Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

January 27 th

7:53 A.M.

"We're not going to be late this morning," Lucy said as they drove toward Prey's offices. She made the comment more to break the silence than for any other reason.

Something had changed when they climbed into the car this morning.

It wasn't like there was distance between them. They'd already made love twice this morning. Once she'd woken with Zander's head between her legs, then they'd had a little fun in the shower. The good and playful mood continued through breakfast and when they got out to the car. After helping her up into her seat, Zander had kissed her like he hated the idea of taking her away from his place where they could just make out whenever the urge arose.

But as soon as they'd begun driving, he'd started to be off.

Stopped chatting, gotten all serious, and from the hundreds of glances he'd given the rear-view mirror it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

They were being followed.

At least that's what she suspected although Lucy was a little too cowardly to ask for confirmation. After everything she'd been through, it didn't seem unreasonable to want to stick her head in the sand and refuse to believe that anything else was going to go wrong.

Because her biggest fear was that she couldn't handle anything else going wrong.

So sticking her head in the sand it was.

For a few more minutes anyway.

"Nope, won't be late today," Zander said, although his strained tone made it clear he was making an effort and not at all in a teasing and jovial mood.

"I'll have to thank your sister and Tate for looking after Cotton last night," she continued, making another attempt at pretending nothing was wrong.

"Mmhmm."

Cursing this feeling of helplessness that blanketed her, she hated that all her life she had worked so hard to prove to everybody, and mostly to herself, that she wasn't useless. Most of the time it worked, she made sure her environment was one that remained nearly constantly under her control. But this wasn't under her control. This was so far out of her element that she may as well be shooting off in a rocket into outer space.

If life had taught her anything, it was that being prepared and informed worked best at keeping fear and anxiety away.

To that end, she placed her palms on her knees and straightened her fingers out when they wanted to curl into impotent fists. Then she drew in a breath, attempting to drag in as much strength and calm as she could muster before breathing out slowly, purging her body of tension and stress.

She could do this.

Already she'd survived a plane crash, a hike through the jungle, and being held captive and drugged. If she could do that, she could handle a simple car ride through the city.

"Zander?"

"Hmm?" He tossed her a quick glance before returning his gaze to the road.

"Are we being followed?"

"Truth or lie?"

Truth or dare had been her least favorite game as a teen because guaranteed one of the kids would wind up asking her about her epilepsy if she picked truth. And if she picked dare, they would usually just make her tell them about her epilepsy anyway. That, or they would dare her to kiss a boy or something like she was some freak who nobody would want. But she'd had her first kiss when she was eleven, behind the large tree in front of her church one Sunday morning.

Although, why that was important at the moment she had no idea.

Swallowing down the urge to ask for the short-lived comfort and reassurance a lie might bring, she forced herself to make the right choice.

Really the only choice she could make. If they were being followed, the last thing Zander needed was her freaking out or panicking. That was only going to make matters worse.

"Truth."

"Yeah. Picked up about ten minutes after we left my place. Not sure how they knew where I lived, that house isn't in my name."

"Does someone at Prey have the address?" Lucy assumed they did since she was sure Eagle would have made sure somebody was watching the house last night as another line of protection for both her and Zander.

"Yeah, Eagle asked. Said he wanted security on you."

While she was sure Eagle had mentioned security for both of them, she didn't push the issue, it didn't really seem relevant right now. "Then the mole must have it. They must have passed it along to Raul Castillo and he had some of his men lying in wait for us." It was what he'd done a few weeks ago with Scarlett, kept sending men after her until he got her back in his clutches. The man was nothing if not predictable.

Sooner or later, that would catch up with him and lead to his downfall, but not soon enough to save her and Zander from whoever was following them.

"Wish I hadn't sent away the protection detail this morning. I made a mistake, I thought that nobody outside of Prey had the address. Eagle said he was only going to allow a small number of people he was sure he trusted have the intel."

"The mole has proven themselves to be pretty intelligent so far. They likely have a backdoor into the system and hacked it to get the intel." At least she hoped that was what had happened because the alternative was that one of the people she trusted one hundred percent to have her back was actually working against her. "What's the plan?"

"Try to lose them and get to Prey. Then once I get you there keep you locked away in a room where only I have the key to the door."

Since he said it so seriously, she actually managed a small laugh. "I don't think we can count on a simple lock to keep the mole out."

