Suicide Mission (Guarded Secrets Series Book 1)

by Sara Schoen

  “Why would I do that? I can kill you right now, and we don't have to bother with that game.”

  “Because you thrive on a need for answers, and how else are you going to explain how I got into this place and almost got out without anyone noticing to your actual boss?” I asked, posing a serious question. Her face dropped as she looked at the men by her side, neither looked pleased with my logical thought process. “I'm sure he wouldn't take lightly the fact that a rookie got into the compound, then into the office where all the information was and could have found out everything necessary to bring you down.” I felt the cruel smile curl onto my lips as I looked at her scowl form on her lips.

  Clearly I had struck a chord, I thought as one of the men told her that she was already on thin ice with the boss and should try to figure out who I was working for.

  “I know,” she said through gritted teeth to her co-worker. “I could also just bait the answers out of you or aim a gun at your head until you break. It could be a new version of Russian roulette, and it would only be fun for me.” Her voice threatened with a deep growl rising from her chest. “Then I wouldn't need to play your stupid game.”

  “Then you'd have no answers. That's the point of this deal, we have to rely on the other and are forced to play along or neither of us get answers. But then the question remains. What's going to stop you from shooting me as I'm leaving?”

  “My word,” she said without hesitation.

  “How much does the word of a cartel member who has killed civilians actually hold?” I questioned, suddenly seeing the danger in my own game. I was playing Russian roulette, only she was the only one with a gun and it was never pointed at her.

  “I guess you'll find out as much as I will with an agent that has everything to lose like the rest of your people.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked in complete confusion.

  “Your friends came here last time. They are the reason for us having to move! They did the same thing you did, they threatened my position and my family.”

  “I'm lost,” I said honestly. “What do you do here that would cause us to be after you?” I asked. There was a small hope in me that I could get her off the tail of the agency, and maybe to think others were after them too.

  “I'm in charge of the international trades under my father's supervision, he has recently let me take the lead and of course it was the day your group first came. They ruined one of our biggest trades, completely ruined the deal and dumped our merchandise in the water, and it was because I didn't kill them when I had the chance!” she yelled. “I saw them before we left, but I thought it was my nerves getting to me that I was seeing shadows that weren't really there. I ignored what I saw and I paid the price for it. They were killed because they got greedy and wanted to take more than just information. They had come to bring us in as they had done to other groups, but we took them out, one by one, until just a girl was left. She did your job I think, she had the same strategies and moves as you do, and she died staring down the barrel of a gun like you are now.”

  I took a deep breath in a meager attempt to calm my shaking body and prevent the anger from increasing further. The anger was racing through my veins like lightning and it was getting harder to control as she continued to talk.

  “If I had reported it when I had seen them, we wouldn't have lost so much money, and I wouldn't have lost my family's respect!” she said.

  Her 'family' killed people and all she cared about was the money? I couldn't believe it—I didn't want to believe that someone could be that heartless.

  “I think the only thing more annoying was hearing her comrades scream in agony, it was rather obnoxious. Two of them escaped though, so at least someone went back with a warning to your people, but clearly they didn't take it seriously since they sent a rookie out here or maybe they just wanted you dead. What do you think?” she asked, clearly baiting me, but I couldn't control the emotions going through me. I took the bait.

  “They trained me to come here!” I yelled. “They wouldn't purposefully send me here to die. They handpicked me to do this job, they wouldn't do that unless they knew I had a chance!”

  “What makes you think that? Look at where you are now, how well did that training work out? There shouldn't be a need to point it out, but no one is here helping you now. There isn't anyone coming because just like last time they are leaving the weak links behind. They sent you out here alone and without backup, didn't they? Otherwise there would be someone here.”

  My mouth sealed shut before my mind even processed what was going on around me. She was pulling the information out of me by stressing me out, and I had told her too much already. I couldn't tell her that there was backup, but I honestly couldn't remember everything I had said in the heat of the moment.

  “Where's that guy I saw?” she asked bluntly. I attempted not to react, but even I could feel my pupils dilating, and I was sure she could see it. “Is he supposed to be helping you now?” she pushed the topic. When I didn't answer she tried to bait me again, “He isn't here, and he won't come. No one is coming and you'll die because of it.”

  “He'll come for me,” I said honestly, thinking about Demon. I knew he wouldn't leave without me, and there was no point in hiding it. She already knew that there was at least one person here, so I wasn't giving her any new information. All the same, I saw her eyes light up at the news, and I mentally prepared myself to lie my way through this. Even if she was playing my game, I had to do it to survive just a little longer. I knew Demon wouldn't just leave me behind, so I had to wait it out. “Even if it means they'll only come for my dead body.”

  “They will come if you're dead?”

  “Yes,” I lied through my teeth. Demon had me practice how to tell better lies, that way it wouldn't be painfully obvious if I became their thief. I had learned well according to him, and now it was time to put it to the test. I worked hard to keep my gaze level, so that it didn't leave hers, and my voice calm and unchanged as if I was talking about the weather. “They care about their teammates. I will be retrieved alive or dead.”

