by Maddie Wade
“Have you heard from Daniel yet?” Lizzie asked Meg, who was carrying a tray of tea and toast into the room. It was early, but none of them had slept well. Luce because of a newborn with a crazy feeding pattern, the others through worry.
Meg shook her head. “Not yet, but I don’t expect to until they get back or are at least on their way home.”
“I could call Will and get an update?” Lucy offered helpfully.
Her daughter was barely a week old and she was already chomping at the bit to be involved. Lucy would never be the mother who went to mums and tots’ groups or coffee mornings unless it was with one of her friends within the group. She was more likely to strap Harlow to her body and do some recon or a gym session.
“No, don’t. I just need to get used to this part of being with Ty.”
“Oh, I almost forgot, having this little monkey has fried every last brain cell,” she smiled as Lizzie handed Harlow over to her mummy, “Will sent me a file on John Smith, and it looks like his name may not be an alias.”
Lizzie sat up straighter. “Really?”
“Yeah, I haven’t looked at it as yet, but it’s in my bag under the baby wipes.”
Lizzie chuckled as she rummaged through the baby bag with cute grey elephants on it. “Only you would have a flash drive with spy secrets and a taser in with your nappies and butt cream.”
“A gun is too dangerous around a baby,” Lucy said deadpan.
Meg laughed and shook her head. “And a taser isn’t?”
“Good point.” Lucy laughed as she let her daughter latch on for her next feed as if she’d been born to do this.
Finding the flash drive, Lizzie moved towards Lucy’s laptop on the side table next to the couch where she sat and plugged it in. With a few clicks, the program opened, and an image filled the screen. Her heart hit her throat and then sunk to her belly like lead as the clear image of a much younger John Smith filled the screen.
“Oh, God.” Lizzie’s hand flew to her mouth as nausea roiled in her belly, a million visions swimming in her head.
“What is it?” Meg was beside her in a second, crouching down, her hand on Lizzie’s back, concern written on her face.
She pointed to the screen, tilting it so Lucy could see it too. “Does that look like Ty?”
Lucy’s mouth gaped a little. “Oh shit!”
“He’s the spitting image of Ty. How did I not see it before?”
“You think Ty knows?” Meg asked, her eyes wide as Liz looked up at her and considered the notion for a moment.
“That John Smith is his father? No. He has no clue, although he spent time with him, worked for him. It makes no sense to me.”
Lucy nodded at the information below the picture. “What does the dossier say?”
“Oh yeah, hang on.” Her eyes began to scan the page.
“Born John Whittaker Smith on the second February nineteen-fifty-two. He was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Father was a coal miner and mother a teacher. He joined the army at seventeen and then four years later, fell off the map. There’s a marriage certificate in nineteen-eighty-two to a Joanne Preedy, and then a death certificate in his name in two thousand and two.”
“Cause of death?” Lucy asked as she drank a glass of milk, her eyes gleaming with the thrill of the hunt.
“Umm.” Lizzie scanned the death certificate. “Car accident.”
“An easy switch if you know the right people.”
Liz dropped her hands slowly and sat back heavily. “How am I going to tell Ty about this? It’s so fucked up that he’d pull Ty into his world for a job and not tell him who he was.”
Meg shrugged. “I remember him, but I didn’t know him as John. To me, he was Uncle Joe. He was a good man, kind but distant, as if he didn’t want to get close. He loved Rhea, though but I did get the feeling he didn’t approve of a lot of the things she did.”
“You were barely a teen when he supposedly died.”
“Yes, and that’s when things got really bad with Rhea. She was unpredictable and even colder than ever.”
“Shit, this is so weird how it all connects,” Liz said quietly.
“I know, it’s like a great big pressure cooker that has been building for years and is about to explode.” Lucy placed her milk-drunk baby over her shoulder and patted her back until she burped, making the three women smile.
“You feel that too?” Meg asked as she looked up from beneath her lashes at Liz and then Luce.
