Raging Fire (Guarded Secrets Book 4)

by Sara Schoen

  Chapter 1

  I’m screwed. Actually, that may be too loose of a term. I’m pretty much fucked at this point.

  I forced myself to stay with the FBI with Rum and Siren for over two months tracking down my stepfather, while we attempted to find and eliminate the criminals they lost. The FBI called us in when two officers lost a fight with a well-known killer, The Shadow Man, who was responsible for multiple family murders in California during a citywide black out last summer. When word of his escape got out, the FBI had to call us in to find him before anyone else was murdered.

  I shuddered at the thought. The last few weeks were spent tracking him down, and getting a few leads on my stepfather. The FBI had a lot of resources, but things only got better when the CIA got involved. Their combined resources had allowed me to learn more than I could have ever hoped, despite my silent prayers that there wouldn’t be anything to find. I was hoping he had died in some gruesome, yet fitting, way years ago. At least then I wouldn’t have to risk my job, my friends, and my life trying to take him down and ruin his pathetic excuse for a livelihood.

  Now, as I walked back into CIRA headquarters, I knew I could only be here temporarily while I worked on a plan. I knew in general where my stepfather was and what he was doing, but I needed to start thinking like him if I wanted any hope of getting out of this alive. As Camden said, he had become the head of the Cardoza Cartel when Camden was sent to prison to resurrect the cartel. Now, with Camden dead, he would become the permanent leader. Which meant heavy guarding, little to no chance to take him out, and a cluster fuck if I got caught. I’m not Night Stripe; I’m not trained to get out of tight situations if caught. If I get caught, then I’ve failed, and this wasn’t something I could mess up. He needed to pay for what he did to my family and me, but this time, his money couldn’t save him.

  I may be screwed if I get caught, but at least he’d be dead. Just how it should be.

  “Spit Fire, it’s wonderful to see you again!” Before I could look up to see who it was, a body pressed against mine for a hug. I looked over the umber hair, which now covered some of my field of vision, to notice Renegade and Camo standing in front of me. I offered a short smile to them before lightly pushing Night Stripe away. Though the darkness around her had lifted after Ash Crest had died, Night Stripe hadn’t changed much even after being in the agency for over a year. My darkness still hung over me, but not for much longer.

  “Nice to see you too, Night Stripe. Though I haven’t been gone that long.” The last I had seen of her was about three months ago when I left her outside Volodya’s home. I spent my time in Russia tracking down anyone Camden could have told our secrets to, but once I left to interrogate Camden, the mission quickly deteriorated. Night Stripe had been caught, more than once thanks to Renegade going back for her—just as Camden had predicted. Luckily both of them made it out by the skin of their teeth, and from what I heard they were still working out their differences in opinion about Night Stripe killing Ash and keeping it a secret. We all got more than we bargained for, but all’s well that ends well.

  “I know, but it’s always good to have other agents come back after a long mission.”

  “It’s even better when they return in one piece,” Renegade stated, letting the sorrow take over his voice. I knew he immediately thought of the agents we had lost during his most recent mission.

  He and his team had been rounding up everyone involved in a human trafficking ring, which had even extended out of the United States, and ended up losing a few people in a shootout. Since the team had gone in under his orders, Renegade felt responsible for the loss, and from what I heard, he wasn’t handling the weight of those deaths very well. I understood why he felt guilty, but couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. This is a dangerous job and those agents knew it. They risked their lives every day, and it was only a matter of time before death came to claim them. That is the scary part about our job, but the good we did outweighed the potential danger.

  “You can’t blame yourself, Renegade. They knew it was a possibility when they went out. They accepted it and now you have to as well.” Renegade shrugged off Night Stripe’s words as if he didn’t want the comfort they were meant to bring. If he didn’t learn to move on from the past he’d be crushed under the pressure.

