Chapter 38
Thirty-Eight
Ryder had been equally stunned when Sarah’s sister-in-law showed up, revealing her role in the deception.
Sarah’s reaction didn’t surprise him, and he should have anticipated it.
She dropped to her knees in the snow from the shock.
The betrayal. The kind that knocked the air from your lungs and left you staring at someone you thought you knew.
Ryder didn’t need to ask why.
Tessa Ellison stood flanked by Malcolm and two armed men. She had just removed her helmet, her breath curling in the icy air. Her dark eyes locked onto Sarah—not cold or cruel. Just detached. Professional.
Which made it worse.
“Sarah.” Ryder held his hands up, revealing he wasn’t going to try anything, as he rushed to her side and crouched next to her, his hand bracing her back. “You’ve got to stay with me now. Stand strong. Get your boy back. Don’t give her this moment.”
Sarah didn’t look at him as she choked out the words, sending Tessa a glare that could kill. “She married my brother. Married him. Then killed him. She cared for my son. Tucked him in. Prayed with him.”
“I know.” His voice tightened. “But she’s not in control here. You are.”
Malcolm stepped forward. “Let’s keep this civil. We didn’t come here to hurt anyone.”
“You sure about that? Looks like you’ve already committed murder.” Ryder rose, shielding Sarah, his gaze pinned to Tessa. “And it looks like another murderer has joined your company.”
Tessa finally spoke, gloved palms out. “I asked Malcolm to let me come. I wanted to explain.”
“Explain?” A hollow laugh escaped Ryder. “You infiltrated her family. Got close to Aaron. And when he wouldn’t give you what you wanted, he ended up dead. And you’re obviously responsible for Jeremy’s abduction and the fact that he’s being held hostage.”
Sarah pushed herself upright beside him, her voice unsteady. “You killed my brother. You brought him to the lake to contain him, knowing what happened to him as a child. Knowing he couldn’t swim.”
A shadow of remorse flickered in Tessa’s eyes. “He slipped on the pier. I should have pulled him out—I know that. But Malcolm pressured me. He knew things, secrets I couldn’t afford to let out or else my life would be destroyed.”
“You mean he blackmailed you and you chose your own life over Aaron’s.”
“It wasn’t like that.” Tessa frowned. “He told me if I didn’t go along with him, that Aaron would pay anyway.
I thought I could protect him by keeping him close, but when he found out what I was doing .
. . that I was working with the CIA, with Malcolm, he threatened to expose everything.
Aaron was already at his grandfather’s house for estate matters when I asked him to come outside to talk because I was afraid of being overheard.
Malcolm had me paranoid that listeners were everywhere.
The open air by the lake felt safer than four walls.
I waited on him and went out to the pier to take in the calm water.
Then Aaron followed me out onto the pier.
I think he was just so upset, maybe he didn’t even realize what he was doing.
I tried to talk him down, convince him not to do anything rash until I could find a way out.
I was trying to de-escalate the situation, not hurt him.
But he was angry. He pulled away from me, lost his footing on the pier and went into the water.
” Her voice cracked. “I should have jumped in after him. But I froze. Malcolm had spent months making me afraid of what would happen if I stepped out of line. Things weren’t supposed to go that far. ”
Ryder remained suspicious of anything this operative might say. Who could believe her?
“You silenced him forever,” Sarah said. “How can you live with yourself? Don’t you dare pretend you ever loved him.”
Tessa’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I did love him. Fear twisted everything. Fear and Malcolm. I tried to keep Malcolm at bay, and instead I became the reason your brother is gone.”
“Your brother.” Not “my husband.” Nah, the woman didn’t have a clue how to love. Still, Ryder sensed something more was up with Tessa.
“Enough of this.” Malcolm’s cold tone jolted as he directed his words to Tessa. “He made his choice. You both did.” Then he looked at Sarah. “And now so will you. You have something we need.”
Sarah shook her head. “I have nothing—you get nothing—unless I know my son is safe.”
Malcolm gave her a long look. “He is. But you don’t get to see him until we have the vials. Give me the coordinates.”
Sarah faltered. Ryder stepped in.
“I have one vial,” he said. “It’s the real thing. We found it in my grandfather’s cabin. The rest were lost in the avalanche.”
Malcolm’s eyes locked on Ryder. “Well, where is it, son? This is a matter of national security. That’s the only reason we’re all here now. So let’s have the coordinates.”
Ryder didn’t move. “The boy first. Sarah makes the call, and you get nothing until you give us proof of life. We want to see Jeremy.”
Tessa folded her arms. “You’re in no position to negotiate.”
“I disagree.” Sarah’s voice was stronger now. “You think I’m going to hand over a weapon that should’ve stayed buried? You want that vial? I want a phone call. With my son. Now. If anything happens to him after the fact—”
“Just call him.” Malcolm looked annoyed.
Tessa didn’t speak, but something flickered in her expression—doubt, maybe even guilt.
“Call him,” Malcolm ordered again, directing his words at one of the men. “Put the boy on speaker.”
It took a few minutes to get the satellite signal going, and then the man made the call. Ryder watched Sarah hold herself together. Finally, Malcolm’s gunman explained to whoever was on the other end to put Jeremy on the line, and then he put the phone on speaker.
“Hello?” A child’s voice, so sweet, echoed out into the forest.
“Jeremy?” Sarah whispered, her voice shaky.
“Mama?”
The sound broke her as she shifted, released a quiet sob.
“Mama?” Jeremy started crying.
Tessa looked away.
Sarah steadied her breath. “I hear you, baby. Don’t cry, Mama’s coming. I’ll be there soon. You don’t need to cry.” The phone disconnected.
Malcolm’s smile was back. “You have your proof. Now the vial.”
“Where’s the rest of your team?” Ryder asked. “You going to storm the site after this, leave us for dead like you did Aaron?”
Malcolm didn’t answer. Yeah. That’s what he thought. They were as good as dead.
Ryder looked to Sarah. She knew it too. “What do you want to do?” he asked.
She unzipped the pack Ryder still wore and retrieved the vial from it. She held it up—and stepped back from them. “It’s glass. It’ll break if I drop it. You get the vial once my son is in my arms and we’re somewhere safe.”
She wasn’t offering, she was threatening.
“You come at me now, and I’ll break it. None of us leaves. You come at us later,” she said, “and this goes where no one will ever find it.”
“What do you intend to do with it, Sarah? If you plan to give it to the authorities—those who know how to deal with it, who know the history—then here we are. Hand it over.”
Not a chance. This wasn’t a sanctioned operation. And if it was, Ryder had some issues with it because this was the dirtiest group of people he had ever met.
Tessa paled.
Malcolm didn’t move.
And Ryder knew—the next move was going to shatter someone. Maybe everyone. Sarah was at her breaking point, and that didn’t bode well for that vial in her hand.