Running On Empty: An LCR Elite Novel

by Christy Reece

  “Seriously.” His eyes roamed the area again. “Thank you.”

  Her smile so bright it hurt his eyes, she whispered, “You’re welcome.”

  Days later, Declan stood before the wall charts he had created and cursed in frustration. He’d listed all operations he’d handled since his first with EDJE. Organizations and terrorist cells he’d had a hand in destroying. Names of all men and women he’d been responsible for killing were listed, as well as all known family members of those people. Arrows shot, swirled, arched, pointed at connections. And still he had no real clue.

  He got to his feet and hobbled back and forth in the small room. He’d been in this space for three days, and other than creating lists, he’d done jack shit.

  He had seen little of Sabrina. Once she had shown him the house, the rooms she’d prepared for him, including a bedroom she’d obviously rushed to get ready for him, she had left him on his own.

  He had treated her terribly. He felt shame for the things he’d said, what he had done. And for allowing himself to be brainwashed. They had not only almost killed him, but they had destroyed his marriage, had hurt his wife. He had a lot of reasons to make these people pay, and he intended to collect each and every debt.

  A knock on the door, and Sabrina walked in. “Wow, you’ve been busy.”

  He looked up at the wall again. “Suspect list is bigger than I thought it would be. Seems like most of the creeps I’ve put down had plenty of family and friends.”

  She came and stood beside him. He told himself the fresh fragrance of apples would make anyone’s mouth water. Just because it happened to be coming from the alluring woman he was still married to had no bearing. Even he wasn’t a good enough liar to believe that.

  She reached up and pulled down a photo of a short, thin, bald man with a hooknose and beady eyes. “You can eliminate this guy’s family.”

  “Hans Gerlach? Why?”

  “His widow gathered the entire family together for a reunion in their vacation home in Switzerland. Once everyone arrived, she set off a bomb. Blew them all to hell.”

  “When?”

  “About eight months after you disappeared.”

  Declan couldn’t say he was surprised. “Hans always claimed his wife was the meaner of the two. Guess he was right.” He threw out a hand. “You see anyone else that needs to be eliminated?”

  She didn’t answer right away, taking the time to study each one, along with the notes he’d scribbled beside each photo. “I don’t know this one.” She nodded toward one of the men. “Must’ve been before my time.”

  “Yeah. I hesitated putting that up there. I took Joseph Bosch out about a year after I joined the Agency. He was one of my first kills. Messy job. I should’ve been killed, too. He had a wife and a couple of kids. Wife swore she knew nothing about his activities. I believed her, but who the hell knows anymore?”

  “Doubting yourself isn’t going to help. Whoever did this fooled more than just you.”

  “Maybe…still pisses me off.”

  She touched another photo. “Haven’t thought about this asshole in a while.”

  “Gerald Ronan,” Declan muttered. Just the thought of the creep brought rage. “If there was one kill I could go back and relive, he’s the one.”

  “Reports are that his son, Darius, is even meaner.”

  “I’ve barely gotten beyond making these lists. What’s Gerald’s little boy been up to?”

  Her hand touched his arm with a gentle caress. “Dinner’s ready. Come eat, and we’ll talk about it.”

  Sabrina sat quietly, waiting for Declan to finish his first plate. His color was much better and his movements less stiff. He was well on his way to mending. And seeing him load up his plate with the colorful stir-fry made her breathe even easier. His appetite had returned.

  And because she wanted him to regain his health, she forced herself to wait until he’d eaten at least one full plate of food. She picked at her own small helping. Even though she was sure of her course of action, it didn’t mean she looked forward to the coming confrontation. The man could teach stubborn to a mule. His personality might have changed in many ways, but his stubbornness seemed to have survived intact.

  The clanging of his fork hitting his empty plate was her signal. Before she could speak, he said, “Okay. I’m finished with my requisite one plate. You ready to talk?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Every time we have a meal together, you’re completely silent until I finish at least one serving.”

  She shrugged. No use denying what was true. “So? I just want you to get better.”

  “And I appreciate it, Sabrina, but I’m not your responsibility.”

  She wasn’t even going to respond to that, because it would start an argument neither of them would win. Best to stick to the mission—one that, for the first time in a long time, they were both involved in, whether he wanted to admit that or not.

  “Okay. Back to Darius Ronan. He’s got a sizable following. His father’s legacy left him with a lot of lost followers. They eagerly joined with him. And he’s collected quite a few on his own.”

  “And their cause? Is it the same as Gerald’s? Take out as many innocents as possible just because they can?”

  “Hard to say what his agenda is. He changes it frequently. From what I can tell, money is his motivator. He’s made a boatload in the last few years.”

  “He takes contracts?”

  “Oh yeah. Whatever pays him the big bucks.”

  “His father was scum, but at least he had some kind of belief system.”

  “From what I can tell, the only thing Darius Ronan believes in is money.”

  He nodded his thanks. “I appreciate you telling me this. Having your expertise and knowledge will make my job easier.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way, because there’s someone else I’d like for you to work with, too.”

  “Who?”

  “Hear me out before you make a decision.”

