Colby Core (15 page)

Her bag was God knew where.

She had to do every step of this right.

No matter the cost to her.

She had to save her daughter…and Riley.

 

S
TARK ROLLED THROUGH THE
lab facility's security gate. “Any particular direction?”

“Head southeast toward Mandeville,” Tessa suggested.

Riley nodded. “That'll put us in the right direction.”

Tessa gazed out the window, not really seeing, just staring mindlessly. Sophie would be wondering where she was. She hated when Tessa was separated from her for any length of time.

“You okay?”

She shifted her attention to Riley and nodded. Talking wasn't something she felt prepared to do just now. What she wanted to do was cry. Like she did in the beginning when she'd first come to belong to the Master. She had cried so hard. At one point she'd thought the tears would never go away.

Finally, the endless river had dried up and she had accepted her fate.

Fate had not been kind to her.

Her gaze settled on Riley. Until now.

Courage solidified inside her. She was no kid any
more. The opportunity had arrived and she had to make it work.

No more feeling sorry for herself.

“This is good,” Riley said to Stark. He glanced back at Tessa. “Brace yourself.”

Stark hit the brakes, sending the SUV into a sideways skid. As soon as the vehicle squealed to a stop, Riley grabbed Stark by the jacket.

“This is going to hurt me more than it does you.” Then he slammed his fist into the other man's jaw.

Suddenly the driver's-side door opened and Riley pushed Stark out as he scrambled into the driver's seat.

Riley jabbed the accelerator and spun away, tires squealing.

Tessa turned back to check on Stark. He got up, dusted off his clothes and immediately pulled out his cell phone.

“Are you sure he'll be okay?”

“Ross isn't far behind us. He'll stay out of sight until enough time has passed for him to have gotten a call and arrived on the scene, but he's close enough to keep an eye on Stark.”

Tessa climbed over the console to settle in the front passenger seat. Fontainebleau State Park was half an hour from New Orleans proper. Somewhere along the route they would pick a motel and wait.

“You're sure about this location?” Riley asked, no matter that his colleagues had asked fifty times already.

“I'm as sure as I can be,” she offered, a tiny voice screaming at her that this was wrong. So wrong. She trusted Riley completely, but she alone could do what had to be done.

It was the only way to ensure her daughter's survival. And Riley's survival. “The old sugar mill in the park,” she explained. “He took me there once. I was fascinated by the history.” It was the only thing that had felt real to her at the time. The Master had mistaken her fascination for acceptance and affection.

Playing along had been her saving grace.

For five years and eight months hatred had festered inside her.

As soon as she knew that Sophie was safe and Riley was free of danger, Tessa had a single goal.

To kill the bastard.

6:45 p.m.—15 hours, 15 minutes remaining

R
ILEY CHECKED THE WEAPONS.
He'd wanted Tessa to agree to wear a vest, but she had refused. The Master would notice. They'd stopped at a discount store and picked up a change of clothes and toiletries. Ross had provided a first-aid kit for redressing her wounds.

He glanced at the bathroom door. She was still in the shower.

This motel was a step up from the last one, but that wasn't saying a lot. Stark had checked in with Riley, as had Ross. Four agents and Stark had entered
the park from different positions and taken up posts within a visual range of the sugar mill.

Riley had his doubts as to whether the man would show. He seemed damned high up the food chain to take a risk this dicey.

To that end, a secondary perimeter had been established in the event he only came close enough to watch. Any vehicle that came anywhere near Fontainebleau Park wouldn't be leaving without a search they wouldn't even know about. The vehicles would be scanned via a new, cutting-edge X-ray technology.

The Bureau had pulled out their best.

Whether it would be enough or not, Riley wasn't prepared to wager.

His top priority was to keep Tessa safe and to get the child back.

The feds would have to worry about this so-called Master. They had succeeded in dismantling his network to some degree already. The feds had a lot more information than before. It was a major step in the right direction.

The bathroom door opened. “It's all yours,” Tessa announced, emerging amid a cloud of steam.

Riley grabbed his new clothes. “Thanks.”

He worked hard at not staring at her body wrapped in nothing but a towel.

“I wanted to talk to you before this gets too crazy,” she said.

He gestured to the chairs at the table near the window. “You want to sit?”

She shook her head. “This will only take a moment.”

“Okay.” He hoped she wasn't about to reveal something to him that he couldn't fix at this stage in the operation.

