Surviving the Fall

by Brittney Sahin

  @Anarchy had him.

  “It’s Randall and Seth.”

  Alexa jumped to her feet at the sight of Randall and Seth maneuvering through the crowd. They appeared to be okay—no injuries that she could see.

  “Where’s Xander?” She blinked a few times as Jake came up alongside her.

  Randall bent forward to catch his breath. “He’s not here? We got split up at the casino. The power went out, and there was gunfire there. Several members of Alpha team were injured,” Seth explained. “Same with Beta team.” His words were like a deadly blow. She hadn’t met the teams, but these were English and American servicemen. Good men had been hurt.

  She gripped her stomach as her shoulders hunched forward.

  “We need to get back to the hotel and grab our stuff once the police let us in. Then we need to get to the embassy,” Randall said. “And you guys should head to the British Consulate.”

  “No,” Jake insisted with a quickness that surprised Alexa. “You all should go. But I’m staying.”

  “What? Why?” Randall asked.

  “I’m not going anywhere until we stop these pricks. I’m not going to sit back and hide.” Jake was shaking his head, his voice laced with determination. “Both of our agencies have been breached. We don’t know who to trust or what Anarchy already knows about us. If we’re going to take these bastards out, we need to do things differently,” Jake said.

  “I have to report what happened,” Randall said, his eyes narrowing on Jake.

  “Please, do. You need to. And let them know we think Anarchy is planning on hijacking one of our drones at Sigonella. And we also think they’ll be attacking the Palace of Westminster in London,” Jake noted in a glib voice.

  Randall stared at Jake in surprise.

  Alexa barely heard as Jake updated the men on what they’d discovered. She was still looking around, panicked, hoping to see her best mate’s face.

  “What will you do? Where will you go?” Seth asked.

  “I have a plan,” Jake said, shrugging away the question.

  This was news to Alexa.

  “I don’t like this,” Randall said.

  “You don’t have to, but it won’t change anything,” Jake said in a firm voice. He swiveled on his heel, turning away.

  “Jake—” Randall started, but Alexa held up her hand.

  “You guys should go home. But be careful, Seth. Anarchy knows who you are.”

  Seth’s brows quirked together and he stepped closer to Alexa. “You’re not coming?”

  I can’t. There was no way she’d leave before finding Xander. And once he was safe, she wanted nothing more than to stop Bekas and the rest of the @Anarchy crew.

  “I’m staying with Jake.”

  “Jesus, Alexa.” Seth gripped his forehead with his thumb and middle finger.

  “Can you get a message to Laney for me? Can you tell her about the drone—and tell her I’m sorry, and also,” she cleared her throat, “tell her I quit.”

  “Alexa.” Seth reached for her arm. He was older than she, so maybe it didn’t matter to him if his identity was exposed. He could sit behind a desk for a few years and retire, or perhaps he already had enough socked away to keep him comfortable after they forced him out.

  “I’m not going to push papers at the agency now that I won’t be able to go on OPs,” she hissed. Plus, after staying in Barcelona against Laney’s instructions, she would probably get fired, anyways.

  “You don’t know that will be the case,” Seth pleaded.

  “How many agents do you know continue to work in the field after their covers have been blown?” She rubbed her hands down her face, her body burning as if coals were pressed to her flesh.

  “If you want to quit, you’ll have to tell Laney yourself, Alexa.” He started to turn but stopped. “And Alexa?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t get yourself killed before you have the chance to tell her.” Seth patted her on the shoulder, and she inhaled a slow breath.

  Every part of her ached down to her chilled fingers as she watched the men leave then turned in search of Jake.

  He was standing with his hands in his pockets, his head tipped toward the gleaming globe of the moon in the sky.

  “They’re gone,” she said in a soft voice, wondering if they were making a mistake.

  They were alone, with no resources or money.

  How could they find Xander and stop @Anarchy like this?

