Raz’s eyebrows shot up. “What your dad did?”
Her gut twisted. She wished she could keep it quiet, that she could preserve her father’s good name. But this wasn’t the time for keeping up appearances. “He and some other troops apparently destroyed a village over there. It was covered up for years. Somehow that information became known. Now someone wants revenge.”
Raz twisted his head. “Your father did that? Are you sure? I knew your father, and he never mentioned or hinted at anything like that.”
Nikki nodded. “I have . . . I have proof.”
“Proof?”
“A reporter named Ron Pressley uncovered some information. He died a day before my father, but we were able to get our hands on some of his research. We believe he died because of what he found out.”
“That’s quite the theory.” Raz nodded slowly, as if chewing on her words. “It sounds almost a little too Hollywood. I’m sorry to be the voice of dissent here, but I need to think this through.”
Kade stepped forward. “We know how it sounds. But it’s all true. We also believe that you’re the only one who can help us now.”
“Because I can use my radio show as a platform to warn people?” Raz raised his eyebrows.
Nikki nodded. “It’s the most immediate way to spread the word and protect people.”
“If I make this announcement and you’re wrong, I could lose everything. My credibility. My radio show. My fan base.”
“If you don’t make this announcement and you’re wrong, people will die,” Nikki said quietly.
The room was silent as her words settled on everyone.
Just then Kade’s phone rang. There were only a couple of people who had this number, so the call should be important. Kade pulled the phone from his pocket and handed it to Nikki.
“For you.”
She recognized Marti’s number.
“Excuse me a minute.” She paced out of the office as she answered.
“Nikki, it’s Marti.” Her voice sounded rushed, urgent.
Nikki braced herself for the coming conversation. “What’s going on?”
“I found out two things I thought you’d need to know immediately. I won’t waste any time. First of all, Desmond has been found.”
Nikki’s breath caught. “And?”
“He came into some money and decided to take a trip up to New York City for a little fun.”
“It wasn’t Bobby? He didn’t have anything to do with it?”
“No. Desmond used some hush money Kade paid him to fund the trip.”
“Hush money?” What was she talking about?
“Kade needed to ensure that Desmond didn’t tell anyone about Bobby. He had me give him some cash. Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that I asked about that symbol on his necklace. It turns out there’s a rapper who uses a similar one. It’s actually a vulture—which is what the rapper calls himself—with a sheet of music in his beak. Desmond, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with ARM. The fact that he was adopted is just a coincidence.”
Relief filled her.
“Second, I called that security company that you hired when Bobby left the hospital. Steel Guard?”
“That’s right. What about them?”
“Nikki, they claim they were never hired to guard you.”
Nikki shook her head. There had to be a breakdown in communication somewhere because that company had clearly been hired. “That’s crazy. Raz hired them for me. We had many conversations about how they were the best in the business—not that you could prove that by me.”
“Nikki, I talked to the president of the company. He said they were booked solid that day. Apparently there were some ambassadors in town, and all of their men were tied up in downtown DC. I double-checked what he told me, and it appears to be true. There were dignitaries in town that day.”
“But Raz said . . .” Nikki’s voice trailed as the implications of what Marti told her settled in.
If Raz hadn’t hired Steel Guard, then he’d lied. And there was only one reason to lie: because he was trying to cover up something.
What if Raz was behind all of this?
CHAPTER 40
Nikki shook her head. No, that couldn’t be possible. There was no way that the man who’d practically been a second dad to her would betray her.
She closed her eyes, trying to push out those thoughts. But Raz had also had access to Bobby’s doctors. Had he paid them off?
And he’d given money to Nikki at the café. What if there was a tracking device tucked between the bills that had allowed him to follow her movements? He could have known they were in the park. What if he was the one who’d called the police with the anonymous tip? He could have even had someone tail them.
“You still there, Nikki?” Marti asked.
Nikki rubbed her temples and drew in a deep breath, trying to gain control of both her thoughts and her body’s reactions to those thoughts. “Yeah, I’m here. Just thinking. Thanks for sharing that. I have some things to figure out.”
“Be careful, Nikki. Where are you now?”
“With Raz. You might want to let the right people know, if you catch my drift.”
“God be with you, Nikki. God be with you.”
As Nikki hung up, the pieces continued slipping into place. Bobby wasn’t supposed to escape from the clutches of ARM. But he had. Raz had helped Bobby because he feared what Bobby might say when he was debriefed. He was a powerful man—powerful enough to pay off a doctor to alter his medication in order to make Bobby act crazy. He’d supposedly hired that security firm to protect them. But what if he’d hired ARM instead? She and Bobby were probably supposed to die that day they left the hospital. Raz hadn’t anticipated them outsmarting his men.
Bobby could have ruined ARM’s whole plan. So Raz had set him up to look guilty. He’d planted enough doubt that people might start to believe that Bobby could be responsible for whatever was about to happen.
Raz was certainly smart enough to pull all of that off. He often traveled out of town on business. Or had those secretly been trips to Colombia? What about Pierce? How did he fit into all of this?