  “We can arrange the dead part. It's a shame to end your life so early, but if you don't live for something, then you die for nothing,” she said as the man next to her pulled a gun and pointed it at my head.

  I tried to remain calm, but it was almost impossible. I was staring down the barrel of a gun, and the cold eyes of murderers. I would have to get Tessa to have them under control, then pray that they listened to her.

  “Just like you arranged civilians' deaths?” I asked. “That’s not what good people do, that’s not what anyone does. Except murderers and criminals.”

  Tessa put her hand on her goon's gun and pushed it down as she stepped toward me. “They aren't the only ones that die. I lose family members all the time. We lose people, that's how life goes. You should get used to it, it will only get worse for you if you stay with these people. I've seen what they do and that they leave people behind. They eventually came back for the bodies, but you’ll be cold before they consider coming back, if they come at all. I know where your friend is hiding, and right after we finish with you I will go after him.”

  I felt a smile curl onto my lips, and a breathy laugh escape my lips. Raider was almost impossible to find unless he wanted to be found. Spit Fire was out since Tessa had said the wrong gender, and Whiplash would be keeping Demon away right now. Even if she had seen one of them, she would have no idea where they were. They were all too well trained.

  “That's a lie.”

  Her eyes narrowed and a frown creased her lips, “You're right, I lied. I guess that means you win your little game,” she sighed heavily. “I do hate to lose, but I am also a person of my word. I'm giving you ten seconds to get out, before I order them to shoot you.”

  “Seriously?” I felt my eyes and face scrunch up in disbelief, there was no way she was going to let me out of here this easily and I knew it. She would lose her bargaining chip and be in even m
ore trouble with the actual boss. But I wasn't going to miss out on the chance to get out.

  “Six, five, four,” Tessa said causing me to spring to life and race toward the door. I made it to the door as Tessa counted to two and the guns behind me were cocked and lifted at me. I was close to escaping, but when I opened the door gun shots flew around the opening. I ducked behind a wall to block the bullets as they sprang sporadically into the room.

  “You lied!” I cried out as bullets started to ricochet into the building as the door slowly closed again. The door shut as the men moved in to circle me, hoping to prevent another escape.

  “That's the great thing about working in a cartel,” Tessa said stepping forward, creating a hole in the circle. “I don't have follow an outsider’s rules. I agreed to play a version your game to get answers, and I am indeed an honest person who goes by my word, but they didn't agree to your game. Too bad you called that bluff a little too late, otherwise you might have thought of a different plan. As soon as you're dead I'm going after your friend. Say good-bye now, oh I don't even know your name. Oh well,” Tessa said with a smirk.

  One of the men leveled his gun to my forehead. His face was stoic and unmoved as I felt a tear slip down my cheek. I took a deep breath, maybe even my last, as I attempted to hold in the rest of my tears. I wanted to stand strong until the end, against him, the cartel, and against my own fear. I sighed heavily, letting go of the breath, as I prayed that the Rickers would forgive me for what I did to them and that my family would understand why I risked my life for this mission, and allow me to join them with whatever was after life on Earth.

  I was shocked at myself for praying for a God, and for there to be a place for me to go, since I wasn't a religious person, although what surprised me most was that they didn't shoot me. Instead the man had turned and pointed the gun at Tessa. Her smile was quickly wiped off her face as she looked at her co-worker, her family member as she called them. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the barrel of the gun and then back up to the man she called Jax. Her mouth started to move slowly as if she was trying to talk, but no sound was coming out.

  “Take your own advice, Tessa. If you don't live for something, then you die for nothing. Now, say good-bye.”

  Chapter 22

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Tessa questioned as she stepped away from Jax, but walked right into another one of the men that originally had been on her side. The shock was prevalent in her voice, it crackled and broke as if she was about to cry. She forced the words to come out and shook wildly while she spoke. Fear was overcoming her, these people were her family to her, and now they were against her. A tear streamed down her face, she tried to cover it up to remain strong, but it wasn’t possible. This time she wasn't holding the gun, she was on the other side of the bullet and it terrified her.

  “We have to kill you, Tessa,” Jax said easily. If I wasn’t mistaken there was a hint of a smile on his lips as he said it too. “We were going to have to kill you eventually, but I honestly didn't think it would be this easy,” he said, letting the smirk curl onto his lips. “I never imagined you'd make it this easy, in fact we had gone through multiple plans and ideas, but this just got so much easier. I don’t even have to do any cleaning up now, and that’s the best part.”

  “What are you talking about?” Tessa cried, completely lost at what he was saying. There was a disconnect in her mind, she couldn’t figure out why they had to kill her or why they would, because to her they were family, but to them she was disposable. She glanced between the men around her in complete bewilderment. She was distracted, Jax was focused on her and his men were circling around her to prevent an escape. Slowly, while everyone was focused on Tessa I stood up. “You are kidding right? This is a big joke!”

