Watched from a Distance

by Allison B Hanson

  …

  Several hours later, Dane checked his phone for the hundredth time that day. Still nothing from Lena. He’d called her right after Tobey left, only to find out the number had been disconnected.

  Damn it! He should have thought to give her the burner phone from the backpack. But neither of them had been thinking straight.

  She should have contacted him by now. He’d given her the credit card, at least. She could have used the phone in her hotel.

  Giving up for the moment, he called someone else.

  “Yeah?” Angel’s voice sounded thick with tears.

  “I know you’ve got other things on your mind,” Dane said softly, “but I need a favor.”

  “Anything. I just don’t want to think about what I could have done to stop this.”

  He understood. He was piling the guilt pretty high on his own shoulders.

  “Lena’s phone’s been disconnected. Can you track it to a hotel so I can call her? She’s also going to need an ID so she can fly. I’ll need to go get her—”

  “You stay there and help get things settled with Justin,” Angel said. “I’ll trace her phone and go pick her up myself. We’ll all be there soon.”

  Chapter Eighty

  Lena was losing her mind.

  It had been three days since her last phone call with Viktor. She was still in Savannah. She spent most of her time camped out in front of Viktor’s abandoned complex, hoping he would come back with Kenzie.

  Two handguns sat next to her on the console of the Jeep. She didn’t think they would be enough to take down Viktor and his entourage, but from watching the Wizard of Oz, she fantasized that if she melted Viktor, all his followers would be grateful and swear their allegiance to her. Maybe they would even break into song. In one daydream, she imagined Butch telling her to keep his Jeep in thanks for saving all their asses.

  Right.

  She took a break from her delusions to wonder where Dane might be. Was he okay? Was Tobey okay? She knew he’d needed to go. She had sent him off even though he’d offered to stay.

  But this whole situation reminded her painfully of the strict promise she’d made to herself.

  The one she’d broken for Dane.

  She knew she shouldn’t—couldn’t—rely on anyone but herself to get through life. Her marriage with Brandon had sent that message home in a big way. It had been nice to allow Dane to take some of the burden and worry off her shoulders, but in the end, this no-win situation was all on her.

  It wasn’t Dane’s fault. He’d tried his best to help her, and she knew there were no guarantees. He hadn’t sugar-coated the possible outcomes. There’d been no way to know Mackenzie wouldn’t be there when they arrived at the compound. Lena knew if her daughter had been where they’d expected her to be, Dane would have done whatever necessary to get her out safely.

  But now Lena was alone. She hadn’t called him yet. She liked to think it was because she spent all her time sitting in the Jeep and didn’t have a working phone, but she knew there was a different reason.

  She was afraid.

  What if he still harbored anger for her part in Tobey’s kidnapping and didn’t care what happened to her or Kenzie? She didn’t think that was the case. She’d experienced his kindness. But she didn’t know what she would do if he told her they were at the end of the trail, nothing to do, her daughter was gone and so was he.

  It was easier to sit here, waiting for Viktor to come back so she could end this.

  One way or another.

  She only slightly wondered if she was losing it.

  The tapping on the glass next to her made her jump and hit her head. She rolled down the window to see Angel standing there. Her expression grim.

  “Let’s go,” Angel said, and nodded to the console. “Bring those.”

  Lena shook herself out of her surprise, scooped up her weapons, and jumped out of the Jeep. She stopped at the back to grab her bag, and tucked the guns inside.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as she hurried after the woman, who walked really fast for having shorter legs. “Where’s everyone else?”

  Everyone meaning Dane.

  “We’re going to a funeral.”

  Lena stopped walking. Fear gripped her heart, and the guilt she’d felt earlier shattered into worry for the man she’d come to care for. He’d said someone on his team had been injured. It appeared it was worse than that.

  “Justin,” Angel answered before Lena had the chance to ask.

  “Oh God. I’m so sorry.” She’d come to care about all the people on the team. It was obvious they all loved one another like family. And they’d taken her in and accepted her, even though she didn’t belong.

  “Dane is making the funeral arrangements. That’s why he didn’t come get you himself. He called, but your phone was disconnected. Luckily, I could still track it.”

  Of course she could. The woman was scary.

  “I don’t have anything to wear to a funeral,” Lena said, feeling embarrassment heat her cheeks.

  “We’ll stop somewhere before we fly out.”

  “I can’t get on a plane. I don’t have ID.”

  Angel smiled. “It’s a private plane.”

  They sent a private plane to pick her up? She appreciated everything they were doing, but there was one thing that was more important right now. “What about my daughter?”

  “We’re still working on the plan,” Angel said. “We’ll finalize after the funeral.”

  “Of course.” Lena didn’t want to be rude or disrespectful. She just wanted her daughter back. When they got to a black SUV in the parking lot, she hesitated.

  Her daughter had been in Savannah. That was the last place Lena had seen her…even if it was by phone. True, Kenzie could be anywhere by this point, but what if they brought her back here and Lena wasn’t there?

  “Are you coming?” Angel asked, popping back up from the driver’s door.

  Her daughter’s life was at stake.

  Could she really trust these people to get her back?

