by Mary Alford
The noise of approaching vehicles drew his attention to the front of the house. He saw Henry’s patrol car pulling up the drive, followed by the car Tracy had lent Kyle.
He went over to the patrol car.
“Thought you might need your transportation,” Henry said through the open window.
Kyle smiled at the man’s thoughtfulness. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
The driver of the car got out. It was a woman close to Henry’s age. Her gray hair cut short, she was dressed in jeans and a loose-fitting shirt.
She came over to the patrol car and Henry introduced her as his wife. “Agent Jennings, this is Molly.”
The woman smiled up at Kyle. She appeared just as genuine as her husband.
“Nice to meet you, Agent Jennings,” she told him and then handed Kyle the keys to the car.
“You, too,” Kyle said and then added, “thanks for the use of the house.”
“You’re very welcome. Stay as long as you need.” Molly turned back to her husband who nodded.
“We made sure no one followed us, but the less noticeable activity around the cabin the better.” Once his wife was in the passenger seat, Henry put the vehicle in Reverse. “If you need anything at all, you call me. I can be here with backup in a matter of minutes.”
Kyle nodded. “I will.”
With Henry gone, he went back to the cabin.
Ella stood by the window watching for him. “Henry and his wife brought the car back in case we needed it,” he said once he was inside. Still she didn’t move.
He gathered a breath. Let it go. Prayed for calm. Found it. He needed to explain to her his emotional reaction earlier.
“My wife’s name was Lena, as well,” he said and she turned to face him, unable to hide her shock.
Slowly the story tumbled out as if he’d waited a long time to share it. “I told you she was CIA.” He looked at her and was rewarded with the tiniest of nods. “Well, she was one of the best operatives I’ve ever worked with, and I loved her from the moment I met her...” His voice caught over the words and he stopped for a second. “I knew we were going to spend our lives together. I just didn’t realize how short our time would be.”
He slumped down onto the sofa, devoid of emotion. After a hesitant moment, Ella came and sat next to him.
“What happened to her?” she asked in a gentle tone.
He shook his head. That question had haunted him for years. “I wish I knew. The mission she was on was critical. A female operative with Lena’s features and her fluency in the Dari language was necessary to go undercover with an asset’s family.” His mouth twisted bitterly.
“Only you didn’t want her to go,” she guessed and he shot her a startled look. Had she read this from his expression?
“No,” he said at last. “It didn’t feel right to me. We’d vetted the family, so we knew they were friendlies. Still, I begged her not to take the mission. She went anyway.”
Ella touched his arm gingerly. “I’m so sorry.” He looked over at her and there were tears in her eyes.
“Back then, the Fox had just come onto our radar as a new player in arms smuggling. It was believed that he had roots in the village where the family Lena was staying with lived. The family knew of him, which is why the idea of the Fox being an American doesn’t ring true.
“Anyway, Lena was barely there a couple of weeks when the village where she was embedded got attacked. The family she’d been staying with was killed. Lena’s body wasn’t among the dead. We searched everywhere for her. Scoured the area. Called in every asset we could and interrogated dozens of people. Then about four months later, we found her body in the desert. She was burned beyond recognition.” He swallowed at the horrific memory. “There were no dental records on file. Lena had never had so much as a cavity growing up, so as an adult she’d thought the dentist was a waste of time. I had to identify my wife through her wedding ring.” It was the worst day of his life.
Kyle glanced down at the ring he still wore. He’d never once taken it off through the years, because something about his time with Lena felt unfinished. Maybe God had brought this woman into his life to give him the closure he so longed for.
Her voice shook when she spoke. “Do you have a picture of her?” He wondered if she was even aware she was crying. He was so unworthy of her sorrow. He should have done more to find his wife before she’d been killed.
He’d sensed even back then that something more was happening. He recalled how paralyzed he’d felt during Lena’s final week at the village. Communication had been sketchy. He should have pulled her from the mission. He’d started to. Only he’d been too late. The village was raided. Lena was the one person left unaccounted for. Those frantic days before her body was discovered still haunted him.
Kyle dug out the photo he carried of Lena and himself at their cabin in Montana. He kept it with him always, because it was one of his favorite memories.
Ella took the photo from him and stared at it for the longest time.
“Is that the woman who was held with you?” he prompted.
She seemed incapable of speaking and his mind went crazy. She got to her feet and retreated to the windows once more.
“What is it?” He followed her. Something was wrong. This was not the reaction he’d expected. “Ella, tell me,” he pressed. “Do you recognize the woman in the photo? Is that the Lena you knew at the prison?”
She didn’t look at him. Kyle clasped her shoulders and gently turned her to face him. She appeared so distraught that all he wanted to do was comfort her. Take her in his arms and tell her it was going to be okay no matter what she remembered.
Ella clamped down on her bottom lip, pushed him away and fisted her hands. He’d seen this reaction many times. It was her coping mechanism. The frightening part was it mirrored his wife’s to a T. Lena hated to cry. Hated showing the weakness.