  “She’s right. You should listen to her more.” I pushed past Night Stripe to inch closer to my room before meeting with Sharp Shooter to give him a brief of how the mission went. Frankly, I thought the guy being dead said enough about how the mission went, but Sharp Shooter wanted the nitty-gritty details. I often wondered if the reports we gave made him feel as if he was back in the field.

  “Hey Camo, have you seen Siren? Is she training you today or does she get a day to recuperate?” I quipped as I leaned forward to hug her.

  She laughed, letting it reverberate through her chest and through me as she hugged me a little tighter. “She’s taking the day off and telling Demon what to look for while he’s out looking for potential new recruits.”

  “I think Rum is with her if you’re looking for her too,” Night Stripe added. “Demon asked me earlier what to look for in a possible thief. I guess I get to start training soon too!” I turned to see the excitement in her eyes, but something in her posture told me she wasn’t as thrilled as she made it seem. I could feel a slight fear radiating from her as if she was worried about being replaced. She is our only thief—the star of the agency to some people—and while I’m sure she would love to train and teach a new recruit, it was obvious that she didn’t want to give up the life she had here. I wonder if she thought the trainee would replace her before she was ready to step down—if she was ever ready to step down. Either way, we had to do it. We couldn’t have what happened with Hess happen again. We had to start thinking ahead to fill positions before we lost agents who could train them properly. We can’t train all of our thieves for years before they join as Demon and Whip Lash had done for her nor could we not have an agent to pass them on to. We need experienced agents, trained in their job, to train those who would be going on missions. We got lucky that Rum had already completed her training with Hess or we would have been forced to train from scratch and make Night Stripe have to learn as she went. That would’ve been dangerous for everyone.

  “It will be fine, Night Stripe. For now, he’s just looking to see who has a chance to be a good agent. He may not find anyone for a while, you know how picky he is with new agents.” I smiled at her, hoping to ease her slightly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head to my room before meeting with Sharp Shooter. We can catch up later.”

  They each nodded in understanding and turned to leave. I noticed Renegade take Night Stripe’s hand as they walked away toward Sharp Shooter’s office. I smiled softly, allowing the first loving moment I had seen in months to warm me. It didn’t go to my core, which remained ice cold after years of bad luck and loss, but I was pleased to know they had made up. I may have teased Night Stripe about her feelings for Renegade, but Camo was right. They balanced each other out and always watched out and protected one another. Most of all, they were there for each other and that was more than most of us had in this life.

  I mentally lit a match and burned those thoughts from my mind as I lifted my bag from the ground. It’s best not to dwell on what I don’t have and what I’ve lost, especially since what I’m about to do could get me killed. I didn’t want anything to fall apart because I didn’t return, but I also wouldn’t risk another person’s life because of my desire to finish my stepfather once and for all.

  I made my way through the extensive hallways that stretched throughout CIRA, which at one point had confused me. Seriously, I think they should give new recruits a map of the building. I must have gotten lost at least twice a day for the first few weeks I lived here. It always upset Seeker when I was late to training, but I couldn’t help that I had gotten turned around. It took a long time to get used to CIRA, including hours of exploring, plus casually g
etting lost and then refusing to admit it to anyone I saw, but afterwards I never got lost again.

  I made it to my room and tossed my bags to the ground. The room hadn’t been touched since I left months ago. If anyone else came in here, they would think no one lived here. The bed was neatly made, there was almost nothing on the floor or furniture, and the walls were practically bare. There were only a few stray photos of my family before everything went to Hell, and one picture of the old team I worked with, before everyone was lost in Sandtown, and another of my current team.

  Past and present were laid before me, but I knew where the future would take me. Right to my stepfather’s front door to kill the bastard. While I had gathered a lot of information on him during my time with the FBI, but his exact location still eluded me. Once I had it, then he’d be as good as dead.

  I just had to find him first.

  CIRA had resources, but I didn’t want to be caught looking for someone. Everyone here would ask too many questions, and the less they knew the better until I could handle it, alone. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy though. The moment I walked into Sharp Shooter’s office, I knew something was wrong. Night Stripe and Renegade were in the room arguing with each other. Maybe they hadn’t fixed everything after all.

