She smiled nervously as a man checked her name on the list of expected visitors and another patted her down. This had all been set up with such precision. Considering she wasn’t supposed to live past the mall shooting, they must have scrambled to reorganize.
Abdullah was supposed to have carried out this part of the plan, she realized. The redheaded boy had wreaked havoc on this part of the scheme and she had to wonder if he was still alive. She hoped so, but it didn’t matter. Not now. Not as long as the shadow-man kept his promise and saved her children.
After she cleared security she hurried onward, using the stairs rather than the guarded elevator. The president was coming. All praise be to Allah. Her heart beat faster, pulse tripping. This was the man who’d had the power to intervene in her country and stop the civil war months ago—years ago. This was the man who’d refused her children entry to the US in time to save them. Even though she was a US citizen she hated him, the same way she hated the government in Syria and all the organizations who treated people like commodities to be traded and sacrificed.
Her actions would cause war and turmoil, but they deserved it. Not the civilians though. Not the poor, hapless souls caught in the crossfire.
She shivered.
Many people would die…
Tears filled her eyes. Many had already died. She needed to be selfish and think only of Dahlia and Corinne.
She forced a smile at the nurse and ducked into William Green’s room. She dug into her purse and broke a tablet in half, opened his mouth, and placed the pill on his tongue, watching it dissolve. His part in this would be over soon, and she was sorry he’d suffered, but no way would she risk him waking up in the next few hours.
She glanced at the news playing on the TV in the corner of the room. The scene showed a drone strike and an explosion. Then she read the ticker tape. “Mastermind behind mall terrorist attack killed.”
Sargon Al Sahad’s name flashed across the screen and grief hit her like a brick. Her knees dissolved, and she stumbled to the floor. Corinne and Dahlia? Dead? Tears streamed down her face as she watched the missile strike over and over again.
Her phone pinged. She ignored it, but then she remembered who it might be. She climbed up from her knees. She had no reason to carry out their plans now. Threats would make no difference. She was too numb for fear.
She pulled out her cell and opened an image someone had sent her, and there were her girls smiling at the camera. Pilah’s heart squeezed. They were at a beach with palm trees in the background. Dahlia had lost her front teeth. A woman Pilah didn’t know held their hands. She couldn’t see the top half of her face, but her hair was long and blond, uncovered. She wore western clothes. Had she taken them from Sargon herself?
She looked strong and confident. A soldier.
Another text came through. “I kept my promise. Now it is your turn.”
Pilah nodded even though he couldn’t see her. She reached inside the cabinet that held William Green’s belongings and started assembling the weapon.
***
A beeping noise woke Alex Parker from where he slumped over his computer.
He grabbed the laptop and strode down the hall to Frazer’s lair. He didn’t bother knocking on the door, just walked right in. “One of the burner cells has been activated.”
Frazer rolled off the couch and scrubbed sleep out of his eyes. “Can you trace it?”
“No GPS. I can try signal triangulation and give you a rough location.” Alex waited impatiently for the signal to come through and give him a fix.
Frazer paced. “I don’t know whether to hope this is Syria, Iran, or some independent terrorist group. If it is the Israelis…” He trailed off. “Regardless, shit is about to hit the fan.”
Alex knew all too intimately the cost of war and political backstabbing.
He pulled up a map of the area. “Cell phone is in downtown Minneapolis.” He held Frazer’s cool blue gaze. “Tell me again they wouldn’t be bold or stupid enough to go after the Commander in Chief?”
Frazer was calling someone, probably the Secret Service.
Alex tapped away on his keyboard.
It had only been just over a week since Frazer had shut down a clandestine organization called The Gateway Project where Alex had worked. He wouldn’t say they trusted each other exactly, but they both knew where the skeletons were buried. They’d bypassed the usual getting to know your co-worker etiquette and moved straight to effective strategizing.
Frazer covered his mouthpiece. “What’re you doing?”
“Finding a satellite feed over the area. Let’s see if we can figure out what the hell is going on up there.” A better idea occurred. “Hey, can you get us a drone?”
Frazer carried on with his conversation but nodded.
FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney tapped on the door and walked in. She’d slept on the couch in the conference room after insisting on coming back to work to help neutralize this terror threat. “What’s going on?”
It had only been a few days since Alex’s world had shifted on its axis and irrevocably changed. Mallory was still a little pale from her near-death ordeal, but the shock of confronting her sister’s killer was beginning to wear off. The knowledge that she’d beaten the evil sonofabitch was getting her through the aftermath of finding her twin sister’s remains after eighteen longer years.
She was the most important person in his world—her and the baby she carried. The idea of being a father was still freaking him out—not that he didn’t want a baby or a chance of a normal life—just that he wasn’t sure he was worthy.
He still owed her a first date, but as long as Mallory was happy, Alex was happy. He pulled a chair out for her while he explained.
Frazer put the phone down. “Secret Service says the president refuses to cancel the trip. Won’t bow to terrorism.”
“Great.” Mallory rolled her eyes.
Alex frowned at the screen. He had a satellite feed, but it was hard to get a clean enough image and it wouldn’t be in position for long.
