Protecting Ainsley

by Jen Talty

  “They would have to shoot me first.” He pressed his lips against her temple. “I know this is an impossible situation, but I’m not going to let anything happen to you, and as far as Janet is concerned, I’m keeping an open mind. I’ve met a few terrorists over the years, and if they have anything on your sister, they could be holding it over her head and forcing her to do it.”

  The only question he had now was what on earth could that be?

  “It’s time to watch the press conference.” He laced his fingers through hers and tugged her to the sofa. “This should be interesting.” Settling back as if to watch a movie, he turned up the volume the second Andrew stepped in front of the microphones.

  “I want to thank everyone for coming today. I will make this brief and to the point. I will not be answering any questions after,” Andrew said.

  Ainsley leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and cradling her cheeks with her palms.

  Wanting to give her comfort, he gently massaged her back, focusing on the tension she carried in her shoulder blades.

  “It has come to my attention that my ex-fiancée is back in the United States. She was originally escorted back to face charges of espionage and treason, only the Navy SEAL who was assigned that task has gone rogue.”

  “Fucking bastard,” Keanu muttered under his breath. When this was over, he was going to enjoy watching that asshole fall.

  “It is an unfortunate day in the country when one of our own turns. I, sadly, have seen this with my fiancée’s father, as well as with Ainsley Emerson. For your safety and the safety of our troops, I cannot get into the details of their crimes. I am deeply saddened that the woman I loved could steal from me. This country. I should have seen the signs, and when I finally did understand the kind of woman she really was, I didn’t do anything right away. I didn’t want to believe it. That is a mistake I will have to live with for the rest of my life.”

  A picture of her flashed on the screen.

  “If anyone sees Ainsley, please call the number on your screen. Do not engage. She could be armed and dangerous.”

  “Right. Because I’m such a menace to society. He’s such an asshole.”

  An image of Keanu in full military garb popped up.

  “This man was one of our elite. Again, do not engage if you see him. Call the authorities. He is responsible for the death of his entire SEAL team.”

  A man leaned in and whispered in Andrew’s ear.

  “I’m sorry. I need to cut this press conference short. We have a lead, and it needs my attention.”

  When Andrew walked off the stage, Keanu shut the television off. “Your sister is either crazy, or he’s got something so big on her that she’ll do anything to save whatever it is she thinks she’s protecting.”

  “Maybe she thinks she’s protecting me.”

  Chapter 8

  “I have more to tell you.” Ainsley rubbed the back of her neck, giving it a good massage. She did her best to ignore the man standing behind her, leaning against the wall with a beer in his hand.

  “I had a feeling you had more to confess,” Keanu said.

  “It’s not a confession. I’ve just been sorting things out in my mind, and with all this new information, it’s made some things clear.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “JB had been in the military, and he had friends. The kind of friends that help out the cause.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.” Keanu stomped to the sink and rinsed out his can.

  “When he left the military, my father helped make sure he got an honorable discharge when it really should have been a dishonorable one.”

  “Now that I didn’t know. Why?”

  “I don’t know the details, and I assume it’s classified, but I think it had to do with negligence on an operation where men died, and the enemy walked away with top-secret information. I know he faced some sort of review board.”

  “I take it JB was dating your sister at that time?”

  She nodded. “Janet went to my dad, and he made the problem go away. JB was best friends with Andrew from childhood, so Andrew hired him and subsequently, my sister. I only took the stupid job to make sure my sister was okay and maybe to get my dad off my back about getting a real job since teaching dance didn’t matter to him.” If only she could’ve walked away from her sister and the troubles she’d gotten into, Ainsley’s life would’ve been so different. It wasn’t like just because they were twins, it was her responsibility to take care of her; only that’s what she’d been doing her entire life.

  In the long run, she’d done it to protect the family name and her father from any disappointment, but what a joke that had turned out to be. “I thought I was protecting her, and all I did was lead her into the lion’s den.”

  Keanu folded his arms and leaned against the sink. “No. You didn’t. Unfortunately, you’re collateral damage in whatever game Andrew is playing.”

  “My sister was the one who introduced me to Andrew before I started working there.” She glanced up and caught his unyielding glare. “She thought he was perfect for me. It was about six months before I started dating him.”

  “Why wait so long to go out with him?”

  She shrugged. “I’d just broken up with a guy who I thought was cheating on me. I didn’t need to have another man, nor did I want one.”

  “Is this important?”

  She nodded. “It was my sister who informed me of Matthew’s wondering eye, only he always denied it, even after I started dating Andrew. I thought he was being an asshole, but once when I saw him out when I was with Andrew, he thought I was Janet at first. He told me that he’d seen her with Andrew on a few occasions, kissing and stuff. But since I’d gone out a few times with him, I thought he was nuts. For an entire year, he tried to tell me that he thought Andrew was doing both twins.”

  “That’s gross.”

  “I can’t tell you how many times one our boyfriends mistook us for the other. It was hard on both of us. I think that’s why she acted out so much, but my point is that Janet knew Andrew first and was the one who set us up, and I never believed Matthew cheated. I always thought my sister didn’t like him, and I wasn’t in love with him, so it was fine. I just hated hurting him, but that’s the kind of thing I did for my sister.”

