Left For Dead (The Guarded Secrets Series Book 3) (11 page)

Chapter 18

Demon and I had spent most of the third day planning what I would do if it came time to go to the compound. We wouldn’t be leaving until tomorrow, at a set time given to us that day, but if we took Natasha before then we would be sitting ducks. We had to plan and be prepared because tomorrow we had to get her. I just hoped they let her stay home. The compound was larger than the house; more complex, which also meant a lot more places to hide and more chances to run into someone. There wasn’t an easy way to pinpoint where Natasha would be if she was taken to the compound, in fact it was damn near impossible. I had spent all day yesterday watching the compound, and I hadn’t been able to find a pattern. Matters only got worse as Seeker and Spit Fire came to the same conclusion. According to their information, the guard schedules had changed since Katya was here and precautions and extra measures of security such as cameras and random sweeps had gone into effect.

After watching the compound for about an hour I had ventured inside. Honestly, it was the only thing I could do to gain a cover. The bare landscape around the building provided little to no cover, and with the random guard sweeps going through every ten minutes or so, it was only a matter of time before they caught me.

It took watching multiple sweeps for me to sneak in behind the guards. Once inside, I faced a lot of new problems. Volodya was more cautious than the Cardozas had been. Cameras were mounted through the compound, guards posted on staircases, and teams going through the building. I attempted to make my way through the building, but continually ran into dead ends or almost came face to face with some of the guards. There wasn’t an easy way around them without alerting someone on another floor, and the floors above me were too open due to the stairs and hallway being visible. I felt a pang of annoyance burst through me when I realized I couldn’t do it. There was too much at risk, and I didn’t know the building as well as I needed to.

I knew I had to turn around instead of risking the mission, but the failure left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had never turned away from a dangerous situation before. I went in head first and a do-it-now attitude. I guess trying to win Sharp Shooter over with this mission overtook my desire to cause a little trouble for whoever was watching the video cameras. It could wait, for now. I’d be back if I had to, and then they would see what I could do to their precious security systems. That’s why when I returned I immediately called in Demon to strategize, and we hadn’t left the table since. There’s too much at risk for a mistake, but at the same time I knew what I would have to do when the time came. I’d kill a few guards and create chaos until Natasha was safe, then escape. That’s how it always went.

“You can’t go in there blind or we’re fucked,” he said simply, looking at the additions I had drawn in on the map. “Do you see all the teams and cameras he has going? And I can guarantee you it’s because Katya got away. He’s prepared for you. If you walk in there again, you may not come out. There’s no easy way around all of this.”

“You don’t think I know that?” I asked as I added in the last guard locations. I tried to be as detailed as possible on the building map, and Demon was right. There was almost no way around all of the precautions Volodya had taken. Random sweeps, guards who seemed relatively stationary, cameras, and needless to say, weapons that could blow a hole in my head if I was caught.

I shook off the thought as I drew in the final stationary guard location, or at least the last one I noticed before I ducked out of the building. I hadn’t noticed any of them moving far from their post, mostly just scanning the floor below, which took out my usual means of getting around large warehouses—the rafters. I’d be seen by one of the guards on the upper level before I could make it to the rafters. I had one shot and the more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed I’d be able to do it without making a lot of noise—something I knew Demon wouldn’t like. I wasn’t supposed to be seen or heard; when I was, mistakes happened and I ended up in trouble.

“I can’t go in there and try repeatedly, Demon. This isn’t a video game, I don’t get a restart or another life to use,” I said, leading up to telling him that I would need to cause havoc in the building to get Natasha out if necessary. This building was nothing like the house; while I could possibly get to her without a problem, getting her out safely still would need improvisation. There’s just no way to know how someone else will react in a given situation, and I had to be prepared for that.

“I know that,” Demon stated, letting an exasperated sigh leave his lips as he thought it over. “You shouldn’t have gone in the first time. You could have been seen. Then what? You have no idea how the building is laid out and we clearly didn’t know all the security measures. All it would take is one bullet, Night Stripe. As you said you don’t get another chance, and you’ve already taken a bullet once. Would you like another one?”

