Targeted do-1

by Katie Reus

  “You can sit, Sophie,” Jack said. She couldn’t help noticing that his voice softened when he said her name. And she didn’t know what to do with the feelings that evoked inside her. She certainly liked it, though. Way too much.

  She sat on the edge of one of the seats across from Ronald’s desk. Jack did the same, but his gun never wavered.

  “Who are you?” Ronald asked.

  “You are going to answer my questions. If I think you’re lying, I will kill you.” Sophie didn’t think he would, but Jack’s icy voice was convincing. “How long have you been working for Miguel Vargas?”

  Ronald shot a mournful look at Sophie, then returned his gaze to Jack. “Six months.”

  Hearing him admit it sent a punch of shock slamming into Sophie. She’d known Ronald for years. He’d devoted his life to helping people. It was the reason he’d started SBMS. To get medical supplies to countries that otherwise wouldn’t have any. How had he become involved with a man like Vargas?

  Jack continued, that same edge in his voice. “Who is he working with in Africa?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Jack’s gun hand shifted along the desk and Ronald threw his arms up.

  “I don’t know, I swear. Miguel doesn’t tell me anything.”

  “Why does he want Sophie dead?”

  “I . . . I’m not sure. He knows she was at Keane’s hangar Sunday night. And now he also knows she took pictures.”

  Jack was silent for a moment as he watched Ronald. “Is that why he tried to have her killed?”

  Ronald nodded and once again Sophie felt as if someone had punched her right in the gut. Ronald had known Vargas tried to kill her. She struggled to find her voice, wanting to know if it had been before or after she’d almost died the first time.

  Jack took a menacing, controlled step closer to the desk. “Did you know he planned to kill her?”

  Tears burned Sophie’s eyes as she waited for the answer.

  “No, I swear it. He called me Monday and said he’d be taking care of her, but then you guys disappeared. When she called me I told her to stay away.” He turned to look at her then. “I told you to stay out of Miami. Sophie, you have to believe me, I never thought you’d be affected by any of this. It’s—”

  “Shut the fuck up. You don’t talk to her unless I give you permission.” Jack tapped the desk with his gun, drawing Ronald’s attention back to him.

  Ronald paled as he stared at Jack. “How long has Mandy worked here, Sophie?” he asked her, his focus never wavering from Ronald.

  She wiped away the few stray tears threatening to spill over, refusing to cry in front of either of them. “About a year, but she interned here her senior year in college.”

  Jack’s mouth pulled into a thin line as he directed his next statement to Ronald. “You said you’ve been working with Vargas six months.”

  Ronald shifted nervously in his seat, his eyes on the weapon. “I have. I didn’t know Mandy even worked for him until tonight. I swear! She said she’s been monitoring Sophie’s actions and basically admitted she’s the one who told Vargas that Sophie took pictures at the hangar. She found them on her computer.”

  Sophie gripped the edge of the chair. If Mandy had been monitoring her, then Vargas would definitely have known of Hannah’s importance in her life. Hannah was the only friend who called the office. Hell, Sophie had even invited Mandy out to have drinks with the two of them on more than one occasion. That treacherous bitch.

  The fear and worry she’d been keeping at bay pushed at her again, making her entire body tense, but she ruthlessly shoved them back down. She had to get through one problem at a time.

  Chapter 13

  Tradecraft: the methods developed by intelligence operatives to conduct their operations.

  Jack tilted his head toward Sophie but still didn’t take his eyes off Ronald. “Sophie, I want you to take a picture of Mandy with the cell phone I gave you.”

  “Uh, okay. Why?”

  Always so inquisitive. Jack bit back a smile despite the situation. “I’m going to send her picture to my boss and see if they get a hit.” Normally he would handle an interrogation situation very differently, but with Sophie in the room, he was keeping himself restrained.

  Barely.

  Ronald was holding something back. Jack could feel it straight to his bones. Every time the man spoke, Jack could see the lies and worry in his eyes.