  Keanu pulled out his cell and tapped at the screen.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting us the fuck out of here. I’m done running and sitting on my ass.”

  She leapt to her feet. Just hearing him say the words sent her pulse raging. “What’s the plan?”

  “You’re not going to like it.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re not coming,” he said as he tucked his phone in his back pocket. “I’m going to get one of the Air Force dudes to sit here with you while I go kick your fiancée’s ass.”

  “Ex-fiancée.” She took two strides and stood in front of him, blocking the way to the bedroom. She poked him in the center of his chest. “Like hell you’re leaving me—”

  His phone rang.

  “We’re not done with this conversation,” she said.

  “Yeah, we are. Now re-read all that info and see what else you might be able to pull out of it that can help us.” He stepped into the family room. “Hello?”

  There was a few moments of silence. “We saw it, but Andrew said nothing.”

  More silence. “Text it to me. Ainsley is looking at the information Tex sent. I can read it on my phone.” He fell back on the recliner and lifted his phone to his face.

  If she was going to do this, it was now or never.

  Ainsley stared at the computer screen with her fingers hovering over the keyboard. She glanced over her shoulder. Keanu was still in the other room, homed in on his phone.

  Don’t do it.

  She pulled up her regular email, shocked to see she had over a thousand new emails. She did a quick search for her sister, her father, and Andrew in her unread
folder.

  Nothing.

  Figures.

  She clicked on her Google email instant messaging. Her hands trembled as she found her sister’s contact information.

  Ainsley: Janet, are you out there? I know you are. Talk to me.

  The cursor blinked.

  And blinked.

  Until a bubble popped up.

  Her heart plummeted to her gut, churning over like sour milk.

  Janet: It’s me.

  Ainsley: It’s me? That’s all you got? I thought you were dead. What the hell is going on?

  Janet: It’s complicated.

  Maybe this wasn’t her sister at all, but someone…shit. Could they trace her on this? That Brodie man said it was a secure computer.

  Ainsley: Five little monkeys. What do they want?

  Janet: Let me in. Let me in. Ding dong dong.

  All the air in Ainsley’s lungs left her body in one big swoosh. No one else would know the poem that they wrote when they were little.

  Ainsley: Why did you let me believe you were dead?

  Janet: I didn’t have a choice. Not if I wanted to stay alive. Not if I wanted to keep Daddy alive.

  Ainsley: Dad’s dead.

  Janet: I know. I’m sorry. I never meant for that to happen.

  What did you mean to happen?

  Ainsley: So is JB.

  Janet: I know.

  Ainsley blew out a long breath and shook out her hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she kept Keanu in her peripheral vision. She’d have to tell him what she’d done, but not right this second. Tears welled in her eyes.

  Ainsley: Did you kill him?

  Janet: No. I can’t believe you would think that of me.

  Ainsley: You faked your own death, and I’m now being set up to be a terrorist thanks to Andrew. Did you know about that?

  The cursor blinked for a good thirty seconds before the bubble appeared.

  Janet: Yes. You should have stayed in Mexico. The second you came back, you set this in motion, and I can’t stop it. I can’t protect you anymore.

  Protect me? Her sister had to be joking.

  Ainsley: How the hell have you been protecting me?

  Janet: If it wasn’t for me, Andrew would have killed you back in Mexico. I begged him to leave you in that alley.

  Ainsley gasped and covered her face.

  “We’ve got to go,” Keanu called.

  She jumped, slamming the computer shut. “You scared—”

  He yanked her from the chair and dragged her through the kitchen and out the side door. “What the hell?”

  “We’ve been compromised.” He tossed her a helmet. “We’ve got maybe ten minutes to get the hell out.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I trust the men watching us, and they said they see tactical movement. We knew the bad guys weren’t far to begin with; I just thought we would have more time here.”

  She froze. She couldn’t move a single muscle. The helmet slipped from her fingers. It bounced three times. Her heart raced so fast she couldn’t tell if it was actually still beating or about to explode. She opened her mouth but couldn’t say a single word.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Janet,” she whispered. “I spoke to Janet.”

  “You did what!?” He turned and slammed his fist against one of the poles holding up the carport. “When? How?”

  “Just now. Through my email account,” she admitted.

  “If we die in the next hour, it’s your fault.”

  “Well, I’ll be dead, so I won’t know that fact,” she muttered as she climbed on the back of his bike. “Why is my sister doing this?”

  “I couldn’t tell you. But we need to get out of here, and I need to get you to a safe place so I can join the team and bring your sister in, and I can guarantee you, this time I won’t fuck—” Keanu’s shoulder jerked back, and blood immediately trickled down his arm.

  Ainsley screamed, but seconds later, someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth, dragging her across the yard into a van. The cloth over her mouth smelled, and she gagged.

  Her muscles grew weak, and the world went black.

  Chapter 9

  Keanu dropped to the ground, clutching his arm. He glanced down at the wound, thankful the bullet had gone all the way through, and it was more of a graze.

