Feet pounded the deck behind him.
“FBI, freeze,” an all too familiar voice yelled.
“Somebody better fucking help me,” Ryan called out.
“Ryan! It’s Ryan.”
Owen dove forward, grabbing him by the belt while someone else brought the cable up enough for Ryan to haul Carson up on the deck. He dragged her up over the edge and flopped down, clutching her to his chest. He kissed her head between gasps for air.
She was safe, and Kawa wasn’t going to be a threat to her any time soon.
It was over.
This whole twisted nightmare was over.
“Carson Adair?” Agent Walker stood over them. “You’re under arrest.”
“Are you serious?” Ryan glared up at the agent.
“Mr. Scott, step away from the suspect or I’ll have to arrest you, too.”
“Carson, here. Give me your good hand, okay?” Owen didn’t meet Ryan’s gaze, but he treated Carson tenderly, paying attention to her dislocated arm.
“You can’t do this.” Ryan pushed up to his feet and stared helplessly as Carson’s already tortured arm was forced even more out of its socket by the cuffs Owen placed on her.
Walker ignored Ryan in favor of reciting Carson’s rights and taking over from Owen.
“You piece of shit,” Ryan snarled.
“Don’t.” Owen stepped between Ryan and Agent Walker. “Just—don’t, okay?”
“My family.” Carson twisted to look at Ryan. “My sister, she’s downstairs and hurt. Ryan, get to her. She’s been shot.”
Damn it.
“This isn’t over, Walker.”
“For you it is.” Agent Walker, flanked by other officers, hauled Carson down the stairs and over the two bodies.
“Come on, let’s go find the Adairs. You know they aren’t high on his priority list.” Owen smacked Ryan in the arm.
“Why the hell didn’t you come sooner?” Ryan still had adrenaline pumping through his veins.
“When you get a call about a kidnapped senator, things get a lot more serious.”
Damn, Joe might have played that setup perfectly, if a bit too late.
CARSON SAT HUNCHED in the cold, metal chair. She’d never known wrenching a shoulder out of its socket could be so painful. The muscles across her back ached and there was a deep soreness in her chest. The paramedic who’d seen her at the dock had warned her she might have some other injury he couldn’t tend to and Agent Walker wasn’t about to allow her something as simple as seeing a doctor.
She’d lost count of the hours left alone in this room with nothing more than two metal chairs and a table.
At least they’d taken the handcuffs off?
Whatever came next she could handle it.
Mom and Dad were safe.
She had to believe Ryan had found Frankie.
The nightmare was almost over. At least she hoped so.
Whatever happened to her, she’d be okay. Somehow or another even if she was at fault. It was still surreal that Agent Walker had arrested her. She’d been in so much pain at the time she hadn’t quite heard everything he’d said.
The air kicked on, blowing another blast of frigid air through the room. Her shoulder tightened, and she shivered. Even her teeth began to chatter.
She’d have to make this up to Ryan. He’d done so much more than she deserved. Somehow she wanted to set things right between them even if he woke up in a few days and decided he hated her. What he’d done for her she didn’t think another human on the planet would.
The single door into the room opened and Agent Walker flanked by Ryan’s friend Owen entered. She glanced from one to the other.
Agent Walker glared at her as if she were a mass murderer.
“It’s freezing in here.” Owen frowned. “Are you cold? Do you want coffee? I can get you a blanket.”
“That would—”
“No,” Walker snapped. He sat down in the chair across from her and placed a thick stack of folders on the desk. He continued to glare at her as he unbuttoned his jacket. “Carson Adair, you are being accused of aiding and abetting a terrorist.”
“W-what?” She gaped at Walker.
“All of this?” He took his thumb and fanned through the folders. “This is about you.”
What had she done?
Was he serious?
She sat there for a moment, the panic rising until Ryan’s voice whispered at her from a memory.
Walker had lied to her once about his ability to deport her sister. She wouldn’t be surprised if he were lying now. For all she knew those pages were blank. And even if he was lying, she still had the recordings on her cell phone.
She licked her lips then said perhaps the smartest thing she’d said in weeks, “I want a lawyer.”
“You seriously want to do this?” Walker sat forward, forearms braced on the table.
Carson glanced over his shoulder at Owen who was hanging back. Way back. He didn’t do anything, he just looked at her, but her gut feeling got stronger. Walker’s partner wasn’t here Owen was. That had to be significant.
Walker would say or do whatever he wanted so long as he got his way.
“Yes, I want a lawyer.” She hugged her arm around herself tighter.
“I guess we’re done here, then.” Owen stepped forward and patted Walker on the shoulder. “We’ll have to direct all questions at your counsel.”
Was that statement for her, or to remind Walker?
Walker pushed up and buttoned his coat, glaring at her.
A week ago she’d have said whatever he wanted her to. She’d been his puppet, scared to do anything but obey. Today she could see through him to the ugly person inside.
Owen walked past the other agent, his hand curled into a fist and his thumb sticking out.
Was he giving her a thumbs up? Was that a signal?
Owen had collaborated with them behind Walker’s back. Was he doing the same thing now?
