by Lucy Lennox
“So, you and a supermodel, huh?” Zach said with a grin. “Mom’s going to freak that you finally met someone.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “That’s what you want to talk about?” I asked.
He sobered and said, “Still trying to take it all in, I guess.” He shook his head. “Three fucking years, Jake.”
I dropped my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Zach.”
“I’ll rip you a new one later. Let’s deal with the here and now.”
I nodded and said, “You saw the picture?”
“My girlfriend did,” Zach said. “She’s big on that clothes shit. She couldn’t believe how much he” –Zach motioned over his shoulder at Oz– “had changed with the hair and stuff. Then she saw your picture and mentioned how much it looked like the pictures I’d shown her of you.”
“Do Mom and Dad know?” I asked.
“No. I wanted to come out here and make sure it was really you before I got their hopes up.”
“Fuck,” I muttered as I scrubbed my hand over my face. “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted as I met Zach’s eyes.
“Well, that’s okay, because we’re going to figure it out together.”
“So says GI Joe,” I murmured as I took him in again. “I guess the army’s working out for you, huh?”
“It did,” Zach confirmed.
“Did? Not is? Did you leave it? Why? You love the army—” I stopped mid-sentence because I knew the answer. “You left for me.”
“You make it sound like a choice,” Zach said softly. “Stay in the army or try to find my missing brother?” Zach held my gaze for a moment, then shook his head. “It was never a choice, Jake.”
I shifted my gaze back to Oz because it hurt too much to look at my brother. Knowing he’d put his life on hold for me like that… which meant my parents and sister had probably done the same…
Xander chose that moment to enter the apartment. We were staying at the nudist colony where Xander’s aunt Lolly lived. Since going back to Haven hadn’t been safe, Xander had figured that the community of naked people would be the last place Barton would think to look for me.
“Okay, we’re good here for a while. Lolly says the guy who owns this apartment is in California visiting his granddaughter for a couple more weeks, and he said it was fine for us to use it.”
Xander dropped down into one of the chairs. “How you doing?” he asked me.
“Better now,” I admitted.
The adrenaline rush was just now starting to wear off, and I wanted nothing more than to drag Oz to bed with me and hold him while I tried to accept that everything was about to change. That no matter what happened from here on out, I wouldn’t be alone in it anymore. Whatever it took, I knew I had to end this once and for all.
“How did you guys find us?” I asked, trying really hard not to think about what would have happened if they hadn’t. There was no way I would have been able to stop Cass. Pain radiated out through my limbs as I remembered the way Oz had looked at me when he’d realized he was going to die.
I sucked in a couple of deep breaths to try and quell the nausea that threatened to send me to my knees.
“Zach showed up in town looking for you. I was just heading out to your cabin to check on you and Oz when I ran into him. The resemblance…” Xander’s gaze shifted between me and Zach. “Anyway, when he told me who he was, I knew it was true, so I had him come along.”
“We saw the bullet holes and the trashed cabin. Xander saw all the footprints leaving the back of the cabin and figured out where you’d most likely be headed,” Zach said.
“The cabin was trashed?” I asked.
“Yeah, why?” my brother asked.
“Nothing,” I murmured. “Just didn’t seem like they would have had the time to check the cabin… unless they left some men behind.” I stilled as I remembered the episode on the mountain and Barton’s voice on the radio. “Barton,” I muttered.
“Who is he?” Zach asked. “What’s all this about?”
I sighed and quickly checked Oz once more before recounting the events of the past few years. During my story, Zach got to his feet and began pacing the kitchen.
“Fuck,” Zach snapped when I was done, then seemed to catch himself as he glanced at Oz to make sure his outburst hadn’t woken him up. “You’re not running again,” he bit out as he looked pointedly at me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I assured him.
That seemed to calm him a bit, but he kept pacing. “I’ve got some contacts who might be able to give us some more information on this guy, Barton,” Zach said.
