by KaLyn Cooper
He smiled and gave her a peck on the lips. “Sure. Now, I’m starving and Griffin is cooking breakfast. Let’s go.”
When Katlin touched her still queasy stomach, Alex suggested a bagel with her second cup of coffee.
As they stepped out into the common area, she was verbally attacked by Lei Lu.
“You’re not going to believe what I found.” Her friend dragged her over to the dining table and indicated the chair next to where she’d been sitting, laptop open.
“I’ve got you covered.” Alex took her empty mug and headed to the kitchen. “Deal with that.”
“Okay, show me what you’ve got.” Katlin sat down. “Please tell me you found where Jack ordered the video.”
“Oh, sister of my heart, that took me all of ten minutes. Then I found the good stuff on him. How does murder-for-hire sound? And I’m not sure what other laws he broke since he hired a terrorist to kill military men.”
Everyone in the open concept area stopped and stared at the two of them sitting at the large dining table.
“Are you kidding me?” Grace scooted over to them, still in her pajamas, and took the chair on the other side of Lei Lu.
“Sweetheart, my fucking genius. Please tell me this is not going to get you arrested.” Henry moved behind the three women and was quickly joined by Griffin and Alex.
Lei Lu patted Henry’s hand which was on her shoulder. “You should know by now, I’m better than they are. I didn’t leave any trace.” She turned to Katlin. “How you can legally retrieve this information, I’m not sure, but I can give you its location on Homeland’s system.”
“We’ll figure that out, just tell me what the hell you have.” Katlin knew she sounded rude, but wanted her friend to move on.
When Lei Lu glanced first at Alex then held her hand over hers, Katlin knew she wasn’t going to like the next words.
“Jack had Ty killed.” Lei Lu squeezed her hand tight. “Stay with me.” Using her mouse, she highlighted several lines of code. “This is where Jack hunted for, and found, a double agent in Afghanistan.” A few clicks later, she highlighted more lines. “This is where he transferred one-hundred thousand U.S. dollars to that terrorist.” One click later, she highlighted again and looked up at Alex. “And this is where he gave the man the coordinates of your rendezvous point and mission objective.”
But her teammate wasn’t done. Lei Lu clicked to the next screen. “Days later, Jack’s assassin came back for more money. In this communication, our terrorist claims he lost nearly a quarter-million dollars because he couldn’t take the heads of the SEALs proving to the Taliban that he and his band of mercenaries took out a whole SEAL team. He demanded more money and Jack paid him.”
“Now, see this line of numbers? That was the Cayman Island account they used to do business. His terrorist wasn’t very smart. He never moved the money into a personal account. But Jack did. Three days later, this account was emptied. It took me about half an hour this morning to follow the money, but guess where it ended up?”
“In an account with Jack Ashworth’s name on it.” Griffin offered.
“No, but it did pass through one of his accounts.” Lei Lu stared at Katlin.
“Oh, please, don’t tell me he put it in one of my accounts.” Fuck. That would make Katlin look as though she had her husband killed. She already carried around enough guilt for falsely accusing him of an affair hours before he left on that mission.
Lei Lu grinned knowingly. “He put the money into the foundation that you created for the children of Tyler’s SEAL team.”
Katlin’s stomach roiled.
“Excuse me.” She bolted from the table and just made it into her bathroom in time before she started throwing up again. She was thankful her hair was pulled tight at the nape of her neck. She wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to hold it out of the way.
Katlin didn’t know how to feel about that money. She’d created it for the children and now it was covered in the blood of their fathers. On the other hand, it was also an excellent place for it but she would never thank Jack for the donation.
Alex kneeled, handing her a cool washcloth and a bottle of cold water. Another reason she loved this man. He took wonderful care of her.
Standing, she first rinsed her mouth then moved to the sink and brushed her teeth before gargling with mouthwash. When she finally looked at Alex, he was pale.
