RELENTLESS: An Option Zero Novel

by Christy Reece

“Copy,” D answered.

  Two more shadows, bigger and bulkier than their predecessors, ran across the yard and through the open side-door of the garage. Tense now, he waited.

  Another pop, pop sound in his earbud told him all he needed to know. Four family members, four pops.

  “Get the girl and get out,” he said softly.

  “I don’t think so,” an unfamiliar voice said beside him. He barely had the chance to turn, and his mind had no chance to register another ‘pop’ before excruciating agony went through his head.

  A big hand reached into the van and grabbed the man’s head before it could fall onto the steering wheel and possibly sound the horn. No need to disturb this quiet, peaceful neighborhood with the obnoxious blare of a car horn.

  Pushing the dead man over into the passenger side, the shooter got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Pressing his mic, he said, “We ready to roll?”

  “Yes,” a voice answered. “We’ve got them loaded up, and the house is locked down.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Two dark vans, one filled with four dead bodies and the other with one dead body, drove silently down the quiet, peaceful street, waking no one. The house they’d left behind would tell no secrets. No one was home. In an unexpected windfall, the family who lived there had won an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World. In two days, they would return home, refreshed, tanned, and happy, never knowing that death had struck inside their home. They would go on with their lives, completely unaware that danger had been only a breath away.

  Cyprus

  The gently swaying yacht sat upon water so smooth and calm barely a ripple moved. Skies, clear and cerulean blue, looked down upon the serene setting.

  Dressed in swim trunks and glistening with tanning oil, Marc Antony Ferante stood at the helm of his boat. This was just what he’d needed. The sea air invigorated him like nothing else. He would take a few days for himself. Get the sun he needed, the rest he required. Then he would have his newest acquisition brought here. She was being retrieved at this very moment. And soon, very soon, she would be his.

  Ferante smiled. Yes, he was no longer bored. Life was once again interesting.

  The massive explosion came without warning, shooting from the boat toward the sky. Only the squawking seabirds witnessed the giant eruption that flung fiery pieces of wood, iron, and steel a mile into the air.

  Barely a minute later, the sea was calm once more. Remnants of what had once been a grand yacht floated along the peaceful waters. The rest of the wreckage, including Marc Antony Ferante, sank to the bottom of the sea.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Montana

  Breaking News: A yacht belonging to billionaire businessman Marc Antony Ferante exploded off the island of Cyprus this morning. It is believed that Mr. Ferante and three crew members were on board. There were no survivors.

  This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates as we learn more about the explosion.

  Aubrey stared openmouthed at her laptop screen. She had been working for hours and had just stopped for a quick break when the breaking news had popped up on the screen.

  Ferante was dead? Had he been murdered? Had his evil deeds finally caught up with him?

  Standing, Aubrey paced around the room as she considered the consequences. Emma would no longer have to be afraid of him. Her family no longer had to hide. Dozens of children, perhaps hundreds, were no longer in peril of being sold and abused by the vile monster.

  She didn’t discount the relief she felt for her safety. She didn’t have to hide from him now. She would be able to complete her film without fear that he could hurt someone she loved.

  How she wished she could call Liam and discuss this with him. He or someone at OZ might have intel on what happened. Not for a moment did she consider they were involved in Ferante’s death. Even though they didn’t hesitate to stop evil people, Option Zero didn’t assassinate them. They might, however, know who had.

  She couldn’t call Liam though. Since he’d left, he had sent her several texts. He’d told her in his last one this morning that he would be out of touch for the next few hours.

  She couldn’t even call Serena or Ash and talk to them. The entire OZ team was on a mission. Liam had told her if she needed anything, she could contact Rose at OZ. And though Rose was a lovely person, she doubted that she would want to discuss Aubrey’s conjectures on Ferante’s death.

  Sighing, she walked out onto the deck and was immediately at peace. The majesty before her put everything in perspective. When Liam returned, they’d figure things out.

