Secrets of Mine (Of Mine #2)

45. Freya

45

FREYA

J ude hands me the earpiece and I slot it into place. We’ve commandeered a utility van the FBI uses for undercover ops and Jude, Oz, and I have been parked up near Laurette Park since seven this morning.

Various agents from the San Francisco office are dotted around the park, dressed in plain clothes as joggers or friends meeting for a morning coffee. So far there’s been no sign of Zach.

“It’s almost eight,” I say. “I’m going to head out. He might be watching, waiting for me to show before he appears.”

“Yeah, okay. Probably a good call.” Jude nods.

Oz doesn’t take his eyes off the screens, but he gives the go ahead.

The inside of the van is set up with some seriously high-tech surveillance equipment and Oz has eyes on all angles of the park as well as the camera feed showing Layla in the safe house.

My stomach rolls. We need to get to her. She’s still passed out, tied to the chair. It can’t be good for her to be unconscious for this long.

The earpiece I just put in crackles. “Can you hear me, Freya?” River asks.

“Loud and clear. I’m about to move in, everything ready at your end?” While Jude and Oz are with me, Eli and River are leading a SWAT team, ready to rescue Layla as soon as I’ve confirmed contact with Zach.

All I need to do is keep Zach occupied until they’ve got Layla secure, then, all our undercover agents become less undercover, and we arrest Zach.

“We’re ready,” River replies.

Jude steps forward and double checks my vest is done up right. He tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear and meets my gaze. “If anything goes wrong, you get out alive, okay? No stupid sacrifices.”

“Okay.” I nod. We were doing things right this time. I wasn’t going off by myself with no plan. I had a whole team behind me and about a dozen armed agents for back up. Everything will be fine.

I zip up my windbreaker over the bullet proof vest and check my gun’s holstered correctly at my waist. I take a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“As soon as you give the word, River and Eli will move in. We’ll tell you the second Layla’s safe. Just keep him talking till then,” Jude says.

I nod. “Got it.”

I open the back door of the van and slip out onto the road across from the park. It’s a little colder out today and thick clouds hang low in the sky, making the park seem gray. The weather means it’s emptier than usual but that’s good for us. Less chance of any civilians being caught in the crossfire.

I cross the road and walk along the wide paved path that curves through the grassy areas.

A couple of guys knock a ball about on the basketball court to my left and a woman jogging makes eye contact with me as she passes, letting me know she’s one of ours.

I scan the area, looking for any sign of Zach. The children’s play area is mercifully empty at this hour and the only other person I can see is a man playing chess with himself on the concrete tables the council put in.

I keep walking.

Unease skitters down my back and I straighten my spine, trying to tap into the strength I felt last night.

My dad is dead. We caught him and we will catch Zach. The fear is still there though, no matter how many times I tell myself that.

I can’t stop feeling my brother’s hand on my stomach and my throat is knotted tight, like there’s a scream stuck in my windpipe.

I focus on the soft breeze brushing against my cheeks and remind myself Jude and Oz are just across the road.

I can do this.

I’m still walking through the park and I’m almost at the chess tables when the man sitting there takes an ear bud out. I slow my pace. “Is the guy playing chess one of ours?” I ask Jude and Oz under my breath.

“No, it wasn’t a good enough vantage point,” Jude replies.

The man has a black cap pulled down low over his face. No glasses. He’s doesn’t look much like the nerdy PA I remember but the long black coat and fingerless gloves he’s got on remind me of the boy whose bedroom I was in yesterday.

“I think it’s Zach,” I say. “I’m going to approach.”

I don’t get a response, which registers in the back of my mind as strange, but I’m already drawing close to the chess tables.

“Fancy a game?” The voice snakes through me.

It’s him. He didn’t look up when he asked the question but the way my body reacts to his voice has me certain it’s Zach.

Come to think of it, Zach’s voice has always bothered me. I just never realized why.

“I’m actually kind of done with playing games,” I say, my voice hard.