Oh, fuck. He’d been there, in the firefight that followed the ambush of Ty’s team. Katlin wrapped her arms around him. Alex had just been told his best friend had been murdered…by Jack.
Most likely because of Jack’s obsession with her.
“I’m so sorry, Alex.” She repeated the words over and over again as she rubbed her hand up and down his back.
“I’m going to kill that fucker.” Alex said in a low growl.
“That’s always an option but I’d rather not visit you in jail. Let’s put him in prison for treason.”
“Ye of little faith. I’d never be caught.” Alex threw his arm around her as they joined their friends in the dining room.
Two hours later, Katlin’s head was still swimming with everything Lei Lu had revealed that morning. All the compiled information had been sent to General Standish and her Uncle Tom. Hopefully, there was enough there for Jack to be convicted of something that would put him away for years.
As she started the third set of videos for the day, someone cracked the door open and slid in. When Katlin raised her eyes to greet the newcomer, her doppelgänger was the last person she expected to see.
“Ni—”
The woman who looked more like her every day put her finger over her closed mouth and shook her head then pointed to a camera in the corner as she crouched down. Her fingers flew over her phone.
Nikkole finally stood. “There, I disabled the audio and video in here. We only have a few minutes.” Her eyes scanned Katlin up and down. “I heard a rumor that Jack Ashworth tried to implant embryos that he’d fertilized into you. Is it true?”
Katlin took a deep breath and let out a slow, controlled sigh. She hated rumors, especially when this one was true. At this point, Katlin didn’t give a shit if people knew what Jack had tried to do to her. “Yes. While I was in a medically induced coma. Several years ago, I had reproductive problems and had my eggs harvested. They were supposedly stolen and sold on the black market. Jack found them, bought them, hell, for all I know he could’ve stolen them. But they were my eggs, fertilized by Jack, that he tried to have implanted in me. Why do you ask?”
“Is it possible there are more of your eggs out there?”
Her question made Katlin sit up in the chair. “Guardian Security backtracked the ones he was going to use to the fertility clinic and retrieved what was left.”
“But there could be more of your fertilized eggs out there, right?” Nikkole kept pressing the issue.
“Yes, it’s possible,” Katlin admitted.
“Fuck.” Nikkole started to pace the small space. “I knew that motherfucker would fuck me over. It’s always been you.”
Katlin slowly moved her hand toward the small of her back where her pistol was available for easy access.
“Nikkole, tell me what fucking Jack did to you this time?” Katlin didn’t want the woman’s anger targeted at her. Did she dare share with Jack’s known fuck-buddy? On the other hand, perhaps Nikkole could be handy.
When the other woman whipped around and slapped her hands on the desk, glaring at Katlin with eyes identical to her own, Katlin slipped the gun out of its holster. The sound of Nikkole’s rapid breathing was absorbed by the small room.
“Take a deep breath, Nikkole, and talk to me. I might be able to help you. There are a lot of things happening in the background around here. Maybe you can help us, too.”
She blinked. Then Nikkole let out a heavy sigh. “Katlin, I think Jack still has more of your eggs.”
Katlin stood at that declaration. “What gave you that idea?”
Nic
ole stepped back and leaned against the wall as though she needed support. “He offered me a hundred thousand dollars to rent my womb long enough to have his baby.” Her jaw quivered. “Then he was going to take my baby away from me. I could never see it again. He said no part of that baby was mine. He already had growing embryos that they’d put into me.”
She lifted off the wall and started pacing again. “Oh, but he was making me one hell of a deal. I can have a house or condo the whole time I was pregnant. He’d cover all my expenses.” She stopped in front of the desk and sneered. “I could keep working here as long as I wanted unless it affected the baby. Or, I can quit as soon as I sign the contract.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Did I tell you one of the best parts? I could never tell anyone that I was carrying Jack Ashworth’s baby.”
