All I Need is You

by M. Malone

  For a short time he’d been a part of their lives, and he would cherish the memories they’d given him forever.

  He carried the duffel bag out to the garage and stashed it in the back of his truck. Over the years he’d learned to function with the bare minimum, so he had no doubt that what he’d packed could stretch for a month if he needed it to. There were several safe houses he could retreat to, but it was tempting not to bother. Maybe he should just check into a hotel under his real name. Bring the fight to him.

  If the Circle was truly intent on rounding up former members to bring them back into the fold, it wasn’t the kind of invitation you could turn down without expecting a fight. But the FBI was determined to bring in as many members as possible, and he would be effective bait. He could draw them out and possibly get them closer to the core of the organization. All it would take was for them to capture the right member. Someone who would crack under pressure and give them useful info.

  He walked back through the house and out the front door, setting the alarm behind him. Tank had set up a surveillance van and parked it across the street and down a few houses. He’d need to get either Tank or Matt to relocate to the house before he could leave. As he got closer, the back door opened. Matt peered out from the doorway.

  “You needed to see us?”

  Eli hopped up in the van and pulled the door shut behind him. “I think I should just leave. You two can stay here with the girls. This has gone on long enough. I’m kind of ready to get off the ride.”

  Matt whistled. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m tired of always waiting for something to happen. Maybe it’s time to just let the other shoe drop. Get it over with. If they’re going to come for me, I probably have a better chance when I’m ready and waiting for it.”

  Eli was just about ready to go back in the house when Matt suddenly hit a key and brought up one of the images from the video screen.

  “There’s someone approaching the house from the right side,” he muttered.

  Tank leaned over his shoulder and squinted at the image of the small figure creeping along the side of the house. He climbed over Matt and then opened the back doors of the van. “I’ve got it.”

  Eli and Matt watched on the monitors as he crossed the street and then disappeared behind the house. A few minutes later, he reappeared dragging a small figure with him. From the size of the guy, it was only a teenager.

  “He’s got him.” Matt slapped his knee triumphantly.

  The back doors of the van swung open again. A burst of cold air flowed into the van as Tank climbed in.

  “Look who I found sneaking around the back.” Tank yanked the small figure forward and when she pushed her hair back from her face, Eli instantly recognized her.

  “Sasha? What the hell are you doing here?” He moved aside to make room for her and Tank. The surveillance van was only designed to fit two or three people at a time, so it was a tight fit. It wasn’t intended to be a party bus.

  “More importantly, how did you know how to find Kay?” Tank slammed the doors of the van behind them and pushed Sasha down onto a seat.

  “Ow! Let me go, you big bully!” She smacked him with her purse a few times before Tank reached up and grabbed it.

  “I’ll tie you up if you don’t behave. I just caught you trying to sneak into a safe house. You’re lucky we don’t call the cops right now.”

  Sasha’s eyes rounded with horror. “But I didn’t do anything! I was just trying to see if Kay is even in there. I had to warn her. Devin is looking for her, and it won’t take him long to figure out that I’m gone.”

  Eli crossed his arms. “Explain.”

  She shrank under his glare. “I was at home yesterday waiting for my boyfriend, Devin, to pick me up. We were supposed to be going to the movies, but then he called and canceled. He said he had a business meeting up north that he couldn’t miss. Well, I’ve been catching him in lies lately, so I didn’t believe him.”

  “I’m going to need the CliffsNotes version,” Eli growled.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just not exactly sure what all this means,” she wailed.

  Matt put a hand on her shoulder and she instantly calmed. “Take a deep breath, Sasha, and start from the beginning. Your boyfriend suddenly decided to take a weekend trip, and so you followed him?”

  She twisted the strap of her purse between her fingers. “Yeah, I did. He was pissed, too. I could tell he didn’t want to let me in the room. I was convinced he had another girl in there, but I was wrong. So I just figured I was being paranoid. But then this morning I found a slip of paper in the bathroom with all these words on it.” Her hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out a small scrap of paper.

  “Long drive. Night. Dollhouse. Blue shutters. Gym. Dance. Snow. 116,” Eli read. “It’s just random words and numbers.”

  Sasha shook her head. “It’s not random. Each of those words corresponds to something Kay said to me when she called. The first time she called, she told me how it was a long drive and you drove at night. She thought your house was so cute. Like a little dollhouse with blue shutters.”

  “They’re descriptors,” Tank said. “He was pulling out keywords from your conversations to see if he could identify where she was staying.”

  Eli turned back to Sasha. “Who is this guy? Does Kay know him?”

  “No, they’ve never met. Not to my knowledge anyway. I’ve tried to introduce them several times, but he always has an excuse. He even met me at Kay’s apartment once. We were going to order pizza and watch movies, but he got a phone call and left before she got home.”

  Eli closed his eyes. “And that’s how he gained access to her apartment to steal the figurine.”

  Sasha nodded. “It must have been. He said he had to go to the bathroom. I never thought he’d take something.” She swiped at the tears on her cheeks.

  “It’s not your fault, Sasha. What happened earlier today?”