“I do, especially the night Harlow was born. I felt such a strong energy, as if it was almost tangible, which is crazy.”
“No, I felt it too. I told Daniel about it.”
Lucy laughed and wiped baby sick from her shoulder. “Well, all I felt was my hoo-hah burning.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “Yeah, pushing an eight-pound baby out will have that effect.”
“What do you think it means?” Liz closed the laptop and set it aside as she heard movement upstairs and wondered if it was Jace or her son waking up.
“I’m not sure, but it feels significant, like we need to be ready somehow, but I don’t know how.”
“I agree. We should practise our joint ability in case we need it.” Lucy nibbled on the toast Meg had made.
“Let’s wait until you’re a bit stronger,” Meg reasoned.
Lucy shot her an irritated look. “I had a baby. I’m not ill.”
“I know, but it still takes a lot out of you, and you don’t want to end up too weak and miss out on her first few weeks.”
“Fine, but as soon as I stop losing blood like I’m a human abattoir, we’re practising.”
Liz wrinkled her nose. “You’re so gross.”
“Maybe.”
Jace walked in the room, stopping to kiss Lucy before relieving her of their daughter and snuggling her into his arms as he sat beside his wife.
He looked between them his eyebrows pinched in suspicion. “What are you three plotting?”
“Nothing,” Lucy replied, resting her head on his arm with a yawn.
“Yeah right. You’re sitting there like three witches in a coven making plans.”
“Wow, did you just call me a witch?”
“No, I said like a witch.”
“Hmm, well it’s still gonna cost you.”
“Fine, I can take whatever you dish, Luce.” He kissed her nose with affection as he lifted his arm so she could settle against him better.
“Tell Jace what we discovered. He might be able to help you navigate telling Smithy.”
Lizzie told Jace what she’d learned as Lucy dozed on his shoulder and Meg bustled in and out getting her girls up.
“Shit, that isn’t going to be an easy conversation to have.”
“I know.”
“My advice just be open and straight with him and don’t baby him or watch him for a reaction. It will only make him hide his feelings more.”
“That sounds like a piece of good advice.”
Lizzie got up to help Meg make breakfast as a thank you for Jace and Lucy letting them stay when they had a new baby.
Around eight am she got a text from Ty that he wanted to see her, and would she meet him at Fortis around eleven that morning as he had news. As she replied to say she would, Meg and Jace received the same text from Daniel. It looked like they had intelligence, and if they were all wanted, then it had to be significant.
Chapter 19
“You want to be there when they question the scientists?” Zack asked as they stowed their gear in the lockers.
Smithy had been quiet on the way back to Hereford trying to process all the things he’d learned. The fact that his team had overheard his conversation on the comms with John was both a good and bad thing. At least he didn’t have to rehash everything he’d said. “No, Zin has that handled. I think between him and Kanan, they’ll give us what we need or at least confirm what we find.”
“You handling things?”
Smithy knew precisely what Zack was asking, and he ha
d no clear answer to that question. Part of him wanted to go to a bar and get shit faced. Forget that the man he had in some ways admired, was the same man who’d thrown him away like he was nothing for a woman who’d later almost ruined him. The part couldn’t feel anything in the way of emotion because it was all too surreal. “I am for now, and if I feel I’m not, I’ll book an appointment with Lawson.”
Zack nodded. “Good. Don’t let him take away all the progress you’ve made. It’s good to see you happy instead of being a miserable sonofabitch.”
Smithy snorted. “Noted, boss man.”
Stepping back into the body of the building, he made his way towards the tech room where Will was already pulling all the data from the flash drives. He saw the main hallway door open, and Liz was there, her eyes fixed on him, looking like the very breath he needed to live. Her gaze slid up and down as if cataloguing him for injuries before she moved towards him, her arms going around his neck, her body pressing to him as she buried her head in his throat.
