Hostile Ground

by Cara Carnes

  “No. It wasn’t your fault.” She pulled away. “Olaf and I were foolish, too young and naive to listen to the warnings you gave.”

  Her gaze swept the area, settling on the vehicle. She wrung her hands and glanced over at Zoey when she approached.

  As if sensing the question she hadn’t asked, Addy smiled and put a hand on Stacia’s shoulder. “He’s not here. We wanted to meet with you first.”

  Her eyes widened, shimmering with tears. She nodded and looked down.

  “Come. You may sit outside,” one of the other women said. She guided them through the gate and around the side of the house. More toys were strewn about the well-maintained yard. A small pool sat near the back porch.

  A small table with four chairs was near the center of the area. Empty glasses sat in front of each space and a large pitcher was in the middle. Kristof’s gaze swept the back of the house. Curtains shifted and tiny faces appeared, pressed against the windows.

  Amusement rolled through him as he winked at the little kids. Their expressive eyes widened as they looked at one another, then returned their rapt attention to him as he sat in one of the chairs.

  Stacia’s two friends didn’t offer their names, nor did they remain near the table. They moved a few feet away as Addy, Stacia, and Zoey sat. The latter set her backpack on the ground beside her.

  Stacia’s hands trembled as she lifted the pitcher and poured what Kristof assumed was iced tea into the glasses. She offered a faint smile. “I couldn’t decide between tea or lemonade, but Yasmin reminded me tea is more popular. It’s not as good as the tea from…”

  Home. Did she still think of Russia as home?

  “It’ll taste great,” Kristof said into the silence. Her cheeks pinkened as she passed a glass to him, then poured another.

  “Thank you.” Zoey squeezed Stacia’s hand and smiled. “You’ve all done a great job on the house. Every time I come here it’s so different.”

  “We have a lot of help thanks to you.” Heat crept up the woman’s face. “Your teams come by here often and always bring supplies. They work on whatever we ask them to do between our training sessions.”

  “I’ve heard you all are doing very well,” Addy said. “My team and I will be here next month. Gage says you’re ready for more rigorous hand-to-hand lessons.”

  And of course, his Addy would facilitate that training. Anticipation rose within him. He’d be fully healed soon, and he looked forward to seeing how they stood up against one another on a mat. Blood surged southward as he contemplated the potential prizes he could collect if he won.

  A gleam resonated within Addy’s gaze when he looked at her. Yeah, she was looking forward to that as well.

  Stacia nodded. “I fear I’m not as good as the others. They have a fighter’s spirit I lack.”

  “I’m not a fighter either,” Zoey admitted. “I fight with my mind, not my fists. You’re more like me. You’ve done well learning computers and how to run the security system.”

  Red rose in Stacia’s face as her gaze moved to Kristof. “I was always the brainy one of our group.”

  “She’d help Gavriil and me with our homework,” Kristof teased. “Even though she was much younger than us.”

  Silence loomed as she sipped her tea. Kristof leaned back in his chair and fought the urge to break the tension with questions. She needed time to acclimate to his presence, the fact that Olaf was still alive and now free. How much had Zoey shared?

  “Zoey said you had much to share with me,” Stacia said, cutting her gaze to him. “She said Olaf is alive.”

  Fear mingled with hope in her gaze. Kristof nodded. “He is. Thanks to Zoey and her friends, we were finally able to free him. My father is dead. The Sidorav syndicate is no more. Your brother helped with that. I wouldn’t have managed it without him.”

  Stacia took a big breath. Her shoulders raised as she swiped at the tears rolling down her face. “Gavriil. He’s well? Olaf is well?”

  “Gavriil is well. He’s tending to a few things but hopes to come to the States to see you. He sends his love,” Kristof said.

  Stacia smiled. “I want to see him. We have internet now thanks to Zoey.” Her gaze shifted to the woman beside her. “Can I—”

  “We’ll work something out,” Zoey said. “We have to be careful, but we’ll coordinate a video chat with your brother. He’s really smart with computers and has a really good network set up. But he’s coming here soon, to see you.”

  Happiness danced across her face and ended in a full smile that eased some of the worry in Kristof. “He was always so smart,” she replied. “And Olaf?”

