The Agent's Surrender

by Kimberly Van Meter

  The president, a man with a shock of white hair and deep lines etched into his forehead, stared at Gloria with disappointment. He nodded to Michelle, who then brought Kat forward as Jake popped the cork on the wine, ran a swab over the bottom, then poured a droplet of a chemical solution on the swab. It turned green.

  Kat announced, “This wine is contaminated with the experimental drug MCX-209. I would advise everyone to step away from the table so we can collect every bottle.”

  Gasps from around the room ensued, and Gloria paled as she stammered, “What is going on?”

  “Don’t bother to pretend innocence,” Michelle said, as she put the VP in cuffs. “We’ve already informed the president of your connection to Butterfly Bend and your goddaughter, Selena. Gloria Burroughs, you are charged with treason against your country.”

  The president stood with a stern expression. “This breaks my heart, Gloria. I trusted you. How could you betray my trust like this? And what did you hope to gain?”

  “Surely you can see I’ve been framed,” Gloria said, clearly trying to appeal to the president’s sense of fair play. “The evidence against me is purely circumstantial. I have many enemies—as do you. It wouldn’t be a far stretch to frame me for this.”

  Michelle ignored the VP’s protests and clicked the cuffs on the woman’s wrists. “Where is Selena?” she asked, cinching the cuffs as tightly as they would go. Gloria winced, her eyes watered and her chin trembled. Hard to believe this was the mastermind. Right now she just looked like a scared old woman.

  “Where is Selena?” she repeated.

  Gloria, realizing the game was over, hung her head and whispered an address. Michelle handed the sobbing woman over to the Secret Service, and they hauled her away.

  Michelle approached the president. “Thank you for taking a chance on our theory. We were pretty sure we had the answer, but there’s always that one percent that can ruin everything.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear about your sister,” he said, his voice kind. “Is there anything I can do for you? I’m in your debt. Your service and sacrifice to your country won’t be forgotten.”

  Michelle blinked back tears. She hadn’t had time yet to grieve—that would come later. She accepted the president’s gratitude with stiff grace. “Thank you, sir. I haven’t yet dealt with the pain of losing her, but I know it’s there, waiting. I still can’t believe she’s gone.”

  “Anything you need, anything at all...don’t hesitate,” he told her, then turned to Holden and Jane, but most specifically to Holden. “Your brother was the one who first uncovered this plot?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I owe him a great debt, as well. I understand he’s no longer with us?”

  “No, sir. He killed himself before he was able to uncover the true breadth and scope of the plot.”

  “I’ve seen his file. I don’t care what the protocol is, I will not allow anyone to take his honor. He earned it and he will have it.”

  Holden blinked back tears. “Thank you, sir. That’s all I ever wanted. Honor was everything to my brother.”

  “A good man. I’m sorry we lost him. If only he could’ve found his way to confiding in someone. It might’ve made the difference.”

  The president then turned to Chief Harris, his expression stern. “And what about Trevor Granger and his daughter, Selena?”

  “A team will converge on the address Gloria gave us. Selena will be in custody soon,” Chief Harris assured the president. “Right now, teams are processing the winery. Trevor Granger is cooperating fully. I doubt he had any knowledge of what his daughter was involved with. He seemed genuinely shocked at her duplicity.”

  “Our nation owes your team its gratitude.”

  Chief Harris accepted the praise with a stiff upper lip, but Michelle could tell he was grinning on the inside. Military men were all the same. So stoic.

  Kat walked up to the president and said, “Sir, with your permission, I’d like to destroy MCX-209 for good. No more holding on to the formula or keeping a batch in the cooler. This is bound to happen again and again unless we completely destroy the drug and all traces of it.”

  The president nodded in understanding. “Seeing as I was almost a victim of this drug, I agree. It’s too dangerous for anyone to have.” He turned to Michelle. “Please see that this is done.”

  She inclined her head, and everyone in the room breathed more easily knowing MCX-209 was going to be nothing more than a bad memory from now on.

