by Misty Evans
Like what she was going to do once they’d captured Abdel Al-Safari.
Elliot was still at the secret clinic, his recovery going well. Beatrice, her husband, and the midwife had returned to Chicago along with the rest of them, Beatrice insisting they stay until one of two things happened: Jax and Ruby caught Al-Safari or the baby decided to come.
At which point, if the baby showed up, Ruby was pretty sure Cal Reese would kill her.
Beatrice was a unique woman, that was for sure, and Ruby admired her guts and her ability to motivate the men around her with nothing more than simple logic and straight-out facts.
For now, Ruby hoped that between her, Beatrice, Jax, Zeb, and the others, they could capture Al-Safari alive. No killing him, Ruby had demanded. We need answers.
Elliot had given her the last known coordinates where he suspected Commander Pierce to be located. Beatrice had asked Jax to put together a commando team to go after him, but Jax had refused.
That hadn’t gone over well—Ruby had seen the annoyance in Beatrice’s eyes. She’d gone behind closed doors with Emit and Cal and a while later, Emit had disappeared. So while Rory was on the other end of the comm in Ruby’s ear, and she knew he was monitoring the sound and video coming from her apartment as she played bait for Abdel, she suspected he was also monitoring a certain group of Emit’s Rock Stars who were on a mission to bring Pierce home.
Damn, if she wouldn’t give her right pinky finger to be part of that mission.
It had killed Jax, too, to let someone else go after Pierce, but he’d said it flat out—no way was he leaving Ruby. I take my bodyguard-ing fucking seriously, he’d said, making Ruby laugh.
She just wished she wasn’t going to have to leave him behind once they had Al-Safari.
But she would have to.
Because this wasn’t over until Mohammed Izala was also in custody.
The mastermind terrorist leader wouldn’t stop coming for her. Especially not after she took down his lieutenant, which she figured Al-Safari had to be. Abdel had played the ultimate double cross, saving his own ass a dozen times over while manipulating Elliot, Keon James, and who knew how many others. He’d dangled the carrot of Commander Pierce enough times, leading Elliot on a wild goose chase that had lasted years, to get twice the priceless, top-secret information Izala had wanted. Yep, two for the price of one. Pierce gave up military secrets under torture and the CIA and Homeland fed Izala even more in an effort to get Pierce back.
What a deal.
Izala had to be stopped, one way or another, and Ruby was going to be the one to bring him down.
“Activity?” she murmured to Jax, who was stationed outside the apartment with Shinedown. She’d heard his real name used enough that she knew it was no longer forbidden for her to use it, but somehow, Shinedown stuck with her. He and Jax were hidden in a willow tree across the road with goggles and high-powered rifles.
Jax’s voice was soft and deep in her ear. “None. Not even your pot-smoking neighbor and his dog.”
His reassuring voice only made her resolve to leave him out of the hunt for Izala stronger. He was a good man, one who deserved an easier life than the one he’d had so far. Maybe once she put Izala away, she could enjoy that life with him—one with less drama and danger.
Probably not. That wasn’t either of them. They both lived for danger; she couldn’t imagine the two of them settling for an easy life.
A dangerous life with Jax was still better than a life without him at all, though. She hoped after this was all over, he might forgive her and float her a second—or would it be third?—chance.
Going after Izala was extremely dangerous, and totally unsanctioned. No way the CIA or Homeland or anyone would give her the okay for it.
Especially not if Homeland was willing to trade her for Commander Pierce.
Fuckheads.
But Izala wanted her. That was part of the reason Al-Safari was here. Sure, he’d silenced James and Nelson, and nearly killed Elliot, but he was here for her. She could feel it in her bones.
Beatrice would probably laugh at that, although when Ruby had spoken to her in private, they’d agreed that Izala wouldn’t stop until he had what he wanted. What he wanted was her.
Al-Safari wanted her. Izala wanted her.
I haven’t been this popular since high school.
Not.
