Her uncle had been stoic up until she took her last breath, and then he had lost it. They had held each other, comforting one another in their shared grief.
How was she going to tell her uncle that it was all her fault? How could she explain that if she had never come back to LA, Becca would still be alive? She had put a target on Becca and would have to live with the horror of knowing she’d caused her death.
“Here, drink this.”
She opened her swollen eyes to see a large hand holding a cup of steaming tea in front of her. The hand belonged to Liam. How could she have gotten through the last hour without him? He was her rock.
Taking the tea, she whispered her thanks and then took a sip. Sugar exploded on her tongue.
“I know it’s sweet, but it’s good for shock. Just sip slowly.”
Nodding, she did what she was told. She couldn’t think past the next second. She should probably be doing something, helping her uncle with the arrangements, calling her mother. Yes, she needed to call her mother.
“I need to call my mom and let her know.”
“Would you like me to do it?”
She looked at him then, really looked at him. Unshaven, slightly scruffy, and absolutely beautiful. His bloodshot eyes were filled with sadness, but she also detected a simmering anger. She was angry, too. Somewhere deep inside her, a burning, bubbling anger was brewing. The sadness and grief were weighing it down, but it would soon erupt and spew.
“Thank you, but I can do it.” She glanced around. “There’s really not a lot of privacy here, is there?”
“Come on, we’ll find you a place.”
And he did. While her muddled brain worked on getting her phone out of her purse and then trying to remember what time it was in Florence, Italy, Liam found her an empty hospital room.
“Take your time. I’ll be right outside.”
She entered the stark, sterile room, and the door closed behind her. It was the first real privacy she’d had since the accident, and as much as she wanted this moment to sit down and sob, she couldn’t. She had responsibilities, duties. Her uncle was depending on her. She had betrayed him in the worst way possible. The least she could do was take care of this and whatever else he needed from her.
She pressed the call icon for her mother.
Liam stood outside the door. Hearing the sobs inside, he wanted to go in and comfort her but knew she needed this time. As he waited, he kept a watchful eye on the door Syd Green was behind. He was signing papers, making arrangements. When he was done, there would be a conversation.
Verbally attacking a grieving father on the worst moment of his life didn’t sit well with him. The soul-wrenching grief was real. He believed Syd Green genuinely loved his daughter and had not planned for this to happen to her. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t planned for it to happen to Aubrey. She’d been the target, Becca had simply gotten in the way.
It could have been Aubrey. The thought kept whirling in his mind. If the killer had gotten his intended target, Aubrey would be in that hospital room with a sheet covering her mangled body. A part of him wanted to drop to his knees in thanksgiving that she’d been spared. The other part wanted vengeance.
A door opened, and Syd Green shuffled out. His expression was the living definition of defeat and despair. While Liam’s conscience told him how wrong it was to go after a broken man, his rational brain reminded him that you struck when your opponent was the most vulnerable.
“Do you know who did this?” Liam asked.
“What?” Green looked more confused than guilty. “They haven’t found the vehicle that hit them. Witnesses said it was a dark SUV, just like Aubrey described. That’s all they have to go on.”
“But you know, don’t you, Green?”
“Why would you think I know?”
Liam stared at him then, his eyes knowing, accusing.
Acknowledgment and then something like fear swept over his face. “What do you know about any of this?”
“Enough to know that Aubrey was the intended target. That she got on the wrong side of some very bad people and they want her dead. And I know you’re in neck-deep with them.”
“That’s not true. I only know…” He shook his head and his eyes filled with tears. “They’ve taken everything from me. Everything.”
“Then they need to be exposed.”
Liam saw a change wash over Green, a resolve. His spine went straight, shoulders no longer slumped, and a glint appeared in his eyes.
“You’re right, they do. But who are you? For all I know, you’re one of them.”
“If I was one of them, Aubrey would be dead, wouldn’t she?”
He saw the knowledge in his eyes before he nodded. All sympathy ceased to exist. This man had known that his niece was in danger, that powerful people wanted her dead, and he had done nothing to warn or protect her.
“You bastard.”
“You don’t understand. I couldn’t stop them—I don’t even know who to trust.”
“You know enough to let Aubrey know that she’s in danger, and yet you did nothing.” He was in front of the man before Green could move, inches from his face. “You’re going to tell me everything, and I mean everything.”
“You can’t stop them. Nobody can stop them. They’re too big. They’re everywhere.”
“We’ll see about that. I—”
“What’s going on?”
Aubrey’s alarmed voice stopped him cold. Turning, he faced her. His desire to protect her from the truth had almost gotten her killed. Even though he knew he was going to break her heart all over again, he couldn’t keep this from her.
“Your uncle has some things he needs to confess.”
“What? What’s he talking about, Uncle Syd?”
“It’s complicated, Aubrey,” her uncle began.
“Let’s go back into the room and uncomplicate it, shall we?” Pushing Aubrey gently forward, he sent Green a hard look of warning.
