by Rachel Grant
“I have to admit, it’s been quite fascinating,” Nicole said. “Usually the infrasound testing was Westover and Godfrey’s deal. I never even watched. All I cared about were the results. But you, Isabel, you’ve been special. I wonder if it’s because you’re a woman. We’re made of stronger stuff, you know. We can take higher levels of pain. Westover says your pain threshold is off the charts compared to the men.”
Isabel wanted to glare at Nicole, but even that hurt. Blinking hurt. Breathing hurt. “Are we flying somewhere?”
A corner of her mouth kicked up. “No. We’re in the airplane hostage simulator. This jet hasn’t flown in years.”
They were still on the compound. Alec could find her. There was hope. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m getting tired of going over that with you. We’re ransoming you. I figure at this point you’re worth a lot to Alec, and the more you scream, the more he’ll pay. You scream very well.”
“Ransom. Wait. You were interrogating him. You were after his money all along. You wanted access to his accounts.”
“Very good! You do remember!” Nicole gave her a look worthy of a proud mother. If Isabel could lift her arm, she’d punch the bitch, pain or no pain.
“Alec killed Godfrey, and Westover dumped Alec in the woods so I’d find him. Why? Your plan had gone to hell. Why not just kill him?”
“Oh. That’s a good question. You haven’t asked that one already. Glad to see your brain is holding up after repeated rounds of infrasound.”
Repeated? How many times had they done this to her? How many times had they had this conversation?
“If Rav had died, his accounts would have been frozen. We wouldn’t have been able to raid them. Westover had to find a way for Rav to live, but he couldn’t pull off the car-hitting-a-moose scenario we’d planned, not when Rav had bruises and cuts that couldn’t have been caused by the accident. No one would believe it. Plus we weren’t sure what Rav would remember. So he dumped Rav in your path, figuring you’d bandage him, then go for help. It was the best we could hope for. You surpassed Westover’s expectations by building the travois. Rav might have died if you’d left him—and that would have screwed up our plans big-time. We owe you a debt of thanks. You didn’t just save Rav; you saved our asses.”
“And now you’re thanking me by torturing me.”
“Yes, but we’ve been using the frequencies that result in memory loss—our gift to you. Believe me, you don’t want to know what you’ve been through today. Westover is one sick sonofabitch.”
Nicole had never been a fan of Westover, and her tone indicated the dislike hadn’t been an act to deflect suspicion. Isabel twisted under the restraints, trying to get a glimpse of the main passenger cabin behind her. “Where is he?”
“He’s setting up our next location. Right now it’s just us girls.”
Was Nicole more likely to answer her questions without Westover present? Even more important, without Westover, was she safe from being zapped with infrasound? “Why did he shoot Airwave into my cabin?”
“Westover wanted your computer and notebook. I wanted Rav to bring you inside the compound so I could keep an eye on you—you’d gotten far too close to the cave—plus I wanted to implicate Apex.”
“Because Barstow never offered you a job?”
Nicole’s lip curled. “Oh, he offered me a job—but I’m an operative, not a whore.”
Did Nicole expect Isabel to feel sorry for her? After everything she’d done? Isabel’s body ached too much for her to even fake sympathy. “Why did Westover come after us in the river? We weren’t anywhere near the cave.”
“That was Westover’s stupid idea to prevent Rav from letting you search for the cave on your own. He figured if he made it clear you were in danger, Rav would insist you stay inside the building while we planned the training, making you a willing prisoner. Westover didn’t expect you both to swim.” She patted Isabel’s hand. “If it makes you feel better, I reamed him when he told me what happened. Rav could have died.”
Where was the woman Isabel had spent hours with in the Roadhouse? How had she hidden her true self so well, for so long? Isabel stared at her, searching for glimpses of the woman she’d laughed and traded stories with, for the soldier who’d seemed dedicated to her job. Maybe, if she hadn’t been so lonely and desperate for information, she’d have recognized Nicole for what she was months ago. She cleared her throat to ask one more question. “Why was I attacked in the basement?”
