Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

X avier took a long swallow of his now cold coffee, ignoring the churning of his gut telling him he’d had enough. Coffee didn’t usually faze him, but since he’d been living on it for the past couple of days, his stomach said, Enough .

The OZ team sat at the conference table on their private jet. It was a much smaller gathering than usual. Hawke was still in the hospital and would be there at least a week before he’d be allowed to go home. The biggest issue had been blood loss, but once his strength returned, the doctors anticipated a full recovery.

Liam would have been here, but Aubrey was now giving birth to their baby girl. Xavier had talked to him last night, and he’d been torn up because he couldn’t help out. Even though Liam would cut off his right hand if someone tried to pull him away from Aubrey and the birth of his child, Xavier knew he was conflicted. Liam loved Jazz, just like they all did.

Xavier mentally shook his head. No, that wasn’t the case, because while all the OZ team loved Jazz like family, Xavier knew his own feelings for her were different and stronger. Would he ever get the chance to tell her?

Shutting down those negative feelings, he glanced at the small group again. Sean was still MIA also, and from what Xavier knew, no one had any idea where the asshole was. As soon as they did, Xavier knew there would be several pissed-off OZ operatives on his doorstep, demanding an explanation.

“Okay,” Ash said, “let’s go over what we know.”

Giving a nod, Serena started, “Forensics pulled a half-dozen prints from Jazz’s room. We should be getting some matches soon. Also, they were able to get enough blood off the bathroom mirror for a DNA test.”

“Any intel on who might’ve take her or when?” Gideon asked.

“Maybe,” she said. Clicking something on her keyboard, she turned and pointed to a photo on a big screen on the wall. “This is from a pawnshop camera across the street from the motel. It doesn’t show the door to Jazz’s room, but I’ve reviewed all the footage for the last three days. Nothing strange happened except for this.”

Xavier squinted at the screen. “Dark blue van?”

“Yes,” Serena answered. “Four days ago, it entered the parking lot at 1:38 AM and exited at 1:52.”

“Okay,” he said. “But why—” He caught his breath when he saw the guy in the passenger seat. The van was leaving the parking lot, and though it was just a brief glimpse, he could see that the man had his head leaned back, and a cloth covered part of his face. It’s what someone would do if they’d been punched in the nose. Was that where the blood had come from? Had Jazz busted the nose of one of her abductors? Had he gone to the bathroom and tried to clean up, leaving the blood evidence behind?

“I know it’s not much,” Serena said, “but I checked the front-desk registry. None of their guests registered with a dark blue van, and if you’ll notice…” She enlarged a photo of the van as it was exiting the parking lot. “No tags.”

“That’s a good lead, Serena,” Ash said. “We got anything else?”

“Yes. Since the van seemed like the likeliest, I’ve tapped into traffic cam recordings throughout the city. I managed to follow the vehicle all the way to Highway 405. They got off on an exit that leads to an industrial area. Lots of factories and businesses. I sent out a drone to explore the area, but nothing helpful has come back yet.”

“And once we get fingerprint matches or DNA on the blood, we’ll have a better idea of where else we need to look,” Ash said.

“Yes. It shouldn’t take long. I’ve got our best people on this.”

“Okay. Good work. Anything else?”

“Yes,” Serena said. “Xavier was right about the rental car. The white Toyota Camry was rented by Joy Monroe, Jazz’s alias for this op.”

Yeah, he’d figured one of the cars had belonged to her.

Ash turned to Xavier. “While we wait for more intel, let’s review Jazz’s last few known movements.”

Drawing in a breath, Xavier said, “Jazz told me she was taking time off. She never said anything, but I thought she would go back to her apartment. When Hawke and I were at the restaurant, doing a final follow-up, one of the employees mentioned a young woman who’d been asking questions. He described Jazz to a T. That was my first clue that she was still in Seattle.”

“So instead of taking off like she said she was, she continued to investigate but on her own?” Eve said. “That’s so out of character for Jazz.”

Xavier agreed wholeheartedly. Jazz was the ultimate team player and had a tendency to get pissed if one of them did something without involving the entire team.

“And you have no idea why she would do this?” Ash said.

“No.”

“Okay. Let’s take a look at what she left in the safe.”

Grabbing the bag he’d put beside his chair, he opened it and spread the contents across the table. There were no real clues here—at least nothing that would tell them what might have happened. However, what she had left behind was beyond significant and had confirmed to Xavier that she had left the motel against her will.