She reached up, touched the steel band around his neck. “I'm sorry about this.”

“It's not your fault.” He hated that she carried that burden. She was a victim just like the others.

“Maybe not, but I'm sorry all the same.” She finger-combed her damp hair. “I regret that my daughter is in danger…that I didn't do something soon enough.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I wish I had been stronger, smarter.”

That was enough. He took her by the shoulders, careful of the wound on the right one, and gave her a little shake. “You didn't do this.
He
did. No matter what happens, you have to remember that.”

She nodded. “Can you do one thing for me?”

“You want me to redress your wounds?”

“Not now. After you shower.”

“All right.” He knew a lot of things he would like to do but they were all out of line. “Name it. What can I do for you?”

“I need you to kiss me.” She searched his eyes. “A real kiss. I need to feel something real.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but she tiptoed and pressed her lips to his.

 

T
ESSA MELTED INTO THE KISS.
His lips felt firm and warm. She smoothed her palms over his chest, clasped his strong arms. She wanted to explore all of him. His arms went around her and pulled her closer, pressing her body against his. The shock of sensations that went through her made her moan. She wanted more…so much more.

But the kiss would have to be enough.

He drew back, pressed his forehead to hers. “I think we should leave it right there…for now.”

A smile tugged at her tingling lips. “Okay.”

He kissed her forehead and headed for the shower. He paused at the bathroom door and winked at her. “We'll continue this later. For sure.”

She nodded. “For sure.”

When he'd closed the door, she quickly yanked on her clothes. Her shoulder stung when she pulled the sweater over her head, but she had no time to worry about that. As soon as her boots were on, she dragged on her coat and tucked the smaller of the two handguns into her coat pocket, then quietly slipped out the door.

Using her cell, she entered the number she knew by heart. He answered on the first ring.

“It's a setup. Come and get me.”

Tessa unlocked the SUV and climbed into the driver's seat. She entered the address into the GPS, placed the keys on the console and hopped out.

Then she ran. As fast as she could in the direction of the convenience store two blocks away.

She would be picked up there.

Please let them be there already.
She'd warned Brooks that she had at best six or seven minutes.

Her chest felt ready to explode by the time she hit the parking lot.

The SUV started rolling toward her at the same instant she recognized it.

Instinctively she went to the rear passenger door. Once she'd climbed in she came face-to-face with Howard and Brooks. Both glared at her from the front seat.

“Hurry,” she urged Brooks, who looked exactly as if he was not happy to see her. Not happy at all. She imagined they had both thought they were rid of her for good.

The two men exchanged a look and Brooks did as she ordered.

Tessa closed her eyes and prayed they would take her to the location she'd expected. The one she hadn't told Riley or the others about.

This was the only way. There was absolutely no possibility that the Master would have come with feds spread out all over the place. He had too many contacts for her to take the risk that he wouldn't hear about what was going down.

She strained to see through the dark tint. So far they appeared to be going in the expected direction.

To the hiding place. To her knowledge, no one knew about the place except Brooks, Howard and her.

It was a secondary safe house of sorts. She had kept that place from Riley and from the others…she couldn't risk Sophie's safety…not for anything. The Master was too smart. He would have known they were coming. This was the only way.

The Master would lie low there until he felt it was safe to move. Then he would set up business someplace else. He was like a ghost. No one knew him, much less where he'd come from. How could any law enforcement agency, no matter how elite, find a ghost?

So Tessa had decided to go to him…as if nothing had changed. It was the only way.

The handgun felt heavy in her pocket.

He would never imagine that she would attempt to kill him. She'd played her part too well for too long.

But that was over.

Tessa was finished waiting for fate to do right by her. Tonight she was going to make her own destiny.

7:20 p.m.—14 hours, 40 minutes remaining

R
ILEY TUGGED ON HIS JEANS,
then scrubbed his damp hair with the towel once more. He touched his lips, thought of that kiss. The idea that Tessa had been a victim for so long and was clinging to the first safety she'd felt in all those years had prompted him to temper the kiss. He wouldn't take advantage of her desperation.

Later, if she still wanted to pursue a relationship, he was definitely game.

But not until she had her life back. Not until she'd figured things out.

He dragged on his sweater and threaded his fingers through his hair. When he reached for the door, he hesitated. He hoped she wasn't regretting that kiss already. Feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable in any way was the last thing he wanted for her.

She'd suffered enough already.

