Deadly Holidays

by Lisa Phillips

  Rachel smiled.

  Alexis covered a yawn. “I seriously do.”

  Rachel’s smile grew to laughter. “It’s tiring trying to right wrongs.”

  “Don’t I know it?” Megan smiled at her, and they proceeded to the bottom of the stairwell where they stood by the exit door. “Hold up. Our ride is almost here.” She looked at her phone, but Rachel noticed she shifted her weight quickly to take the pressure off the knee that had been replaced.

  Rachel didn’t figure there would be many times like this before the summit—quiet moments where nothing was happening. She hadn’t been expecting it to happen now, but it was nice that it had. They could pretend, for a minute, that they were three regular friends sharing a moment of humor. Then life would intrude upon them again.

  The blackmailer.

  An injured woman who fought for her life.

  Their only lead into the blackmailer’s activities? Out on the streets again.

  “We have a ride?”

  Megan nodded. “I think you’ll like it. I know I’ll enjoy listening to Bradley ask Alexis why she left the cover of the FBI office while he was gone.”

  Alexis groaned. “I feel nauseous.”

  Rachel pulled her in for a side hug. “I’ll protect you.”

  Megan’s phone screen flashed. “Let’s go.” She opened the door, where an SUV was parked outside with the engine running. An older gentleman stood holding the back door open.

  Rachel did a double take. “Steve?”

  He cracked a smile. It made his face look weird. “I guess it’s not that good of a disguise.”

  They all got in. Bradley shot his wife a frosty look but pulled away from the curb. Alexis buckled her seatbelt. “Megan was protecting us.” She motioned over her shoulder to the former FBI agent, sitting in the back row with her eyes closed.

  Neither of them said much after that.

  Rachel broke the silence. “Where are we going?”

  Bradley’s phone buzzed. He handed it to Steve.

  “It’s Adrian with that picture.” Steve swiped the screen.

  Rachel leaned forward so she could see as well. Steve glanced at her, and they shared a smile. He was okay. Right now, at least. And in the moment, couldn’t that be enough?

  He frowned, his attention on the screen. “I do know him.”

  “You—”

  “The father,” Steve said.

  Bradley glanced over. “Whose father?”

  “In the picture I found in the VP’s safe. It was a family album, and all the pictures were from Venezuela. Probably before whatever happened.” Steve paused. “The hacker looks like the vice president’s father.”

  Rachel didn’t want to disturb the flow of his thoughts, but she had to say, “Which means…”

  “The only thing that makes sense, is if…the brother. Of course. He’d be the right age now. Mid-forties.” Steve said, “The hacker is the vice president’s younger brother.”

  Chapter 14

  Alexis gasped. She reached over and grabbed Rachel’s hand. Behind Rachel, Megan sat completely stoic in the back row.

  Bradley, still driving, said, “Are you sure?”

  “Not certain, no. All the information we got back about William Anderson said he had no brother. So where does the other boy come in to it?”

  Steve glanced at her, but she didn’t know what that look meant. She said, “If he’s been hidden all this time somehow...” she let that trail off. “If they’re behind all this, working together as brothers, then we need to expose it. Right?”

  Steve nodded. “The mission is still the same.”

  “Unless the VP doesn’t know anything,” Alexis said. “And it’s all the brother.”

  “But he’s the hacker,” Rachel said. “Not the mastermind.”

  Megan’s clothes rustled as she shifted in her seat. “Could be he just wanted to get a look at all of us, so he got himself hauled in as the hacker. He might be behind it all—or maybe not— maybe they are in it together.”

  “How are we supposed to figure out which it is?” Rachel glanced between Megan and the two men in the front seat. “Can we do a DNA test and make sure you’re right?” She didn’t want Steve to think she didn’t believe him. Rachel knew what it was like to have everyone distrust her and think of her as crazy. Now that she had killed someone—even if it had been self-defense—things were going to get even worse.

  Steve stared out the front window.

  Megan said, “We don’t have the hacker’s DNA. Just the print we ran that came up with nothing.”

  Rachel got on her phone. “Google says the vice president is an only child.”

  Steve shifted in his chair. “There was a brother in the photo I found in the vice president’s safe.”

  “La-la-la-la—” Megan had her hands over her ears. “—don’t say that where Adrian can hear you or he’ll arrest you.” She dropped her hands, but Rachel saw the gleam of humor in her eyes. “And don’t tell me how you happened to have access to his safe, because I do not want to be an accomplice to this.”

  “Way to save your own skin, Perkins,” Bradley shot from the front seat.

  Alexis said, “She’s not—”

  “Yeah, I am. If Steve goes to jail—which we all know is a possibility right now—it’s better if he doesn’t drag the rest of us down with him,” Megan said. “The less we know about what Steve has been doing, the better. It’s why we’re not actively hiding him.”

  “I thought that was just because of his spy skills?” Rachel said.

  Alexis glanced around. “Steve was a spy?”

  “Let’s get back on topic, shall we,” the man himself said. “Megan, I know you’re between two sides here. You’re loyal to Adrian, who has to be above board as an agent, and yet you’re also loyal to Double Down. But since the company is no more, there’s no being torn. You owe me nothing.”

