Pulling herself together, she nodded. “Yes. I’ll go where I need to be and do what I have to do. That son of a bitch won’t stop me.” She clenched her hand tighter around his phone. “Thanos isn’t going to win.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“It has to be the credit card that tipped off Grant last night. The Counterstrike team hauled ass to Providence after I sent an associate there with a duplicate card to use.” Thanos crossed his ankles on the coffee table in front of him. His damn leg ached like a bitch. “I don’t know how the hell they tracked that card, but I’m smarter than they think.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Her voice shook as she stared at him from across the room.
He flipped a blue plastic card onto the table next to his foot. “Because I want you to pull the same stunt. Use this to buy gas in town in exactly one hour. Grant will come tearing back here to check on his ex-wife. Except I’ll be on hand to intercept him.”
She stiffened and clenched her fists. “What if I refuse?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think you will.”
“You said I was finished doing you favors. You said—”
His laughter echoed in the room. “You should know me better than that.”
She closed her eyes and swayed. “I’m beginning to think a jail cell would be preferable to letting you use me.”
“Big talk.” He brought his feet down with a thump. “Except I know you, too, and you don’t have the guts.”
She bent to snatch up the card, her mouth pressed into a hard line. “Fine. I’ll buy the gas.” A shuddering breath escaped her. “Why Brody? Why not Arden?”
“Oh, I’ll get around to her, never fear.” He kept his tone neutral, reflecting none of his pent-up rage. “Grant has thwarted me at every turn, and I’m sick and tired of this shit. Once I have him, I’ll go after his woman.”
Without another word, she turned and walked out, shutting the door quietly behind her.
He closed his eyes, imagining the look on his adversary’s face when he realized he’d been beat. A snorting laugh escaped. Priceless. He’d intended to speak to Grant directly on the burner phone, hear his breathing quicken when he described what Arden was wearing. He’d wanted the man to know he’d been outsmarted and spend the trip back to Boston dying a little inside, knowing he would be too late.
With a shrug, he opened his eyes and rose to his feet. The time for games was over. He’d keep Grant alive long enough to suffer, knowing his wife would die slowly and painfully. Then he’d put a bullet in his brain.
* * * *
“I’m in.” Luna glanced up from her computer screen with a satisfied smile. “The security cam footage from the bank across the street has a good angle on the coffee shop doorway. Now to reverse it to the time of the purchase . . .” She typed rapidly. “Here we go.”
Brody planted his hands on the back of her chair in the hotel room they’d rented and studied the video feed. Passing vehicles partially blocked the view, but for the most part, the patrons were clearly visible as they exited the café. His grip on the chair tightened as a dark-haired man emerged. “No, not him. Shit.”
On the opposite side of the table, Patch glanced up from his phone. “He could have paid his bill and then gone to take a leak. Give it a few minutes.”
“Or slipped out the back door.” GQ lounged on the bed.
“Stop!” Brody pointed. “That guy.”
Luna froze the screen. “He’s looking down. If I play it in slow-motion . . .” She moved forward a few frames and froze it again.
Brody studied the man’s face. “That’s not Thanos, but I swear I’ve seen him before.” He searched his brain, trying to pinpoint the memory. A scene swam into focus. “At the burial for Niko Resta. He was standing graveside for the service.”
“You think this man was meeting with Thanos?” Patch pushed back his chair and walked around to stare at the screen.
“Play it forward, and let’s see what he does.” Brody waited anxiously, wondering when the hell they’d get a break.
Luna started the feed again, and they all watched as the man got into a maroon sedan. She hit pause and blew up the image. “I have a plate. Give me a few minutes and I’ll tell you where this guy went.”
Brody moved away from the table and pulled out his phone. He’d returned Arden’s call as soon as the chopper set down in Providence and he had cell service, but she hadn’t answered. He dialed again and sagged in relief when she picked up on the second ring.
“I just walked out of the doctor’s office.” She sounded slightly breathless. “When you called earlier, I was in the middle of the exam, feet in stirrups. Not exactly conducive to a conversation.”
“How did it go?” His heart thumped as he waited for her answer.
“Great. I’m healthy. No ill-effects from the smoke inhalation other than a scratchy throat. The baby is perfect. Fetal heartbeat is normal. The only problem was not having an insurance card, but they were understanding, considering the circumstances.”
“Thank God.” He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
“I felt fine all day, but I’ll admit I was still worried. I’m glad the doctor gave our baby a clean bill of health. Hearing that heartbeat was the reassurance I needed.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. Next time.”
In the background, a car door slammed and an engine started. “Silas and I are headed home now. Before I left the house earlier, something odd happened. A phone in your desk rang.”
His eyes popped open, and he pushed away from the wall. “Did you answer it?”
“No, it stopped before I opened the drawer. The caller left a text. I didn’t take the phone out of the bag, just pushed the button to light up the screen so I could read it.”
He clenched the hand not holding his phone into a tight fist. “What did it say?”
“You didn’t take my call. I don’t like being ignored. At least that was the gist. Did Thanos leave the message?”
“The burner phone belonged to him. I carried the damn thing around for a month after he used it to communicate with me last March. I guess I stopped too soon.”
