Race Against Time

by kimberly

“It’s being transferred right now as we speak. You’ll need to get her to the drop-off point.”

  “Nuh-uh. No way. You said you had someone to take the fall when they ambushed. I’m not goin’ down with this.”

  “You’re right, Slim. I have someone, but you have to get her there.”

  Heat crept up his neck. “You better not be double-crossing me. You forget that you still need to know how to remove the encryption on the chips. And I’m the only one who can do that.”

  “Don’t worry, Slim. We’ll take care of you. Check your phone, if you can. You’ll see the money’s there. Now just get her to the location.”

  Derek checked his messages on his iPhone. Sure enough, a text came through from his bank, showing the money was there. He put the phone back up to his ear. “All right. I’ll do it.”

  “Good. Nice working with you, Slim.”

  The phone call disconnected.

  Soon it would all be over. He had his money. Just needed to finish this last part of the job and head out of the country. He smiled. Hadn’t gone so bad after all.

  “Derek?”

  She just wouldn’t be quiet. “What do you want?”

  “Are you just going to throw your faith away?” A couple of tears perched on the edge of her lashes. As if she’d cry over him. Yeah, right. She was worried about her own hide. Not his.

  “Anybody can fake it, Anesia. In fact, I knew a pastor once who did a great job fooling everyone. He’s in prison now.”

  “But you know the truth, Derek. You know it. We’ve talked about it.”

  “So what? What has God ever gotten me? That pastor yearned for power and money too. What’s wrong with me wanting some of that? But I’m not gonna steal money from the church, or control everyone and everything around me. And I’m not gonna be a fake and say God’s behind me. I’m gonna do things my way. And I won’t end up in prison.”

  “Derek, the love of money is the root of all evil. I’m sorry you had to know a pastor that did that, but you need to remember we’re all sinners—”

  “Don’t quote Scripture to me, Anesia. And don’t try to defend that man. I don’t care. Yeah, I know what the Bible says. But I’ve made my choice. I’m doing things my way. So nobody else can trample on me the rest of my life.” His stomach churned. Acid burned up his throat. Enough of this stupid conversation. He grabbed her by the arm. “Get up. It’s time you earned your keep.”

  * * *

  COLE

  10:42 p.m.

  Cole paced the length of Anesia’s house. Foyer to office to kitchen to living room. And back again. Where were they? They should be back by now.

  The two officers in the living room tapped away on their computers.

  Jenna and Andie were out taking care of the dogs in the kennel.

  He hated waiting.

  Hated it. More than anythin—

  Yelling reached his ears from outside. Cole ran out the door.

  “Cole!” Zoya waved her arm in the air as she jumped off the sled.

  Sean anchored the two sleds while Zoya ran up to the porch.

  Andie and Jenna came running from the kennel.

  “Zoya!” Andie squealed.

  “Thank God, you’re okay!” Jenna grabbed Zoya up in her arms.

  Sean turned to Cole. “Are the police still here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. There’s a lot we need to catch them up on.” Sean glanced around. His brow furrowed. “Where’s Anesia?”

  Zoya disentangled herself from the hugs of Jenna and Andie. “Yeah, where’s Mom?”

  Cole inhaled the bitter cold air. “Let’s go inside.” He turned to the door.

  Zoya grabbed his arm. “Cole, where’s Mom?”

  He looked from Jenna’s sad face, to Zoya’s, then Sean’s. “She’s not here. We’re not sure where she is.”

  Cole looked at Sean as Sergeant Roberts scribbled on his note pad.

  “And you have no idea where the shooters went?”

  Sean shook his head. “No. But Zoya recognized the second shooter as her Uncle. Could he have been protecting Zoya?”

  Cole stood. “It doesn’t add up.” He turned to the officer. “So far, the only link is AMI. So where is Anesia?” The stubborn woman no doubt went out to look for Zoya. Even though she was told to stay put.

  Sean leaned forward. “Well, we know she took a sled and a team of dogs out. Just like her to be so stubborn.”