  “If that were true,” Megan said, “I wouldn’t be protecting Rachel and sitting in this car with you.”

  “I appreciate that,” Steve said. “Both of those.” He paused. “And what all of you are doing for me. It means a lot to know I have friends standing behind me.”

  There was something in his voice she couldn’t decipher. He sounded almost…sad. But she didn’t think that was it. More, it was like he didn’t expect them to be standing by him for much longer.

  Rachel squeezed his shoulder. “Of course we’re going to stand by you. Where else would we be?”

  “She’s right,” Bradley said. Maybe he’d heard the same thing in Steve’s voice. “You’ve given all of us focus, and the chance to use our skills. Double Down made a difference in all of our lives.”

  Rachel didn’t know what it was like to be a veteran. She glanced at Megan. She also didn’t know what it was like to be a former undercover FBI agent who had seen her partner killed. But she did know something about finding a place to belong. A place where she was valued because she mattered. And no, it wasn’t in the senate that she’d found that. The senate was simply a place she went every day to wade through the sharks—to make a difference.

  She’d found her place. With Alexis, and with Bradley. With Steve.

  This was where she belonged.

  At this point, she hardly even wanted to return to work and not just because she’d ended a life in that building. Who cared about all the posturing and policy when her friends were in danger, and the future of the presidency was at stake?

  Surely there was something she could do in order to get this situation resolved. If she went to the president himself and explained what she knew, would he listen? She had no proof. The Secret Service weren’t going to arrest the vice president without evidence. She would just get written off as having completely lost it. Trying to protect her friend, maybe. But definitely crazy.

  Her credibility was at an all-time low. She didn’t even want to know what was being said about her on the news, or on social media. She was trying not to even care. Rachel was actually s
ick of her personal life being discussed publicly. After being victimized, it seemed like everyone had an opinion. Whether that was how she should continue to play the victim, or that she should suddenly be this great “overcomer.” Like Mrs. Anderson’s opinion about Rachel and how she should’ve jumped into the role of spokesperson for their cause. Then there were the people who talked about how she probably deserved it.

  Rachel was ready for a quiet life. Or at least some kind of change. She wanted her privacy back.

  And she wanted Steve free and clear of all charges.

  She wanted the VP and his brother stopped.

  Alexis touched her hand. “You okay?”

  Everyone quieted. Even Steve and Bradley stopped their conversation in the front seat. Rachel shrugged one shoulder. There had to be something she could do. Maybe she could approach the vice president’s wife instead. Did Mrs. Anderson know what was going on? Surely she knew her husband had a secret brother, even if no one else was aware of that fact.

  Rachel shifted in her seat.

  “What?” Alexis asked. “What did you just figure out?”

  “Nothing,” Rachel lied.

  “You’re lying,” Bradley said.

  She gritted her teeth. “I have an idea, which I will discuss with Adrian.”

  “I expect to be informed.”

  Rachel ignored her brother’s tone and kept thinking on it. Steve had to fight this battle his way. She was certain he would do that. But she didn’t have to sit around doing nothing, did she?

  Steve said, “And I expect you to remain under the cover of FBI or Secret Service protection at all times.”

  “You trust them now?”

  He shrugged. “This is about the VP and his family, and the players here are all my old team. It’s now only me and David, which has minimized the risk to you. But we’re not completely out of the woods just yet.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  His lips twitched.

  She said, “I promise.”

  “Make sure you keep that promise.”

  Because, when all this was over, he expected her to be there? That thought set her heart to racing. She wanted nothing more than to explore the promise of what she thought she could see in his eyes. Rachel didn’t exactly enjoy being close to anyone, not after what she’d been through. But Steve, she trusted. He was a gentleman.

  Yes, she would very much like to explore things with him.

  “What about you?” She knew he was absolutely going to put his life at risk.

  He glanced at Bradley. Her brother pulled the car to the curb and put the lever in park. Megan shifted in her seat. “Let’s go, ladies.”

  “What?” Alexis glanced around. “We’re leaving?”

  “Time to get back to the FBI office.”

  **

  “Probably should’ve dropped me off instead of the girls.”

  Bradley shrugged as he pulled away from the curb. “They have to walk two blocks on a street busy with sightseers. There’s no way they’ll make it without ending up in at least a few holiday selfies.”

  Steve’s lips twitched. “You know about selfies?”

  Bradley shot him a look. “I’m just saying it’s hardly likely they’ll be targeted in a crowd of people.”

  Steve could debate that but decided to focus on their stuff instead. “So what exactly do you think you’re going to help me with?”

  “You’re taking this fight to him, right? Which means you need cover so you can confront the vice president about his brother and how this whole thing is masterminded.”

  He wasn’t wrong, so Steve didn’t bother arguing. “That’s what I don’t get. Did the brother really just allow himself to get found and arrested by the FBI just to have a face to face with Rachel?”

  Bradley said, “A power trip. He wanted to be seen and to mess with Rachel. Plus, when the FBI finds out they had him, and then he got away, they’re going to kick themselves.”

  “So he’s just throwing his weight around. Doing it because he can.” Steve thought. “We aren’t thinking he’s really the hacker, right?”

