Live Past The Edge (Dark Eagle Book 2)

by Julia Bright

He wanted to scream as frustration ground through him. Marissa was at work, and they weren’t a couple, not really, but her comment made him think they could be something. He closed his eyes and imagined having her in his arms, waking to her in this bed. He needed her here.

  After her text, he couldn’t go back to sleep, so he headed into the kitchen, stopping for coffee before going to their computers to begin looking up stuff about the FBI. Of course, he found the usual conspiracy drivel that might entertain some but was really just crap spewed by someone who had a little knowledge they twisted into something so stupid he couldn’t believe anyone thought it was true.

  He pulled out his phone and read over her texts again. Every protective instinct he had fired, and he thought about getting on a plane and fly to Tangier. That course of action wasn’t rational. Marissa was a sensible woman who could take care of herself. Plus, she had training. It would be crazy to fly out to Tangier while she was working. But something twisted tight in his gut and sat heavy on his chest. He didn’t believe it was possible to know something before it happened, but this odd feeling had him wondering if maybe something was telling him to stay ready. Or it could be the coffee he’d drank too fast and the lack of food. Maybe he was hungry, and Marissa wasn’t in danger. Jackson sucked in a breath. His head buzzed with the feeling something was off as he stood and headed into the kitchen. Time would tell, he hoped it told a good story for him and Marissa.

  10

  Marissa didn’t like how Cheryl, her boss, had been acting since she returned from Italy. It was like she had a secret personal beef with her. She’d asked her to travel to Ceuta and Tangier because there were a few Americans who’d said they had trouble traveling there. It was Tangier, and though the place wasn’t terrible, there could be trouble. She thought this trip was a waste when a phone call would do.

  Ceuta was nice. She liked the Spanish province. Being in the city was like being in Europe, kind of. Security on every corner, lots of wealthy Europeans, well-maintained streets and a European flair were hallmarks of Ceuta. They would spend one night in Ceuta before heading to Tangier. The driver informed her it would take about two hours to arrive at their location in Tangier, so they would start early in the morning.

  After eating a delicious meal in a nearby restaurant, she spent the evening answering emails and reading up on the issues Cheryl wanted her to tackle. It wasn’t horrible here. Some Americans had felt accosted by the street huskers and pickpockets. That was Tangier—heck, that was almost anywhere in Europe. Sure, there was danger, but again, bad shit happened everywhere. Heck, there was lots of risk in the US, traveling abroad was just a different type of threat.

  Her phone beeped, and she answered. “Agent Edwards.”

  “Hello, Agent Edwards, this is Agent Michaels. We’ll leave in the morning at eight.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t want to tell Michaels she already knew the information.

  “Are you in for the night or will you be heading out again?”

  “I think I’m done for today,” she said, not wanting to spend the night talking to Michaels. She hardly knew the man and was tired.

  “Okay, I’m staying in too. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Good night, Agent Michaels.” She hung up and wondered if she could check her personal email from her phone. She shouldn’t. If Jackson emailed, she’d have to wait to see what he’d said.

  She loved her job, but she hated the levels of shit she had to go through if someone above her got mad. The FBI really was a bureaucracy. She understood an organization this size needed rules, but some rules and regulations seemed to work against the end goals. Like with Randy, if she hadn’t been in Barcelona, she never would have found him. No one else was looking at social media for clues. Her team had made the difference.

  The next morning, she ate breakfast in her room before heading down to meet Agent Michaels in the lobby. She had a feeling this assignment Cheryl sent her on wasn’t supposed to go well and might give her reason to try to reassign her, maybe even sending her home. Saving Ryan had gained her a lot of attention, and Cheryl was proving she was the jealous type.

  “You ready to go?” Michaels asked.

  “Sure. How long is the drive?”

  “About an hour and a half, maybe two hours. The driver told me two last night, so we’ll see.”