  “You should have gone with them, Alexa.” He slowly turned to face her. She expected he’d insist she leave again, but instead, he said, “I have a call to make.” He swallowed as the light from the street lamp spread across his face. “Are you coming?”

  “But . . . what about Xander?”

  Jake glanced down the street. “You and I both know he’s not meeting us here.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jake was supposed to be a messenger to the world for Kemal Bekas. He’d managed to resist his attackers and snatch a suicide vest from their stash, using their tools of death as his way out the door . . .

  And now, was Xander going to be in the same spot? Would Bekas try and force Xander to spread his messages of hate and death?

  Jake clutched the small, folded piece of paper Emily had given him, trying to decide if he was making a mistake. Did he really want to drag his Marine buddies into this? To put even more lives at risk? They had fought side by side. He had dragged Michael’s bleeding body through the desert after Michael had been shot three times. He had waited until dark when the chopper came to rescue them.

  Aiden, Ben, and Connor had all saved his hide more than once.

  They’d take a bullet for each other—some already had. They were brothers.

  But that had been long ago, and now Aiden, Connor, and Michael were engaged or married. If things went bad, they would leave widows in their wake. And Jake couldn’t be responsible for that.

  But Ben Logan out in Vegas was single. Jake didn’t value his friend’s life less because of that, but he could feel less guilty about asking. There were lives at stake, after all.

  Jake’s hand trembled as he opened the paper that had the number to Ben’s secure phone line. He wasn’t about to call the man’s personal phone, so thank God his sister had thought to write all those numbers down.

  A rush of air escaped Jake’s nose as the phone rang. He peeked through the glass pane in the door. Alexa was sitting on a bench in the other room, her head resting in her hands. Was she crying?

  It only took two rings for Ben to pick up.

  “It’s me. It’s Jake.”

  “Jesus Christ. Michael told me what happened to you,” Ben blurted. “You okay?”

  “Not really, man. But I’ll be a hell of a lot better if you can help me.”

  “Of course.”

  Zero hesitation. Thank God. But Jake knew he could count on Ben; otherwise, he wouldn’t have called.

  He hung his head and pressed a hand to the door as the weight of the day began to bury itself inside him. It felt as if he were weighted down by quicksand, and he was slowly sinking to the depths of hell.

  “I’m in Barcelona with no money and no place to go. And a crazy terrorist, hell-bent on revenging the death of his family, is trying to kill me.” Jake almost laughed at the absurdity of his words. But it wasn’t remotely funny.

  “Well, shit. Sounds like a lot has happened since you last saw Michael.” Ben paused for a moment. “I’m guessing you remember me. Since you called.”

  “I remember everything,” Jake said grimly. He now remembered every death.

  But also, every save.

  Those saves were why he did what he did, after all. Why he put his neck on the line, and why he was about to put Ben at risk, too.

  “I’ll be on the first plane to Barcelona. Probably take me twenty-four hours or so to get to you, though.”

  “Actually, I need to get to Sicily. You, uh, know any rich people with private planes who can fly me to Italy?
” Ben had high roller clients out in Vegas who paid him to keep them safe on their visits. Some of them were a bit shady, but Jake didn’t care as long as they could help.

  Ben was silent for a moment. “I do, actually.”

  “Good. And soon. I’m short on time.”

  “Can you call me back in twenty minutes?”

  “Yeah. Thank you.” Jake scrubbed a hand down his jaw, which was covered in stubble. “Don’t tell the guys, okay? Not unless we have no choice. Don’t take this the wrong way, but—”

  “I know. You’re right. Besides, I love nothing more than blasting a bunch of motherfucking terrorists.” There was a hint of truth embedded in his humorous bravado. Ben had always been the wild card—the craziest of the bunch. But Jake knew he could trust Ben with his life.

  “Why aren’t you rolling with the Feds on this one?”

  Jake toyed with the right words to say. “My cover has been compromised. Also, I need to color outside the lines on this one.”

  Ben snorted. “No more paint by numbers?”

  Jake could picture his friend shaking his head, laughter in his eyes.

