by Lisa Harris
“That’s where you’re wrong. I actually know quite a bit about you, believe it or not. I’ve just had trouble tracking you down. I know how you’ve been working to grow your government’s network of contacts in the US and how you’ve passed on hundreds of trade secrets of classified projects to your superiors.”
That got his attention.
“Surprised to hear that?” Jack asked. “You’re not as anonymous as you think you are. What I didn’t know—until this moment—was how to find you. But my lead paid off and here you are, handcuffed to a bed with the DA ready to charge you with both attempted murder and kidnapping, and I’m ready to add to the charges.”
“You’re lying.”
Jack moved directly into the man’s line of vision. “Your code name is Blackthroat, and your boss uses you to do his dirty work because he trusts you implicitly. You’re what we call a lackey. What I want to know is, why Aubrey Grayson?”
Hwang shook his head, but Jack didn’t miss the beads of sweat running along his forehead. “You’ve got it all wrong. I was out duck hunting, and I saw this girl. She stumbled and almost fell into the water. I was trying to get her help. I don’t know anything about the man who was shot.”
“And that nasty bruise on your cheek? How did you get that?”
“She fought me.”
“I’m not buying your story, and neither will the DA. So let’s cut to the chase.”
Hwang turned his head and caught Jack’s gaze. “Like I said, you don’t know anything. I was just an innocent bystander trying to help.”
“The problem with your story is that we have evidence that links you to the shooting. A bullet from your gun and gunpowder residue on your hands.”
“This is nothing more than a setup.”
“We both know that’s not true.” Jack stood up and leaned over the bed, letting a long silence fall between them. “You’ve got yourself in quite a lot of trouble. And if there is any chance at all of you spending even a day outside of prison before you die, now’s the time to start talking. I know a lot about you, but you’re not the one the FBI really wants. If you’ll agree to cooperate, I can see about getting you a deal.”
Hwang’s knuckles turned white where he was gripping the sheet. “I don’t need a deal.”
“Really? Because we also both know someone wants you dead. That was no accidental shot out there on the pier. That was an assassination attempt, and I’m assuming someone you work for wants you silenced. If they hadn’t missed, you wouldn’t be here, you’d be in the morgue. But we can always put you out there on the streets and see who comes for you again. You might not be so lucky the second time.”
Hwang tugged on his handcuff, clearly worried.
Jack had just found the man’s vulnerability.
Now he needed to find out how Senator McKenna and Bree were involved.
“Maybe I do need police protection.”
“Finally we agree on something. But you can’t possibly think I’m going to give you police protection without you giving me something. It doesn’t work that way. If I were you, I would seriously start thinking about my current situation and my need to start cooperating.”
Hwang drew in a slow breath and caught Jack’s gaze. “What do you want to know?”
“Two things to begin with. Who do you work for, and what did they pay you to do?”
“I was sent to grab her.”
Jack noted the evasion of question number one. “So the senator wasn’t the target?”
Hwang shook his head.
“Then why shoot him?”
“That wasn’t a part of the plan. She was alone at first. When I got into position, the senator showed up—except I didn’t know who he was. I knew the hunting day was about to start and thought no one would notice anything unusual. I just wanted to get the woman and get out.”
Jack felt his patience begin to ebb. “Explain. I need to know how she’s connected to all of this.”
“A few months ago, we discovered a problem with some of the intel we were buying from a certain asset. If you know the men I work for as much as you say you do, you’ll know as well that if you betray them, they’ll hunt you down and kill you.”
Jack worked to put things together, but nothing made sense. He could no more believe that Bree was involved with selling government secrets than the senator. And yet for some reason she was in the middle of all this.
“Our asset’s handler needed to confront him, so he set up a rendezvous like they had dozens of times before, but this time the asset didn’t show up.”
“And you were sent in to ensure he showed up.”
Hwang nodded. “If he intentionally double-crossed us . . .”
They’d hunt him down and kill him.
“What’s this asset’s name?”
Hwang hesitated.
“Do I have to remind you again that I’m your only friend right now?” Jack said.
“His name is Charles Ramsey. If he’s smart—and we know he is—he’ll have an escape route already charted.”
“Does he have a code name?”
“Junco.”
Jack frowned. That name had been on their list. And if he was planning to disappear, they needed to find him before he could. His options were limited, but if he had the right documents—a social security card or other form of ID—how hard would it be for someone who had spent years in intelligence to simply vanish? But at the moment, Jack was more interested in Bree.
“You still haven’t told me why Detective Grayson was your target.”
Hwang hesitated. “We needed something to, let’s say, persuade the asset to come to a meeting.”
Jack gripped the rails on the side of the bed and put his face inches from Hwang’s. “What does that have to do with Aubrey Grayson?”
Hwang laid back on his pillows. “We took her for leverage.”
A sick feeling spread in Jack’s stomach. “Why?”
“Aubrey Grayson is Charles Ramsey’s daughter.”