She’d been a big, dopey outsider in high school with braces and a fondness for black nail polish, full moon rituals, and hemp bracelets. One of her friends had been a Wiccan, a couple others had been Goth, another considered herself a reincarnated hippie.
Ruby still wasn’t sure how she’d made it through those formative years without being anything more than a cafeteria Catholic—her family picked from religious customs and beliefs—but here she was. She knew the lines of love spells as well as she knew the Kyrie Eleison. She could belly dance as easily as she could genuflect. She still appreciated the magnetic pull of a full moon and her personal smorgasbord of experiences and skills had made her a pretty damn good operative.
While being popular with terrorists had never been a goal, it seemed fitting that she would break the norm here too. Having two of them hunting her—and leaving a wake of bodies in their path—was unnerving to say the least. Exactly why she had to turn the tables. She’d never been one to play the victim or sit by and let herself be preyed upon and she sure as shit wasn’t about to start.
So first, Abdel.
Then Mohammed.
With the two of them out of the way, and Commander Pierce hopefully safe in the States once more, she’d be free to start a relationship with Jax.
If he still wanted her.
There was a strong possibility he wouldn’t. She wasn’t exactly easy to get along with. Between her and Elliot, they’d caused him a boatload of trouble.
“I know he’s out there,” she said.
“I believe you.” Jax wasn’t one to rain on her parade, whether he believed in her gut instincts or not. Most likely, his own were giving him the same message.
Of course the facts were the facts. Elliot had told her everything. First and foremost, that Mohammed Izala was still on the hunt for her. His Homeland contact, the one running the show, had visited him in prison and told him. That was the real reason her partner had escaped from prison. To protect her.
When she wouldn’t run away with him, he’d known he had to change tactics and try to draw out whoever Izala sent to him.
Except Izala’s man had been Abdel Al-Safari, and Al-Safari had an axe to grind with Elliot over Elliot killing his double and screwing up his attempt to kidnap Ruby.
From what she could piece together, Abdel had followed her to the club the other night. He probably would have grabbed her if Keon James hadn’t pulled a gun when he saw him and started shooting. Al-Safari hadn’t been able to get her then, thanks to Jax—and the police—but he’d killed Keon James so the man couldn’t alert her. She’d ended up in the med unit, and while there, he’d sent someone to raid her apartment. The reason wasn’t entirely clear, but most likely he’d learned by then that Elliot had busted out of jail and Al-Safari wanted him just as badly as Izala wanted her.
Abdel or one of his men had been watching the station when Elliot posed as Agent Brown and took Augustus Nelson away, trying to save the man. Elliot had told her that Little Gus had claimed he’d seen Al-Safari that night at the club, but blew it off since Keon had told him the man was dead. He’d never worked face-to-face with Abdel, so he couldn’t be sure of his identity.
Abdel believed Nelson was on to him and wanted to silence him and kill Elliot, so he followed them to Pottersville, killed Nelson, and tried to kill El.
He believed Elliot was dead; the last thing on his list was to kidnap her.
“Well I wish he’d get a move on,” Zeb’s gruff voice came over the comm. The former operative was next door in an empty apartment, ready to help once Jax and Shinedown cornered him. “I’d like to know how he thinks he’
s going to get you out of the country.”
Human trafficking wasn’t that difficult, especially getting out of the US. Most agencies were far more concerned with those being brought in.
Jax’s voice was hard. “He’s not going to get the chance.”
A knock sounded on Ruby’s door, startling her. “Company,” she murmured. “At the door.”
“Be careful,” Jax said.
She put a bit of teasing into her tone. “Abdel couldn’t have gotten past you guys, could he?”
Jax obviously didn’t appreciate his skills being called into question. “No one has entered or left the building in the past hour that we’ve been here.”
Abdel wouldn’t show up and knock politely on the door, anyway.
Or would he?
Beatrice had put out the word to the CIA that Elliot had died in Pottersville. Only Ruby’s boss at the CIA knew that El was actually recovering in the underground clinic near the Wisconsin border.