  “I—”

  “You owe me that, Declan.”

  The dark flicker of regret told her she’d scored a point. Didn’t mean she was proud of it, but she had to get through to him. If using his guilt worked, then that’s what she’d damn well do.

  “You’re right.”

  She started with facts. “First of all, you didn’t have to help with Tyndall’s rescue. You could have gone to the prison on your own, and you didn’t need LCR to do that. You have thousands of dollars and a dozen or more passports stashed throughout the world—that includes the US. You could have found a way to access those funds and been on your way. But you didn’t. You assisted because, despite what was done to you and how you say you’ve changed, there’s still that core of decency inside you. You wanted to help.

  “However, other than funds and fake IDs, you have almost no resources. You won’t allow EDJE to help you because you trust no one there. You’re totally alone. Even with help, finding the person who betrayed you will be almost impossible. Without help, you won’t succeed.”

  A small twitch at his mouth gave her the idea he was trying not to smile. “Hope that wasn’t intended to be a motivational speech because, frankly, you suck at it.”

  “You know I’m not one to pull punches. You need to hear the truth.”

  “And how do you presume to help with that?”

  “I’ve got the resources to dig deep.”

  “Hacking into EDJE records? No way can you do that. I’ve got a lot of faith in your talents, Sabrina, but hacking isn’t one of them.”

  “You’re right, it’s not. But I know one of the best hackers in the business.”

  “Who?”

  “Angela Delvecchio.”

  “The LCR operative? No way will McCall allow his—”

  “Noah has offered her services.”

  “Why would he do this?”

  “Because I asked him to.”

  “This isn’t a rescue.”

  “No, but it
involves rescuers, and that’s a concern for Noah. Hell, it should be a concern for everyone. You were taken and tortured for information. If Jackson hadn’t gone off on his own to investigate, you’d still be there, maybe dead.”

  “How does that concern McCall?”

  “Our lives were destroyed. They tortured you. You might not have given them anything to use, but that doesn’t mean they won’t do it again. They might get someone who can’t survive what was done to you.”

  Before he could throw up a roadblock, she continued, “Look, all I’m asking is that you come with me to LCR and talk to Noah. Let him show you what they can do. After that, if you still think you’d do better on your own, I’ll agree, and we’ll stick to just the two of us.”

  “There isn’t a ‘just the two of us’ any longer, Sabrina.”

  She wouldn’t let his words hurt her. He could lie to himself all day long. There was still a “we” whether he was ready to admit it or not. “I’m not saying we’re together as a married couple. I’m saying that I refuse to sit back and not try to find the people who did this. I was hurt, too, Declan.”

  “Look, I know it destroyed our marriage, but other than that—”

  Okay, forget the “he can’t hurt me with his words” mantra she’d been practicing for the last few days. He’d said it like their marriage had been a small, insignificant thing. It had been the most important thing in the world to her. Much more important than her job, though she loved her job. More important than her life, and she’d loved her life.

  “I told you before, but I’m not sure you were listening. I got that text, asking me to meet you in Florence, at a little café. Fortunately, I got there late since it saved my life.”

  He nodded. “I remember. You said you saw the explosion. Saw a man who looked like me die.”

  “That’s true. But if I’d gotten there a minute sooner, I would have died with him.”

  “Were you hurt?”

  “It was nothing.”

  “Tell me,” he growled.

  “Cuts and bruises. Nothing serious.” What was the point in detailing her injuries? Or revealing that she woke up screaming his name for months after?

  “I didn’t know.”

  “Thing is, even though you don’t think our marriage was that big of a deal, I do owe them for making me think my husband was dead, as well as almost killing me. Surely that’s worth something.”

  “I never said our marriage wasn’t important.”

  Yes, he had, but arguing would do no good. He had spoken the truth as he saw it. She pushed away from the table and stood. “Will you talk to Noah?”

  “I’ll hear him out.”

  “Thank you.” She turned to walk away.

  “Sabrina?”

  She stopped but kept her back to him. He didn’t need to see the hurt in her eyes.

  “Thanks for dinner.”

  Stupid, stupid Sabrina. How silly to think he had been going to apologize, tell her their marriage had meant something to him. She gave a short, curt nod and left the room before she threw the empty dishes at his stubborn head.

  Chapter Nineteen

  LCR Headquarters

  As Sabrina and Steele came into his office, Noah stood and gestured for them to sit at the conference table, where Angela had already set up for the meeting.

  Even though LCR was his organization, using company resources on a non-rescue wasn’t something Noah took lightly. However, he had made a commitment to his operatives to help them in times of need. Sabrina needed his help. And whether Steele wanted to admit it, he was one of LCR’s now. He’d helped with a rescue and had saved Noah’s life. He owed the man.

  Noah waited until everyone was seated and then began. “As discussed, I’ve agreed to use LCR resources to assist in determining who abducted Steele. That assistance will involve new territory for us and will be dangerous. We’ll be delving into a government agency that only a handful of people know about.”

  Noah took in both Sabrina’s and Steele’s gazes. “With the understanding that whatever information is revealed here never leaves this room, I’d like for each of you to share as much as you can about EDJE. Angela’s skills are incomparable, but having as much information as possible to start with will help her get the job done much faster.”