I narrowed my gaze at him. Every time he thought I did something wrong he brought up the lucky shot the Cardoza member got on me. It was my shoulder, not my heart. While I knew it could be a lot worse, he had to know a little fear wouldn’t keep me from doing my job. “I had to try. What if I didn’t and we didn’t know about the new security measures? I would have missed Maverick’s plane, and so would’ve Natasha. Better yet, maybe you’d get your wish and I’d be taken out. They’d put you out of your misery of dealing with me.”

“I never said that, Night Stripe. I have only said you worry me. You’re reckless, and while you’ve shaped up some you haven’t changed that much. You could have been seen,” Demon repeated, letting the edge in his voice lace through his words. He returned my narrow gaze and continued. “Then what would have happened? You would have been found, and Katya and Natasha would be in further danger. You didn’t think.”

“But I wasn’t caught,” I pointed out.

“That you know of.”

“It would have been more of a risk to go in blind. Now I have an idea of the building and what to avoid and what’s the lesser of two evils. I can make it out of there alive because I know what’s there now,” I said, the pleading in my voice rang clear. I wanted him to see it my way, to tell me I had done the right thing. I wasn’t expecting him to reprimand me for my choices. I did what I thought was best, what he taught me to do. I knew the dangers, I knew that I could put them at risk, but if I hadn’t gone in then we wouldn’t be able to work out a plan now. I gathered information, granted Seeker probably could have figured it out, but it was useful to us
now
. We shouldn’t have to wait.

“How do you think?” he questioned. “Right now, I see it as reckless, which is just what I thought you would do. You can’t keep thinking of only yourself as a leader. You have to think of everyone!”

“And I did,” I stated. I saw his right eyebrow lift up slightly as his lips formed a tight line. The disbelieving gaze was one I had come to know all too well since explaining to him why I chased after Ash Crest. I knew I’d have to explain myself, and hope he came to see it my way or I’d never hear the end of it. But I didn’t have to, Katya took over for me.

“The chances of my father moving Natasha are slim,” she spoke up from her usual seat on the couch. She didn’t even bother to lift her head from the book she was buried in, the same one she’d picked up when we first arrived. “Though it’s getting close to her birthday. That’s when Father tries to spend time with us. Now that she has seen the building, and detailed the guard patterns as best as she can, she has a better chance of living. We can focus on getting her and Natasha out safely. Isn’t that what you wanted all along?”

“Yes, but the point is—”

“The point is that she can now do her job, and you don’t have to worry about her. You can spend the time she spends wherever my sister is getting the plane ready to depart, or making sure Natasha is with me before we leave. Let her do her job, you focus on getting everyone out of here.” Katya slammed her book shut, signaling that she had made her point and was done with the discussion. “Night Stripe can do this. Trust her.”

She got up, heading to the back bedroom that she and I shared, to rest. Even with the blinds closed I knew that it was late at night. Demon and I had barely left the table, only moving to go to the bathroom and for food, for the whole day. Last night we fell asleep with our heads on the table, and didn’t wake up until Katya came out and shook us awake. It had been a long planning session, all culminating in a
what
if
scenario. Tomorrow Seeker would contact us with where Natasha was and no matter what, I’d go get her.

“Well, Sara, if something goes wrong, and as you say, something will always go wrong, I hope you’re prepared to handle it.”

“If something didn’t go wrong, then it wouldn’t be any fun.” Demon cast me a serious gaze to tell me I needed to stop playing around. “I’ll be fine, Demon. You worry too much. I will be prepared for either scenario, and I’ll make sure Natasha makes it back to Katya safely.” I smiled at him, to which he only offered a curt nod before he turned to walk to the couch. I felt a knot tighten in my stomach; I knew I would come to regret those words. Whether I lived or not on a mission would always be a question in the back of my mind. Each mission held new possibilities and with it new ways to die. This one seemed to have the odds stacked against me.

Chapter 19

“Get up,” Demon ordered as he shook me roughly, waking me up from the only restful sleep I’d gotten since we first came to this frigid area. I was even having a peaceful dream instead of a terrorizing nightmare. 

When I didn’t move right away, he shook me again. This time he physically pushed me off the bed onto the hard wooden surface below. I cringed as my body made contact with the floor and small ripples of pain raced through me. Luckily, I put my hands out first, preventing my head from pounding onto the floor and most likely giving me a concussion. I wasn’t sure what Demon was thinking, but injuring me before a mission didn’t seem like a smart plan. He knew better, which told me something was very wrong.