“Get me that drone, Frazer. And get every cop out on the street in case they’re planning another shoot-fest to coincide with the memorial service.” Despite his dark past, Alex had always been a patriot. The idea of the president being in danger, of innocents dying when they could prevent it…
Another attack would completely undermine people’s confidence in whoever was supposed to be in charge. An attack on the president would be a declaration of war. He took another online look at the cell phone in question and hacked into the messages received. He pulled up a photograph, then read the message. A woman holding the hands of two little girls who smiled at him from the picture. He turned the screen toward Frazer. “You need to see this.”
Frazer swore. “Find out where that message originated and figure out anything you can about who is talking to whom. Rooney, see if you can link those children to anyone involved in the mall attack.”
She nodded.
Frazer picked up his phone again. “I need the plane ready to leave in thirty minutes.”
Alex was typing. “It’s encrypted. Hell, this is top quality, military grade stuff. I’m going to need some time. It might go faster if I call in people from my company.” Alex co-owned a firm that dealt with state-of-the-art cyber-security.
Frazer’s eyes bored into his, but eventually he shook his head. “Can’t risk it. If our suspicions leak…”
Alex released a pent-up breath. “Fine. I’ll do my best. No promises.”
Frazer stood and grabbed his coat. “It’s only the life of the American president at stake.”
Alex swore and typed faster.
“And a third World War.”
Alex twisted his lips. “No pressure then.”
***
Vivi smoothed a hand down the scarlet suit David had presented her with. Scarlet for a memorial? What was he thinking? Maybe he was hoping the terrorists would have a better target than if she wore black.
&nb
sp; Michael was tugging at his tie as if it was something designed to kill him. She caught his hand and smoothed his hair out of his face.
“It’s OK, Michael. We’re going to meet the president of the United States and your father wants you to look smart.”
The face turned belligerent and his hands went back to his tie.
She caught his hand and squeezed. “You’ve been so amazing, sweetheart. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t think it would be the least painful way of getting through this, OK?”
Michael’s eyes grew huge and sad. He opened his mouth, desperately wanting to say something. She held her breath. A small sound came out. It wasn’t a word, but it was a sound.
Tears threatened, but Vivi held them back. She hugged him hard to her chest, even though he looked so frustrated with himself.
“You’re going to get your voice back, Michael. You are. But it won’t happen in one day.” She spotted the tablet Jed had given him. “Here, can you spell out what you want to say?”
Michael frowned as he took the tablet. They only had a few seconds before David returned to fetch them.
She didn’t want to push him. She wished she had Jed’s fun-loving way and could just ease him into using it.
Don’t think about Jed.
But when Michael typed, “Ware is Jed?” she realized they were both thinking about the man.
She cleared her throat. Her son had just made a giant leap in communication, but she figured it was best to be low key about the whole thing. Don’t freak him out. “He had to work. He has to catch the bad guys.”
Michael held her gaze with blue eyes so like her own. Then he typed, “I miss him.”
The door handle turned and David entered the room, sweeping them both with an assessing gaze. Vivi smoothed Michael’s hair again and straightened his tie. Then she bent and whispered in his ear. “So do I, baby. So do I.”
***
Jed stood in a line of other suits waiting to be presented to the president in the atrium of County Hospital.
SSA McKenzie was on his right. “I’m going to whip your ass when we’re back in Quantico for that stunt you pulled.”
“It kept them alive,” Jed retorted, although maybe it had been a mistake. Frazer was right about getting too involved, it definitely affected his decision-making abilities, but it was too late to undo things now. He wasn’t sure he would anyway. Vivi and Michael were alive, and that time at the lake was something he’d treasure.
McKenzie grunted. “Still gonna kick your ass.”
“Better than paperwork.”
“Oh, there will be paperwork. Count on it. Mountains of paperwork.” The man grew quiet as the president approached.
Jed shook President Hague’s hand.
“I hear you were the agent on the ground when the attack happened?”
“Yes, sir, Mr. President.” Jed would add it to the list of reasons not to go shopping in the future.
“You saved lives that day, son.” The man was tall and slightly stooped. A respected economist, but less respected as a military commander. He’d just lost his virginity when it came to ordering deadly air strikes on foreign soil. “I know Ms. Vincent and her son are particularly grateful for your presence that day.”
Jed’s eyes widened slightly. Especially when he spotted Vivi in the crowd, skin pale against the red of her suit. Even with her dark hair she appeared very much the poised, confident woman he’d first met just a few short days ago. She caught his eye then looked away. David Pentecost seemed pissed that Jed was talking to the president. Jed searched for Michael, but the Secret Service detail was too thick.
“I’d give my life to protect either of them, sir,” he said loudly enough for them to hear.
The leader of his country smiled. “Join us.” And then he moved on to McKenzie. Jed eased through the crowd toward Vivi. She tried to edge away, but she had nowhere to go.
He ignored Pentecost and took her hand and gave her fingers a squeeze. She looked up at him then. Wariness out-competing hope.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I was a jerk. I’m sorry.”