  She looked down at her hands again. “He told me he needed to go out, so I decided to follow him. He drove down this street, and I could tell he was checking out each house. When I saw number 116, the cute little dollhouse with the blue shutters, that’s when I figured out what he was doing. That he’d somehow figured out where she is. I went around the side of the house to look in the window, just to see if I was right.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “I don’t know. He drove off, so I figured he was on his way back to the hotel. This might be my only chance to warn Kay before he figures out that I know.”

  Tank suddenly leaned forward, his attention fixed on the surveillance screens. “We’ve got action on the back of the house. Someone coming in fast.”

  On the screen, a black-clad figure emerged from the trees behind the property. With no hesitation, the figure headed straight toward the house. A chill ran up Eli’s spine. He’d only seen that kind of single-minded determination a few times in his life. Paid assassins and sociopaths.

  Eli sprang forward. “I have to get back in there.”

  KAY AND MARA both sighed as the credits rolled on the romantic comedy they’d just finished watching. The hero of the movie had been a little too Hollywood-perfect, and of course the actress in the lead had been perfect and thin and blond. In other words, so not her life. But it had still been the perfect combination of sappy and funny. Exactly what she’d needed.

  “I’m really glad you came,” she told Mara. They were both backed up to the wall with their feet dangling over the edge. Mara had ditched her socks an hour ago and her bright orange toenail polish was on display. Kaylee looked with dismay at her own feet, covered in thick black socks. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a pedicure. A little me-time was long overdue. Especially now that there was someone to admire the results.

  “Me, too. I was sitting at home alone, feeling sorry for myself. This is way better. I think I know what I’m going to do now.”

  There was a loud bang and then the sound of glass shattering. A
few seconds later, the alarm screamed out its distinctive warning.

  “What is that?” Mara asked, sitting upright.

  Unlike the last time the alarm went off, Kay instantly knew something was wrong. She sprang forward off the bed and grabbed Mara by the arm. She pulled her out of the guest room and into Eli’s room. Her eyes fell on the playpen in the corner of the room.

  “Hope’s still asleep. Grab the baby!” Kay turned to lock the bedroom door behind them. It wouldn’t stop someone from getting in if they wanted to, but hopefully it would buy them a few extra seconds.

  Mara rushed over to the playpen and leaned down to pick up Hope while Kay pulled open the closet doors.

  She came up behind Kay and then let out a soft gasp. “Holy mother, are those what I think they are?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Kay yelled over the sound of the siren as she hurriedly typed the code into the keypad next to the door. A small section of the wall moved aside and she ducked inside. Mara followed and Kay slapped the button next to the door and the panel slid closed. Immediately, the sound of the siren was muffled.

  “Where are we?” Mara asked.

  Kay stood up and pressed her hands over her rapidly beating heart. “Eli’s panic room. He told me if the alarm ever went off again, this is where I should go.”

  Mara looked around with wide eyes. “A panic room. Really?”

  “Yeah. I just hope it was a false alarm.”

  Kay looked at the panel in the wall that concealed the hidden door. She could only hope that if someone had broken in that they wouldn’t know how to break into the panic room as well.

  She turned around and surveyed the room. Eli hadn’t shown her the inside when he’d given her the code and she hadn’t given it much thought. Now she was here and she had no idea what she was supposed to do now. It was a small room, about the same size as a bedroom. In the far corner there was a desk with two computer monitors and a phone. The sight of the phone made her realize she hadn’t brought her cell.

  “Do you have your cell phone?” she asked Mara. She thought of hers, sitting on the night table next to her bed. If only she’d thought to grab it.

  “I do. Should I call Matt? Or should we wait until they contact me? I’d hate to break his concentration at a critical moment.”

  “Let’s wait and see what happens. Maybe this is a false alarm.”

  Eli had told her to go straight to the panic room if the alarm ever went off again and to wait for him to come and get her. But how long was she supposed to wait? What if Eli was outside the door and needed help? How would she know?

  “Wait, I just got a message from Matt.” Mara peered at the screen of her phone and then started typing. “I’m letting him know that we’re safe in the panic room.” Her phone beeped again. “They’ve got help on the way. He said for us to stay where we are until they come and get us.”

  “Thank God!” Relief flooded through Kay’s veins, so fast and potent it made her dizzy.

  She tiptoed closer to the door and placed her ear to the wall. Maybe if she could hear something it would tell her what was going on. Mara came closer, cradling Hope in her arms and rocking her slightly.

  There were several loud pops similar to the sound of firecrackers. Except Kaylee was pretty sure no one was celebrating.

  “Did you hear that?”

  Mara looked back at her. The fear in her eyes echoed the rising hysteria Kaylee felt. They both backed away from the wall.

  “Gunshots. It sounded like gunshots to me,” Mara whispered.

  Kay took Hope from Mara and held her close. Hope peered around them curiously but didn’t cry. Kay buried her face in the baby’s soft curls. Even though help was on the way, she had no idea where Eli and Matt were or whether they’d been in the house when those gunshots had been fired. All she could do was hope and pray they were safe.