  Well, at least Sean knew what he was getting into. Smart man.

  The landline rang.

  Jenna jumped up and grabbed the cordless. “Hello?” She clutched her throat. “What do you want?” Her eyes widened.

  Cole yanked the phone from her. “Who is this?”

  “We have Anesia. Go to the North Pole monument in the park. Directions and coordinates will be there by midnight. Then bring all the chips you retrieved from the dogs to the drop-off and we’ll trade her. Four a.m. Tomorrow. Otherwise, she dies.”

  Cole waited for something more, hoping, praying for some sound to give him an idea where they were, but the caller hung up. He pulled the phone from his ear as an automated voice came over the line: “If you’d like to make a call—”

  He set the phone back in its cradle.

  Everyone in the room stared at him. “Anesia’s been kidnapped. They want to trade her for the chips.”

  * * *

  RICK

  February 4

  3:28 a.m.

  The boss knew.

  That’s why he called and told him to handle the drop-off. Because the man knew he’d be killed or taken to jail when the FBI ambushed. Knew that Rick would have to follow through. Because that was the code.

  But Rick wasn’t an amateur. The business had held him in a choke hold for too many years. He’d been second in command for a long time. All those wasted years. All that wasted time.

  Time was up.

  He spotted the kid without too much trouble. The FBI had been set up for hours at the drop-off location. As soon as Rick waltzed in with Anesia, they’d take him. While the others stole the real chips containing the program.

  His chest squeezed. Pain radiated toward his shoulder. Rubbing the spot, he attempted a slow breath. Then popped another pill into his mouth.

  Leaving the kid and Anesia, he headed back to the drop-off location. His Jeep sat off the road. He pulled out his flashlight and aimed it toward his windshield. Flicking the switch several times, he signaled the man inside. At least, he hoped the guy was still inside.

  The beam shut off as he clicked the button and put it back into his pocket.

  A shaggy man exited his Jeep, manila envelope in hand. Now if only the ten one-hundred dollar bills he’d given him were incentive enough for the guy to do the job.

  Rick walked back toward where the kid held Anesia. He checked his watch. Pulled the pistol out of his pocket.

  One step at a time.

  He had to finish it.

  3:38 a.m.

  Slim saw him approaching. A smile split the young guy’s face. “Glad you could make it. I’m outta here.”

  Before the kid made it five yards, Rick lifted the gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. A clean shot to the back of the head.

  Slim dropped to the ground.

  Anesia cried out behind the gag in her mouth.

  Rick knelt down in front of her. Recognition lit her eyes and she shook her head.

  He yanked the gag from her mouth and untied her hands.

  “No. Not you. Why’d you kill him?”

  His chest tightened even more. Breathing hurt. The pain shot in arrows down his left arm. Up his neck. “To save you.”

  Snow crunched behind him. He clutched his chest, the pain too much to bear.

  “Freeze! FBI!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  ANESIA

  3:45 a.m.

  Everything blurred in front of her. Rick collapsed into her arms. She blinked back tears as uniformed agents and officers crowded around her.
/>
  “Ma’am? You okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Are you Anesia Naltsiine?”

  Another nod.

  Rick’s eyes fluttered open, his hand clutching the front of her coat.

  Agents pushed forward.

  “No!” She held them back.

  Rick gasped for air. “Dan . . .”

  She clung to him. “Dan? Dan what?”

  “Forgive me. Forgive . . .”

  Guilt flooded her. She’d held on to her stubbornness and pride too long. Sobs gushed from her, she couldn’t see. Couldn’t even speak around the emotion pouring out.

  Rick slumped back. Two big men pulled him from her arms.

  An agent spoke into a cell phone. “She’s alive. We’ll bring her home.”

  A female agent gave a gentle prod, encouraging her to stand. “Come on, ma’am. We’ve got some people who are anxious to see you.” The woman kept talking as she led her to a car, but Anesia couldn’t hear her past the fog in her brain, couldn’t feel anything other than the sobs wracking her body.

