The Gemini Deception (43 page)

She couldn’t even bring herself to think about it. At least now she knew Cass was safe. She didn’t have to worry that her own death would eventually lead to Cass’s as well.

TQ was going to make her suffer for everything she’d done to her and her brother. And then she’d sit back with a cold glass of wine and an even colder smile as she reveled in Jack’s slow death. But Jack had been down that road before. She knew the drill, and she’d sworn she’d never let herself go through that kind of pain and humiliation again.

Cass was a strong woman, stronger than Jack ever was and ever would be. She’d suffer the consequences of Jack’s death, but she’d be alive and free to live a better life, without the constant threat of Jack’s past catching up to them.

The decision was made. She had to give up. Not because she had nothing to live for, but because she had everything to lose if she didn’t. “I’m sorry, baby, but you’re better off without me,” she mumbled.

The two men stared at her. “What?” the smaller one asked.

She swallowed the note and smiled. “Hey, assholes, miss me?”

*

Burke, Virginia

Once in the cab, Shield dialed Pierce’s cell.

“Who’s this?” he asked sternly, not recognizing the number.

“29041971.” Shield used only her code, not her name, which told Pierce she was on an unsecured GPS line. “Where are you?”

“Minutes before landing,” he replied.

“I’m headed your way.”

“I have a van waiting outside. Meet me there.”

“Roger that.” Shield hung up. “Take us to Andrews Air Force Base,” she told the driver.

“Are they coming to get us?” Ryden asked, excitement in her voice.

“No. We’re going to meet someone.”

“And then?”

“Back to Washington.”

“Are you serious?” Ryden looked shocked. “What are we going to do there?”

“I have to take care of something. You’re going somewhere safe.”

“Without you?”

“I have to help my employer get one of our own back. TQ is keeping her captive.”

“You mean the woman who helped us?” Ryden asked.

“Yes.”

“That’s crazy. TQ…Rothschild…
whoever
is going to kill you.”

“Trust me, I’ll be fine,” Shield said. “The four of us stand a fair chance.”

“Chance? You said yourself she owns an army.”

“And we own the know-how.”

Ryden nodded vigorously. “I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not. We’re professionals and—”

“I can help.”

“How?” Shield smiled.

“I really don’t want you to do this.”

“It’s my job. They’re my people and I have to help them.”

“How about me? I mean—”

Shield grabbed her hand. “I’ll come get you from the Washington safe house when it’s over, but you have to promise to stay put until I get back or someone from the EOO contacts you.”

“Another safe house?”

“This one’s in use and secure.”

“I thought your people were supposed to come get us,” Ryden said. “Take us back safely. When was that plan abandoned?”

“There’s a lot going on.”

“Which means you don’t matter? I mean, forget
me
. They probably think I deserve whatever I get, but aren’t they supposed to care for your safety?”

“I
offered
to help them,” Shield said. “The plan was to stay with you and wait for pickup, but I can’t sit back and do nothing.”

“That’s your problem,” Ryden replied. “You think you need to please everyone.”

“That may be true, but it’s who I am.” After a long silence, Shield turned to her. “I’ll make sure you’re safe, okay?”

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

Ryden was nervous about coming face-to-face with the people who knew about her deception. They could have her arrested. Would this nightmare never end?

When they got to Andrews, Harper paid the cab driver and led her toward a dark van. She spoke in low tones with the driver, a thirtyish tank of a man in a business suit, and then opened the back door for her. This van was very different from the stripped-down one TQ’s people had used. It was a luxury model, designed to transport celebrities or high-level government officials, and was as well equipped as any limousine, with a minibar, tinted privacy windows, and a DVD player with surround sound. Instead of the typical front-facing seat arrangement, the back held two wide, plush bench seats facing each other, with enough room for four on each side.

As they sat side by side on one of the benches, Ryden noticed a long, large, black duffel beneath the seat opposite. She wondered what it contained but didn’t dare ask.

They didn’t have long to wait. A few minutes later, two men and a woman joined them.

