“The list? Mommy, you like lists.” Aidan popped his head up. So, he had been listening. She should have known better. Aidan’s perceptiveness never ceased to amaze her.
She patted his hand. “You’re right, honey. I do like lists. Grocery lists. To-do lists. Birthday lists.” She and Jack exchanged a glance. Not hit lists.
When Aidan went back to coloring, Jack spoke. “Three months ago.”
Rachel’s skin went cold. Whoever was behind the attacks was acting swiftly. They’d eluded law enforcement by revealing no modus operandi. And if that terrorist hadn’t been captured, her life would have ended also with no one thinking anything strange about it.
The other deaths had seemed random. Why had Apaka planned her ending by shooting her in a park? With the other deaths, it could seem like a robbery gone bad or like an accident even. The incident in the park today was nothing but malicious. There was no covering that up.
She shook her head, not able to think about it.
“Excuse me, Mister…Mister…”
“Jack. You can call me Jack.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Jack. What’s your superpower?” Aidan stared at Jack with large, curious eyes.
Jack raised a brow. “Superpower?”
Rachel licked her lips, so used to her son’s superhero banter that she didn’t realize how strange it may sound to others. “He thinks you’re a superhero, and every superhero has a superpower.”
“Can you leap tall buildings?”
Jack shook his head.
“Fly?”
“Only in a plane.”
“Shoot webs from your hands?”
Jack leaned closer, a grin on his face. His demeanor had changed from all professional to warm in an instant. “You know, I actually can’t tell you what my superpower is. It’s a secret.”
Aidan took the bait and grinned. “I bet you can become invisible.”
Jack nudged the boy’s chin affectionately. “I like your persistence.”
Now that Aidan mentioned it, there was something about Jack Sergeant that reminded Rachel, a bit, of a superhero. He seemed strong, powerful and like he had a good heart, one that was bent on protecting the innocent.
The problem was that this wasn’t a comic book or a movie. In real life, the superhero didn’t always win.
Her heart twisted at the thought.
“How about we go and get some fresh air?” Jack suggested.
Fresh air sounded nice. Rachel nodded and rose. She took Aidan’s hand and followed Jack out of the room and through the building. They stepped outside into the early evening sun, that still felt sweltering despite the earlier shower. A light breeze helped cool the air slightly.
They stepped off of the wooden porch and onto the grounds, which, other than being a paramilitary complex, were nice with plentiful grass, woods at the perimeter and water in the distance. If it weren’t for the men running around in uniform, one might think the place was a vacation spot. Rachel already had thoughts of sitting on the porch to watch the sunset.
Too bad she knew better. Aidan didn’t have to, though.
They stopped at a man-made lake and Aidan began throwing rocks in the water. While he was distracted, Rachel turned to Jack. “So, what’s next? Do I just stay here until every member of Apaka is captured and behind bars? Because that feels a bit like a prison sentence. No offense. It’s just that they might as well kill me if I’m going to spend the rest of my life without any freedom.”
Jack glanced at Aidan, as if double-checking that he wasn’t listening. “It won’t be forever. But we will need your patience. Your safety is our first priority.”
She kicked at a rock. “I appreciate that.” She looked around at the campus of Eyes. “So you started this place? Why?”
“I saw ways of doing things more efficiently. I saw needs that weren’t being met, gaps that needed to be filled, so I started dreaming. I like doing things my way.”
“You sound like me.”
They shared a smile.
“I’m proud of all of the men and women who work here. Our goal is simply to protect our country.”
If they could protect an entire country, certainly they could protect her. Right? The tension didn’t leave her, though. She didn’t know if it would until Apaka was stopped.
She glanced at Aidan, throwing stones with all of his might. “So, who do you employ here? Ex-military?”
“Mostly ex-military. Some former law enforcement, CIA, FBI. Only the best. We do highly classified missions and act as government contractors. My men put their lives at risk. They don’t get fancy funerals or big awards from the Pentagon. But what they do is valuable. I want to treat them accordingly. I pay what they deserve, but, as a result, I’m very selective about who I bring on.”
Rachel’s gaze scanned her surroundings, impeccably kept and deceitfully peaceful. She still half expected a bullet to come flying through the air at any moment. “This is where they do all their training?”
Jack nodded. “Pretty much. They stay in shape and train, learning new techniques and basically preparing for battle or whatever situation we’re called into.”
Rachel absorbed all of the new information. As the facts settled in her mind, she leaned down to grab a rock and attempted to skim it across the water.
“You’re former military?”
He nodded.
“How’d you get into this line of work, Jack?”
“I wish I had a really admirable back story, but the truth is that I didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school so I joined the military. Once I got in, I loved everything about it.”
“So much so that you became a SEAL?”
“I was a SEAL.”
“But you weren’t on my husband’s team?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I did work with your husband once, Rachel. But I wasn’t on his SEAL team.”