“Do you want me to answer if he calls again?” There was a slight tremor in her voice.
“Absolutely not. I’d don’t want you to have any contact with that man. We’re following a lead on this end right now, and I expect to nail his ass soon.”
“I hope so. Be careful, Brody.”
“I will. Can you put Silas on the phone for a minute?”
“Sure. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Walking to the window, he stared blindly out toward the Brown University campus in the distance and waited for his buddy to come on the line.
“What’s up?”
“Thanos is playing games, and I don’t like it. Don’t let Arden out of your sight for a minute, and make sure all the house doors are locked once you get back there. I have a bad feeling something unexpected is going down.”
“Focus on what you’re doing there. Nothing will happen to Arden on my watch.”
Brody let out a slow breath. “I trust you implicitly, and I’ll call if I hear anything more concrete. Right now, it’s just my gut telling me something is off.”
“Your gut is all the evidence I need. I’ll be on high alert.”
“Thanks, Silas.” After hanging up, he walked back toward the others. “Anything yet, Luna?”
“His plate was scanned five minutes ago on the Connecticut Turnpike. It looks to me like he’s heading straight back to New York.”
GQ frowned. “So, he drove to Rhode Island to meet Thanos for lunch and then turned around and went back to New York? That makes no sense. Why not simply pick up the phone and have a conversation if he’s not involved in whatever Thanos has going on in Providence?”
“Unless he didn’t actually meet Thanos.” Patch pointed at the video feed from the bank Luna had put back up on her screen. “The accomplice is the only one who exited the caf
é. No sign of our target.”
Brody’s stomach knotted. “You’re thinking Thanos was never there. The guy currently on the turnpike used the card we’ve been tracking to draw us away from Boston.”
“Or a duplicate.” Luna looked up from her laptop, her eyes troubled. “It makes sense if Thanos suspected we were tipped off in advance about the explosion in Vermont.”
“Then where is he now?” GQ’s feet hit the floor as he sprang up from the bed. “When you were on the phone, you said you were worried about Arden. If that bastard goes after her—”
Brody whipped his phone from his pocket and called Sparrow. “How fast can you get to the pickup zone?”
“I’ll clear our takeoff and be there in fifteen minutes.”
“We’ll meet you the second you land.” He disconnected and headed for the door. “Let’s go.”
A ding sounded from Luna’s computer, and she held up her hand. “Wait. Another charge just went through on Thanos’s credit card.”
“Where?” Brody’s heart pounded like a jackhammer as he waited for her response.
“A gas station in Marblehead.”
When he let out a low growl, Patch gripped his shoulder. “Easy, buddy. If Thanos is aware we know about the card, why would he—”
“To taunt me. He wants me to suffer all the way back to Boston, knowing I’ll be too late to reach Arden before he takes her. But he’s miscalculated. Silas won’t go down without a fight, and I’d back an ex-Navy SEAL against that little weasel any day.”
Luna closed her laptop and followed them out the door. “He won’t win. We’ll reach her in time.”
Brody could only pray she was right. He couldn’t lose his family. Not again.
The flight back to the municipal airport north of Boston seemed to take an eternity. The second he had service, he called Silas and was lightheaded with relief when the man answered.
“Is Arden safe?”
“She’s fine. No sign of that asshole anywhere near the house. The doors are bolted, and I’m currently patrolling the perimeter. If he expected easy pickings with you gone, he was in for a surprise.”
“We’re just about to set down. I should be home in twenty minutes.”
“We’ll be waiting for you.”
Brody disconnected and faced his teammates. “Everything’s still quiet there. It makes me suspicious as hell.”
The chopper lowered to the tarmac with a soft bump, and the rotors slowed. Brody shoved open the door against the updraft and ran toward the parking lot where he’d left his car.
Patch followed him. “Do you want me to ride with you?”
“No. Best to go in separately. Hang back until I contact you once I’ve assessed the situation. I don’t want us all heading straight into an ambush.”
“Don’t drive like a lunatic, Wolf.” Luna clutched her laptop against her chest. “Crashing your car won’t help Arden.”
GQ snorted. “Useless advice. We’ll see you in Marblehead.”
Brody tore out of the lot a moment later, tires squealing. His headlights lit up the road, and he didn’t bother to slow when he drew close to a slow-moving sedan, simply passed it on the right to avoid an oncoming truck. The blare from its horn faded as his speedometer crept toward seventy. A minute later, he had to slow for a stoplight and swore. The second the intersection cleared, he blew through the red light.
It was nearly eight, and traffic was fairly light. He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the causeway to Marblehead Neck in under fifteen minutes. On the home stretch, he stepped on the gas and roared down the empty road. When his headlights picked up a silver grate in the road ahead, he slammed on the brakes and gripped the wheel. Too late! He hit the rippers stretched across the road, and his tires blew, sending him into a spin. The car veered off the road and dived nose first onto the rocks below.
The impact slammed him forward and then back against the seat as the front airbag deployed, smacking him in the face. Stunned, he coughed as he breathed in fine white powder and tried to gather his wits. Blood trickled across one eye, and he blinked against the sticky wetness. He was struggling to release his seatbelt when the door was wrenched open.