  They headed out to the van and loaded their bags in the back before getting in. The air was still and had the faint scent of cooking meat along with a briny ocean smell. She looked around, not at all surprised to see the streets nearly empty.

  “They don’t wake up early, do they?” Michaels asked as he stepped around her.

  “Guess not. But neither does Madrid.”

  Michaels laughed as he opened the door to the van. She stepped in and buckled her seatbelt. As they drove away from the hotel, thoughts of Jackson filled her mind. The man had taken her by surprise, making her heart twist just at the thought of him.

  How he knew where Randy was being held still mystified her. If he and Adam had some sort of operation going, they needed to be careful. She wanted to look up information about Hardy and his obsession with Zaeim’s death, but if she looked at those files, there would be a record of her inquiry. When they’d been in the Academy together, Hardy had almost been stalkerish around her. He’d seemed obsessed until she kicked his ass on the wrestling mat and told him to stop following her around. After leaving Quantico, she’d not seen him again.

  Now, she was in a case tangentially attached to Hardy’s case. She wondered how that would go. If she dug too deeply, Hardy would freak out. She’d only done a cursory search, but reading the files would take someone granting her permission. She had no doubt she’d get permission from someone, but if Hardy tied her back to Jackson, not only would he look guilty, she would too.

  They left the Spanish territory and entered Morocco. Though she tried to look unaffected because Michaels was in the van with her, she still glanced around, taking in the scenery. She loved Morocco and the seaside communities. The place was rich with history, and the people were lively and full of passion.

  They were taking the more southern route because of construction on the northern road. After a little while, Marissa turned to her attention to her phone and answered questions in email.

  They’d left Tetouan and were entering an area with dense trees on one side. Michaels had just said something about work and being caught up on email when someone rammed their van. Her heart jumped, and she might have screamed. Again there was another tap to the rear of the van. The driver slowed as he tried to gain control.

  “No, go!” she screamed.

  Michaels had lost his phone and was digging for it on the floor. She watched in horror as the car that had rammed them pulled alongside, a gun barrel sticking out of the back window. Her lungs froze, her head spun. They would kill the driver. The van would crash, no question.

  “Michaels, get in your seat.”

  “What?” he glanced up from the floor of the van and held up his phone. “Found it.”

  She made sure her seatbelt was in place and tucked her phone into her bra. Bracing might break her arms, so she tucked them around her body, holding onto herself as the first of the gunshots blasted the side of the van.

  Michaels hadn’t made it to his seat. His mouth hung open, and he looked like he was trying to scream. She unlocked her arms from around her waist and tried to help him with the seatbelt, but she was too late. Another shot rang out, hitting the driver in the head.

  This time she knew she screamed as the van jerked to the side. A wall of trees sat in front of them. Michaels hadn’t been able to connect his seatbelt before the car hit something that gave them a good jolt. He was holding his seatbelt, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in place.

  The van tilted to the side then went over. She screamed. Michaels flew from his seat. They rolled once, and the driver fell out of his seat. Pain flashed, but she wasn’t sure of the source. The van felt like it would
tumble again, but there wasn’t enough momentum, and it settled awkwardly, with her kind of hanging out of her seat.

  She scrambled to undo her seatbelt, but her hands weren’t working, and the belt was locked down. The crash had taken her attention, but the guys were guns were really her biggest worry.

  Time wasn’t her friend, and the seatbelt wouldn’t come undone. Her fingers trembled as she grabbed for it again. No use. Why didn’t she have a knife with her?

  The sound of people talking came closer. She wasn’t ready to die yet. With no easy escape, she was a sitting duck.

  The glass had broken on the sides and back, leaving the van open. If only she could get out of this seatbelt, she could run… maybe.

  She saw their boots first. Then one of them knelt, and she saw a cloth-covered face. They weren’t revealing who they were. Maybe that was a good thing. If they didn’t want her knowing who they were, perhaps she’d live.