CHAPTER NINE
AUBREY SAT IN A PADDED CHAIR in the front row of the small chapel and stared up at the stained-glass window. She’d spent the past fifteen minutes praying. For Papps and his family, for Jack, for answers . . .
Jack.
Seeing him again reminded her of the things she missed about him. His smile, his sense of humor, his dedication. It seemed crazy he’d been the one who found her out there on the water, and even more crazy that he thought there was a connection between her abduction and his FBI case. How was that even possible? All she could do was keep praying that Thomas Hwang had answers for them.
“Aubrey?”
She turned around to see Adam walking in with a couple bags of fast food in one hand and a drink carrier in the other. “Hey.”
“I heard you were still here. Thought you might be hungry.”
She stood up and started down the short aisle. “I suppose the security officer standing outside the room was also a giveaway as to where I was.”
Adam shot her a smile. “That did help narrow it down. You okay?”
“I will be. The shower and clean clothes, thanks to Renee, did wonders, and I was also able to talk to the senator’s family for a few minutes.” She glanced back up at the stained glass. “I guess I just needed a quiet spot to sort through everything that’s happened.”
“I can’t blame you. It’s been a long day, and it’s barely noon.” He held up a bag. “Think you can eat in the meantime?”
“Sorry, but I don’t think so.” Her stomach turned as she sat back down on one of the chairs, a mixture of fatigue and worry overshadowing the need to eat. “Is Jack still in with the suspect?”
Adam nodded. “I expect he’ll be done soon, and as soon as he’s finished, I’ll see that Hwang is transferred to the jail. While I’m doing that, Jack is planning to escort you down to the FBI’s satellite office where you will file an official statement.”
“Do you really think I need an escort?”
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p; “Until we know why you were grabbed this morning, it can’t hurt. And the FBI is officially involved now.”
“I just hope Jack gets answers out of this guy.”
“You know Jack. He will.”
“True.” She chuckled at the comment. Jack had always been both determined and stubborn. She looked over at him, still smiling. “I was trying to remember how long it’s been since I’ve seen you. I heard you have two little girls now.”
“I do, and they’re growing like weeds. Michaela turns four next week, and Cora is seven months. I know I’m biased, but they’re the sweetest, most beautiful girls in the world.”
“I’m sure they are. I’d love to see them and your wife again. The last time I saw you, Michaela was just a baby.”
“It’s crazy how time flies. You know you’re welcome to stop by anytime you’re in town.”
She shifted in her chair, thankful that her heart had healed years ago over anything that had once gone wrong between them.
“How often do you see Jack?” she asked.
“Not as often as I’d like. We both try to make it to Mom and Dad’s in Dallas at the same time at least once a year, but he’s pretty busy with his career.”
“I always felt like something came between the two of you when we started dating. I hope that’s not part of it.”
“None of that was your fault.” He sat down across from her. “Even I’m not exactly sure what happened, but I guess it’s natural for people to grow apart. We’re not exactly teenagers anymore, and we live different lives in different places. It’s just the way it is.”
“So he’s never married?” Aubrey winced as soon as she asked the question, wondering why she’d headed in such a personal direction. A decade ago, she’d known Jack’s favorite songs, movies, and foods. Today, he seemed more like a stranger, and she wasn’t even sure how it had happened.
“I know he dates some, but the last time I asked, he didn’t even have a girlfriend.” Adam glanced toward the door. “Speaking of my brother . . .”
Aubrey looked up as Jack walked into the room. She had no idea what had happened with their suspect, but from the look on his face, the interrogation hadn’t gone well.
“I brought lunch for you,” Adam said, standing up, “but something tells me you’re not hungry either right now.”
“Actually, I’m not. I need to talk to you, Bree.”
“Okay.” She unsuccessfully tried to push back the alarm that had settled in her stomach.
Jack sat down across from her. “I don’t know how to say this, so I’m going to just spit it out. Have you ever heard of a man named Charles Ramsey?”
Charles Ramsey.
Aubrey felt the air whoosh out of her lungs as Jack held up a driver’s license on his phone. The room started spinning, and a wave of nausea swept through her. All this time she’d wanted to believe that she’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but not now. She swallowed hard, wanting to ignore Jack’s clear implications. This couldn’t have anything to do with him. It was all some mistake. The FBI wasn’t looking for her father. There had to be more than one Charles Ramsey in the world.
Except the picture was of him. She stared at the photo. He’d aged since she’d seen him last. His hair had turned white and receded, and he’d lost weight, leaving a hollowness in his eyes. She almost didn’t recognize him, but there was enough of the man she remembered in the photo to know it was him.
She felt her hands begin to shake. For a second, she was back at her ballet recital, waiting impatiently for her father to show up, then pretending she wasn’t disappointed when he didn’t. The memories were few and scattered over the years, always filled with disappointment and sadness. Always leaving her feeling like a child with a piece of her heart missing.
Jack dropped his phone back in his pocket and took her hands, trying to steady her. She bit her lip.
“Charles Ramsey’s my father,” she said. “Though something tells me you already knew that.”
