“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I figured you had it.”
Nicole cussed. “He took it.”
“Who?”
“That rat Ward took it. We need to get it back.”
“But how?”
“Frisco’s staying behind. I’ll have him search for it while we’re gone. It shouldn’t be so hard since Ward has to at least go out to eat.” Another cuss word exploded from her. “We’re screwed if he can’t find it.”
“Are we?”
“What do you think? Of course!”
“I’m not so sure. Think about it.” Roy reasoned with her. “He can’t copy the file. All he can do is go to Boss Man with it. Then it’d be him looking like he stole a classified document.”
“But we can’t pin it on him without tipping our hand.” Her voice sounded strained. “There’s another problem. Ward’s sister is Army CID. Chances are good he’ll hand over the drive and tell her everything. We’ve got to find it.”
“That, and something else.”
“What?”
The next sound was a schnick, from the action of a pistol being pulled back. Roy chuckled. “Ward must die.”
Bryson hit a key, and the audio fell silent.
Jonathan’s stomach began turning on his meal. “Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man. This is not good. So that’s why you sent me those texts.”
“What texts?” Bryson cast him a glance as he clicked some more files.
“These.” Jonathan showed him the messages.
“I didn’t send those. I don’t have an unidentified number, and even if I did, I couldn’t because I was out of range.”
“Then who did? And where were you?”
“To the first, I don’t know. To the second, I followed Nicole, Roy, and Cal as they made the trade tonight. Look.” Bryson hit a button.
Jonathan’s heart pounded as he watched the video his friend had recorded. The trio made the trade, but it was clear that their client had expected the drive and given them an ultimatum. Provide the drive, or they would suffer. The video vindicated him, but Nicole and Roy were willing to kill to silence him. “Bryson, this is…this is what we need. I’ll go to Boss Man—”
“No. He may not have had a hand in it, but he’s too worried about preserving his own legacy to do anything with it.” He swiveled in his chair. “And there’s more.”
“How much more could there be?”
“Someone else was there. I didn’t see them, not at first. But they knocked a small rock loose, which almost got both of us busted. So someone else was watching.”
“Do you know who?”
“Hey, I was so busy saving my own hide that I didn’t see them.” Bryson turned to the computer. A few more clicks transferred the file and another one onto the laptop. “You’re leaving soon. I’ve copied everything onto your computer. Get it to Abigail. That drive with the Athena file makes it fall squarely into her territory. She’ll know what to do.” He rose and pulled on his jacket.
“Yeah.” Jonathan swallowed hard. Then he gripped his friend in a tight hug with three slaps on the back. “Thanks, Bryson. You’ve been a good friend and great to work with.”
“Same to you.” Bryson took off his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “Dang dust. Be safe, okay?”
“Will do.” Jonathan watched his friend go. When he shut the door, he locked it for the first time in four years. He watched the video for a few more minutes. He had enough evidence to put at least Roy and Nicole behind bars. The thing was, he had to live long enough to hand it to Abigail.
“Think!” he muttered. He grabbed a water bottle from his mini-fridge and uncapped it.
He needed to go to ground, to let things cool down before heading to Raleigh. But where? Slowly, an idea gelled. Two calls changed his final flight destination from Raleigh to Atlanta. Another yielded a rental car he’d take to the beach house he’d purchased in January. No one, save for his Realtor and the lawyer who had done the closing, knew about it. There, he’d lay low for a bit.
Only one phone call left to complete his change in plans. But he’d wait until he was safely out of the compound. Then he’d call his sister.
He spent the rest of his time showering and packing the remainder of his belongings that he hadn’t already shipped to the States three weeks before. By the time he slid his laptop into his backpack and zipped it shut, his final sunrise at the Ghazni compound had begun.
He shoved aside the blinds one last time, then dialed a number on his cell phone to set his plan into motion. When a man answered, he stated, “Sayad, my friend. It’s Jonathan. Something has come up, and I need your help.”