  One of the guys reached in and cut her seatbelt. She fell hard on Michaels who grunted. He wasn’t dead, but he might be soon. He’d been tossed around as the van rolled which was deadly in the best of circumstances.

  They tugged her out of the van and pulled her to standing. Her right leg crumpled, and she pitched to the side. Pain stole her breath. The man who had grabbed her threw her over his shoulder and took off at a brisk pace.

  They tossed her into a car and sped away. She wouldn’t go down without a fight. With her fist balled, she swung her arm, connecting with the man’s chest. Huge mistake. He retaliated fast, backhanding her so hard her ears rang, and her head spun. She bit back a choked sob as she tried to clear her head and get a handle on the situation.

  Before she could gain any control, they bound her wrists and placed a bag over her head. Now she had no clue where they were going. Fear hit hard. She would die here, she had little doubt about that.

  Jackson wouldn’t know what happened to her. She wanted one more chance to say goodbye to him. Tears came, but Marissa didn’t give in to the sobs that wanted out. Now wasn’t the time to show them how desperate she felt. Later, when she was alone she would freak out, for now, she had to pretend like this didn’t bother her. She said a prayer, hoping someone would rescue her.

  11

  Jackson lifted a bale of hay to the back of the truck. It had been a few days since he’d heard from Marissa. It took everything he had not to call her boss and demand to know where she was. That would probably end their relationship faster than anything else.

  Adam’s truck approached, and he waved. Kelsey pulled to a stop near him and stuck her head out the window.

  “Oh, I was expecting Adam.”

  “He’s still up at the gate, working to get the cattle guard put in. He wanted your help.”

  “Sure. I’ll follow you up. I wanted to drop some hay for the horses over there.”

  She waved and drove over to the house, hopping out before going up the steps to the kitchen. It looked like she’d put on weight, which worried him. He wanted her to be healthy. Perhaps it was time for her to work out with them. He’d ask Adam about it later. Maybe he should mind his own business, but Kelsey was like a sister to him, and he only wanted what was best for her.

  At the gate where Adam was working, he grabbed the hay out of the bed of the truck, tossing over chunks to the horses. They were curious about what Adam was doing, but they were more interested in eating.

  “Hey, what do you need help with?” Jackson called out.

  “Just help placing the guard when I lift it with the forklift on the tractor.”

  “Sure.”

  “I would have asked Kelsey to do it, but she’s not moving fast right now.”

  Jackson nodded then glanced out to the path he’d driven over on, making sure Kelsey was still far enough away. “So is she okay? She looks like she’s put on weight.”

  Adam’s brows pinched together, and his lips broke into a broad smile. “Oh my God, she said you wouldn’t catch on.”

  “What?” He narrowed his gaze at Adam, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

  “She didn’t want to say anything at first because she was afraid.”

  He shook his head not understanding what Adam was talking about. “What is she afraid of? Has Hardy been bugging you two again?”

  Adam laughed and moved closer. “She’s having a baby.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, she was worried she’d lose it, so she didn’t say anything. She just started to show a few weeks ago, but she’s actually lost weight. I’m worried about her. The doctor said some women lose weight first. Don’t say anything to her about the weight, she’s taking it as a personal failing.”

  “Okay, I won’t. But hey, congratulations, man. That’s awesome, you’re going to have a little Adam running around.”

  Adam threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll be shit out of luck if it’s a boy and he’s like me. Hell, I gave my parents fits. I hope the baby is like Kelsey. She’s good.”

  Jackson shook his head. “If I ever had a kid, I’d probably fuck it up.”

  “Yeah, I’m afraid of that. I’ve been reading about kids. There’s a lot to it. I don’t want to be a dick and turn the kid into a monster.”

  Pain filled Jackson’s chest. “I feel like a monster sometimes.”

  Adam pulled him into a hug and slapped him on the back. “Jackson, you’re a good person. I know you had issues because of your dad, but man, you’re a good person.”

  “Thanks.”