  What did this mean for their future? Being out of danger meant she didn’t need to stay here for her safety. She had things she needed to do at home. Liam had told her that her house had been cleaned out, but she wanted to see to things herself. She’d talked to her insurance agent, and he’d mentioned it would be helpful if she came in person to discuss all the items she’d lost.

  So many things had been handled for her, and while she appreciated the help, she was independent-minded enough to want to take care of matters herself.

  Maybe Liam could take a few days off, and they could go to Florida together. St. Augustine was one of the most beautiful cities in the country. She could deal with her personal business, and they could have time to explore and have fun. Just like a normal couple.

  The thought sent a shiver of delight through her. They had kissed, talked of the future a little, but not much more than that. She wanted days of being alone with him, exploring all the delightful feelings he brought out in her. Never had she felt so happy, so free. She had found the love of her life. Now she wanted to start enjoying that life with him.

  The distant ringing of her cellphone had her running back into the room. Liam! Maybe he had heard about Ferante’s death and was calling to tell her. Maybe he was calling to say he was headed back home.

  After a quick glance at the display screen, she blew out a disappointed sigh. Not Liam. Her cousin Becca. Taking a second to settle her disappointment, she answered the phone with a cheery, “Hey sweetie, what’s up?”

  A sobbing Becca responded, “I got fired!”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “They canned me, Aubrey.”

  “Who canned you? Why?”

  “That’s just it. I don’t know,” she wailed. “Two days ago, the director, Samuel Mann, told me he was incredibly pleased with my performance. He said I was the perfect Maya. He said he was thrilled that he had cast me in the role, that no one could have been Maya but me. Then this morning, he called me into his office and said he changed his mind. Some of the producers saw the dailies and didn’t like me as Maya at all. They’re going to put the film on hold for a few months and then start again with a different actress. My career is ruined!”

  “No, it’s not. You’re a brilliant actress. No one will be able to play Maya the way you did. They’ll realize that, I’m sure.”

  “I don’t think so. They’ve already removed my name from all the promotional material. My agent said she doesn’t know what happened.”

  “But you have a contract. They can’t just fire you without cause.”

  “That’s what I told my agent. She said she’s working from that standpoint, but not to get my hopes up. She said they’ve made it clear I’m out, no matter what.”

  “But that makes no sense. Did you talk to your dad? Maybe he can help.”

  “Yes, I called him. He said he’ll fix things. I don’t think he can, but I’m hoping he can at least find out what I did wrong. He’s in London, but is going to catch the first flight back. They’ve got a big snowstorm, so he isn’t sure when he can get here. Can you come, Aubrey?”

  “Of course I’ll come. I’ll catch the first flight out and text you my arrival time. Okay?”

  “Thank you.”

  “And don’t you worry. We’ll figure this thing out. There’s got to be some kind of mistake.”

  “I don’t think so, b
ut having you here will make things so much better.”

  After reassuring her cousin she’d be there as soon as possible, Aubrey ended the call and immediately clicked on a travel site. She booked a flight leaving in an hour and a half. She went to the bedroom to pack, thinking about all she needed to do. Liam had already told her he likely wouldn’t be home until after the weekend. It was only Tuesday. She could fly to LA, settle Becca down, and be back before he returned home.

  Thankfully, he’d left her the keys to his SUV, so she didn’t have to depend on a taxi. Packed and ready in fifteen minutes, she quickly texted Liam to let him know what was going on. And since she knew he would worry, she added that the threat they were concerned about no longer existed. He would know what she meant.

  Five minutes later she was out the door. As she drove away, her heart ached a little, almost as though she were leaving for good. That was silly. She would be back in a few days, and then she and Liam would make good on all those delicious promises they’d made to each other.

  Bogota, Colombia

  Assessing the threat before him, Liam considered his chances of coming out of this without serious injury. They weren’t great. Two against one was almost a fair fight. Three against one was a little much. He figured he’d faced worse odds, but he’d usually had some backup. Unfortunately, he was on his own for this gig. His fault and no one else’s. When he’d spotted Drury going into the bar the day before, he had decided to do this alone. Bringing the whole crew here to bring down only one man had seemed excessive.

