Striking Distance

by Debra Webb

  She moistened her lips and said the rest, the reality that they hadn’t used a condom reverberating in her head again. “There’s just one thing. We’re going to need a rape kit to retrieve it.”

  CHAPTER 30

  At dawn Seth took up a position with Victoria Colby’s private residence within his sights. Lucas Camp had taken her there from the hospital two days ago and she hadn’t left since. But Seth knew she couldn’t stay holed up in there forever. Eventually she would come out. Quite possibly this very day if his calculations were correct.

  Lucas’s men had the gated community staked out quite thoroughly, but that didn’t present a problem for Seth. He didn’t need to be that close. All that he required was a position within striking distance. He was a top marksman, had learned the skill from the best snipers in the mercenary business. He’d risen above even the masters. A weapon felt as much a natural extension of his body as his right arm.

  His focus shifted back to the small but grand house Victoria Colby called home now. He wished he had been there to see her open the package containing the T-shirt. He couldn’t fault Leberman’s uncanny foresight. All those years he’d kept the evidence of his crime. Anyone else would have wasted no time in destroying any and all evidence. But not Leberman. The bastard had known the power it held. The soul-deep anguish it would awaken. He had planned this final game for nearly twenty years. Now the end was near. There would be one last moment of shocking discovery and then death would swoop down upon Victoria Colby and her protector before they could hope to escape.

  Seth was the instrument of that certain death. He existed for that sole purpose. It would fulfill his obligation. Would sever the connection between him and Leberman. Once and for all. A twinge of something that felt too damned much like regret twisted inside him. He almost laughed out loud at the sensation. Was he supposed to grieve the loss of his creator? The only caretaker he’d ever known? He thought of the endless persecution and decided the answer was no. He hated Leberman. Despised him.

  It was that very hatred that made him good at his work—he had no fear and no hope for anything beyond the moment. Death was no threat to him. Nothing could stop him.

  She slipped into his mind…made his body tighten with remembered visions of them together. He clenched his jaw and pushed thoughts of her away. He’d given her what she wanted…what she needed to accomplish her part in the grand finale. He wouldn’t see her again. Like he’d told her, she wasn’t his type.

  Another laugh rumbled in his throat. He didn’t have a type. And he knew without reservation that there was a reason for her physical reaction to him as there was for everything. Leberman had taught him that unforgettable lesson well. However innocent on certain levels Tasha appeared, he was not fooled. Nor was he a fool. He knew that no woman would want him…would look at him with anything other than disgust in her eyes. Even the hookers he hired to relieve his sexual tension didn’t want to look at him except for the money. And if at any time he started to forget just what he was, Leberman always reminded him. He was nothing, could depend on no one…trust no one. But he could deliver death without fail…without flinching. And when his own death came, that ability would define who he had been. Nothing…no one—a ruthless killer.

  They thought they had him figured out, thought they knew what he was about. But they had no idea.

  The bug she’d left in his SUV hadn’t been necessary. He had known she was the enemy from the moment they met. The only reason he hadn’t killed her that first night was because she had tripped some internal trigger he hadn’t known existed…made him curious. Made him feel a strange kinship with her. He usually didn’t allow distractions of any sort, but he hadn’t been able to deny himself this one indulgence. It could prove a mistake, but he wasn’t concerned at this point. She knew what he wanted her to know, nothing more. She had not hindered his task. To the contrary, she had facilitated his effort, unknowingly of course.

  Tasha North would be the messenger who carried the final blow to the mighty Victoria Colby.

  Leberman didn’t like that part. He’d wanted her out of the way from the start, but Seth had refused. Considered his inspiration to make her a participant as ingenious as any of Leberman’s schemes. The more he’d thought about it the better he liked it.

  She would provide the pivotal key without even realizing it until it was too late.

  She wasn’t part of the Colby Agency or any member of Lucas Camp’s organization. Lucas had selected her from someplace else. She had some training, he knew, but she lacked real experience. Just another unknown factor that nagged at his curiosity.

  Though he knew it was her job to get close to him, to learn what she could for Lucas Camp, her sincerity gave him pause. He’d felt her body’s reaction to him. That kind of response couldn’t be faked. Irrationally, his own body reacted instantly at even the thought of thrusting deep inside her. Admittedly, he had been shaken somewhat by the overwhelming physical connection. Had experienced unfamiliar sensations deep in his gut. But there had been much more on her part. She was either very, very good at pretending, which he doubted, or she’d let herself get emotionally involved.

  The last didn’t make sense, since Lucas Camp would never select someone so lacking. Yet, Seth was anything but convinced of her ability to pull off such a genuine performance. His instincts had screamed a warning at the depth of her vulnerability when he’d pushed her away afterward. That was the part that didn’t make sense to him.

  He needed to know more.

  He lowered his binoculars and considered more closely his motivation for such a step. What did it matter who she really was or where she had come from? Or even what made her react as she had? She was simply a useful tool, one he would, without hesitation, dispose of if she got in the way.

