Raging Fire (Guarded Secrets Book 4) (19 page)

Epilogue

I coughed from smoke inhalation as I opened a drawer in the charred desk and began rummaging through its partially burnt contents. Sharp Shooter had ordered us to collect anything from the building we thought would be useful to us in the future. So far all I’d found was rubble and weapons. Not that I was complaining, we could always use a few more guns around CIRA for the agents who preferred a more practical approach instead of alternative weapons. I thought of Demon’s sword and was reminded of Whip Lash’s whip. I would never know how those did either of them any good. At least Demon carried two guns for backup, but I’m not sure if Whip Lash had or ever used a backup weapon. I wondered now if having backup would have helped him—if he would still be alive today.

I tried to burn the thought away, let it go in a puff of smoke, as I refocused on my search. The offices in the building had been mostly destroyed in the explosion. It was most likely a plan to prevent us from finding anything, but I guess they miscalculated somewhere along the line. Only half of the offices were destroyed, but not the ones near the boss’s office. Sandstorm, Renegade, and Night Stripe had taken the lost causes to see if anything had escaped the blast. I couldn’t imagine anything had, but we had to look any way.

Camo was a few rooms down from me and Sandstorm wasn’t far, each were clattering around to search for anything useful, but I knew there wouldn’t be anything here. The cartel was done, and it wasn’t coming back. Sure someone could step up if they wanted, but after today I had a strong feeling that they wouldn’t want to deal with us again. There were enough mafias for them to choose from to join, but eventually we’d wipe them out too. It just took time and planning.

“Night Stripe,” Camo cried, pulling my attention away from the burned files. She sounded as if she was in pain, and for a split second I worried that we hadn’t eliminated all of the cartel members that were close by. Someone could have been lying in wait as a last ditch effort to kill a few more agents, but before I could react, and run to her rescue, she called out again. “Everyone, come here! I think I found something!”

I relaxed, taking a breath to calm my nerves, as I shoved the desk drawers shut with a vengeance, blowing ash into my face as I did so. I looked at my hands to see them turned pitch black from digging through the char covered files of my stepfather’s right-hand man. I hadn’t had it in me to search Harley’s office. I didn’t want to think about what I would find in there.
Would he have photos of us as a family? What about when he captured my mother? Her death? What if he had records of it all? Did he have records of those thugs he sent after my siblings and I?
I shuddered at the thought. I couldn’t handle those thoughts or the answers that could come from them. I had hoped we wouldn’t find anything, but apparently Camo had found something good if she was calling everyone to come see. At least it wasn’t another cartel member.

“Is something wrong?” Night Stripe cried as she darted down the hall while Renegade and Sandstorm took their sweet time. “Did you find another injured agent? Is it Fire Fox? I still haven’t heard anything on him yet.” The concern in her voice broke my heart. She had just been reunited with a family member she’d thought was dead for years, but she was still prepared, almost expecting, to lose one of her friends now that she’d gotten someone back. It’s as if she thought to gain something you had to lose another. She had worried about Rum, but as far as we knew she survived. Fire Fox was most likely medevac’d out of here and we just hadn’t received word on him yet.

At least I hoped that was the case. I wasn’t ready to lose another agent. Maybe Seeker could find out about him and report back to me before Night Stripe or Renegade passed out from worrying so much. Seeker and Fire Fox were on the plane to Germany together, he wouldn’t have been far from Fire Fox during the fight. Night Stripe hadn’t been able to reach him before Aces took off to head to a hospital. I’d have to call him when I got a chance.

“No, I didn’t find another injured agent and I didn’t hear anything on Fire Fox either. I just have a question for you and Renegade that needs to be answered before we go anything further.” Her eyes were dark as she showed off her find. She lightly moved a few folders with burnt edges around in her long, delicate fingers.

“What is it?” Night Stripe asked, reaching for the folders before Camo pulled them back to her chest.

My heart rate quickened as I watched the scene unfold. Anything from my stepfather’s office wasn’t going to be good, and judging from Camo’s expression I was on point with my assumption. Her eyes were clouded with anger, darkness hung over her, and her usual smile was pulled into a tight, straight line. This wasn’t good.

“Do either of you recognize the name Mark Avery?” 