  Chapter Eighty-One

  Dane’s heart hurt. He’d said goodbye to his son, and now he was being forced to say goodbye to his friend and teammate. Except, this goodbye was forever.

  Team Phoenix had gathered and were consoling one another while making the arrangements. But it wasn’t until he saw Lena that he finally broke down. She’d been given a key to his hotel room, and when he stepped into the room, she rushed toward him.

  He pulled her into his arms, holding her too tight as he cried into her hair.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said holding him just as tightly.

  He was glad for her strength, because at the moment he worried he might fly apart into a billion pieces.

  “Justin saved Tobey,” he choked out. “He protected him with his own body.”

  “That is what you are all trained to do,” she whispered. “Justin did his job well. He was a hero.”

  “He’s gone because he offered to help me.”

  “Don’t do this,” she said, stepping back to grip his upper arms. “You were telling me just a few days ago how it doesn’t work like that. We don’t get to look back and wish we’d done things differently. And it wouldn’t work, anyway. You would never have been able to tell Justin he couldn’t go. He wouldn’t have stayed behind.”

  True, but it still hurt to know it was this particular job that had cost his friend his life.

  “I have no doubt you would have done the same thing if you had been there,” she reminded him.

  He nodded. He would have stepped between Tobey and a bullet and been happy to do it, if it meant Tobey—or any other child, for that matter—was able to live a full life.

  He nodded and looked down at her. She was wearing a dark gray dress and make-up.

  “We need to leave soon,” she said. “You should get changed.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, glad she was keeping him going so he couldn’t fall over.

&nbs
p; The funeral was well attended. Justin’s ex-wife and his daughter, Haley, were standing in front by the casket. Dane gave the young girl a hug and told her how sorry he was, hoping she didn’t pick up on the guilt that colored his words. She no longer had a dad because her father had made the ultimate sacrifice to save Dane’s son.

  “If you ever need anything, please call me okay?” he said. “I was good friends with your dad, so even if you just want to talk about him or if you have questions. I’m in WITSEC, too. You can reach me through your handler. Remember, I’m here, okay? Anything you need.”

  But he knew it wasn’t enough. Not nearly.

  “Okay. Thanks.” Haley looked a little overwhelmed from all the attention, but not heartbroken like the rest of the team.

  He backed off with one last apology. He remembered what Justin had said before leaving on the mission. That his daughter already saw her dad as dead. They’d been completely out of touch, Justin’s penance for forcing them into this life of hiding. Obviously, the girl didn’t feel a deep connection with her father.

  Dane could have been in this very same situation.

  Lena squeezed his hand, as if reading his mind.

  “Everyone deals with things differently,” she murmured. “Haley will miss him, even if she doesn’t realize it yet.” Lena linked her arm through his and led him to the area where the rest of his group waited.

  When the service was over, Thorne gathered the team at a nearby restaurant. They sat in the back room at a table for eight.

  The empty seat made the air catch in his lungs. Justin was gone.

  Lena rested a sympathetic hand on his thigh.

  “Justin wouldn’t want us to be sitting here like lumps,” Angel said as she wiped tears from her cheek. “If it had been one of us, he’d have told an embarrassing story about the person to make everyone laugh.”

  “I have an embarrassing story,” Garrett said with a sigh. He turned to his wife. “This was before I met you.”

  The disclaimer meant it was no doubt a story involving women and drinking. Dane wondered if he had been there, too.

  “Thorne sent Justin and me on a job to get intel from some corporate jackass. We show up as consultants who’d been hired to make their network more secure.”

  “Why wasn’t I sent on this job?” Angel asked, being the computer whiz.

  “Because we needed to get the information from the woman who was sleeping with the guy.”

  “Oh.”

  “The day we start, we walk in when they’re having a little retirement shindig for one of their co-workers. There’s a cake that says Best Wishes, and everything. We’re trying to play it cool and act like we belong, so Justin snags a piece of cake.”

  “Of course. He couldn’t pass up food,” Dane said with a smile.

  “Right. Well, I passed on the cake and moved to the other side of the group so I could mingle and see who the players were. I’m into a conversation that seems to be leading somewhere when I look up and see Justin has already contacted the woman. Even after we agreed it would be me, because…”

  He paused awkwardly while looking at his wife.

  “Because you hadn’t seen any action in months,” Dane offered, having heard this story before.

  “Yes. Okay.” Garrett’s cheeks turned pink as he continued, “I can only see him from the back, and the woman’s expression looks disgusted. I mean, she is really not into him, at all, and I think that’s great because I’ll get a turn. But then, I’m also concerned because if Justin couldn’t interest her oozing his famous charm, what chance do I have?”

  “You’re charming, too,” Sam said, rubbing his shoulder.

  “I lost visual on him for a minute as I maneuvered my way back to that side of the room. He ended up walking up to me when the woman practically ran away. I asked him what went wrong, and he said he had no clue.”

  Dane was already laughing.

  “But I figured it out pretty quickly,” Garrett said.

  “What was it?” Angel asked.

  “The icing on the cake was blue…and so were Justin’s teeth, tongue, and lips. He looked like he’d snacked down on a Smurf.”

