by Jack Mars
He almost laughed aloud. “I’m supposed to be the one that asks you that.” He released them finally and looked them both over.
“We’re okay,” Maya told him, but there was a look in her eye, something grave and sobering and beyond her years that hadn’t been there before. Or if it had, he hadn’t noticed it.
He had already been informed about what happened to Alan. They had medevacked him to a hospital in Lincoln. He had been shot four times while defending Maya and Sara against the assailing mercenaries.
Zero rose to his feet as the burly, bearded man hobbled down the gate, leaning heavily on a cane. “Sorry,” he grunted, “I’m a little slower than usual these days.”
Zero smiled broadly and hugged Alan tightly, eliciting a small groan of pain from his friend. “Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” The doctors had done everything they could for him, which ultimately meant removing a portion of his stomach and putting two screws in his hip. The fact that he was already mobile, however limited he might be, was nothing short of a miracle.
“You shouldn’t have traveled,” Zero said sternly. “Not with those injuries.”
Alan shrugged. “No way was I going to let these two out of my sight.”
“Thank you.” Zero rubbed his eyes and blinked away the threat of tears. “Come on. All of you. Let’s go home.”
As the four of them headed slowly down the concourse and toward the airport’s exit, Zero could not help but realize that it was no small relief that Alan had survived and was back in his life. He had lost so much. They all had lost so much. Now they had lost Watson too. Over the last month or so, Maya and Sara had built more than just a rapport with Agent Watson; he had sometimes driven them to school, and even occasionally checked in just to make sure they were doing well.
What Zero knew now would no doubt crush them.
What if they never knew? He was a little ashamed of himself for even thinking it, but as soon as the thought occurred it refused to leave again. Everyone else who knew is now dead or gone. It’s only me. Would it be so bad if he took the secret to his grave? Wouldn’t it be better for his daughters if they only ever believed what they had already been told, and avoided the heartache and misery of the truth?
“Dad,” Sara said suddenly. “Are you listening?”
“Yeah.” He shook himself from his thoughts as they headed out into the afternoon sunlight. “Sorry, honey. What were you saying?”
“I said, we slept in a jail cell.”
“You what?” Zero balked. He knew that they had been under the protection of Nebraska state troopers for the last three days, but had no idea they’d been put behind bars.
“It was my idea,” Maya told him. “Just in case any more of those Division guys came looking for us.”
Sara shrugged. “It wasn’t all that bad.”
“Kind of cozy,” Maya added, “as long as you knew you weren’t stuck there forever.”
“Whoa now. No daughters of mine are getting used to the inside of a jail cell.”
Alan chuckled as they reached the car. Zero helped him into the front seat while the girls got in the back. He reached for the ignition, but then paused.
“Dad? What’s wrong?” Maya asked.
“I, uh…” Zero sighed. He already knew, before leaving the airport, that their house on Spruce Street would not be a welcome sight. “I don’t want to go home.”
Too many people had died in that house. His daughters had been kidnapped from that house. Despite every security measure, intruders had made them feel unsafe in that house.
“Me neither,” Sara admitted quietly.
“You’re all welcome at my place,” Alan offered. “Though it’s not much. And it smells a little like motor oil.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Zero said. “Let’s go to The Plaza.”
“The hotel?” Sara asked.
Maya frowned behind him. “Can we afford it?”
“Don’t worry about that. Let’s stay there tonight. Maybe tomorrow night too. At least until we can figure out what we’re going to do next.”
“Yeah,” Maya agreed. “Okay.”
“Will you come, Alan?” Sara asked.
Zero blinked in surprise. “They’re calling you Alan?”
He shrugged. “I might have told them my real name when I thought I was going to die.”
“I see. In that case…” Zero started the car and backed out of the parking spot. “Girls, this is Alan Reidigger. He used to be an agent too, and he was—is—my best friend. He’s saved my life more times than I could ever repay.”