The first in was a sixty-something man in a business suit tailored to minimize the paunch above his belt. He had thinning blond hair, a pasty complexion, and deep creases in his face that gave him a permanently dour expression. At first glance, he seemed not at all the type to be heading into the lion’s den that was TQ, but when she looked a little closer, she could see he was a formidable presence. Despite the bit of thickening around his waist, he seemed otherwise very fit for a man his age—the muscles in his biceps stretched his suit coat ever so slightly—and his eyes held a strength and resolve few men could match.

He greeted them. “Shield. Ms. Wagner.”

Ryden caught the curious way he addressed Harper, but now wasn’t the time for explanations. Probably a nickname he’d given her, she guessed. Appropriate for a bodyguard.

An attractive young blond woman in her late twenties was next into the van. She was dressed all in black—boots, trousers, and a turtleneck sweater. Behind her, another man in a suit, this one also in his sixties, maybe younger. With his copper-colored crew cut, streaked with gray, chiseled features, and lean, muscular physique, he looked like a career soldier out of uniform.

The trio took the bench seat opposite and the van got under way.

“Both men are my employers,” Harper said, avoiding their names. “Lynx is a colleague.”

The man with the light hair, sitting in the middle, seemed preoccupied, his focus entirely on either his watch or the road ahead. His face was tight with worry and impatience.

The other two practically gawked at Ryden.

“TQ must’ve spent a fortune on your transformation,” Lynx said to her.

“I guess.” Ryden looked away, her cheeks warming from the intense scrutiny. “I never cared to ask.”

“Dead ringer,” the guy with red hair said. “Even your voice is the same.”

“We have to drop her off at the Washington safe house,” Harper said.

“I don’t know about that,” he replied. “Not that TQ is likely to run, but I don’t want to give her too much thinking time.”

“Who knows what that sick mind will come up with,” Lynx said.

Ryden would probably be better off in a safe house, but for some reason, she felt more secure staying close to Harper. “I don’t want to cause more problems than I already have. If you think I can wait for you in the van, that’s what I’ll do.”

“We need to get to Jaclyn ASAP.” The light-haired man checked his watch again.

“What’s the plan?” Harper asked.

“We threaten to destroy her, make public who she is, if she doesn’t give us Jack.” The blond woman—Lynx—who’d initially looked like a model on a photo shoot or something, transformed before Ryden’s eyes as she spoke about the woman who’d helped them. Her tone of voice, steely determination, and rigid posture—she looked coiled tight and ready to pounce—were sure signs of her underlying strength and lethal capabilities. “If she has so much as touched a hair on my woman’s head—”

“I will kill her with my own hands,” the fair-haired man said.

So Lynx had a thing for the mystery woman, Ryden realized. And the man in the middle had some vested personal interest in her as well, apparently, judging from his vehement response.

“I wouldn’t trust her.” Ryden took a chance and spoke. “She’s…she’s the deadliest-looking predator I’ve ever seen, and that’s including the Animal Planet channel.”

“We know better than to trust her, Ms. Wagner,” the light-haired man said seriously. He looked at Harper. “Shield, you’ll get your orders when we reach our destination.”

“I don’t mean to put anyone down, and I’ll be the first to admit I owe Harding my life, but what’s this really all about?” Harper asked him. “She faked her death years ago to join the other side and, from what I understand, wants nothing to do with us. Yet, you not only let her live when treason is punishable by death, but you also come running to save her.”

Valid question, Ryden thought. Although this Jack woman had saved both their lives, something was definitely very dangerous about her.

“It’s complicated,” Lynx replied, while the fair-haired man stared at the wall behind them, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the edge of the seat. The closer they got to their destination, the more his anxiety showed in his face and body language.

Harper sighed. “Either way, I’m here to get her back, and for the record, I like her.”

The man in the middle—obviously the guy in charge—sure was acting strange, Ryden thought as she studied his face. He certainly didn’t seem like the average employer worried about a subordinate. More like a guy in a hospital waiting room, fretting about the condition of a loved one.

