by Cara Carnes
“I don’t get nearly as close to them,” he commented in a husky whisper against the shell of her ear. “And I know you way better than them, Little Bit.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I know you’ve been hiding something,” he commented.
Oh boy. She’d stepped right into that one. The odious bastard knew he affected her. He was the best trained operative at The Arsenal, as far as Mary and Vi were concerned. A second-level ninja. Jud, former assassin extraordinaire and Vi’s hubby, and Fallon were the only other two to be deemed ninjas, and neither had gotten to the second level. Zoey didn’t understand how the women had made the determination, and it didn’t matter right now.
Because, once again, she was in over her head with zero idea how to get out. She’d run this ground many times while at The Arsenal. So far she’d come out relatively unscathed and picked herself up, learned from what she screwed up, and moved on without anyone getting hurt.
But Ian Schmidt was sitting across from Mary and Vi. Jud, Marshall, his five brothers, and the other team leaders were in the room, along with Congressman Edward Cherling.
“Why would Schmidt bring Cherling here?”
“How would I know?”
“Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
“Guess so,” she clipped angrily. “Want to step back?”
“Not particularly,” he replied, his voice lazy and quiet. The effect crawled through her in a cascade of warmth and awareness she had no time for.
She needed to make a call.
She needed to keep her operation secure.
What about The Arsenal?
Her heart clenched as her stomach somersaulted. She owed Vi, Mary, and everyone else a truth she hadn’t ever intended to share because knowing put them at risk. Them knowing anything about what she did gave the cause she’d taken on a voice, legs, and arms. A voice and limbs would bring her operation out of the dark and into the light of day.
Too many people relied on the anonymity she’d sworn would always remain.
But you can’t keep them safe alone. Not anymore.
God. She’d been an idiot to help Sara. The young woman was too well known to hide forever.
“Mr. Schmidt. I’d say it’s a pleasure, but I try not to lie before dinner.” Marshall’s voice rumbled from the speakers within the operational theater as Zoey watched, helpless to stop the train wreck. “Congressman Cherling, welcome to The Arsenal.”
“Mason. Robert’s told me great things about your operation here.”
“Glad to hear,” Jesse replied. “What brings you here?”
“I understand a former employee of his is now under your employment,” Cherling commented.
“Perhaps,” Mary said. “I hope for your sake, Congressman, this isn’t about Zoey exposing the illegal drug operation being run by CIA agents. An operation Mr. Schmidt here kept covered up for two years.”
“It’s not smart to enter those waters so near an election,” Vi commented.
“Or at all,” Dallas muttered.
Zoey listened to the people around the table have her back, even though they had no idea why the bastard was there. The war they’d just walked into had nothing to do with her saving Fallon’s team.
“She saved me and my team. She’s Arsenal now, and all charges against her have been dropped,” Fallon said.
“My apologies, my interest in her has nothing to do with what happened. Mr. Schmidt was merely kind enough to offer her whereabouts when associates of mine made it known she was a person of interest in my daughter’s disappearance.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your situation, Congressman, but from what I hear, your daughter was not kidnapped. She left on her own accord.” Nolan crossed his arms. “I’m not sure how Zoey could help you.”
“Congressman Cherling has employed the best services available to locate his daughter. It’s taken a great deal of time and effort, but they’ve tracked Sara’s last known locations.”
“Fuck.” Zoey shoved away from Gage and snagged her backpack.
“Tell me what’s going on,” he ordered.
“There’s not enough time to tell you or anyone.”
“Whatever this is, you aren’t alone. Let me and the others help.” Zoey unzipped her pack and fished through the contents. Where the hell was it?
Then she remembered. She’d tossed the burner after the last call she’d made. It was in a refuse bin at Bubba’s.
Damn.
“Use the main line,” Gage said. “They can’t stall him forever. We need to know what’s going on.”