The items in front of them consisted of Jazz’s OZ-issued cellphone, two burner phones, two passports, and driver’s licenses for two different aliases. There was also more than twenty-four hundred dollars in cash, as well as Jazz’s back-up gun, which she usually wore either strapped to her ankle or in a thigh holster. All these things were consistent with what any OZ operative would have with them on an op. One never knew when another alias might be required. The cash amount was fairly standard, if a little low.

If she had checked out of the motel voluntarily, she would never have left those things behind. But those items weren’t what had solidified his belief that Jazz had been taken. Two other objects stood out conspicuously. First was the tiny vial containing the GPS skin patch they had planned to use to tag Franco Bass. She had likely forgotten to return it after the op, but there was no way she would willingly leave behind such expensive and rare tech. It would have been the height of unprofessional, and that was not Jazz.

But the number one item that he knew she would never have left behind lay before him like a lone teardrop. A sterling silver heart-shaped locket, which held the only photo she had left of her family. Though she never wore it on a mission, not wanting anyone during an op to ever see a glimpse of the real Jazz McAlister, everyone at OZ knew that she carried the locket with her at all times.

Xavier didn’t need to look at the photo to see it in his mind. She’d told him that her mother and stepfather had given her the locket when she was eight years old. The picture was of the four of them—her mother, stepfather, stepbrother, and Jazz. In the photo, Jazz was seven years old—a tiny little girl with a big grin, a missing front tooth, and twinkling dark brown eyes. Her stepfather was a tall, blond man who towered over his small wife and stepdaughter. Jazz’s mother had long, black hair and was slender. With the exception of her eye color and hair length, she was a replica of how her daughter looked today.

Brody, only eleven years old at the time of the photo, was already almost as tall as his father, with golden-brown hair, vivid green eyes, and an oddly serious look for one so young.

The locket was Jazz’s most cherished possession. It was all she had left of her family, and unless the devil himself swept her away, she would not leave the locket behind. And that was Xavier’s biggest fear. Some devil had taken Jazz.

A soft hand landed on his arm, and he glanced over at Eve. “She’s tough as nails, Xavier. She will figure out a way out or a way to contact us.”

Xavier nodded, praying with everything within him that she was right. Yes, Jazz was tough as nails. He remembered the first time he’d seen her. OZ had been in business for about a year by then, but they’d desperately needed more operatives. Times were getting more dangerous, and the number of people they could trust seemed to be shrinking at an alarming rate.

Kate had invited them to the training camp she co-owned with a fellow former FBI agent. Ash, along with Xavier, Sean, Liam, Gideon, and Eve, had gone to observe and hopefully pinpoint a new recruit. They had evaluated five potential operatives that day. None of them had known they were being observed. They had believed they were going through a regular training session. Three men and two women had competed in a series of trials while the six of them had watched.

The moment Jazz had entered his field of vision, Xavier had been mesmerized. It hadn’t been her looks, which he had to admit were stunning. It hadn’t been her skills, which though impressive, were just as good or even somewhat subpar to a couple of the other recruits. It hadn’t even been her smile, which could light up the room like a blazing fire. No, what had fascinated him had been her courage and grit. He had never seen anyone with more sheer determination and drive to succeed. She just never quit. No matter how many times she got knocked down.

Skills could be learned, honed, perfected, but the kind of fire and drive Jazz McAlister possessed was inherent in her DNA.

The vote had been unanimous that day. Not one of them had considered hiring anyone other than Jazz.

Yes, she looked fragile. Jazz was small-boned and, as she liked to put it, length-challenged. There wasn’t a man or woman on the OZ team who didn’t secretly want to protect her because she looked so breakable. But there wasn’t a one who didn’t think that she couldn’t handle the job just as well as any of them. She might have to go about it in a different way, but no one, after working with her for even an hour, would ever question her capabilities.

So yes, Jazz was tough, and she would do everything within her power to escape or let them know how to find her. But she was as human as anyone, and he knew to the depths of his soul that she was in serious trouble.

“She never would have left that locket,” Serena said softly.

“No, she wouldn’t.”

The silence as they all stared at the locket was explosive with tension. If any of them had had any doubts that Jazz had been abducted, they no longer existed.

Finally, Ash spoke, his voice slightly gruff. “Okay, while we’re waiting for more intel on her abductors, let’s talk about the why.”

“I know we’re not big on assumptions,” Eve said, “but don’t we have to look at WP as the likeliest suspects? They know OZ is hot on their trail. They might not be able to easily identify us, but with you guys asking questions about the shooting, maybe somebody put it together. Doesn’t that make the most sense?”

“Does it, though?” Gideon asked. “We all saw the location of the shooter who tried to take out Xavier and Hawke. Any half-assed amateur could’ve made the kill shot. Seems like if WP wanted to get rid of them, they would have hired someone who wouldn’t miss.”