  He’d called Ash and told him he was doing this solo. Ash had been relieved. They’d gotten a call about a possible assassination attempt in Hamburg, Germany. Ash and the team were on their way there now.

  He and Drury had fought hand-to-hand before, and Liam had always come out the victor. Problem was, Drury traveled with a posse these days. Liam should have done more surveillance. That’s what he got for half-assing an op. The excuse that he wanted to get back to Aubrey wasn’t a good one. Not when there was a possibility he wouldn’t return home at all.

  Cocky was helpful only when it was mixed with intelligence. The dumbass move of not looking to see if anyone had followed Drury was going to cost him.

  The back alleyway of a bar was not going to be the place he died. Not when he had Aubrey waiting at home for him. No way, after searching all these years and finally finding her, was he going to let a low-life, scumbag take that away.

  The alley was filth-ridden, even by alley standards. Liam assessed his chances of finding a weapon. Liam’s gun was now beneath a dumpster. The big guy standing behind him had been the one to relieve him of his weapon. He’d make sure to retrieve it as soon as he handled this situation.

  The knife in his boot was insurance. It was well hidden and he’d pull it out at an opportune moment. Revealing it too soon could cost him. For now, Liam preferred to improvise.

  One man was behind him, another was to his left. Drury stood in front of him. Though the smirk on his face was infuriating, Liam had to give the man credit. It was well deserved.

  “Well, well, well. It finally happened. Liam Stryker is going to get the ass-kicking I’ve been dying to give him since we had our first dustup in Mexico.”

  “‘Dustup’ is such a mild word for the bloodied mess I made of you, Barney. I should’ve let you bleed to death instead of calling for help. I won’t make that mistake again.”

  “And neither will I. My friends and I will ensure you never get out of Colombia.”

  “I’m still surprised you have friends. How much do you have to pay them?”

  “Insulting me is only going to make your pain worse.”

  “I’m going to do much more than insult you, Barney. I’m going to put you away for good. What you did to Myron was unconscionable.”

  “He ratted me out.”

  “He was trying to save lives, slimebag. You were selling human beings.”

  Drury shrugged. “We all got to make a living. He chose his path, I chose mine.” He grinned and added, “Mine pays better.”

  If he was trying to piss Liam off, he was doing a good job. There was nothing Liam wanted more than to shove this bastard’s teeth down his throat. First he had to get rid of the two Neanderthals before he’d even get a chance at Drury.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his first break. A plank sticking out of a garbage bin. Liam took a step back.

  “Retreating, Stryker? Not surprised. You’ve always been more talk than action. I—”

  Not giving Drury time to finish his sentence, Liam grabbed hold of the wood and, whirling around, slammed it into the closest guy’s head. The man dropped like a rock. Taking advantage of their surprise, Liam surged forward and rammed the plank into the other man’s gut. Unfortunately, that seemed to only piss the guy off. His fist swung upward, clipping Liam’s jaw and sending him a couple of feet back and onto his ass.

  Scooping a fistful of dirt on the way back up, Liam was on his feet in seconds. He took a running start at the man who held out his arms and planted himself, waiting, almost like he thought Liam might throw his body at him like a ballroom dancer. If he had a second to think about it, he’d laugh. A foot from his target, Liam threw the dirt into the guy’s face. Snarling a curse, the man clawed at his eyes. Liam struck hard. Fist to chin, fist to gut, double kick to the groin. One last punch to the face and the man fell like a giant oak.

  Liam turned in time to see Drury draw his gun. Sliding the knife from his boot, he threw it, hitting Drury in the shoulder. Drury’s shot went wild, missing Liam’s head by a few inches. Drury grabbed for the knife, and Liam was on him in an instant. The knife wound wouldn’t kill him. The bastard didn’t deserve an easy death. That was too good for him. Rotting away in a prison was the goal.

