chuckled when the light of the case turned a light blue. The virus worked.
Marla’s gun returned to Vi’s temple. “That wasn’t very bright, Quillery. Did you really think I’d let you walk out of here?”
“Did you really think I’d give you HERA?” Vi shot back with a laugh. “I’m not the dumb one here. You never should have come after us. I would’ve let you keep doing whatever The Collective does, but you got dumb when you helped set up Mary’s kidnapping. Her torture. You got dumber when you got scared and brokered a hit on us and put a price tag on HERA. But you know what really pissed me off?”
Marla’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “You think you’re so smart. You have no idea you’re two minutes from dying.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You sealed your death warrant when you attacked my home, my family. Going after me and The Edge to get HERA was dumb. Dragging The Arsenal into it was suicidal. I promised Jud’s parents I’d make you pay for taking him. I never break a promise. Goodbye, bitch.”
Vi sank to her knees and noted Dallas and Jud had followed her suit. Dallas barked an order at Jud, who’d started moving. The second the two men were frozen into place, all hell broke loose. It’d been less than four seconds since she’d finished her statement. Drones whirred into position and fired. Darts slammed into the armed combatants around them. Oscar scurried under the desk. Marla ran.
Stupid bitch.
Explosions rattled the warehouse, the signal for the teams to move in. Vi lifted her pants legs and snagged both knives from their hidden sheaths. Dallas and Jud each grabbed one and went to work.
“Keep Marla alive,” Dallas ordered.
Yeah, so not happening. Vi went over to the desk and disconnected HERA, putting her back into the duffel bag. She snagged the other computer and a laptop, in case there was anything important on it. HERA should have established unfettered access to The Collective’s systems, but it was possible they’d set everything up in remote segments for added security. If they did it’d take a bit of finagling, but she and Mary would crack it.
“What are you doing, woman?” Jud growled as he shoved her to the floor. “Stay down.”
“Mary and Cord won’t hit me.”
“I’m more worried about the men with the guns hitting you.” He pinned her to the ground. “I can’t believe you strutted in here.”
“I did not strut,” she replied.
Angered shouts and gunfire echoed around them. Vi ran her hands down Jud’s face.
“I’m okay,” he said.
Right. Because okay people bled
all the time. Marshall and Gage appeared. Vi rose along with Jud, who kept a protective arm wrapped around her waist. Dallas was shouting at Marla, who he’d taken to the ground.
“Where the fuck is he, Marla?”
“You’ll never find him,” she replied. Blood seeped from her mouth as she clutched her bleeding abdomen. “You’ll never find him.”
“Fuck!” Dallas shouted the statement as he rose and paced angrily. “Fuck!”
“What’s wrong?” Jesse asked.
Jud closed the distance, settling a hand on the man’s shoulder. “We’ll find him, man. You know we will. The bitch was probably lying.”
“Lying about what?” Jesse asked.
“No, it’d be just like the bitch to breed, have my kid and never tell me.”
Holy shit. Vi’s mouth dried as she stared at the dead woman. She’d had Dallas’s kid?
Holy shit.
She motored forward and wrapped her arms around Dallas. “We’ll find him. I swear we’ll find him, wherever he is. Okay?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Of course not.” She squeezed him tighter, then remembered his ravaged torso. “Sorry.”
“I’d rather feel the pain than think about how this could’ve gone down. You have balls of steel, woman.”
“That’s not what I’d say,” Jud said. “Mind filling us in on what the fuck this was?”
“A rescue,” Vi replied.
“No shit,” Dallas said. “It was more. You looked like a cat that ate a cage full of canaries when Oscar plugged the computer in. What really went down?”
“They wired six million to us,” Vi said with a shrug. “And the code we wrote sort of took the rest.”
“What rest?” Jud asked.
“All the rest. All the data we gathered and what we got via the transfer identified all their accounts and cleaned them out. Any account we could find is gone. It’s out first blow to The Collective. They can’t operate without funds.” Vi rocked back on her heels. “They’re going down for what they did.”
“God, I fucking love you,” Jud declared. He leaned in and kissed her lips.
What the hell? Her entire body tingled. He drew her close and guided her toward the warehouse doors.
“My team and Nolan’s will remain behind, assist the investigators. Homeland and FBI have teams inbound. Everyone else, head back to the compound, get on Dallas’s problem.” Marshall’s voice boomed in the area. He clapped Dallas on the back. “We’ll find him. Vi and Mary are the best around. They’ll find him. We won’t stop until we do.”
22
Viviana hovered like a chopper caught in a sandstorm. Translation—she sucked at not being obvious. Jud grinned at her as she stood within shouting distance as Logan assessed his injuries. Marshall had wanted him and Dallas to go to a real hospital before they left San Antonio, but Dallas grunted no and Jud was down with getting back to The Arsenal.
His entire body hurt, but he’d been through worse. The entire compound had been sealed tight, in case there was a backlash from what’d gone down in the warehouse. His mind reeled.
His heart still thudded hard against his chest when he thought back to the moment they’d dragged Viviana into the room. He’d aged thirty years in one second. He would’ve carved out his own heart to get her out of that fucking hellhole. But she’d walked in.
For him.
Jesus.
He expended a deep breath and let the realization he’d fallen head over heels for the woman settle. The man sitting on the exam table beside him was wired to explode. As much as Jud wanted to grab Viviana and finish the declaration he’d uttered in the warehouse, he needed to keep Dallas company. The man had five brothers and more friends and people ready to throw down for him than Jud could count, but that didn’t mean he was okay. Jud recognized the haunted, desperate gaze sliding through the room. He was there but didn’t fit, not really.
