No.
Her vision started to fade as her lungs screamed for oxygen. She’d survived this nightmare to be murdered by her own husband? And she knew as she stared into his pitiless eyes that he’d find a way to spin this. That he’d probably make himself a fucking hero for trying to save her from the bad guys.
No way.
Her fist circled the hilt of the knife, and she shuddered as she drew it out of her burning flesh. He didn’t notice. He was too intent on tightening his grip on her windpipe as he throttled the life out of her.
She plunged the blade as hard as she could in the direction of his kidney. His eyes went wide, then wider still as she twisted the blade.
He was dead before he hit the floor.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lucas put the van in drive. Ashley’s door slammed shut as he accelerated away from the curb.
“Lucas,” Alex yelled at him.
“What?”
“We can’t go to Sloan’s place—”
“Why not?”
“’Cause you and Chen will be pulled back into the investigation if you do. We won’t be able to go after Becca.”
Shit. “But the cops might catch them before they get away.” The bastards couldn’t be more than a few minutes ahead of the police.
Alex shook his head. “They would never show their hand without a valid escape plan. They’re gone, buddy.”
Disbelief sideswiped him. A blaring horn brought him back to the moment, and he jerked the wheel to avoid a collision.
“Who is Becca?” Ashley asked in confusion.
Alex answered for him. Lucas wasn’t capable of doing anything but concentrating on not crashing the damn car while his heart tried not to explode in his chest.
“A thirteen-year-old girl survived the explosion in Chinatown. Lucas and Sloan kept her survival a secret to protect her.”
“So Mallory was right. You were hiding something,” she said quietly.
“She’s not the only one who figured it out.” Alex checked his cell. “One of my close protection guys is texting me from the hospital. Surveillance shows four of them walking out of the place under their own steam. Sloan, Becca, and two Asian guys.”
“Probably holding a gun on the kid,” Lucas bit out. Sloan wouldn’t risk Becca. “What about the ATF agent? She okay?”
Alex waited a moment after he texted. “Reilly says he spoke to the ATF agent. She was taking a break. Sloan was alone with the kid when the gang members waltzed in dressed in white coats and waltzed right out again.”
“Why didn’t they kill them then and there, like they killed everyone else? Why take them?” Lucas’s jaw fused together. The pressure in his brain threatened to blow off the top of his head. Why had they suspected someone survived the blast? Did they have someone inside the FBI? If not Ashley, who?
“Maybe to prove a point? They can get to anyone anywhere, no one is safe?” Ashley suggested. “Or to use as hostages to get themselves out of the country?”
“They could grab anyone as a hostage.” Alex nixed that idea. “They took Sloan to get to you. They took the kid to control Sloan and eliminate a witness.”
“If they hurt Becca…” But they already had. The photograph was seared into his mind. After he’d promised she was safe. He smashed his fist on the wheel and didn’t finish the sentence. “Any news on Sloan?”
Alex called someone as Lucas slammed on the brakes. He’d gone around in a circle and didn’t know which way to go next.
“She’s alive and being rushed to the ER. She’s lost a lot of blood, and they don’t think she’ll make it. Her husband was found dead at the house. No sign of the perps. No sign of Becca.”
So Alex was right. These guys were on the move. “I fucked up.”
“We all did, but we don’t have time for regret. We need a plan,” Alex told them. “Let’s go to the jet and figure out our best course of action.”
“The best course of action is to do as they say and swap Becca for me,” Ashley said.
“Suicide,” Alex objected.
“You have a better plan?” she asked.
Alex shook his head. “But if we get to wherever we’re going first and set up the meet?” He shrugged. “We might be able to surprise them and get the kid back.”
Lucas held Alex’s stare in the rearview. “And if it were Mallory?”
Alex’s jaw flexed. “I wouldn’t let her within a hundred miles of the bastards.”
“You seem to forget I’m still officially an FBI agent, and this is my fault.” Ashley cut in. “I get a say in what we do, and I want to rescue the kid and catch these offenders. I’m aware of the danger.”
Lucas was jolted. Officially nothing had changed. No one else knew about Ashley’s fake background, except for the Devils themselves. Whether they said anything would depend on what Ashley did. Rationally, the only possible move the three of them could make was one that looked like she was obeying their instructions.
Lucas’s brain was tired from stress and lack of sleep. He needed time to untangle the web of thoughts whirling through his mind.
A security guard was approaching to shoo them away from the area. Lucas’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel.
“Ashley and I might be able to track them using their cell phones,” Parker suggested. “We can work on the plane and maybe narrow down the location of the main headquarters before we even get there.”
She swung around in her seat, clearly surprised. “You’d work with me?”
“To save a kid and a federal agent? I’d work with Satan himself.”
Ashley laughed, and it sounded honest and real.
Lucas believed her. There was no more doubt in his mind. No more stupid uncertainties.
What a life she must have lived. To always be running. Always be guarded. And she’d been so good at it that the Dragon Devils hadn’t even known she was alive until two days ago. And they’d already killed two people and kidnapped another trying to get to her. How many more would be hurt before she confronted them head on?
