Grabbing the phone, he called security. “This is Gabriel Rothschild. Lock Quantico down. I want Margaret M. Clark brought to my office. She’s not to leave the base.”
There was a pause.
“Use deadly force if she tries to leave. She’s wanted for spying and treason.”
For a second, Elizabeth could breathe.
“Bring her to me.”
The dragon slayer was back.
And there was going to be hell to pay.
CHAPTER Twenty-Five
H e needed this walk in the worst way. His mind was a jumbled mess. As soon as he was clear of the mine, he pulled the black hoodie over his head. It was a little different from the one he always wore.
Then he realized that was because he’d grabbed Maura’s new military one instead of his.
He contemplated heading back in to swap them, but then he’d be faced with the truth—the woman he loved was in dire danger, and he was helpless to stop it.
Nate wanted to beat the hell out of something. Not being able to definitively promise her she was safe was killing him. All it would take was one mistake, and she was lost.
That was eating away at his gut.
Hopefully, this walk would calm him down, and Maura being at Avalon’s side would ease the tension.
When he found the vehicle, Nate immediately began digging around under the passenger’s seat. If they fell out of Luke’s bag, they had to be there.
He kept looking, but wasn’t focused.
All that filled his mind was Avalon’s face.
To say he was distracted was an understatement.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
They saw him.
He was all alone.
Now, they could grab him and bring him back to the boss. It wasn’t the woman he wanted, but he’d do. They would have preferred to get their hands on Major Gaines, but this was better than nothing.
If the boss didn't care, they didn't care.
After all, they were paid to do.
Not think…
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
Locking the vehicle, he placed the tablets in the hoodie pocket. Now he was calm and could face the harshness of their reality. The time away from Avalon, while brief, had been painful.
He was done with his pity party.
If she needed to be kept safe, he’d just have to do it. There was no other way around it.
Entering the trees, there was a snap behind him.
It pulled Nate out of his thoughts, only too late. As he spun, trying to get to his sidearm, he was hit by someone like a ton a bricks. They landed on the ground.
And the fight for his life began.
He struggled to get a few shots in, but there were two men, and they were more than ready to take him down.
The repetitive hits to his face caused the pain to radiate through his skull, rattling his brain.
The gray fog came, dragging him under. He screamed in his mind, trying to fight more.
If he quit, they’d have him.
If they had him, then that was one less person guarding Avalon.
He couldn’t let her down.
But it was too late.
The pain won.
Nate went under.
Alone.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
The wave of pain struck from out of nowhere. Avalon gasped, a taste of blood filling her mouth. If she hadn’t already been sitting, she would have collapsed to her knees.
There was not time to speak.
The visions assaulted her.
They came fast and hard, filling her mind with screams of pain. Fate was warning her.
They were too late.
Nate was gone.
Luke was at her side, holding her body in his arms. He stared up at Maura in concern.
“Avalon, are you okay?”
Blood dripped from her nose as her head erupted in pain.
“Oh. God. They. Took. Nate.”
The mine shook around her, and Avalon realized it was her head spinning. She was going to be sick.
All the pain overwhelmed her.
“He’s hurt,” she muttered, shaking in Luke’s arms. “They’ve hurt him! He’s going to die!”
She screamed at the same time Nate did a mile away, and then together, they both fell into the darkness.
Her by his side.
Refusing to let go.
Luke checked her pulse. It was thready at best. “She’s out cold,” he stated, when Maura pulled out her phone. “You can’t call an ambulance.”
“She’ll be okay,” she stated. “She’s attached to Nate. We’re going to need her. Avalon, when she wakes up, can tell us where he is.”
“Then who are you calling?”
“Jagger.”
Luke listened as his fiancée made the call. It didn't take Jagger long to answer the phone.”
“What’s up?”
“We have a situation. I need evacuation ASAP.”
“How many?” he asked.
“Just Avalon. They took Nate, and we’re compromised. We have to move soon, and I need you to come get her while we go after him. Whatever you’re doing, it’s going to have to wait. We have to mobilize. How long will it take you to get here?”
“Over two hours.”
“Do it.”
“On it,” Jagger replied, hanging up.
He didn't argue. Instead, he glanced up at Mary Louise’s house. Not far from the front door, there were two men hiding out. He’d followed them to the house when they left the motel.
He’d been curious at first, now he was worried.
But it didn't matter. Oracle had to be pulled. He’d been a phantom, and this was one of his specialties.
He’d had his marching orders. If anything came up, he was to protect Oracle at all costs.
Even if it meant giving up his life.
Sneaking back to the vehicle, it roared to life. He hauled ass down the road as fast as he could. He was in such a hurry, he never noticed the sleek, black Mercedes going the opposite direction.