  His teacher had ensured that he possessed no emotions, other than rage. Determination, if one considered that an emotion. His ability to block such distractions was necessary to his existence…to his mission. Nothing else mattered.

  Still, he needed to know about her. Some aspect of her background might prove useful at a critical moment.

  Not that it would change the outcome.

  Nothing could change the events to come.

  * * *

  Chicago’s CIA field office, like all offices even remotely related to national security, worked more man-hours now than in the past two decades. The Domestic Resources Division and its once-secret collection-and-analysis work within the boundaries of the United States were no longer a closely guarded secret. Constant analysis and briefings were expected from every available source. The pressure was on.

  But one CIA officer, Walter McCone, now understood just how scary things could get in his otherwise sedate job.

  Three seconds after Seth pressed the muzzle of his

  9 mm to the man’s temple, he had provided the necessary retinal and thumb print scan to allow access to the Central Intelligence Agency’s vast database. The moment he’d entered his personal identification code and the screen confirmed its acceptance, Seth had landed a swift blow to just the right spot, rendering him unconscious. Killing him hadn’t been necessary. Seth wanted him to report the security breach. It was time Lucas Camp realized just how much Seth knew.

  He shoved the man’s limp body aside and settled into the chair behind his desk. He typed in the name Tasha North and waited for the search results.

  Half an hour later, despite the dead ends he’d encountered, his persistence paid off.

  Everything he wanted to know about Tasha North spilled across the screen in front of him.

  The more he knew, he reminded himself, the more power he possessed.

  CHAPTER 31

  “You know,” Victoria said thoughtfully, “Max has that cabin near Crystal Lake. We could go there.” It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the Colby Agency had used one o
f their own people’s hideaways for a safe house.

  She tried to read Lucas’s face or his eyes as she waited for his response to the suggestion, but he’d guarded his emotions very closely for the past two days. The assassin must be closing in, she concluded, it was the only reason he would work so hard to keep her in the dark. He feared for her safety…worried that he wouldn’t be able to do enough to spare her from harm. Lucas was not so young anymore, the worry was taking its toll on him.

  Her jaw clenched tightly. She hated Leberman and his assassin for that. They still knew nothing about this killer—where he’d come from, his reputation. She wondered, fury and hatred seething inside her, if this man, this assassin, felt even a moment’s remorse for what he’d been hired to do. She knew the answer. No. He felt nothing.

  What kind of man could kill without thought or hesitation? Could induce the kind of pain she had endured having to look at her child’s bloodied T-shirt? Tears welled instantly at the thought. She would not think about that. Leberman, the bastard, had kidnapped and killed her child. She didn’t need the DNA analysis Lucas had put a rush on to confirm it. The shirt was his…the blood was his, as well. She could feel that truth in her very soul.

  Though she had known that her son was most likely dead, had accepted that fact on some level. The knowledge did little to lessen the devastation when she’d peered into that box and seen that small, bloodied garment. Agony squeezed her chest whenever she considered what her baby must have endured at that bastard’s hand. She would kill him. Whether Lucas wanted her involved or not. She wanted to fire the weapon that ended his pathetic life. That was precisely why she had no intention of going too far from here.

  As much as she feared for Lucas’s life, and she did, dear God, she did, she had to end this. They would never be free of this horrible past until Leberman was dead. The delivery of the T-shirt had driven that point home. She wanted him dead soon.

  And she hoped he burned in hell for all eternity.

  “I had a more remote location in mind,” Lucas said after lengthy consideration of her suggestion. He braced on his cane a little more heavily than usual and walked over to join her at the hearth. Just another indication of how hard the past week had been on him.

  Though it wasn’t that cool outside, she couldn’t seem to get warm. She’d had Lucas light the gas-powered fireplace. The heat from the flame scarcely made a dent in the cold cloak of dread that had swathed her. The chill came from deep inside and she had a feeling that she wouldn’t feel warm again until this was over.

  She looked directly into Lucas’s caring gray eyes and told him the truth. Being evasive wouldn’t help matters. “I know you want to keep me safe, Lucas. There’s nothing in this world I want more than to see that you’re safe, as well.” Tears burned in her eyes as the images from that night—when he’d fallen into her arms…blood streaming down his face—rushed one after the other through her weary mind. “We can’t risk allowing Leberman or his assassin to get too close. But, by the same token, we can’t run from this. We have to get him this time. There’s no other option.”

  Lucas nodded. “I agree. I have a place in mind that isn’t so far away. We’ll be safe but close enough to react in a timely manner if the need arises. I just don’t want to risk utilizing any known locations.”

  There it was. Ian and Simon had warned her that Lucas considered even her trusted employees at the agency a possible threat. She could scarcely believe it then or now. Of course, her two most trusted men hadn’t told her about their covert meetings with Lucas until after there was no way to hide the truth any longer. But that only proved their dedication to her welfare.

  Still, it annoyed her that Lucas would even consider one of her people less than trustworthy.