13
Ghazni Province, Afghanistan
A flame flared in the darkness of the living area of the women’s building. The tip of a cigarette glowed red. Then came a female sigh along with a stream of smoke. Nicole’s lips curled in a smile as she stared at Ward’s darkened room through the window. Most likely, he’d sacked out in his rack for his penultimate night at the compound, completely oblivious that these next few minutes would be his last.
Footsteps echoed on the tile, and Roy rested his hands on her shoulders. “Are you ready to go?”
“Let’s do it.” She crossed the room and stubbed out her cigarette in the kitchen sink. “You have what we need?”
“Right here.” He held up a capped needle and syringe. “Potassium straight from the pharmacy.”
“We need to make sure we don’t leave any marks of struggle on him.” She shrugged into her black hoodie.
Frisco stirred near the back door. “Cal and I will take care of him.” He held up a small box. “And in case the fool locked his door, I’ve got picks.”
“Good thinking.” Nicole switched off the back porch light. “Let’s go.”
They filed into the darkness, their feet barely making a sound as they flitted between the guest house and the women’s building. Thanks to the new CEO calling a pre-dawn meeting the next day, silence reigned save for a few snores coming through the open windows of some of the dorm rooms.
They stole up the stairs to the second floor of Ward’s dorm.
Nicole located his room on the end. Frisco took the lead, and she stepped back to allow Cal to pass.
Frisco put his hand on the knob. Slowly, he turned it. He glanced at Cal, his fingers silently counting down. The two men exploded into the room.
Nicole darted forward with Roy right behind her.
Cal’s soft cuss word confirmed what she saw in the flashlight’s bright beam.
A bare bed and no Ward.
“What the…” Roy bumped into her.
Nicole flipped on the light and flinched in its glare.
The gray and white mattress lay across the metal frame. That was it. No luggage on the floor, ready to be packed. Nothing on the top of the dresser and desk save for a keyring containing Ward’s office and room key. No nothing. She ripped open the closets. Empty. Same thing for the bathroom.
Ward had tricked them.
She picked up the keys and hurled them against the outer wall. They tumbled to the floor in a jingle of metal on tile. “Back to the house.”
This time, they returned through the front door. Nicole slammed it and cursed a blue streak. She kicked the foyer table, sending it crashing over. Ripping off her hoodie, she stomped into her study and threw it onto the floor.
“Could he be hiding somewhere at the compound? Maybe in someone else’s room?” Cal’s voice reached her.
“No one would cover for him except for maybe Bishop.” Roy’s logic did nothing to comfort her.
Cal murmured something.
Ignoring him, Nicole logged into her e-mail. She had only two messages, one from Air Express with the flight manifest for later that morning, the other from Air Express with the flight manifest for Monday. Both had arrived only an hour before. She opened the one for Monday.
No Jonathan Ward listed.
She pulled up the manifest for today, Sunday
. There was his name, meaning he would be long gone in three hours.
Cold anger swooshed through her. A growl started in her throat.
Gentle hands rubbed her shoulders and kneaded away the tension. She leaned back in her chair as a headache began pounding behind her eyes. “We’re screwed.”
Roy didn’t say anything. His fingers massaged her tense muscles.
“We’ve got to stop him from boarding that flight.”
“How?” Roy asked.
“Just…stop him.”
“We don’t know where he is.” His truth infuriated her.
“He’s got to be somewhere nearby. We can tear this compound—”
He swung her around in her chair so she faced him, then knelt and took her hands. “We can’t do that because if we did, we’d tip our hands and go out of here in handcuffs.”
“Maybe he’s with Captain Rasheed and his men—”
“What do you want to do? Go in there with guns blazing? We can’t create an international incident over this.”
“Then we’re history.” She hung her head.
He lifted her chin before reaching up and running some of her hair through his fingers. “No, we’re not. C’mon. Cal has an idea.”
“Cal?”