“Mister…” Ryden looked at him until he turned to face her.

“Yes?” His eyes met hers.

“Jack is a very strong woman.” Ryden hoped that would help him relax. Though she didn’t know him, or what the connection was between him and the woman they were headed to rescue, she felt for the big man. His paternal behavior indicated he clearly cared about Jack.

He didn’t reply, and they drove the rest of the way in silence, the tension so palpable Ryden could hardly breathe.

Traffic was still light in the heart of the capital when they reached their destination and the driver parked at the curb. He remained behind the wheel while the others got out, all but Harper, who hunched down in front of Ryden.

“You’ll be fine here,” Harper said. “Do what the driver says, and do not leave the van unless you’re told to.”

“I understand.”

“I don’t know what they want me to do, but I will be back for you.”

“Just…be safe.”

“Will do.” Harper smiled and Ryden’s heart melted. “Later, then.” She touched Ryden’s knee.

“Harper?”

“Ye—”

Ryden grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her softly on the lips. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Let’s go, Shield,” one of the men yelled from outside.

“Be careful.” Ryden tried to sound strong.

TQ would be damned if she’d show weakness or worry. Pierce was formidable, certainly. She had never been put in a situation as tenuous as this, and she hated the unfamiliar loss of absolute control. But she’d come to terms with the realization that she’d have to get this man whatever he wanted to return to her life. And if, for any reason, she couldn’t recover what he’d come for and reach a deal, she had a contingency plan in place.

She sat at her desk, surrounded by four guards—one at each corner of the room—and tapped her long fingernails on the polished surface as she waited. The men had instructions to shoot Pierce on the spot should he try to kill her. She could accept being unveiled to the world, but she would not accept anyone else’s terms concerning her demise. If worse came to worst and she had to dispose of Pierce, she’d have to leave the country tonight. Although not ideal, it
was
a way out.

The phone rang and she took her time answering. Her game, her rules, because in the end, it was always her game.

“Madam, your guest has—”

“Let him in and send him up.” She disconnected and turned to the guard nearest the entrance. “Frisk him at the door.”

While she waited, she pulled a mirror from the desk drawer and applied bright-red lipstick, something she bothered with only on those rare occasions she met a client in person. Then she smoothed a hand over her hair, put the mirror away, and sat back in her huge leather chair. She chose the appropriate confident smile when she heard the knock. “Come in.”

“Mr. Pierce,” her assistant announced as she showed him in.

The guard she’d appointed walked up to Pierce, and like someone who knew the drill, he lifted his arms and patiently waited until her man checked him over.

Her visitor wore an expensive Armani suit the color of anthracite, with a silk tie, starched white shirt, and handmade Italian lace-ups. His thinning hair was cut close to his head, like you’d expect from an ex-military. For a man in his sixties, he was rather handsome in a rugged kind of way.

When her guard finished and nodded his approval, TQ languidly stood and extended her hand. “A pleasure.”

Pierce walked the few steps to her and took her hand. Contrary to most, he was in no hurry to pull it away. He held her there and examined her eyes. “That’s yet to be determined.”

TQ tried to pull her hand away, but he held hers firmly in his grip a while longer before he let go.

“Please, have a seat.” She gestured at the leather armchair opposite her desk.

Pierce sat and crossed his legs at the knee, his arms on the rests. To all appearances, very comfortable. Not at all like the demeanor she was used to eliciting from those she deigned to meet with.

“Tell me, Mr. Pierce…” She sounded confident, successfully concealing her discomfort at his silence and penetrating stare. “How can I help you?”

Without blinking, he answered, “I am not here for your help. I’m here to retrieve what’s mine.”

“I’m more than willing to accommodate you, and forgive me in advance for any trouble I may have caused. Business is business, and how some of my artifacts are acquired is not always up to me.”

“Perhaps the artifacts aren’t, although I doubt you have no involvement in theft. But how you obtain people is up to you. I’m here for a person, not some ridiculous object.”

If Pierce was after someone she had used for organs, she was in deep trouble.