  “I’ve missed working with you, man. Call me in twenty,” Ben said.

  When Jake hung up the phone, he stared out the window at Alexa, wondering how she’d react to his plan. Without her, it would crumble like sand.

  He tucked the paper back into the wallet, wishing he’d thought to get some euros before coming to Spain. Then, at least, he wouldn’t be relying on Ben’s connections for transportation.

  “So?” Alexa was on her feet as soon as he came into the room. Her hands were locked tight at her sides.

  He shoved his wallet into his back pocket. “In twenty minutes, I’ll know if my plan will work.”

  “Why twenty minutes?” She crossed the room to stand in front of him, and her hazel eyes landed on his.

  To think he had once thought he’d never see her again. And now here she was, standing before him. A British spy.

  “A friend of mine with a lot of contacts is going to help us. Well, hopefully.” But Jake knew Ben would find a way. They always came through for each other.

  Jake motioned for her to sit back down.

  She hesitated, pulling her brows together, before going back over to the dark, wooden bench. She leaned the back of her head against the wall, and her hands fidgeted in her lap.

  “We’re going to Sicily.” He sat next to her and pressed his palms to his jeaned thighs, staring down at his hands.

  “Because of the drone?”

  He could feel her eyes on him, so he dragged his gaze up to meet hers. “If Anarchy—well, Bekas and his men—are planning to hijack a drone, they’ll need to be near it to pilot the takeoff.”

  “Won’t the military ground all drone flights now?” Alexa asked. “There’s no way Bekas will get a chance to overtake one.”

  Military recon drones had been hacked before, but none had Hellfire missiles on board.

  Not yet, at least.

  “Tell me, Alexa,” Jake shifted to face her fully, “do you think it’s even remotely possible for someone to hijack a drone that’s still grounded at the base? Not just overtake it once it’s taken off, but manipulate the power and control functions of the drone before it’s up in the sky?”

  “I barely know anything about the Reaper. But, considering we were able to manipulate the nuclear centrifuges in Iran to slow down their weapons program from thousands of miles away . . . and Anarchy was responsible for an explosion in Nevada all the way from Istanbul—yeah, I guess anything is possible. Well, especially now that they have Jason’s help.” She stood up and cupped the back of her neck before beginning to pace in front of him. “What’s a Reaper’s capable distance? Can it reach London from the Sigonella base in Sicily?”

  “The Reaper has about a thirty-five-hundred-mile range, but combat range is usually a max of a thousand miles one way and a thousand back.”

  “And if they don’t care about coming back?” she asked.

  “I don’t buy it. It’s too far,” Jake said. “It gives the military too much time to retake the drone or blow it out of the sky before it reaches its destination. Bekas wouldn’t take that risk.”

  “Okay.” She rubbed a hand over her face and then spun toward him. “Let’s say Bekas and his men pull it off, and they actually jack a drone. Maybe we could manipulate the connection between the drone and its correlating satellite. Jam the transmission.”

  “If you could pull that off, and the drone loses contact with the satellite, then it would trip the default setting. The drone would autopilot right back to the base.” Jake was on his feet, feeling hopeful. “Could you do that?”

  Her lip pulled between her teeth as she stared down at the floor. “I don’t know. May take more than just a computer. And it looks like Anarchy already got their feet wet hacking the drone, so they have more experience.”

  Jake reached forward and splayed his long fingers over her shoulders. “Let’s hope we find them before it gets to that, but—”

  “There are better hackers than me. Sam and—”

  Jake was shaking his head. “You can do it, Alexa. I believe in you.”

  And he did. He knew she wouldn’t let people die. She’d given up her life and her chance at love for the job. She wanted to help people, to do good in the world.

  Alexa released a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll need things, though.”

  “Give me a list.” Jake leaned in a little closer, wanting to kiss her, to pull her into his arms. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay. He could see the response in her eyes, in the way her breath hitched, in the way her lips parted.