As if on cue, the congressman’s voice thundered through the line. “I’m not going to bullshit or dance around this. Surveillance footage from the coffee shop three blocks from my daughter’s college showed Zoey and her talking.”
“That’s not a crime,” Addy said.
“Depends on the conversation,” Schmidt growled.
“If you’d like to ask Zoey what she may or may not know, we’ll have someone go ask if she’s willing to help,” Jesse said. “Otherwise you’ll need to leave.”
“You don’t understand. I’m here to take her into custody.” The congressman looked around the table. “She took my daughter.”
Zoey focused on the ringing line as she stared at the phone. Answer already.
“Yeah.” Jade’s hesitant voice drifted within the room.
“Cherling’s here.” It was the shortest, most succinct way to warn Jade their operation might be burned. “I’ll contact you when I know more, but we may need to activate a safeguard plan.”
“I’ll put us on lockdown until I hear back from you,” Jade said.
The line went dead. Zoey needed to figure out how they’d tracked her to Sara, but that’d wait. For now she needed a plan to attack the problem now at The Arsenal because of her.
“Your daughter is not missing, Congressman. The entire world has heard so repeatedly via the attorney and video testimony to that fact by Sara herself,” Jud said.
“You do not want to get on my bad side. I am a United States congressman. I sit on a lot of appropriations committees. I can make things very uncomfortable for you,” the man declared.
Bastard. How dare he bring The Arsenal into this? Threatening them?
Idiot.
She punched up HERA’s programming and got to work. The security protocol wouldn’t unlock the door until at least two of the three override codes were entered. Since all three of the people with the codes were in the meeting down the hall, she couldn’t exactly wait for the protocol.
Which meant she’d make one of her own.
Lesson thirty-one she’d learned via Vi and Mary during her brief stint as their minion-in-training was there was always a way in or out of a situation. You just sometimes had to get very creative.
Creativity was her specialty.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting out of here so I can crawl down that bastard’s throat and snack on his liver.” She hit enter and heard the distinctive chime of HERA’s system disengaging.
Excellent.
She grabbed her laptop and charged out the door before the shock wore off Gage. Fortunately he didn’t stop her as she motored down the corridor leading to the whiteboard room. She had a thing or two to say to the bastard congressman.
She shoved the double doors open and rolled in with months of anger rolling through her brain. Sara wouldn’t ever get a chance to confront the bastard, but Zoey could. She had a roomful of people who’d knock his ass down if he laid a hand on her.
They may have no clue what was going on, but they were good men and women who didn’t swallow shit stews like the ones Congressman Cherling fed everyone.
“Ah, there she is,” Fallon commented with a smirk. “I’m thinking things are about to get very interesting.”
The man had a twisted sense of humor—likely he’d blown a few too many of his brains out at some point.
“You should go,” Zoey told Cherling
. “I’ll give you five minutes to get in your car and off Arsenal property.”
“You don’t talk to a U.S. congressman like that, little girl.” Ian grabbed her arm and yanked.
Pain shot up her shoulder. People rose from the table as her hip slammed into it, but their gazes weren’t on that. She blinked.
Glanced down.
And swallowed as her gaze traveled from the combat boot wedged against Ian’s throat up a thick muscular leg. Past a crazy fit body and into the pissed-off gaze of Gage Sanderson.
“You should really stop doing the whole boot-against-the-throat thing. You’re going to get a reputation,” she whispered.
The stupid statement was one of several drifting through her thoughts because her defenses had kicked in. Whenever fear overwhelmed her, she blurted the first thing that came to mind.
“I’ll take that under advisement,” Gage commented. His intense gaze shifted from the man pinned to the floor to her. “Are you okay?”
No. She swallowed the reply and rubbed her hip. Except for a few bruises, she’d be fine. She couldn’t say the same thing about Sara if her dick of a father got ahold of her, though. She glared down at her former boss. “Stay out of this.”
