“You’re scared to death.”
“Of course I am. They took one of my sons. My other son is still at risk.”
He nodded. “This is a very large and very porous property. I’m not sure it’s adequately secured.”
If he didn’t know, she wasn’t going to tell him. They weren’t on the same sides in this conflict. “If you have questions about our security here, you should ask Wendell.”
“I have. I want to bring my own team in.”
Fear sliced through her then, waves of it, cold chasing hot. “No. You can’t. This is my sanctuary. I will not tolerate them coming here.”
“They won’t do anything to interfere with you or your retreat. They’re the only ones I trust at the moment. My job is to get our son back and end the Omnis once and for all.”
She folded her arms over her waist, hiding them under the blanket. If they came here, she and Troy would have to leave. Owen was King. He could do anything he wanted, wherever he wanted to do it, whatever it was, with whomever he wanted. Her puny protestations mattered not at all. Still, she had to try one more time.
“This is my house. It was agreed upon in my settlement. You have no say here.”
“Then I can have them stay off property. But they don’t come alone. They bring their wives or girlfriends. And their children. I’d rather have them here, close and safe, than outside the wire.”
Wives and children? Who were these people? Not the groupies Cecil brought to watch her ritual humiliation. What game was Owen playing? If she had them stay in town, their presence might gain unwanted attention. But was that a valid concern when she had the head of the Omnis standing right in front of her?
“It would only be temporary, Addy.”
So were the visits her husband arranged. Temporary as in one night. One night was all it took to break her for weeks.
She lifted her chin. “Do what you’re going to do, but know that I’ll do what I’m going to do. Just remember that this is not your home. You have no authority here. In truth, neither does my brother.”
Owen nodded. “Several of the women with my team have been harmed by the OWO, directly and indirectly. They’ve gotten themselves out of that world, and they’ve survived on the other side. I hope you might get a chance to talk to them. Hearing their stories, sharing yours, all of it might help you—and them—heal.”
If his team and their families really weren’t part of the Omni world, as Jax now believed, then why was he doing this? To further his cover? “What are you up to, Owen? Why are you doing this?”
“Why am I helping you? I owe it to you.”
“It sounds as if you’re going to put an end to the Omnis.”
“I am.”
“Why? They’re your world.”
He frowned, seemingly confused. “You think I like having an enemy like the Omnis? I don’t. Maybe a while ago they were a force for good, but now they’ve morphed into an ugly and destructive group of thugs. Fighting them is what your brother and I were training for since we were kids.”
It was a pretty speech, but the Omnis were his thugs. It was his world he wanted to end. Was he moving on to some other terrible new plan? She slipped into her bedroom, but paused just inside the closed door. If he was tearing apart the empire he built, a narcissist like him would only do it because he had plans for something even bigger and more horrific.
Maybe it was the reason her brother had brought him here: he needed her to find out what Owen was up to.
This was worse, far worse, than she could even imagine.
9
Owen was stiff when he went to his room the next morning. He’d spent the whole night outside Addy’s room. The cold floor hadn’t been easy on his injuries. He thought about going down for breakfast, but knew his reception would be as cold as it was yesterday.
He texted Jax to get the combo and location to his gun safe. Owen suspected he had a small armory here somewhere. Owen had the gun that Jax had given him from his stash house, but Addy needed one too. He thought it might make her feel a little more comfortable about protecting herself and her son.
He had every intention of sleeping outside Addy’s door again that night, so instead of chasing food, he chased some Zs. His dreams were painful and raw.
Ten Years Ago
Fairfax, Virginia
Owen showered and shaved. He’d eased himself in the shower, worried his hunger for Addy would drive the night instead of following her pleasure. He wanted their first time to be one she’d never forget, though he hoped to give her many such nights in their lives together. He was just wiping his face off when her text came in.
Just got free. See you in 30. My room.
Make it 10, he texted back.
30. Love you.
He grinned. The next thirty minutes were going to be the longest of his life. He could hear the celebration still going downstairs. For once, he was glad the Jacobs were quintessential political creatures. Their power party would keep them busy and distracted. Not that he really cared. If needed, he’d take Addy to a hotel for the weekend, where they wouldn’t be disturbed.
He pulled on one of his tailored dress shirts. It was a little overkill with his jeans, but one of his fantasies was to see Addy wearing it and nothing else. He walked out of the closet as Jax walked in.
His buddy’s gaze swept over him. As usual, he didn’t look happy—never did when it came to Owen spending time with his sister. Jax sighed. The shadows were deep in his eyes. Owen frowned. Jax grabbed a fistful of his shirt and twisted, closing the distance between them.
“Take her and go,” Jax said. “Go far away.”
“I thought about it so we could have privacy, but your folks are busy. They won’t notice us.”
“You aren’t the one they have in mind for her.”
Owen stared into his friend’s eyes. He gripped Jax’s hand at a pressure point, forcing him to release his shirt. “I am the only one for her.”
Jax shook his head. “It’s not going to happen. She was born into a political dynasty. She has a job to do for the family. We all do.”