“Come on, Walker,” Owen called out.
Walker braced his hands on the desk and leaned forward. He whispered, “I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure you never see the light of day.
Carson leaned forward. She’d just survived a terrorist and the wrath of the man she was falling in love with. Walker’s threats were empty.
“Bring it,” she said.
RYAN SQUEEZED MRS. Adair’s hand and nodded at the doctor. Mr. Adair was confined to a wheelchair until his knee was properly looked at, something the man did not seem pleased about.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Adair stared at the doctor with wide-eyed shock.
“She’s going to be fine,” Ryan said, repeating the doctor’s words. He was as relieved as anyone else about Frankie’s prognosis after surgery.
When Ryan’s EMT buddy had rolled Frankie out of the boat, he’d kept his medical opinions to himself, which wasn’t normal. Kade liked to combat fear with facts, only this time he hadn’t said anything. Which could only mean that Frankie’s wound was bad.
“Oh, my baby.” Mrs. Adair leaned sideways toward him, resting her head on his shoulder.
The doctor perched on the coffee table sitting in front of them and glanced at Mr. Adair. She was a bit young for Ryan’s tastes, but if she could do the job, he didn’t care if she wasn’t old enough to buy beer. The one thing he needed to be able to tell Carson when they let Ryan talk to her was that Frankie would be okay and Carson needed to worry about herself for now.
“She’s still out of it, and won’t be awake for some time. She needs to rest and heal. From the sound of it, you could all use some rest, too.” The young doctor had a kindly smile.
“Some time, can you put an hour on that? One, two hours?” Ryan was going to have to leave, but he wanted to know when to call back.
“At least an hour,” the doctor said.
“Sounds like this might be a good opportunity for you to go eat.” Ryan peered down at the small Hispanic woman next to him.
There was a fami
ly resemblance even though Carson was not the Adair’s biological child. There was a quiet, fighting spirit in both of them, something he hoped Cason had learned from the family who had chosen her.
The doctor made her goodbyes before disappearing behind the scenes of the bustling hospital.
“What about Carson? What are we going to do about her?” Mr. Adair leaned forward. Ryan got the feeling that if it weren’t for the watchful eye of the desk attendants Mr. Adair would have tried getting up and walking out of there to go save Carson himself.
“I need to go see about that.” Ryan had done his best to stay on top of things and in the loop via texts, but he was anxious to go see for himself how things were developing.
“Did they ever tell you if that man is okay?” Mrs. Adair asked.
Ryan didn’t have to ask who that man was.
“Kawa’s injuries going into the water were extensive. For now he’s in a medically induced coma. The rest of his team that survived are being treated for injuries, but should be fine. The two that slipped off the boat before we got there were arrested trying to get on a private plane to Canada.”
His phone rang, the number unfamiliar.
He jabbed the answer button without thinking twice.
“Hello?”
“Is this Mr. Scott? Ryan Scott?” a woman asked.
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Hold please.”
“Who is it?” Mrs. Adair sat up and frowned.
“Not sure.”
A moment later the line clicked.
“Mr. Scott?” an unfamiliar man asked.
“Speaking. Who is this?” Ryan did not have the patience for bullshit this morning
“Aslan Boothe, I represent Senator Neilson.”
“How may I be of service?” That perked Ryan up.
“My client wants to speak with you.” Frustration infused those words. “He’s being released shortly. Could you meet me downtown?”
“I’m on my way.” Ryan squeezed Mrs. Adair’s hand and got up.
“What’s happened?” she asked.
“The senator is being released. I’m hoping we’ll learn something,” he held up his hand, staving off Mrs. Adair’s interruption, “and when I do, I will call.”
“Bless you.” She sank down further into her chair.
Ryan strode out of the waiting room. Alec had dropped him off at the hospital before taking the borrowed car back, which meant Ryan was without wheels. The moment he was on the first floor he put in a call for a taxi and began walking.
The FBI wouldn’t hold a sitting senator long. It was a bad look for everyone, especially with Joe’s perfect record. Ryan wasn’t surprised Joe was being released. He was hoping Joe might be able to tell him something about Carson and why she was still in custody because Owen wasn’t saying a whole lot.
The taxi picked Ryan up and twenty minutes later delivered him to the downtown police station. A cluster of reporters on the sidewalk told Ryan he was in the right place at least.
His phone rang, again with an unfamiliar number.
“Hello?”
“Reddish hair, black wrinkled suit?” Aslan asked.
“That’s me.” Ryan glanced around.
“To your left, silver car.”
Ryan turned and immediately spied the older gentleman sitting behind the wheel of a fancy silver car. The white interior had Ryan cringing before he even opened the passenger door.
“Sit,” Aslan ordered.
Ryan sank down into the passenger seat and studied the reporters rather than the lawyer. He was too tired for this shit, but Carson was still in there and she needed him.
“I need for you to tell Joe he can’t make this statement.” Aslan pushed a tablet into Ryan’s hands.
“What’s this?”
“Professional suicide.”
Ryan skimmed the words. The last paragraph made him pause.
That was ballsy.