Nicole’s mouth tightened and her brows drew together in disappointment. “As I’ve told you twice already, after Chase failed to grab you, we knew we’d have to take you ourselves. But we could hardly abduct you when Rav had a mercenary army at his disposal. Attacking you in the basement—so blatant after Chase’s collapse—made it clear the compound wasn’t safe. Rav had no choice but to shut it down”—she flashed a cunning grin—“and send everyone on Falcon away.” She picked up Isabel’s cell phone. “That’s enough questions. Let’s see what message Rav left you.” She put the phone on speaker.
“I never set up voice mail,” Isabel said.
“Don’t worry, I set it up for you when I disabled the GPS function.”
That not so secret hope wilted before it could fully blossom. Alec’s phone guru, Lee, wouldn’t be able to locate her based on cell tower pings—because there was only one antenna array in the area—and it was right next to the main compound building.
Alec’s voice was crisp even through the small speaker. “You win, Nicole. It takes time to turn assets into cash, but I’ve spoken with the presidents of three of my banks and have been assured access to twenty-seven million at eight a.m. Eastern time. I just need the deposit account number to complete the transaction.”
Nicole frowned and shut off the phone. “By my calculations, his assets—not including Raptor—are worth well over a hundred million, but if the bank is advancing the cash based on stocks and bonds he has yet to sell, they couldn’t give him full value.” She tapped the phone, her gaze taking a distant look. “I suppose twenty-seven mil isn’t bad. I have to split it with Westover, though. Sort of makes me glad Rav took Godfrey out of the picture. It’s enough to make this whole ordeal worthwhile. We’re giving up on eighteen months of testing and development, plus I’ll be forced to leave the US and never come back.” The cunning grin returned. “You must give a helluva blowjob.”
Isabel bucked against the restraints, more than eager to slug Nicole in the jaw.
Nicole ignored her and reached for the mask on the tray. “Now, it’s time to make sure you forget this conversation.”
“Why?” Isabel pleaded, sweat dotting her brow at the prospect of enduring more pain, even if she wouldn’t remember it later. “You just get annoyed when I ask the same questions again.”
Nicole paused and cocked her head, her expression matching one Isabel had seen many times. “You know what, I’m so happy Rav is coming through with the money, I’ll give you this one.” She winked conspiratorially. “Plus it’ll piss off Westover that I didn’t follow his instructions, which is always a bonus.”
Relief allowed Isabel to take a deep, shuddering breath. She’d only delayed the next round, but at least she wouldn’t wake up confused again. With this conversation as a baseline, she’d remember what was going on, and why, which might give her a chance to figure out how to escape.
Nicole gathered items from a cart next to the cot, shoving them into a duffle bag. “It’s time for us to join Westover at the next location. We’ll send the video we took of you here in a few hours. We need to keep Alec on his toes, guessing where we are. I don’t for a moment believe he’s just going to give me the money without doing everything he can to get you back first. He might be a good strategist, but he handed over his game plan months ago, and he doesn’t know this compound nearly as well as I do. He doesn’t really stand a chance.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
A map of the compound was spread out across the c
onference table. Lee pointed to three structures in the far northeast of Alec’s holdings. “We can rule out these structures, because while they have generators and electricity, they don’t have Wi-Fi or cell coverage, and they need to be able to access the banks, to be certain the money has gone through.”
“They could have a satellite phone,” Keith suggested.
Alec considered what he knew of Nicole. “It’s possible. But Nicole is tech savvy and more comfortable with computers than telephone transactions. She’ll want to see the deposits land and move the money quickly. Plus she probably feels secure knowing she locked us out of the LAN and God’s Eye cameras. She figures Mothman is in Fairbanks and we’re helpless. She has no idea Lee is here.”
Lee had already defeated Nicole’s bug, but they’d opted to leave it in place until they stormed the position where Isabel was held. Let her think she maintained the upper hand until it was too late.