  “I know what you’re getting at,” she said flatly. “You won’t find a traitor at my agency. Can you say the same for your own?” That was unfair. She didn’t have to see the surprise in his eyes to know that she’d tossed out that scathing remark without grounds. Lucas’s Specialists were above reproach just as her Colby agents were. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  Lucas splayed his hands in uncertainty. “Perhaps it isn’t. I can’t be positive.” He leveled that knowing gaze on hers. “Just as you can’t. There are too many variables in this world to be that certain.”

  “True,” she admitted, though with great reluctance. “That’s why you chose someone outside yours or my sphere of professional affiliation to make contact.”

  “Exactly. The woman we have undercover is someone I selected personally for this mission. Someone outside this circle.”

  Victoria had wondered about that. She remembered her from the day she’d delivered the package. This young woman was risking a great deal. She hoped that the personal wager was not more than she realized. “Does she know the full risk involved?”

  Lucas nodded. “I believe so, though I’m certain her youth colors her perspective a bit.”

  Victoria’s instincts went on point. She read the regret in Lucas’s eyes in a heartbeat. “You’re that worried about her?”

  He exhaled mightily. “I am.” He turned away then, looking at something beyond her…or maybe nothing at all. “I chose her because she was untried in the field, lacked the hard edge of experience. I wanted her vulnerability to show. I didn’t want him seeing through her cover. But I may have overestimated her emotional limitations to some degree.”

  Victoria definitely knew how that felt. She’d done the same once. But only once. She’d chosen a young woman right out of the Colby Agency’s research department—unaware that the woman had a congenital heart condition—for those very reasons and sent her out to bring in the kind of man, though a good guy, not unlike this ruthless assassin. Fortunately that mission had succeeded…this one might have an altogether different outcome.

  “Are you going to pull her out?”

  Lucas regarded her for a moment before he answered. Something more bothered him but he wouldn’t tell her until he was ready. “Yes, I am.”

  Victoria’s heart skipped a beat. As hard ass as Lucas Camp would have the world believe him to be, he would not risk a life unnecessarily. His honor wouldn’t let him. Just more proof of the many reasons that she cherished him so dearly.

  She put her arm through his and drew closer. “Tell me about this place you plan to take me.” Warmth spread through her and she allowed it, let it wash away the cold worry and fear. She loved this man, wanted to spend the rest of her life with him if it amounted to nothing more than a few hours. She wanted those precious moments to be with him.

  He laid his hand over hers. “It’s definitely off the beaten path.”

  Victoria smiled. “That sounds perfect.” She very much needed a place just like that right now. A place where she could forget the past and concentrate on whatever time she and Lucas would have in the present.

  If destroying Leberman took her life, she wanted to spend the time they had left wisely. She’d wasted far too much already.

  * * *

  Lucas readied for his conference with Tasha.

  He considered again the intel he’d only just received, and his decision solidified. He had to pull her out now. Whatever happened from this point forward, he could no longer in good conscience ignore the risk to her life.

  When her image appeared on the monitor, he produced a smile for her benefit. “Good work, North,” he told her. Maverick had already informed him that she’d taken the assassin’s rebuff far too personally. “The DNA evidence you provided is being analyzed as we speak. If this guy is anywhere in the system, we’ll find him.”

  She nodded firmly, but her eyes gave her away. She knew she’d failed to accomplish the ultimate goal, and the guilt weighed heavily upon her. “Thank you, sir.”

  “I received intel a few minutes ago,” Lucas told her, paving the way for the blow to co
me, “that indicates our assassin has accessed CIA’s database. He now knows who you are. I had hoped that change in our strategy might facilitate our efforts to locate Leberman, but now I’m not so sure. Considering the risk involved, I’ve decided to sequester you in a safe house until we eliminate the threat.”

  Something changed in her eyes. All signs of uncertainty vanished. “No.”

  Lucas leaned forward a bit, wanted her to see the irritation in his expression. “That wasn’t a suggestion, North, that was a direct order. You’ve done all you can. Certain additional developments have greatly reduced your value as an asset in this mission. Now, you will go into protective custody until we neutralize this situation.”

  “With all due respect, sir,” she said with just as much annoyance as he’d shown, “I’m not finished yet.”

  Lucas tightened his hold on his cane. A part of him wanted to give her a lesson in following orders, but another part of him wanted to cheer her undying determination. “I’ll be taking Victoria to a safe house as planned. When we’ve disappeared he will come after you in hopes of discovering our location—”

  “That’s what you wanted, right?” she countered. The determined tilt of her chin as well as the rigid set of her shoulders warned him that she wouldn’t give in easily.

  “That’s what I wanted before,” he allowed, “I have reason to believe your objectivity has been compromised.” Personal involvement on that level spelled disaster. He knew it, and so did she. That was the first rule of deep cover. Though he didn’t relish the necessity to dash it in her face.

  “That’s why you picked me in the first place, isn’t it?” she accused, hitting the proverbial nail right on the head. “I lacked any field experience which would prove to my advantage in fooling our target. The fact that I lost perspective only lends more credibility to my act.”

  Well, she certainly had him there.

  “The bottom line is I won’t let this go any further,” he said pointedly.