Chapter Seventeen

B oone had lost enough blood to leave him weak. He'd do his best to protect Ellie and his friends, but if it came to hand-to-hand combat like he believed it would, he wasn't sure any of them would make it through.

"Nothing. I don't like it." Ellie stopped beside them. Her pretty face held worry. "How are you feeling?" Her clear eyes searched his, seeing what he wished he could keep from her.

"I'm okay. They're out there somewhere, no doubt waiting for this person to give the command."

He tugged her closer, surprising Ellie. His heart told him to say what he wanted because this was critical. "I care about you," he whispered for only her ears. "I know we haven't known each other that long, but I can't deny it, and I think you feel the same way."

Tears filled her eyes. She only nodded. Perhaps because words didn't seem easy.

"No matter what happens, I want you to know that I care about you and I want you with me for however long we have."

She touched his lips. "No, don't say that. It can't end like this. Not now. Not after we've come so close to finding the truth. Not when I've found you."

He let it go and simply held her because he loved her.

Their tender moment ended with the shattering of glass. It took only a second for Boone to realize the enemy was using flash bangs to disorient them. Soon after, the second round of assault was tear gas. "Get low." He managed and tugged Ellie down with him. The gas immediately burned his eyes and made breathing difficult. Boone held Ellie close trying to protect her, but he couldn't hear or see anything.

Figures moved within the gas-filled room. Their faces distorted by what he believed were gas masks.

Ellie was torn from his arms.

"No!" He crawled toward a fractured image of light.

Two people hauled Boone to his feet and dragged him along. He struggled to breathe.

Then he was tossed aside. Fresh air filled his lungs, clearing out the gas. Tears streamed down his face. Eventually the blurred figures came into focus. A virtual army of men surrounded them. Ellie lay a little in front of him. He turned his head. The rest of his team were there along with Becky.

None of the soldiers made a move. They were waiting for someone.

Boone rubbed his irritated eyes. He felt for his weapon. It had been taken from him along with his phone.

Soon, the soldiers turned, and another group of men came into the clearing near the house. Boone heard her shock first as Ellie gasped. Then he realized her attention was on one man as he stopped close to her.

◆◆◆

Ellie slowly raised herself to her knees. "Daniel?"

It couldn't be. Impossible. No. She must be dreaming. The sight of the man she once loved sent shockwaves through her body. Daniel. Her Daniel?

"You're alive." She stumbled to her feet and started for him then stopped.

The truth, far more horrible than any of them expected, began to fall into place.

"Daniel. No." A sob escaped. "You did this? You were the traitor?"

She couldn't comprehend it. It didn't make sense. The man she loved would never betray his country in such a way. Would never betray her.

Daniel's mouth twisted into a smile. "You had no idea, did you?" He seemed in shock himself. "The great Ayla had no idea she was being set up."

"H-how." She forced the word out. She had to know everything. "I recognized your belt buckle. It was you on the ground."

He laughed in her face. "That was the Syrian. My contact within their intelligence. He figured out it was me and was going to ruin everything. I couldn't allow it, so I killed him and put my belt buckle on him so that you would believe it was me."

"Why?" The question came out on a sob. "Why, Daniel."

He shrugged indifferently. "I'm sorry, but it had to be this way, Ayla. Too much was at stake. I couldn't risk him blowing my cover." Daniel took a step closer, the venom on his face nothing like the man she'd once loved with all her heart. "Where is it, Ayla? Where is the information Gideon hid?"

He'd fooled her. She believed the lies he'd told her.

She slapped him hard. "You faked your own death!"

His jaw tensed as if her response angered him. Good. She hoped it hurt like crazy. If nothing else, she'd get one last blow in.

He slowly smiled. "Look at you. So proud. So loyal. Just like Gideon. He knew someone from his team was working for the enemy. He tried to figure it out only he failed. For a while, he thought that you were the one who killed me and had been selling secrets, but then something changed. He reopened the investigation. Started asking questions. That's why he had to die."

Daniel, the last person Ellie would suspect of being a traitor, was the one who had betrayed her.

"You killed Gideon? You loved him. He was like a father to you. You told me so many times."

Nothing showed on Daniel's face. He stepped closer. "I need that information. Gideon put it inside the ring. He confessed before he died. It has the name of the undercover Mossad agent working within Syrian Intelligence. I promised to deliver. It will be bad for me if I don't. My boss needs it." He glanced behind him at a man she didn't recognize.

"I'm not giving it to you. You're going to kill me anyway. Why should I help?"

He clasped a strand of her hair, and she tried to pull free but he didn't let her. "We were a good team once. I thought about bringing you in with me, but you were always so loyal to Mossad and Gideon." His eyes narrowed. "You've seen the information. Who is it?"

Ellie fought back tears. "Was any of it real? Did you ever love me, Daniel? Why did you even propose to me?"

Just for a second, something of the Daniel she knew and loved showed in his eyes. But that Daniel was gone in a blink of an eye. The anger returned. "Who is it," he barked, making her jump.

Ellie squared her shoulders. "I'll never tell you."