I froze, my heartbeat even stilled slightly from the shock. My mouth fell open as both of them shook their heads. I raised my hand tentatively. “I know who that is. That’s my stepfather’s real name. At least the one I knew him by. Harley was always an alias to me, and I never knew which was real. I guess now I never will.” I held my hand out for the folder and she passed it to me without question, but there was a sad gleam in her eye. I flipped open the file labeled ‘Mark Avery’ and felt the knot in my stomach tighten as I looked through its contents while she continued speaking to Night Stripe and Renegade.

“What about the name Dayton Carter?” 

Renegade raised an eyebrow. “I know that name. He was someone my father worked with before my family was killed. He used to come over for dinner on occasion,” Renegade replied easily. It took a few seconds after the words left his mouth for the gears in his head to start turning. A hint of confusion laced his words as he pressed the subject. “Where are you going with this, Camo? Are you telling me that Harley was Dayton Carter? What did he do?”

“Hold on a minute and I’ll get there.” Camo cleared her throat. I glanced up from the file to see her full attention resting on Night Stripe, who looked just as confused as Renegade did. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her lips pressed together in a tight line as she waited to see what Camo had to say to her. “I think you’ll know the name Anthony Schultz or David Folks.”

Night Stripe’s features changed as she processed the names Camo listed. At first, shock took over her features and then they quickly turned to fury as if she had made the connection Camo was hinting at. “I know both names actually, but there’s no way in hell they are the same person. I would have recognized him!” She snatched the files from my hand and flipped to the photos to compare them herself. At a first glance they didn’t look like the same person, but after living with Mark for a few years I noticed the unmistakable scar on the side of his neck. They were the same person. 

Night Stripe read through each file quickly, possibly looking for something specific as she sped through the content. As she read, her jaw clenched and she began to shake with fury. When she finished them both, she slapped the files into Sandstorm’s chest, causing him to reel back slightly at the sudden push. He recovered swiftly, but not without casting a curious gaze at his sister. Slowly he glanced through the files as he read anger twisted at his features. He had jumped to the same conclusion the others had, leaving Renegade and myself as the only ones out of the loop.

“Who the hell is this man?” Sandstorm asked, raising his voice as he approached Camo. He tossed the files on the ground before she pushed him away. “Who is he? How did you find this? How the hell do I find him?”

“That’s just it, you don’t find him. You don’t understand. These people, are the same person.” Camo glanced around as Renegade, Night Stripe, and I glanced at each other. “You don’t go find him, because he’s already dead. Mark Avery was Dayton Carter, Anthony Schultz, David Folks, and Harley Sanchez. And as Night Stripe and Sandstorm already connected, he’s been following us for a long time.”

“Us?” Renegade questioned. “I only met him a few times. What the hell did he do?”

“Yes, us,” she retorted. “David Folks was the one who recruited my dad to Sandtown. Night Stripe has already figured out what both names mean. Haven’t you, NS?”

Night Stripe growled through her teeth. “Anthony Schultz is the man who ordered the hit on my family according to the files retrieved from Ash Crest’s house. I never found an Anthony Schultz so I kept it to myself. I was determined to move past it and believe that I had killed the man responsible for my pain. It’s gotten me this far.” She huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms over her chest. “I should have hunted him down, because it’s confirmed in there that Anthony was the reason my family was killed. Ash’s story was just out of convenience, but he never told me about Anthony. Meanwhile, David Folks was 
friends
 with the Rickers and I’m guessing that’s how Ash knew I was still alive when he told me he had people watching me. He said it was only a matter of time, and that’s because David, or whatever the hell his name is, was watching me. The Rickers could have died at any time because he was still out there. I thought I saved them by killing Ash.”

Sandstorm and Renegade both put a hand on her shoulder which seemed to relax her slightly, but she was still tense. They glared at each other for a moment before Night Stripe leaned into Renegade for comfort. Only then did Sandstorm back down. I guess even in CIRA the boyfriend meeting the family wasn’t easy. 

“Sara’s anger is justified. Renegade you should understand since Dayton Carter is also the person who ordered the hits on your family.” Her words held nothing back, they were relentless. She didn’t give Renegade a chance to recover from the news before she continued. “Mark Avery, under many alias’, ordered Ash Crest to kill your families for some reason, and no, before you ask, it doesn’t say what the reason was. It doesn’t even mention it in Mark’s file except for all of his alias’ and the list continues with two I don’t think any of us have heard before—at least I haven’t.”