Her face looked still, uneasily calm. “You worked with Andrew?”
“We met a couple of times when I was stationed over in the Middle East.” He glanced at her as if trying to read her expression. “He was a good man.”
“Thank you.” She threw another rock into the water. “Aidan has a lot of his father in him.”
“I can see the resemblance.”
Just over the lake, the sun was beginning to sink into the horizon. Now that she thought about it, she was exhausted. She needed some time alone to process everything that had happened today.
“You ready to go back inside?”
She nodded, and Jack walked them inside. Five bags had been left outside the door to her room.
“We picked up some supplies for you that I thought you might need while you’re here. If there’s anything else you need, please do let us know and we’ll get them for you. In the meantime, Simon is going to be stationed outside of your room. If you need to go anywhere, he’ll go with you.”
Rachel glanced at the fresh-faced young man who had brought them food earlier. He looked right out of high school. She nodded in greeting.
“I’ll be down at eight tomorrow morning to get you for breakfast,” Jack continued.
Rachel nodded again, suddenly feeling halfway in shock about what had happened. Reality was setting in.
“Thank you for everything, Jack. I appreciate it.” She grabbed a bag. “I’m sure we’ll be just fine tonight.”
His eyes remained on her a minute longer before he stepped back. “Good night then. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, Aidan.”
Aidan grinned also. “Good night, Mr. Jack.”
Rachel stepped into her room, dragging the bags with her. She crossed the sitting area to retrieve her purse and paused. What felt wrong about this room?
She looked around. Everything appeared to be in place. Really, her only belonging was her purse. She spotted it on her bed, just where she’d left it. She eyed it for a moment, looking at the lay of the straps.
It just fell over, Rachel.
Of course it had just fallen over. What did she think? That someone had been in her room, ruffling through her things? That would be ridiculous.
She picked up her purse to retrieve a pen. Her gut clenched. She still had the feeling that something was not as she left it, and she hoped it was simply paranoia. But what if it wasn’t?
Jack rapped on Rachel’s door promptly at eight the next morning. He hadn’t slept all night. Instead, he’d analyzed lists and names and tried to come up with something that would give them a clue as to who was behind these attacks.
They’d come up with nothing.
Rachel opened the door looking bright eyed and surprisingly well rested. Her eyes gave her away, however. Jack could see the worry in the crinkles at their corners, see the weariness in her gaze.
“Good morning.” He handed her a cup of coffee, one that he’d been tempted to drink himself.
“Coffee. How’d you know I was just wanting some of this?”
“Good guess.” He nodded toward the distance. “You want to get some breakfast downstairs?”
“I’m starving—and desperate for something to do other than think.”
Jack couldn’t help but smile at the cadence of her words. At least she was keeping herself fairly upbeat. A moment later, she and Aidan joined him in the hallway.
“Any updates?” Rachel took a sip of her coffee as they meandered toward the mess hall.
“No updates. Right now we’re looking into your friend George Anderson. He’s our best lead so far.”
“I’d hardly call George my friend. There was always something about him that made me keep him at arm’s distance. I’m not sure if it was simply that our personalities don’t connect or if he’s just a little…what’s the word?”
“Scary?”
She smiled. “I was going to say ‘different.’”
“No one has seen him since yesterday morning.”
Her head turned sharply toward him. “Really? George?”
“Really. We’ve got men looking for him. I’m not saying he’s guilty. I’m just saying he’s a person of interest.”
“Wow. That’s all I can say.” She shook her head.
“Did the two of you ever date?” He told himself he was just asking as part of the investigation. But was he?
“George? No. Definitely not. I think he was interested, but I wasn’t. I don’t have time to date and, even if I did, I wouldn’t date a military man. I did that once already, and now I’m a single mom.”
Her words did something strange to him. Why did he feel a bit disappointed or saddened by her proclamation? He was content being single and running Eyes. Besides, he’d tried marriage once, too, and failed miserably at it. He never wanted to make that mistake again.
They went through a cafeteria-style line and picked out their breakfast choices before sitting at a table by the window. Just as they dug into their food, Denton, the assistant director for Eyes, appeared at his side. He looked serious, and Jack braced himself for whatever he had to say.
Denton looked at Rachel. “The office for Operation 26 Letters just exploded. The FBI needs to talk to you.”
SIX
Rachel rushed to her feet. “My office? Was anyone hurt?”
Denton shook his head. “No, there was no one there when the bomb went off. The building is destroyed, though.”
Rachel glanced at her watch. Ten. She usually got to work at 9:30 a.m. after she dropped Aidan off at preschool. If she hadn’t been here at Eyes, she would have been sitting at her desk, most likely checking her emails and drinking coffee, precisely when the building exploded.
She would have been…killed.
She shuddered at the thought. Jack stood and placed a hand under her elbow, as if he feared she might pass out. She leaned into his strength for a moment, relishing having someone there to hold her up.