  * * *

  Jane and Holden, along with a team, converged on the property address Gloria had given up, but they found it empty.

  “Damn it,” Holden muttered under his breath after the property had been cleared. “She’s a slippery one. Someone must’ve tipped her off.”

  Jane gestured for Holden, saying, “Come over here. I think we’ve got something.”

  As he joined her, Jane showed him a picture that floored him. It was of Miko and Selena. “Are you kidding me?” he asked, incredulous and feeling a little sick. “What the hell is this?”

  “I think Miko and Selena were sleeping together,” she said, biting her lip as she grimaced. “I mean, they look pretty cozy here.”

  Holden gripped the photo and stared at Miko holding Selena in his arms, grinning for the camera. Their body language told a story. A story that made Holden want to vomit.

  “I don’t understand,” Holden said, looking to Jane for answers. “This doesn’t make sense. Why was he with her?”

  “Maybe she’s the reason he killed himself. Maybe he found out he’d been sleeping with the enemy and had inadvertently given the wrong side valuable intel. For a man like your brother...I imagine that would be devastating.”

  “My brother wouldn’t kill himself over a woman,” he disagreed hotly, but something in that picture twisted in his gut. His brother was clearly enamored with the beautiful woman in his arms. Whether or not he’d known what she was capable of, Holden didn’t know. He supposed he’d never know. Miko’s secrets had died with him.

  He crinkled the picture and let it drop from his fingers. “Let’s go. Nothing’s left for us here.” Then he stalked from the house, needing some air.

  “Holden, wait up,” Jane called out after him, but he wasn’t in the mood to chat. Everything he’d believed about his brother had been called into question because of that one picture. What about honor and integrity? It was easier for him to believe that Miko had died trying to do something honorable than the realization that he may have offed himself over a woman. No, he couldn’t accept that. He just couldn’t.

  “Holden,” Jane said. “We don’t have the facts. Don’t insert theories in the absence of facts, okay? For all we know, Miko had been using Selena to get information.”

  “He loved her.” There was no sense in denying what he could see with his own eyes. “And he never once told me about her. I never knew. I was his twin brother. We never had secrets.”

  “But he wasn’t a kid anymore. He was entitled to his own life, right?” she pointed out gently. “When I first started this investigation, I thought you were blinded by emotion in this case, but it turns out you were seeing clearly when the rest of us were blinded by prejudice. I saw a man who betrayed his country and I didn’t care what his reasons were. You made me realize there was more to the story, and you helped save the president’s life. Miko made mistakes because he was human, but I don’t believe for a second he betrayed his country. Not for a second.”

  He met her gaze and saw truth reflecting back at him. Was he more upset that Miko had shut him out of his personal life or because his ego was bruised? Maybe it was best for him to leave Miko’s personal life in the past. Maybe it was none of Holden’s business.

  “I’m so happy the president said what he did, because I’d planned to amend my report and request that Miko retain full honors in light of his contribution to our case. He doesn’t deserve to be shamed. He gave his life, and that’s the ultimate sacrifice.”

&nb
sp; Holden held back a wash of tears and jerked a nod. “Thank you,” he managed to say before ducking out. He needed a moment.

  A long moment.

  * * *

  Jane watched Holden go, and she thought about following. Something held her back, though. Holden was processing a lot about his brother, and she sensed he needed time to work it through.

  The case was technically closed. A federal BOLO had been issued for Selena Weston, and it was only a matter of time before she was brought in. All that was left was to tie up loose ends and do the paperwork.

  Which meant she no longer needed to stay with Holden. Time to go back to her place. She should be glad, but the knowledge filled her with sadness, as if she were losing something precious or leaving behind a loved one.

  What had happened between them...it wasn’t real, right? Extreme situations spiked temporary endorphins, simulating love and attraction. It would fade soon enough.

  Right?

  It hadn’t the last time. Nothing about Holden seemed any less vivid in her heart than before. If anything, she was more conflicted than ever.