  “First, I’d like to thank you, McCall and Angela, for agreeing to help,” Steele said. “I didn’t want to involve anyone else for a lot of reasons. One being that this is risky for both of you, personally and professionally. However, Sabrina convinced me that getting the information I need as soon as possible is better for all of us.”

  Few things surprised Noah anymore, but Steele’s expression of thanks had. For the first time, he saw a glimmer of the man Declan Steele had been before his capture. Noah figured the woman at Steele’s side was one of the biggest reasons he was coming back to life.

  “As you probably know by now, EDJE stands for Eagle Defense Justice Enforcers. Albert Marks formed it about thirty years ago. Albert is former CIA. Had the brains and the balls to pull off the creation of one of the most secretive and elite agencies in the world. He, along with a couple of other former CIA agents, were the first operatives. The president and his most trusted advisers are the only ones aware of its existence. No one else.

  “The Agency began as a small group of men and women dedicated to infiltrating organizations and terrorist cells to destroy them. They grew as the threats against our country increased. When I was taken, we had twenty-two field agents, eighteen support staff, five commanders and then Albert, who ran the Agency.”

  Picking up where Steele left off, Sabrina said, “Unless we were on a special assignment, we either worked alone or in pairs.”

  “And your main focus was on taking out the people who’d attacked the US?” Noah asked.

  “About half of the Agency was dedicated to this task,” Steele said. “The other half infiltrated to gather intel.”

  “And these people you worked with,” Angela said, “they were fully vetted?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you believe at least one of them sold you out?” Noah asked.

  “At least one. Probably more.”

  “Declan’s right,” Sabrina said. “Setting everything up had to take considerable resources and involve numerous people. The bombing in Florence, with the guy who looked similar to Declan, took some doing to pull off. Fooling me into believing the man I saw die was my husband was a feat in itself.

  “On top of that, Declan’s DNA somehow got switched. Uncle Al…I mean, Albert Marks said the medical examiner swears that the DNA he tested was Declan’s.”

  “So it’s someone with plenty of money,” Noah said.

  “Yes,” Steele agreed.

  “You’re worth that much?” Noah asked.

  “Yes,” Steele answered.

  “Sabrina told me that you were working on uncovering a mole in the Agency. Do you think he or she is the reason you were taken?”

  “Yes, I do. Albert and I were the only ones who knew my mission. I found bugs on my clothing and in my luggage. I knew I’d been found out.” Steele shot Sabrina an odd, uncomfortable look. “I gave out false information, hoping to get them off my trail. It didn’t work.”

  “And did you have any main suspects before you were taken?”

  “No. The mole is good. He or she continued to successfully do their job, but was also working on the side to circumvent a few missions.”

  “That’s a good start.” Noah glanced over at Angela, “You’re on.”

  Giving a quick smile to Noah, Angela clicked a couple of keys on her laptop and then turned to the large screen behind her. “As you can see, I’ve already hacked into the mainframe of the Agency. It’s not giving me a lot yet, because everyone has an encrypted password. However, I think this will give us a start.”

  The screen revealed photos and short biographies of every EDJE employee since it began. The details for the most part were sketchy.

  “Damn,”
Steele breathed. “How long have you been working on this?”

  Angela shrugged. “A day…day and a half.”

  Steele shot a look at Noah. “She is good.”

  “Yes, she is.”

  Acknowledging the compliment with a nod, Angela then gave Steele a look that had Noah fighting a smile. It was an expression that Jake, her fiancé, called her “down and dirty look.” Meaning, if her opponent didn’t go down, it was going to get dirty.

  “Okay, Mr. Steele, I’ve shown you mine,” Angela said. “Now it’s time for you to show me yours. I’ve gotten this far. Help me get deeper inside, and let’s find out who did this to you and Sabrina.”

  “Very well. Ask me anything.”

  “Let’s start with your abduction. When did it happen and how?”

  “Three days after I found the bugs, I was taken.”

  A gasp came Sabrina. “I always assumed you were taken around the time of the explosion. Why did they wait almost two months before staging the explosion?”

  “I don’t know.” He named his greatest fear. “Unless the plan was to kill you just to get you out of the way.”

  “And they almost succeeded,” McCall said.

  That, among other things, tore at Declan. Not only had he treated her like shit since his return, but she had been injured, almost killed, and he hadn’t known about it.

  “You were tortured for information,” McCall said. “About your mission to find the mole inside the Agency or something else?”

  “No, the mole was never mentioned. The information they wanted pertained to the Agency. They wanted everything I knew.”

  “When did they start using me against you?” Sabrina asked.

  “Hard to say.” He rubbed his forehead as that damn headache returned. Something that happened every time they discussed her involvement. “The months kind of ran together.”

  Thankfully changing directions, Angela asked, “How were you taken?”

  “I got a text from Sabrina, asking to meet me in front of the church where we were married.”

  “No wonder you believed it was me,” Sabrina said.

  “Wait,” Angela said. “Why would her request to meet at the church where you married be a red flag?”