  “Spit Fire,” Sharp Shooter called, interrupting Night Stripe while she rebuked Renegade. “Glad to see you again. I have heard good things, but I will take your full statement in a few moments. We are just finishing up here.”

  Night Stripe looked furious as she took in his words. “We are nowhere near done, Sharp Shooter. We can’t just sit here while they rebuild!”

  “Night Stripe, we will talk about it as a team later. Just wait for Rum and the others to return. This isn’t just on you. It’s going to be hard for everyone to hear. We thought we were done with them, but we just can’t seem to kill the cockroaches.”

  I glanced toward Sharp Shooter in curiosity. There’s no way he could be discussing the Cardoza Cartel. How could they possibly know they were back? My gaze fell to Night Stripe who slapped a file down onto Sharp Shooter’s desk in anger. What’s in the file? I wondered, silently begging for her to open it so I could find out, but instead she left it on his desk and walked out. Both she and Renegade were tense as they left, and the accompanying door slam made it clear whatever was going on didn’t please them.

  “Sorry about that Spit Fire. We aren’t quite ready to tell everyone what Night Stripe found and neither of them are thrilled with me for waiting.”

  “I see that.” The reply fell short. I eyed the folder and wondered if I could get a quick peek to see what was going on while I had been away. “What was it about?”

  “Nothing important as of right now, we want to be sure before we tell everyone. I don’t want to give false information. Depending on whether it’s true or not will affect a lot of people, and I don’t want to open old wounds unless I have to.”

  “Right.” The word lingered in the air as I moved toward his desk. I wanted to get a closer look at the file to figure out exactly what they had been talking about before I came in. I wondered if they stopped because they knew my stepfather was taking over the Cardoza Cartel or if they found out I knew him before I joined CIRA. Either way, I knew telling our agents that the Cardoza Cartel was slowly reviving itself would be hard for them to hear. We had lost too many people against them. To tell them the threat had returned would not only be disheartening, but crippling to those who had lost someone.

  “So tell me how everything went. I heard you managed to find the culprit and he’s now dead.”

  “Well, that’s basically everything.” My voice sounded distant, I could hear it even though my thoughts were elsewhere. I didn’t understand why I had to explain what happened on my mission if Sharp Shooter already knew. What did he expect, for me to give up new information? If I was going to lie, then he should know he wouldn’t find out until it was too late.

  I’m too good to slip up on something so trivial.

  “Come on Spit Fire, I know you hate these meetings, but if you’d just tell me what happened again then you’d be done in a few minutes. Then you could rest or whatever it is you do between missions. Instead, you fight me, and we waste even more of each other’s time. I just have to make sure the story doesn’t change once the mission is over.” Sharp Shooter raised an eyebrow at me, expecting me to give in, but a knock on his door prevented me from giving a reply. He groaned. “Wait here.”

  I rolled my eyes at the order. It sounded like a parent reprimanding their child, and I wasn’t a child anymore.

  Once Sharp Shooter walked away, I slowly inched toward his desk. I waited for him to answer the door and begin discussing business with the other agent before flipping open the file on his desk. I heard bits and pieces of his conversion, making sure to pay attention in case Sharp Shooter turned back to me and saw me looking in the file. I didn’t want to have to explain myself to him, or anyone else for that matter, but I had to know if they were onto the Cardoza Cartel as I was. I had kept this a secret for too long to have it explode in my face now. If he had truly taken over the Cardoza Cartel, then other agents would go after him and I couldn’t have that. He’d kill them or they’d kill him, but that pleasure was meant for me alone.

  My gaze followed the words on the page as I found a name and a photo; Harley Sánchez. I scoffed at the name, but the photo was unmistakable. His hair had greyed slightly since I last saw him, but his cold eyes still sent fear through me even in a photo. He must have changed his name, that’s why the information had run out and I couldn’t find him anymore with the CIA or FBI databases. He had avoided anyone keeping tabs on him, even me. Yet, somehow someone had learned that he was taking over a cartel.