The security guard knocked on the passenger window, but Lucas had made his decision. He put his foot on the accelerator and sped away.
* * *
Ashley drank coffee like the zombie apocalypse was imminent and caffeine the only cure. The last twenty-four hours had been an emotional rollercoaster. People had died because of what she’d done, and now her family had kidnapped a teenage girl in an effort to force Ashley to come to them. She didn’t want to think about what Becca would be going through. She was an FBI agent who specialized in cybercrime. She’d seen videos and read enough victim reports to understand the ugly truth. She was also a woman, and every woman lived with the very real fear of sexual assault.
“We should tell Frazer.” Lucas was sipping his own coffee, watching her carefully like she might lose it.
“No.” Ashley hated the pleading edge that entered her tone.
“He can give us a legitimacy we’re lacking right now. Wasn’t legitimacy one of the reasons you joined the FBI?”
She wiped a hand over her face. “I’m not sure I’m in a position to pursue that particular goal anymore.”
“He’s right,” Alex said quietly. “Frazer could help, especially when we’re abroad.”
She sent him a glance. Alex Parker had always been wary and watchful around her. This new friendlier version unnerved her more than the suspicious one had. “If I’m exposed before we catch these guys, I lose all my powers of arrest. Once he finds out the truth, he’ll boot me out the BAU so fast—”
“Why did you want to join the BAU so much, anyway?” Alex asked.
She eyed him, trying to figure out whether or not he was being genuine. “I wanted to beef up the cybercrime team. We both know the best people don’t work for the feds—I mean look at the idiots trying to crack Mae Kwon’s phone.”
His brow quirked. “They gave in and sent it to my tech guys yesterday. We cracked it and got some data from the files, but n
ot as much as we’d hoped. She cleaned out the records on a weekly basis.”
“So we have a week’s worth of johns?” Ashley asked.
He shook his head. “Nope. We have three days’ worth of new customers.”
She swore.
Lucas sat quietly watching them. She couldn’t read him, but she was hyperaware of his every move.
“You’re checking the deleted sections?” she asked.
“Of course. There’s some minor traces but whoever they have doing their tech—”
“My brother,” Ashley interrupted. “I think it’s my brother.” She finished her coffee and got up to pace. “My career at the BAU is over.”
“There are other ways to fight the good fight,” Alex said softly. “They generally pay better, too.”
Ashley smiled brightly, as if her dreams hadn’t been crushed. “I guess that’s what I’ll do then. Assuming I get through the next few days alive and without being arrested or killed.”
Lucas flinched.
“For what it’s worth,” Alex said, “I think it’s 50/50 as to whether or not Frazer fires you.”
She’d put it at an odds-on certainty.
“But if he does, you should give me a call.” Alex slipped her his business card. “My firm can always use people with your skill set.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded, but she wasn’t sure she believed him. She stared at the card, wondering if it contained a tracking device. “Thanks.”
She pocketed the card and turned to Lucas. “Fine. Tell Frazer everything. Make sure he knows how important it is that everyone takes extra safety precautions. We don’t know for sure that they left the country. I couldn’t stand it if someone else was hurt because of me.”
Lucas nodded.
His cell buzzed from where it rested on the table. He leaned forward. A picture of an old cathedral appeared on the screen. The message below said, “Ashley Chen. Come alone, or the girl dies.”
“Where is that?” Lucas turned the phone toward Ashley.
“Macau,” she and Parker answered in unison. She looked at him in surprise before continuing. “Yu Chang had a house there. It’s where Andrew and I went to live when we first left the States.”
“Write back and demand proof of life.” Lucas spoke with a calm that belied the tension in his jaw.
She texted back and, a moment later, a photograph appeared—a blonde-haired girl, bound and gagged in what looked like an aircraft cargo hold. Ashley leaned back in her chair, wishing like hell she’d stayed far away from Boston, and that her relatives weren’t a bunch of ruthless gangsters.
Lucas stared at the screen. “We need an alternate location where the Dragon Devils don’t hold all the power,” he told her. “Somewhere it’s going to take them time to get to. Somewhere that puts us on more equal footing.”
“No home field advantage,” Alex agreed.
“Hong Kong?” she suggested. “We could get Nelson Shaw and the HKPD involved.”
Lucas shook his head. “No. If Nelson Shaw sees you, your secret is out.”
Ashley looked up in surprise. She’d assumed her secret was already out. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Can you think of anywhere?” Lucas pushed.
She knew a place. It was a fitting location for a family reunion. She did a quick Google search for a picture and then sent it back to the sender. Was it her brother? Was he helping her uncle and cousin hunt her down?
“Where’s that?” Lucas asked, looking at her screen.
“Thailand.” Ashley forced herself to relax. “It’s the beach where we were staying when the wave hit. It’ll freak them out as much as it does me.”
She texted a quick message. “When I get there, she goes free. Hurt her in any way, and you’ll never see me again. I want your word, Andrew.”
She held her breath, waiting for the reply to come through.
“You have my word, Jen-Jen.”
Her heart stopped for a beat at the use of the old nickname. It really was Andrew. Her brother was involved in trafficking and sexual slavery.
