by Linzi Baxter
Kat is all I needed. Once I got her back, I would be on my way back to Ft. Lauderdale with my sister, and Zane would be on his way back to DC.
“You think tomorrow you can go your separate way and forget about what is between us.” At the shake of my head, he said, “I see it in your eyes. I’m not sure what is between us, but it is not ending tonight.”
When I went to respond, the hotel door swung open, and Antonio and John walked back in. They were both dressed in full tactical gear. Antonio had a look of determination on his face. This mission was as vital to him as it was to me. He was going after his wife and a son he had never met.
“Time to roll,” Antonio grunted and motioned toward the door.
Zane grabbed his sig and holstered it. As he walked toward the door, he stopped and whispered in my ear. “Don’t even think we are close to being done.”
Before I had time to respond, he was heading out the door, and Antonio was giving me an irritated look for dragging my feet.
Kat
I’d spent years mourning my family only to find out my sister was alive. Nothing made sense. Why hadn’t Juan called and told me before going on TV? I looked down at my phone, noticing the thirteen missed calls. Okay, I hadn’t answered his calls before the broadcast.
What if they didn’t find her and I had to go through losing my sister all over again? I’ve had so much heartache. Every time I looked at Antonio Jr., my heart ached for the only man I’d ever loved.
I wanted out of the agency. When I was younger and had so much anger about losing my family, it was easy to put it into the fieldwork.
Juan told me that if I did this one last favor, he would help me find the people behind Antonio’s death. I hated being around these men. What Juan didn’t know was that I’d been watching his dealings. He’d been sending me on cases for the last five years, saying I was helping the United States government. But, the recent case was too much. He wanted me to take out a family. Every case he had me work, I researched. If I didn’t feel like the people deserved it, I sent them to a little town in Africa. One day I would have to visit the city that was comprised of the people I’d saved from Juan’s corruption. I paid for them to go away and faked their deaths.
I didn’t plan on letting Yermushin get away with selling the nuclear codes he had. The problem was that the deal was going down at the charity event tomorrow. I was trying to come up with a plan to stop it or change out the codes somehow. The only way Yermushin could have gotten the codes were from Juan, but now he was sending a plane to take Antonio and me back to Ft Lauderdale tomorrow morning to help find my sister.
Yermushin thought that, after the codes were sold, he was done working for Juan. Juan’s primary plan was for the nuclear codes to be sold, and the money to be put into his account. Yermushin thought I was there as his bodyguard, but my primary mission was to take him out.
How could my sister possibly be alive after all these years? How could she not come looking for me? Maybe Juan had figured out my plan and was doing this so I was unable to go to the charity event tomorrow night. The codes were on a black thumb drive. Perhaps I’d go to the charity event and fly home afterward. I needed to get the thumb drive before it was sold to North Korea.
“Mommy, why do you look so sad?” Antonio was my light. I’d had so many dark days in my life, but he was the one thing that kept me going. I hated taking him on missions. This one had lasted a few months. Yermushin had to gain trust with the North Koreans. No way was I going to be away from my son for a few months. Gini, one of my nannies growing up, had retired to New York. She had been helping me when I needed to go assist Yermushin.
Juan had also insisted on the bodyguard living next door. I didn’t understand why he thought a trained assassin needed to have muscle. I had my trusted M24 sniper rifle.
I reached down and pulled Antonio into my lap. “I’m not sad. I was trying to figure out a plan.”
“I saw Uncle Juan on TV. Do I really have another Aunty?” For a four-year-old, he picked up way more than he should. He always talked about his friends having big families and asked when we would get a bigger one. “I’m not sure honey. I need to find out more information.”
Antonio jumped down from my lap. “I hope so. You seem so lonely. Maybe aunty will have kids too.”
“Come on kiddo, it’s time for bed.”
Antonio ran down the hall to the bathroom. I could hear the water running. So many questions about Sophie roamed through my head. Would Sophie have kids? Does she know I’m alive and if so why hasn’t she ever looked for me?
“Mommy, are you coming?”
I was so lost in thought, I hadn’t heard Antonio head to his room. When I walked in he was already under his Marvel bedspread. Next to the bed sat a picture of Antonio’s dad. No matter how many times I looked at it, he still took my breath away.
“Good night, kiddo.” I leaned down and kissed his forehead. He is growing so fast and looks so much like his father. Antonio would be so proud of him.
When I was about to flick the light off, Antonio asked a question that made my heart break.
“Mommy, if aunty Sophie is still alive. Do you think daddy is?”
How many nights had I laid in bed hoping to see his eyes one more time or lay in his arms?
“No, I know daddy is dead for a fact.”
Needing to suppress the thoughts of Antonio. I grabbed a glass of wine and sat down with my e-reader. Nothing like a good book to distract you from a wondering mind.
The two main characters were running for their lives when a loud pounding on the front door startled me. I glanced at the clock and saw it was past ten. Who the hell would show up at this time? For the last two hours, I had been trying to fall asleep. Sophie kept coming to the forefront of my brain.