“Unless he was trying to miss,” Eve said.

“Then why do it at all?”

“Maybe a warning?” Serena offered. “‘We know you’re on to us, so back off’?”

“I don’t see that happening,” Xavier said. “These people aren’t shy about killing for all different kinds of reasons. I think if they meant to kill Hawke and me, they would’ve hired an expert marksman to do the deed. The assassin who took out Bass was an obvious pro. No reason not to hire him, or someone like him, to take us out, too.”

Eve nodded slowly. “All right, then, if that’s the case, maybe we need to look at Jazz’s abduction and the attempt on Xavier as the same party.”

“Other than OZ and a few of our closest associates, who would know that Jazz and I even know each other?”

“They could have seen you together at the restaurant.” Serena clicked several keys on her keyboard, and a shot of Jazz and Xavier sitting at the table at the restaurant appeared on the screen.

A punch to the gut couldn’t have had more impact on Xavier than seeing Jazz looking so beautiful and vibrant. His throat closed up with emotion at the sight. Would he ever see her like that again?

“This was just a three-second shot. In fact, Jazz herself called me about it. I was already working on getting it taken down, but I’m sure thousands of people saw the clip before I was able to get to it.”

“A video caused all of this?” Gideon stood and began pacing up and down the small aisle of the plane. Everyone was used to his way of working things out. “That seems like a big-assed leap, guys. Somebody sees Jazz, decides he wants her, hunts her down, takes her, and tries to take out Xavier, who he thinks is his competition?”

Xavier had to admit—and everyone else’s expressions showed they thought the same—it was indeed a big-assed leap.

“Could this be related to Jazz’s past?” Eve asked. “I know she doesn’t talk about it much, but her mother and stepfather died under mysterious circumstances, despite what the official records show. And her brother disappeared. Maybe someone is targeting her family and saw her.”

“After all this time?” Gideon said.

“Could Kate give us some insight, Ash?”

“Maybe. I’ve put off calling her until we could get more intel. She’s going to want answers, and I?—”

Ash cut off his words when an alert sounded on Serena’s phone.

“Fingerprint match came in,” Serena said. All eyes watched as she clicked several keys on her keyboard. The face of a large, rough-looking man appeared on the big screen. “It matches this guy—Alton Nix. Here’s his record.”

Beside the photo of Nix, a list as long as Xavier’s arm showed up. The man’s record included everything from shoplifting to animal abuse to assault with a deadly weapon. The guy was barely forty and looked like he’d been in trouble for more than half his life.

Another man’s face appeared on the screen, only slightly smaller but even rougher looking with a long, filthy-looking beard and mean, beady eyes. “This guy, Joey Holms, is Nix’s best friend. They met in prison when they were both twenty and have been partners in crime since then. They’ve lived in Seattle for the past eight years.”

Xavier reviewed their vital statistics. Even though the photo of the two men in the van had been slightly grainy, he could definitely see a resemblance between the driver and Nix and the passenger and Holms.

“So why would two thugs have any interest in Jazz?” Eve asked.

“Hired goons,” Xavier said. “Or, as slimy as these two are, maybe they saw her and decided to take her.”

“No,” Eve said, “that doesn’t match up with the shot taken at you.”

“I agree,” Ash said. “Serena, find out whom they’ve worked for in the past—any other known associates. Dig into their bank accounts and anything else you can find about them.”

Her brow wrinkled in concentration, Serena was already clicking away as she said, “On it.”

Grabbing the phone on the table in front of him, Ash punched in a number, and Kate answered immediately.

“Hey, Ash, good to hear from you. Are you back home with Jules and Josh yet?”

“No. We’ve had a development.”

“Okay.” In an instant, her voice went from easygoing to serious. “What’s wrong?”

“Jazz has been abducted. We don’t know who or?—”

Before he could say anything else, Kate snapped, “Call you back.” The line went dead.

Everyone stared at the phone in Ash’s hand as if it would give them answers.

“What the hell?” Eve asked. “Did Kate just hang up on you?”

His face morphing from confusion into a severe thundercloud, he growled, “So it would seem.”

Distracting them from their confusion at Kate’s unexpected reaction to the news about Jazz, another alert sounded on Serena’s phone. When her face paled, Xavier felt his heart plummet.

“What?” he barked.

“A dark blue van was found in the parking lot of an industrial landfill. Two men with bullets in their heads were found in the front seat. They’ve been identified as Alton Nix and Joey Holms.”

So the two leads they’d had were already gone, leaving them with nothing other than the knowledge that Jazz had been taken by someone who didn’t mind killing to cover up the crime.

Where the hell was she?