Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jax pulled off the highway at the correct exit. “I see the gas station.”
Kenna scanned the whole terrain out the window, tugging Jax’s coat tighter around her. Hills around them. Not much light at this time of night. No buildings other than this out-of-the-way gas station that looked boarded up, like it had been shut down a long time ago. “We’re late.”
“Good. That way we stay out of it.”
“Okay, good point.” They’d driven the speed limit, as opposed to Bruce and Ramon, who’d gotten here way ahead of Kenna and Jax. “Looks like they’re around back.”
“Hard to not see someone coming when it’s so open like this.”
Kenna looked up. “There are so many stars out here.” She loved places like this. Just without the operational threat, and the fight underway to rid the world of Dominatus.
The west side of the highway had a dark hill on the left of the winding road that disappeared around the shadowed peak.
On the other side, only headlights and a couple of street lights around the gas station helped her see what was happening.
Jax pulled in, then made a sharp left and stopped with his side of the car hugging the strip of sidewalk.
Around the back of the gas station, muzzle flash erupted several times in rapid succession. Kenna flipped down the glove compartment and slid a pistol from its holster, flicking off the safety.
Jax opened the door. “Stay here.”
As if he had to tell her that. She wasn’t getting out of the car, but she definitely planned to defend herself if it came to it.
Jax raced across the rutted parking lot toward the fray, ducked down behind one of their cars, and took aim.
She slid down in the seat, just in case, and covered them all with as much prayer as she could muster up.
Relying on God and not putting her baby in danger weren’t mutually exclusive.
She had to trust Him all the time. It just happened that right now it wasn’t only about her and her husband, it was also about their daughter.
Zeyla raced to the right, in the dark, all the way around the front of the building. Coming around behind the attackers.
Kenna’s phone rang, a number she didn’t recognize.
She put her elbow on the center console and leaned as best she could, trying to make it comfortable and prevent herself from being a target. She slid her thumb across the screen. “I’m a little busy right now, so if this isn’t important, you should call back later.”
A pause filled the line, and then, “Please hold for the president.”
Kenna spoke to no one in particular. “I guess that’s one way to find out if Petyr survived.”
“He did, indeed.” President Tetherton sounded annoyed. “Thanks to you.”
“You’re welcome?”
“I thought you might like to know that he is currently at the White House under the care of my personal doctor.”
“Good for him.” Kenna didn’t want to sound sarcastic. “Did he get roofied?”
“After a fashion. We are testing to ascertain precisely what substance was used. Not that it matters, as I believe you have the suspect in custody?”
“After a fashion.” Kenna peered out the windshield without lifting up too much. Looked like Ramon was fighting someone hand to hand, getting his workout in for the evening. The other guy was bigger than him, so her friend might even break a sweat.
The phone was warm against her ear.
“Have you spoken to him?” Kenna asked. “I asked him to pass on a request.”
“I’m told he won’t wake until tomorrow. We’ll discuss it then. I’m about to enter a meeting.”
Kenna looked at the dash clock. The president was working at this hour? She wondered what the meeting was about, but figured it was probably not her business.
“As I said, I just wanted to thank you for your actions. You likely saved his life, and this treaty.”
Kenna just loved helping Dominatus advance their agenda to control the world. Not. “If you really want to say thanks, there is something you can do.”
“I’ll make no promises.”
“It’s fine if you just listen, because someone needs to know.”
“Go ahead.” It sounded like Tetherton had stopped moving.
Kenna tried to move on the seat, but it only made her more uncomfortable.
“Have the taskforce investigating the bombing re-examine everything and address the possibility that Hann, Anthony & Associates were set up. That they were hired for that think tank purely as a trap so there would be enough evidence of their guilt that it’s considered open-and-shut. ”
“You want the FBI to publicly apologize as well?”
Because she thought Kenna was asking for the impossible?
“I know you want the threat eliminated. Congratulations, because several of them are dead. They realized they were being set up and defended themselves, which got them killed. I’ll convince the rest of them to leave you alone.
To just go live their lives and forget trying to take you down. ”
“This is what you talked to Petyr about?”
“No,” Kenna said, “that was a different favor.”
“You ask for much, Kenna Banbury.” The president sighed. “But I live in a world where favors are currency.”
“You’ll have them look at the case again?” She’d figured asking the president to just release the lawyers was too much. The FBI would have to explain their actions. An escape would launch a manhunt. Justice was always the best end to injustice.
The president said, “I’ll send that request to the taskforce director.”
“That’s all I ask.”
“Until tomorrow.” That wasn’t a salutation, just a reminder there’d be another request as soon as Peytr woke up.
“We’ll take down the threat targeting you and your friends.” Kenna paused. “But it’s something we need your help with.”
“I thought you were more than capable.”
“You’re the ones who made a point to tell me how highly you regard the unborn. You want my daughter to be in danger?”