“What are they, Spit Fire?” Sandstorm demanded as he glared down at me in a way that made me feel responsible even though I hadn’t done anything.

I glanced down at the files on the floor before reaching down to pick them up.
Maybe I was partially responsible. If I had stopped Harley sooner, they may not have been affected by him at all.
Once I had the files, I flipped through them until I found Harley’s file and the last two names on the list. “They are Frank Piper and David Hanson.”

“I’ve never heard of either of them,” Renegade said.

Night Stripe and Sandstorm shook their heads. None of them recognized the names either, which couldn’t be good.

“I’m so tired of losing people and I’m going to find out who these alias’ were and find out what the hell they were up to,” I said. “I know it might have something to do with Camden before he died. He learned that Camo was Tessa from Sandtown and he planned to have men kill her for her treachery, and then he planned to kill the leaders of our team, namely Demon and Whip Lash, and finally Sharp Shooter. He wanted the agency gone, and I’m sure these two alias’ were a part of that plan as well.”

“I’m with you,” Night Stripe replied. “If there’s a connection between Ash Crest and any of Mark’s alias’ then I want to find out what. If there’s a connection between Renegade and I, then I’m going to figure out who put the hit out on our parents and the real reason why.”

“Well then we’re in for a lot of guess work considering I just killed the one person with all the answers, but I don’t think he would have given anything away even if he was still alive.” I couldn’t wipe the smug look off of my face knowing he was finally dead. He’d deserved it.

“Then keep looking. This is the best place to start for answers. Sharp Shooter won’t let us all go out on this search, so we have to have a plan.” Night Stripe moved away and headed into Mark’s office to search for answers. The others followed without hesitation while I stayed behind, unwilling to enter his office. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Like Night Stripe, I had to burn the file, I had to walk away or I may never heal. 

I’d already done what I needed to; this was their mission. I’d help them, but I didn’t want to be dragged back into the fire
.

Broken Arrow

Guarded Secrets, Book Five

Sara Schoen

***Sneak Peek***

Chapter 1

“How did Mark Avery know all of this about our people?” Sharp Shooter questioned, anger laced in his tone as he threw down the files the team had brought back from the destroyed compound in Washington. We had been evacuated last, looked over for our injuries as soon as we got back to CIRA, and then immediately sent to report to Sharp Shooter. He wanted answers and I couldn’t blame him. The whole thing had blown up in our faces, but I didn’t want to think about what could have happened if the cartel had been prepared for us.

Sharp Shooter’s office became eerily silent, all chatter and noise ended as we waited for him to react to what we had found. There were files on each person in the room, starting with Jackson and his family before CIRA had recruited him and he’d become Renegade. I was next, with two files. One from when I changed my name to become a Ricker, but thankfully it had very little information on the Ricker family. It seems Mark’s interest was only with the Night family—the family I had lost—but he hadn’t left a clue as to why in any of the files or anywhere in his office. Camo had a file with even less information in it. He hadn’t even written down when she was recruited to CIRA, as he had done with everyone else, only that she had vanished from Sandtown until a photo of her in Georgia showed up at the end of the file.

Why hadn’t he noted it? Was it no longer important to him?

That’s how Camden knew who Camo was even after she disguised herself. Mark Avery had figured out she was Tessa. He hadn’t seen her and known who it was, someone had told them.

“Spit Fire,” Sharp Shooter called, gaining her attention as she looked over her own file. “Is there something from Camden’s interrogation you’re not sharing or have you finally come clean about it all?” The anger and disappointment rang clear in his words, and even if they didn’t his glare would have been enough to make it clear.

“Yes, I’ve come clean about everything I know.”