  “Please let them be all right. Please. Please.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  AT THE SOUND of gunshots they all stopped and turned in unison. “Oh my God. What was that? Did he shoot Kay?” Sasha whimpered.

  “Pull up the video feed,” Eli growled as he pushed to the front of the van. He wasn’t even sure he believed her story, but it was just crazy enough to be true. Either way he looked at it, Sasha had led trouble right to their doorstep. Even if she hadn’t meant to, if Kay got hurt then none of that mattered.

  “He’s in the house. He broke the glass on the back door,” Matt said. He pointed to one of the screens. It was a grainy picture, but he could clearly see the entire back sliding glass door had been smashed in.

  “I have to get in there.” He pulled out his weapon, satisfied that he at least hadn’t walked out of the house unarmed, then checked the clip. “I need more firepower.”

  Tank took the Beretta he held and handed him the Glock 23 he always carried. “What’s our plan?”

  “The plan is for me to go in there and put a round in whoever the hell just broke into my place.”

  “You can’t go in there alone,” Matt said.

  Eli climbed to the edge of the van and shoved the doors open. “Kay is in there and so is your sister. Do you want to sit here and talk about plans when they could have a gun to their heads right now?”

  Tank grabbed him by the back of the collar and yanked him back into the van. His grip felt like iron. Eli was a solid 220 pounds of muscle, so it wasn’t often he was manhandled like a rag doll.

  “Maybe you’re going to fire me after this, but I’m not letting you go in there alone,” Tank growled. “I get it. Your girl is in there. But you’re not doing her any favors by charging in with no plan in place. Kaylee is smart. I’m sure she heard the alarm go off.”

  Tank let go and Eli rolled his shoulders. Adrenaline flowed through his system, and he checked his natural instinct to go for the other man’s throat. He was talking sense; intellectually he knew that. But Kay could be in trouble right now and he was standing outside talking. He needed to get in there. He needed to save her.

  “Just let me go in and distract the shooter. You guys can come in after me.”

  Tank clapped a hand on his shoulder. “If you go in there with no plan, you might as well just shoot yourself right here and now. Just wait.”

  Matt’s phone beeped and he snatched it off his belt. “It’s Mara. The girls are safe in the panic room.”

  “Tell them to stay there,” Eli ordered.

  Matt typed out the message, his thumbs flying over the screen. Then he handed Eli an earpiece. “Put this on. We need to be able to communicate.”

  Tank took the other one and slipped it over his ear. “I’ll go around back. All you have to do is get him near the back door. Since he already broke that glass, I should have a clear shot.”

  “And I’ll take the front,” Matt added. “We’ve got this covered. Let’s nail this bastard.”

  Tank loaded his rifle ammunition into a bag and hopped out of the van. He looked both ways and disappeared around the side of the house into the trees. There were plenty of places he could take cover back there.

  He pulled out his phone and sent Agent Harris’s number to Matt. “Call this number and tell them what’s going on. I don’t have time for questions right now, but we’ll need them as backup.”

  Matt looked at the information that had just popped up on his phone’s screen. “The FBI?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been consulting with them on a case. If this guy has been looking for me, then they’ll want to know about it.” He glanced at Sasha. “And what about her?”

  “I’ll take care of her, don’t worry about it.”

  Sasha shivered and pressed back against the wall. Eli nodded at her and then walked to the front of the house. The wind lashed his face, but he couldn’t feel the cold, just the tears it brought to his eyes. His focus was on one thing—getting inside the house. He couldn’t think about what he might find when he opened that door or whether Kay might be injured.

  The front door was slightly open. He p
ushed it open the rest of the way and it gave a long, extended whine. He pulled his Glock as he stepped over the threshold. The front hallway was empty. He crossed to the entry of the kitchen and entered low. The floor was covered in glass, the shards glittering on the wood like diamonds. A brick lay in the middle of the destruction. He took a hesitant step forward, and glass crunched beneath his shoe.

  “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  He turned at the sound of the voice, his gun at the ready. The man standing in the doorway to the room wore black from head to toe. The hood of his jacket obscured his face.

  “You were watching me the day I talked to Jeremy King.”

  The hood nodded. “I’ve been watching you for a long time. You’re a hard man to catch up with.” He raised a hand and pushed the hood back. It fell away and his face came into view.

  And Eli felt the years fall away.

  MARA HAD NEVER considered herself to be that calm under pressure, but when Kaylee started praying, she found an inner well of strength she didn’t know she had. Her brother was out there, possibly in danger, and if there was anything she could do to help, she’d never forgive herself later if she didn’t do it.

  “We are not just going to sit here and wait. There has to be something we can do.” Her eyes landed on the computer in the corner of the room. It looked like a general workstation but this wasn’t an office—it was a panic room. If it was there, there had to be a good reason.

  “The computer. Eli wouldn’t have put that in here for no reason, right?” Mara didn’t know Elliott that well, but from her brother’s descriptions of him as a boss, he was exacting and thorough. Everyone respected him because he took his job seriously. So she had to assume that would carry through into every aspect of his life.