He’d been there hundreds of times after handling a hard target. What’d gone down wasn’t a mission, a kill.
That bitch had Dallas’s kid and never told him.
He had one card left to play, one move he’d earned. They didn’t have a name for who put the hit out on the Quillery Edge and now they had an innocent kid out there without a mom or a dad.
Fuck.
“Need a phone,” he growled. “Secure line.”
“Is he cleared?” Marshall asked.
“Neither of them should do anything but sleep. But I have a better chance at riding a unicorn than that happening.” Logan removed his gloves. “I’ve done what I can. They’re pumped full of antibiotics. Both refused painkillers. I’ll fill scripts in case they change their mind. So, yeah. They’re cleared.”
Jud grunted his appreciation and followed the procession of Masons as they headed toward a debriefing room. Jud didn’t want to chat about what’d gone down, but he’d do whatever it took to get things sorted so he could have a few moments alone with Viviana. She appeared at his side. She placed her hand hesitantly on him, as if afraid her touch would hurt. She had no idea. No fucking clue her touch was what he’d focused on, clung to while that bitch did her damnedest to break him.
Everyone filed into the room. Jud didn’t want everyone privy to the conversation he was about to have, but he hadn’t quite acclimated to the whole teamwork slash brotherhood thing The Arsenal had going. He’d acclimate because everyone in the room was important to Viviana.
“Are you okay?” She ran her hand down his cheek. “You should’ve taken the pain meds Logan offered.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“What’s our next move? We need to figure out where the fuck my kid’s at.” Dallas prowled the narrow path in front of the closed door.
Mary pushed the conference phone toward Jud. He dialed the number and raised a hand for everyone to remain quiet.
“You’re out,” Kristof said. “A few friends and I were inbound to assist your departure, but I see your new friends had it handled.”
“Appreciate the gesture,” Jud said.
“As I appreciate the head’s up. Things would’ve been messy for me had I not been warned. I owe you.”
“And I’m afraid I need to cash in now, the sooner the better.” Jud sighed. “Marla had a kid. I need a location. And I need a name behind the contract. I know it was high up the food chain, probably at the top. I need those names, Kristof.”
“That is a complicated and dangerous road for anyone to travel. Some destinations aren’t worth the effort.”
“I think we both know these two are. I’m out. The Collective is going down. I’ll vouch for you if you want to have a conversation with someone more in the gray than the black, but I need your assist to finish this. I wouldn’t ask if there was any other way.”
“Twenty years. We’ve battled in the dark shadows no one else dared enter for twenty years, watching one another’s backs. It’s hard to imagine those times are done. I’ll admit I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. Some demons only die in the shadows, man. Not everything can be handled in the light of day.” Caution punctuated Kristof’s words. “I’ll send what I know, but I’ve got nothing on the kid. She mentioned a cabin up in Wyoming once. I’ll send coordinates in case it’s worth checking out. Strike fast on the names. They’re scurrying. I’ll assist if needed. The man behind Edge’s abduction will be there, too. The information recently came to my attention.”
The room went nuclear at the declaration, the fact they had finally gotten to the end of the road. They’d have closure for Mary. And Viviana.
“Appreciated, man. Touch base when you’re clear, let me know if you need help getting new legs under you.”
“I’m good. Go get the white picket fence life you’ve wanted. And the dog. Name the first brat after me,” the man ordered.
Jud looked over at Viviana as he smiled at his friend’s words. Kristof Lavrov was the closest thing to a true friend he had while in The Collective. “I’m thinking a cat might be the way to go. I’ll b
e in touch. Breathe free.”
“Always. I’ll send what you need now. Then we can all breathe free.”
The line went dead. Silence ticked by a few moments as Jud looked at the phone. He looked over at his nephew, who’d somehow become part of the caravan of people following him and Dallas. “He’ll send the coordinates and data to my secure email, bud.”
“I’m on it.” Jacob grabbed Cord’s laptop and got to work.
“Who was that?” Mary asked.
“A friend, another ghost. He…he and I worked the inner layer of projects for The Collective. What I turned down, he handled, and vice versa. He was in with them a few years before me. He spent the past few years as Marla’s personal lapdog after I walked away from the post.”
“He was her assassin,” Dallas said. “I recognize the name Kristof, but we haven’t met.”
“Uh, Uncle Jud…” Jacob’s voice rose. “There’s a whole lot more than GPS coordinates here.”
Cord took the computer and whistled. “You’re buddy sent a lot of data. Zoey, Jacob and I will get it fed into HERA, let the system process it overnight. The phantom behind Peter’s operation is in there somewhere.”
“We’ll organize teams to move on him immediately once we have a name, location,” Viviana said.
“No,” Mary said. “Let him sweat. We’ll strike him soon, but we need to move teams on the cabin location and track down Dallas’s kid. That’s our priority. We all want closure on the Hive incident, but the kid is our critical mission.”
“And stretching ourselves thin by doing both isn’t an option,” Marshall said. “We cut too close doing that the last time. Until we’re fully staffed, we’re not biting off more than we can safely chew.”
They were right. It sucked, but whoever the mystery man was would have to wait a little longer. Perhaps not that long. Jud could go in alone and eliminate just about anyone. The fewer involved, the better. It wasn’t the sort of op that’d end in a typical manner.