Jackson pulled up his walkie. “Lincoln Memorial clear. Send in the bomb squad. We have three live bombs.”
* * *
Elizabeth and Dalton walked over to where Jackson stood and handed him the bomb. “It’s been a blast,” Dalton said dryly. “But now we have to run.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” Elizabeth smiled.
Jackson cocked his head and really looked at her. “Ah, you run the bar in Quantico. I thought you looked familiar.”
“You’re as sharp as Abby said you were. But this will just be our little secret,” Elizabeth said with a wink.
“Thanks for your help,” Jackson told her as he saw the bomb team roaring toward them.
“Stop by the next time you’re in town for training. Drinks on the house,” Dalton called out as he laced his fingers with his wife’s. Jackson watched as they strolled happily away and shook his head. A night in Quantico with Abby, Dylan, Elizabeth, and Dalton sounded interesting.
Jackson supervised as the bombs were contained and the vicinity completely shut down. He had to attend a debriefing that night and then he would be free to go back home to Evie. Hopefully, someone had captured Jonathan. Then it would be over.
* * *
Evie smiled as she ate dinner with Jackson’s family. They had done a great job of keeping her distracted. But it was clear they were just as aware of the passing time as she was. It was five o’clock and there’d been no word from Jackson.
They’d caved at four and live-streamed the Washington, DC news on the laptop. They’d heard the reports of a heavy police presence and of two bombs going off. One bomb at the White House and one at the Capitol. The reporter said they had no information on injuries.
They’d turned off the computer and taken some deep breaths. Then Greer had asked if she wanted to throw the axe for a while. Needing to work off some anxiety, Evie had agreed, and they’d all traveled to the range and thrown.
Now it was dinnertime and they were doing everything possible to keep the mood upbeat. Evie felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and dropped her fork.
“My phone,” she said, jumping up and digging it out of her pocket.
“Hello?” Evie asked, not recognizing the number, but Jackson could be calling from any FBI phone.
“Hello, sister.” Evie’s breath caught at Jonathan’s voice. “Don’t give me away or your friends die.”
“How are things in Seattle? Do they miss me at work yet?” Evie said, giving a smile to the table full of people who would do anything they could to keep her safe. “Excuse me,” she whispered to them and walked into the living room. “What do you want?” she hissed at her brother.
“Let’s have a little fun.”
“It’s over, Jon. Your plot to bring down the government failed.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I can’t wreak some more havoc on the person responsible for ruining my plans.” Jonathan’s voice was cold as ice. It sounded the same as his father’s sounded those times just before he’d beaten Evie’s mother. “Question, sister.”
“What?” Evie asked as her body started to shake with fear.
“Would you give up your life to save your new friends in Keeneston? I’d say, fifty or more of them.”
“What have you done?” The shaking stopped and anger replaced her fear.
“I diverted a bomb from Washington and I planted it somewhere in Keeneston.”
“What do you want me to do?” Evie asked. There was no question what her answer would be. She’d do anything to protect this town.
“I am giving you one hour to finish your meal and then fake a headache and go to bed. You will sneak out of the house you’re in and get into the car that will be waiting for you three houses down. If I see anyone come or go from that house, I’ll kill everyone in it and detonate the bomb. Don’t think you can tell anyone what’s going on either. I have people hidden around town. If anything is out of the ordinary, I blow the town. Understand?”
“It was lovely talking to you again,” Evie said as she turned back to the kitchen. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Very soon, sister.”
Evie hung up and went back to the table to finish dinner. It seemed to take forever but soon she was free. “Greer, I was hoping you might let me borrow some clothes.”
Evie stared at her and Greer nodded. “Sure. Let’s head upstairs.”
They talked about the wedding and what to wear as they walked up to her room. The second Greer closed her door, Evie opened her mouth, but Greer shook her head. “If we’re trying on clothes, we have to have music!”
Greer started the music on her phone as Evie reached to pull off her shirt, giving her a reason to close the blinds.
“What happened?” Greer whispered.
“It was Jonathan,” Evie said as she told her what he’d said. “Your brother told me you are as good an agent as he is. I can’t get your parents involved. I can’t get the town involved. But I need your help. One way or the other, I am meeting my brother. You can’t stop me.”
“I’m going to stop you. I’m going to bug you.”
Greer went to her closet and pulled out a large metal case. She set it on the bed and opened it up. “He’ll search you. I don’t think I can hide any weapons on you, but I can put these on you.”
“They’re little dots,” Evie said, looking at a sheet of paper covered in dots.
“Trackers. I’m going to put them everywhere.” And she did. Greer put them on Evie’s scalp under her hair, on each article of clothing, and even had Evie put one under her breast and in her panties in case he made her strip. “I’ll be right behind you the whole time.”
“You can’t get me out until you find the bomb. You have to protect the town first,” Evie said, taking a deep breath and putting her clothes back on. “I have to go. Thank you, Greer. And if I don’t make it, will you tell Jackson that I love him. He’s the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“I will, but I won’t let you die. If I do, Jackson will kill me,” Greer tried to joke, but her friend only nodded. “Remember, Evie. You have this whole town behind you. Be strong.”