"You will. Soon, you will. Gideon always thought you were the better agent over me, but you had no idea I faked my death. No idea the tracker in the Ruger wasn't the only one." He dug his finger into a spot at the back of Ellie's neck. "The most powerful tracker is in here. It was designed especially for us. Set to last more than ten years."

The spot Ellie thought was left by a needle injecting medicine was really where they'd implanted a tracker. Daniel wasn't taking any chances of losing her.

Daniel motioned to one of his men who hauled Boone to his feet. "You don't want to talk to me, well, maybe he can get you to talk. We've been watching you. I've seen how you look at him. You used to look at me the same way."

Daniel grabbed Ellie and pulled her close. "How much will it take for you to talk?"

His captor jammed his fist against Boone's injury. Boone screamed.

"No," Ellie yelled and tried to break free.

Daniel laughed. "So I was right. You do care about him. Too bad watching him die will be the last thing you do."

Ellie's gaze latched onto Boone's. He shook his head, warning her not to give up Neesa.

A gunshot cracked the tension. The man holding Boone hit the ground.

Ellie's shocked gaze went to the dead man staring up at them.

A heartbeat later, the world around them exploded in gunfire. Daniel released Ellie and spun toward the noise. Boone grabbed Ellie and dropped to the ground, shielding her body with his.

"What's happening?" Ellie managed over the noise of war.

Boone held her close. "I don't know, but I think the cavalry has arrived."

The battle seemed to go on forever before the shots slowed down then ended.

Boone raised his head and then he whooped for joy. "There's JT and Bryce and an army of people I don't recognize, but they're with my friends so they have to be the good guys."

He got to his feet and helped Ellie up. "We're going to be okay."

Ellie quickly took stock to make sure the rest of their friends were safe. Daniel was being restrained by armed men along with the rest of his people and the one he referred to as ‘the boss.' A woman Ellie recognized spoke to JT before starting their way.

"Neesa?" Ellie couldn't believe she was standing face-to-face with the woman. Neesa had changed over the years. No doubt life undercover had taken its toll.

Neesa smiled. "Glad to see you're okay, Ayla. We were afraid we wouldn't reach you in time."

Ellie struggled to make sense of what happened.

"Your commander reached out to us . . . actually, he called Gideon," Neesa told Boone. "Gideon alerted me to trouble and asked for help. I was too late."

"Daniel said he killed him because of the information on the drive."

"He did. Daniel kept his secret identity hidden well. We had no idea he was alive until Mossad intelligence picked him up near where the peace talks were to take place recently. We did a facial recognition search and discovered we were dealing with a dead man." Neesa watched as Daniel and his men were led away.

"He was the mole." Ellie shook her head. "I can't believe it." She focused on the man Daniel referred to as the boss. "Is that?" she asked incredulously.

Neesa turned. "It is. Issam Rafiq. A high-ranking officer of Syrian Intelligence. After the location of the information drive was discovered, Rafiq knew it was far too important to leave in the hands of Daniel and his people, who had failed to get the information after countless attempts."

Neesa shifted to Ellie. "We were never trying to kill you, Ayla. But we had to keep a close eye on your whereabouts to keep you and the information safe. We did—I did that by staying close to Issam Rafiq." She shook her head. "Years of work to get close to Rafiq has been destroyed. My cover has been compromised. But we were able to uncover the plot Rafiq had put into place, and I have another mission to fulfill. The prime minister has asked me to take on Gideon's position." Neesa looked to Boone. "Your Mossad friend sends his regards."

Boone inclined his head. "I should have known Tobias would talk."

Neesa chuckled. "He alerted us to Ayla resurfacing and you asking questions about the case. With the intel we had on Daniel, we knew he was coming after you." She turned to Ellie. "You've been cleared completely." Neesa waited for the information to register.

After seven years on the run, her name was cleared. Ellie expected elation or at least a sense of vindication. None of those came. The man she once believed was the love of her life had played her. Gideon was dead. She'd lost seven years with her family.

"And I'll need help in running Mossad," Neesa continued. "We can use more strong, devoted women on our team."

Ellie balled her hands into fists. After everything she'd been through, this was the moment she'd waited for, wasn't it?

She wasn't that woman anymore. The life she'd once loved no longer held an appeal.

But he did.

She turned to Boone. The love she saw in him was all she needed.

"Thank you, Neesa. But I think I have a better offer." She held her hand out, and Boone clasped it.

Neesa smiled. "I was afraid that might be the case. I don't blame you. There is more to life than what we do here. So much more. Enjoy your freedom, Ayla, or whatever you wish to call yourself now." She turned to leave and then stopped. "Oh, your family is waiting to hear from you. I'd call them soon. Seven years is a long time for silence."

Tears filled Ellie's eyes. "I will. I promise."

She faced Boone completely. "You told me you didn't want to wait to share how you felt about me. I don't either. I love you and I want to have a future with you, but I have a lot of baggage and unfinished business that I have to take care of first."

He pulled her into his arms and held her close. "It doesn't matter. I'll wait for you as long as you need." Then he lowered his head and kissed her with all the love that was in his heart.