“We could order—”

Riley stalled. He surveyed the entire room before
he allowed his brain to make the only feasible assessment.

The room was empty.

Fear bolted through him. He sprinted to the table. The keys were gone.

“Damn it!” He jerked the door open and stepped outside.

To his surprise the SUV sat right in front of the door.

If she hadn't driven away…

She'd given her location, and they'd picked her up.

She'd taken the keys to keep him from following.

He grabbed his cell phone and entered Stark's number. Where the hell were his socks? Screw the socks. He grabbed his boots and tugged them on.

“Stark.”

“She's gone.”

“Where?”

“She must have given her location and they came for her while I was in the shower.” He was a fool. A damned fool. He shouldn't have allowed her out of his sight.

“I'll meet you at—”

“Can't. She took the SUV keys.”

“Hold on.”

Riley pulled on this jacket while Stark spoke to someone else. Riley stormed out of the room and surveyed the darkness.

“Damn it,” he muttered again.

“Porter,” Stark said, “check the wheel wells. Ross says they usually keep a spare key hidden on official vehicles.”

“Give me a minute.” Riley checked the front wheel well closest to the driver's-side door. Nothing. He moved to the rear. Bingo. “Got it.”

“Do you have any idea where they would take her?”

Riley climbed into the seat. “Not a—” The keys lay on the console. She hadn't taken them. But why were they in the vehicle. “Hold up,” he muttered to Stark. He looked around the interior. Nothing out of place. No note. Nothing. “She left the keys in the vehicle.” He started the engine. Didn't make sense.

Stark provided a rendezvous location halfway between his position and Riley's. “On my way,” Riley assured him.

He backed up and pulled out of the lot.

It wasn't that he didn't understand her motivation. Her daughter's life was at risk. She knew better than anyone how the bastard thought. Didn't take a genius to figure out she worried that he would recognize the setup and fail to show.

She'd done what she thought was necessary to save her child. Riley just wished she had included him.

“Turn left in two blocks.”

The voice startled him. He stared at the GPS built into the dash. The map on the screen indicated that he should turn left.

Still confused, he missed the turn.

“Recalculating,” the GPS voice announced.

He stopped in the middle of the street and pressed a couple of buttons. The final destination appeared on the screen.

A broad smile spread over Riley's lips.

“Brilliant, Tessa.”

He hit the call button and got Stark back on the line. “I know where she's going.”

All they had to do was get there…fast.

8:00 p.m.—14 hours remaining

T
ESSA BENT DOWN AND PLACED
a soft kiss on her baby's silky blond head. The urge to gather her into her arms was overwhelming. But she didn't want to wake her. The events that would occur next were not fit for a child to see.

Tessa turned to exit the bedroom, and the Master waited for her in the doorway. “Thank you for keeping her safe.”

He stepped aside, allowing her out of the room. She closed the door behind her.

“She's our child. Of course I would protect her, just as I'll protect you.”

She looked into his eyes, forced all the gratitude she could muster into hers. “You're my savior. I'd be lost without you.”

He'd called himself that five years and eight months ago. The word tasted bitter on her tongue.

“Come.” He took her arm and wrapped it around his. “We'll decide where to start our new family.” He patted her arm. “The entire world is open to us.”

He had ordered Brooks and Howard outside while he and Tessa spoke privately. The two were his only trusted followers. One or the other would be standing guard around the clock.

Not that anyone was likely to stumble upon this rustic cabin. It was so deep in the swamp. Reachable only by boat. She hated this place.

But Tessa was no fool. She'd gotten a head start but she still provided a backup opportunity.

Riley wouldn't fail her.

“Have you eaten, Tessa?”

Food was the dead last thing on her mind. “I can't remember. Actually I'm very hungry. I hadn't even thought about it until now.” She wasn't but since Brooks had taken her coat, she needed to get her hands on a weapon. The kitchen was the most likely place.

He escorted her to the kitchen, his hand firmly on her arm. She shuddered inside, wanted to scream just being near him. A little bit longer, she reminded herself. She had to stay calm.

“I prepared a lovely salad,” he said as he removed the items from the fridge. “This time of year it's so difficult to find fresh greens.”

She made an agreeable sound. When he picked up a broad-bladed knife and sliced a serving of bread,
her attention locked on the knife. He placed it on the counter next to the sink behind him.

Moving around the table to stand beside him, she said, “That looks wonderful.”