Another series of knocks sounded on the door. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Yermushin’s or Sanchez’s men. This was my private sanctuary. I had done little with the place since we moved in. The walls were still generic white and not decorated. Once this job was over, we would move again. The next time will be the last. One assignment, and I was done. One assignment until I went after the man that killed my one true love. This constant moving wasn’t fair to Antonio, and he would enter kindergarten soon. I hadn’t figured out where we were going yet.
When I looked through the peephole, I couldn’t see anything. I grabbed the gun from under the end table. I’d never trusted Yermushin or his men. I’d done jobs for him in the past, and it was time to part ways. After I took him down, I would need to go on the run. I shook my head trying to get my thoughts back in order.
I opened the door. Was I still dreaming? Antonio was standing in front of me, his forest green eyes seeing straight into my soul. My eyes trailed downward, not being able to help looking over the man who lived only in my fantasies, for the past five years. His black shirt molded against his chest, showing raw masculinity. When my eyes sprung back up and looked at his face, I was still not sure what I was seeing, as his lips turned up into a cocky smile. He knew I was checking him out. I didn’t move a muscle hoping everything would stand still, when movement to the right had me looking to see who was with him.
Sophie -- it might’ve been twenty-five years, but I would recognize my sister anywhere. Her red hair was tied up in a bun. She had slight wrinkles next to her eyes, showing years of stress. Like Antonio, Sophie was dressed in all black. She looked nervous and excited, her hands twitching at her sides wanting to reach out. Not one hundred percent sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me, I tightened my grip around the 9mm in my hand.
“Kitty Kat, you need to let us in.”
When Antonio’s deep hypnotic voice registered in my mind, I knew he was real and it was too much to take in. How could this be possible? He was dead. He died in my arms. My brain could not comprehend what was going on. The world went dark, and my body dropped.
13
Sophie
Over the years, I had imagined different scenarios
of seeing Kat for the first time. Her passing out and almost hitting her head was not one of them. But, she more than likely never expected to see her dead husband and dead sister again.
Antonio grabbed Kat from Zane’s arms. When Kat hadn’t answered the door immediately, Zane had gone around the house and picked the lock on the back door. He was walking up behind Kat when she collapsed and was able to catch her before she hit the ground.
“Someone grab a cold cloth,” Antonio demanded.
I ran into the kitchen to grab a cloth. There, I came face to face with a three-and-a-half foot mini Antonio. He was the spitting image of his dad.
“You look like my dead aunt. Are you a ghost?”
It took everything in me not to burst out laughing. The little guy was so serious with his question. He continued to look up at me with his crystal blue eyes.
“I’m your aunt, not a ghost. I need your help. Can you find me a rag?”
Little Antonio opened a drawer and handed me a dishcloth. I was still in shock over being an aunt, and seeing him in person was throwing me. After running the rag under the cold water, I reached down and drew him into my arms.
“Hey, buddy. Let’s head into the living room and check on your mom.”
“Okay.” He grabbed his blankie and walked toward the living room.
Since I was concentrating on getting back to Kat, I didn’t notice that the mini Antonio had stopped dead in front of me. I tripped and flew forward. Like always, my knight in shining armor was there to catch me. Could this man do nothing wrong? He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
When I was finally standing back up, I looked down to see why the little guy had stopped. He was staring at Antonio, and the big brute was staring back. It seemed like the big, bad Antonio’s eyes were glossy. I wouldn’t want to be the one to point out that the big, bad ex-military guy was close to crying.
I was close to crying, myself. It was one of the most beautiful sights—a son and his dad getting to meet each other for the first time. I wish Kat were awake to see this.
“You look like my dad, but Mommy said Daddy died.” His bottom lip was quivering. “What’s wrong with my mommy?”
Antonio squatted down. “I’m your dad. Your mommy was told lies. Why don’t you come he—”
The little guy flew through the living room and jumped into his dad's arms. I couldn’t hold back anymore and tears were running down my face.
When I looked at Antonio, he had tears running down his face too. He didn’t care how it looked. He had finally found his wife and kid. Under the tears, you could see the anguish from missing so many years with his family.
A grumble from the couch had everyone turning their eyes from the scene of a dad and son reunited.
“How…?” Kat choked out. She also had tears running down her cheeks. “You died in my arms.”
With his son in his arms, Antonio rushed over to where his wife was laying. “Hey, Kitty Kat.”
“He said you were dead, and I…” She was crying so hard that she couldn’t get her words out.
The reunion on the couch was intimate. I needed to look away. I felt like I was intruding on their private moment. When Zane wrapped his arms around me, it felt good to have someone there to comfort me. I would hold onto this moment for the rest of my life. Each time he wrapped his arms around me, it made it harder to walk away.
Kat finally calmed down and released her grip on Antonio. When her eyes swung to me, she lost it all over again. I couldn’t take it any longer. I ran over and wrapped my arms around my baby sister.
“Someone tell me what’s going on.”
At the same time of her demand, Brock’s voice came through our earpieces. The duped video feed was running low, and we needed to head out. Reworking the video feed would take too long. John could confirm the men next door were asleep from the laced food. They wouldn’t regain consciousness until tomorrow.
Antonio spoke. “We’ll tell you everything, but we are running out of time. I need you to get your stuff so we can leave.”