He wrapped her in his arms, holding on tight to the woman who was his saviour and had been since the day he’d met her. Her scent enveloped him, the silk of her hair tickling his face, and still, he held on. She was his strength, his port in a storm, the only thing that mattered to him.
John being his father, the Watchers, Winslow, none of it mattered without her. It was selfish, but he didn’t give a toss.
“Are you all right?” Her lips touched his neck as she asked the question.
He reluctantly let her go so he could answer her. “I am now.” He pulled back at the wary, worried expression on her face. “Liz?”
His insides contorted as he imagined every scenario that could put that look on her pretty face, and he didn’t like any of them.
“Come here.” Liz took his elbow and dragged him into the still empty conference room.
“Sit down. I need to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it.”
Smithy let her push him into a chair and then she began to pace in front of him, rubbing the sweat from her palms on her jeans as she did.
His unease increased with every turn she made. Was this where she told him she’d changed her mind and didn’t want him? Had she finally seen he was no good for her and wanted out? She’d never want to hurt anyone which explained the nerves she was displaying.
“For God’s sake, Liz, just say it.” His voice was harsher than he intended as he began to mentally throw up walls to protect himself from the shattering blow to come. He knew for the first time in his life, he wouldn’t let her walk away. He’d fight for her this time.
She turned to face him. “John Smith is your father.”
It took a moment for her words to sink in, and when they did, he began to laugh.
Lizzie cocked her head, looking at him like he’d grown another head as he let the relief and the tension from the last few hours out. “Ty?”
“Come here, babe.”
He held out his hand, and she slowly moved into his embrace as he pulled her to his lap. The smile was still on his face as he looked at her clear brown eyes so trusting and open after everything she’d been through, not just now but in her whole life.
“Why are you laughing?”
Smithy wiped his eyes and cupped her chin, pulling her mouth closer to his. “I know about John. I found out last night when he showed up at the lab and dropped that particular bomb on me.”
Her eyes went wide before they softened. “Oh, Ty, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was a shock, but in hindsight, I should have seen it.”
Her fingertips brushed the scruff of his face. “How do you feel?”
He tipped his head, running his nose along hers wanting to kiss her. He didn’t, knowing it would end the discussion he wanted done so he could put it behind him and move forward with this woman. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but as I waited to hear what you would say, I built myself up so badly that when you told me it didn’t even matter anymore. It was a relief to what I was expecting.”
“Did you have any idea?”
“No, none at all. It never crossed my mind. Smith is such a common name, and I presumed his was an alias anyway.”
“Will you tell me about it when you have more time?”
“Yes, of course. I have no secrets I want to keep from you, Liz.”
Her face broke into a grin at that, lighting up the dark corners of his soul. His mouth covered hers even over the smile, and he breathed in the joy she brought him. Her body instantly responding as she leaned into him, he swallowed the sounds she made, wanting every one of them for himself. He nipped her lip before pulling away, the arousal in her eyes making him groan as his dick responded.
A small line appeared between her brows. “Wait, what did you think I was going to say?”
Smithy felt foolish admitting it, but he’d vowed to be honest with her no matter how much of wet lettuce he looked. “I thought you had finally figured out how much better you could do and were dumping my ass.”
Liz stood abruptly, almost knocking his head off. “You’re such a dumbass, Whittaker Smith. How could you believe that after everything I’ve said to you?”
“If it makes you feel better, I wasn’t going to let you.”
“It does, but only marginally, and only because I was worried about you all night and I’m glad you’re in one piece.”
The door opened, and Zack and Ava filed in, along with Daniel and Meg, Dane, Lucy and Jace with baby Harlow, Nate, Drew, Aubrey and finally Will with his laptop in his arms. Smithy kept Liz close as the others settled, his fingers threaded with hers.
Zack took his seat and scanned the room as if he were trying to find the words. “Last night when we raided the lab on Cosa, we discovered three things. The first was John Smith. It seems he snuck onto the Isle and hid in the water until the last minute and then under a thermal blanket, therefore evading the IR. The second was two computers filled with information.”
