by Cindy Dees
“Call me when you stop to rest.”
Brian mumbled something and hung up the phone. He slammed his clenched fist down on the top of the steering wheel. It was bad enough that they’d made him talk Sophie into attempting this mission in the first place. But now they wanted him to talk her into dying?
He’d rather cut off his own arm. With no anesthesia and a dull pocketknife.
He drove on grimly, doing his damnedest not to take out his fury on the drivers around him. He didn’t have the slightest idea how he was going to ask her to knowingly sacrifice her life. If she’d have been a hardened operative, it would have been difficult enough. But Sophie? She was an innocent. A sweet, warm, funny, vital woman. A civilian, for God’s sake! It wasn’t fair.
Lives were not chess pieces to be played with lightly and sacrificed casually for a greater good. This woman had a family and friends. An aging mother whom she looked after financially. She had dreams and ambitions. Hell, he had dreams and ambitions where Sophie was concerned.
The stripes on the road blurred and ran together as anguish ripped into him.
The two of them could make a run for it. With the fifteen thousand in cash to get them started, they could get a long way away from here. He could empty his bank account first thing in the morning and they could fly to Paraguay. Some of the best identity forgers in the world worked there. He and Sophie could get new names, new passports, new lives. And then they could disappear. Together.
He crept across Los Angeles in an agony of indecision. A sign announced that the LAX Airport exit was three miles ahead. Should he do it? Should he make the break? They were going to kill her.
Damn it all, he wanted Sophie for himself. For a long time. A little voice whispered in the back of his brain, “Forever.”
Yeah. What the voice said. Forever.
Or, she could do the mission and be dead in a few weeks. The remainder of her life could potentially be measured in days. He swore violently under his breath.
But he didn’t do forever. He’d spent years perfecting the art of living in the moment. He’d worked hard at teaching Sophie to do the same. He always let go of the past without regrets and never thought too far ahead. But if he talked Sophie into continuing the mission and she died…
No way could he walk away from that. He’d live with regrets over that for the rest of his life. Hell. More than regrets. An empty place in his heart. Guilt that would eat him alive from the inside out.
He didn’t for a moment question the necessity of the mission going forward. Hollister would never put anyone at risk, not Sophie, not one of his guys, without a damn good reason for doing so.
Maybe there was another way. Maybe Sophie could stand off in the desert with the Medusas and point out Freddie if he showed himself. Except after the debacle of the shooter on the beach, Brian doubted Sollem would come out of his rat hole any time soon. The guy had to know the United States was planning a move on him if Sophie’d been recruited and was undergoing military training.
Sollem was brilliant. No way would the guy fail to put his informants on high alert for her throughout the Middle East. Inserting her anywhere in that part of the world was a recipe for her death. Certainty began to coalesce in Brian’s gut. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t send Sophie to die.
Hollister would be severely disappointed in him if he ran. And dammit, he respected his boss. Admired him. Hell, loved him like a brother. He’d happily die for any of the guys on the team. He’d be walking away from many good years with them. Or slinking away as the case might be. Fleeing from duty and honor and country. From everything he believed in and who he was.
Regret joined the other daggers stabbing his innards.
But this was Sophie he was talking about. Wasn’t it his job to protect innocent American lives from all enemies, foreign and domestic? He couldn’t throw her to the wolves. He just couldn’t.
The exit for LAX was in two miles.
If he’d ever wondered what it felt like to be torn apart limb from limb, this was it.
He actually felt sick. Hot and on the verge of puking. He was supposed to convince the woman he loved to die.
So appalled was he by the idea of sending her to her doom, he barely registered shock over the realization that he was double-dog, big-time, head-over-heels in love with Sophie. He snorted. And Hollister’d told him to keep his emotions out of it. Too late for that, boss man.
Sophie stirred and half-turned to face him. He glanced over at her and she smiled up at him sleepily. His heart flip-flopped like a damned puppy in his chest.
“Hey, beautiful. Have a nice nap?”
“Mmm hmm. Where are we?”
“Los Angeles.”
“Do you know where we’re going yet?” Her voice was soft and fuzzy with sleep and made him shiver with delight. He couldn’t get the idea of forever with her out of his head. To hear that voice for the next fifty or sixty years, to gaze into those big, sweet, melting chocolate eyes of hers any time he wanted to, and have her gaze back at him with love and trust.
Trust. Now there was a word.
Hollister trusted him.
So did Sophie.
And he had to betray one of them.
“Is something wrong?” she asked quickly. So perceptive, his Sophie. She had a sixth sense where his thoughts and feelings were concerned. Uncanny, really. Some sort of secret psychic link.
The LAX exit ramp loomed on the right.
Decision time.
Now or never.
Chapter 11
Vanessa looked up, alarmed, as Isabella held the headset of the satellite phone out to her. “Call’s for you, boss.”
Vanessa pulled on the headset. Was this the orders to start shooting that they’d been waiting for ever since they spotted what had, indeed, been verified as stolen tactical nuclear weapons? The printing on the boxes identified them as having come out of Pakistan. That country’s nuclear weapons program was only a few years old, and they were already losing—or selling off—parts. Scary.