  Jack waited as Sophie stood and did as he asked. When he heard the faint click of the phone, he spoke again. “Sophie, there’s a supply closet at the end of this hall. I want you to find anything you can to further restrain Mandy.”

  Though he couldn’t see her, he could actually feel Sophie pause before leaving. Probably because she could sense the contained violence inside him. It wasn’t directed at her. Could never be directed at her. But if Ronald had had anything to do with those men going after Sophie, Jack would kill him here and now. Everything else including his fucking job could be damned. The thought of this bastard being in on that hit against her life made the primal man he kept locked down come roaring to the surface with the need to protect a woman who could never be his.

  When he heard the door close behind her, he rounded the desk. With a foot, Jack shoved the chair back and placed his weapon over Ronald’s knee. “What aren’t you telling me?” Getting information out of people could be tricky. And Jack didn’t have time to figure out this guy’s weaknesses. Information gained from torture was rarely reliable, but the fear of pain was often worse.

  “They have my daughter,” the other man whispered.

  Jack paused, mentally reviewing the dossier he had on Weller’s family. It said his daughter was backpacking through Europe with friends. “How long?”

  Beads of sweat rolled down his face. “Six months. So far they say they haven’t harmed her, but they threatened to kill her if I didn’t help with some of their deliveries.”

  “Who are they working with in Africa?” Jack had already asked, but he still wasn’t convinced Ronald was telling the truth.

  “I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know. All I’m in charge of is providing a cover to get into places they normally couldn’t.”

  “What about Keane Flight?”

  “Paul is—was, I guess—in charge of doctoring flight logs and in some cases he deleted trips entirely. We coordinated our stories and I updated everything here.”

  Okay, that lined up with what Keane had told Wesley. “When’s your next meeting with Vargas?”

  “This weekend. Maybe sooner. He’s promised I’ll have my daughter back.”

  This was why people should call in professionals when they were in trouble. “Did you call any law enforcement about this?”

  Weller snorted. “No. Who could I have called? The local cops? The feds? She was taken in another country. They have no jurisdiction there, and law enforcement in most South American countries are too scared of Vargas. And . . .” He swallowed hard, fear bleeding into his eyes.

  “What?” Jack pressed the gun harder against his knee.

  “As soon as Vargas contacted me, he also sent me the bloody ear of someone. Told me it belonged to the son of someone who’d tried to go behind his back and involve cops. He said if I wanted my daughter back in one piece I’d follow his instructions or I’d start receiving boxes of her . . . body parts.” His voice cracked on the last word.

  “When’s the last time you talked to him?” Jack asked, his voice monotone. He needed this guy to keep his cool.

  “This morning.”

  “When’s the last time you talked to your daughter?”

  His shoulders slumped. “Couple days ago.”

  Jack sheathed his weapon in his shoulder holster and went back to sit across from Ronald. “You realize that once you give him what he wants, he will kill your daughter?”

  Ronald shook his head. “He promised that—”

  “He’s a drug lord, Ronald. And he’s helping a terrorist faction in Nort
h Africa bring biological weapons into this country. Do you really think he’ll keep his word?” Fucking moron.

  Ronald’s mouth dropped open. “I thought he was just running drugs.”

  Could he really be that naive? Or maybe he’d just wanted to hold on to hope for his daughter’s sake. Once a person gave up the last shred of hope, it was over. Jack scrubbed a hand over his face. People never ceased to amaze him. “You have one thing going for you.”

  “What?”

  “You said you’re meeting him in days, so if Miguel is coming to Miami, something big is going down. Next time you talk to him, demand to talk to your daughter and don’t take no for an answer. You need to make sure he’s bringing her with him.”

  “But what if—”

  “You have something he wants. Even if he threatens your daughter, tell him you need proof. If he doesn’t comply, hang up on him. You’ll push him into a corner and get him off balance.”