The windows were tinted.
It reeked of wealth.
And the license plate said ‘Greene’.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
Elizabeth and Gabriel Rothschild were waiting for her in the office. As soon as she was hauled in by two Marines in fatigues and toting guns, the woman began weeping. She knew the jig was up.
It was all over her face.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Rothschild,” she whispered. “I didn't have a choice.”
He stared at her. “You did, Maggie. Had you come to me, I would have helped you get clear of this.”
“You don’t understand. My brother isn't well. He’s crazy. He uses a different name because he swears people are out to get him. He’s crazy and very dangerous.”
Elizabeth stared at her. “Oh, so point the crazy train at an innocent woman and the people who are protecting her?”
She sobbed more.
Gabe dismissed the Marines. “We have this.”
“What are his plans?” Elizabeth asked.
When Maggie only sobbed harder and harder, Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She hated when women went all weepy. She’d committed a crime, and now it was time to own up to it.
Gabe motioned to Elizabeth that he had it. Going to stand in front of Maggie, he sat on the edge of his desk. “Maggie, what are his plans?”
“He’s going to kill Melissa Miller, get Avalon, and use her.”
“How?” he asked, handing her a tissue.
“He wants her to tell him secrets. Like the military used her, he wants the same. Only, it gets worse.”
“How?”
“She’s his daughter. He had sex with our cousin, and she got pregnant. Melissa hid the baby. By then, our mother got remarried, and we moved away. The family kept it secret, and then they didn't really know the truth. I didn't even know until a couple of years ago.”
&n
bsp; “How did he blackmail you?”
She swallowed.
Elizabeth got it. “He didn't, did he? You were giving him the inside track on bids to make money.”
She nodded.
“Once you helped him, you were stuck.”
“Yes.”
Gabe shook his head. “Maggie, I can’t even help you. There’s nothing I can do. You’re going to be accused of treason, spying, accepting a bribe, and an accessory to all the people he’s killed.”
She sobbed more.
Gabe turned his head for that one second.
It was all it took.
Maggie knew she couldn’t go to jail, and she wasn’t going to live the rest of her life in prison. So, she grabbed his gun sitting on the desk.
Elizabeth never let her eyes leave a suspect for just this reason. She saw the woman lurch for his gun. Going for hers, she had it up and the trigger pulled before Maggie could kill him.
It hit its mark, knocking her back and to the ground.
Gabe gasped.
The doors flew open, two Marines pointing their weapons directly at Elizabeth.
Gabe moved fast. He placed his body in front of his family to protect her if they opened fire. “It’s okay. She went for my gun. I’m fine.”
The men stared down at the dead woman. The shot went through her temple and out the other, leaving one hell of a hole.
“Suicide by law enforcement,” Elizabeth stated.
Gabe closed his eyes.
“This is a mess.”
She was well aware.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
Fredricksville
She’d like to say it was good to be home, but it wasn’t. In fact, it sucked seven ways to Sunday. She left this hell hole for a reason, and didn't want to come back.
Yes, she skipped her mother and cousin’s funeral, and a part of her felt bad, but she couldn’t come here.
She was scared.
This place held too many scary memories, and she was sure being here would be the end of her life.
That’s why she stayed away.
She loved her son and daughter. Now that they were gone, she was alone. Melissa thought about her other child, and she couldn’t keep from wanting to be sick.
Avalon was a product of rape and ruined her life. When she left Fredricksville, she didn't intend to come back with her. Only, she couldn’t abort her.
She was too far along.
Every adoption fell through since she was born blind. If they only knew that she wasn’t only handicapped but possessed by something evil, they’d want to run too.
Melissa wanted to run herself.
She hated that she was there, and that the police were going to question her. Life had been so much better when her husband had been alive.
Then Wade couldn’t touch her.
Now, she was right back where she didn't want to be—in the town that spawned some evil child, destroyed her life, and was going to haunt her forever.
Pulling up to her mother’s house, she wanted to be sick. There was nothing worse than having to walk the halls where she once was innocent.
It was horrible.
This was like hell.
She was locked into this moment in time, never to be free. God! Her life sucked. When would she be free of it all.
Taking out the key, she slowly slipped it into the lock. The only happy thought was that her mother wouldn’t be there to make her life worse.
There was her silver lining.
As she stepped in, the house was dark. Flicking the switch, nothing happened.
“Come on!”
When she turned, heading for the cabinet in the hall where her mother kept the candles, she stopped.
“Hello, Melissa, my darling. Have you missed me? It’s about time we meet again.”
She screamed and ran for the door.