Then she directed her attention on Edward Cherling, who’d stood and taken a few wise steps backward as the entirety of the Arsenal leadership circled the area. His gaze went from them to her, then back to them.
“You and I are coming to an understanding, Edward.”
He bristled and buttoned his blazer. “You’re coming with me, Ms. Danson. I’ll bring an army if necessary, but you are not keeping my daughter from me.”
“Get anywhere near her and it’ll be the last thing you do,” Zoey warned. “You are never seeing her or your granddaughter ever again. This isn’t a war you’ll win. Back off and leave her be.”
“Clearly there’s a severe misunderstanding,” he argued. “Let’s sit down and discuss this like reasonably intelligent individuals.”
“Reasonably intelligent people don’t batter their children,” Zoey spat.
Red rose up the bastard’s face. His gaze turned pointed. “That is a lie! Is that what she told you?”
“I saw the damage.” Zoey cut the statement off there and waited for the bastard’s continued denial. Assholes like him never admitted to being monsters. There was always an excuse.
“You won’t get away with this,” the man said.
“I already have,” Zoey declared. “Come after me with whatever you want. Call in whatever favors you can and bring the might of your congressional power down on me, Cherling. No matter what you do, you’ll never see Sara. You’ll never beat her again.”
“She’s a manipulative little bitch just like her mom. I never touched her!” the man yelled.
“You want to travel that road, go right ahead, but I’ll warn you. Get too far down it and I’ll make sure the world sees exactly what kind of monster you are,” Zoey warned. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be panhandling under a bridge.”
The man took a step back when she stepped closer. He angled toward the exit, but Jud stood there with his arms crossed. Eyebrows raised, he glared at the man.
Tension struck the room. Zoey knew she had one hell of an explanation to give everyone around her, but they had her back. They didn’t fully know what was happening, but they trusted her enough to remain silent and not interfere.
“You won’t get away with this. You can’t take a woman and her newborn child from her family.”
“I can when she asked for my help to escape you,” Zoey declared. “You won’t ever find her but go ahead and waste your millions trying.”
“This isn’t over.” Cherling glared at Gage. “We’ll bring assault charges against you.”
“Go ahead and try,” Marshall said. “Mr. Schmidt assaulted my employee by grabbing her without permission. He then battered her when he pulled her hard enough to cause injury. Mr. Sanderson merely defended her. Every camera in this place will not only prove as much but will show far more than that when it gets out.”
The unveiled threat hung within the room a moment as Gage let Ian go. The man rose and glared at Zoey. “This isn’t over.”
Zoey remained silent and still despite the adrenaline flooding her system. Her pulse pounded in her ears as Dallas, Jud, and Fallon escorted the two men out of the door. No one spoke as Gage took her hand and gently touched her upper arm.
“Logan should take a look at her,” he commented.
“I’m okay,” Zoey argued.
Her stomach knotted as she glanced around the room at the varied expressions. Her gaze halted on Vi and Mary, who stood at the end of the table. “I guess I have a few things I need to tell you.”
“Apparently so,” Mary commented.
Gage bit back the anger as everyone waited for Dallas, Jud, and Fallon to return. If Vi and Mary could remain silent despite the enormity of what had just happened, he could, too. And there were more important things to deal with than the blatant lies Zoey had fed him over the past few weeks.
She had her reasons.
He hung onto the thought as he locked gazes with Vi. They’d discussed Zoey and his distrust of her many times. She’d slowly talked him around to understanding the possible whys behind the secrecy.
She’s a good woman, Gage. If she’s hiding something, she’s got her reasons. Mary and I have tons of secrets. So do you. We all carry burdens we may not be able to share. When we do, we have to know the person we’re going to tag in is ready.
He smirked when Vi cocked her eyebrow in the same telltale way her husband did. He nodded and leaned back in his chair. Zoey sat next to him. She ran her hands up and down her legs, but it was her unmoving gaze on the phone that caught his attention.