Four monitors had been set up in the room. Each was paused on a different video.
Four videos. Four rounds of torture. Each one worse than the last.
Brad left the table and approached the second monitor. He hit the Play button and fast-forwarded. He stopped and played a small section.
Isabel’s whispered plea for mercy kicked Alec in the chest.
“Sorry,” Brad said, and muted the sound.
Only years of training kept Alec from losing his shit. He had a rescue mission to plan and couldn’t save her if he lost his focus. He was a razor. Sharp and lethal.
Brad paused the video and zoomed in on the wall behind Isabel. “This bullet pattern. I know it. We ran a training where we hung posters to represent three Tangos in the southeast shoot house a few months ago. We timed how quickly each trainee could get off three headshots. The wall behind the posters was beat to hell after that exercise.” Brad pointed to three heavily chipped areas. “This is that room.”
Lee studied the map, then pointed. “Is this the southeast shoot house?”
Brad returned to the map and nodded.
Lee drew a red circle around the structure on the map. “I can turn on the cameras there. If they’re long gone, it won’t alert Nicole we have computer access, and if they’re there, we’ll see them.”
Alec considered the possibilities. “I want a team in position to pounce, just in case they’ve returned. It would be like her to double back after a place has been cleared. Like the hostage scenarios we run in the shoot houses. And that was one of the structures I searched first.”
I was there. Before or after this video was taken?
“If we can determine all four locations,” Keith said. “We can have four two-man teams ready to move in.”
“One man would have to be solo,” Alec said. “We need Lee in God’s Eye, working the cameras.” He paused, considering the options. “Odds are, they’ll be gone, but if each team takes one known location, then moves into position to check out an unknown, we could quickly sweep a few sections of the compound, with Lee activating cameras one step at a time.” Alec met Lee’s gaze. “Can you work the cameras from God’s Eye? It’s a lot to take in, usually a two- or three-person job.”
“If I’m activating the cameras in waves, no problem. I know the system.”
“Good. Let’s figure out the other three locations and then identify where each two-man team needs to go from there. We’ll do a systematic search.”
“We should bring in Sufentes, Kalla, and Wells from Fairbanks.” Keith said. “Then we wouldn’t have anyone working solo.”
“No time,” Alec said. “Besides, I’m not ready to trust them until we’re certain Nicole and Westover aren’t working with anyone else.” He met Keith’s gaze. He knew the man would object, but really, there was no other option. “I’ll search alone.”
Three hours later, Alec was crouched in the trees surrounding the prove-up. There were no interior cameras in the prove-up cabin, which was why Alec had opted to take this structure after they’d cleared the training buildings. It would be hard for Nicole to ignore the lure of a safe haven without cameras.
They’d been searching for the last two hours, to no avail. Time was dwindling. Soon it would be eight a.m. on the East Coast, and Alec would transfer a massive amount of money—enough to ensure Nic and Westover could disappear and escape justice forever—into a numbered bank account. He had to find Nicole before he made the transfer. Not because he gave a damn about retaining the money, but because he owed the bitch a bullet between the eyes for what she’d done to Isabel.
Alec and Keith had decided on the search teams: Ethan and Josh, Keith and Sean, Brad and FBI Agent Matt Upton, leaving Alec alone and Lee in God’s Eye, directing.
It was far from ideal, but it was the best they could do, given the situation, and Alec had complete trust in each man.
He waited until he received the signal from Keith and Sean that they were in position. Because this structure had no cameras, which meant Lee couldn’t provide guidance, they’d agreed backup was required. At least the cabin was small and Alec knew the layout. It would take only moments to search it.
As with every building he’d searched in the last two hours, the cabin was empty. But there was one key difference. A still-warm mug of hot chocolate sat on the coffee table.
Alec stopped short, staring at the mug. His heart pounded as the meaning sank in.