“We should start with the local cops,” Xander said. “The Haven force is small… okay, it’s just two guys, but Sheriff Huntley and his deputy are good guys. They need to know what happened on that mountain so they can be on the lookout for Barton and the rest of his men. Maybe we can keep Jake’s name out of it for now?”
“Maybe I should go public,” I said. “Turn myself in and let the chips fall where they may.”
“No,” I heard Oz say. He was still lying on his back but trying to sit up. I got up and hurried to him. Bear jumped off Oz’s lower body and Boo crawled into his arms. I went to sit next to Oz and he immediately sagged against me. “You can’t leave me,” he said tiredly.
I threaded my fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead. “It would only be for a while,” I said, but he was shaking his head before I even finished.
“No, we’ll… we’ll get you a lawyer and a bunch of bodyguards and we’ll go stay someplace where he can’t ever find us… I’ll spend every penny I have before—”
“Shhh,” I murmured as I held him a little tighter in the hopes it would help calm him. He was shaking and his voice kept cracking. I knew most of his reaction was coming from the fact that the events of the past twenty-four hours were just now catching up to him. I leaned down so my mouth was near his ear. “It’s okay, baby. I’m not going anywhere. Not leaving you.”
He let out a whoosh of air and then pushed farther into my arms so there was no space between us. He let out a little whimper, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the pain in his arm or the fear that was cascading over him. I held him as I focused on Zach and Xander, who sat down on the loveseat on the opposite side of the living room. “Those guys weren’t DEA,” I said. “Or if they were, they were dirty like Barton.”
Zach nodded. “I checked them for ID before we left. Nothing. Let’s hold off on telling the authorities they’re out there for a few hours until I’ve had a chance to learn more about Barton. Oz is right–we need to bring in more men to keep an eye on you guys and anyone associated with you. I’m going to call some friends to go sit on Mom, Dad, and Claire.” Zach looked at Xander. “Let’s get your family up here.”
“Zoey’s at the lodge,” Oz said.
“We’ll get her here, too,” Xander said as he got his phone out and dialed. Zach did the same and got up to step into the kitchen for his conversation. Xander frowned and hung up, then dialed again. At my look he said, “Bennett didn’t answer. I’m trying Lucky.”
I felt tension roll through me when Xander hung up again. Lucky was a seventeen-year-old kid. His phone was practically glued to his hand.
“Try Zoey,” Oz said. He sat up, his body tense. He gave Xander Zoey’s number.
Zach returned to the room just as Xander hung up.
“Something’s wrong,” Xander said as he climbed to his feet.
“Did you tell Bennett about my cabin?” I asked.
Xander shook his head. “I didn’t want to worry him. I just told him that you’d left, but that I figured you were hiding out in one of the vacation cabins to lay low for a while. I told him I was going to head up there to check on you… I didn’t mention the shooting or Zach.” Xander shook his head again. “I have to go check on them.”
He’d only taken two steps when his phone rang. He quickly looked at it, but then frowned when he saw whoever it was.
“It’s W
ade,” he said. He answered and put the phone on speaker.
“Hey, Wade,” Xander said.
“Xander, hey,” Wade responded. I sat up when I heard how shaky his voice was. “Um, do you know where Zoey is?”
“No, why?” Xander asked. I could tell he was trying to keep his voice neutral.
“She and I were supposed to go to lunch. She asked me to pick her up at your place because Lucky wanted to show her something, but she’s not here. None of them are.”
“You’re at my house?” Xander asked, giving up his relaxed act.
“Yeah. I mean, Bennett’s car is here, and your receptionist at the lodge said Bennett had some kind of conference call planned this morning with some people in New York, so he should be here…”
Oz and I both stood up as the worry went to full-on fear.
“And Xander, the um, the front door was wide open, and that vase you keep on that table by the door is broken.”
“Fuck,” Xander said as his eyes shot between me and Zach. I could tell he was on the verge of losing it.