“You can say that again.” Reidigger smirked.
“I knew you weren’t just a mechanic,” Maya said.
“Can you tell us about it?” Sara perked up. “When you worked together?”
“I… probably shouldn’t,” Zero admitted. Despite what the girls knew about him and his work in the CIA, he hadn’t really discussed it openly with them.
“Well, if you won’t, I will.” Alan twisted halfway around in his seat to face them. “So this one time, me and your dad were in Paris, tracking an arms smuggler who was trying to sell a warhead to the North Koreans. Maya, I think you were around eleven… no, you were just turning twelve, actually.”
Maya scoffed loudly. “Is that why you missed my birthday, Dad?”
Zero bit his lip to keep from grinning as Alan told his daughters about pursuing terrorists through Europe. It was almost surreal. He had lost so much—but he had gained a lot too. He had his memory back. He had Alan back. His daughters were safe.
He wasn’t sure what the future would hold, or where they would even end up tomorrow. But for now, that was okay. Everything in that car with him, he realized, was everything he needed.
NOW AVAILABLE!
RECALL ZERO
(An Agent Zero Spy Thriller—Book #6)
“You will not sleep until you are finished with AGENT ZERO. A superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. The description of the action scenes transport us into a reality that is almost like sitting in a movie theater with surround sound and 3D (it would make an incredible Hollywood movie). I can hardly wait for the sequel.”
--Roberto Mattos, Books and Movie Reviews
In RECALL ZERO (Book #6), the President’s translator is the only one privy to a secret conversation that can change the world. She is targeted for assassination and hunted down, and Agent Zero, called back into the line of duty, may just be the only one who can save her.
Agent Zero, trying to get his life back in order and to win back the trust of his girls, vows not to return to service. But when he is needed to save the life of this defenseless translator, he can’t say no. Yet the translator, he realizes, is as intriguing as the secrets she keeps, and Zero, on the run with her, just might be falling for her.
What secret is she keeping? Why are the most powerful organizations in the world trying to kill her for it? And will Zero be able to save her in time?
RECALL ZERO (Book #6) is an un-putdownable espionage thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night. Book #7 in the AGENT ZERO series will be available soon.
“Thriller writing at its best.”
--Midwest Book Review (re Any Means Necessary)
“One of the best thrillers I have read this year.”
--Books and Movie Reviews (re Any Means Necessary)
Also available is Jack Mars’ #1 bestselling LUKE STONE THRILLER series (7 books), which begins with Any Means Necessary (Book #1), a free download with over 800 five star reviews!
RECALL ZERO
(An Agent Zero Spy Thriller—Book #6)
Jack Mars
Jack Mars is the USA Today bestselling author of the LUKE STONE thriller series, which includes seven books. He is also the author of the new FORGING OF LUKE STONE prequel series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the AGENT ZERO spy thriller series, comprising six books (and counting).
A
NY MEANS NECESSARY (book #1), which has over 800 five star reviews, is available as a free download on Kobo!
Jack loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.Jackmarsauthor.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!
BOOKS BY JACK MARS
LUKE STONE THRILLER SERIES
ANY MEANS NECESSARY (Book #1)
OATH OF OFFICE (Book #2)
SITUATION ROOM (Book #3)
OPPOSE ANY FOE (Book #4)
PRESIDENT ELECT (Book #5)
OUR SACRED HONOR (Book #6)
HOUSE DIVIDED (Book #7)
FORGING OF LUKE STONE PREQUEL SERIES
PRIMARY TARGET (Book #1)
PRIMARY COMMAND (Book #2)
PRIMARY THREAT (Book #3)
AN AGENT ZERO SPY THRILLER SERIES
AGENT ZERO (Book #1)
TARGET ZERO (Book #2)
HUNTING ZERO (Book #3)
TRAPPING ZERO (Book #4)
FILE ZERO (Book #5)
RECALL ZERO (Book #6)