Nikki tried to appear calm as she walked back into the office. Raz was behind the desk still, and he was watching her. She couldn’t give away any clues that she was on to him. First she needed a plan.
“Is everything okay?” Raz asked.
Nikki nodded, but Kade could tell something was wrong when she walked back into the room. She appeared more tense than before, like she’d just been dealt a blow.
“Pierce is dead,” she mumbled, glancing up at Kade. “Murdered.”
Kade narrowed his eyes. Nikki already knew that Pierce was dead. What was she trying to communicate?
“I’m sorry to hear that, Nikki,” Raz said. “I know your relationship was rocky, but still. How?”
“I’m not sure yet. This is all new. I don’t think the authorities have a lot of information.”
Raz shifted, as if settling back for the conversation. “Do you think he was a part of ARM?”
“Pierce? It’s a possibility. Some people will do anything to try and gain power. Or to accomplish their agenda. Anything. Everything and everyone is just a means to an end.” Nikki’s voice tapered off.
What in the world was she talking about? Something was wrong. She was trying to tell Kade something, but he wasn’t sure what.
“I’m going to get you some water,” Kade said, squeezing her shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot, and you’re looking a little pale.”
She rubbed her temples, looking ashen enough to cause concern. “That sounds great. You know what—I’ll go with you. I might just need to sit down a moment. Plus, it will give you some time to think about what you want to do, Raz. I know you have a lot on the line.”
He nodded. “I appreciate it.”
Kade took her elbow and led her into the kitchen. He didn’t dare speak until they were well out of earshot. Instead, he walked to the cabi
net, grabbed two glasses, and got some water from the dispenser on the refrigerator.
“Why don’t you sit at the table?” he asked, careful to sound normal.
“I’ll do that. Gladly.” She nodded, her gaze haunted with things unspoken.
Kade glanced across the room. Ten Man stood positioned by the back door. His eyes continually scanned the yard.
Raz hadn’t left the office.
It was like the calm before the storm, he supposed. The realization caused him to tense.
Kade set the water on the glass-top table with a clank before lowering himself across from her. He picked the corner of the table where they’d be out of sight from both the office and the back door, just to be safe.
“Drink up,” he urged her, still trying to sound normal.
Nikki leaned closer to him, gripping her glass and keeping her voice low.
“It’s Raz,” she whispered.
“What about him?”
“He’s behind this. Not Pierce.”
“Are you certain?”
“I don’t know how I didn’t see it. It all makes sense now.” She leaned closer. “Kade, we’re in trouble.”
“I’d say you are.”
They glanced up. Raz stood there, a gun pointed at them and a gleam in his eyes.
He was going to finish this, Kade realized. They’d practically just handed him a victory.
CHAPTER 41
Nikki’s stomach sank, and she stood, ready to fight for her life. “Don’t do this, Raz.”
“You keep getting in the way of my plans.” He grabbed Nikki and pulled her to his side. His gun jammed into her rib cage. “And you over there. Ten Man. Don’t bother grabbing your gun. Put it on the floor and step away.”
Ten Man slowly did as Raz asked.
“Kade, put your weapon on the table or I’ll shoot her. You know I will,” Raz said.
“There’s no need to hurt anyone else,” Kade said. He slipped the gun from his holster and placed it on the table as directed.
“I’m going to have to do my patriotic duty and kill all of you, you know.” Raz’s nostrils flared, and a cocky confidence made him seem entirely too calm for the situation. “I’ll tell people you came here with your plan to destroy the defense infrastructure of the United States, and I had no choice but to defend myself and defend my country. At that point, no one will really care, because they’ll be too concerned with other things happening from the east to the west coast. Namely attacks on military bases. Kudos to you both for figuring that one out.”
“Why would you do this, Raz? It doesn’t make any sense.” Nikki breathed deeply, even though sweat poured down her neck every time she felt that gun at her side.
“Doesn’t it? Your dad and his fellow goons decimated my village. I was orphaned. And no one ever even said they were sorry.”
Realization spread through her. “You killed Pierce, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t. But one of my men did.” Raz said the words as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Pierce kept getting in the way. He was going to ruin everything, all because he was obsessed with you.”
Kade kept his eyes on Nikki, positioned to act. If she could distract Raz, maybe Kade stood a chance at taking him down. But with the gun pressed into her side, everything was more complicated.
Another thought sucked all of the breath out of Nikki. “Did you kill my parents?”
Raz had the audacity to smile. “You’re a lot like your dad, you know. You just can’t let things go.”
“Why? Why would you do that? My father trusted you.” Her voice cracked.
“Your father killed my parents. He didn’t know my connection, of course. Or at least he didn’t know until that journalist started digging into a decades-old story. What was his name? Ron? Don?”
“His source must have told him.”
“Yes, Carlos. He also had an unfortunate accident. Somehow that journalist put it together that I was ARM’s US leader. That’s when I knew I had to nip all of that in the bud before word leaked.”
A tremble started in Nikki’s heart and spread through her body. “Did you target my family?”
