She slid to the floor, knocking against the expensive bottle of brandy, which teetered, almost falling to the floor. A gloved hand reached out to stop it.
Looking up into a familiar face, she tried to form words but couldn’t make her mouth and brain connect.
“Go to sleep, Nora. You failed your mission. Your service is over.”
She lay on the floor, her body frozen, but her eyes were open, watching as the man took the bottle and glass. It took less than a minute to remove the evidence, and though Nora’s eyes were still on him, she was long past being able to see.
Thousands of miles away, a phone chimed. The owner read the encrypted text. After years of decoding such messages, the words were easy to understand. It was done.
Five minutes later, a series of texts went throughout the world. One text was different from the others. That text was read with resignation and then resolve.
A life was over. A new life would begin.
Chapter Forty-Six
Tahiti
Ash closed the door to the bungalow and headed back to the beach, where Jules was waiting. Today, he felt like he had it all—sun, sand, and the woman he loved. An hour after his meeting with Turner, he and Jules had hopped on a plane. They had arrived last night and fallen into bed, exhausted. For the next ten days, they would put the evils of the world behind them and concentrate on being a normal couple on holiday.
Unless something major came up, the entire OZ organization was lying low, running down leads, and working assets. They all needed the break.
When they returned, they’d hit the ground running, as several ongoing cases were about to heat up. But for a while, he and Jules would disconnect from the world and connect with each other.
Ash grinned like a fool at the silly euphemism. Nothing like a man in love to bring them out.
A loud, distinctive bleep told him he had a text message from Kate. As much as he wanted to ignore the world and its worries, his gut told him to read it now.
The minute he read the terse, three-word message, that feeling of optimism and anticipation turned to ash.
Turner is dead.
Skidding to a stop, he punched Kate’s number. She answered with, “I don’t know how yet.”
“No way in hell was this natural causes.”
“I agree. Coroner will have to give the final say.”
“The FBI was right outside her door. How did anyone get in or out without being seen?”
“Another question for which I don’t have an answer.”
Ash didn’t know what infuriated him more. That Turner had escaped the punishment she deserved, or that she had been killed to keep her silent.
“Who the hell is behind this shit?”
“I don’t know, Ash. My contacts are getting more closemouthed. What about yours?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen some signs, but we still have leverage over most of them. At least for now.”
“If you get anything, let me know. I’ll get back to you with the autopsy results.”
“Will do. And, Kate?”
“Yeah?”
“Watch your back. The people we can trust are getting fewer and fewer.”
“Back at ya, pal.”
Resisting the urge to throw his phone into a nearby lagoon and curse a blue streak, Ash reined in his anger. Turner had told him this was bigger than he could even imagine. He had known there were more people involved. What he hadn’t considered was that Turner might have been a pawn. She was no longer useful, had become a liability. They had taken her out of the equation before she could destroy their plans.
Three questions pounded in his brain: What were those plans? Was a new pawn already set to replace her? And just who the hell were they?
* * *
Jules moaned in pleasure as Ash applied sunscreen to her bare back. The hot sun beat down in glorious warmth, and the snow of Montana although exquisitely beautiful, was a distant memory.
“Feel good?”
“Cannot imagine anything feeling better.”
“Is that right?” He leaned closer and whispered, “Then I guess I’d better step up my game tonight.”
“Oh, your game is just fine, Mr. Drake. In fact, your game wore me out this morning.”
He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, causing all sorts of tingles throughout her body. This man, with one caress, could cause the most amazing chain reaction.
“Ash?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be back home, working to find Turner’s killer?”
When Ash had returned from grabbing the novel she’d left in her suitcase, she hadn’t expected the news about Turner. The knowledge that someone more evil, with more power than Turner, was still out there calling the shots was unsettling. They had known there were more, but to what end? For what purpose did they exist?
“We’ve done all we can for now. It could be weeks before the coroner determines cause of death.”
“You know as well as I do that she was murdered.”
“Yes, and I also know that whoever is responsible will still be around when we get back.”
“But…”
Ash pressed a finger to her lips. “Serena and her team are digging. Until we have intel to go on, all we’ll be doing is running around in circles.”
She sighed. “You’re right.”
“If you’re bored, I can give you a special OZ assignment.”
Rolling over, she propped her head on her hand and grinned at him. “Oh yeah?”
Ash pulled her on top of him and whispered an order she was more than happy to comply with. Laughing with both joy and delight, Jules gave herself up to the wonderful moments of being in Ash’s arms. Even though sadness, wars, and evil still existed, these pockets of happiness were what made life worth living.
* * *
Ten days later
“Can’t believe our vacation is over. Sure you don’t want to move OZ to Tahiti?”
The glowing, golden woman with the cinnamon freckles sprinkled across her nose was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. Their time together had been exactly what they’d needed. Not only had the haunted look completely disappeared from Jules’s eyes but Ash felt a peace he’d didn’t think he’d ever experienced.