  Just factor in the fact her father would never approve of Holden as a match and the ensuing World War III that would follow, and that ought to put things in perspective.

  But that empty feeling in the center of her chest remained, and no amount of logic and reason would dispel it. Holden was going to be a tough habit to break.

  Jane withheld a deep sigh born of sadness and regret, but if there was one thing Fallons did well, it was soldier on.

  So soldier on, girl.

  Your heart will recover.

  Eventually.

  Chapter 24

  Holden finished his second beer for the night, staring morosely at the gas flames from the fireplace as he picked at the paper encircling the bottle. So many questions and absolutely no chance of having them answered. Disgusted, he rose to get himself another beer when he stopped short. A woman melted from the shadows, a gun trained on his heart.

  “Selena.”

  Ever the picture of perfection, the woman moved like a cat, soft on her feet and deadly focused. There was something sexy but frightening about her. Holden could see how Selena would’ve hooked Miko in a second.

  “Archangelo boys...who knew they’d be the ruin of me.”

  A dark thrill chased through him, even though Selena had come to kill him. A slow, cold smile curved his lips.

  “You’re not going to win this. Your face is on every law enforcement agency’s radar in every state, every town, every parish. Eventually, your luck will run out and they’ll catch you.”

  “I know that.”

  “So why waste time with me?”

  “Because I don’t like loose ends.”

  And he was a loose end. “Is that what Miko was, too?”

  A faint shadow passed over her features. “I loved him.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  Selena smiled coldly. “Is it hard to imagine he loved me, too?”

  The idea made Holden ill. “I’m not much for fiction,” he stated, watching her carefully. She’d come here for a reason, and it wasn’t just to shoot him. “Why don’t you stop playing around and tell me why you’re here.”

  “You think I’m not here to kill you?”

  “Not entirely.”

  “You’re right. You have something I need.”

  His ears perked up. “Such as?”

  “Miko had a thumb drive with sensitive information on it. I want it.”

  “And why would you need that?” he asked. “Want a little light reading while you’re on the run?”

  “I want to protect my father. Without that list, the evidence against my father is circumstantial. Nothing is tying him to the wine. Penny was in charge of that deal. As far as the law is concerned, my father was an innocent victim, caught up in a deadly game he had no idea he was playing.”

  “But that’s not the truth, is it? Your father knew exactly what was happening and was happy to cash in on the spoils.”

  She smiled. “Let’s just say my father is a very smart man, but he’d never make it in prison. Too soft. And I’ll do anything to protect him.”

  “What a good daughter. Too bad you take after Auntie Penny in the I-have-no-soul department.”

  Selena shrugged, then narrowed her gaze. “Where’s the thumb drive?”

  “Sorry, I can’t give that to you. Guess you’re going to have to shoot me, but you won’t get it that way, either. It seems your plan is fundamentally flawed.”

  “Thanks for keeping it interesting,” Selena said right before burying a bullet in his left leg.

  He yelled and dropped to the floor.

  “Now, about that thumb drive...” She walked to where he lay, pain spiking through his leg as blood poured from the wound, and smiled down at him, pointing the gun at his other leg. “Did you know you can riddle a body with bullets without actually killing a person? Hurts a lot, from what I hear. Auntie Penny was a very good teacher.”

  “You’re not getting that drive,” he gritted out. “You can fill me with holes and it won’t matter. That list is going to save my brother’s reputation. He was trying to take you down...only he didn’t know it was you, did he?”

  Selena walked to his kitchen and helped herself to a beer. “No, he didn’t know at first. Miko...so damn noble. When he found out what Auntie Penny was having him do, it killed his sense of justice. It was actually hard to watch him self-destruct.”

  “Don’t talk about my brother like you have the right.”

  “I have every right to talk about my lover. That’s right, Holden...we were lovers. He was a beast in bed.” She smiled coyly as she purred. “Is it true what they say about twins? That they’re alike in all things? Are you a beast in bed, too?”

