by Mary Alford
She could barely speak, but she pushed on. “At first, well, I didn’t understand. Nothing made sense. It went against everything I was told.”
“Ella, please...” He closed his eyes and held on to his heart by a thread. “Please just tell me.”
She wiped her palm over her tears. “This is hard. I still can’t believe it. But you see, nothing I was told about my past made sense. I didn’t feel it here.” She pointed to her heart. “Then you showed me this and it just all fell into place. I know this will sound crazy. It does to me, too, but I recognize the cabin in that photo. I remember the times we spent there together. Our honeymoon. It was so special...” She stopped, almost as if she was afraid to go on.
Kyle felt as if someone had taken his carefully ordered world and thrown it to the wind.
“And your wedding ring. The second I saw it I remembered it. And then when I kissed you, I knew.” She pulled in a breath. “This is me, Kyle.” She pointed to the photo. “The woman in that photo is me. I’m Lena. I’m your wife.”
His face crumpled and everything suddenly made sense for him, as well. He hadn’t let himself have hope until now. His heart swelled and he gathered her closer. He’d known. From the moment he met her in the desert—even though he’d refused to accept it—he knew this was his Lena. It was as if his very heart had connected to hers the second he found her.
“Oh, Lena. Oh, my Lena.” His voice tightened with tears but he didn’t care. This was his wife. He’d thought she was lost to him forever and now she’d come home to him.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. I’m so happy to have you back.” He held her like a lifeline. He had to keep telling himself he wasn’t dreaming. This was real. She was real. God had given him back his wife.
She pushed at his chest. “You felt it, too?” she asked in amazement and touched his face, as if she still couldn’t believe she’d found him again.
“From the beginning. I couldn’t understand it, either, and it went against everything I was told about what happened, but I knew you were my wife.”
He took her hand and kissed her palm. She flinched and tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. “No, babe, no. You are so beautiful to me and I am happy to have you back. So very happy,” he said in a tone broken by emotion as he cupped her face and kissed her with all his heart. Nothing else mattered but her. His wife.
He became aware of several curious people passing by. As much as he wanted to keep on kissing her, he knew the enemy could be any of those people around them.
“We should probably get to the church and out of sight as soon as we can,” he said in a breathless tone.
“Yes,” she said and smiled up at him.
He took her hand and held it tight as they headed for the church. She caught him checking behind them several times.
“Is someone back there?” When she would have followed his line of sight, he stopped her.
“I don’t think so, I’m just being cautious.” He smiled to try to reassure her and she returned his smile.
“Let’s stop in here for a second,” he told her and they ducked into a coffeehouse. He drew her closer. “I just want to make sure we weren’t followed. The sooner I get you out of this area and safely to Scorpion headquarters, the better.”
She snuggled close. “I love you, Kyle. I love you so much.”
He stared at her in wonder. He never thought he’d hear those words from her again and it scared him to death. He had so much to lose. He’d found her again. What if he couldn’t keep her safe?
“I love you, too, babe. I love you, too.”
He watched the passing foot traffic until he was sure no one was particularly interested in them. “I need to call Jase. Have him get the team airborne right away.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Jase.” She said the name in surprise. “I almost forgot about my old partner. How is he?”
“He’s good. He’s married and he and his wife have a child on the way.”
“Jase is married?” Her surprise was easy to read. He chuckled. He certainly understood her confusion. The Jase she’d known was all work. He’d lived, breathed and slept the job. She didn’t know what he’d been through. His former girlfriend Abby’s betrayal. The threat against him and Reyna.
He filled her in on what had happened in the years she’d been gone.
“Poor Jase. To be betrayed by someone he loved like that.” There was something in her tone he couldn’t define. It alarmed him. Was it just because of Jase’s hurt?
“Yes. But he’s happy now and he’s going to be so tickled to see you again. We all thought we’d lost you for good.”
She managed a smile and he took out his phone and dialed. Even after he’d told Jase everything that had happened, he could tell his friend was having trouble processing the truth.
“Lena’s alive? That’s...amazing. Unbelievable.” Jase stopped for a second and then asked, “How’s she holding up to the news?”
He glanced down at his wife. His wife! He still couldn’t get used to saying those words.
He turned slightly away and pretended to study the crowd around them. “She’s struggling. I’ve never seen Lena so uncertain before.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “She has a long road ahead of her to adjust to the new way of life. We both do.”
“But she’s alive. That’s huge. We’ll be praying for you both. The best thing we can do for her is to get her someplace where she can truly feel safe to heal.”
Kyle blew out a breath. “I couldn’t agree more. Every minute she’s here her life is in danger.”
“And yours, as well... Hang on a second,” Jase told him. Kyle could hear his friend talking to someone. “That was Aaron. I’m afraid I have bad news. We have a vicious storm moving through. We’re grounded until it passes. Let’s hope it won’t be too long.”
Aaron Foster was the team’s pilot and one of the best military trainers Kyle had ever worked with. Jase paused for a second longer and Kyle could tell there was more bad news to follow.