“Viper here. Go.”
“Wittenauer, here. I’ve got orders for you.”
“’Bout time,” Vanessa muttered.
“Probably not the ones you’re looking for, however,” the general added. “I need you and Python to egress to the nearest extraction point at top speed. “I’ll have a fast chopper waiting for you.”
“What’s up?” she asked, shocked.
“I need the two of you stateside as soon as humanly possible. Jack and Anders will meet the two of you when you get to your destination. They’re already en route to the rendezvous point.”
“Why?” she asked.
“There’s been an attempt on Sophie Giovanni’s life. We think Sollem has figured out we’re working with her.”
Vanessa swore under her breath.
Wittenauer remarked dryly, “I echo your sentiments. I’m sending the four of you to collect Ms. Giovanni and insert her into Bhoukar. It’s time to nail Sollem once and for all.”
“But I’m the mission commander out here. I can’t leave in the middle of the op—”
“Put one of the others in charge. I specifically need you and Python to do this.”
“Why us?”
“No time for lengthy explanations. Just trust me. This is how it has to be. Jack and Anders will fill you in when you catch up with them.”
“Where are they—”
Wittenauer cut her off. “No time to talk. You two need to get humping. You’ve got a hard hike to the extraction point. Your ride will be there in three hours. Don’t keep him waiting.” The line went dead. The general had hung up.
Vanessa stared at the phone. Three hours? It was at least a four-hour hike through deep sand.
“C’mon, Python. We get to see just how healed your heart is after Norway.” Karen had nearly died of heart failure during a wild mission last winter. She’d been on convalescent leave for most of the summer and this was her first op back out in the field.
&n
bsp; Karen looked up, startled. “What’s up?”
“Grab some water and minimal gear. You and I are being sent home to pick up our housewife commando. Mamba, you’ll take command of the surveillance op here while we’re gone.”
Aleesha nodded briskly.
Karen piped up. “I thought Riley was bringing his girl to us.”
Vanessa shrugged. “I don’t know the details. But Wittenauer was adamant. You and me. Stateside. ASAP. A helicopter will be at Egress Point Alpha in three hours.”
Karen stared. “Three hours?”
Vanessa grinned ruefully. “Apparently, the boss thinks we’re superwomen or something.”
All the women jumped into action, preparing small packs with water, a few basic survival supplies, a couple light weapons and ammo. And dust masks. It was windy tonight and a haze of grit swirled in the air. In under five minutes, Vanessa and Karen were ready to go.
“Ta-ta, ladies,” Vanessa said breezily. “Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. I’ll get back here as soon as I can.”
Aleesha squeezed her shoulder affectionately. “Don’ worry, chile. I take good care o’ your chickies for ya. Dey be jus’ fine till mama hen git back.”
Vanessa smiled at her number two then turned and followed Karen into the darkness.
Sophie started as Brian swerved off the highway suddenly, making the guy behind him honk his horn. What was going on? He was acting funny.
“You and me. We need to talk,” Brian announced quietly.
“All you have to do is ask for your class ring back and I’ll get the hint. You don’t have to be mature and talk it out with me if you want to break up.”
He laughed reluctantly. “Actually, I do need to talk this out with you. It involves you, too.”
Concern tickled the edges of her consciousness. Something was wrong. The certainty of it rattled around deep inside her. She was silent while Brian navigated the crammed exit ramps and threaded his way past airport terminals. “Where are we headed? I gather we’re flying out of here to someplace secure to finish my training?”
Brian spoke uncharacteristically tersely. “We’re supposed to be driving to San Francisco. Major Hollister has arranged a flight out of there for us tomorrow morning.”
“Where to?”
“Canada.”
She blinked in surprise. She’d expected him to name some super-secret military installation in the Gobi Desert or the like.
He replied to her unspoken question, “We don’t think Freddie will think to look for you in the Great White North.”
“Then what?” she asked.
He shrugged. “That’s what we need to talk about. First order of business is to get somewhere private and safe, though.”
Surely, the two of them couldn’t go the airport looming in front of them. Sollem might have informants there, hanging out and watching for Sophie to flee. It was what she’d do in the same situation. The thought surprised her. Six weeks ago, such a concept would never have remotely crossed her mind. But Brian had drilled her for countless hours in military strategy and tactics, creative problem solving and thinking like the enemy. Apparently, some of his teaching had stuck.
She pulled down the car’s visor and used the makeup mirror to watch behind them, looking for tails. They headed onto surface streets, which weren’t much less congested than the highway. She didn’t spot anyone behind them. Whether that meant no one was there or she was just incompetent, she didn’t know.
Eventually, Brian made a sound of satisfaction and swerved into a parking space. Must have spotted what he was looking for. He angled the SUV expertly into the spot. Although, compliments of Brian, she was now an excellent, if aggressive, parallel parker, too. She’d enjoyed the offensive-driving classes.
“C’mon,” he said.
Sophie looked outside cautiously, up and down the sidewalk for possible threats. She even used the passenger-side rearview mirror to clear the area before she hopped out.
Brian murmured, “Good girl.”