  “He’s been through a lot,” Kristof said. He leaned forward. “Father kept him imprisoned since that night, but he’s free now. He will heal.”

  “I want to see him.”

  “How much of that night did you see?” Kristof asked gently.

  Stacia wrapped her arms around herself. “Too much, not nearly enough. I replay it again and again in my head. I should’ve called Gavriil. Or you. I was so stupid. We both were.”

  “It’s sometimes easier to blame ourselves for something that’s happened,” Addy said. “But we can’t change the past. All we can do is accept that it happened and work our way past it.”

  “You sound like that doctor that comes here sometimes,” Stacia said with a laugh. “She has told me that many times.”

  Kristof was glad that The Arsenal had doctors visiting Stacia and the other women. Were they medical or psychological? Knowing Addy’s crew, they were both. Admiration rose within him. Too many would’ve forgotten about the mental aspects of healing from trauma, but they hadn’t.

  “He’ll need time to heal and acclimate to freedom,” Kristof said. “There are a few things you should know, though.”

  Worry filled her gaze. “Tell me.”

  “He cannot speak.” He didn’t explain further. Had she seen Olaf’s tongue cut, or had it happened after she’d been taken away? Kristof wanted details from that night, but he doubted he’d ever get them.

  “I saw…” Her voice broke. “He did it after he…”

  Kristof clenched his fists. Addy squeezed his thigh. Grasping her hand, he forced a deep breath. Then another.

  “He made Olaf watch,” Stacia whispered. “Olaf fought them so hard trying to get to me. They hurt him because of me. I shouldn’t have been there.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Zoey said. She hugged Stacia close. The two women who’d been farther back stepped closer. Concern glinted in their gazes. “He blames himself for what happened to you. Neither of you are guilty of anything.”

  “It wasn’t his fault.” Stacia’s voice rose. “Kostya did that. Not Olaf.”

  “You didn’t hurt Olaf. Kostya did. He was an evil monster,” Addy said.

  “You knew him?” Stacia sniffled and swiped tears from her face.

  “Yes, but he didn’t hurt me as much as he did you, Olaf, and Kristof.”

  A growl rolled from Kristof as he cut his gaze to Addy. She did not just say that shit.

  “Oh boy,” Zoey muttered. “Thinking I should’ve brought my commando to deal with your badass. Rein it in.”

  “Why are you angry?” Stacia asked, her eyes wide. “You aren’t angry about what she said about your father, are you? Are you defending him?”

  “He’s not,” Addy assured. She reached over and took Stacia’s hand. “He’s protective of me, like he is you and Olaf. He gets upset when I make light of what Kostya did to me. I was in a camp he ran.”

  “The same one as Kristof?” Stacia’s wide gaze darted to Kristof. “This is her?”

  He nodded.

  “He told Olaf and me about you.” Stacia touched Addy’s face. “He wanted to go back but couldn’t.”

  “I know.” Addy smiled. “Kostya’s dead. He can’t hurt us anymore. You and Olaf can have the life you always wanted.”

  Kristof hoped it was that simple. He looked over at Zoey. Determination wafted across her fe
atures. With The Arsenal’s help, it might prove that simple after all.

  A shrill sound sounded from Zoey’s backpack. Kristof raised his eyebrows as the woman hoisted the pack onto the table and pulled out a laptop. She opened it, clicked a few buttons.

  And paled.

  “No. No. This is not happening. Not on my watch.” Zoey’s lips thinned.

  “What’s wrong?” Addy asked.

  “We need to get to the airport.” Zoey stood. “Now.”

  “Let us help,” one of the women behind Stacia said.

  “Thanks, next time. We have all we need at the airport.” Zoey shouldered the backpack and headed toward the car.

  Kristof approached Stacia when he stood. “I will see you soon. Olaf and I both will.”

  “And Gavriil,” she whispered.

  “And Gavriil.”

  Kristof separated from her and headed toward the vehicle. Addy was already in the driver’s seat. Whatever just happened had terrified Zoey—which wasn’t a good sign.

  Addy navigated the vehicle onto the far-left shoulder of the highway and passed the slow-moving tractor trailer. The overhead speakers buzzed as Zoey dialed The Arsenal.

