43. Oz
OZ
I have cameras covering every angle of the apartment and I watch the screen as Allie paces back and forth next to Jude’s supposedly dead body. Blood spills out in a pool around his chest and I have to keep reminding myself it’s fake.
We’re in an FBI safehouse because we’re working under the guise that Allie was being held here under witness protection. The location also gives us good oversight and access. While Allie and a dead Jude wait for Zach to appear, Eli, River, Freya, and I are set up in the apartment next door.
If anything goes wrong, if Zach goes to hurt Allie, we can be in there in seconds. But yeah, I’m aware it would take less than that for him to put a bullet through her head. We really are relying on the con to work.
“He should be here by now,” Freya says. “She sent the message almost two hours ago.”
Said message included a photo of Jude lying seemingly dead followed by a plea for help. “We don’t know where he’s coming from,” I say, making a mental note that the length of time it takes him to arrive could help us narrow down where he’s keeping Harley.
We have two separate teams stationed outside, Alpha and Beta.
They’re ready to follow Zach when he leaves but having a rough idea of where he’s heading would be useful.
We had to take off Allie’s tracker anklet in case Zach saw it or scanned for bugs so we need the patrol teams to keep a close tail.
I watch Allie on the screen. It’s coming up to her next check in and my shoulders relax a little when she taps her fingers three times against her thigh.
Freya keeps pacing the room behind the kitchen table I’ve set up the surveillance kit on, but other than that we’re all pretty quiet as we wait.
The air thickens the more time that passes and when Alpha team radios to say Zach’s on his way into the building, my heart rate picks up. I’m uncomfortably aware that the last time I was watching an op go down it ended with River and Eli being caught in an explosion.
Eli walks over to the adjoining wall and knocks once to let Allie know Zach’s on his way up.
Her gaze darts to the wall before she kneels down beside Jude.
I sit forward in my chair as Allie reaches for the gun holstered at his hip and unclips it.
Freya grips the back of my chair. “What is she doing? That’s not part of the plan.”
My grip tightens on the mouse. “I don’t know.” She wasn’t supposed to take his gun.
“Can we get it off her?” Eli asks.
River shakes his head. “Zach’s already on his way up. There’s no time.”
I stare at the screen, trying to calm my racing heart. She’s probably just scared.
Allie sits down on the couch, rests her elbows on her knees and grips her hair, Jude’s gun still grasped in one hand. She’s supposed to be torn up over the fact that she’s killed Jude. Either she’s a very good actor or she really is fucking terrified to see Zach.
Freya stiffens at my shoulder when Zach appears in the corridor. He’s wearing the same duffle coat he wore at the park when he met Freya, black to match the leather gloves that cover his hands.
When he reaches the door to Allie’s apartment, he takes out a silver pistol. We left the door cracked open and he pushes on it, checking his surroundings before entering and finding Allie on the couch.
He stares at Jude’s body. “I told you not to touch them.”
I let out a breath. Freya was right. For some reason Jeremiah’s told Zach not to hurt us.
Allie peers up at him. “They were keeping me here. He wouldn’t let me leave and you said I’d be free. You promised.”
Keeping his gun lowered by his side, Zach crouches down and presses two fingers to Jude’s inner wrist.
His face pinches. “Fuck!” He stands up and kicks the coffee table.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he shouts, the sound filtering through the thin wall.
His nostrils flare and he grips his short brown hair with his free hand as he regains control and turns to Allie.
“When do they handover your protection detail?”
“Not for another few hours.”
Zach’s gaze cuts back to Jude. “How do I know he’s really dead?”
I wince as he kicks Jude’s leg.
“What?” Allie frowns.
Zach steps towards her. “I worked with the FBI for years. You think I don’t know there are ways to fake a death? You’ve been with them for days. Why should I believe you?”
Allie tilts her head.
A hollow look takes over her face.
Dread seeps into my limbs, but it’s too late.
Her thumb flicks the safety of the gun off and in less than a second she’s raised the pistol and shot Jude.
His body jolts, thick blood oozing from the wound, mixing with the fake blood staining his shirt.
Behind me, I’m vaguely aware of Eli lunging for the door, of River holding him back, but my gaze is locked on the screen.
That didn’t just happen. She didn’t just shoot Jude. He’s not dead. He can’t be.
Freya grabs my shoulder. “Is he- did she…”
I force my emotions down and squint at the screen. The blood seeps slowly from Jude’s chest. That’s not right .
I heave in a breath, the panic unhooking from my heart. “It’s not real.”
Eli stills where River has him pinned to the wall with an arm across his torso. “What?”
“He’s not dead,” I say.
Eli’s pale face flushes.
“The blood is too thick. It’s been made to look like he’s already dead but if that shot was real then there’d be way more blood. It’s a squib.”
River lets Eli go.
“You’re sure?” Eli asks, looking between me and the screen.
I nod.
“Then what the fuck is happening?”
I have no clue.
On screen, Allie stares at Jude’s body. “Dead. I killed him. I told her I never would, but I did. I broke my promise.” Her bottom lip trembles as the gun slips from her grip and hits the floor. “What now?”
Zach scowls. “Now, you come with me and when my father finds out about this, you’re going to tell him exactly what fucking happened. You’re going to make sure he knows I wasn’t involved.”
Still in a daze, I look back at Freya. She’s been quiet. Too quiet. I haven’t a clue what’s going on, my mind still trying to figure out how and why Allie fake shot Jude when my gaze drops to where Freya’s hand rests on the arm of my chair.
“Where’s your bracelet?” I ask.
I check her other hand in case I’ve gone mad but there’s no sign of the silver band with the hidden tracker River locked onto her wrist.
“Uh…” She swallows.
“Freya, where is your bracelet?” I ask again.
“She’s not wearing it,” River answers.
I frown but it’s Eli who speaks. “Why the fuck not?”
“Because,” River says, his eyes glued on the screen, “that isn’t Freya.”
My shoulders tense.
River watches who I thought was Allie and Zach walk out of shot on the remaining surveillance screens, then his gaze flicks back to the woman whose wrist I’m holding.
Her mouth parts. “You knew?”
River nods.
“When? When did you figure it out?” Allie asks.
It’s a good question, one I’d also like the answer to.
“I knew all along,” River admits.
My brain is sluggish, still putting together the switch Freya pulled with Allie, but Eli swings on River.
“Then why the fuck didn’t you stop her?”
River sighs. “Because, despite what Freya thinks, I trust her.”