Her lips trembled, but then someone pushed between them before he could lean down and kiss her.
Michael.
He picked the kid up and gave him a squeeze. The little boy hugged him back so hard a ball of emotion threatened to choke him. He put the kid down. “Stay with your mom a moment, I need to talk to your dad.”
Jed worked his way to the outside of the group and beckoned Pentecost toward him. He leaned close to the man’s ear, and whispered quietly, “If you ever lay a hand on either of them again, I will make you scream like a girl. Do we understand each other?”
David’s gaze flicked to Vivi with a flush of guilt.
Jed wanted to smack the guy, but he doubted Vivi would appreciate him brawling with her ex during a presidential visit. She was a private person.
Later.
His cell buzzed in his pocket, and he used the call to walk away from the group. The president and his entourage had kept moving. David Pentecost was right next to the president, now dragging Michael close beside him, determined to make an impression while he had the chance. Vivi followed after them, glancing back at him in question. Jed followed more slowly.
He glanced at the phone screen. Frazer. “What do you know?”
At the elevator, the president and Vivi headed to the third floor, so Jed took the stairs with a few of the Secret Service agents.
“We have an ID on the female terrorist. Pilah Rasheed. I’m sending you a photograph.”
“Great. Know where she is?”
“No. But we tracked a cell phone that we believe she is using within a quarter-mile radius of the hospital.”
Crap. Not good, although if there were any more law enforcement personnel around here you could rob a bank anywhere else in the US and stroll away without a worry.
He and the Secret Service agents piled out at the third floor and Jed saw the entourage walking into a ward. The president paused and started talking to patients, moving slowly through the room. The Secret Service knew trouble was possible. They were twitchy and nervous. Hell, so was he.
A doctor was introduced to President Hague. Vivi shot Jed a glance and he winked at her, trying to put her at ease. A faint blush touched her cheeks. His thoughts turned to what he wanted to say to her when he got her alone. They shouldn’t move too fast. He didn’t want to scare her but frankly, once Michael was asleep, he was going to show her exactly what she meant to him. He’d like to—
His cell went off again, jerking him back to the here and now. He scrubbed his hand through his hair. This is what she did to him.
Frazer said, “I want you up on the roof scanning for snipers.”
An ominous chill entered his body. Sniping wasn’t the kill method of choice by most terrorist organizations, but for presidential assassinations… “OK.”
He didn’t want to leave without telling Vivi though. He headed over to tell her to wait for him after the big wigs left.
The president and doctor stopped in front of a private room. The Secret Service entered the room first, checked it, then the president entered. Jed overheard the doctor saying that this was a man who’d been in a coma since the attack, and that his niece had been with him ever since.
Jed couldn’t exactly shove his way past the Secret Service, but he edged along the wall and got to the doorway. The room was small. Everyone hovered in the entrance as the president went inside. Michael slipped out of his father’s grip and followed the president into the room and started tugging urgently on the man’s jacket. Jed held back a grin as David looked like he was about to blow his stack, but couldn’t without looking like an asshole.
And then his heart stopped beating as three things happened at once. Vivi went further into the room to get Michael. The niece, a tired blonde with a sad-looking mouth, leaned down out of sight. And Michael started making a high-pitched, keening noise that stabbed his eardrum l
ike a needle.
Jed pushed his way into the room to help Michael just as the niece came up holding something that looked suspiciously like a weapon. Oh, fuck. He launched himself in front of Vivi and Michael as the woman started firing. A fierce rush of pain took his breath, and then another. He wrapped his arms around the three people in front of him and took them to the floor, crumpled into a heap in the corner. Loud gunfire shook the room and glass shattered.
Goddamn. How had she fooled security?
The shooting stopped. “Are you all right?” His voice sounded pathetic, but he needed to catch his breath.
“I’m fine, son,” said the president.
“Vivi? Michael?” he asked. It wasn’t the Commander in Chief he was worried about.
Michael scrambled out of the jumble of arms and legs and stood there shaking. His father came into the room and touched his shoulder. Jed swallowed tightly as he watched the man give his son a tentative hug.
Vivi lay stunned and winded. Jed was lying on top of both her and the president.
Secret Service men waded in. One of them trod on Vivi and Jed shoved him aside. “Watch the lady, asshole.”
President Hague waved them away. “I’m fine. Ms. Vincent? Are you OK?”
A wall of bodies stood at their back.
Vivi blinked, then her eyes rolled back and she passed out. What the hell? He pushed her hair off her face. “I love you, Vivi. Don’t you dare die on me.”
Hell of a time to have that realization.
Then Jed saw a stain of darker crimson on her red suit. Oh fuck, oh, fuck. He’d failed. He pulled up her shirt, uncaring of all the other male eyes, but there was no bullet hole. Jed blinked in confusion and then someone was dragging him backwards.
“Let me go.” He tried to shout, to break away, but his voice was weak. What the hell? Then he looked down at his own shirt and saw a huge patch of blood. He was the one who’d been shot. His blood on her suit. Not hers. Good.
Cold Pursuit (Cold Justice) (Volume 2) Page 27