“What is it?” he asked.
Jase sighed. “With everything that’s happened, I hate to pile this on you, but I spoke to Dalton earlier. He couldn’t reach you. They’ve located Liz and Michael’s phones in the desert not too far from where the compound went up. We have no idea where they are, Kyle, or what happened to them, for that matter.”
It was his worst nightmare—having his agents go missing. First Sam and his team and now Liz and Michael. Of all people, Liz knew how dangerous the Fox was. She wouldn’t deliberately put her life and her partner’s in danger.
“I’m hoping we’ll have some answers soon. Hang in there, brother. I’ll let you know the minute we’re in the air.”
Kyle disconnected the call and put his phone away. “He can be here in five hours if the storm that’s hitting the area passes soon.”
There was a fear in her eyes that the old Lena wouldn’t have comprehended. They both had so much more to lose. Their fragile future.
Kyle headed for the door when a man with a knit cap pulled low on his head stepped close and into his personal space. Something hard was shoved against his side. Right away he knew it was a gun.
“Got ya,” the man sneered. Kyle didn’t recognize him, but he knew instinctively that it was one of the Fox’s goons.
“Don’t try anything stupid, Jennings. You and the wife here need to play nice and come with us. My men are right outside. You can still be of use to us. Get us into your headquarters. We don’t need her. I won’t think twice about killing her and anyone else who gets in our way.”
Another man stepped beside Lena, took hold of her arm and pulled her free of Kyle. His fear for her safety skyrocketed.
He struggled to portray calm. “Leave her alone. I’ll do what you want, but leave her. You said yours
elf you don’t need her.”
The man laughed. “You think I don’t know what you’re trying? She’ll call the cops as soon as we’re out of sight.” He motioned to his guy, who dragged Lena out of Kyle’s reach.
Kyle had to come up with a plan and quickly. He’d shoved the cell phone back in his pocket. If he could just redial Jase’s number...
He punched the call button and tried not to bring attention to himself while praying he’d done everything correctly. Once he hit what he believed was the speaker button, he hoped Jase had picked up and would call Henry for help.
“We’ll go with you. There’s no need to hurt anyone.”
The man with the cap glared at him suspiciously for the longest time.
Please don’t let him figure out what I’m doing.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Jennings. You and your wife have caused enough trouble. He’s not happy with the way things are going. You’re messing with our schedule. We’ve had to chase after you two when we should be—” He stopped as if realizing he’d said too much.
Lena’s gaze shot to Kyle. He couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind. She had to be terrified of being captured again. He prayed with all his heart that the call went through and backup was on the way.
“Let’s go. Stop stalling,” the man barked and yanked at his arm and several patrons glanced their way curiously, forcing the man to stop. He smiled. “Come on, buddy, we’re going to be late for our meeting.”
With the second man gripping Lena’s arm, Kyle was forced out the door first.
Kyle searched the area but didn’t see a single welcome sight.
“This way,” the man ordered and pointed toward a black sedan parked a few cars away. They’d changed vehicles. No one would be looking for this one.
As they approached the car, Kyle noticed there were two additional men inside. They wouldn’t stand a chance once they were in the vehicle. They’d be powerless. It was now or never.
Lena wasn’t close enough to touch, but he could see she was watching him carefully, waiting for a sign. He tapped his arm twice and saw her nod.
Kyle caught the man off guard, jerked free and quickly drew his weapon. He grabbed the man’s arm and forced it behind his back. Before Lena’s captor could respond, she slugged him hard in the midsection. He doubled over in pain, gasping for air. She immediately grabbed his weapon and aimed it at his head.
“Don’t try anything foolish,” she told him.
The remaining two men shot from the vehicle with their weapons aimed at Kyle and Lena.
Kyle pushed the Glock against the man’s temple. “If you want him to live, stay where you are.”
Both men stopped dead in their tracks.
“Shoot them,” the man in Kyle’s grasp yelled. The men stared at each other, unsure what to do. Several people standing nearby screamed and dove for cover. Hopefully, one of them would call 911.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Kyle warned. “You’ll be dead before you can get a single shot off.”
The men didn’t seem nearly as loyal to the cause.
“Kill them or I’ll kill you,” the man with the cap continued ranting.
“This is nuts. I’m not dying for you or him,” one of the men said. He dropped his weapon. The second man did the same.
“Do you know what you’ve done?” the angry man admonished, his irritation boiling in his tone. “We’ll all be dead. Traitors aren’t allowed. You’ve seen what he’s capable of. You know what he’ll do to us.”
One thing became clear. None of these men were the one in charge. They were terrified of being labeled traitors and subsequently losing their lives.
The man with the cap gave it one final try. “Fight, you fools. You have to fight them. We can still salvage this.”
“Shut up,” Kyle ordered. “Both of you—get your hands in the air.” The two men rushed to do as he commanded.