  She needed Zoya. To feel her baby. Make sure she was okay.

  She needed Sean. To feel those strong arms around her.

  She needed to go home.

  The image of Derek lying in his own blood flashed in her mind. Over and over again. She wanted to throw up. Guilt grew. All she could think about earlier was revenge. Rage had blinded her. Every time that still small voice whispered “forgive” she’d ignored it.

  Oh, God! What have I done?

  Two more men were dead. Two men who needed forgiveness. Two men who needed the Lord. And she’d been too angry to see it. Closing her eyes, she allowed her thoughts to drift back to Dan. Her first love. Her only love until Sean.

  How was Dan mixed up in all this? Why hadn’t he ever told her about Rick? Why did he have to die?

  Forgive.

  They were moving, but she wasn’t feeling anything other than her anger. The guilt and pain it caused. Tears poured from her eyes, drenching her face, her shirt, her hands.

  Let go, Anesia. Forgive.

  Derek’s face, then Rick’s popped into her mind again. She couldn’t take it anymore. She poured her heart out to God. All the guilt and rage. “Help me forgive.”

  Derek. Rick. The shooter. Dan. Herself. God. Everything burst to the surface. Stubborn and prideful, she’d held tight to her independence. But it’d only hurt her in the end.

  As she confessed each thing, tiny weights lifted off her shoulders. As she forgave each name, each face, even her own, she felt the knots in her shoulders and neck release.

  Her sobs subsided and an indescribable peace and joy flooded her.

  After all these years, she could still see Dan’s smile, because Zoya inherited it. And right now, she felt him smiling at her. Urging her to be happy. To move on with her life. And Zoya’s.

  “Ms. Naltsiine.” A tap on her shoulder brought her back from her state of exhaustion. Had she fallen asleep?

  “Ma’am, you’re home. Let’s get you inside.” The female agent was beside her again.

  The door of the house flew open and Zoya raced down the steps toward her. “Mom!”

  Sean followed right behind her, with Cole, Andie, and Jenna bringing up the rear.

  Her daughter threw her arms around her shoulders, and Sean wrapped them both in his arms. He whispered into Anesia’s hair. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I died inside thinking you didn’t even know how I felt.”

  Anesia allowed the laughter to bubble up inside her even as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

  She was home.

  The agents stood to the side for several moments, then Agent Philips spoke. “I think we need to move inside.”

  She nodded. And the others traipsed up the steps into her home, everyone talking at once.

  When they were seated in the living room, Anesia ensconced between Sean and Zoya, Cole started the questioning. “Did anyone hurt you?”

  “No. I’m fine.”

  He turned to the agent in charge. “What happened? Your call came in before the drop-off was even to take place.”

  Agent Philips sat on a chair across from Anesia. “Rick Kon’ hired a homeless man to deliver an envelope to us before the drop-off. In it, he outlined the plan to use our ambush at the drop-off as a chance for their inside man to steal the real macrochips from us. But even more than that, the mastermind—who we haven’t found yet—blew the facility at precisely four a.m. Mr. Kon’ saved ten of our agents tonight. And we caught the mole.”

  “And AMI?” Cole stood stiff.

  “Secure.”

  “Thank God.” Cole paced in front of them. “What happened to Rick?”

  “He was DOA at the hospital. Heart attack.”

  Anesia wanted to cry. Long and hard. She’d only just met the man, but he’d been a link to Dan.

  Sean wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. She looked up at him. Those deep green eyes. Staring back at her. Full of adoration and love.

  “My dogs!” She sat up straight. “We left a sled and a team out in the middle of nowhere.”

  Two officers headed to the door. “Do you know the location?”

  She rattled off her last known coordinates. “That’s where Derek stopped me.”

  “Derek?” Jenna looked at her in horror. “Derek, your employee?”

  “Yes. Apparently it was his idea to implant the chips in my dogs.”