  Everyone laughed, but eventually the silence drifted in again.

  Dane glanced over at Lena, who hadn’t said anything, but from the look on her face, he knew it was time to ask the team to do the unthinkable.

  They’d just lost one of their own, and now he had to ask them to risk their lives again. For an outsider.

  Chapter Eighty-Two

  Lena understood the stories and banter Dane’s team exchanged were all part of their healing process. Under normal conditions, she would have been eager to help them deal with their grief. But it wasn’t easy to sit there doing nothing when every second counted for her daughter.

  Up until everything went to hell, she’d known Kenzie was relatively safe. She’d spoken to her little girl every morning, and seen with her own eyes that she was being taken care of, despite the imminent threat.

  Now that security was gone. Her daughter could be anywhere. And anything could be happening to her. That thought made Lena tense with fear.

  Dane must have noticed because he slipped his hand in hers and gave it a little squeeze.

  Angel cleared her throat. “Justin wouldn’t want us dicking around talking about him when we have a job to do,” she said, her voice trembling a little. “He was always anxious to get going. Let’s focus on the next attempt to get Mackenzie.”

  Lena looked at Dane, who seemed as surprised as she was.

  “I wasn’t sure how to ask,” he said. “But we definitely need all your help.”

  Tears came to Lena’s eyes, brought on by the emotions she was feeling because of these generous people. And especially for the man holding her hand. He hadn’t given up on her child. She felt ashamed to have even thought it was possible.

  She also felt something else. The overwhelming affection she knew was love.

  Unable to stop herself, she reached for him. He pulled her into his arms and let her cry.

  “I’m sorry,” she managed to say. “I thought maybe you’d given up on us.”

  “No. Of course not. We’re going to get her.” He rubbed her back and kissed her hair. “I won’t stop until she’s safe, Lena. I promised you, and I plan to keep that promise.”

  She choked out another sob and hugged him tighter. Unable to speak, she hoped her squeezing him breathless conveyed her gratitude.

  When she’d gotten herself together, she moved back to her own seat. Thorne took control of the meeting, asking for updates.

  Ten minutes later, it was clear they didn’t have a confirmed location for Viktor or for Kenzie. Lena wanted to cry again.

  “I thought we were tracking his phone.” She tried to keep her impatience in check.

  “I can only track it if it’s on,” Angel said. “He’s got it turned off. Or…it’s been destroyed.”

  “What about one of the other numbers? Butch has called me twice to make sure I was taking care of his Jeep.”

  Angel nodded. “Do you still have the phone so I can get the number?”

  “Yeah. It’s in my room.” Lena had been keeping it charged up in case Viktor reactivated it to get in touch with her. Plus, there was still a video of her daughter recorded on that phone. She’d watched it more times than was healthy.

  Thorne nodded. “Good. Lena, give Angel the number, and let’s all get some rest. We’ll reconvene in the morning,” he announced.

  Rest? Lena didn’t want to rest. She wanted to find her daughter.

  Now.

  “Dane?” Thorne called as they were heading for the door.

  Dane paused and waited. Lena hung back, too.

  “Did you tell her about the other thing we found in Vancouver?” Thorne asked.

  Dane grimaced. “No. Not yet. I guess I’ll do that now.”

  He led her out of the room and gestured toward the elevator.

  “What is it?” she asked. “
What did you find?”

  He frowned and pressed the button for their floor before pinning his dark gaze on her. “Your husband.”

  Chapter Eighty-Three

  “Brandon? Brandon was in Vancouver?” Lena’s face went white.

  Dane didn’t know how much more Lena could handle. He was used to being around Angel, who had been through hell but could deal with anything far better than he ever could.

  At the other end of the spectrum was Caroline, who didn’t handle things very well, at all. Even when she’d come out to meet the officers when they dropped Tobey off, she’d collapsed. Dane had been watching from inside a van that had followed the police cruiser. Just in case.

  Lena seemed much stronger than Caroline, but he didn’t want this to be the straw that broke her.

  “Yeah, but—” he said, leading her into her hotel room.

  “You’re sure it was him?” she interrupted, and started to pace the length of the space, her expression going from shock to anger.

  Dane had seen her angry before. He was glad not to be the cause of it this time.

  “In a manner of speaking. They found his body.”

  “Oh.” She dropped heavily onto the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. “I suppose I knew he was dead. I guess I figured he would have been disposed of at sea, or in the Everglades.”

  “I can see why that would make sense, but he wasn’t. He was buried behind one of the buildings at the Vancouver complex. Once the compound was secured, they put dogs out, and they alerted at the grave.”

  She took a deep breath and looked up. “How do you know it’s him?”

  “The wallet in his back pocket had his Florida driver’s license. They’ll use dental records to verify it, but that’s our guess right now.”

  Her face went pale again, and he saw her fingers were shaking.

  Damn it. He should have done this better. The guy had been the worst kind of father when he’d put their child in harm’s way, but at some point Lena must have loved the bastard.

  “I’m sorry,” Dane said, because it was the thing you said when someone died and you didn’t have anything better to say.