“You knew I intended to marry her.”
“I thought you’d be over her long before this.”
“I have no intention of taking her from her family. She can still do her duty to your family after we’re married.”
Jax clamped his mouth shut and stepped back. His face became shuttered, blocking Owen from reading anything in his expression. “I can’t stop this train.”
Owen jumped as his phone buzzed with an incoming text from Addy. Where ru? He looked at Jax. “Gotta go. We’ll finish this discussion tomorrow.” Owen paused at the door. “But you better believe you can’t stop this train. It’s on tracks I’ve been laying down for years.”
Owen jerked awake. He sat up, panting, sweating. Had he dreamed what happened that night correctly? He’d forgotten all about that convo with Jax in the panic that came the next day. After that, his mind had locked everything down, only letting the wonderment of his time with Addy and the terror of losing her get through to his memories.
What had Jax been trying to tell him that night? What if Owen had taken Addy to a hotel for the weekend? Would that have changed her fate…and his? Or would it only have delayed the terrible plan her family had made for her?
Owen’s heart was racing. Addy’s fate had been set already, before she’d graduated college, before they were intimate.
And Jax had known about it.
Jesus. If Owen still needed proof his friend was on the rotten side of things, then he was an idiot. He shoved a hand through his hair as he paced around his room. The horror of what happened after his and Addy’s first night together had done a number on Owen. Jax had been a rock to him…in the beginning. But once Owen went back to work, Jax began to distance himself. He took on separate missions. He was given his own team in the unit. It wasn’t long until the work Owen was doing and the work Jax was doing never crossed paths.
He’d misse
d his old friend, but thought it was for the best, since neither of them could see the other without crashing into painful memories.
Then Kelan saw Jax in the tunnels. Jax had helped him, helped Fiona. He’d said he was Ace’s handler, that he’d been helping all along, that he was who sent Hope to Max.
So what was he? A double agent, working both sides of the war?
Owen definitely needed to get Addy geared up. And…he had to get her out of there, though he couldn’t until he knew what kind of illness she had. He couldn’t expose his team to an unknown pathogen. And for all he knew, this whole shitshow was a setup to gut him and his team. If he was right, and he was being watched, then the danger to them was real.
Either way, he had to get Addy to open up to him. Maybe providing her with a weapon would make her question her distrust of him.
Then again, maybe nothing would.
Addy heard a knock on her door. She knew who it was. She didn’t want to answer it, but feared dragging Troy away from his classwork if she let it go unanswered. She went out to the hallway from her office and walked toward Owen so they could talk quietly. “Did you want something?”
“I want to give you a gun.”
Her brows lifted. “You want to give me a gun. What if I use it on you?”
“I already told you I’d be happy to stand in your firing line…once you and the boys are safe.”
“I don’t know how to use a gun.”
“I’ll show you. Can we go down to Jax’s room?”
Jax had guns in his room? Why hadn’t he told her about them? She knew about the ones in her panic room. Did he have his own panic room? They went down the staircase near her room, then walked the long way to her brother’s room in the other wing.
“Why are you doing this? Why give me a weapon?” she asked.
“Because I share your fear about the Omnis coming here. I want you to be able to protect yourself. If it comes to it, you need to be able to take out as many of those bastards as you can. It’s only you and me defending this place.”
In Jax’s room, Owen checked his phone, probably for a passcode of some sort. He went to the huge oak bookcase that covered an entire wall of her brother’s room. Reaching under the lip of a shelf, he pushed a hidden button, and the middle section separated in half.
Addy gasped, shocked that this was here and she’d never known about it. What other secrets did her brother have? It felt a bit like betrayal. She couldn’t hide the hurt in her eyes when she looked at Owen. He didn’t say anything. He just closed the shelves, then took her hand and showed her where the button was. With his finger on hers, they pushed it, popping the spring that opened the doors.
“Now you know.”
“Yeah.”
The room was a good size—ten by fifteen feet of wall-to-wall weapons. There were long guns, pistols, knives, magazines, holsters, spare parts, cleaning supplies. And a huge amount of ammo. The cases were backlit with blue light, making the whole thing look cold and deadly.
Addy shivered and folded her arms. Her brother had never said anything about this to her. She walked around the room, awed by what she saw. “How long has this been here?”
“I don’t know. Probably Jax put it in after your…settlement. Have you ever shot a weapon?”
“No.”
“Okay, we’ll start with the basics. Let’s pick a pistol for you. I’ll teach you how to use every single one of these, if you want, but let’s start at the beginning.”
“None of these will help if you’re chained down.” She glanced away from him, unnerved by the tightness that came over his features.
“The goal is for you to have the skill and tools you need before being chained down. But even shackles can be their own weapon. You must learn—and so must Troy—to use every tool available to you, from words and strategy, to weapons, and even your own body.”
He was silent a minute, which was good, because her blood had heated and expanded, and now pumped noisily through her veins. “You think they’re coming here.”