  “It's not, Tessa. We played along all night to get you both locked in a room together,” Jax said as he turned back to me and pointed the gun at me. I froze on the spot, my movements hadn’t gone unnoticed as I hoped they would. “We can just say that you died at the hands of this girl. She's from the last group that was here and she was out for revenge for her fallen friends. She took the gun from you, shot you through the head, and with her training it wouldn't seem so out of place. Then in retaliation we killed her to avenge you.”

  “There's no way they would believe that!” Tessa cried. “Tony, Maria, even Hunter, they won't believe it! They would know that you guys killed me.” Her voice cracked loudly, she knew it was a lie. She was trying to convince herself that someone, anyone, would figure out that she had been killed by her own cartel members. Deep inside, I was sure she knew that no one would even question it if they said that I killed her to get away. Once you were in the cartel, you were in for life, even if it meant a bullet to the head.

  “They believe what we tell them, and if they don't believe it, they know well enough to fake it. Just like when we killed Anton. Everyone just knew to fake that they thought it was an accident, because they didn’t want it to happen to them,” Jax said as Tessa stared at him in shock. Her mouth was twitching as if she was trying to speak, but no sound came out. Her shock became widespread at his openness to admit that they had killed a member. “You don't get it Tessa, this isn't your family. This is a family business, but it's not yours. You were allowed to believe that for your cooperation at a young age, but it was all lies.”

  “But,” Tessa cried before her words got caught in her throat again.

  “Your father joined this business after your mother passed away. He needed the money to send you to school, so he kept you out of this for a while, but when you needed a job, you worked for us. Then when you couldn't get a job when you graduated, you came here, and you've been here ever since. Now it's time to pay us back. That's all it is, you paying us back for what we gave you,” Jax said with a shoulder shrug as if this meant nothing to him.

  “But why?” When their eyes turned to me I felt my eyes grow wide. My breath caught in my throat and I had the urge to slap my hands over my mouth to prevent myself from asking anything else. I hadn't meant for those words to leave my mouth, and now I was unfortunately back in the center of attention.

  “Tell her why, Tessa,” he prompted. When Tessa didn’t reply, he repeated it and this time meant it as an order. “Tell her why she’s going to be set up for murder. She has the right to know before she dies as well. I’m sure she’s waiting with baited breath to know why she, you and your father had to die for what you did.”

  “A shipment was lost, completely,” Tessa said, as she tried to control her voice from cracking and showing her fear. “There was a group of people that attempted to bring down this base from your agency not so long ago. They were all highly trained; it was clear from how they moved independently of each other, but still as a team. They didn’t know that this wasn’t the headquarters of our cartel. I caught one girl saying that they had to bring us down to get rid of us, but it told me their intelligence was faulty. There are four other compounds, all commanded by one person in Georgia.”

  “Too much information, Tessa.” Jax growled as he lifted the gun to her head again.

  “Anyway, they managed to figure out where to go and attempted to set most of our product on fire. That would have burned down the compound, and if they had stuck with that plan no one would have had to die. They didn't; they wanted all of it and our boss, nothing else would be good enough. I saw them on our way out, but cast it off as shadows and my fears of my first sale.” Her voice faltered on her and she stopped to compose herself.

  “Keep talking Tessa, I want you to repeat everything.”

  “Since I didn't tell anyone what I saw most of the compound was burned down, many died, and when they came to get rid of the shipment I was selling they destroyed it. In fear for my father's and my life I told them where to find the rest of it. That would have been in a different warehouse at the time to prevent such issues. They didn't burn it, it was just gone.”

  “That's money, money we lost! It was your dea
l and not only did you lose the one you were selling, but more that were hidden in reserves! That was supposed to be a big pay day,” Jax yelled as he backhanded Tessa, and she fell to the ground in a heap as he continued to talk. “You got those people killed! They are dead because of you! You should have told us you saw them, you could have stopped this if you or your father had the backbone to kill them.”

  “The blame is all on me, not my father,” Tessa said, suddenly growing a backbone as she defended her father. “He didn't have anything to do with it. It's my fault not his! Don't kill him over this, just kill me and end it.” Jax let out a chuckle that soon turned into a full laugh.

  I could see Tessa's face scrunch up in confusion as she watched him buckle over in laughter. I lifted my eyebrow curiously, but instinctively knew that I wouldn't like whatever what making him laugh.

  Tessa caught onto the uneasy feeling and voiced my concerns. “What's so funny, Jax?”

  “Nothing you would find particularly enjoyable,” Jax said with a smile as he looked at Tessa.

  I felt a shiver race down my spine, but as I shivered it brought the two other men closer to me in fear I was trying to escape again. Tessa looked over at me, worry in her eyes, before she flashed her green gaze back to Jax. She was waiting for him to explain, but I had a feeling that what was coming would destroy her.

  “Tell me,” she demanded, her voice cracked loudly and reverberating off the walls of the empty room.

  “I guess no one told you,” Jax said, the smile still present on his face. “You father died last night in an awful accident while moving the last batch out of here. I heard that there was a mistake and the batch wasn't tied down well; it crushed him.”

  Tessa's face fell in shock, unable to cry or talk, as Jax laughed.