Kyle picked up sirens coming their way. Jase had gotten the message. Seconds later, the place was crawling with cops. Henry was one of them. The chief took a second to assess the scene before ordering his officers to restrain all the men. Two deputies holstered their weapons and rushed forward.
Kyle didn’t dare let go of the man in his grasp. He’d proven he had nothing to lose.
“I got him, Agent Jennings,” Henry said and took the man from him. Kyle realized his hands were shaking.
After another deputy handcuffed Lena’s prisoner, she ran to Kyle’s side and he held her close. They’d come so close to being captured by the Fox’s men. They might not get away the next time.
“If you two were cats, I’d say you’ve used up about eight of your nine lives by now,” Henry told them as he handed off his prisoner. “And you’re filling up my jail pretty quick.”
Kyle managed a smile. “Hopefully you have room for a few more.”
“I think we can accommodate.” Henry motioned toward the men being shuffled off into patrol cars. “Looks like our elusive Peter Duncan and Alhasan are still at large.”
That was one of the most disturbing parts. “Yes, they could be anywhere. Their men are well trained and brazen. That one shoved a gun in my side and threatened to take out anyone who got in their way, including Lena.”
Henry shook his head in disbelief. “They are ruthless. Maybe one of these guys will talk and we can find out where the others are holed up.”
Kyle wished he could believe it was that easy. But the Fox had a hold on his people. They were loyal to him out of fear for their lives.
What Kyle had said earlier finally registered and Henry asked, “Wait, did you call her Lena... I thought your name was Ella Weiss?” Clearly confused, he glanced at Lena, who smiled.
“No, I’m Lena Jennings. I’m Kyle’s wife. It’s a long story,” she added sympathetically when Henry’s frown deepened.
“When this is over, you’ll have to fill me in. Sounds like a crazy one.” Henry shook his head and watched as his deputies drove the prisoners away. “Probably not safe for you to be out here in the open like this with those other ones still running around. What can I do to help?” Henry asked.
Kyle was overwhelmed by the man’s generosity. “I’m not sure. I’d planned on texting the pastor to see if we can take sanctuary at the church for a while, but after what happened now, well...”
Henry was quick to assure him. “You can trust James. He’s a good man and I’m thinking Alhasan won’t be expecting you to return to the church.”
With no other option at the moment, Kyle hoped the chief’s opinion proved true. “I’ll let him know we’re coming. The sooner I have Lena out of here and someplace where I know the Fox can’t reach her, the more relieved I’ll be.” He squeezed Lena’s shoulder.
“We just have to stay alive until the Scorpions arrive,” she said. “And right now, a few hours seems like a lifetime.” He could tell she felt time was running out for the both of them.
“These guys sure seem capable of finding you no matter what you do. You want some backup?” Henry volunteered. “I can have my men stationed outside the church.”
Kyle had considered the idea briefly, but decided against it. “I don’t want to draw any undue attention to the church.”
Henry nodded. “I get it. Can I give you a lift anyway?”
As much as Kyle would have loved to say yes, arriving at the church in a police car would certainly stand out to anyone watching the place.
He shook his head. “I’ll see if James can pick us up so we’re not out in the open for long. We don’t know how many more of Alhasan’s men might be around.”
Henry nodded. “You’ll need extra ammo for your weapons...just in case.” He went over to his car and brought back extra ammunition.
“Thanks, Henry,” Kyle said and shook his hand.
“Be careful. If you need us before your guys arrive, let me know. I can have men there in nothing flat.”
* * *
Lena couldn’t stop shaking. After what just happened, she was terrified Alhasan and his men would find them before they could escape the area.
Kyle must have felt her trembling, because he tugged her closer. “We’re going to be okay. This is almost over.”
He typed a quick text message to the pastor. The response was quick. “He’s going to pick us up in ten minutes in the alley behind the bakery. I think that’s just a little ways up on our left.”
Kyle seemed preoccupied as they covered the distance quickly and she didn’t understand. Was something wrong? He held her so tight, as if he was terrified he’d lose her again.
The pastor was waiting for them behind the bakery.
“Boy, am I glad to see you,” Kyle said with a smile.
“And I’m glad you’re both alive,” James told them. “It was a terrible thing about Tracy. I can’t believe she was working for those people.”
In the end, Tracy had proved a clever choice to do the Fox’s dirty work. She worked for a church and she in no way sent up any red flags. The pastor had no idea how manipulative these people were. “She was pressured by some very bad people. Has there been any news on her condition?” Kyle asked with concern.
James sighed. “She’s still critical. They’re not sure she’ll make it through the night.” He opened the back door of the car. “We’d better get you two out of here as quickly as possible.”
Lena got in the backseat first and Kyle slid in next to her.
“Stay as low as you can,” he told her. “We’ll be okay.”
Kyle scrunched down in the seat and Lena did the same. He took her hand and held on to it and she was so grateful. Just having him close made her feel safer.
She remembered a time when she’d been fearless. Alhasan had taken so much from her. Would she ever be that confident woman again?