“Wade?” Zach said as he snatched up the phone. “Can you hold on a minute?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.”
Zach muted the phone.
“Fuck, he has them, doesn’t he?” Xander yelled as he began pacing the room. “Doesn’t he?” he practically snarled at Zach.
“Insurance,” Oz whispered.
“What?” I asked.
Oz had gone frighteningly pale. He put Boo down on the couch. “Insurance. That’s what that guy said. That they wanted me for insurance, but then… oh god!” He grabbed my arms. “Barton, he said he didn’t need it anymore!”
I tried to search my mind, but I couldn’t remember hearing that. But I’d been pretty out of it from the blows to the head I’d taken. I only remembered begging the men not to hurt Oz and then Barton ordering them to kill him.
“Insurance?” Xander said. “What does that mean? Insurance for what?”
“Jake,” Zach cut in, his voice eerily calm. “When you left Diego’s house in Colombia, did you take something? Some kind of proof of what Barton was involved in?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head violently. “No, I just got the hell out of there!”
Oh god, if Barton had them…
“Did you tell anyone else about Barton? Besides the cop who helped you?”
“No,” I repeated as I tried to stay calm. But the fear and guilt were threatening to overtake my ability to function. “I didn’t, I swear it!”
“Then Barton just assumes you did. He’s covering all his bases. That’s why he didn’t just have you killed on that mountain.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He’s assuming that in three years you talked to someone about him. He needs to know who before he takes you out. So he can take them out too. He needed something of value to make you talk. It wouldn’t have been hard to figure out that Xander and his family were your friends. They probably found something when they tossed your cabin.”
I took a moment to think about it and then felt my stomach drop out. “Xander and Bennett’s Christmas card was on the fridge. The picture was taken in front of the lodge.” I swallowed hard. “Oh god,” I said as I looked at Xander. “I’m so sorry,” I began, but Xander grabbed me by the back of the neck.
“Don’t you fucking do that shit,” he snapped. “This is not your fault. Just help me get them back.”
I nodded. “I will.” I looked at Zach. “I’ll give Barton what he wants.”
“No!” Oz shouted, but I silenced him by pulling him to my side and tucking his face against my chest.
“It’s not coming to that,” Zach snapped. “We’re going to find the fucker and get your people back. But we’re going to need some help. He took the phone off mute and said, “Wade, any chance you know how to use a gun?”
Chapter 33
Oz
Before we even had a chance to come up with a full plan, the call came in from Lucky’s phone to Xander’s. We all held our breaths in hopes it was actually a call from Lucky reassuring us he was safe somewhere with Zoey and Bennett.
No such luck.
The voice was the same from the walkie-talkie.
“Let me talk to Jake,” were the only words spoken when Xander answered his phone, putting it on speaker right away.
“I’m here,” Jake responded. His fingers curled painfully into mine, but I welcomed it. It was the only thing keeping me from collapsing onto the floor in a ball of fear.
The asshole had my friends.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine the terror they must all be feeling. It hurt to even think about it.
“Meet me at the lift maintenance shed at the end of Diamond Road. You have thirty minutes. And bring your friends with you. That famous boyfriend of yours and the two who helped you on the mountain. And don’t fuck around with me by trying to have someone stand in for them. I see anyone but you four, your friends are dead.”
There was a muffled cry, but it was too hard to tell whose voice it was. I almost didn’t want to know.
“And Jake… don’t get any ideas about trying to call for help. We all know how well that turned out for you the last time.”
Jake’s fingers tightened even more on mine, and I quickly covered his hand with my free one. As badly as I wanted to tell him Peter’s death hadn’t been his fault, now wasn’t the time.
“You now have twenty-nine minutes.”
Instead of giving us time to ask for proof Bennett, Lucky, and Zoey were still alive and well, the call cut off. We all stared at each other for a beat before the room erupted into chaos.
“We need to move,” Xander boomed. “It’ll take us the entire time to get to that shed. We can talk once we’re moving.”