Green followed them into the room, and Liam shut the door. “All right, Green. Talk.”
“Liam, wait. What’s this about?”
Taking her hand, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her down beside him. “Your uncle knows who did this.”
Her eyes wide, she jerked her gaze up to her uncle. “What? How do you know? What’s going on?”
“It’s…” Green shoved his fingers through his already wild hair. “I’ll have to start from the beginning.”
He stared at the wall for several seconds. Liam couldn’t tell if he was working on a convincing lie or just gearing himself up to unload what he had been living with.
With a loud, shaky sigh, Green began, “When I was seven, my parents’ lives changed drastically. We’d never had a lot of money, but one day it was like Christmas morning. We moved to a nicer house, we had better food and clothing…everything was better. It wasn’t until I began second grade that I realized how different things really were. I was sent to a private school, which wasn’t anything like where I went for first grade. And while I learned normal things, I also learned about obedience to the cause.”
“And what cause was that?” Liam asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit.”
“It’s the truth. That’s the beauty of the whole thing. Don’t you get it? The right hand doesn’t know who’s controlling the left hand. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of us out there. We live our lives, but we know at some point we’ll be called on to do certain things.”
“You don’t obey a cause without knowing who or why.”
“Maybe you don’t, but I did. I was just a kid. It wasn’t until later that I saw their power, what they were capable of. I learned that I could have a successful career and a normal life, but when I was asked to do something, I had to obey or else.”
“What things were you asked to do?”
“Mostly innocuous things, harming no one. I steered people toward certain projects and away from
others. I hired certain people. I added scenes to movies to soften the stance on various issues or removed them if they were deemed too negative.
“None of those things was difficult. I became famous. I had a good life, with a wonderful family. I was content. Too content. I became complacent, believing that nothing more would be asked of me.”
“And then something changed?”
“Yes. They asked me to do something I didn’t want to do, and I refused.”
“What did they ask?”
“They wanted my daughter.”
“What did they want with Becca?”
It was the first time Aubrey had spoken since Green had begun his story. Liam winced at her hoarse, ravaged voice. She sounded so much like the lost young woman he’d met twelve years ago.
“They wanted to bring her into the organization so they could control her the way they controlled me. They asked me to recruit her. I said no.”
“What happened?”
Green’s gaze met Aubrey’s. “It was twelve years ago.”
And the mystery of Aubrey’s abduction in Paris was becoming clear. “They were supposed to abduct Becca, but they took Aubrey instead?”
“No. They were going to take both. When I learned of it, I thought I could stop it.” He returned his gaze to his niece, his expression one of sorrow and guilt. “I knew I couldn’t explain why I didn’t want you two to go to Paris, so I gave Becca something to make her ill.”
“You gave Becca a cold?”
“It was a small virus, nothing serious, but it made her sick enough to keep her at home. I assumed you wouldn’t go without her. I didn’t know until after you were taken that you went to Paris alone.”
“That’s why I could never find any information on her abduction,” Liam said grimly. “There were no police records. No FBI or State Department files. The authorities were never notified of her abduction, were they?”
“No. It was handled…internally.”
“But I talked to people from the State Department and the FBI,” Aubrey said. “My parents talked to them. They were kind, supportive. They told me about the prison being destroyed.”
“They were actors I hired. I gave them some talking points. Their biggest assignment was to ease everyone’s minds. I knew Matthew and Elizabeth wouldn’t let go until they were sure everything had been done that could be done. It was an elaborate scheme, but I had no choice in the matter. If I had told anyone what really happened, it would have put my family in even more danger.”
“So they were going to sell both of us into human trafficking? Becca and me?”
“No. I believe it was a scare tactic—to get me to comply. But when they realized Becca wasn’t with you, they were going to cut you loose and let those men…” He swallowed hard, and then continued, “I convinced them I would recruit Becca if they returned you. They agreed. I paid a ransom, but they were still angry.”
“That’s why that…that man said they were to send me home with a message,” Aubrey whispered. “Those stab wounds were a message to you.”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. I’m so sorry.”
Aubrey shook her head. Liam could only imagine the pain and betrayal she was feeling. In the span of a few hours, her entire world had fallen apart. Again.
“I thought you were such a hero,” she whispered. “For paying my ransom. Handling things with the authorities. But you were a traitor…to me, to my parents. To Becca.”
“I tried to make it right. Once I paid the ransom and you came home, I hoped it was over. I hoped they would reconsider.” He closed his eyes and a lone tear rolled down his pale, lined face. “But of course they wouldn’t. They still wanted my compliance—still wanted Becca. I refused again. So they—”
“They what?”
“They punished me.”
“How?” Liam asked.
“They took my wife away instead.”
“Aunt Jenny?” Aubrey whispered.
“Yes.”
“What…what did they do?”
“Gave her some kind of drug that caused a massive stroke. I didn’t know about it until the police came to my office and told me. By the time I got to the hospital, the damage was done.”