“That’s not her,” she said with a hard tone. “That’s not the woman I knew.”
He couldn’t determine if she was telling him the truth, but if so then who had been at the prison with Ella?
Before he could delve deeper, his cell phone rang. He recognized the number immediately. It was Tracy.
Tracy didn’t wait for him to say hello. “Agent Jennings, I have to talk to you now,” she said in a rush, her tone highly agitated.
“What’s wrong?” he asked without taking his eyes off Ella.
“I can’t say over the phone. Please, Agent Jennings, I have to speak to you in person immediately. It’s urgent. It’s about Ella,” she whispered frantically.
Kyle’s internal radar went crazy.
“I’m at the lake house. I came here to find you, but you were gone.” She heaved an audible breath. “I’m in danger and so are you. He’s going to kill me. Please hurry. Please, I need to tell you who Ella really is. Because I wasn’t honest with you before. He forced me to lie.”
His stomach dropped to his feet. Kyle glanced at his watch. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Tracy’s relief was clear. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
He disconnected the call and faced the questions in Ella’s eyes.
“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?” she asked, her voice rough with the remnants of her tears.
“Yes. I have to go meet Tracy and I need you to come with me. I can’t leave you here alone, Ella. It’s not safe.”
Kyle prayed he wasn’t making a huge mistake by taking her with him. He had to keep her close to protect her. His emotions were still raw from the roller-coaster ride he’d been on since the desert.
He grabbed the extra Glock and burner phone from where she’d placed them on the kitchen counter.
“I need you to wait in the car. I don’t know what I’ll find once I get there. Tracy said someone wanted h
er dead.” He could see the terror those words brought as Ella followed him out to the car.
Kyle covered the distance between the cabin and the lake house in record time. His trained instinct told him not to go directly to the house. Instead, he pulled the car into a wooded area off to the side of the main highway, still some distance from the house.
“It’s safer here and we’re out of sight. I can get there by going through those woods there.” He pointed to the forest. “I should end up at the side of the house. No one watching it will know I’m coming and you should be sheltered here.”
Kyle pulled out his Glock and checked the clip. It was full. He put a spare clip in his pocket.
“Let me come with you,” she pleaded. “I can back you up should something turn sideways.”
His hand rested on the door as he tried to shut out the way she worded things as if... “It’s too risky. It could be a setup.”
“Kyle...” Her voice cracked. “Haven’t I proven by now that I know what I’m doing?”
He struggled to keep his equilibrium. That was word for word something Lena would say. He had to let go of that hope once and for all.
He sucked in a breath. “We can’t chance a repeat of what happened at Duncan’s place. We have no idea who or what we’re up against anymore. Wait here. Lock the doors and stay low.” He pointed to the Glock next to her on the seat. “Keep that and the phone close. If anything happens, call me right away.”
He hated to leave her alone, but Tracy’s tone was warning enough to ensure what she had to tell him was going to be big.
“If I don’t get in touch with you in five minutes, call Henry.”
They stared at each other for the longest time. She looked at him with those expressive eyes that tugged at his heart. He didn’t want to make the same mistake he’d made all those years ago.
He had no idea what he faced inside. His last moments with Lena stood out in his head and he didn’t want to let this moment pass without expressing what was in his heart. He leaned close and captured her lips. A tiny sob escaped and then she framed his face with her hands and kissed him back. Her touch felt like Lena’s. All heartbreaking.
He reluctantly ended the kiss. Clearing away the frog from his throat wasn’t easy. “It’ll be okay. Just remember what I said. If I don’t call you back soon, get out of here and find help.”
She nodded and he slowly let her go. With one final searching look, he got out of the car and headed for the woods.
As he moved through the thicket, his thoughts were all for the woman he’d left behind. There had been something in the way she looked at the photo. He was almost positive she had recognized it.
Stop it!
When he reached the edge of the property, he stopped. A small car was parked in the drive. Nothing appeared out of order. Still, Tracy’s fear had been obvious and the nervous knot in the pit of his stomach warned him not to let his guard down.
Kyle slowly eased from his cover and advanced toward the house with weapon in hand. The front door stood open, his breathing quickening with adrenaline. A round of shots came from inside.
He grabbed his phone and called Henry. “I need you here at the lake house right away. I have shots fired. Bring EMT.” Kyle rushed inside without waiting for Henry’s response. More shots followed. Then a woman screamed.
“Tracy, where are you?” he called out while searching for the shooter.
“In the kitchen. I think he’s gone,” she croaked in a barely audible voice.
He carefully scanned the visible rooms. No one was there. Where had the shooter gone? He tucked the Glock behind his back and rushed to Tracy’s side. She’d been shot in the chest and was seriously injured. He took off his jacket and balled it up against her wound to slow the blood flow.
“Hang on, I’ve called for help,” he said to keep her calm. She didn’t listen. She was looking just beyond him.
She managed to lift her finger at something over his shoulder.