“It’s a secure line. Call him back.” He wanted to know who the fuck Jade was and why she’d trusted him with whatever she was into.
“I—”
“Make the call,” he repeated. “You’ve got better instincts than almost anyone in this room. I’ve seen that in the missions you’ve run. Call him. He’ll be worried.”
She licked her lips and nodded. A slight tremble in her hands aroused his protectiveness. He may have started off not trusting Zoey, but he’d kill anyone who tried to hurt her because a part of him wanted way more than her trust.
He wanted her.
He’d denied it at first, but that only made the awareness between them stronger. Sooner or later they’d have to address the attraction.
Assuming they survived whatever this latest clusterfuck was. Gage had learned to expect the worst.
“Yeah.” Jade’s voice filled the room. “Didn’t expect a callback this soon.”
“Are you secure?” she asked. Hands fisted, she stared at the phone as if willing an answer.
“Are you?” The voice shot the question back without hesitation. “Is that bastard Cherling gone? Does he know?”
“He knows more than he should.” Zoey’s voice cracked. Her eyelids fluttered furiously as a tidal wave of tears tumbled down her cheeks. “I think we’re burned.”
“Then we’ll pull her out and relocate her.”
“He came with my former boss at the NSA. They’ve likely started digging already. Why else would they expose their hand by showing up here?”
“They wanted you rattled,” Gage commented. “It worked.”
He glanced about the room. No one asked questions. They knew there’d be a time for that after. What Zoey needed now was to know she wasn’t alone with whatever this was. He leaned over and took her hand. Squeezed.
“We have to take everything permanently down, Jade. It’s the only way they’ll all be safe.”
They? He glanced at Vi and Mary, who both leaned forward. This was about way more than Sara Cherling.
“Fuck no,” the man declared. “We pull her, get her out of the network, and it’ll hold.”
“No,” Zoey said. “She needs us. I won’t abandon her.”
&
nbsp; “Even if it keeps the others safe?”
Gage’s protective instincts expanded as he started putting the pieces together. From the conversation she’d had with Cherling earlier, Gage had surmised Zoey had helped Sara escape an abusive father. “Others” implied she’d done it more than once.
He looked down at the table at Marshall and the other Masons, who all wore the same concerned look. Whatever or whomever Zoey was helping, hiding, or protecting was now an Arsenal problem to handle because good men like the Masons didn’t let people suffer.
“It’s safer to assume the network is compromised. At least then those in it will be safe. We can’t take the risk of continuing what we’re doing, Jade.”
“Bullshit. We can if you pull your head out of your ass and trust that crew you’ve got at your back.” The man paused as Dallas, Addy, and Cord chuckled. “I see your head’s starting to come unstuck if I’m on speaker phone.”
“Little Bit here’s pretty worried. I’m Gage. You sure you’re secure?”
“Little Bit, huh? Gotta admit, it fits. She’s a little bit of everything, except a smart ass. She’s lots of that.”
Zoey gasped. Her gaze narrowed. “Watch yourself, Jade.”
“I’d like to rewind a bit if that’s okay,” Mary commented. “Let’s do a brief summary of what the hell you two are into.”
“After we’ve ensured Sara’s okay,” Vi added.
Zoey nodded and hit the button on the system to add a line to the call. She punched in a series of numbers.
“Z?” a high-pitched voice called out on the first ring. “It’s not Tuesday.”
“No, it’s not. Are you okay?”
“It’s not Thursday.” The voice was higher. Gaspy.
“Honey, I need you to take a breath.” Zoey spoke slowly and softly.
Gage leaned forward in his chair as the distinctive sounds of gasps and wheezes filled the room. Panic attack. What had a young woman, barely eighteen, survived to have one phone call incite a panic attack?
Any hesitation anyone around the conference table had about weighing in on whatever this was died as Zoey talked Sara through the attack. By the time the young woman had calmed, a screaming baby sounded in the background.