Aubrey sprang to her feet. “Excuse me.” Covering her mouth, she ran toward the bathroom.
Liam gave Green a hard look. “Stay put.” Striding to the bathroom, he held Aubrey’s hair and rubbed her back as she vomited and gagged.
When she stopped and leaned against him, he asked, “Better?”
“No, not really.” She glanced up at him through the hair that had fallen in her face. “Is this really happening?”
He brushed the hair from her face. “I’m afraid so, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”
“What do we do now? They’re not going to stop.”
“We’re going to find out who these bastards are and stop them.”
She nodded wearily. “Better go check on Syd. I need a few minutes alone.”
He dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
Liam returned to the room, relieved to see Green still there. Going after him and hauling him back inside would’ve been a pain. The man didn’t look as though he had the energy or the will to do anything more. He was sitting in a chair, sipping from a cup as if he barely had enough life in him to lift it to his mouth.
“One of the nurses brought tea. It might help Aubrey to drink some, too.”
The only thing that would to help Aubrey was if her uncle weren’t such a lowlife. Because he’d made a deal with the devil, his entire family had been destroyed.
Something hammered at his brain and he wanted to address it before Aubrey returned. “Who were they?”
“I’ve already told you. I don’t know. Why won’t—”
“I’m not talking about this organization or entity or whatever you call it. I’m talking about the men who abducted Aubrey. The men who beat and terrorized her. I want the name of the bastard who raped her, stabbed her. He’s British. You know who he is.”
Green blew out an explosive sigh. “He’s dead. They’re all dead.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I made sure of it. Think what you want about me Stryker, but I never intended anything like that to happen to Aubrey. When I found out what they’d done to her, I arranged for the monsters to be dealt with.”
“How did you find them?”
“I traced the money. They never left Syria. They were dead within days of Aubrey’s return.”
Liam tried to be glad about that, to be at peace that the promise he’d made to himself—finding and punishing Aubrey’s attackers—had been done already. Didn’t diminish the fury. He had wanted to be the one to make them pay. But he did console himself with one thing. They hadn’t been alive these last twelve years. That would have to be enough.
Green took another sip of tea, then looked up at him. “You knew this was about me all along. How?”
“Not at first. And I didn’t know much. When Aubrey told me what her abductors said about sending her home with a message, I knew it likely had something to do with her family. Her parents were squeaky clean. You, not so much.”
Green’s smile was sad. “The gambling debts.”
“You owe a lot of people a lot of money, including Marc Antony Ferante.”
“He was one of their pawns, too.”
“Did you hire someone to kill Ferante?”
“No. I imagine that was the organization meting out their own brand of justice. They don’t tolerate disobedience very well.”
“What about Lawrence Medford? Did you arrange for his death?”
“No. That was Ferante. I just…”
“You what?”
“I persuaded him that if Aubrey’s funds for her project were taken away, she wouldn’t be able to continue with the documentary. He knew she had something on him that might expose him. He agreed, for a price, to take out Medford and leave Aubrey alone.”
&nb
sp; Liam could barely get his brain around all the lies and conspiracies. Did any of these people even have a conscience?
“What did Ferante do for the organization?”
“Blackmail is one of the ways they keep people in line. Ferante was a master at gathering secrets. Whenever someone was stubborn about following their orders, they’d often call Ferante for help. He provided them intel to coerce their obedience.”
“He apparently wasn’t too valuable to eliminate.”
“None of us are. We’re all expendable. They’ve eliminated many. Others just take their place.”
“Who have they eliminated?”
When he began to name names, Liam pulled out his phone and recorded them. He recognized a few, mostly prominent and wealthy people. One name that caught his attention was Nora Turner.
“The senator from Ohio?”
“Yes. You knew her?”
Everyone at OZ knew Nora Turner. She had almost destroyed Ash, multiple times.
“Her death was ruled a suicide. I saw the coroner’s report myself.”
“Yes. And the explosion on Ferante’s yacht will be blamed on faulty wiring or a gas leak. It happens all the time.”
A knock on the outside door told him their time was up. The nurse who’d lent them the room stuck her head inside. “Sorry to disturb you, but we need this room.”
“Not a problem,” Liam said. “Thanks for letting us use it.”
Aubrey stepped out of the bathroom. Though she was still ghostly pale, making the bruise on her chin even darker, her eyes were clear and determined.
“Where to now?” she asked.
“There’s a safe house about an hour outside LA. We’ll head there for more debriefing. My SUV is parked to the left of the hospital’s entrance. I’ll bring it around.”
He had expected at least some semblance of an argument from Green but apparently the man was too defeated to fight anymore.
“Let’s go.”
No one spoke as they walked out of the room and into the elevator. He did notice that Aubrey sent a tortured look toward the room where Becca had died. Grief surrounded her like an invisible barrier. At some point, the anger would penetrate. When it did, he wanted her as far from danger as possible.
RELENTLESS: An Option Zero Novel Page 24