  “You’re out of the meeting already? That was fast,” Cord said.

  “Gather everyone,” Zoey ordered. “Now. Code red.”

  Addy accelerated. Tension thickened the air when Zoey disconnected the call and began her frantic typing again. “Z, I’m going to need you to take a step back long enough to read me in.”

  “I will. I just need a minute or two. Get to the airport. Don’t drive like a granny doing it.”

  Addy glanced down at the odometer. Seventy-three in a fifty. She was less than fifteen minutes from the small airstrip and Zoey was focused on her laptop. Were they going wheels up when they arrived? Did she realize planes required some time to be ready for wheels up?

  She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and held it over the seat behind her. Warmth spread through her when Kristof’s fingertips grazed hers.

  “What do you need?”

  “Not sure. Z’s focused on her laptop and likely hasn’t considered that Levi will need time to get the plane ready to go. Call him, let him know we’re code red. Unknown destination.” She glanced in the rearview mirror. “Passcode is 041388.”

  Breath swooshed from her lungs when his gaze widened. “Addy.”

  “I didn’t know the exact date but figured that was pretty close.” She swallowed. “The first time we met.”

  “My mother died on the thirteenth. I met you on the fourteenth, in the evening,” Kristof said.

  Addy silently cursed. She’d chosen the screen code last week when the time to change the security code came up. Zoey and the brainiacs were sticklers about updating passwords regularly, especially since the Mason men tended to use Riley’s birthday. Or their mom’s. “I’ll change it.”

  “Don’t. It’s perfect.” He glanced down. “Who am I calling?”

  “Levi. Punch the six and hit call.”

  Zoey glanced up from her laptop. “Wait. What? Who is he calling?”

  “Levi. If you want us in the air immediately upon arrival, Levi needs time to prep the plane. There’s a process,” Addy said.

  Zoey paled further. “Oh. Okay. Thanks. I fucked that up.”

  “No, you didn’t. That’s why there’s always more than one of us. Team picks up the slack.” Addy reached over and took Zoey’s hand. “I know you’re freaked, but we’re about to get a call and I’d appreciate an advanced preview of whatever we’re chatting about.”

  “Spade. He’s in trouble,” Zoey whispered. “I should’ve ordered him to stand down and come back home when he reported in and said he was stateside again.”

  Spade. The name grated her insides. She alternated between admiring the crazy son of a bitch and wanting to put a bullet in his brain. He’d fled The Arsenal after the Cuba phase of the mission under the guise of going AWOL. Up until the debacle at the compound when they’d come face-to-face on the wrong side of each other’s weapons, she’d believed the asshole had betrayed them and gone to Mandrake.

  A part of her still didn’t trust the man. Everyone on Fallon’s team, especially Spade, had been proverbial ghosts. They kept to themselves and very little about their pasts was known.

  “Are you listening?” Zoey’s voice rose.

  “Spade’s in trouble.” The vehicle’s overhead speaker sounded. Addy clicked it on. “Everyone there?”

  “Yeah,” Jesse said. “Cord said it was a code red. Mary’s not seeing anything. What are we missing?”

  “Spade’s in trouble,” Zoey said. “We’re closer than anyone else. He needs an extraction.”

  “Where?” Mary asked.

  “A small town in Indiana. I’m sending coordinates now,” Zoey said. “Addy and Levi are good, but I’m not sure they can do this by themselves. Spade’s intel was spotty. I’m uploading to HERA now. See what y’all think.”

  Silence ticked by a few minutes.

  “First, it’s not just Addy and Levi. Lexi’s there too. She’s good at hand-to-hand and has worked on teams before,” Jesse said. “And Kristof could help.”

  “No,” Addy said. She didn’t want him hurt. “He’s not used to how we do things.”

  “I’m a fast learner,” he commented. “I’m in. However I can help.”

  “Raul’s team is nearby, helping with a Counterstrike operation,” Mary said. “If you’re en route within twenty, you’ll arrive in an hour. It’ll take them an extra thirty minutes.”

  “We’ll make that work,” Addy said. “We can plan once we’re in the air. We should have enough gear and weapons on board unless it’s an all-out war.”