  “He could be. But also just as likely not,” Bradley said. “And that signal the FBI found was only because he wanted to be caught.”

  Steve nodded.

  “So what’s your plan?”

  Steve tugged his cell phone out of his pocket and pulled up an app he’d used in the CIA. The one he’d bought now was the bootleg version—for people who wanted to keep track of merchandise they either weren’t supposed to have, or shouldn’t have been selling in the first place.

  It loaded, giving him a GPS map location for David Sanders.

  “Who’d you bug?”

  “My teammate.”

  He tried to figure out if it bothered him that he and David were the only ones left alive. Not really. His loyalty was to Double Down’s team members now. His old special ops spy team had parted ways years ago, with an understanding all of them had adhered to. He hadn’t seen a single one of them, until the first one crawled out from the woodwork to attack Rachel.

  Then she’d killed the second one who’d come after her.

  Steve didn’t want to think about the rage he’d feel if one of them had succeeded.

  If he had to kill David, Steve would do it without hesitation.

  He didn’t much care whether they were being paid or acting under duress like Steve. If it came down to it, he would do what he had to in order to keep the people he cared about safe. After all, that was what he’d been doing for weeks now. Hiding out in Mrs. Cromwell’s apartment where no one had found him.

  He directed Bradley to the place where the blue dot sat, unmoving. “I think David is the fall back if I don’t kill the president. I’m just hoping he has more information on the brother than what we know so far. He seems to have been working a different angle.”

  He had met publicly with the vice president. What if that had been to pass on instructions from the brother—or to get instructions for him? David might have been the go-between for two men who couldn’t be seen together.

  Bradley pulled over down the street, and they strapped on. Weapons visible, weapons hidden. They didn’t know what they were walking into, so it didn’t hurt to be more than prepared.

  The location where the blue dot had stopped was a warehouse. At the side door, Steve gave his friend a series of hand signals. Bradley nodded. They went inside together and then separated so Bradley could find a high vantage point where he could provide cover. The place was a defunct textile factory. Rows and rows of tables. Industrial sewing machines. Where was David?

  Steve checked the GPS again. He needed to be closer to the other end of the building, though it wasn’t exact—just better than conventional cell phone GPS. He held his gun aimed low, ready to use it without assuming he was going to have to.

  He moved close enough he could make out voices. More than one person was in the room with David. Could be the men the VP’s brother had contracted to get him out of FBI custody. That had been a gamble, because it let the FBI know the strength of who they were up against. It had also cut the bureau’s numbers, given the amount of agents either dead or injured. But the ones who were left? They were now more motivated than ever to find him.

  It was a risk the FBI was going to ensure would wind up costing the VP’s brother more than he ever wanted to pay.

  Steve crept up to the door. The voices were louder now, but he still couldn’t tell what they were saying. Until one yelled.

  “Find it!”

  Uh-oh. Had they discovered the fact one of their people had been low-jacked? Booted feet shuffled on the floor behind the door where Steve stood. He moved to the side and pressed his back against the wall. Two men walked out, dressed much like they had when they were breaking the “hacker” out of FBI custody. And shooting feds. They moved through the building like they were looking for something.

  Steve shifted, willing to gamble since he didn’t have much to lose. Were they going to k
ill him, before he could shoot the president? He placed a bet of his own and stepped into the room.

  “Gentlemen.”

  He clocked three guys spread around the room. All three pointed their weapons at him. He knew immediately the one to his left was the team lead. In the center, David sat on a chair. His nose dripped blood, and one eye was swollen.

  “I guess you won’t be meeting the Vice President for lunch again anytime soon.”

  David said nothing. The team lead motioned with his gun. “Smart mouth for a guy who’s going to go down for all of this,” he said in heavily accented English. “Guess you didn’t figure that out yet.”

  Venezuelan. Steve wanted to see their faces, but they all wore the same masks and head coverings they had on the street. Like even David wasn’t supposed to see their faces. They wanted to walk away clean, no chance they’d be implicated as part of this. Determined to protect their identities no matter what.

  A shuffling behind him brought Steve’s attention around. The two who’d walked out came back in, dragging Bradley. One said in Spanish, “Look what we found.”

  They tossed him on the floor in the far corner. Bradley hit the wall and lay on his back. He kept his face passive, eyes on Steve. He’d probably let himself get “captured” just so he could be in the center of what was going on. Steve would’ve done the same thing.

  Bradley blinked. Then blinked again. Steve watched the series of long and short blinks, already knowing what Bradley was suggesting.

  Steve shook his head, a tiny movement. That was an awful idea.

  The leader strode over to Bradley and pointed his gun at the former SEAL’s face. He turned to Steve. Bradley motioned to the guy with a tip of his head. Yes, Steve knew Bradley could take the guy down, even from the floor. But that didn’t get them what they wanted.

  The gunman leader spoke. “Tomorrow is the summit. The president will die, or your friend here dies.”

  Steve made a face, like he was scared at the idea Bradley might die. It might have been more effective if Bradley hadn’t been almost grinning. Steve had better acting skills than that.

  Steve let his voice shake when he said, “Let him go.”