She glanced wryly over the hood at him. “Hey. I paid attention in class.”
He shrugged and stepped close to her, using his body to block view of her from the street. He muttered, “Not everybody translates classroom instruction into practical usage well.”
She glanced up at him. “That’s what the next phase of my training is about, isn’t it? Field practice.”
He didn’t reply. A black look flickered across his face. What the heck? Her subliminal concern blossomed into conscious alarm. Something was seriously wrong. The last time Brian had gotten this worked up and refused to talk about it was the day they’d met. That day he held out for hours before coming out and asking her if she’d consider going on a mission to help the United States find Freddie Sollem. They’d gotten through that conversation just fine. There was no need for him to get this tense about talking to her about something again. Unless it was worse….
What could be worse than asking her to risk her life to help bring down a terrorist? Frankly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that one. Longing for home slammed into her. She wanted to curl up in an armchair with a good book and watch TV for a couple weeks non-stop.
But that would mean leaving Brian. And she wasn’t willing to do that just to feel safe for a little while.
He held the door for her to an inconspicuous restaurant. A Japanese place. They stepped inside and an odor of fish assailed her. At least it smelled like fresh fish. More subtle odors manifested themselves. Hot grease. Teriyaki sauce. A strong green odor of seaweed. Brian spoke in quick, fluent Japanese to a hostess wearing a dark blue kimono and white socks under straw flip-flops. The woman nodded and replied back in a whispery, little-girl voice that they had what he requested and would be honored to allow him its use. She left to prepare it.
Sophie murmured, “Okay, show-off. What did you say to her?”
“I requested a private dining room and the chef’s specialities. I hope you like weird seafood.”
In a few moments, the hostess was back and led them to a small room bounded by floor-to-ceiling shoji panels in black lacquer and white rice paper. Brian noted that the room next to theirs was occupied by a group of Asian businessmen, already well into their sake. The kitchen was on the other side. Perfect. He and Sophie could talk freely and not worry about eavesdroppers.
He kicked off his shoes at the door and Sophie followed suit. They padded into the space in their socks and sat down at a low, black lacquer table. The hostess put a large wooden bowl on the table and Brian held his hands over it. The woman washed his hands and patted them dry, then did the same for Sophie. The hostess murmured that she would be back with food in a few minutes.
Sophie flashed a dimple at him from across the table. “I see a definite trend to our dates. I gather you’re a fan of the Japanese culture?”
He shrugged. “I’m a fan of civilized behavior and simple, elegant things.”
“Somehow I’m guessing this stop wasn’t on Major Hollister’s itinerary for us. Care to explain why we’re here?”
He sighed. “We’ve got a problem.”
When he didn’t continue, she said, “Let me guess. That shooter on the beach.”
He nodded. “Do you know of anyone who has a big enough grudge against you to try to intimidate or kill you?”
She was silent for a time, thinking. Another skill she’d learned from Brian. The hostess brought a platter of teriyaki skewers and a pot of green tea. He waved off the sake. When the woman had left, Sophie announced, “I don’t have any enemies who would like to kill me. In fact, I don’t really have any enemies at all. Certainly none who want to see me dead.”
Brian nodded. “That’s what I expected. But I had to ask. The shooter’s identity, or at least his employer, seem pretty obvious.”
“Freddie,” she sighed.
“The very same.”
She leaned forward. “Okay, Brian, you’ve got your private, safe place to talk. So talk.”
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“What would you like for supper? The nice lady in the kimono will keep bringing out plates of stuff to graze on until we tell her to stop. It’s how dinner business meetings are usually conducted in Japan. Our only out is to order full-blown entrees.”
“Will she bring out tempura at some point?” Sophie asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I’m okay. I love that stuff.”
Brian smiled. “Note to self—the lady even likes her Asian food fried.”
“I like pretty much anything covered in chocolate, too.”
“Ever tried a chocolate-covered grasshopper?”
“No, and I don’t need to try one to prove how macho I am, either,” she replied quickly.
Brian grinned. “I dunno. They have a nice, fresh, green taste. Not bad with a semisweet dark chocolate.”
She reached across the table and pressed her fingers to his lips. “Stop speaking such blasphemy before the chocolate gods strike you dead.”
“Chocolate gods?”
“Yes. They’re female and hormonal. Don’t mess with them,” Sophie warned.
“Ahh, Sophie, you make my soul smile.”
She stared, startled. Brian didn’t say things like that. Ever. What was so different about tonight? Her running alarm unfolded into full-blown dread. He had bad news for her and was buttering her up—and buttering her up huge—before he sprang it on her. Was the mission canceled? Had the past weeks all been for naught?
Except even if the mission was nixed now, this time had not been wasted. With Brian’s help, she’d found an inner strength she never knew she had. And of course, she’d found Brian. The mere thought of them together sent warm fuzzies curling through her. She hadn’t the slightest idea what tomorrow would bring for the two of them, but she was grateful for every moment she got to spend with him, in his arms or otherwise. He was an amazing man. And he made her feel beautiful. Nope. Definitely not for naught.
“Have you ever thought about going to Japan?” Brian asked, interrupting her train of thought.