“Are you sure about that?” Sharp Shooter asked, glaring her down as if he was challenging her to lie to him again. She had managed to keep her mission a secret long enough to force Sharp Shooter’s hand in dealing with the last remnants of the Cardoza Cartel. Her lie had caused the deaths of a lot of good agents, but also had ended the cartel for good. “Because last time I asked you that question you withheld very important information and went off on your own,” his gaze shifted to me momentarily, “like someone else I know, and got into a lot of trouble for it. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Spit Fire replied, unaffected by Sharp Shooter’s snide comment. “I’ve told you everything now. Camden knew Camo was Tessa from Sandtown. How? I’m not sure. He didn’t elaborate before I shot him, but he did tell me that he planned to kill the leaders of our team, Demon and Whip Lash, which was halfway successful,” her tone dipped at the mention of our fallen leader. She’d seen his lifeless body after the fight and I knew it haunted her. She blamed herself for his death and the deaths of every agent who died during the raid. She would probably carry the guilt with her for the rest of her life even though it wasn’t her fault. Every agent knew what could happen when they were sent on such a dangerous mission and they accepted their fate in exchange for saving others. “Then he planned on coming after you next, Sharp Shooter. He wanted the agency gone, and with my stepfather involved I can only guess what they were after.”

“What’s your best guess?” I asked, leaning across the long table in Sharp Shooter’s office. My umber curls fell over my shoulder, tickling the sides of my face. “What do you think he was up to? Why did he have our files? Why does he only care about us and no one else in CIRA?”

“Night Stripe, I can’t answer that. I don’t know him.” Spit Fire sighed, her hazel eyes avoiding meeting my gaze. She looked down at her hands for a moment before glancing at each person in the room, taking in the few who had survived and glancing at the empty seats of those who were missing. A lot of agents were still in hospitals across the country getting medical attention while the less severe cases were being treated here, but even they hadn’t been released to active duty yet.

Because so many us were in hospitals, we were the only agents available. We went from thousands of agents down to five in just a few short hours. Some were injured, others were dead, and even more were missing or unaccounted for. After we handed the files to him when we first got back, Sharp Shooter sent us to recover for two weeks, separately and away from CIRA. He had a lot to deal with after Washington went up in flames so he thought it was best to send us away. Jackson and I went to visit the Rickers for a week before going to stay with his sister, Danielle, for the final week. I wasn’t sure what Camo and Spit Fire did, but I knew they weren’t allowed at CIRA while all efforts were focused on the injured agents. I had a feeling our temporary leave was to give Sharp Shooter time to plan funerals and locate as many missing agents as he could, dead or alive without us around. I sighed heavily, the thought was almost too much to bare because I still hadn’t heard anything about Fire Fox. I just prayed he was alive in a hospital somewhere and not dead and lost in the chaos.

“But if I had to guess, and I mean this is
just
a shot in the dark,” Spit Fire said, the tension in her voice unmistakable. It sounded like she had a gut feeling to what had been going on, and from her fear in her voice, which also shone briefly in her eyes, this wasn’t good news. “I’d say we have a mole in CIRA—someone who isn’t here for whatever reason they claim to be. They were probably recruited with Mark’s help, and whoever it is told him and Camden everything.”

Stunned silence filled the room. Spit Fire’s accusation hit me like a ton of bricks. I was in so much shock at the idea that I actually had trouble breathing. Next to me Camo looked like she had taken a punch straight to the gut. Her brown eyes were wide, and her arms were wrapped around herself, holding her torso tightly as if she was afraid she was going to fall apart at any moment. Renegade and Sandstorm were showing too very different reactions. Renegade was tense, like he was ready for a fight, while Sandstorm didn’t react, but seemed to be deep in thought by the way he nodded slowly in agreement. Sharp Shooter’s eyes focused on Spit Fire, waiting impatiently for her to finish.

“I’d also say that whoever it is, is very close to us, because the files only have information on this team. There are no other CIRA agents mentioned, not even the mentors of those on this team, except for in small sections within a larger file. So they know about us, work with us, and they’ve been lying to us for a very long time.”

I slumped into my seat, slowly drifting below the table. I couldn’t decide whether to be furious, upset, or betrayed. Spit Fire’s idea about there being a mole in CIRA was outrageous, but it was also justified. Despite how much I didn’t want it to, it made sense. Mark Avery had a reason for choosing Renegade, Camo, and me, we just didn’t know what that reason was. Honestly, we may never know why and that just didn’t sit right with me. Though, neither did the idea that someone I knew and trusted with my life was giving our enemy inside information on us.