They’d been here. In the last hour. Hell, in the last thirty minutes.
Isabel had been here, in the same place where he’d watched her in the firelight and had known, deep down, she was everything he wanted.
He grabbed a lamp from the side table and, with a roar, smashed it into the stone mantel. The ceramic body shattered, sending shards flying in a scatter pattern around the hearth and into the open grate. It wasn’t enough. He scooped up the side table and bashed it against the rocks. It cracked and splintered, but it took five solid blows until the table was reduced to a mess of wood fragments.
He roared again as tears of anger, frustration, and fear surged to the surface. He couldn’t hold them back any longer.
Isabel had been Nicole’s prisoner for sixteen hours. She’d suffered unspeakable pain, and he had no reason to believe Nicole would let her live after he paid the ransom. Her only hope was if he found her before the money dropped.
In the last six days, he’d somehow fallen head over heels in love with her. She mattered to him more than air, and she was suffering. Because of him. Not only had he delivered her straight into the hands of evil, but they were hurting her to break him, because they wanted his money. Because they knew what seeing her pain would do to him.
He was dying inside. He didn’t quite understand how his heart was still beating. He leaned his forehead against the mantel and let out the sob that had been building since he first learned Westover had taken her.
Twenty-four hours ago, he’d been in bed with Isabel. He sucked in a painful breath. He’d attempted to count her freckles as she drifted off to sleep, but it was impossible, as one faint orange spot blended with the next in his dim bedroom.
She needed him now, and he was failing her.
“Alec?” Keith said.
Slowly, he lifted his head and turned, meeting Keith’s gaze without flinching. He wasn’t ashamed for breaking down, and Keith, of all people, would understand, given what had happened to his girlfriend, Trina, only a month ago. “She was here. A half hour ago.”
“How do you know?”
He nodded toward the mug on the coffee table. “The hot chocolate is a message. For me.”
“What does it mean?”
He shrugged. “Beyond that she was here? I’m not certain.”
“Lee’s finished rebooting the entire system. He’s going over each structure again. I sent the others back to help him. Right now, it looks like they’re long gone.”
“Not long.” Alec picked up the mug and dipped a finger inside. “This is still lukewarm.”
“There are a billion hiding places in the woods her
e, but not a lot of places that have electricity and Internet. And now that Lee’s got the system up, if they access the network, he’ll know.”
“They’ll stay away from the Raptor network. Nicole knows it can pinpoint her location.”
“There’s no way to use Raptor Wi-Fi or LAN without logging in,” Keith said. “If they’re in one of the compound buildings, Lee will find them.”
Alec stiffened as Nicole’s plan crystalized in his mind. She’d kept him busy, focused on the compound, blinding him to her final destination. “I think I know where they are.”
Alec and Keith circled the meadow and approached Isabel’s cabin from the rear. On the surface, it appeared empty. Abandoned.
But Alec was certain this was it.
Nicole would feel so clever, hiding Isabel in her own cabin. It made perfect sense. Remote and isolated, yet with the comforts they needed to complete the transaction and easy egress from the compound. There were two access roads from which to make their escape, or they could take an ATV overland and disappear into the forest.
He and Keith had discussed at length the best approach. The broken living room window left the cabin vulnerable from the front, while the back door not only had a hefty dead bolt, it also had an old-fashioned two-by-four braced across the panel just above the knob. There would be no forcing that door open without a battering ram.
The front was the only option.
They crept below the window and flanked the door with their guns drawn. A slow, quiet test of the knob showed it was unlocked. At Keith’s nod, Alec wrenched the door open and dropped down to open Keith’s line of sight.
Nicole sat in the center of the couch with Isabel tight against her side. Isabel was bound—her hands zip-tied in front of her—and gagged. The muzzle of Nicole’s pistol was pressed casually against the base of Isabel’s neck. The blonde bitch flashed her wide, megawatt smile. “Drop the gun, Tiger, and come on in. It took you long enough to get here.”