With that, Evie walked down the stairs and out the back door. She kept to the shadows until she reached the street and the car. She didn’t pause as she opened the door and got inside. “Hello, Jon.”
* * *
Jackson and his team sat through the debriefing, answered their questions, and learned that the other HRT teams working with the FBI had secured the Washington Monument, National Mall, the Capitol, and the Supreme Court. Secret Service had protected the White House. Delta Force had protected the Pentagon with active duty personnel, and DEVGRU had worked with a mix of military personnel and law enforcement to protect the Navy Yard.
There had been two detonations. One resulted in only the bomber being killed. The other injured five agents, but nothing life-threatening. Pictures of all the captured bombers were flashing on the screen behind them as the director of the FBI talked.
“I don’t see Jonathan,” Talon whispered.
“That was exactly what I was thinking,” Jackson said with a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“We’re still actively looking for several identified suspects,” his commander said as a picture of three men and a woman came on the screen. The first one was Jonathan Ellis.
Jackson had to warn Evie. He pulled his phone out and turned it on. One text came through from his sister that changed everything.
Jonathan has Evie.
33
They were in a small house in the country. It had taken thirty minutes to get there and Jonathan hadn’t covered her eyes so she knew he planned to kill her at some point. They’d driven out of Keeneston, away from Lexington, passed at least a dozen horse farms, and driven until there was nothing but farmland and the sound of an interstate somewhere nearby. The house had an open floor plan with a small kitchen in one corner and a living room taking up the rest of the space. There was one bathroom
and one bedroom off the living room.
“Take everything,” Jonathan ordered as he shoved Evie inside and into the hands of the young woman Evie recognized from the meeting. “And make it hurt while you do.”
“You ruined everything,” the woman growled as Evie was stripped bare. Her hair was yanked. Her clothes ripped. Nails dug into her skin and drew blood as the woman stripped her. Evie was given a long black cotton robe to wear before being tied barefoot to a chair.
Evie sat there all night as the woman tried to soothe Jon with kisses and other pleasures that left Evie turning her head away from the scene in disgust. Instead of watching Jon, Evie looked out the window or at the microwave clock as the night dragged on. Jackson would know she was missing by now. She trusted Greer to set everything in motion. All she needed to do now was wait.
The woman finally fell asleep. Evie kept her eyes on the window. In the reflection, she saw Jon texting. He grew agitated as he paced and talked to himself. Around one in the morning, the door opened and another man entered.
“It’s all quiet,” he reported.
“Did the boyfriend come back?” Jon asked and Evie couldn’t help but look.
“No sign of him or his friends. Everyone met at the church for the rehearsal and then went home an hour later.”
Evie’s heart sank a little. Did Greer not get the message to Jackson? Well, if not, she needed to figure this out herself. She wasn’t going to let Jonathan hurt anyone anymore. She’d stopped him once and she’d do it again.
“Why are you still here?” Evie asked. “Shouldn’t you be escaping to a country without extradition?”
“They’ll have my passport tagged, thanks to you.”
“Then what exactly is your plan here? Because it looks to me that you have no idea what to do next and are shit out of luck.”
Jonathan slowly walked over to her and without saying a word, slapped her hard across the face. Evie’s eyes watered reflexively. “You know nothing. I’m waiting for my soldiers to arrive from Washington. They’re arriving any moment now. We’re going to regroup. Did you think I only had one plan?”
“You mean the ones who failed to set off the bombs?”
“There were more than just bombers there. There were spotters. See how much you know. You always thought you’re so much smarter than me, but you’re not.”
Jon turned and went back into the living room where he and the other man talked all night. Evie struggled to hear what they were saying as she prayed she’d think of a way to save her town.
Jackson watched as the church filled up. He and his entire team were in Keeneston with express orders to rescue Evie Scott with any force he deemed necessary. Abby and Dylan had called during his flight back to Lexington.
“There are four left in Keeneston. The three men and the woman,” Abby told him.
“Is the intel good?” Jackson had asked.
“I got it myself. It’s solid.” Abby said.
“Hey, I helped, too,” Jackson had heard Dylan call out.
“Where are you?” Jackson had asked.
“Heading your way. We’ll meet up with you soon.”
And they had. They were the last people to walk into the church. Father Ben had called the confused congregation to order. Aniyah sat in the front row with a party veil in one hand and more than a bit of a buzz on, having been interrupted in mid-bachelorette party.
“Evie has been kidnapped and there’s a bomb in Keeneston,” Jackson said, cutting to the chase. The church filled with his friends and family quieted immediately as he told them what happened in DC and then what Abby had told him. Then he relinquished the floor to his sister who told them about the phone call and how Evie had come to her to help.
Greer held up a computer and saw the flashing dots centered at a house. “All the trackers but four were destroyed. The four hidden on her body are working.”
Everyone nodded. The house was in a remote area. It wasn’t technically in Keeneston anymore, but still within five miles of the county line.