  Ainsley screamed.

  He lifted his gaze just as a masked man tossed her into a van. “No!” He jumped to his feet and raced across the yard, but it was too late. “Fuck. Fuck.” He ran back to the Harley and hopped on, not bothering to put on his helmet. He flipped the key and raced out into the neighborhood streets, being super aware kids could be playing.

  The van skidded around one corner, almost knocking over a mom and her pre-teen son crossing the street. He had to stay with the van because if he lost it, that meant he lost the woman who had stolen his heart.

  He couldn’t let that happen.

  Not just because he loved her, but because her voice had been taken away from her the second her asshole ex-boyfriend left her for dead in Mexico.

  The van took a quick turn out of the neighborhood and headed across the bridge, right for the highway.

  He could only hope that the van would stop for lights, giving him a chance to catch up, but that didn’t happen.

  Just over the bridge, Keanu revved the engine of the Harley and skirted between the row of cars until a green sedan swerved right in front of him. He jerked the bike to the right, sideswiping a small vehicle, which tugged his leg off the pedal. Next thing he knew, he was sliding across the pavement, leaving pieces of skin on the road.

  “Are you okay?” A woman jumped from her car and raced to his side.

  He sat up, patting himself down. “Nothing’s broken.”

  “I’ll call an ambulance,” she said.

  “Don’t bother.” He pulled out the cell, thankful that it turned on even though the screen had been shattered.

  “You’re injured, and I think you need to see a doctor,” the woman said.

  More people came out of their cars. Some walked over asking to help; others just stood there and stared.

  Keanu hoisted himself up and limped over to the bike, dragging it to the side of the road, then called Brodie.

  “Where are you? What happened?” Brodie asked.

  “I’m on the other side of the bridge, and they took Ainsley.” His eyes did something he certainly wasn’t used to as they filled with tears. He rubbed them. Hard. “Sorry, man, I seriously damaged your bike.”

  “My wife will thank you,” Brodie said. “Can you drive?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be there in ten.” Ignoring everyone around him, he hopped on the bike and rode off. A few people shouted at him, but he couldn’t tell if they were upset with him for leaving or concerned for his superficial injuries.

  Acid bubbled from his gut, coiling up his throat. His chest tightened. He shouldn’t have left her alone with a computer connected to the internet. If he were in her shoes, he would have done the same thing.

  He parked the bike behind an SUV.

  Brodie met him at the door. “You look like shit.”

  “I feel like some of my skin was peeled back.” Keanu twisted his body and glanced down at his leg. He winced. It wasn’t major, but it stung like hell.

  “I think we need to clean that up,” a woman said, holding the door open.

  “Meet my wife Harper,” Brodie said.

  “I’ve heard about you from Wolf. You’re Mozart’s friend. He said you were bad ass.” Keanu hobbled through the door.

  “I said more than that.” Wolf slapped him on the back.

  “When did you get into town?” Keanu gave him a manly hug. He’d never been so grateful to anyone in his life.

  “An hour ago, and I brought a friend. You remember Mozart,” Wolf said.

  Keanu struggled to keep it together. “I didn’t mean for all of you to drop everything and come to my aid.” He knew he wou
ld have done the same thing for any one of these men, or woman, if asked. Hell, he’d show up even if they hadn’t asked, but standing on the other side always humbled him.

  “You’ve been through the ringer,” Wolf said, handing him a bottle of water. “Let’s take this inside. I’ve already got Tex working on the computer remotely to see if he can pinpoint Janet’s location.”

  “Can I read the exchange?” Keanu hobbled into the kitchen. His thigh burned, and his arm throbbed.

  “Sure, just don’t touch the computer. Tex is accessing it remotely,” Wolf said.

  “While you’re doing that, let me clean up your wounds, but they are going to hurt like a mother trucker,” Harper said.

  “I’ve had worse injuries, so have at it.” He made himself as comfortable as he could at the table. “What do we know about Andrew’s whereabouts?”

  “He’s in Florida,” Brodie said. “One of our EMTs has a brother in Delta. They heard he’s here keeping an eye on things when it comes to his ex. He’s acting like he’s the fucking head of the entire military.”

  “He’s an arrogant ass,” Mozart said. “I met him once, and I didn’t like him one bit. Way too cocky. But his company has a solid reputation.”

  “And he’s using it to sell top-secret information, but we know all this already. What we don’t know is where they took Ainsley,” Keanu said with more frustration and emotion laced to his words than he wanted to express. “Where exactly is Andrew because I bet that’s where Ainsley is, and time is ticking. They have no reason to keep her alive.”

  “Only they do,” Harper said. “I hate to state the obvious. But she’s an identical twin. She can create diversions, send everyone on wild goose chases while the other one carries out whatever agenda they have.”

  “They would have to kill Ainsley first,” Keanu said. “And if we don’t find her soon, that’s what will happen.”

  A phone dinged.

  “That’s me,” Wolf said. “It’s Tex. I’ll put it on speaker.” He set the phone on the table. “Tell us good news.”