“I think we could get a few operatives onboard, but it would take a bulldozer to get Rose to move.”
“Why’s that?”
“Five grandchildren within an hour of her house.”
“You’re right. OZ can’t do without Rose.”
“If I promise to take you somewhere warm once a quarter, will you go home with me now?”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she beamed up at him. “I’ll go anywhere with you, Asher Drake.”
“Even where temperatures are subzero?”
“Absolutely. But just so you know, if you do, I won’t be taking my clothes off. Ever.”
“Then we’re definitely not going anywhere that cold.”
The teasing and silliness were something new. Jules made him feel happy and carefree. For a man who hadn’t believed he’d ever have an ounce of happiness again, it was an exhilarating and frightening experience. What if he lost it all again?
The gut-deep feeling he sometimes had when an op was about to go sour hit him like a sledgehammer. Something was off.
“I’m going to the lobby for some gum,” Jules said. “Want anything?”
“I’ll go with you.”
She nodded toward her open suitcase on the bed beside his duffel bag, which was already zipped and ready to load onto the plane. “How about you stay here and finish my packing? I tried three times to close the suitcase. Something’s got to come out.”
That was because she’d gotten every OZ employee a souvenir. Even though he’d insisted no one expected a gift, she had ignored him and bought them anyway. She’d enjoyed buying them so much he hadn’t had the heart to tell her their suitcases would likely burst open.
“I can put a few more things in
mine.”
“Thank you.” She turned to grab her wallet. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
Telling her he didn’t want her out of his sight would be so completely out of the norm, he pushed aside the dread. They’d been here ten days. No one, other than OZ employees, knew their location. Nothing even remotely threatening had taken place. There was no danger out there.
“Okay.” Unable to watch her walk out without giving her some kind of warning, he tried to make it sound normal. “Be alert. Okay?”
“What? Why?”
Being subtle was apparently not in his wheelhouse today. As he reminded himself they had agreed to share everything, he said, “Sounds stupid, but I just got this pit-deep feeling that something bad is going to happen.”
Frowning, she went into his arms and looked up at him. “No matter what, we’re together. We can face anything. Right?”
She didn’t question his feelings, didn’t blow them off. If he hadn’t known it before, he knew it deep in his soul now. Jules Stone was meant for him.
After showing her for several breathless moments just how much he loved and appreciated her, he raised his head. “I’ll get the packing finished. You get the gum.”
“I love you, Asher Drake.”
“And I love you, Jules Stone.”
With the knowledge that she was right, he watched her walk out the door. No matter what, they would face any threat together.
He was hip-deep in T-shirts, tote bags, and scarves when his phone gave a familiar chime. Pulling it from his pocket, he answered with a smile in his voice. “Feeling better?”
Two days after they’d left, Serena had come down with the flu. Though her voice still sounded hoarse when she said his name, it was the urgency in her tone that caught his attention.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’ve been hacked.”
“What? How?”
“I don’t know. I came in this morning and discovered it. Somebody broke through our firewall.”
His mind raced with a thousand suspects and a million scenarios of how any stolen intel could compromise the lives of thousands.
“Did they get everything?”
“Thankfully, no. We change our passwords daily and have multiple security measures in place. It’s what they did get that has me concerned.”
“Such as?”
“They hacked the files on Turner.”
Ash closed his eyes. He wasn’t surprised, but it did increase his concern. When it came to technology, OZ had the tightest, most sophisticated security. Whoever had hacked them was no amateur.
“There’s something else. They got into your personal file. They know where—”
Jules!
Ash was out the door before Serena finished her sentence.
Jules walked along the pathway that led to the gift shop. She needed to remember to buy gum before she went back to the room, but that wasn’t why she’d wanted to come to the gift shop. Yesterday, she’d seen a suncatcher in the window, and she couldn’t resist getting it for Ash. He had a tattoo of a phoenix on his arm and had explained that when he had started OZ, he had looked at it as a new beginning. A new life. A phoenix represented reinvention, rebirth. She knew the symbol meant a lot to him. The suncatcher had the exact same emblem on it. When they were alone tonight, after they returned home, she would give it to him.
She smiled at the people she passed by, marveling at the sheer beauty they’d enjoyed the last ten days. It had been a glorious experience, and while she would definitely miss the warmth of the sun and the beautiful ocean, she couldn’t wait to get back home and start her life with Ash. When she and Kate had cooked up this plan months ago, never had she believed this would be the outcome. She was in love with a man of strength, honor, and incredible courage. They hadn’t talked marriage or anything permanent really, but she wasn’t concerned. She trusted him with her heart. They would reach that point, but for now she was relishing each day as it came.
With Ash and his beautiful smile on her mind, Jules didn’t see the man until he was right on her. A gun was shoved into her side, and a voice growled in her ear, “Get in the van.”