Zander swore and she felt bad for reminding him of that. But the truth was, with the mole situation at Prey there was nowhere safe for her or their team. And besides, she wasn't the only one in danger. Zimraan Mostafa blamed Zander for the raid that got his brother killed and had sworn vengeance, so really Zander should be locked away along with her.

"Once we get to Prey, we'll be safe," she assured him, reaching over to place a hand on his thigh. "The mole can't really make a move while we're there without exposing themselves."

"That's what I'm counting on because I need you safe, baby girl. Can't lose anyone else I care about. I already lost my team, I came so close to losing my sister, and then I almost lost you in Mexico several times over."

"You'll keep me safe, Zander," she said softly, believing that with all her heart. While he wasn't invincible or a superhero, Zander was smart and well trained, he would do everything within his power to protect her and that was all she could ask of him.

Making what sounded like a scoffing sound of disbelief, Zander said, "We'll be at Prey in less than three minutes. All I need from you right now is a promise that you'll do what I tell you when I tell you to do it."

"Promise." An easy one to make. This was Zander's area of expertise not hers, and the last thing she wanted to do was put both of their lives in danger because she thought she could actually offer him assistance.

The remainder of the ride was tense. Neither of them spoke, and as much as Zander kept looking in the rear-view mirror, she kept looking out the side mirror. While she couldn't pick out the vehicle that had been following them, she had no doubt that if Zander said it was there then it was there.

Seconds felt like hours and minutes like days, but eventually, they turned into the street Prey's building was located on and Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

"When I park out the front of the building, I want you to wait for me to come around and cover you. Then we walk to the door without looking back. Got it?"

"Got it," she acknowledged.

As soon as he turned off the engine, Zander was out of the car and rounding it to come and get her. Nerves were beginning to get the best of her, and fine tremors began to ripple through her body. All she wanted was to get inside behind the bulletproof glass where both she and Zander would be surrounded by a whole bunch of highly trained men.

Out here felt too exposed.

The feeling only intensified as Zander opened her door and helped her out. Keeping his big body between her and the road, they'd gone no more than two steps toward the building when chaos erupted around them.

Gunshots began to fire in all directions, and a black van roared up beside them. Men poured out of it, coming toward them.

Zander fought and fired his weapon.

She did the best she could with nothing other than her bare hands.

But there were too many of them.

Pain exploded inside her head and the next thing she knew, the world was cloaked in darkness.

January 27 th

11:23 P.M.

Pain pounded inside his head.

It flared between his temples making nausea swell in his stomach.

It was pure reflex and not conscious thought that had Zander rolling to the side and vomiting onto the ground instead of all over himself.

With a groan, he sank back down, feeling weak and shaky.

Not a good thing.

Because while his body ached and his brain throbbed, his memories were completely intact.

They'd been ambushed and abducted.

Not just him.

Lucy had been with him, taken alongside him, and now he was going to be forced to watch her be tortured and murdered just like he'd watched his team.

He had no idea how he knew that, but deep down in his gut, something told him it was true.

If he wanted to find a way to save her, he had to open his eyes, gather as much intel as he could, and pray for a miracle.

It wasn't rocket science to know that the miracle was really all that was going to work.

Last time he would have died along with his team if they hadn't been rescued. Why should he believe that this time was any different?

Why should he believe that rescue would arrive at all let alone in time?

In time to save Lucy at least.

Because if he watched her die and then was rescued, he didn't want to live. He wasn't even sure that vengeance would be a strong enough motivator to keep him alive. Already he'd learned that there were more important things in life than revenge. For eighteen months it had kept him alive, but the best decision he'd ever made was letting go of it for Lucy's sake.

She came first.

Before everything.

Including himself.

This time around, he wouldn't be holding back, wasn't going to be silent, if there was a way to talk their abductors into letting Lucy go and taking his life instead then he would gladly take it. Whatever pain he suffered before his life was over would be well worth it if it kept his girl alive.

"Zander?"

The weak call of his name from the woman he was well and truly prepared to die for was enough to drag his weak and uncooperative body out of its haze.

His eyes snapped open and immediately he wished they hadn't.

Given Raul Castillo's stubborn streak and inability to let things go even when he was pursuing something that was no long in his best interest, Zander had expected to find himself and Lucy back in Mexico, prisoners of the weapons dealer.

But this sure as hell wasn't Mexico.

There was no jungle. Instead, around them were the rocky mountains he remembered far too well. Scenery that was forever burned into his mind's eye along with the stench of blood and the echoes of agonized screams.

This was Syria.