It was Wade Greene’s laughter that filled the room, and the last thing she heard before she, too, took a trip into the darkness.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
She was pacing the mine. Agitated wasn’t the word to describe her behavior. Avalon was beyond stirred up. When she came to, she began using all her energy to find Nate.
When she couldn’t, it made her nervous.
“Be patient,” Luke said, hoping she could pull it off. The last thing he wanted was to lose his best friend and the man he called brother. He debated about calling Callie, but then she’d immediately try to help.
That was a bad idea.
“I can’t see him.”
“You will. I have faith in you.”
Maura looked at her watch. “We don’t have much time. Jagger is on his way here. You’re being pulled out.”
She looked up at the woman. “Please. I’m the only one who can find him. You know that. If you take me away, we’re going to lose him.”
Maura was well aware, but she was between a rock and a hard place. Her job was to get Avalon out. Oracle was top priority. How many people had sacrificed their lives over all of this? She had to live.
There was no choice.
“Again, Jagger will be here soon.”
Avalon dropped to her knees. “He’s awake. I need to concentrate.”
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
Fredricksville
When Nathaniel Carter woke up, he knew he was screwed. His face was killing him, and his brain hurt. That was a bad sign. To make it worse, he was tied to a chair in a house he’d never seen in his life.
Yeah, three days past screwed, right into majorly fucked.
When he lifted his head, he had to shake the stars from his vision. “Who are you?” he asked.
The man smiled from the chair not far from him. “I’m Wade Greene, but you may know me as Wade Miller. I’m Avalon’s father.”
Nate kept his face blank. He’d been trained by the FBI. He was going to be tortured. There was no doubt about it. It was going to be a matter of what gave out first.
His body.
Or his will.
“I’d like to say it’s nice to meet you, Director Carter, but you have someone I want. So, you tell me where my daughter is, and I’ll let you go.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re not going to leave any loose ends.”
The large man beside him nailed him in the face.
Nate was pretty sure he’d just broken his nose. He tried to breathe through the pain.
“Really, Director. Be nice.”
There were sobs from beside him. Nate could see a woman from his peripheral. She looked like Avalon, or should he say Avalon looked like her.
“Let me guess. Avalon’s mother.”
The man laughed. “You’re a smart one, Director. Now do you want me to tell you why you’re both here?”
“Could it be because you’re one sick fuck?”
He took one hell of a shot to the ribs. Nate swore he felt them crack. Immediately, he began coughing up blood. He didn't think he could withstand any more hits like that.
“Again, behave and I’ll tell you what you’re doing here. You, my friend, are going to tell me where my daughter is. This slut took her from me and hid her away.”
Nate had read the file. Wade Miller was Melissa Miller’s cousin. Obviously, he could put two and two together.
Someone was dipping his stick in the family pool.
“Tell me where she is and you won’t suffer. I’ll have them kill you fast. It’ll be my little gift to you. Keep me from finding her, and I have to hurt you.”
Nate swallowed the blood in his mouth and lifted his head. There was no way he was going to turn Avalon over to him, and he wouldn’t betray his family and team.
“You can kiss my ass.”
“Break him,” he stated.
And it began.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
Avalon was curled up on the ground in so much pain. She could feel each hit to his body. They were working on
his arm right now, trying to break it.
She screamed in pain as Luke did everything to hold her in his lap.
“Maura,” he pleaded. “She can’t do this.”
Yes, they needed to know where Nate was, so they could save him, but this was killing her.
Maura didn't want to do it, but this was their only chance. If they wanted to find Nate, they had to risk Avalon. They were tied together.
She was part of him now, and vice versa.
“Avalon! I need you to pretend you’re doing the job for the president. This isn't personal. It’s just a job.”
She couldn’t believe she was even saying that. Maura knew how she’d be breaking if it was Luke missing. In fact, she sent Nate for the water pills.
She should have gone herself.
Avalon writhed in pain, clutching her right arm. “They’re breaking his body,” she hissed, through clenched teeth.
The visions flashed through her mind rapidly, and she fought to find the ones that would save Nate.
“Avalon, where is he?” Maura asked, kneeling in front of her. “You tell me where, and I promise to get him back for you.”
She was trying.
The place looked familiar, but yet different.
The words slipped into her mind.
“My grandmothers,” she hissed. “Save him.”
With that, Avalon passed out.
Luke laid her on the sleeping bag. He was not only rattled by what was happening to his friend, but the depth of Avalon’s gift. No wonder the government kept her under lock and key.
She was scary.
“What now?” he asked.
“We wait until Jagger gets here, and then we go get Nate. Hopefully, we won’t be too late.”
Luke glanced over at Avalon.
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