He flicks a hand at the concrete seat opposite him. “Sit anyway.” He finally looks up at me and pure blue eyes burn into me. “Maybe you’ll learn something from watching me play.”

“Doubtful.”

The skin around his eyes tightens but that’s the only sign I’m aggravating him. He turns back to the checkerboard painted onto the table and moves a bishop.

I want to slam him onto the concrete surface and cuff him here and now, but I need to give River and Eli time to get Layla safe. He needs to know he has nothing over me, nothing to bargain with.

I sit down.

He reaches inside his coat and my hand drops to my gun, my feet planted and ready to move. He smirks as he pulls out a phone. “Relax, Little Star. If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

He drags his gaze over me. “Pretty and dead. But still very much dead.”

My stomach revolts at the pet name but I peel my fingers off my gun. It’s becoming very clear that Zach the PA was just an act. This is the real Zach. This is the monster the boy I blocked out has become and I need to be very careful, because I have a terrifying feeling that we’ve underestimated him.

He’s too calm. Too in control.

“What’s with the phone?” I ask, wariness pushing at my skin.

“I know how much Oz likes to watch. I thought maybe you would too.” Zach taps on the screen, turning it to face me.

His words sink in, and I brace myself to look away. If he’s got video of him touching Layla, all bets are off. I’m pulling my gun right here and shooting him in the fucking face.

My gaze drops to the phone, every muscle in my body tense, but it’s not what I’m expecting.

I frown, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. It doesn’t take me long to recognize the room on the screen, I spent hours last night staring at it. Oz is in the van, still staring at it. Except the screen in the van showed Layla tied to the chair. The screen on the phone shows no sign of Layla. Instead, the chair she was sitting on is stacked with C4.

My heart thrums. I flick my eyes up to Zach. It’s a fake, it has to be. I saw Layla in that room less than ten minutes ago. By now, River and Eli will be dealing with Briggs and getting Layla to safety.

Zach pulls out another phone, an old Nokia. A burner phone. He wriggles it in the air. “I wonder how long we’ll have to wait until River and Eli make their move. I’ve never blown someone up before, but I’ve got to say, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Excitement glimmers across his face. It’s the most emotion Zach’s shown since I’ve sat down. He hovers his thumb over the call button on the Nokia as he watches me, amusement ticking his lips up at the corners.

I can’t breathe. It’s not real, I tell myself but the need to check in with the guys is too strong. Real or not, I’m staring at a fucking bomb. “Jude, Oz,” I say.

They don’t answer.

Zach tsks and shakes his head. “They can’t hear you, Freya. Didn’t dear old Dad ever teach you it’s rude not to give someone your full attention? And just in case you get any ideas, even if I don’t press this button, the bomb is rigged to blow the second the door to the front room opens.

My panic rachets up. He’s jamming the signal somehow, stopping the guys from hearing me. I glance around the park, ready to get the attention of one of the agents but Zach’s boot presses down on the top of my shoe. “Eyes on the screen, Freya. You don’t want to miss this.”

“How?” I ask, looking back at him.

He shrugs. “Oz isn’t the only one good with computers.” He nods to the chess pieces positioned on the board. “And Jude isn’t the only genius. You’re in check, Freya.”

“I’m not playing,” I say.

He places his thumb on the call button. “Oh, I think you are.”

I bite my cheek and look at the chess board. Zach’s playing as white which leaves me as black. His bishop has my king in check, and I’ve got nowhere to go.

“I’ll save you some time. The only way for you to survive is to sacrifice your queen.”

I meet his eyes. They’re cold, lifeless. I don’t doubt for a second he will blow up the safehouse.

“Make the move, Freya.”

No matter how hard I try to hide it, my hand shakes. I pinch the queen’s crown between my thumb and forefinger and pick it up.

“Three.” Zach counts down.

“Two.”

I move the queen diagonally across the board.

“One.”

I knock his bishop over.

Movement on the iPhone catches my attention. On screen, the door to the front room flings open.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Zach grin. “Boom.”

He unfurls his fingers and the room explodes.