  But instead, he backed away. She’d had her reasons for rejecting him in London last year, but it still stung. He had wanted her, regardless of his job and the ocean between them. But she hadn’t wanted him—she wouldn’t even take the chance.

  And she had lied to him about it.

  He couldn’t think about that, though. He had no right to think of his personal life and feelings when @Anarchy was dealing the cards.

  “Can you also ask your friend to try and access whatever files the NSA has on Anarchy, as well as the joint OP that took out Bekas’s family in Afghanistan? There has to be something I missed. We need to figure out his target. I can hack the NSA myself, but that will take time—time we don’t have.”

  “Yeah, I can ask.” For a minute, Jake considered calling up Aiden. His fiancée, Ava, was a biochemist, but she was also a computer genius with great hacking skills. She’d get along great with Alexa. But what did that matter? The two of them would probably never meet.

  Hell, he didn’t even know if they’d survive the next twenty-four hours.

  Alexa stared up at the mansion ahead of them. “You sure about this?” she asked.

  They’d been patted down and had to hand their weapons over to some sketchy security guys—were they making the right decision?

  The home looked like it belonged to a Spanish royal. It was massive in size and had an Old World feel to it, with white stucco cement walls, terracotta roof tiles, and multi-level roof lines. There were two, tower-like chimneys and even a turret.

  Her gaze swept over the structure, admiring the arches and rustic windows, adorned with planters. The grounds before it were stunning, as well. Beds of red and gold flowers spread from the front of the house like the rays of the sun.

  “Who’d Ben say this guy was again?” She wondered if they were at the doorstep of some Spanish crime lord.

  “Someone who owes my friend a favor.” Jake brought a fist to his mouth for a moment. “He’s fine, I’m sure.”

  Alexa studied Jake’s tight jaw as he looked up at the home. Maybe this was a bad idea.

  Jake picked up their black duffel bag. “Come on.” He reached for her wrist with his free hand and guided her down the path lined with palm trees. They skirted a circular, three-tier water fountain, and stopped in front of the massive double doors.


  Before Jake could ring, one of the doors opened.

  “We were expecting you sooner.” The man was tall, well-built, and incredibly attractive. His dark hair was short on top and tapered at the sides. But it was his very light green eyes that pulled her in. “I’m Cristiano. Welcome to mi casa.” He waved his arm and stepped back to allow them entrance.

  Alexa had insisted that they scope out the city one more time before they went to see Ben’s contact. They’d tried to get as close to the hotel and casino as they could, hoping to catch a glimpse of Xander. But no such luck.

  They did have a chance to enter their hotel room and pack their belongings—since, unlike Xander’s, it wasn’t a crime scene. Alexa reminded herself to be grateful for the little things. At least now she had a change of clothes and a toothbrush.

  Jake began speaking Spanish, the smooth words flowing from his mouth, so sexy it could cause flower petals to curl up.

  Cristiano nodded and replied, and Alexa gave a curt nod and smile as if she knew what they were saying. She should have studied Spanish, or at least paid better attention to the basic Spanish lessons she’d had in primary school.

  Beyond Jake and Cristiano rose the beautifully curved stairway, its every stair covered with hand-painted tiles. Bronze and orange, with hints of red, weaved through the flowered designs. The style was a bit over-the-top for her taste, but that was probably the point.

  “What can I get you?” Cristiano rested a hand on the small of her back, which had her flinching.

  She blinked a few times and pivoted to face the man. “I, um . . .” She didn’t even know where to begin with the list of things she’d like to have at that moment. Like, for time to turn back a few hours so Xander would be safe. Or maybe rewind the clock to last year, when she’d first met Jake. This time, she wouldn’t let him go.

  “I think we’re good. A place to rest, maybe, until we fly out.” Jake stepped up next to her.

  “Of course. We’ll leave at eight in the morning and head to the airport. My pilot will have the jet fueled and ready,” Cristiano said without taking his eyes off Alexa. She wondered how many women had been pulled into his orbit by the sound of his accent or the glimmer of those pale green eyes.