He lifted a forkful of salad to her lips. She forced her mouth open and accepted the generous bite.

“Quite wonderful, isn't it?”

She chewed and made another of those agreeable sounds. Almost choking, she managed to get the lump down.

He leaned against the sink counter and studied her as she forced herself to take another bite.

“I've given you everything, Tessa.”

She nodded. Swallowed. The tension inside her rushed to the next level. The evil in his eyes told her that he was not fooled by her at all.

“I took you from a hideous life and offered you the world. Gave you Sophie.” He shook his head. “And still you deceived me. Did you really believe that an old dilapidated truck would be your salvation?”

He had found the key! He'd known… This entire chain of events had been a test. The end of his time here. Now he was tying up loose ends.

“Phipps told me how that man—Smith—looked at you.” The Master shook his head. “Before he died he swore that you looked at Smith in a similar manner. You know very well that I will not tolerate deception of any sort.”

Tessa didn't bother to argue. Nothing she said or did would change the decision he had made.

He removed a small packet from the pocket of his trousers. “I don't want this to be messy or distasteful. I want to leave you as beautiful as you are this minute.” He extended the packet to her. “This will end your life quietly. You may spend your final moments with Sophie, watching her sleep.”

The clear plastic packet contained a dose of lethal poison. She'd seen him hand it out to his soldiers. She also knew exactly what it did and how fast it worked.

“It's a slow dissolving capsule,” he assured her. “You'll have a few moments.”

Tessa restrained the fear. “I'll need water.”

“Of course.” He turned to the sink.

Tessa dropped the packet, reached around him and grabbed the knife.

He dropped the glass. Whipped toward her. Grabbed her by the throat.

She plunged the knife into his stomach.

Shock claimed his expression. His fingers loosened.

She stumbled back. Bumped into the table.

He lunged toward her again. Her fingers locked around the knife and she twisted the handle, shoved it upward.

A sound gurgled from his throat. He collapsed against her.

She pushed him off.

Her gun. She needed the gun.

Take a breath. Check the room first.
She peeked
around the corner of the door leading from the kitchen to the living room.

Empty.

She grabbed her coat from the chair and fished out the gun.

Where was her cell phone?

Other pocket.

She fumbled for the phone. Tucked it into her jeans pocket.

Sophie.

She rushed to the first of the two bedrooms. Wrapped her sleeping child in the wool blanket atop her and took a breath.

Where were Howard and Brooks?

Not far away, she could count on that.

Tessa eased into the living room, the weapon in one hand, Sophie in the other arm. Moving soundlessly, she leaned against the front door and listened.

The two were chatting on the porch.

Howard said something about having to do some business. Man-talk for tramping through the woods to urinate on a tree.

Brooks told him to hurry up and get back.

The door knob twisted.

Tessa stepped back.

The door opened and Brooks started.

“Give me your weapon and you'll live through this,” she warned.

Fury whipped across his face. “What have you done?”

“Do it now!” Tessa warned, not wanting to raise her voice.

Brooks reached for the gun in his waistband.

Tessa fired, hitting him center chest.

His gun discharged into the floor.

Sophie jerked in Tessa's arms as the man crumpled, following the path of the bullet.

Fear pounded in Tessa's ears. She patted Sophie's back. Had to think.

No way did Howard not hear that.

She ran out the door.

Where was the SUV?

Wait. She had no keys.

Probably in Brooks's pocket. Did she take the time to dig for them…or run?

Run!

Tessa dashed down the steps and toward the crooked dirt road that had brought them here.

“What the hell?”

Howard.

She plunged into the darkness of the woods, praying she remembered her way well enough not to end up in the swamp.

The sound of Howard's gun discharging shattered the silence. Bullets hit trees all too close.

Tessa kept running.

Her boots crunched in the snow. This deep in the woods it was still up to her ankles.

Don't look back. Don't stop.

If she could lose him, she could call Riley.

If she didn't freeze to death first.

But he would be en route by now.

Sophie whimpered.

Tessa held her tighter and whispered softly to her as best she could without slowing her dead run.

Her boot caught on something. Tessa plunged forward. She twisted her body so as to land on her back.

Not even the snow softened the impact. The breath whooshed out of her.

“You bitch!”

Tessa pushed Sophie away from her.

Howard lunged on top of Tessa. She struggled to jam the gun into his torso. A fist impacted her jaw.

“You are dead,” Howard roared.