by Mary Alford
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 things 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.
Then the final piece of the puzzle fell into place for Jase. He couldn’t believe how brazen Abby had been to risk the chance that Reyna might recognize her through Eddie’s work. After all, Reyna had seen the photo of the Scorpion team and Abby was in it. But then, when you’re not expecting your best friend to be your enemy, it was easy to overlook the obvious. Just like he had with Abby.
“That’s not Sara. It’s Abby. My former colleague returned from the dead.” Jase’s mouth twisted bitterly. “She was behind the attack that killed so many of our team. Reyna, she’s the one who killed Eddie.”
It took a second for what he’d said to sink in. Reyna stared at him as if in a daze. She didn’t want to believe it. “That can’t be.” She turned to face Abby. “You were my friend. We shared parts of our lives. You told me about your husband Henry’s car accident. We went to the same church,” she exclaimed in astonishment. “Sara, is it really is true?”
Abby shook her head at Reyna’s naïveté. “I had to get close to you to find out where Eddie hid the laptop. I had a feeling he would send you to Jase. We’d been trying to eliminate him for years and you led us right to him. Thanks for that, by the way.” Abby glanced over to where Kyle stood and then back to Jase. “Your friend here refused to give up that piece of information, but as it turned out, it wasn’t necessary. We have you now. You always were a sucker for a damsel in distress. You should talk to someone about that problem, Jase. It’s your Achilles’ heel. Anyway, it was a smart move on Kyle’s part to fake your death.” She laughed nastily. “I guess there are two of us who’ve returned from the dead today.”
“You’re sick,” he said in disgust.
“And you’ve gone soft, Bradford. When you and Reyna got away with the laptop in Eldorado and my men failed to locate you, I had to take matters into my own hands. I made Kyle an offer he couldn’t refuse. His sister’s life for yours.”
Jase shot Kyle a look. Their eyes met. He saw something in Kyle. His friend was trying to warn him. He had to keep Abby distracted.
Jase remembered the time when the team had met with the woman who claimed to have information about the Fox. Her name was Sashi. She’d freaked when she saw Abby. Claimed Abby worked for the Fox. The team had been certain Sashi was mistaken. Especially when a few days later an alleged high ranking member of the Fox’s team, a woman resembling Abby, had turned up dead.
At the time it didn’t add up with what he thought knew about Abby. Now Jase realized he’d been dead wrong.
“This is because of Sashi, isn’t it? She was telling the truth when she said she recognized you. What’d she do? See you with her husband arranging a weapons transfer?” At his shot in the dark, Abby’s expression hardened.
“She never showed for the meet and then we were ambushed. Kyle told me they found her dead outside of her village a few days after. You killed her.”
Abby looked at him in admiration. “My, my, I guess you’re not as out of touch as I thought. That’s right, I killed her. The entire team heard her carrying on about the Fox and me. Eventually she would have convinced someone she was telling the truth. I killed her for the same reason I killed Benjahah. They were both liabilities.”
“What are you going to do when the Fox doesn’t get the files you promised him?” Jase asked, and for the first time he could see he’d hit a nerve.
Her tone turned hard. “I went through a lot to get the information on the laptop. With it, I knew I could insure the Fox would rule the area with an iron fist,” she said with pride. “And I would prove to be an invaluable asset to him. So killing a foolish woman like Sashi was nothing,” she spat out and suddenly, her eyes darkened with anger. “Then Eddie came along. He saw me one day while he was on a mission. It was just a silly fluke.”
Jase noticed Kyle kept glancing down at his watch. Was he was waiting for a signal? Reyna squeezed his arm. He believed she’d seen it, too. “How’d Eddie get your laptop?” Jase asked to keep Abby talking, and in his mind it was too big of a coincidence that Eddie’s unit was in same area as the Fox. Eddie was still working for the CIA. “I take it he raided your compound. He managed to get away with the laptop.”
Abby’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “It disappeared the day before I was scheduled to meet with the Fox. All the years of clawing just to win his confidence. It was about to pay off thanks to my man in the CIA who was providing classified information.” She drew an agitated breath. “But I can still fix this. Once I take care of the two of you, I’ll prove myself invaluable to the Fox. And one day, I’ll no longer need him at all.”