President Tetherton scoffed. “Of course not.”
“Then I’ll need your help to pull this off without someone getting killed.
” Kenna took a breath. “Someone in your military that you’re the commander in chief of is recruiting soldiers, declaring them dead, and sending them out to kill people.
You hold the highest office in this country, which means you have the authority to stop this. ”
“You understand our ways.”
“I know you’re a pawn like the rest of us.
Guys like Petyr and Schnell are the ones with the power.
Unless we stand up to them.” Kenna didn’t want to make this about women’s lib, but in the Dominatus hierarchy, women had less worth than the men.
Why not encourage the president to use the reality of the position they’d put her in to do some good for once?
“So nice talking with you, Ms. Banbury.”
“Think about what I said. You can change—”
The call ended.
Kenna’s door opened. She brought the gun up, already ready to fire, but saw it was Ramon.
“Whoa, mama.”
She lowered the gun and shifted in the seat. “How’s things?”
“We’re all good. The bad guys, not so much.” Ramon backed up, standing holding the door open. “Coast is clear.”
She brought the gun with her and followed Ramon across the parking lot to where they had two men sat on the ground with their hands secured behind their backs. Her eyes had adjusted to the dim light enough that she could make out their features but not all the injuries and swelling on their faces.
Jax and Zeyla stood on either side of the men, enough room they’d simply shoot one if he tried to make a break for it or tried to hurt one of them.
One of the men leaned slightly to the side and spat on the ground.
“I’d rather be at home in my sweats than standing here in this dress talking to you.” Kenna kept the sides of the coat out in front, which let the cold in but didn’t outline the baby bump. “But here we all are.”
Amara and Bruce dragged Smith out of their trunk, also tied up, screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs.
Bruce shoved her in the direction of the two men, and she stumbled to the ground with a yelp.
The man she nearly landed on lifted his legs and kicked at her with his boots, sending her rolling back.
“Phones?” Kenna glanced around.
Jax said, “On the hood.”
Kenna wandered over, half listening to Jax begin questioning the men.
She sent Maizie a text so she’d know what to expect, then called the teen first from one phone and then the other.
From each call, Maizie could connect to the phones remotely and see where they’d been thanks to the location services phones had these days.
She could also see who they’d been talking to, which would hopefully lead to where their orders were coming from.
One of the men cried out.
Kenna glanced over her shoulder. They both just sat there, neither one saying anything. Determined not to divulge what they knew, or who was giving them orders. She called back to Jax, “Do we know these guys?”
“They’re the ones from the team,” he replied. “Killed in action. Part of the same team as Simon Newton and Mitch Caudelle.”
“But not either of them? That’s a shame.”
Megan would still be danger if Simon hadn’t already killed her. Whatever she meant at some point to Mitch didn’t apparently, leading to him being the one who took revenge on her—or rescued her.
“Wait a second.” Kenna turned around. Her phone rang, but Maizie would have to wait. “Z.”
Zeyla looked at her.
Kenna tossed over her cell phone. “Find out what she wants.”
Amara said, “What’s going on?”
“Yeah.” Ramon lifted his chin. “What?”
“I think I know how we find Mitch.” She turned to Jax. “When we discovered Megan and the child…”
“Joseph.”
“Right.” That was his name. “We figured he’d be safe with extended family. We didn’t know Mitch was still alive.”
Jax said, “Megan was discovered, and Carl was arrested. Both of them are dead now.” He paused. “We need to warn social services and the police in Boston that Joseph might be in danger.”
“It might even be too late.” She couldn’t believe she hadn’t connected those dots. Now that she had, the ideas it brought were terrifying.
Amara squeezed Kenna’s shoulder. “I’ll make some calls. Ensure the child is safe.”
“Thank you.”
Zeyla wandered back over. “Maizie got in the phones. They’re communicating in a group chat on a secure app. One member of the group isn’t local, he’s ‘taking care of something’ and another is on a job tonight. These two are here.”
“Mitch and Simon.”
“What’s the job tonight?” Jax asked.
Zeyla glanced at him. “Another hit.”
Kenna knew that had to be Simon. “Who’s the target?”
“An FBI agent.”
Jax froze. “Andrette Herron?”
Zeyla shifted. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Good guess.” He coughed. “I mean, stellar detective work.”
Ramon snorted. “You guys go save your friend. We’ll take care of these three.”
“All right.”
Kenna turned to Jax. “What do you mean ‘all right’? We have no idea what they’re going to do with these three.”
Zeyla said, “Maizie knows where they’ve all been recently. Same location. One of the decommissioned military bases we have information on. Guess that’s their hideout.” She shifted as if antsy to get to work.
“We need a plan,” Kenna pointed out.
“Save your friend,” Ramon said. “We’ll have a plan by the time you’re done.”