He squeezed her hands. “I’m sorry. I just needed to confirm it. I thought your father’s name was Charlie, but you have a different last name.”
“My mom changed her name back to Grayson after their divorce. Mine as well. That was before I knew you.” She blinked back the tears threatening to erupt. “But I still don’t understand. How does what happened today have anything to do with my father? What did Hwang say to you?”
“Your father’s been on the watch list of the FBI for over eighteen months, and recently we tracked him here, but until now, I didn’t know his real name.”
“I thought you were here for Hwang?”
“Your father is involved as well.”
“Wait a minute . . .” She looked up and caught his gaze. “Before you went in to question Hwang, you told me he’s a spy.”
“Yes.”
“And you believe my father is involved? That he’s some kind of spy as well?”
“Yes, I do.”
She shook her head, still trying to process everything he was telling her. Though maybe it shouldn’t surprise her. Not really. Hadn’t her father spent his life selling out people he loved—or at least claimed he loved? Why would he pass up the opportunity to get paid for it?
Still . . .
She pulled her hands away from him, stood up, and started pacing the short aisle. “My father has done a lot of unscrupulous things, but I’m having a hard time believing we’re talking about the same person. Adultery doesn’t exactly equal selling government secrets. And betraying his country . . . I don’t want to think he’d do something like that, no matter what I think about him personally.”
“What do you know about him?”
She let her mind reach back into a place she didn’t want to go. “I know he spent most of his career in military intelligence. He retired five, maybe six years ago. He remarried, though they’ve now divorced.” She drew in a slow breath, knowing she was going to have to shove aside any personal feelings she had at the moment in order to look at the situation objectively. “What do you know about him?”
“All we know so far is that his code name is Junco, which interestingly enough is one of the most common birds in North America.”
“His job was to blend in,” Adam said, stepping into the conversation.
“Exactly. We have evidence that he’s sold thousands of classified documents that he gained access to while he was still working for the government, as well as ones he’s managed to procure more recently since his retirement.”
“What kind of documents?” Adam asked.
“Weapons technology, counterintelligence . . . whatever he could get his hands on.”
“You’re talking about treason,” she said, not even trying to identify her emotions at the moment. She’d deal with them later.
Jack nodded.
“Okay,” she said. “I’m struggling to process all of this, but my biggest question is, why would they come after me?”
“According to Hwang, they needed leverage. He told me there was a problem with some of the intel your father recently sold to the Chinese, but they haven’t been able to get him to meet with them to discuss it.”
“So Papps was the one in the way, and I was the leverage.”
“Exactly.”
“Here’s the problem.” Aubrey turned to face them. “My father’s been out of my life for years. I can hardly believe that my being captured would bring him out into the open. There are no real ties between us, and there haven’t been for years.”
For the most part.
“That might be true, but what if they don’t know that?” Jack said. “All they know is that you’re his daughter.”
“It makes sense, Aubrey,” Adam said.
“I know. It’s just hard to process.”
“How often did you see him?”
She didn’t want to go there. Back to a past that was filled with hurts and disappointments. It was a place she rarely visited, because it always managed to break her shat
tered child’s heart all over again. She sat back down and pushed the thought away as she drew in a breath, then let it out slowly. She was looking at this all wrong. That wasn’t who she was anymore. And if she forgot that, she was only letting him control her. That wasn’t going to happen.
She worked to pull herself out of the equation to look at the situation like an outsider. Just the facts. No emotion. She had a lot of practice with that. A lot of practice with people she loved walking out of her life. She glanced at Jack, then shook off the familiar pain that passed over her. Jack was different. And besides, their relationship wasn’t the one in the spotlight right now.
“Every couple years he’d show up on my birthday or on Christmas, but beyond that there wasn’t a lot of communication between the two of us. Once I was in high school, I rarely saw him.”
“Did you ever meet him?” Adam asked Jack.
“Once. He showed up at one of my senior basketball games, then took us out for pizza afterward.” Jack caught her gaze. “When’s the last time you saw him?”
“Two . . . maybe three years ago, and that was only because he had a question about a baseball card of his he thought I might have. We don’t keep in touch.” She forced the memories to resurface. “I know he started his own security company. Remarried a few years ago. I heard she ended up leaving him, but like I said . . . we don’t really keep in touch. I’m not even sure where he lives.”
“We’re going to figure this out, Bree, but I’m going to need your help.”
“You know I’ll do anything.”
“I’ll need to ask you some more detailed questions about your father. I’m hoping you’ll be able to help us track him, but I’d rather do it at the FBI office.”
She nodded. “Adam told me you were going to take me there.”
“I’ve arranged a driver to pick you up downstairs in about fifteen minutes,” Adam said.
“I really don’t need the escort, Jack. I’m sure you have a million other things to do.”
“Then do it to humor me,” Jack said.
Ten minutes later the two of them headed down the hospital corridor toward the car Adam had arranged. Everything about today had left her feeling off-balance. She was used to being a protector, not the victim, and the uncomfortable switch had thrown her off. But she wasn’t going to let feelings of vulnerability take root.