“What was that for?” I cried, pushing up from the floor and brushing the dust off my clothes. “Was that really necessary?”

“We have a problem. We need to get moving.” His voice was dark, low, and skating on the edge of fury and annoyance. It sent chills through me because when Demon sounded like this, it meant we were in for hell. He had the same tone before sending me into a speeding car for the Cardoza mission. I only found out later that it was because the cartel had been looking for me. He was worried they’d figure out who I was, and they did eventually; just a little too late for them.

“What happened? Did something change?” I asked, feeling a familiar alertness come over me; paranoia. It kept spies alive, but when accompanied with fear it had the power to get us killed if we weren’t careful. Paranoia made us cautious, fear caused mistakes.

“Someone found our base back in Gorod,” Demon explained as he turned to wake up Katya. “It’s only a matter of time before they find this one too. We need to get moving, and I mean now. Not ten minutes from now.”

“What about Natasha?” I asked as I quickly pulled together everything I had brought with me and tossed it into my bag. I could wait to figure out how someone found our first hideout later. Demon might not even know, and there were more pressing matters at hand. A life was still on the line.

“She’s been taken to the compound with Volodya today,” he said as Katya stirred. “They’re onto us. I think you got seen with your stunt in the compound the other day and now they’re preparing for it.”

A scoff left my throat before I could stop it. “No one saw me, and I’m insulted that you would even insinuate that I risked the mission.”

“No one else has left this building, Night Stripe.” His voice lowered slightly as the anger took over his features. “I’m not blaming you, I don’t think it’s entirely your fault, either. So don’t get upset just because you think I’m saying you’re bad at your job. You did what you could with what you had. This could have gone a lot worse.”

“What do you mean it’s not entirely my fault?”

Demon stopped, glancing at Katya, who had gotten up to start packing. She wouldn’t question Demon’s orders. She knew that she had forced herself into this, and now she’d have to listen as I did. “What if Natasha said something? We couldn’t watch her the last few days, but she’s seen her father every day. What if she let it slip that Katya was here, or that someone had come by? What if she is as brainwashed as Katya says, and she told him so you could go in and get yourself killed?”

A chill raced down my spine. While I had considered the possibility, I never would have said it out loud with Katya in the room. She turned to Demon with a gaze that showed betrayal and anger. If looks could kill, I’d be alone for the duration of this mission.

“She wouldn’t have given anything away. I made sure she knew I gave her the note, and she would never betray me like that. She wouldn’t risk my life for anything. She knows what happens to people like that,” Katya said, letting a darkness take over her voice as she spoke. 

“I’m not saying that she did,” Demon said, holding his hands up in a surrendering position. “I’m saying it’s a possibility. How else do you think they found our base in Gorod, or why they took your sister with them today, the same day they raided the other hideout?”

“I can’t speak for your hideout, but you may want to look at your informant.” She looked at me with sympathy in her eyes. It confused me until she further explained. “I think Seeker, while nice enough to give Night Stripe a ride home the other day, used her to keep in my father’s good graces. I’m sure he knows the old bases, and if he didn’t, then he could have gotten it from Night Stripe. He chose the one you weren’t living in so you could have a chance to get out, and hopefully live. As for my sister, if my father thinks someone came to save her, then he’s using her as bait for me. He’s planning to get rid of us both, then the job will be done and he can move on.” Katya barely blinked as she spoke, as if unaffected by her own words. It shook me how calm she sounded; she expected this. “We need to save her.”

“We don’t know if that’s why he took Natasha today,” Demon stated, picking up both our bags and walking out of the room. “But we don’t have time to figure that out. While I’m hoping Seeker gave the information, I know better than that.” He didn’t sound as if he was insulting Katya’s idea, just that he knew Seeker, and knew he wouldn’t risk another agent’s life. “Someone else gave the information on us, and we have to move before they show up here. Your father probably took Natasha with him in case they found something and needed to make sure she was with him instead of a liability. For now we get out of here, alive.”

“How do you suppose we do that?” I questioned as he walked toward the front door. “Three people walking around with bags is a little suspicious, and I’m sure someone will recognize Katya.”