Smithy felt Liz squeeze his hand in silent support.
“John told us that due to the Kodi initiative to make sure all military personnel are protected against seasonal viruses, every single one of them now has an implant inside them that Rhea Winslow can activate at will to put them under her control. We don’t know the mechanics as yet, but hopefully the scientists Zin and Kanan are questioning will be able to shed some light on that.”
“What was the third thing?” Lucy asked, her eyes moving to Liz and their linked hands, before smiling.
“John Smith is apparently my father, which is why Rhea Winslow targeted me.”
Drew shook his head. “Wow, this is all so fucked up.”
“So what’s the plan now? We have to stop her. If she gets control of the British Military, we’re all screwed.”
Nate looked as green as the rest of them felt. The British military was one of the best in the world—the best in his opinion, and if Rhea got control of them, she’d be almost unstoppable.
The air was thick with the unimaginable horror that seemed to hang over all of them as the facts and possibilities played in each and every person’s mind.
Smithy glanced at Liz, who rolled her lips between her teeth in an effort at a smile.
“Each and every person in this room has been affected by the evil this woman has created. It’s been a long few years for this team, but I believe that together, we can do this. We can beat her and end the threat. It won’t be easy, nothing we ever do is, but this is more than a job now, it’s survival.”
Smithy felt Zack’s words deep in his soul like a battle cry, which essentially it was. If this didn’t work, the alternative was hell for them all and so many more millions.
“What do you need from me?” Liz spoke beside him, sitting up taller, her spine the strongest of them all.
Zack smiled, a proud look on his face. “I need you and Smithy to work with Meg and the other scientists. Figure out a way to stop this. We’re running out of time for a vaccine, so we need a wa
y to reverse the drug if it gets out.”
“I’ve already got that, but we would never get it manufactured in time to save all the people it would effect.” Meg looked distraught at the thought she couldn’t save everyone.
“Maybe not but it’s a start. Let me speak to a contact of mine and see if we can get that set up and running asap,” Ava said as she wrote some notes on a sheet of paper.
“In that case, Liz and Smithy, help Will go through the data from the flash drive. Everyone else, find that rig and find Rhea Winslow. If we lock her up, this ends and we can go back to our normal crazy jobs.”
Chapter 20
It was almost midnight, her eyes were gritty from lack of sleep, but she wanted to keep pushing as she read through what weren’t only scientific files, but also the personal files belonging to Rhea Winslow. The entire day had been long and exhausting, and they were only just beginning to pore through things.
“Is it likely she left her evil plans written down for us?” Liz asked Will who was chewing on red strawberry pencil sweets.
“Huh, that would be helpful, but nah, I doubt it. I’m running some programs to look for keywords though to try and speed this up.”
Aubrey walked in with coffee for them all except Ty, who drank tea, and sat next to Will. “Is there any chatter on the dark web or whatever you call it?”
“Nothing, it’s deathly silent which speaks volumes. It’s like the huge unnatural quiet you get before a tsunami. It makes me nervous.”
“Best get back to it then.” Ty had barely looked up since they’d begun working like a trojan to find what they needed.
Bending her head, she got to work. Two hours later her eyes scanned across an old picture that had her heart leaping. “Ty, look at this.”
He scooted towards her on his chair and looked over her shoulder. On the screen was a picture of John with Ty’s mum. They looked happy and in love, and for the first time, she wondered if John was the monster she’d painted him to be in her head. Meg spoke fondly of him, and he’d treated her well, for a man who’d essentially stolen her from the arms of another to appease a crazy woman. It was at that moment she realised why he seemed so familiar to her. He was the man she’d seen in the hospital the day Meg was taken. He had literally stolen her away from her mother. The realisation rocked her, leaving her with mixed emotions. He was Ty’s dad, yet to her he was a monster. Looking back at the picture she saw a man in love and that was a hard to handle.