Alex picked up the phone and removed the SIM card. He was making sure there was no way for the kidnappers to call and arrange a different location at the last minute. If they wanted her—and she knew they wanted her—they’d have to do it on her terms at this location. It wasn’t much of an advantage, but it was better than nothing.
“I need to go talk to the pilot.” Alex stood. “It’s a long way to Thailand. We might be better off getting on a commercial flight. Easier to blend in with the tourists, but not as easy to plot our next move.”
“You should go home to Mallory. This isn’t your fight,” she argued.
Alex gave her a look that made the hair on her nape rise. “They made it my fight when they tortured and murdered a woman they thought was my fiancée. Mallory has the protection she needs for now. I’m going to make sure they don’t repeat their mistake.” He excused himself.
She and Lucas were completely alone, and she was achingly aware of the fact. She closed her eyes and felt herself sway. She was exhausted. She’d been too scared to do more than doze during her abduction and too busy jumping Lucas’s bones the night before.
“You need to lie down.” He took her arm and pulled her gently toward the bedroom at the back of the cabin. She let him lead her, wanting to keep him near her until the time came to push him away forever. Inside, he closed the small shutters and drew back the coverlet. She sat on the mattress and pulled off her boots, lying down on the pillow, wondering what would happen next. Her uncle had friends in many places. How would she handle being at his mercy again? She didn’t know if she’d be able to.
Lucas leaned down to kiss her cheek.
She grabbed his sleeve. “Stay. For a little while.”
She didn’t like the needy vibe to her voice, but she held on until he relented and kicked off his own shoes and lay down beside her, spooning her body and wrapping his arm around her waist, hugging her to him.
“Go to sleep, Ash.”
She thought she felt his lips brush her hair, but she wasn’t sure.
Emotions threatened, the growing feeling of love for this man swamped her fear, even though she knew she couldn’t have him for more than a few short hours.
But, for the first time in her adult life, she was sleeping with a man who knew everything there was to know about her—and still he cradled her gently.
The weight of the lies she’d been telling all these years released from her shoulders. She hadn’t realized what a burden they’d been until the weight was gone.
She snuggled into his arms and felt herself being pulled into sleep.
Despite everything, she was clinging to the side of law and order. It was a heady realization to know she didn’t need to do everything alone. But it was her fault they’d gone after her fellow agents. She had a plan to get Becca away from her captors. She just didn’t know if she’d survive the aftermath.
* * *
Andrew sat reeling in his darkened office. He’d just heard from his sister—a sister he’d believed was dead until a short while ago. On a cerebral level, he’d known she was still alive and pretending to be FBI Agent Ashley Chen. But seeing that message directed at him had made the abstract thought real. Everything inside him had frozen.
“Hurt her in any way, and you’ll never see me again. I want your word, Andrew.”
She now knew without a doubt that he was involved in their uncle’s business. She knew he was trying to track her down and bring her home. And when Yu Chang caught up with her, he would hurt and humiliate her for tricking him and running away.
Andrew had betrayed her in the worst possible way.
He shoved his laptop away. He’d done what he had to to survive. She’d gotten away. He’d been stuck with their uncle and forced to join his organization or get crushed. He hadn’t had a choice.
He pulled out a different cell phone and called Brandon, who’d finally found a rid
e in a private jet that belonged to a Libyan arms dealer they occasionally did business with. Andrew didn’t like dealing with people like the Libyan. The man brokered death in a way that made their people trafficking operation look positively warm and fuzzy. Now they owed him a favor.
“Did it work?” Brandon asked.
They’d discovered that one of the girls from the brothel had survived the explosion courtesy of Rabbit who’d called them as soon as he’d found out. Cho had already been following Sloan, so when the ex-task force leader had driven straight to the hospital after getting fired, Andrew had known the survivor was probably there, too. The plan to take them both had been Andrew’s idea. Sloan would know how to contact Special Agent Chen, and taking the child hostage would be enough of a reason for his bleeding heart sister to do his bidding.
Rabbit had paid for the mess he’d created. Andrew had heard on the news that Brian Templeton was dead.
“She’s coming,” Andrew said. “But says if you hurt the kid, she’ll disappear.”
His cousin swore.
“I gave her my word, Brandon.”
“What does it matter? She’ll never know.”
“I gave her my word, Brandon. And she’ll know. You want to be the one to tell Yu Chang she ran again?”
“Bitch.” Brandon heaved out a frustrated sigh. “Once she sets foot in Macau she’s ours.”
“She’s not going to Macau.” This was the part he didn’t want to tell his uncle.
“What?” Brandon growled.
“She said to meet her at the villa in Thailand.”
“Thailand?” There was fear in Brandon’s voice, fear none of them ever admitted. It was a nightmare they shared, an unspoken terror. She’d made a clever choice. “You told the old man yet?”
“No.” Andrew wished he could give the job to his cousin.
“He’ll never go for it.”
“She disconnected and disabled her SIM card. I have no way of contacting her. If he wants to wait while we send someone to Thailand to pick her up—”
“He won’t do that, either,” said Brandon.
Cold Secrets (Cold Justice Book 7) Page 28