She looked away blinking. “I’m such a fucking fool. When he first asked me, I thought he was asking me to marry him.” She wiped away the tears streaking her cheeks. “I would have, you know. Married him. I’d do anything for him.” She ran her hand in front of her body from her head down toward the floor. “I’ve already done more for that man than any woman should be asked to do. And what do I get for it? The privilege of carrying your baby.”
Katlin felt like she’d been punched in the gut. She collapsed into the chair. “No. No!” She flew around to the opposite side of the desk and took Nikkole by the shoulders. “We can’t let him do this. We cannot let Jack get away with this.”
Katlin dropped her hands and started pacing the same track Nikkole had made. “What can we do? How are we going to stop him?” Katlin stopped in front of Nikkole. “And I’m talking about stopping him, forever. You mentioned the contract. Was it something in writing, or was it just going to be a verbal agreement?”
Blond hair went flying as Nikkole shook her head. “Oh, no. He had a ten-page contract drawn up with my name already filled in.”
Katlin smiled at her mirror image. “Nikkole, don’t fuck with me. Are you willing to help me take Jack Ashworth down?”
“Absolutely. That man has shoved me to the lowest level possible for the last time. What do you need from me?”
“We need to go to lunch, with my favorite aunt and uncle.” Katlin didn’t want the woman out of her sight until a plan was solidified. She didn’t trust Nikkole Chernakov one inch.
26
Katlin sat in the FBI command center van two blocks from the Pennsylvania fertility clinic where Nikkole was being prepped for in vitro fertilization. Katlin wanted to be there when Jack was taken into custody, if nothing more than for questioning. She would take her satisfaction in watching Jack surrounded by federal agents as they walked him to a waiting SUV. She’d been assured that he could not return to his post as Director of Operations.
Everyone from the Secretary of Homeland Security to the head of the FBI task force and the Chief of Naval Operations wanted to talk to Jack Ashworth. The problem was, he hadn’t been to work since the day Katlin and Nikkole had their conversation. According to Jack’s boss, he’d emailed that he was taking a few extra days beyond his bereavement leave to settle his parents’ estate. Although he’d been seen leaving his Georgetown home, he’d lost his tail each time. He was, after all, a trained agent.
Everyone felt sure Jack would be there when his babies were implanted into Nikkole.
But as the procedure time passed, Jack hadn’t shown.
Two hours later, a tearful Nikkole walked out of the clinic, her uterus as empty as it was when she’d entered.
Katlin popped out the back of the van and embraced Nikkole in a hug. “What’s the matter?”
“I want the baby.” The other woman dropped her head to Katlin’s shoulder.
“Me, too,” Katlin admitted.
“But I don’t want Jack’s,” Nikkole said half-crying, half-laughing.
“Neither do I.” Katlin wasn’t sure if her own tears were for the embryos containing her DNA that were thawing inside that facility that would never see life, or if they were tears of laughter that neither woman wanted anything to do with Jack Ashworth’s babies.
“I hate Jack Ashworth. He didn’t even care enough about me to be here when they were going to implant his babies into me.” Her tears streaked her pretty makeup-free face.
“He’s such an inconsiderate asshole,” Katlin agreed. With her arm around Nikkole, they headed to the Guardian limousine that pulled to the curb.
“You know you can still go the IVF route with an anonymous sperm donor.” Katlin settled herself in the back of the large, comfortable vehicle.
Katlin picked up the original conversation. “There are several fertility clinics around Washington D.C.. Millions of professional women are single mothers these days.”
Nikkole smiled at her. “I don’t need a place like that for a sperm donor. Have you seen me? I’m beautiful. This whole process has taught me how to get pregnant, and getting a handsome and intelligent man into bed isn’t a problem for me. Now, I just have to decide if I’m more interested in being a Homeland Security agent or a mother.”
“Or both,” they said at the same time, then high-fived.
They rode in silence for a few minutes, Nikkole staring out the window. “I think I’m going to take a couple days off. I don’t want to take the chance of running into Jack, not that he’s been around lately. I need some time to myself.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” Katlin still didn’t trust Nikkole and wondered if she’d told him of their plans. It was too late if she had. Eventually, the FBI would catch up with him. Maybe by then, the authorities would have solidified all the charges.