“I can’t leave. I need to take care of something tomorrow.”
“I lost you once. I will not lose you again. Let's get your things packed and get back to the hotel. We’ll discuss what happens next when we get there.” Antonio was using his authoritative voice on Kat.
Kat stood from the couch and turned her emerald eyes on Antonio. “Do not start with me. I will not put up with your demo—”
Before she could finish yelling, Antonio swooped down and threw Kat over his shoulder. Then he reached down and grabbed his son with his other hand. “Seems my wife has everything she needs. It’s time to head out.”
Antonio turned and headed for the door. Kat was pounding her fist on his back, demanding he put her down. The cute boy in his arms was giggling at his parents’ antics. Those two were perfect for each other.
“I’ll grab some clothes for both of them and be out in two minutes.” Not waiting for Zane’s reply, I headed down the corridor to the bedrooms.
Once back in the hotel, tension was high. Kat was still mad about being taken without a choice. Antonio Jr. was watching cartoons on the couch. Antonio seemed to always have an eye on his son.
“Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” Kat demanded.
“Where do you want us to start?”
“The beginning.”
Over the next hour, we told Kat where I had been and that I had been trying to get to her. How Sanchez was our uncle, which she already knew. Then how Sanchez faked Antonio's death and led him to believe she was dead.
By the time the story was done, Kat was sitting on Antonio's lap with his arm wrapped around her waist. In the couple of years I’d known him, this was the most vulnerable I had ever seen the man.
Brock’s face came across the computer screen. He was in his war room, surrounded by his team. His fiancée, Jessica, was sitting next to him. Before he could talk, Jessica chimed in. “Did you know that every year, eleven thousand Americans injure themselves while trying out bizarre sexual positions. That is my PSA for the day. Be safe.”
Whenever Jessica spit out facts that were basically useless, Brock’s face lit up with joy. He enjoyed listening to her.
“I think we have less time than we planned. I was watching the satellite feed on Kat’s house. A couple minutes ago, two cars arrived, and approximately six men headed into her house. They must have been tipped off. It won’t take them long to figure out where you are.”
“Fuck. We need to get you both back to Ft. Lauderdale now.” Zane was pacing back and forth in front of the screen, his hands clenched so tight that his knuckles were turning white.
There was no way I was going to jet off to safety and leave Zane to finish the mission. “I’m not leaving you.”
“We need to figure out what Yermushin and Sanchez are up to at the charity event. I wonder if they are planning the trafficking sale at the charity event,” Zane asked. “Did you forget what I promised my brother? I need to hold true to my word. If you’re with me, I will be worrying about you and not concentrating on the mission. It was hard enough tonight, going on a mission I knew would come out okay. I can’t think about going on this one tomorrow with you there.”
Kat wrung her hands. “I know what they’re planning. That is why I need to stay. I need to stop them tomorrow.”
The room went quiet at Kat’s words, and everyone’s attention was on her. Since we had been back to the hotel, she had been listening to the conversations and not saying much.
“What are they planning Kat? You need to tell me. It’s the only way I can help. Then we can move on with our lives.” Antonio said.
“They're selling nuclear codes to the North Koreans.”
At her words, the room went even quieter. Everyone sat in stunned silence, wondering how the Director of the CIA could be so corrupt.
“Were you helping them?” Antonio asked.
“How dare you accuse me of that? No, and I
shouldn’t even have to tell you that! Over the years, I’ve helped Yermushin with contract kills. I didn’t kill any one that didn’t deserve it. Each time I was given a mission, I researched as much as I could and decided how to proceed. I tapped Yermushin’s phone lines a few weeks back and listened to his conversations with Sanchez. They were talking about the exchange. After it was complete, my mission was to take Yermushin out.” Kat was vibrating with anger.
Antonio knew he messed up. “I’m sorry, Kitty Kat. Everything is so fucked up right now. I need you to be safe, or I won’t be able to do my job. You, Sophie, and Antonio Jr. need to head to the airport tonight. We will stay back and make sure the codes don’t get into the wrong hands.”
“I’m a contract killer. Don’t you think my skills would be useful?”
I couldn’t hold back the question anymore. The need to understand why she hadn’t killed Yermushin years ago was eating at my insides.
“If you are such a good killer, why didn’t you kill Yermushin years ago for killing our parents?”
Kat’s face went pale at my words. Antonio’s glare was full force.
“He didn’t kill our parents. Sanchez took that group out years ago. He told me he tracked them down.”
Was Kat too young to remember the man's face? When I closed my eyes at night, it still haunted me in my dreams. “Sanchez lied. Yermushin is the one that pulled the trigger on Mom.”
“I didn’t know.”
There was no way to fake the devastated look on Kat’s face. She had been led down the wrong rabbit hole, too.
“Do you have the recordings, Kat? If you have him on tape, I need them. This is what my brother needs.” Zane was right. Zack could use them to take Sanchez down. I also planned on going through my documents when I got home. Something else was not sitting right with me. I think I must have some information he doesn’t want me to have, and he is trying to get it back.
“Sorry to break up the lovely meeting,” Brock said over the computer, “but you have incoming guests.”