Jake gathered up the medical supplies and shoved them all back in his backpack while Xander and Zach grabbed the handgun and rifle lying on the kitchen table. Jake still had his gun, but I had no clue if he had any bullets.
I gave Boo a quick kiss and set her on the couch next to Bear. “Daddy will be back soon,” I whispered to her, though I knew there was a good chance I’d just lied to my little girl. I knew Xander’s aunt would come check the apartment if she didn’t hear from Xander, so she’d find Boo and Bear if the worst happened. Xander had briefly mentioned bringing the bigger dog, but Zach had said the dog’s protective instincts could cause the animal to become a wild card if separated from his owner in such a highly charged environment. There was just no way to be sure that Wade or anyone else would be able to control Bear once Xander was out of the dog’s sight. Safer to leave him behind with Boo.
“Zach, talk to me. What do we do?” Jake asked as he closed his fingers around mine and led me to the car. “Do we risk calling the cops?”
“No,” Zach said. “Xander, your phone,” Zach urged. Xander handed it to him as we all piled into Xander’s vehicle. I only half-listened as Zach began talking to Wade on Xander’s phone. I heard him mention needing more guys, but my brain was having trouble getting caught up.
Jake pulled me up against his side. “It’ll be okay,” he said. “They just want me… I’ll figure out a way to get you guys out of there.”
I let out a hoarse laugh at that.
“Even if I believed that, is that supposed to make me feel better?” I whispered.
“No,” he murmured, then shook his head. “Truth?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I’m scared shitless.” He turned on the back seat so he was facing me. “Look, I’ll tell Barton I’ve got some information on him… that’s why he’s doing this. He wants to know if I told anyone about him or have evidence out there that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. I’ll let him believe I do, and I’ll use that to get you guys out of there. But, Oz, I need you to promise me something.”
“No,” I cut in before he could finish.
“Oz.”
“No!” I snapped. “I’m not leaving you behind. Don’
t you fucking ask me to, Jake Prescott.”
His fingers came up to trail down my cheek. “Warner,” he said softly.
“What?”
“It’s Warner. That’s my real last name.”
“Jake Warner,” I said with a nod as I tested the name. “It suits you.”
He smiled and pressed his lips against my forehead, then said, “The minute you see a chance to run, you run. Promise me.” Before I could argue, he added, “I won’t survive it if I lose you, Oz. Please, please, please do this one last thing for me.”
I felt tears sting my eyes at the way he’d phrased the request, and I wanted to both kiss him and hit him. The last thing I wanted to do was agree, but the fear in his eyes had me holding my tongue. He needed me to do this. And if he had to spend even one second worrying about protecting me in a situation when I’d had the chance to run… no, I couldn’t risk that. So I somehow managed a nod and got out a whispered, “I love you.”
A huff of breath escaped him as he grabbed me by the back of my neck and slammed his lips on mine for a hard, fast, god please not final kiss.
“I love you more than you’ll ever know, Oz.”
“Okay, guys, here’s the plan,” Zach said from the front seat. He was no longer on the phone with Wade. As badly as part of me wanted to shut down and pretend none of this was really happening, I knew I needed to focus. As helpless as I was feeling, maybe, just maybe, there was something I could do to make sure all of us got out of this nightmare alive.
We stopped long enough to meet up with Wade at the head of Diamond Road and I felt my belly drop out at the sight of Keith and Russ waiting with him, along with another man I recognized as the owner of the outdoor store in Haven, the one that sold hunting gear. The idea that we weren’t walking into this whole thing completely alone was reassuring, but I knew their presence didn’t mean Zach’s plan was a slam-dunk win.
I watched as Zach talked to Wade through the car windows, and then Wade handed Zach a few items. The exchange lasted less than a minute and then we were moving again. The other vehicle followed for less than a hundred feet before it veered off and went up a steep utility road. It didn’t even stop for the wooden barrier blocking off traffic–it just barreled right through it.