Nikkole turned her attention to the interior of the limo. Katlin was used to riding around in a limousine but by the way Nikkole seemed to absorb everything around her, Katlin would bet the agent hadn’t ridden in many. She’d probably be bored with the new experience by the time they reached D.C. It was a long ride home. Her eyes lit up when she discovered the bar.
“Now that I’m not pregnant, or going to be anytime soon, how about a drink?” Nikkole opened the bar and pulled out two wineglasses, pouring each of them a drink. They toasted to not being pregnant by Jack, but the wine didn’t sit well with Katlin so she set it aside after the first sip.
She discussed her sensitive stomach with Dr. Tobias and he said that wasn’t unusual. He suggested that she stay away from spicy food, alcohol, and soda. He also limited her to one cup of coffee a day. That was the hardest recommendation to follow. Katlin loved her morning coffee.
When she reported to work the next day, she had an email saying she’d been taken off light duty. Thank God. No more black box. No one seemed to know who was in charge of Section 7 but her team was ordered to Quantico, acting as the enemy against new lieutenants at The Basic School.
That afternoon when Alex picked her up, he was all smiles. “Tuesday morning before the sun rises.”
“Okay, I’m game. What happens Tuesday morning before the sun rises? I’ll probably just be crawling into my bed at the officer’s barracks at Quantico. Our whole team is headed to Virginia. We’re supposed to report there tomorrow, by the way.”
Alex reached over and grabbed her hand. “Then I guess we’d better take advantage of every minute between now and then. I’m quite sure you’re in need of a nap.” He moved her hand over to his crotch. “I’m fully capable of tiring you out.”
“No sex until you tell me what’s going to happen Tuesday.” She loved to tease Alex.
“Well, then I guess you’re going to miss Jack’s arrest.”
“No. I want to be there.” Katlin sounded a little whiny, but she’d really wanted to see Jack in handcuffs.
Alex’s smile was sassy. “I got an invitation to watch”. He shrugged. “I have to stand across the street but at least I get to see him take the perp walk.”
“They were able to bring formal charges against him?” Katlin turned in the front seat as Alex slipped in and out of traffic.
“Yes. Misappropriation of
government funds. He used Homeland Security money to pay the terrorist.” He gave her a shit-eating grin. “They are still working on murder for hire and a few others, but they have him cold on the misappropriation. He won’t be allowed to post bail because he’s too much of a flight risk.”
“Take pictures,” she demanded.
Five days later, Alex stood across the street in the dark of night wearing similar black camouflage to the special operators from the FBI. His buddy had allowed him to watch and listen through their communication system, but from a distance. Leaning against the Guardian SUV, arms crossed over his Kevlar-covered chest, he heard when Jack’s Georgetown home had been surrounded.
Shit was about to get real.
Two men in standard FBI suits rang the doorbell. There was no answer. No lights came on inside the large house.
They tried one more time.
No answer. No lights.
Several men carrying a door breacher moved in behind the suits.
“Why don’t you try the knob before you go busting it down?” somebody suggested over the comm.
To everyone’s surprise, the door wasn’t locked. Neither was the back door. Men rushed in. Alex heard “Clear” multiple times as the team determined each room to be uninhabited.
Alex’s friend exited the front door, flipped his assault rifle to his back, and took off his helmet. “There’s nothing in there,” he announced.
“No trace of Ashworth?” One of the suits asked.
Alex’s friend chuckled. “No. When I told you there’s nothing in there, I meant absolutely nothing.” He turned around and flicked on the lights. “Go see for yourself. The place is empty. Are you sure we’ve got the right house?”
“Absolutely.” Suit number two headed through the door.
Alex was sure, too. He’d been inside that house, more than once. It had been filled with antiques. A grown man couldn’t take more than two steps without bumping into something fragile and expensive.