“In a manner of speaking. I thought it would be poetic for Bobby to be abducted in the very country where his father’s crimes were committed.”
“How did you manage that?” She had to keep him talking, to stall for time.
“Never underestimate the power of blackmail. Ah, but then he got away from his abductors. I couldn’t risk the fact that he might have heard my name somewhere. I paid off the doctor at the hospital to prescribe him medication that would make him appear as if he was losing his mind. Then I set up some of my men to make it look like you’d both been assassinated after you left the hospital that day, but that didn’t work.”
“I can’t believe I trusted you,” Nikki said. “Were you responsible for setting my house on fire?”
“I had to make people believe Bobby was dangerous. It was the only way.”
“And you planted the bomb-making materials at the place in Cape Thomas?” Nikki had to keep him talking and buy time.
“Now that I wasn’t responsible for. If I had to guess, Pierce did that. It seems you had more than one person trying to play mind games with you.”
“I need to choose the people I surround myself with a little more wisely I think,” Nikki said.
Raz chuckled, low and sardonic. “Not a bad idea. But of course your kindness is part of your charm. You wouldn’t be Nikki without those qualities.”
“Did you plant some kind of tracker in the cash you gave me?” she continued, her heart pounding.
“Very good. It’s too bad this has all got to end, because you could come in handy. With some training, you could be really useful.”
“I’ll never work for you or the mission you’re fighting for,” Nikki vowed.
Raz’s smile disappeared. “Now that I’ve found you, it appears I need to finish my original task and kill you both.”
“You don’t want to shoot us, Raz,” Nikki said quickly. “You don’t want to do any of this. You’ll be caught, and you’ll receive the death sentence.”
He sneered. “It will be worth it to get a point across.”
“There are a lot of good people who don’t deserve to die,” Nikki continued, trying to talk some sense into him, even though in her gut she knew it was useless. Maybe she could buy them some time at least.
“My parents didn’t deserve to be killed at the hands of US soldiers! Life isn’t fair. Isn’t that the saying? Well, it’s about to become unfair for a lot more people. Starting with the three of you right here.”
Raz jerked his gun away from Nikki and fired.
“No!” Nikki screamed as she watched Ten Man sink to the ground, clutching his chest as blood spread across his shirt.
Something barbaric in nature came over her. She jerked her arm back. Her elbow collided with Raz’s abdomen. The action distracted him long enough for Nikki to grab his gun.
Nikki wrestled with him, trying to pry the weapon from his hands. He snatched it back. Neither let go.
Whoever possessed this gun would win. That was all Nikki could think about.
“I’ve got this, Nikki.” Kade reached up and grabbed the gun from both of them, easily overpowering them.
As Kade drew back, Raz sucker punched him. The distraction gave Raz the chance to grab Ten Man’s gun from the floor.
Nikki crawled backward as the two men faced off.
Raz pointed the gun at Kade. Kade aimed his gun at Raz. One slip of the finger and this would be over for one of them. What if Raz decided he didn’t care? What if he shot Kade?
Nikki’s heart stammered.
Not Kade. Dear Lord, please protect him. Kade couldn’t die now, not when they’d just reconnected.
The two men circled each other, each daring the other to pull the trigger.
Nikki’s gaze skittered to Ten Man. Was he dead? No, please don’t let him be dead.
His hand moved ever so slightly. He was alive! Thank goodness. But she knew he wouldn’t last much longer, not losing all of the blood he was.
Dear Lord, help us all.
She didn’t know what else to do but pray.
“You must realize that the plan has already been put into action. You can’t stop it now. So whatever happens today is futile,” Raz sneered. “Tomorrow at nine this will all be over. Life as you know it will be destroyed.”
“I’m not giving up,” Kade said.
Raz sneered again, not quite as arrogantly this time. “That’s so valiant of you. But you’re never going to win. This has been planned for years. ARM has been sending over kids to be adopted—but that’s only after they were brainwashed. They knew one day they’d be activated and that they had a mission to accomplish. They blended in with society. They got ordinary jobs. No one could tell them apart from anyone else.”
“So I’ve heard,” Kade said. He gripped the gun, still pacing in a circle in sync with Raz.
“Others came as immigrants. Some joined as Americans with no ties to Colombia. But we all share the same heart.”
“That’s touching. Really it is.” Kade remained tense.
“They’re part of the military. Local and state government. They’re teachers, college professors, and the guy working at the gas station. All of them right now are preparing for battle.”
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Kade said. “We’re stronger than you think.”
“Well, you think you’re awfully strong, but we like to bring down the powerful. The oppressed will rise.”
“Good always wins over evil.”
Raz smirked. “Do I need to remind you of Hitler?”
“Hitler lost. It was a long battle. But he lost.”
Malice gleamed in Raz’s eyes. “You don’t understand. You’re Hitler. America is Hitler. Now it’s time to end this.”
Suddenly the glass behind them shattered. A bullet pierced the air.
Nikki dragged her gaze toward the two men, unable to breathe.
Kade. Had Kade been shot?
Disillusioned Page 24