Training took over, and Jules turned away from the man, whirled, and kicked. The kick never landed. A sharp pain slammed into her face. Momentarily stunned, she fell face first into the arms of someone extremely strong. The arms threw her into the back of a van, and the vehicle sped off.
Jules shot up from the floorboard, ready to fight. A needle jabbed into her arm. She got in one good punch to her faceless attacker before darkness swallowed her.
* * *
Blinking her eyes open, Jules tried to move and found she couldn’t. Her hands and feet were tied together in an awkward position. She couldn’t move a muscle. How long had she been out? And where was she? The air smelled stale, damp…slightly moldy. She was in a container of some sort. The outside sounds were indistinguishable but sounded hollow, as if she were in a drum.
Ash! He would be tracking her. He would know within minutes that something was wrong when she didn’t return from the gift shop. He’d check her tracker and be on his way. She needed to be ready when he arrived. Together, they would take these men on and find out who was behind it.
She had that confident assurance up until she heard a massive engine start up, and the vehicle that held the compartment she was in began to move, faster and faster. Seconds later, she felt the lift of takeoff. She was in the air.
Calm spread over her mind. Ash could track her anywhere in the world. He and the OZ team would find her. Whoever these people were, they didn’t know Asher Drake or the Option Zero people. They thought they were dealing with average, ordinary people. They were wrong. There was nothing average or ordinary about the OZ team. For the first time ever, Jules realized what it was to be a part of something bigger. She had always been a loner. Even before she was taken and her parents were killed, she had often gone her own way in things, even when others disagreed. Her mother had called it marching to the beat of her own drum.
Then, after everything happened, there had been no other choice. Being alone meant not getting hurt.
All of that had changed. She was a member of an elite team of warriors. Ash had told her that no one would watch her back like OZ would. They depended on one another. They would find her, there was no doubt. But that didn’t mean she would sit back and just wait to be rescued. She was no victim…never would be again. Whoever was responsible for this was in for a rude awakening.
Surrounded by OZ operatives, Ash sat in the rear of the helicopter. The whir of the blades drowned out even the loudest of shouts, but he’d said all he’d needed to say when they’d been on the ground. They were going to do whatever they had to do to save Jules.
Ash had been stunned when he’d lost her tracker signal. When he’d found a small abandoned airstrip a few miles down the road, his question was answered. She had to have been flown off the island—there was no other explanation. Unfortunately, not a soul around could confirm a flight had taken off.
He’d called the team and given them the details. Serena was able to pull up Jules’s signal. It was weak and went in and out frequently, but when the plane she was on landed, the signal was crystal clear. The instant he learned the location, he’d had no trouble connecting the dots.
That someone had leaked Humphrey’s real identity was no surprise. Ash had known that would happen someday. But what infuriated him was that Jules’s identity as Elsa Olsen had also been discovered. Few people outside of OZ knew about the op that had brought Carl Lang down, but someone in that inner circle had given the intel to the one person who had cause to hate both Ash and Jules. Nora Turner had gotten her revenge after all. Her final vengeful act before she died had been a call to Omar Schrader.
Schrader was not a killer. Not that he wasn’t evil. He was just on a different level of evil. Money was the weapons broker’s number one motivator. This was a different scenario, though. Learning that he’d been deceived and used
might bring out other tendencies. Would his pride turn him into something more dangerous?
Ash had three choices. He could go subtle—call the man and find out exactly what he wanted.
He could go in soft—sneak in and take her without Schrader even knowing he was there until it was too late.
But the time for subtlety or softness was gone. He was going in hard and fast, with the full force of OZ at his back. Arriving with his entire team, they would sweep through the place like rockets. What happened to Omar was up to Omar.
Ash had chartered a flight to Slovakia. On the way, he’d called in a couple of favors. When he’d landed, he’d been pleased to find exactly what he’d asked for waiting on him. The Black Hawk helicopter would make the kind of statement he needed. The team had arrived in the OZ jet not long after, and it’d taken less than five minutes to review the op details and get them back up in the air.
Jules had been at Schrader’s house for almost twelve hours. He told himself that she was one of the smartest, savviest, and most skilled operatives he’d ever known. He trusted her with his life, and he trusted her with her life. She knew how to survive.
His biggest worry was the fact that Omar had not called with any kind of demand. There was a reason he’d taken Jules and hadn’t gone after Ash. But why hadn’t he called and at the very least taunted him?
Ash knew he could make the call, but that would take away the surprise. Schrader believed he’d gotten away with taking Jules. He was likely enjoying the thought of Ash trying to find her without any idea about who had taken her or why.
He was wrong. In less than an hour, Omar Schrader was going to get the shock of his life.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Slovakia
Omar Schrader’s Estate
“Omar, just what do you think you’re doing?”
The smirk on Schrader’s face would have been comical if Jules wasn’t so infuriated. Did the idiot really think this was going to end well for him? Did he not realize whom he was going up against?
MERCILESS Page 30