“I can’t know anything with certainty, especially not when it comes to the Omnis, but they’ve attacked our headquarters multiple times. And you’re a gem they will not willingly let go.”
“I have a settlement from them.”
“Which is only as good as the heart of the man who signed it.”
And that was the crux of it, wasn’t it? Cecil Edwards had no heart. No soul. No morals. He was a monster in the skin of a man.
“Let’s select a pistol. We’ll begin your training now.”
“Which do you suggest?”
Owen took two pistols from their racks and checked their chambers. “These two. The SIG Sauer P938 because it has a recoil that won’t knock you out of your aim if you should need to fire rapidly. The Kimber Pro Carry II because I think you’ll like the way it feels in your grip. They’re both 9mm.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?”
“No. If you shoot me, then I guess I needed to be put down.”
“What happens to the Omnis when you die?”
“Nothing. I’m not part of their organization.”
“We’re all part of the Omnis, all of us who are in it, have left it, or who fight it. We never really separate from it.”
He looked at her as if considering how to respond. “I don’t know how much you know. There’s division happening inside the Omnis—it’ll continue, with or without me. And the resistance movement that my team is with will continue to fight them. My death would change nothing.”
“You’re King. Why would you dismantle the organization you built?”
“Addy, I’m not King. Not by a fucking long shot. Your brother thinks there might several kings, all hacking away at each other. He said my dad’s still alive and might be a king, maybe for the resistance. I guess your dad might be one, too.”
She watched him closely, trying to sort out if he was lying. He didn’t appear to be, but he could be acting. Acting played a funny game on a person’s psyche. He could be lying through his teeth, but if his mind believed the role he was playing, the lie would never show.
She considered the possibility that her father was King. Was that the reason for everything that had happened? Was that why he never tried to help her and the boys?
Over the next hour, Owen gave her a crash course on gun safety, loading, unloading, and firing the gun. He filled a duffel bag with a couple boxes of ammo, two pairs of earmuffs and safety glasses, and led her outside.
They went to a field far away from the house. Owen had set up a makeshift shooting range, complete with a table for their stuff and a chair in case she got tired. She was excited about what they were doing. It felt proactive—more so than anything she’d done to prep for her and Troy’s safety so far.
Again, Owen went over how each gun worked, how she should hold it, what her stance should be, how to sight in a target. He was no-nonsense but extremely patient with any of her questions. It was so very different from the time she’d spent with Cecil. He’d complained about everything—how she did her hair, what clothes she wore, how she kept the house, the menus she’d selected, how uninteresting her conversation was.
At last, they got to the actual shooting part. She found she did favor the SIG Sauer. When her magazine was empty, she hadn’t hit her mark once, though she had hit the target—she would have clipped an adversary, at the very least.
When their range time was over, Owen taught her to unload the gun and empty the chamber. When she was finished, he checked it himself.
“Can I keep one of these with me?”
“Do you have a safe in your room?”
She nodded.
“Then yes, after a few lessons. When I can, I’ll get you a biometric safe you can keep beside your bed. With Troy going in and out of your room, we have to be safe.”
“We’ll practice again tomorrow?”
“You bet. We have a lot to go over.” He gave her a worried look. “This wasn’t too much f
or you today, was it?”
“No. Not at all. I think doing nothing, waiting for what I feel is coming, is so much harder on me.”
They were a long way from the house. The sun was low but still bright. She looked up at Owen as they walked back. He was still the most handsome man she’d ever met, with his pale eyes and pale hair…the cleft in his chin.
“You know, you were never like a brother to me.”
Owen met her eyes, and his face went still. “I’ve known you almost your whole life.”
“Did you hold me when I was a baby?”
“No. I was only seven when you were born. And your father felt infants were the province of women. We didn’t get to see much of your family until you were about two.” He grinned, that flirty, lopsided smile. “I did change your diaper once.”
She looked away so that she wouldn’t fall prey to his charm. “I don’t remember those days.”
“I do. I know what you mean when you said I was never a brother to you. I feel the same way about you, even though we grew up together. I always thought you were a gift to me. I was in love with you forever.”
At times like this, she could almost believe him. They’d talked about this a while back—a lifetime ago. Before hell had taken over their lives. Back then, she’d thought being the one who’d caught Owen’s heart had made her extraordinary, as if the sun just told her that it shone for her alone. She’d adored him, in those days. It figured that so much love came at a high price—losing their lives to this war.
“And that’s not weird at all.” She laughed a little nervously, trying to lighten things up.
“It is what it is. Just like if I die before you, I’ll wait for you to come home. I came alive before you and waited for you to become an adult. Your brother hated me for that, tried to beat it out of me. What we have is bigger than us, bigger than your family, bigger than this lifetime. Your death—or rather, your faked death—damn near killed me.”
“What if…what if I don’t want to be with you?” Freedom. It was what she craved more than anything. Freedom to be alone, to make her own way…to not have her choices prescribed by a man.
Forsaken Duty, The Red Team Series, Book 9 Page 8