“Yeah. You’re going to love this.” He tugged her to her feet. With her hand in his, he led her into the kitchen where their two henchmen leaned against the counter. “Cal, tell her what you told me.”
He smirked. “I got me a friend from the Army who lives in Raleigh. Better yet, he works with the Raleigh Police Department. I might could call him and tell him we need him to let us know when Ward shows up at his house. But it’ll cost us.”
“Start with five grand,” Nicole said without a thought. “If he gets greedy, we go to ten. Give him a call. Now.”
She paced and smoked another cigarette as Cal made contact. The conversation didn’t last long, but it seemed to swing into the affirmative. Ten grand sealed it. Good. Now they’d be able to find Ward and get their drive back. What a way to spend her vacation. At least she’d stay at the home office, but Roy would return to the compound with Cal and Frisco. And if they didn’t get that drive back? Shamal Khan, their very angry client, would overrun the compound.
Cal handed over the phone to Roy, who talked with their contact for a few more minutes before signing off. “It’s a deal. His codename is Darius, and he said he’ll keep tabs on Ward’s house. Apparently, Ward has the RPD check on it while he’s away, so it’s easy enough to find out.”
“Then it’s settled.” She finally smiled. At least now, they had a plan. “Guys, we’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll plan more when we get Stateside.” Her smile faded. If they didn’t get that drive back, they’d all be hung.
Despite the early hour, Roy popped open a beer and flopped onto the couch. “Baby, come here.”
“Roy…” She remained where she was with her arms wrapped around her middle. Ward’s disappearance, the missing drive, the danger they were in—she felt like everything was spinning out of control.
“Come here. Let’s chill down a little before going to bed. It’s not like we have to be at that meeting in the morning. We can sleep in if we like.” He patted the cushion beside him.
With a sigh, Nicole curled up against him. “This is freaking me out.”
“You know it’ll be okay. We’ve played our hand well.”
“Not with Ward.”
“Yeah, he’s a weasel, all right. We’ll bide our time by going to Chesapeake and making our plans. Then when Darius calls, we get our butts down to Raleigh. We grab Ward and the drive.”
“And leave his body for his sister to find.” Sweet irony.
“I want you to relax, okay? As of now, we’re on vacation for six weeks.” He rubbed her back in slow, steady circles that made her mind start to roam. He nuzzled her cheek. “No more worries.”
Nicole accepted his kiss. “Okay. No more worries.”
If only she could convince herself of that.
14
Quantico, Virginia
“You, Abigail Ward, are a wonderful cook.”
Abigail smiled over the rim of her wine glass at Rick, who leaned back in his chair, patted his washboard-tight stomach, and smiled back at her. “I’m glad you liked it. That chicken dish is one of my favorite recipes.”
“Where did you learn to cook like that?”
“Mom taught me.” She rose and carried her plate to the kitchen. Funny how he didn’t follow. Well, maybe he didn’t feel quite comfortable with doing that since it was his first visit to her apartment. “Why don’t you head on outside? I’ll throw these into the dishwasher.”
“You want some more wine?” He nodded toward the bottle of chardonnay sitting in the granite wine holder she’d bought years before.
Maybe that would help take the edge off the thought that things about Rick, in the very short week she’d known him, weren’t adding up so that one plus one equaled two. As she started the water in the sink, she watched him through lowered lashes. He filled his glass almost full. Hers too. Again, not a good sign.
Without another word, he stepped onto the large balcony of her apartment that had sweeping views of Quantico Creek gliding by her complex.
It only took her a few minutes to rinse the dishes and stash them in the dishwasher for running later. Just as she reached for her glass, her cell rang. Jonathan. Her heart hammered, and she grabbed it from the basket on the bar before it had a chance to ring again. “Jonathan!”
“Hey, sis.” Weariness lowered his voice, or was it something else? In her mind, she did a quick calculation of the time. Eight o’clock in the evening on Saturday meant six in the morning on Sunday for him. Had he slept at all?