They hadn't been taken by Raul Castillo, they'd been taken by Zimraan Mostafa.

How was it possible that the brother of a Syrian terrorist cell had been able to find him on the other side of the world within hours of the raid that had killed his brother and broken up the cell?

Simply put, it shouldn't be possible.

While in theory there was a chance that Zimraan might have been able to track him down, it would have taken both time and money. Given that the cell had been raided and most of their men killed with a few captured, money should be an issue. But even if Zimraan still had access to money, how had he managed to get the location of both Zander's house and Prey so quickly?

And how had the man even known that Zander was associated with Prey?

He'd been Delta Force before his team's capture and subsequent deaths, no affiliation with Prey, although he had worked a joint mission years ago with one of Prey's teams. But there was no possible way that a young Syrian wannabe terrorist could know that he was working with Prey to help bring down a feared weapons trafficker.

Unless …

Was it possible that the mole at Prey had somehow managed to make contact with Zimraan and sold the intel?

If so, why?

What could they possibly have to gain by having him and Lucy abducted and murdered?

It was one thing to sell off the Reactivator, the drug that Lucy, Scarlett, and their team had been working on. The drug would give soldiers a substantial advantage in the field so it was a definite game changer and could save thousands of lives. Selling it would have gotten the mole a bag full of cash, and that was something he could see motivating a person.

But this …?

This wasn't about money.

This felt almost personal. Like the mole was making a decision that had nothing to do with money.

Which made zero sense. If the mole had a grudge against Lucy, Scarlett wouldn't have been targeted first. And how could the mole possibly have a grudge against him? He didn't work for Prey, and he'd only been assisting them for literally a couple of days, that was nowhere near enough time to have angered the mole to the point where they would have to go to all the trouble it would have taken to make contact with Zimraan Mostafa and sell him out.

"Zander?" Lucy called out to him again, this time her voice was a little stronger and threaded with terror.

Turning his head toward the sound, he took in the place where they were being held. Like when his team had been captured, they were in a courtyard. There was dry, sandy dirt beneath him, and there were stone buildings all around the outside of the space. Light spilled out of a couple of windows, and since the courtyard was outside there was also the light from the moon and a few scattered stars.

It was like traveling back in time.

The only differences this time around was that instead of the heat making the space unbearable, the air around them was wintery cold. And instead of having seven highly trained men chained up with him, men who had signed up for the job and who knew the risks they were taking, there was one small, vulnerable woman.

A woman who meant something to him.

More than something, she meant every thing.

And she was going to be tortured and murdered because of him.

The thought left him paralyzed by fear.

Knowing what Lucy was going to suffer all because she'd believed in him and made him a promise to be there for them was a sour ball of agonizing terror sitting heavily in his gut.

He'd seen what these men did to women, watched firsthand as they raped girls. Brutally raped them to the point where he wasn't even sure the young women would have survived their injuries.

The death Raul had promised Lucy echoed in his mind.

Different sick monster, same horrific fate.

Because there was no doubt in his mind that Zimraan knew that Lucy was important to him. That the young man had plans to both physically torture her as well as sexually. That Lucy's death would be long and drawn out, she would beg for mercy, but there would be none to be found.

Like there would be no redemption for him.

Not after this.

Not with another death on his shoulders.

"You're scaring me, Zander." Lucy sounded borderline hysterical. Not a good thing because his woman was a rock, knew how to control her emotions, was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected, and she was rational and pragmatic.

But there was no way anybody could be rational when they woke up to this mess.

He felt the chain around his ankle and knew from experience that there was no way to break it or pry it free from the concrete it was embedded in, at least not with your bare hands. Lucy would be similarly chained up, and he could see the table waiting in the middle of the courtyard. This was a different place than last time, he knew that for sure because it was smaller, not big enough to chain up eight men, but the end result would be the same.

Bloodshed and screams and pain.

"Zander, are you dead? Please, if you're here, answer me," Lucy begged, and he could tell even from there, even in the dark, that she was crying.

As his gaze sought her out, he saw the small figure in the opposite corner of the yard. She was on her knees, trying desperately to wrestle with the chain binding her in place. It killed him to know that she was there because of him.

That he'd done this to her.

She'd promised to always be there for him, and it had signed her own death warrant.

"Please, Zander, I don't want you to be dead, please don't be dead."

Those words, accompanied by weeping, hurt worst of all.

Because before she took her final breath, Zander had no doubt that Lucy would be cursing the day she met him.