“The only good thing is that whoever it is didn’t have all the information, so we can use that to our advantage.” Sharp Shooter placed his hands on the table and leaned forward a bit to make sure we knew he was serious. He only did that when we had to swallow whatever news he was about to give us and take it without complaining. Usually it meant someone had died during a mission, but this time, it was because CIRA was in danger. “Mark Avery didn’t know Sandstorm was an agent, which means the mole didn’t either and whoever it is probably doesn’t know you two are related.” His gaze moved from me to Sandstorm, who nodded again. A man of few words as always.
Time doesn’t change everyone I guess
. “Mark either didn’t have all the information or he just didn’t share it with his cohort. We have to figure out what he knew that our double agent didn’t. Until then, we lie to everyone, including each other if need be.”

“What do you mean?” Camo questioned, suddenly standing up. “You want us to lie to each other? What good will that do? All that will accomplish is making sure that we can’t trust anyone anymore!”

“That’s the point, Camo,” Sharp Shooter replied, motioning for her to sit down so he could continue. She unwillingly took her seat and crossed her tan arms over her chest in a small protest of his orders. We didn’t want to lie to each other, we wanted to be able to trust everyone in CIRA, but now I wasn’t sure we could. “We can’t trust anyone anymore. Outside of the people in this room, where I know for sure everyone is true to the agency, you mention nothing of what really happened. If we communicate outside of this room, something could slip out and we’ll lose our upper hand at finding out who is a part of Mark’s team. We’ll play this our way and find out who did this and why.”

“And if we don’t?” Spit Fire asked. “What then? We just keep it to ourselves?”

“We will figure it out when the time comes. For now, we wait and see who knows something that we didn’t announce. We say Mark Avery is alive, but in holding and we draw them out. I want answers and the only way to get them without this agent disappearing is to pretend that they have another way out other than running away. Let them run to Mark Avery and end up right where we want them.”

“But why would anyone work with Mark or the Cardoza Cartel for that matter?” Renegade questioned. “It doesn’t make sense. What would they get out of it?”

“Their life,” Camo replied, the haunted tone of her words sending a shiver up my spine. “That’s why they did everything…” Everyone turned to Camo, waiting for an explanation, but she seemed too lost in her own mind to answer right away.

“Camo, what are you talking about?” I asked, lightly touching her shoulder and bringing her back to the conversation at hand.

She turned to me, eyes red from holding back her tears and her lip quivering as she fought the urge to cry. “Don’t you see? The only reason someone would work with the Cardoza Cartel was if they were in it before. They brainwashed them as they did me, except they didn’t snap out of it. They were recruited and they used their knowledge to their advantage, that’s how the Cardozas always seemed one step ahead of us except when we kept the missions a secret. They had insider information. We were ready for another attack on Sandtown before you showed up, someone must have told them you were coming. They didn’t figure out who Renegade was until it was announced that we were going in to finish them. Harley, I mean Mark, knew about the inner workings of CIRA and who was leading us because someone in CIRA told him. Someone from the cartel is in here, and they won’t leave without a fight. They won’t just run away without finishing what they started.”

“Then we’ll find them and get rid of them before they can. They picked the wrong team to mess with because we don’t give up and we don’t back down,” I said with a soft smile, hoping to cheer her up a little bit, but all I saw was the fear in her eyes. “We’ll find them.”

“We need to figure out some things first,” Sandstorm said, speaking up for the first time this meeting. “We don’t know who it is, why they betrayed us, why Mark chose them, or how any of us add into this. There’s too much we don’t know to start interrogating people who are supposed to be our friends—our family.”

“So what do you recommend?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I could hear the hesitation in his voice. Whatever his plan was, even he wasn’t a fan of it.

“We make two teams, one to track down the mole and the other to figure out what Mark’s grand plan was because I’m worried it’s still in effect.” He glanced toward Spit Fire, who returned his intense gaze before nodding in agreement. “If Spit Fire is right and they try to finish what they started, now would be the perfect time to track down Demon and Sharp Shooter, then finish off CIRA for good. We have to split up if we want to figure it out before more agents die.” Sandstorm paused for a moment, looking into each of our eyes to allow his words to register. “That is unless you want to start planning more funerals and setting up mass recruitments for the new headquarters of the Cardoza Cartel.”