  With this new knowledge he was putting himself on CIRA’s list, and now I’d have to face him sooner than I planned. There was no way in hell I’d let anyone else fall victim to him. I just wish I knew how Night Stripe found out who he was and his new name. I had tried too hard to keep my search quiet. So someone else had to know, and that’s who I needed to find.

  Chapter 2

  I scanned the file for as much information as I could during the short time I had. According to the file, Harley was currently in Washington State, but once again it didn’t give me an exact location. I needed specifics, but of course nothing was ever that easy. That’s probably why Sharp Shooter was reluctant to send anyone out after Harley. Sharp Shooter had no way of knowing where they were going or what they’d walk into. He liked to have as much of the information as he could before he sent agents on a mission, especially one that would cause a mass panic in the agency. He cared for us and wanted to give us the best chance of surviving as possible, but sometimes missions just didn’t go as planned. We couldn’t win them all.

  This would be one of them if he sent agents out too early.

  By now the Cardoza Cartel had to know most, if not all, of CIRA’s tricks. Harley had a front row seat to us taking down the Cardozas, and he’d also had Camden supplying him with information before I took care of him. Knowing Harley, he’d be prepared. He’d be waiting for us, and I had given him the perfect tip off that we were onto him. He’d get a surprise though, CIRA would come for him, just not with the amount of agents he expected.

  One person could cause a lot of trouble, and make his life difficult while setting up the cartel again. Though he had seen that before with Renegade’s undercover work. Maybe Harley even worked with Renegade on occasion so he’d be alerted if anyone new showed up. I’m not sure how I would get in, but I would find a way. Even if it meant hiding in the shadows and waiting for my time to strike. He had used Camden to bait me into finding him and now he’d get his wish—a father-daughter reunion. For that I needed time and time wasn’t on my side thanks to Night Stripe’s pushing.

  No matter how much she wanted out of the mafia business, Night Stripe wouldn’t let the Cardoza Cartel go until she was sure they were gone for good. I often wondered what pu
lled her back to the Cardozas or if she even knew what it was. I doubted it. I knew my desire to fight them came from my stepfather because he had been involved with them when I was younger and his involvement had taken my family away from me. I always knew if I worked against cartels for CIRA then I’d run into him again, but Night Stripe’s desire came from something else. I just wasn’t sure what.

  “Sorry about that, Spit Fire.” Sharp Shooter’s voice dipped slightly just before the door shut, indicating his return. I shut the file quickly and turned to meet his dark green gaze and accompanying smile. “Seeker got word from one of our undercover agents and it couldn’t wait. Had to figure out what to do quickly or he would have been at risk of compromising himself and the mission.”

  “Who was it?” My voice sounded tight and my chest compressed slightly with my words. I hoped Sharp Shooter hadn’t seen me looking at the file, but judging from the concern in his eyes, all of his thoughts were on the undercover agent. If I wanted to get out of here and find my stepfather, I couldn’t give Sharp Shooter a reason to doubt me.

  “An old friend of yours actually.” He smiled brightly as if he remembered how much he admired the agent. “Sandstorm has been undercover for a while, actually since he met you. He’s been very patient, but I think his assignment is coming to an end soon. So you can see him again, if you want.”

  Sandstorm was the one who recruited me when my mom sent my siblings and me to the Middle East to be with my father for a little while. My mom thought it would be best if we all went together. In hindsight, it couldn’t have been a worse idea. Thanks to Camden I knew Harley had forced her to send us away while she dealt with her divorce from my first stepfather. That man was abusive to me, and only me, since I protected my siblings, but Harley suggested to send us all away together just in case. I wouldn’t have put it past him to have paid the thugs to kill us all; a robbery gone wrong. Then the blame would be put on my real father and my mother never would have forgiven him. She would have stayed with Harley and been married to him so he could run the cartel. I guess she wised up to his plan and fought him because he killed her a few months later.