In the glare of the overhead dome light, he locked gazes with Thanos. “No!” He threw up his arms as something long and black sliced through the air. The jolt reverberated through him, and pain exploded in his head before everything faded . . .
* * * *
Arden paced up and down the darkened living room, too worried to sit still even though she knew she was driving Silas crazy. She detoured around the dogs stretched out on the rug as she made another lap. “Brody said twenty minutes. He should be here by now.”
“Twenty was optimistic. There’ll be traffic.”
In the distance, sirens wailed, and Arden stopped abruptly in front of the couch. Henry stretched and blinked at her before curling back into a ball.
“That sounds like several emergency vehicles. Something must have happened.”
Silas pulled back the blind and stood to the side of the window to survey the front yard. After a few seconds, he let it drop.
“Did you see anything?”
He shook his head. “I’ll go take a look around. Lock the door after me.”
She followed him to the front entry and did as he asked after he slipped outside to fade into the darkness.
“You should eat some dinner.”
Arden let out a squeak and spun to face Bernice. “You startled me.”
“I didn’t mean to.” The woman smiled slightly. “Mr. Grant can take care of himself, and worrying yourself silly isn’t going to do the slightest bit of good.”
“I can’t help it.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Maybe I’m being ridiculous, but I feel like something is wrong.”
Bernice hesitated a moment before speaking. “I’m sure he’s fine. If you change your mind about eating, the chili’s still warm.”
Arden went back to pacing after the housekeeper retreated. With each passing minute that didn’t bring Brody home, her anxiety increased. What the hell is keeping Silas? She was ready to run screaming into the night when a soft knock sounded on the door.
Both dogs ran out of the living room, barking their heads off.
“It’s me, Arden.” Silas raised his voice to be heard over the commotion.
Grabbing Hero’s collar, she threw the deadbolt and opened the door. Silas stood on the porch with a uniformed police officer. At the end of the driveway, a patrol car was parked with lights flashing. Her heart stopped beating for a moment before nearly pounding out of her chest.
“Dear God, no!”
Silas reached out to grip her arm when she swayed, then pushed the dogs back into the house with his foot. “They only found his car, wrecked on the causeway. A little blood on the steering wheel, but no sign of Brody.”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “Did he get thrown into the water?”
The officer shook his head. “The vehicle’s doors were all shut, ma’am, and we found a few drops of blood on the rocks leading back up to the road. It seems more likely Mr. Grant hit his head, was disoriented, and wandered off after the accident. We have crews out searching for your husband now. Since only the driver’s side airbag deployed, we assume he was alone when he drove off the road.”
“How did it happen?” Her voice quavered. “Brody’s an excellent driver.”
“There were skid marks on the pavement. He must have slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting something, maybe an animal, and spun out of control.”
Arden’s legs shook as she imagined Thanos waiting in the dark with a rifle. A bullet piercing the windshield. Glass shattering . . .
“I feel sick.” Bile burned the back of her throat.
“You need to sit down.” Silas turned as two more vehicles pulled into the driveway. Engine’s cut off, and doors slammed.
Arden swallowed hard a few times and stayed put as the officer walked down the porch steps t
o meet the newcomers.
“Can I help you folks with something?” He blocked their path to the house.
“We’re friends of—”
“Luna!” Arden ran forward onto the porch. “Officer, please let them by.”
“Of course, Mrs. Grant.” He stepped out of the way. “Someone will notify you if we find your husband or have an update.”
When Luna hurried up the steps and slid an arm around her, she sagged against the other woman. “Thank you, officer.”
The man nodded. “Hopefully we’ll have good news for you soon.”
Silas touched her arm as Patch and GQ joined them on the porch. “I’ll take another look around the property, just to make sure no one’s lurking nearby.”
“Thank you. Silas, these are Brody’s teammates.”
He gave a quick nod. “I figured. I’m glad you’re all here.”
After he disappeared into the dark, Patch took her arm to lead her inside. “What the hell happened? There were cops all over the causeway. It looked like a car went over the side, but I couldn’t get a decent view with all the activity.”
“Brody’s Mercedes.” She sat on the couch, leaned against the cushions, and focused on simply breathing. “He’s missing.”
GQ stood near the window and pulled back the blind as the patrol car drove away. “When Wolf didn’t contact us or answer his phone, we figured something was wrong.” He glanced over at Patch. “You think Thanos is responsible for the crash?”
“That’s the assumption we need to work from.”
Arden gripped her hands into fists. “How do we find him?”
Luna sat down next to her, pulled her laptop out of its case, and opened it on the coffee table. “There won’t be any camera feed on the causeway to get eyes on him, probably why Thanos chose that spot. But maybe we can ID the vehicle he was driving when he was at the gas station.”
Arden didn’t bother asking for an explanation. Her eyes burned from holding back tears. Brody was smart and strong and determined. She knew he’d fight like a madman to come back to her and their unborn child. He’d outwitted Thanos in the past. He’d do it again.
Blood on the steering wheel. Blood on the rocks.
Imminent Danger (A Counterstrike Novel Book 3) Page 26