  Kelsey drove up and hopped out of the truck. “Hey, I thought you two were dropping in the new cattle guard.”

  “We were discussing babies,” Adam said.

  “So you had to tell him, right?” Kelsey chuckled.

  “I did,” Adam said.

  “Congratulations, woman.” Jackson pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. “You really are like a sister to me. I hope I can be some part of your baby’s life.”

  “You’ll be the best uncle ever,” Kelsey said.

  “I swear I’ll be someone the little bugger can count on.”

  She squeezed him tight before letting go. “I know you will. Now then, let’s get this crossing fixed.”

  Kelsey stood behind him on the left side, and he made sure the right side of the guard would fit in perfectly. In thirty minutes, they had the guard in place and bolted to the cement walls below. This was one of their first projects to make the new land easily accessible. Now they could drive to the new pasture without having to get out to open a gate. They still had the creek flooding issues, but they’d figured out it was because the old owner had built a retaining pond with high walls. It wasn’t deep, but it made the river back up. It was just another way the owner had made mistakes.

  They had plans for changing the location of the pond, making the new one deeper, then getting rid of the old one. It would take a while to do all the work, but it would get them one step closer to where they wanted the new place to be.

  A group of guys was laying the foundation for the new house in a few weeks. It had taken them time to figure out the new house location. Eventually, they came up with an area about four hundred yards away from the pond and up a hill a bit. The last thing they wanted was for the house to flood.

  “It looks great,” Kelsey said.

  “It sure does,” Jackson added.

  “We need to get the fence wire strung so we can take down the temporary fence.”

  “I’ll go back to the house and put the chicken in the oven,” Kelsey said.

  “Can you handle that?” Adam asked.

  Jackson was about to make a quip about her and chicken when he saw her coloring looked a little off. “Hey, I’ll do the chicken later. Really, with Adam and I working together, we should be done in about an hour. You can go back and relax.”

  “Are you sure?” Kelsey asked.

  “Yeah, there’s no need for you to make yourself sick. We really can take care of the cooking. Besides, once the baby is born, i
t’s not like you can spend your time cooking. You’ll be looking after a baby.”

  She chuckled. “Okay, as long as you two don’t mind.”

  “It’s no problem,” Jackson assured her.

  “Thank for doing that,” Adam said after she took off. “If you help me get the wire strung for the cattle guard, I’ll be able to take out the temporary fence.”

  “Sure. Let’s get to it.”

  They worked fast. Since they’d had to repair a few fences recently, they understood how to work the wire quickly. In less than an hour, Jackson was at the house, ready to make dinner.

  He stepped in, trying to be quiet in case Kelsey was sleeping, but she wasn’t. He found her in the den, TV on, perched on the edge of her seat. She glanced up and waved him over.

  “What’s up?”

  “I flipped on the TV and found this. Look.” She pointed at the screen, and he sat down, staring at some sort of wreck.

  “What’s this?”

  She turned up the volume so he could hear. “It looks like two American citizens were abducted. Right now, we have no information on their whereabouts. One person died in the crash. Again, the video is compliments of Moroccan media 2M. The crash took place two days ago. Apparently, the van was carrying two American citizens from Ceuta to Tangier.”

  Jackson froze. That’s where Marissa was. He hadn’t heard from her in a few days. The room spun as reality smashed into him.

  “You okay?” Kelsey asked.

  He shook his head. “Who is being held? Did they say who?”

  “No.”

  “I think it’s Marissa,” he said.

  “What?” Kelsey’s eyes were wide as she clamped her hand down on his arm.

  “The last message she sent said she was traveling from Ceuta to Tangier.”

  “Oh, God.” Kelsey turned back to the TV, her brows knit tight. “I’ll start the chicken then fire up the computers.”

  “No, I’ll get the chicken going. There’s no reason for you to get sick. We’ll check the computers after I get it in the oven.”

  “Check the computers for what?” Adam asked as he stepped in and kicked off his boots.