Jackson took over. “You all know Lucas and Talon, but this is the rest of my team: Worski, Garcia, Drummel, and Ronson.” The men nodded as their names were called. “If there are people watching Keeneston, we need to think of a way to sweep the town for the bomb without them knowing. The fastest way is by using the dogs, but that might seem out of the ordinary.”
“What if we have a 5K run in the morning around downtown?” Jace suggested. “It’s not dogs, but wouldn’t that help you look?”
“Sure it can have dogs,” Colton said from among the middle of his firefighters. “Haven’t you seen the races where people run with dogs for some animal charity?”
Jackson finally smiled. His team had thought he was crazy involving everyone, but now he looked at his team and saw them nodding their approval. “Can someone make a sign and maybe a couple of posters to post discreetly in case they go looking for what we’re doing?”
“On it,” Cassidy and Ariana called out.
“I’ll make some and put a sign up inside the café,” Poppy said as they quickly got together to discuss it.
“Bridget, can you—” Jackson started to say, but Bridget was already on her phone. “I’m on it. I’ll have bomb sniffing dogs of every size and shape ready to go at eight in the morning.”
“I’ll run with Nemi,” Ahmed said proudly of his Vizsla. “She’s the best there is.”
“I thought Robyn was the best,” Sydney teased. Robyn was Nemi’s mom and had helped find Reagan and Carter when they were running for their lives through the woods in Tennessee.
“She’s excellent and I’ll run with her,” Bridget told her. “My other dogs are trained for command and aren’t picky about who is handling them.”
“Ryan will be in charge here in Keeneston,” Jackson told the group. “My team will be at the house. Once the bomb is found and the people watching downtown are captured, we’ll storm the house.”
“We’ll be floating. If you need us, call us,” Dylan said to the group as he and Abby stood and headed up front.
“We’ll get her back,” Cole said to Jackson before he went to join his brothers, who were now talking to Jackson’s team. Jackson watched as Walker, Ben, Aiden, Nash, and Ahmed joined them.
“The Ahmed?” Worski asked in disbelief.
“No way,” Garcia gasped.
“We learned all about your work but never thought we’d meet you,” Drummel said as Ronson just stared open-mouthed. No matter how long Ahmed had been retired, he was still a military legend.
“Jackson,” Dylan said, drawing his attention away, “we’re going to be by your side the entire time. Let Walker, Aiden, and the uncles cover Keeneston. The three of us will go in to get Evie. Your men can provide backup, but I was thinking instead of storming in, to sneak in and take them out before they realize it.”
Jackson nodded his agreement. “Except Jonathan. I want him to know it.”
“We’ve got your back,” Abby said, pushing her shoulder against his as if they were fifteen again.
“Let’s go.”
The sun was breaking over the horizon and Evie was still tied to the chair. Six more men arrived during the night. They sat in the living room, studying a computer screen. Evie couldn’t see the screen, but she could hear them. They were planning to leave for New York City soon.
The man who had come earlier in the evening, before the Washington group arrived, had left an hour ago. Now Evie watched as the woman cooked breakfast for Jonathan and his men. She slithered over to Jonathan, handed him the plate, and stuck her tongue down his throat.
“Yuck. Just kill me already so I don’t have to watch this pathetic kid stuff any longer.”
Jonathan smiled and smacked the girl’s ass as she glared at Evie.
“Why haven’t you killed me, Jon? You told me I would die to save the town. So, remove the bomb and kill me already,” Evie challenged. It had hit her around five in the morning while the group was planning where t
o place the three bombs they had left, that there was no obvious reason for her to still be alive. Something was up and she was determined to find out what it was. She’d learned something from dinner at Marcy’s. She’d learned it from Miles, Layne, and Walker. “Kill me. Hurry up already. I’m tired and I can’t feel my feet. And even though I’m starving, her cooking smells like crap.”
“Don’t worry. Your time is coming,” Jon sneered.
“Right. Are you really going to make me sit here all day? Just do it already,” Evie snapped.
“Someone’s in a mood,” Jonathan said cheerfully.
“And why is that?” Evie challenged. “You know perfectly well my biggest pet peeve is to tell me exactly what the surprise is, or what the plans for the day are, and then make me wait. You do it all the time. Evie,” she said in a lower voice meant to imitate her stepbrother, “we’re going to the park today, but not until four.”
“And then I made you wait until seven and you only had an hour to read by the water before it got dark,” Jonathan said, remembering the treat he’d taunted her with only to turn it into a nightmare day of waiting.
“You know I hate knowing what’s coming, but then waiting. So, just kill me already,” Evie argued with him.
Jonathan shook his head. “Just for that, I’m going to tell you that you are going to die, but not until five after six tonight.”
“What, you’re going to force me to eat this dumb bitch’s dinner and then kill me if the food doesn’t?”
The girl screamed and charged, but Jonathan stopped her. “No, no, no. This will hurt her even more.”
“Something more than her cooking? Doubtful.” Evie rolled her eyes.
“No, I’m going to blow up everyone you love at five after six tonight.”
“You put a bomb at the café,” Evie accused.
“While the café is full with people eating, most of your friends will be somewhere else. With two bombs, I can take out almost the entire population of Keeneston.”
Forever Freed Page 24