  “Bitch, that’s none of your business.”

  He and Selena whirled to find Jane, feet planted and gun pointed straight at Selena’s chest. Without dropping her gaze from the woman, Jane said to Holden, “I can’t leave you alone for two seconds and you have another woman up in your apartment. And to think I was coming to ask you to dinner.”

  “I’ve got her right where I want her,” he groaned. “But feel free to take over. I’m a little busy bleeding out.”

  “Well, well, this is an exciting development. Jane Fallon, the agent with daddy issues. Come to play?”

  “I wouldn’t piss her off,” Holden warned, blinking against the spots dancing before his eyes. Ah, crap...he was going to pass out from blood loss. Not very manly. “Could you hurry it up? I think I’m about to pass out.”

  “Tick tock,” Selena murmured with a cold smile. “What are you going to do? Help him or shoot me? Can’t do both.”

  The tiniest smile lifted the corner of Jane’s mouth as she quipped, “Why not?” and she sent a bullet right through Selena’s model-perfect shoulder, sending her crashing to the floor screaming. Selena struggled to rise to her feet, and Jane clocked her, knocking her out.

  “Nice shooting, Tex.” Holden winced as she helped him to the sofa. “Good God, this freaking hurts. Getting shot is no picnic.”

  “Surely this isn’t your first bullet wound,” she asked incredulously as she wound a kitchen towel around his leg and pulled it tight. “Afghanistan? Iraq? Chicago?”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but I tried to avoid getting shot,” he answered, breaking out in a sweat. “So...you’re saying you’ve taken a bullet?”

  She laughed and pulled up her sleeve, showing off a small circular scar that punched in one side and went out the other. “A through and through in Uzbekistan. Hurt like a bitch, but I still managed to complete the mission and go out for drinks with my unit afterward.”

  He grinned as his vision dimmed. “You’re such a badass, Jane Fallon. Will you freaking marry me?”

  His vision began to smoke around the edges and he vaguely heard her answer as if shouted through a tunnel four miles long. “I just might have to in order to keep you ou
t of trouble, Archangelo.”

  And then he blacked out completely, but he was pretty sure he was wearing a smile.

  * * *

  Jane couldn’t believe how narrowly Holden had skated kissing the big one. The surgeon was able to patch him back up and, lo and behold, Jane matched his blood type and was able to donate to replace the blood he’d lost. The knowledge that her blood had played a part in saving him gave her warm tingles of happiness...well, that and putting a hole in that beautiful bitch, Selena. Yeah, that gave her really happy tingles.

  Jane smoothed Holden’s hair and watched him as he slept off the anesthesia. So much had changed in a very short amount of time. Her life would never be the same.

  She’d lived her life trying to earn some modicum of respect from her father when, in fact, she didn’t need anyone’s approval. And that was exactly what she’d told her father. Once she’d realized she’d nearly lost the one man who’d never tried to make her feel less than the men around her, the one who thought she was damn awesome just the way she was, she’d found herself at her dad’s house with a heart filled with purpose even if her hands were shaking.

  “Dad, we need to talk,” she’d said, moving past him when he’d started to bluster. “No, actually, you’ve done enough talking in your life—you’re going to listen while I do the talking.”

  “What’s come over you?” he’d asked gruffly.

  “Reality, Dad. That’s what’s come over me. I’m tired of paying for the sins of my mother. I’m my own person and I’m a pretty great person. Here’s the thing, Dad...I’ve spent my life trying to earn a smidge of your approval and I’ve never really gotten it because all this time you’ve been punishing me for being a girl. Or maybe you’re punishing me because I look so much like my mother. I don’t know and I don’t care. It’s over. I just helped uncover a plot to wipe out the president and half of his executive board. That’s right—me. The one you think can’t wipe her ass without assistance.”

  “Watch your mouth. I didn’t raise you to be disrespectful,” he’d said sharply, but she wasn’t about to be cowed into silence. Not this time.