“He can focus on that last bit and drown out the rest, but do you think he’ll listen to anyone?” Ryan didn’t know Joe Nielson, and he hadn’t paid much attention to the senator’s career before yesterday. His impression of the senator since meeting him was that Joe would go out of his way to do what was right, even at personal expense. He was unique.
“He could be president,” Aslan said.
“Maybe he still could?” Ryan laid the tablet on the center console. “Have you heard about Carson? The other woman arrested on the boat?”
“I met with her. That’s how we put that last bit together.”
“What makes you believe in Joe?”
“He’s not like the rest.”
“Ask yourself this, if he doesn’t do this,” Ryan tapped the tablet, “does that change who he is?”
“God damn it.” Aslan sighed. “I can hear him, doing the right thing isn’t always easy.”
“Do you think this will help Carson?”
“The evidence is damning. Every minute they keep her is another nail in the coffin as far as I’m concerned.”
“What does that mean about the other arrests?” If Walker was convicted of a crime, it could endanger every case he’d worked on. Bad guys would go free again.
“The arresting officer for those picked up in the water is a Rusty—something.”
Ryan sat back in the seat. He could see a light at the end of the tunnel and it looked a lot like a big comfy bed with Carson in it.
Chapter 22
Joe had made a lot of speeches during his career with varying degrees of importance. Today’s felt as though it carried more weight. Both of the topics could warrant their own address, but he was only going to get one shot at saying this. Once he dropped these two truth bombs, things would spin out of control.
He stared at the black and white printed words on the page Aslan had given him before going out to push through Joe’s release. It had been a long time since he’d written his own speech. He’d forgotten how arduous it could be choosing the right words. He hoped he hadn’t messed up.
“Mr. Neilson?” An officer approached the cell doors.
“Come to call me home?” Joe stood and buttoned his jacket. He’d have never thought the day would end with him about to resign, but he should have known that he would never get away with this crime.
“Yes, sir.”
The officer walked him through the release process. Joe’s things were returned to him before he was shown out into a public area where his lawyer and another familiar face waited for him.
“Are you really going to do this?” Aslan asked.
“I thought you knew me by now.” Joe smiled, but it was painful. He’d made a mistake and now he’d pay the price. It was what he had to do. “Thanks for being here, Ryan. Is everything set up on your end?”
“My team has everything ready to go.”
“Let’s do this.” Joe set his eyes on the glass doors leading outside.
He put one foot in front of the other. Ryan opened the door and proceeded him outside to the cameras and microphones. The initial barrage of questions melded together into a drone of sound.
Joe held up his hands and waited.
After a few moments the questions stopped.
“I have a few things to say.” The words simmered in the back of his mind.
He stared out at familiar faces and new ones behind the camera lenses and microphones. When he’d started this career it had been for one thing, to help people. His lies didn’t do that, but his truth would.
“By now you have read about the charges against me. My lawyer could list them. I cannot. What I can tell you is this, I messed up. I made a mistake and I regret my actions.
“A little over a week ago a man approached me while I was at a restaurant. He had a photograph of my sister. Now, many of you don’t know about Jules. She made—makes—beautiful documentaries, but she used to be a reporter.
“Four years ago she and her crew were taken prisoner. All efforts to get my little sister back have been a f
ailure. When this man, Kawa Dwek, told me he’d seen my sister, and he knew how to bring her home, I lost my way. I made an emotional decision to trust someone who did not deserve that trust. I made this decision knowing that he would want me to do something for him.
“If you’ve been paying attention to the news, then you’re aware of the investigation into Aerospace Inc. They have paid millions in bribes to people all over the world to influence their purchases. A little freedom fighter movement in Syria bought equipment from Aerospace because they were the only company who would do business with them. The man I made a bargain with was one of their champions for freedom. I won’t call him a good man or a bad man, but he had a vision for a free, safe country I can respect. It is his methods I abhor.
“None of this excuses my actions. I knowingly accepted an offer to bring my sister home in exchange for supporting Kawa’s cause. And that is why I will be resigning from the senate as soon as this is over.
“I’d like my last act as a senator to be in the spirit of the platform I ran on—honesty. Today I’ve seen a lot of bad in the world, and it stretches to all parts. Even our own FBI. You see, there’s a young woman who was taken advantage of and coerced into helping the FBI. Now they want to charge her as an accessory to Kawa’s crimes when her only crime was breaking the rules the FBI asked her to. I invite you, the public, and my congressional brothers and sisters to review the recorded threats against this young woman and you be the judge today. Thank you.”
Joe rocked back on his heels.
He was done.
For a moment no one spoke, then the questions started, pelting him from all sides.
“Come on, Joe.” Ryan took him by the elbow and guided him down the steps through the people. “Move. Move please.”
The trek from the stairs through the crowd to Aslan’s car was a blur. Even sitting in the front seat staring out at the cameras was surreal.
“Well, you did it.” Aslan sighed and started the car.
“Do you think it will help?” That was all Joe could ask for.
“I’d bet money on Carson being released in the next ten minutes. As soon as that goes live someone will start acting.”
Dangerous Secrets Page 26