Kyle jerked around in time to see a man dressed in dark clothing lunge for him. He jumped to his feet and successfully evaded a direct hit. He didn’t recognize the man, but the anger that flashed on the man’s face bordered on maniacal.
The man had a gun aimed at Kyle’s head. “You shouldn’t have come here. You should have gone where you were supposed to,” he snarled.
Kyle kicked the kitchen table sideways and ducked as the man opened fire. Several shots barely missed him.
“You can’t hide, Agent Jennings. You’re going to die. The same way your wife did. I enjoyed ending her life.” Kyle froze at the man’s confession to killing his Lena. “Ending yours will be my pleasure, as well.”
A storm of anger propelled Kyle to his feet. He charged the man, the action taking him by surprise. The man aimed the weapon straight at him. Kyle had only seconds to reach him before it discharged. There was no way he’d make it in time. A thousand regrets flew through his head. Then he heard it. Click, click, click. The weapon was empty.
The man tossed the useless gun aside and pulled out an equally deadly knife.
He came after Kyle full charge. With all his strength, Kyle shoved him off, but he just kept coming back, like a raging animal intent on taking down his prey.
Kyle drew his weapon. His first instinct was to shoot to kill, but this man had confessed to taking Lena’s life. He wanted him alive, because he needed to know more.
The second he was in striking distance, Kyle smashed the butt of the Glock against his head. The man dropped to the floor, out cold.
Kyle quickly secured the assailant’s hands. Was he here alone? Somehow he doubted it. If there were more men roaming the countryside, Ella could be in danger. He tried the phone. There was no signal. He tried it again. Nothing. Impossible. He’d just called...unless someone had deliberately blocked the call. His first instinct was to rush back to Ella’s side and make sure she was safe, but he couldn’t leave Tracy. She was terrified.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told her as calmly as he could while examining Tracy’s wound. It was much worse than he thought. The bullet had struck close to her heart.
Nearby, sirens blared. “Hang on. The ambulance is almost here.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going to make it and I can’t die knowing I’ve lied to you. I have to tell you the truth about Ella Weiss.”
* * *
Ella had watched him disappear. He’d been gone for a while, and yet still she couldn’t move. Her head was bursting with confusing memories. Had been ever since Kyle showed her the photo of his wife. She’d told him that wasn’t the woman held prisoner with her, but that wasn’t the complete truth. It wasn’t the woman she knew as Lena. It was...
She still clutched the crumpled photo in her hand.
The cabin in the mountain she’d remembered from before was there in the background. She and Kyle had been there many times during their marriage. The last time was before she left for that final mission. It had been a picture-perfect vacation. Snowing every day. They’d made a fire...
No...that’s not your life. It can’t be. You’re Ella.
She fisted her hand against her forehead. There was more, much more to the story. Something dark was hidden away inside her head and now it was ready to take life and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“No.” Another broken sob escaped. She’d struggled to hold them back since he’d showed her the photo.
She touched her stomach. That was the worst part. She’d been pregnant when she left on that final mission, and she hadn’t told him. She and Kyle had argued. He didn’t want her to go. He’d told her he had a bad feeling about it. Begged her to let someone else do the job for once, but she couldn’t. The arrangements were all made. The family trusted her. It was too late to substitute another agent. She’d made a fateful mistake
.
She closed her eyes. Her baby. She’d given birth. Alhasan had taken delight in telling her the baby was a girl and that the child was stillborn. Her grief pleased him. She’d been comatose with despair for weeks afterward.
Would Kyle blame her for their child’s death? After all, she’d insisted on going on that mission. If she’d just listened to her husband, their child would still be alive. They’d be happy. It was her fault that their daughter died.
The grief she’d hidden away so long sliced through her heart. She buried her head in her hands and gave in to the pain.
Outside, the noise of a car on the road nearby captured her attention. Someone was coming. Kyle had told her to stay here, but if it was the enemy, she would be an easy target.
She got out of the car and rushed to the woods. The noise of the vehicle grew closer. She peered through the trees as the car that had attacked them at the church stopped on the side of the road. This wasn’t just someone traveling by. The people in the car were deliberately looking for them. Her. She spotted the driver and her blood ran cold. Alhasan. There was another man with him. No doubt others, as well.
They didn’t make a move to get out. Were they waiting for backup before they attacked? How did they find her?
Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to in time. If you do your part...
She recalled what Tracy had said to her outside the church and her fear for Kyle doubled. Was Tracy working for Alhasan and had she made the call to draw him out so that these men could kill him?
She grabbed the phone. The call didn’t go through. She tried again with the same results. There was no signal.
She glanced at the car. Alhasan got out along with three more men. “You might as well give up, Ella. No one’s coming to help you.” Fear shot through her. How did he know she was there? And more important, where was Joseph? Wouldn’t he have brought the child along to use as leverage to get her to do his bidding?
She ducked behind the tree coverage. If the calls were being blocked, did Alhasan have that much power, or was Henry working with him?