  Zoya shivered next to her. “He was so nice. And to think he was here. All the time. How long had he been doing this?”

  Sergeant Roberts stepped up to answer. “Quite a while. According to what we know, they stole the program in small increments. Then hid it on the chips and implanted them in the dogs.”

  A knock sounded at the door. The sergeant answered it. Agent Philips walked into the living room. “Major Maddox, I have that evidence you were looking for.”

  Cole greeted the man and took the brown paper bag he held out. He dumped the contents into his hand.

  A shiny little black box.

  * * *

  SEAN

  9:00 a.m.

  Even his most frenzied days at CROM couldn’t compare with the craziness he’d been through in the past eight hours.

  Now, sitting here in the bank with Anesia, all he wanted was a nap. Exhaustion, deep and powerful, seeped into every cell of his body. Cole had said he would go to the bank with Anesia, but she requested Sean accompany her. His heart soared at her desire to have him with her, but now he was too bone tired to think straight.

  The black box they’d recovered from evidence had, indeed, belonged to Marc. Inside they’d found several small pieces of paper. One was a note for Jenna. From the look on her face as she read it, Sean was willing to bet it healed some bruised portions of Jenna’s heart. Another note informed Anesia that Marc had left her a safety deposit box—one that contained something from Dan. The last piece of paper, which looked like it had been scribbled in a hurried hand, was written to Cole, telling him what he needed would be in Anesia’s safety deposit box.

  Now, here he and Anesia were, sitting in the bank, waiting for Anesia’s ID and account number to be verified against the bank’s security records. For access to the box. For the end to this whole, crazy situation.

  Then . . . Sean hoped for a new beginning.

  Anesia fidgeted beside him. She looked up and, when she found him watching her, she smiled. “Sorry. I’m just ready for this all to be over.”

  “Me too.”

  “Sean, I haven’t thanked you properly for all you’ve done to help us through this crazy time. You’ve had to put up with a lot.”

  “I’m glad I was here.” He took her hand in his and squeezed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Those long lashes of hers distracted him. It seemed everything she did distracted him. “Anesia?”

  “Mm-hm?”

  “I want to ask you someth—”

  “Ms. Naltsiine, we are ready for you. Please follow
me.” The tall woman was all business.

  Anesia stood and he trailed her as the woman led them down a corridor. She opened a door to a room, and Sean could see the safe deposit box sitting on a table inside.

  “This room will be yours for as long as you need it.” The lady waited until they entered, then closed the door behind them.

  Anesia took the key in her hand and approached the box. “Well, here goes.”

  Sean stepped up. “Anesia, wait. Before you open that box, I want to finish.”

  She turned to him. “Okay.”

  “I know the time isn’t appropriate, but I can’t hold it in any longer. I love you.” His heart beat the rhythm of the three words.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I do.”

  She giggled. “You love me?”

  “Yes. And your daughter.” He pulled her into his arms. “Oh, and the dogs, too.”

  She pulled back. “I’m not sure what to say. I haven’t done this in so long . . .”

  “Shhh.” He held her hands in front of him. “I’m not going to push. And I will respect your boundaries.”

  “I think you misunderstood, Sean.” She released his hands and walked around the table. “I do love you, but I’m going to need some time.” Her eyes pooled with tears. “Time to say good-bye.”

  “I understand.” And he did. “I’ll wait for you, Anesia. However long it takes.”

  “And you’ll keep working at the kennel?”

  “You couldn’t stop me if you tried.”

  Her smile lit up her face.

  “I’m in this for the long haul, Anesia. With you, Zoya, and however many dozens of dogs—”

  She came back around the table and hugged him tight. Then she pulled back again.

  Man, oh man, he wanted to kiss her. But something held him back. He caught her hand, turned her to face him, looked into her eyes. “However long it takes, I’ll wait. Until you tell me.”

  She held his gaze. “Tell you?”

  He took her hands in his. “When you’re ready. For me. For us.” His fingers tightened on hers. “But when you say that, you’d better be prepared.”