“They’re trying to dig through your things to find anything that’s usable—files, computers, etc.,” Denton said, shifting his weight. He looked at Jack. “How do you want to handle this?”
“Rachel would be the best one to help extract any files that might be useful. I want the entire perimeter around the office building secured, though. By my men, not just the FBI.”
“I’m on it.”
Rachel looked up at Jack as Denton retreated.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked.
She nodded, still feeling dazed. She pictured her office in flames. All of her files, her pictures, her notes. Her heart thudded with sadness.
“I’m fine. I guess.” She shook her head as she tried to comprehend this new twist. “Have all of these deaths been because of my nonprofit?”
Jack flexed his jaw. “It’s anyone’s guess at this point. But it’s more critical now than ever that we find out if the other people on the list had any connection with Operation 26 Letters. We can check with their family members, but it would be helpful if you could search through your files also…what’s left of your files, at least.”
She sucked in a breath. “The letter they received yesterday at the Department of Defense. It said that they weren’t done yet. How long is this going to go on? Are they just trying to terrorize me? Because it’s working. Maybe they’re just trying to scare me to death instead of putting a—” she glanced at Aidan before lowering her voice “—a bullet through my head.”
“They’re trying to send a message, that’s for sure. We need to figure out why you’re the one they’re playing games with.”
“I don’t know if I’m the lucky one or just the opposite.”
His hand went to her back. “Come on. We need to get you to the site.”
“What about Aidan?”
“We have a child-care area where you can leave him, if you’re comfortable with that.”
“It seems safer than bringing him with me. Besides, he might enjoy being around some kids his age.”
Jack led them down the hallway to the child-care area. Though Jack had insisted that Aidan was in good hands with Olivia, the child-care director, Rachel wasn’t sure whom she could trust anymore. She took him to the playroom and, though Aidan took instantly to all of the colorful toys and equipment there, Rachel couldn’t seem to make her feet budge from their position at the door. How did she know who was trustworthy in a situation like this?
Jack turned to her. “I’ve known Olivia for more than a decade. Her son was killed fighting over in Iraq. I promise you that Aidan will be taken care of and that you have nothing to worry about.”
After hearing about her loss, Rachel instantly felt a bond with the woman and stepped away from the door. She watched as Aidan went across the room and sat in Olivia’s lap as if he’d known her forever. If one didn’t know better, one might think the two were grandmother and grandson.
She so wished her parents were alive to spoil Aidan like every good grandparent did. She still felt the void in her life from their deaths. She’d long ago stopped asking why life wasn’t fair, though. She’d simply come to the conclusion that despite life not being fair, God was still good.
But now her son was in danger…
She shook her head as she walked down the hallway. God was still good. Circumstances didn’t change that. She had to cling to that knowledge even when her emotions tried to tell her otherwise.
“My car is waiting downstairs. Are you ready for this?” Jack asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Once they were cruising down the road, Rachel sighed and leaned against the headrest. Her thoughts couldn’t seem to settle anywhere. Instead they bounced around in her mind until a headache began to develop.
“Will this be on the news, Jack?”
“Most likely the media has heard about it.”
“That’s what I figured also. I’m going to need to call Nancy, the president of the Board of Directors for Operation 26 Letters.
If she hears about our office on the news before she hears it from me, she’s going to flip out with worry. Plus, if she’s not able to contact me she’s going to head to the police station and file a missing person’s report. No need to put her through all of that worry.”
Jack pulled the phone from his belt. “Here you go.”
Rachel dialed Nancy’s number, but she didn’t pick up. Maybe Nancy had already heard the news and was down at the office talking with the FBI. Or maybe Nancy didn’t answer because she didn’t recognize Jack’s phone number. Rachel had been guilty of doing that a time or two herself.
She left Nancy a vague message to call her back at Jack’s number and then handed the phone back to Jack.
“Did you have a database of volunteers at the office, Rachel?”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I keep my volunteer records in one of my filing cabinets. If we can recover my hard drive, I kept a copy there, also. But, Jack, there were volunteers that I didn’t have any information on. There were schools and churches and clubs where the members pulled together to send letters to military personnel overseas as a part of a one-time campaign. Other volunteers became more of pen pals and consistently wrote one or more sailors or soldiers or marines. It would be impossible to keep track of everyone who volunteered.”
“It’s something worth exploring.”
“I agree.” She rolled her head back, trying to get the kinks out of her neck, before sighing. “I just don’t understand how people could be this…this evil. I always want to believe the best in people, to believe that people at their core are good.”
“Keep believing that.”
Her face jerked toward his. “How can you say that after everything you’ve seen? I mean, I think I’ve seen some terrible sides of humanity through this, but I’m sure what you’ve seen is even worse.”
“I’d be lying if I said there weren’t evil people out there. But life is so much better when you believe the best in people. It’s a trait I wished I possessed sometimes.”
The Last Target (Love Inspired Suspense) Page 4