  Pushing him facedown on the ground, he pulled Drury’s hands behind his back and zip-tied them. Leaving him for a minute, he went over to Drury’s still unconscious cohorts and tied them up as well. Both men were coming around, but the glazed look in their eyes told him it’d be a couple of hours before they were all there. By that time, they’d be locked up tight.

  Returning to Drury and just for the fun of it, he zip-tied the man’s ankles.

  Drury’s body jerked with rage. “You’re not going to win, Stryker. I’ll hunt you down, and when you least expect it, I’ll kill you. Just you wait.”

  “Oh, give it a rest, Barney. The only place you’re going is a six-by-six jail cell. You’ll be lucky to see daylight before your hundredth birthday.”

  “Stop calling me Barney!”

  Feeling generous, Liam said, “You prefer Bernie?”

  Roaring, Drury reared up and tried to buck him off. Wasn’t going to work. Leaning over, Liam whispered in his ear, “You’ve killed your last innocent man, asshole.”

  “Nobody’s innocent, not even a sanctimonious asshole like you.”

  “Maybe not,” Liam said cheerfully, “but at least my name isn’t Barney.”

  Before Drury could throw out another insult, Liam heard a shout. “Hey, Stryker. You around here somewhere?”

  “Back here!”

  When he’d spotted Drury, he’d called Charlie Hudson, a local bounty hunter he’d worked with in the past. The guy was decent, occasionally providing intel to OZ. Liam gladly threw him business when he could. Three different countries had bounties on Drury’s head. Charlie would get a nice chunk of change, and the world had one less creep running around in it.

  A win-win in Liam’s book.

  Charlie came around the corner with another man. They made an interesting pair as Charlie was close to seven feet tall and probably weighed twice as much as Liam. The other guy was shorter than average and thin as a whip. They both were holding their Glock 45’s at the ready and had the expressions of junkyard dogs at feeding time.

  “Good timing, Hudson.”

  “We aim to please. This here’s Trey.” His eyes bloodshot, likely from an all-nighter, Charlie took in the three tied-up m
en. “Look’s like you made a nice catch.”

  “Just make sure they stay caught.”

  “No worries on that,” Charlie assured him.

  Enjoying himself, Liam watched Charlie haul Drury over his shoulder like a bag of flour. Upside down and furious, his face blood red, the man cocked his head and sneered, “You’ll get yours, Stryker.”

  Deciding he’d give the guy a break, Liam didn’t respond.

  Drury bounced against Charlie’s broad shoulder as he was carried away. Charlie’s partner rounded up the other two men, who thanks to the hard knocks on their heads, were subdued.

  “Might want get them checked out,” Liam called after them.

  Charlie lifted a hand in acknowledgment seconds before he rounded the corner and disappeared from view.

  Satisfied at the day’s work, Liam picked up his knife, wiped it against his leg and returned it to the sheath.

  He spotted his gun lying beneath a dumpster where one of the goons had thrown it when they jumped him. Took a few minutes to fish it out. He wiped it down as best he could. He’d had the SIG since he’d started working for OZ and was a stickler about keeping it in pristine condition.

  On the way back to his car, he checked his messages. He’d turned his notifications to silent and hadn’t checked them since he’d texted Aubrey this morning.

  Frowning at the display, he was more than a little concerned to see that he had several missed calls, a couple of texts, plus a voice mail from Aubrey. He clicked on the message.

  Hey, it’s me. So listen, I’m on a flight to LA. My cousin got fired from her job and needs a shoulder to cry on. Don’t worry about me. That…uh guy…he’s not a threat anymore. He was killed a few hours ago. Sorry, I know this is a weird message, but I don’t know what I can say in a voice mail. You’re going to need to teach me some covert words or something. Anyway, I’ll call you as soon as I can. And…well, I love you, in case you didn’t know it. See you soon.