The knock sounded again. “All clear?” she asked Rory, even though she saw through the peep hole in the door that it was only Dan.
“Clear,” Rory said. “If you consider dweeb-boy harmless.”
“Weed-boy is more like it,” Jax chimed in.
“All right, you two, can it.” Dan was perfectly harmless and she felt kind of sorry for him. The poor guy had a crush on her and was overly nosy, but he meant well.
She opened the door and gave him a smile. Not too sexy—no point in leading the guy on—but friendly. “Hey, Dan. What’s up?”
His eyes behind the glasses were bloodshot, his hair its normal stringy mess. “Hey, Ruby. Glad to see you’re back home. Woodstock and I missed you.”
“Work has been crazy.” It wasn’t a lie. The same one she’d been using on her family. “I’ve been crashing at the office.”
Dan stared at her for a moment before his eyes darted down the hall. “That big guy that was here, he said your apartment was broken into the other night, and then when you didn’t come home the last few nights, I got worried.”
“That’s sweet, but everything is okay.”
Another nervous scan of the hall. “Yeah, well, if you need me…” He chucked a thumb over his shoulder toward his apartment. “You know where to find me.”
“Oh, good God,” Jax said in her ear. “I almost feel sorry for his skinny ass.”
Ruby amped up her smile and nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
She was about to ease the door closed when Dan’s gaze came up to meet hers head on. “I mean, we could…you know…hang out, if you want.”
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear there was a layer of panic in his voice. On his face, too, now that he was looking straight at her.
Jax’s insolent voice piped up. “Sad. Just sad. Get rid of him, Ruby. We have work to do.”
But there was something in Dan’s face, in his voice, that made Ruby’s internal radar ping around like a pinball machine. “Sure, Dan. We’ll get together soon.”
“If you could come right now, that would be great. Woodstock would love it.”
Hmm. “Okay, I’ll come over in a few minutes.”
“Now,” he said, and his voice came out flat, blunt. “Please come now. I need to show you something. It’s…”
“What the hell?” Jax said.
Zeb joined in. “This dude needs lessons on picking up women.”
“…Woodstock,” Dan continued, oblivious to the chatter in her ear. “She’s not feeling well. I wondered if you could take a look at her. Maybe you can figure out what’s wrong.”
“Bullshit.” Jax again. “What is he up to?”
She wondered the same. Was he just trying to get her in his apartment to seduce her or was something else going on?
Regardless of Dan’s awkwardness, the way he rubbed a hand over his mouth and the look in his eyes told her it had nothing to do with seduction. Something was wrong.
“I really need to insist you come with me,” Dan said. “I mean, yeah, I’m sorry, but it’s important…and…”
In her ear, several people spoke, all echoing the one voice that overrode them all. Jax’s. “Ruby? Ruby, whatever you do, don’t…”
Too late. Ruby put a finger to her mouth, signaling Dan to stop talking as she pulled her gun from the back of her waistband. His eyes went saucer-wide and she motioned him to lead the way back to his place, shutting her apartment door behind her.
Chapter Twenty-one
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DAN’S HEAD WAS down as he opened the door to his apartment. “I’m really sorry,” he muttered. “But if I didn’t do what he said…”
Ruby swept in, gun drawn, noticing peripherally that Dan’s apartment mirrored hers. The entryway was nonexistent, the door opening directly into the living room. An open doorway on one side lead to the kitchen, the bed and bath connected to the living room on the other end.
Shabby furniture, dark curtains, a poster of Bob Marley over an old-school TV.
“He, who?” Ruby asked, furiously searching for whoever was in the apartment. “Who said?”
In the corner farthest away from the door, an upholstered rocking chair that once had been green but over time had become gray, faced away from her. A thumping sound came from it as it slowly began to turn.