  He shook his head almost violently. “I can’t do that. He’s been letting me talk to her at regular times. I can’t—”

  “If you value your daughter’s life you will. Trust me when I say I’ve done this before. If you don’t start negotiating with him, he’ll push and push until he knows you’ll agree to just about anything.” It was how predators like Vargas worked.

  Jack stood as Sophie entered the room carrying twine.

  “What are you going to do now?” Worry and a heavy dose of fear laced Ronald’s voice.

  Jack pointed to Mandy’s unmoving form. “Get rid of one of your problems.”

  “Are you going to . . . ,” Ronald started, but didn’t finish.

  “No, I’m not going to kill her. She’ll be picked up by the people I work for.” And they very well might kill her, but that wasn’t Jack’s problem. Considering that the woman was the reason Sophie had almost been killed, he didn’t care if she died.

  Ronald stood. “If she’s working for him, Vargas will know something’s wrong. You can’t—”

  “Sit down and calm down. He’s going to think she skipped town. If Vargas asks about Mandy—which I doubt he will because he’ll be admitting she was a mole in your company—you tell him you haven’t seen her.”

  “What do you want me to do now?”

  “Nothing. Go home to your wife and act like this conversation never happened. I’ll be in contact tomorrow.” Jack turned to Sophie. “Did you see anyone in the hall?”

  She shook her head, but he didn’t miss the hurt look she shot Weller before returning her attention to him.

  Jack gritted his teeth. He understood that the man was trying to save his daughter, but he’d been willing to sacrifice Sophie. The pain in her dark eyes as she watched him lift Mandy off the floor tore at his insides like razor wire.

  Jack understood how she felt and more than anything, he wanted to wipe that lost look off her face and hurt the person who had put it there. He wanted it so badly he had to contain the sudden, very real urge to clock Weller across the face. It wouldn’t do any good other than make him feel better, and Sophie didn’t need any more violence in her life.

  • • •

  Hannah couldn’t fight the terror forking through her system. The man with the scar hadn’t cuffed or tied her hands. Maybe that was a good thing. Or maybe their security was so tight, he wasn’t worried about her trying to escape.

  Garish yellow lights illuminated their way, creating creepy shadows. There weren’t any guards along the hallway, and the three other holding cells were empty. Though she did notice a dark reddish stain on the floor of one. When they came to a steel door with bars covering the small window, the man next to her pulled out keys.

  When he opened the door, she was surprised to step out into a garden of sorts. “Where are we?” she asked, even though she knew it would likely be pointless.

  No answer.

  The ocean was nearby. She couldn’t hear waves, but the salty smell was unmistakable. Maybe Holly was right. Maybe they were in Cuba. The air was humid, but it wasn’t too hot, which meant maybe they were in one of the Caribbean islands. Or maybe they were still in Florida. She drank in her surroundings as they walked across a grassy incline toward the back of a palatial house. Her breath caught when she saw two armed men standing in the shadows near a giant oak tree.

  Okay, then. They were definitely not alone. That was why the scarred man hadn’t bothered to bind her wrists. If she ran, she’d be shot. No wonder Holly hadn’t tried to escape.

  As they neared the house she spotted a familiar-looking man sitting on the brightly lit veranda. Miguel Vargas. The name had sounded familiar earlier, but now that she was in front of him she remembered seeing him on the news.

  The man next to her roughly grabbed her arm and pushed her onto a cushioned seat across from Vargas. Her skin briefly stung from the treatment.

  “Thank you for joining me,” Vargas said. His voice was surprisingly smooth and calm and almost charming.

  “Did I have a choice?” She inwardly chided herself for the automatic smart-ass answer. Her mother was right, her smart mouth would definitely get her into trouble one day. Probably today.

  He ignored her question. “Do you know why you are here?”

  She shook her head.

  His lips pulled into a thin line and any hint of charm he’d had a second before vanished. “Why were you leaving your house in the middle of the night?”