“Do you really think the Fox will trust you after what Eddie accomplished? Reyna’s husband made you look inept. He followed you. Found out where you were staying. Took surveillance photos. He figured out you faked your death. Eddie realized what you had planned so he took the laptop.”
Abby stared into the distance as if remembering, a look of distaste on her face. “I couldn’t cancel the meet. He would know something was wrong. I planned to stall him somehow, only when Eddie followed me there, the Fox realized we had a major breech. He told me if I didn’t find a way to contain the problem, he’d get someone who could.” She scowled. “My men searched everywhere but Eddie had disappeared into thin air. I knew Eddie had to die before he uncovered the identity of my contact at the CIA. He would sell me out in nothing flat, and I had gone to great lengths to eliminate anyone from my past who might eventually connect me to the Fox.”
“Like Thomas and Mason. You had them killed, too. I doubt if they even knew why they died,” Jase said in repulsion.
She smiled arrogantly and he shuddered at the look of pure evil on her face. “I used your affection for me to gain my position in the unit. Just as you let your Good Samaritan attitude bring you out of hiding. Now you and Reyna are going to die.”
The reality of those words struck hard. Jase needed to think fast. Call her bluff. “You think so? You’re wrong, Abby. You always did try to do things the easy way. Well, this time it won’t work. There’s another copy of the files and it’s on its way to the US Attorney’s office as we speak. I think they’ll be interested to see the evidence in them. It’s over for you. Did you really think I wouldn’t have a backup plan?”
“You’re lying,” Abby snarled, but he could see she wasn’t convinced.
“Am I? Are you willing to stake your life on it?” Jase challenged.
Somehow, she managed to recover her composure. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll be dead soon and I’m sure I can torture the answer out of her.” She pointed her weapon at Reyna once more. “Where’s the computer, Jase?” she demanded. “I need it. I promised it to the Fox over six months ago. If I can’t deliver soon, it won’t be good for me.”
Next to him, Reyna squared her shoulders and faced Abby. “You want the computer?” Reyna asked in a hard tone. “Well, too bad, because it’s not here and I’ll die before I tell you where it’s hidden.”
Abby glared at her through narrowed eyes. “I don’t believe you.” She motioned to one of the men standing guard and he jerked Jase’s backpack off and searched it.
The man shook his head. “It’s not here.”
Abby’s face contorted with vehemence. “Where is it?” When Reyna didn’t answer she turned her anger on Jase. “Maybe if I torture her enough you’ll talk. You remember how good I am at convincing people to talk, don’t you, Jase?” Abby gave him a pointed look and he knew she
wouldn’t hesitate to follow through with her threat.
Furious, Jase’s jaw hardened and he clenched his fists at his sides. Abby would stop at nothing to get the information back. Even torturing Reyna. He couldn’t let that happen. He hauled Reyna into his arms, shielding her with his body. “You’ll have to kill me first,” he said, his eyes blazing.
Abby simply sneered. “That certainly can be arranged.” Jase could feel Reyna trembling against him as she stared at Abby. He glanced down at her expression and realized she was shaking with rage.
“You killed Eddie to save yourself?” Reyna asked in disbelief. “He was your friend. He fought beside you. Trusted you. How could you do that? What did Eddie ever do but try to help his country?” she yelled at Abby. “How could you betray your country in such a horrible way?”
To Reyna’s impassioned plea, Abby appeared bored. “Are you really that naive? There is no winning this war, so why not make it profitable for me?”
Reyna lunged for Abby, but Jase grabbed her arm. Abby would kill her and not feel any remorse at all over it. She was a sociopath and Reyna would be just another obstacle standing in the way of her attaining her ultimate goal of taking over the Fox’s empire.
Abby motioned to one of her men. “Take her to the office. Get the location of the laptop and the second copy out of her.”
“Jase,” Reyna screamed as one of the men jerked her from his arms. Jase tried to go after her, but two men grabbed him from behind.
He fought to free himself of his captors like a wild animal struggling to break free of a trap. Jase’s gut burned with anger. “Let her go, Abby. Your beef is with me, not her. I’ll tell you what you want to know...just let her go.” He couldn’t let Abby hurt Reyna. He’d die first.
Abby started to say something but before she got the words out, all around them a multitude of things began to happen. Kyle’s phone chirped a single ring. Abby’s attention jerked to what he was doing.
“Now,” Kyle yelled, and half a dozen of the men surrounding Abby turned their weapons on her.