The thumping increased as Woodstock saw Ruby. The dog sat in the lap of a man who held her by her fat neck with one hand and aimed a black gun at Ruby with the other.
Oh, crap. Her fingers flexing on the trigger of her gun.
Abdel Al-Safari was dressed like a businessman, his hair trimmed and neat, his dark suit displaying the short blond hairs of Woodstock’s shedding. He tightened his choke hold on the dog, Woodstock’s already strained breathing becoming more labored, even as she wagged harder at Ruby. “Welcome, Agent Ruby McKellen,” Abdel said. “Put down the gun.”
She’d set a trap, then walked right into his.
Little did he know how happy that made her. He was within reach, the man who’d screwed up everything—her career, her partner, her very future. Not to mention the people who had died in his wake.
He was going to pay and pay dearly.
In her ear bud, furious commentary with plenty of curse words flew at her. She ignored all of it, keeping her gun pointed at the man’s head.
A slow turn of his wrist and his gun pointed at Woodstock.
Dan, behind her, made a whimpering noise in his throat. “Please don’t let him kill my dog.”
Mission first and always.
She kept her gun on him, hoping, praying he wouldn’t shoot the damn dog.
“I’m told my American English is excellent,” Abdel said, his schooling in a top Swiss engineering university evident in every syllable. “But perhaps you misunderstood my previous statement. Put the gun down or the dog dies.”
The bastard wouldn’t stop with Woodstock. Ruby knew he was going to kill Dan too.
All because of her.
She’d led him here, thinking he would come for her and her alone. Now he was threatening her innocent neighbor and a dog, for God’s sake.
Not happening, jackass. “Perhaps you misunderstand the purpose of me pointing this gun at your head.” She smiled. “I’m an expert marksman. Try me. You’ll be dead before you can flex your finger on that trigger.”
“Jesus fucking Christ!” Jax yelled in her ear. “Stop taunting him. We’re on our way!”
“Stand down,” she ordered. This was her gig and no one had a better shot at Al-Safari than she did.
Woodstock was not going to die. Neither was Dan. No one was going to die today.
Luckily, Abdel thought her command was directed at him. “You are as cocky as your partner. Mohammed will be pleased to beat that out of you.”
Ruby laughed, the dry sound echoing in the small apartment. Woodstock panted and wagged with even more gusto. “Mohammed and I are going to have a serious co
me-to-Jesus meeting after I’m done with you, but he won’t be beating anything out of me, I assure you.”
“I’m outside the door,” Zeb said softly in her comm. “Give me the signal and I’ll cover Dan.”
All she had to do was get Abdel to release the dog and get to his feet. He wasn’t walking out of here a free man, and she needed him alive for questioning because she was going to clear Elliot of everything and take down that asshole Izala, so help her God.
“Your partner is dead,” Abdel said. “You know this, yes? You have no one to help you, unless you still have your Marine friend tagging along. Where is he, by the way?”
“Marine?” Jax yelled in her ear.
“He was a SEAL, asshole.” She wondered if he were purposely taunting her to get a rise out of her one way or the other.
“Oh, that’s right. The big, bad SEAL who got tossed out of the Navy. He was recently your bodyguard, wasn’t he?”
“He was ordered to bring Elliot in. Elliot’s dead, so he’s returned to Washington, DC.”
“He abandoned you?” Abdel tsked. “You should be more careful about who you trust.”
On the side table next to the rocking chair, a cell phone lit up. Without taking his eyes from her, Abdel answered it. “Very good,” he said into the phone after a brief pause. “Stream the live feed to me.”
Ruby frowned as he turned the phone for her to see the screen. “I suggest you accept your fate, or these people will pay the price.”
“We’re on the stairs,” Jax said to her. “Give us the signal and we’ll bust in.”
A ticking started in her ears, became a flood of white noise as the video on the screen came into focus.
A building. One in downtown Chicago. Someone was on the roof across from it, taking a video through a high-powered camera lens of…
The conference room at the new Rock Star Security headquarters.