“What’s going on?”
“I wanted to call you and let you know that there’s been a change in plans.”
“What? I’m officially on leave now.” Her gaze shot to Rick. He leaned against the railing as he sipped his wine. Already, the glass was half empty.
“I know, and I’m sorry. Is there any way you could change that?”
Abigail wanted to run her head into the nearest brick wall until the feeling of frustration went away. “Yeah, but it’s going to be, well, awkward.” She didn’t want to divulge Sal’s reaction to her news about the Athena file. “But it can be done. Why the change?”
“Because someone’s planning to kill me.”
Knees shaking from the news, Abigail eased onto a bar chair. “Where…are you?”
“I’m with Sayad and his crew.” Jonathan murmured something to someone on the other end, and she wondered where he stayed. “I changed my flights, and I’m leaving in a little bit. Sayad smuggled me out yesterday afternoon, so I’m safe. No way would Nicole and company try to create an international incident by attacking an Afghan army post.”
“One can hope.”
He laughed, but it held no humor. “You’re right on that. Anyway, I’m going to ground for a couple of weeks, which is why I need you to change your leave. Can you do that for me?”
She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the fear consuming him. Such images weren’t good for her peace of mind, so she shut them down. “Um, uh, yeah, I can. Where will you stay?”
“Someplace safe. That’s all I can tell you. I’ll call you when I’m headed to town. It shouldn’t be more than two weeks. See you then?”
“You bet. I love you.”
“Love you too, sis.”
She laid her phone on the bar, then raised her gaze and found Rick standing in the doorway. A look had gathered in his eyes, almost as if he were annoyed that she’d spent less than five minutes on the phone with the one guy who meant the most to her in the world.
Then his ruggedly handsome features smoothed. “I was wondering about you.”
“Sorry. That was my brother. He’s going through a bad period of work.” If you can call it that.
“On a Saturday night?”
“He’s overseas, so
it’s Sunday for him. And when he’s there, he works seven days a week.” Not wanting to divulge anything else to him, she picked up her wine and joined him. Her broomstick skirt swished around her ankles.
“You two must be close.”
“We are. After Mom and Dad died, he’s all I have left. He means the world to me.”
“That’s nice. Hey, how’d you come by these digs?”
That’s all you can say? She tried to shrug away her discomfort. “I got in at a good rent when they were opening the complex. Then, when I passed the five-year mark, they locked my rate. I love it here, especially this patio.” She wandered toward the corner where she could catch the best breeze coming off the creek and rested her hip against the rail. Would Sayad really protect her brother? Where would he go to ground? Would Nicole and her gang follow him?
“Hey, earth to Abigail.” Rick’s gentle teasing pulled her to the present. “You look a million miles away.”
“I’m sorry.” She took a sip of wine and resisted the urge to gulp it down to gloss over the wrinkles she’d seen appearing in their fledging relationship. “I’m worried about Jonathan.”
Rick stepped closer and curled a lock of her hair around his fingers. “Why’s that?”
“He’s in a…touchy situation.” As if running for his life could be considered touchy. No, more like deadly. “He asked that I delay my leave for two weeks.”
“He’s good. He can take care of himself. Not to mention, that leaves you with more time for me.”
I did not hear what I thought I just heard. Did I? She wanted to pull back, but he slid his free hand around her waist and pressed closer. Curse the scent of his cologne. Her nose fairly quivered, and that, coupled with the wine, caused any rational objections she had to recede into some little corner of her mind. “He’ll be fine. It’s just my duty as his sister to worry at least a little.” Or a lot.
“Then let me wipe that worry away.” With that, Rick tipped her chin and kissed her.
It was as if every nerve stood on end with color bursting all around her. When she finally pulled back, her heart hammered. “Oh, wow.”
He chuckled and led her to the couch where they watched the sun set.
The Athena File Page 11
