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Chapter 37

CHAPTER

THIRTY-SEVEN

Anxiety thrummed inside Heidi.

Rafferty hadn't explained his statement about knowing what she'd been up to. Instead, he'd directed her to listen to his instructions. They needed to leave, and she needed to change clothes first—no questions asked.

To her surprise, he had some clothing already purchased in her size. Heidi wasn't sure how that was even possible. But Rafferty didn't seem willing to answer questions.

She'd asked if she could wear her tennis shoes, and he'd given her a flat no. She could see why. They were dirty and grungy.

Some dress slacks, a cream-colored blouse, and shiny loafers had been laid out for her. Something much more professional.

But she hated to leave her cell phone behind. Should she take the cell phone out of her sneakers? Maybe she could slide it into her pocket.

That was risky, however. If she was caught with the device . . . they would probably kill her right on the spot.

She'd known what her decision had to be.

She'd showered, fixed her hair, and dressed. She glanced in the mirror and gave herself a nod of approval. However, she could see the fear lingering in her gaze. She prayed Rafferty couldn't see it, that he didn't read too much into it.

A knock sounded at the door. "Time to go."

It was Edward.

She stepped toward the door. As she did, she glanced back at her shoes one more time.

Those were her lifeline, her connection with the outside world.

She'd be going solo from here out.

She prayed she knew what she was doing. However, at this point, she had no other choice.

She opened the door, and Edward scowled. "About time."

He took her arm—a little too tightly—and began pulling her down the hallway. "Is this really necessary?"

He only grunted in return, and his grip didn't loosen.

As they passed Rafferty's office, he stepped out and joined them.

Her heart continued to pound in her ears with every step. She had no idea what might happen next. Part of her didn't want to find out.

Dear Lord, help me. Please!

Edward escorted her out of the bunker, up the stairs, and into the shack.

An SUV waited for them outside.

"Get in," Edward muttered.

She glanced at the woods surrounding them. Was Stephen out there watching?

She didn't see him. But her gut told her he was there.

A touch of reassurance filled her at the thought.

Before she could ask questions, Edward shoved her inside. Rafferty climbed in up front beside another man she hadn't seen before, and Edward sat beside her. The third man stayed behind.

A bad feeling continued to rumble inside her as they pulled away.

"Where are we going?" Her voice trembled as her nerves got the best of her.

"It's not important," Rafferty said over his shoulder in the front seat.

He grabbed his phone and hit a button. She listened closely as someone answered.

"Is everything arranged?" Pause. "This needs to go off without a hitch." Another pause. "We'll be there in an hour."

He was definitely lining up something, but Heidi wasn't sure what.

Whatever was happening, she was certain it wasn't a good thing.

The only thing she could do at this point was play it by ear, and that seemed like a terrible plan.

As soon as Stephen and Gage had seen Heidi get into the SUV, they'd hurried through the woods to their own vehicle. Stephen opened his computer and pulled up the tracker, determined not to lose track of where Heidi was headed.

He frowned as he stared at the screen. "Her tracker is offline. It shows she's still at the bunker."

"That's not a surprise," Gage said. "They had her change clothes."

Stephen had known that was true. But he still hated the fact he was cut off from her. The good news was that they'd placed a tracker in the wheel well of the SUV she was in. They wouldn't be able to hear her conversation, though.

He couldn't imagine where they might be headed, but he was about to find out.

His phone buzzed, and he saw it was Larchmont.

"I have an update for you," Larchmont started. "The team has been trying to cross-reference those cities and dates you sent me. We finally have a lead. It appears this is the schedule for Commander George Billings, the times he'll be on the road campaigning in those cities."

George Billings? Stephen tried to recall everything he knew about the man.

The man had also worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hadn't he? And he was running for senator in Tennessee. That was all Stephen could remember.

Why would Rafferty care about this commander?

He narrowed his eyes with thought. "Okay . . . so Rafferty and his men are tracking this guy's campaign?"

"It appears they are." Larchmont paused. "But I have reason to believe Commander Billings is the one who gave the final okay to Project Elevate."

Stephen's thoughts raced. "I thought that was Commander Davis?"

"So did I. But we were wrong," Larchmont said. "There was more going on than we realized. Cynthia had to deal with Billings on more than one occasion when she was a lobbyist, and she said the man is no good. He's power hungry and has said on several occasions that he'd like to be president of the United States one day."

"You think Commander Billings is being targeted because of his involvement in Project Elevate?" Stephen clarified.

"Rafferty is going to send his men after Commander Billings. If the commander tells people about Project Elevate, Rafferty will be painted in a worse light than he already is. He'll be on wanted lists, and the feds will make it their goal to find him and bring him down—especially when they learn he's still operating. He's playing a very dangerous game."

"But Billings's campaign would be ruined if he spoke the truth," Gage said.

"Yes, that's absolutely true. There's still more here we need to uncover."

"You can say that again," Stephen muttered as they continued down the narrow mountain road.

They couldn't lose sight of that SUV, yet they couldn't be seen either. The situation was precarious at best. Even though they'd placed a tracker on the SUV, they needed to be careful. Heidi's life depended on it.

"One other thing," Larchmont said. "We were able to identify the man in the photo Gage sent us—the guy who was smoking outside the shack."

"Who is he?" Stephen stiffened. "I didn't recognize him from Blackstone."

"He actually works for an organization called Dagger."

Stephen's jaw tightened at the mention. "I've heard of them. They're another security group—an unscrupulous one, at that."

"They're nothing but trouble. They're the men people hire when they need someone with no moral compass. I don't know how they're affiliated with all of this. But whatever the connection, it's not good."

So why was Rafferty taking Heidi with him to wherever he was going? That was one other thing that didn't make sense.

Unless Rafferty somehow wanted to use Heidi as a fall guy.

Was that it? Was Heidi going to be the scapegoat for whatever scheme Rafferty had devised? The person who looked guilty of plotting an assassination?

There were still some uncertainties with that theory. But nothing else made sense.

However, Stephen prayed he was wrong.

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