  A battle waged in her head. She couldn’t tell him what she didn’t know and it wasn’t as if she was betraying Sophie. The man in front of her obviously knew something. Something in her gut told her she needed to be smart if she wanted to survive this conversation. “My friend called me and told me to run.”

  “Friend?”

  She shifted in her seat but didn’t respond. His dark gaze was penetrating and downright scary.

  “Don’t make me repeat myself.” That razor-sharp edge to his voice sent fear slithering down her spine.

  “Her name is Sophie Moreno.”

  His head tilted slightly to the side. “An honest answer. Good. Who is the man she’s with?”

  “I don’t know.”

  When his dark eyes flashed in anger, she knew she’d said the wrong thing even if it was true.

  “I swear I don’t know! She just met him and she didn’t expand on who he was. The only thing I know is that she told me my life was in danger and that I needed to hide somewhere that even she wouldn’t know about. She was very forceful about that.”

  “What else? Did she say where she was going?”

  “No. I could hear the man in the background and he told her to get off the phone before I could ask any questions.”

  “How were you going to contact her?” His eyes narrowed a fraction. It was almost imperceptible, but she knew he was testing her.

  “What?” Blood rushed in her ears. Think, she silently screamed at herself.

  “What number were you supposed to call?” He bit the words out.

  “She didn’t give me one. She was going to call me.” She could taste the lie in her mouth, but she prayed he wouldn’t sense it. There was no way she was going to give him the number her best friend had given her. For all she knew he could trace it.

  He stared at her, his expression unrelenting and hard, but she forced herself not to squirm. Finally he spoke. “Don’t get too comfortable. We’ll be leaving soon.”

  “What are you going to do to Sophie?”

  He chuckled as he motioned to one of his men. “I’m not going to do anything, but your friend is likely dead by now anyway. You are simply insurance in case she’s not.”

  Pain sliced through her. Sophie was her best friend. Hell, one of her only real friends. “You son of a bitch!” Her words were cut off as the scarred man once again grabbed her by the arm and yanked her from her seat.

  Tears stung her eyes as he dragged her back across the lawn. She wanted to scream and struggle but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Besides, now of all times she needed to keep a level hea
d. If only there was some way she could escape and warn Sophie. She was fairly sure there wasn’t an American embassy in Cuba, but there was a naval base. Considering that she didn’t know where they were, she sure as hell wouldn’t know how to get to the naval base.

  If she could escape, though, she’d find a way.

  Chapter 14

  Sanitize: to delete specific material or revise a report or other document to prevent the identification of intelligence sources and collection methods.

  Carrying Mandy down to the garage was a risk, but their window of opportunity was closing fast and Jack needed to get out of this building. He gauged that Mandy was supposed to take care of Sophie, then no doubt check in with her boss.

  When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, Sophie finally spoke. “What exactly do you plan to do to her?”

  “We’re going to tie her up better and lock her in the utility room.”

  “Won’t she be . . . I mean, will she . . . How long are you leaving her here?”

  “I need to contact Wesley and have him send someone he trusts to pick her up. Why don’t you go sit in the vehicle while I take care of this?” Considering he and Wesley had no clue who the mole was, they had to be careful about who they trusted with this information. Especially since Jack planned to make it look as if Mandy had disappeared.

  Sophie took the keys from his hand, not even arguing about staying to help, which told him a hell of a lot about her state of mind. After jimmying the lock, he dragged Mandy into the small room, bound her feet, rebound her hands with twine, and placed the tie around her mouth. Then he tied her arms to a metal cabinet bolted to the wall. Not bad for last-minute business.

  When he was finished, Jack found Sophie strapped in on the passenger side.

  “You all right?” he asked as he steered out of the garage, keeping his voice low and soothing.

  “I guess. What did you guys talk about while I was gone? And don’t say nothing.” Her voice sounded so small it tore at him.

  “Long story short, Vargas has your boss’s daughter—”