Demon smiled at me as he put the bags down close to the door. He turned and came back to the table, shaking a pair of keys in my face. “That’s why we have a car hidden away for us. A friend of ours across the street knows what’s going on, and gave me the keys to a spare car.”

“Seeker?” I asked with a knowing smile. “That’s how you know it wasn’t him.”

“He’s the one who called to alert me. The news came as a shock to him as well. As for Natasha,” Demon stated, looking over the map of the compound once again. “We’ll take you to the compound and you can go in and retrieve her. I’d take this route if at all possible.”

I followed his finger as he led me through the path of least resistance to the main part of the compound. From there, I could find Natasha. Since we weren’t sure exactly where she would be, I’d have to lay low until I could figure it out and then move her safely. The guard sweeps would be the issue. There were just too many men, and no way of knowing exactly where they were going. One wrong move and I’d be a goner, but when wasn’t that the case when it came to missions?

“You have to be careful,” Demon warned. “There are a lot of people moving through the building at all times. If you ask me, it’s too dangerous, and you shouldn’t be going. I should be hailing Maverick right now for an emergency pick up.”

“You can’t do that!” Katya cried. “You promised to rescue her. You went through all this trouble, and now you’re going to leave her here?”

“I didn’t say that,” Demon replied easily, his gaze never leaving mine. “I know Night Stripe wouldn’t leave without her. I’m just explaining to her that it won’t be easy.”

“When is it ever?” I questioned, letting the sarcasm come clean through my words. “I’m not expecting a walk through the park, I’m expecting a fight.”

Demon’s gaze turned hard, but he nodded. “For now, we get out of here, and we get somewhere they won’t come looking for us.” He glanced between us, unmoving and determined to get us to listen.

I thought I was in charge of this mission.

Demon had a natural ability to lead, and in hard times no matter how much experience I had, I knew I’d always turn to him. His leadership and direction had gotten me out of dangerous spots before, and I knew they would do it again. I just had to be patient whether I agreed with his directions or not.

“We’ll go right into their backyard and set you up with a place to be, Night Stripe. As for you, Katya,” he glanced at her, casting a gaze that was serious instead of love struck and timid as he had been lately with her. Hard times called for hard people, and Demon knew it as much as I did. Love and relationships had little room in this business. “You’re staying with me the entire time and if it gets too messy or someone finds us, we leave. I won’t hear you argue, you won’t try to bargain with me, or escape to save your sister. My job is to save you; Night Stripe’s is to save Natasha. Let us do our jobs, and maybe we can get out of this without any more problems.”

Katya nodded to say she heard and understood. His words must have weighed heavily on her because as he turned away her gaze fell to the floor and I could have sworn I saw a single tear slip down her cheek. I felt awful. It was hard to hear that someone you loved may not be saved, especially family. I didn’t like that I couldn’t save my family after the car accident, or that I couldn’t save my adoptive family from the pain I caused by my disappearance. It was never easy, and I hated every second of it. Whether she liked it or not, though, didn’t matter. What mattered was her safety, as well as her sister’s, just as it did for my adoptive family. I had chosen this job to keep them safe, just as Katya had tagged along to make sure her sister was safe. I’d make sure they both made it out alive.

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s go,” Demon called before he walked out the door and shut it behind him.

I took a few steps to follow after him, determined to get out of here before someone came knocking on our door, but Katya stopped me in my tracks.

“You said that you would treat Natasha as your own sister.”

“I did,” I replied, uncertain where this conversation was going.

“I didn’t realize what that meant at the time,” she admitted, and while I wasn’t facing her, I knew she appreciated what I was about to do. “Please, come back safe.”

I turned back to her, smiling. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve gotten out of worse situations, and I’ll do it again. Just remember, this time, you take my lead, not the other way around. I don’t care what happens, follow the orders I give, and follow them to the letter. I didn’t come all this way, risk losing you and your sister, only to have you decide to play hero. You’ve gotten your way more than you should have; now I’m in charge.” I saw Katya nod before I lightly pushed her to the door. I wasn’t sure how much time we had left, but I didn’t want to get held up by whoever found our last base. Unfortunately, they would have to wait to meet me at the compound, and they’d regret ever risking my friends’ lives.