  “It’s Mandrake we’re up against,” Zoey said. “I should’ve read you all in sooner.”

  “You’ve kept him safe this long,” Mary said. “Don’t doubt yourself now. Spade is a damned good operative. He can handle himself. The message was pretty clear. He’s asking for an immediate extraction because he’s about to be compromised. He hasn’t been yet.”

  “What the hell does that mean? About to be?” Gage asked.

  “It means he’s about to do something most of us would consider stupid,” Fallon said. “Did he say anything else? Upload anything?”

  “The only thing he added was an image of a playing card. The Queen of Spades. Not sure what the hell that means,” Zoey muttered. “Once we get him home, I’m having a heart-to-heart with your team, Graves.”

  “Afraid I’m a bit behind on this mission since I’ve been out the past couple weeks,” Fallon said. “I read the debriefs, though.”

  “We both did,” Rhea said. “Great job, by the way, Addy.”

  “Thanks.” Addy couldn’t help but smile. Her friend and Fallon were back. They’d taken some time away from The Arsenal so he could visit with his old friends.

  The four boys he’d met while in the foster care system had remained together and formed the rock band Graveyard Justice. Rhea had recently reunited the four men with Fallon. The Graveyard crew had shown up at The Arsenal for a makeshift reunion, but their tour schedule had forced them to leave earlier than anyone wanted.

  Thus the impromptu vacation for Rhea and Fallon after his surgery. They’d been hanging out with the band between their final gigs on the eastern seaboard the last few days.

  “What does the playing card mean, Fallon?” Jesse asked. “He wouldn’t have added it without a reason. Right?”

  “Spade’s succinct. It stands for someone, not sure who.” Fallon’s voice drifted off.

  “The female operative,” Addy said. “The one who helped us. Could it be her?”

  “That’s very likely,” Cord said. “But he wouldn’t have known about her.”

  “Actually, he does,” Zoey added. “I’ve been uploading the intel we gather to the access hub for him. He knows what we know.”

  Silence. Addy tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she turned into the airport.

&
nbsp; “Okay,” Mary said. “We should’ve likely been aware of that, but let’s assume he knew about the mystery woman. Let’s also assume that this is about her.”

  “It has to be,” Zoey said. “He’s been careful. He even cut himself up and shot himself when y’all let him go.”

  “I saw that,” Jesse said. “Not sure that was the smart play. It weakened him.”

  Wow. Okay, that was upper level deep cover shit that Addy admired. Some of the concern she had about Spade sloughed off.

  “But walking out unscathed when nearly everyone else was carried out in a body bag wouldn’t have been smart,” Fallon said. “My boy’s crazy, not stupid.”

  My boy. Addy admired Fallon for defending Spade even though he’d supposedly gone AWOL.

  “We’re at the airport,” Kristof said as Addy shut the vehicle off.

  She set the keys in the driver’s side visor where they’d been when she’d gotten the vehicle. Someone from Zoey’s network would pick the vehicle up, scrub it down for prints, refuel, and reposition it for use next time anyone needed it.

  “Jesse and I will run everything through HERA,” Mary said. “Call us once you’re in the air, Z.”

  “Okay.” Zoey shut her laptop when the call ended. She pocketed her phone and looked over at Addy, then back at Kristof. “I’m sorry I didn’t share everything about Spade, but he’s gotten a lot of intel for us. On Mandrake. He needs us to get him out.”

  “Then we will,” Kristof said. “Let’s go.”

  30

  Kristof sprawled belly-down on the hard, damp ground on the edge of a wooded area. The coordinates Spade provided had marked an abandoned house three hundred yards from his current position. He swept the entire area with the high-tech scope mounted to the sniper rifle he’d been provided.

  “I didn’t know you were a sniper,” Addy said.

  “It’s one of the skills I’ve picked up along the way,” he said. “It’s proved useful through the years. Targets are sometimes easier to take out from a distance.”

  “The Collective?”

  Kristof nodded. “This scope is very sophisticated.”

  “Bree designed it,” Levi said. “She and Vi redid it after Kamren field tested one of the other designs and had some suggestions.”