Chapter 10
Location Unknown
Code Name: Raven
Ablack bag over her head, Jade’s heart pounded.
She gasped, but oxygen refused to enter her lungs.
Of all her issues, claustrophobia hadn’t been one—until now.
Zip ties dug into her already damaged wrists, and her shoulders protested the position of having her hands secured behind her back.
A seatbelt cut across her battered body with each bounce from the vehicle, hitting a rut.
The sour smell of body odor and diesel fumes mixed, roiling her stomach.
She shifted her weight to relieve the pressure on her shoulders.
“Sit still.” The command from an unknown male made her jump.
Tears burned her eyes. The memory of the men snatching her from the cabin came roaring back.
The door hanging on its hinges. The percussive blast. The smoke hovering in the air.
Liam. Was he hurt? Or worse yet, dead? The gunfire outside, moments before being dragged from the house, exploded in her head over and over.
Charlie Team. Her team. The men who’d saved her life twice before.
Could they all be gone? No way. Those men were the best of the best. She tossed the idea aside and held on to hope that they’d all survived.
Jade had to. If not, the chances of her getting out of this mess had plummeted to zero.
Gravel popped off the undercarriage as they left the paved road. The vehicle bounced, lifting her off the seat. Uneven terrain jolted her healing ribs. She whimpered at the pain slicing through her torso.
The vehicle came to an abrupt stop, and she slammed forward against the seatbelt. She cried out.
“Shut up.” A hand grabbed her arm and yanked her from what had to be a large SUV.
A helicopter whomped not far away.
Her feet hit the ground, and she stumbled. The man gripped her so tight that bruises on her skin were inevitable.
Too afraid to speak, she allowed the man to half-drag her to the next location. Dirt swirled in the air, stinging her arms and legs, and snuck under the hood, coating her tongue with grit.
“Get in.” He pushed her forward.
A metal edge caught her stomach. Being without her hands and unable to see made it impossible for her to do what the man commanded.
Hands from above grabbed her arms, hoisted her upward, and flung her onto the hard surface. A wind tunnel of air pulled through the helicopter. The door slammed shut, and they lifted off the ground.
Jade’s stomach lurched. The aircraft’s nose dipped, and she slid forward into what she assumed was a seat.
Eyes closed, she fought to steady her breathing. She had to tamp down her anxiety so she could think straight. Ten—maybe twenty minutes later, she lay on the cold metal, attempting to wrap her mind around what happened.
Twice. Someone had kidnapped her twice. The first time made sense. But this time? Not so much. If it were all about her exposing the codes being sold to the black market, wouldn’t they just kill her?
The helicopter landed, yanking her from her thoughts. Her heart raced, and panic wormed its way to the surface.
The door slid open, and the rush of cool air slapped her arms.
Rough hands yanked her out. Her legs buckled, and her knees scraped gravel.
Hot breath whispered across her ear. “On your feet.”
“Where are we?” Her voice cracked. It didn’t matter, though. No one heard her above the helicopter engine and blades.
With a shove, her captor forced her forward.
Upright, she peeked down from the bottom of the hood over her head. Nothing but blackness. Her skin crawled. The asphalt turned to concrete under her feet.
“You better not let her fall and crack her head. Boss wouldn’t be happy.” Jade jerked toward another man’s voice.
“Whatever.” Her captor squeezed her arm.
“I mean it, man.” The voice turned serious. Commanding even.
“Fine.”
Without warning, the man who’d yanked her around for the past who knew how long threw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. His boot echoed on the steps as they descended.
Underground. Basement of a house, maybe. When they hit the bottom, the air turned cool and damp, sending a shiver racing through her.
A door creaked open and closed.
The man dropped her on her rear and cut the zip ties from her wrist. The hood ripped off her head.
She squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden brightness. Head twisted to the side and arm raised to block the light, she forced one eye open. “What do you want from me?”
A man stood beyond the light. Jade couldn’t see his face, only his outline.
“You know how to get into places others can’t. That’s what we want.”
That didn’t make sense. They’d assumed the person who’d sold the code wanted to eliminate her. “I’m a data analyst.”
He crouched, but his face remained hidden. “And I’m the Pope. Don’t insult me, hacker.”
Her pulse thudded. That voice seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place it. “You’ve got the wrong person.”
“That’s not true.” The man stood.
How did he know so much about her and her computer abilities? She racked her brain for answers, but the effort made her headache worse. “I don’t understand.”
“Let’s just say someone’s paying a lot of money for you to open a few digital doors.” The faceless man turned, flipped off the spotlight, and left. The door slammed shut. Locks clanked into place.
Jade sat frozen, pulse whooshing in her ears. She was alone. With the intense light gone, she took in her surroundings. A single bulb overhead. Concrete walls. Two twin beds, each on opposite sides. A tiny room off to the side appeared to be a primitive bathroom. A version of a prison. Her prison.
She lowered her battered body onto one of the mattresses and stared at the ceiling. At least her anxiety hadn’t exploded into a full-on panic attack. The four walls helped. And locked down there, she’d never know the time of day. She mulled over the events.
With the latest data, she came to one conclusion. Whoever these men were, they didn’t want her dead. They wanted her mind.
But why? She was good, but not that good. Or at least what she’d allowed people to see.
Somewhere above, boots scraped the floor. Muffled, unintelligible voices drifted through the vents in the ceiling.
She closed her eyes and curled into the fetal position. “God, please let Liam find me.”
Shadow Pines, Tennessee – New Safe House
Saturday – 0100 Hours
Call Sign: Charlie One
Three long hours and still no clue to Raven’s whereabouts.
Liam sat on the couch with an ice pack pressed into his eyes.
The flashbangs hadn’t helped his concussion recovery.
In fact, those two devices had sent his head spinning for over an hour.
But the guys had his back. He might not be able to focus on the computer, but he refused to let a little thing like a dagger through his skull stop him from finding the woman he’d fallen in love with.
He froze. Love? Yup. He couldn’t deny it.
He was head over heels, one hundred percent in love with Raven.
The cushion next to him dipped, and Dax’s hand clasped his knee. “We will find her. You have my word.”
He lowered the pack and shifted his gaze to his brother in arms. “Thanks.” No more needed to be said. The rest of the acknowledgment sat silently between them. “Have we discovered anything besides how they snuck up on us by blocking the existing security system?”
“That took talent.” Boone handed everyone a bottle of water, then straddled a chair backwards. “From the way Rafe explained it, not many could have pulled off Raven’s abduction.”
“And this wasn’t the same crew from Mexico. These guys were strategic and plain good,” Xander added from his spot at the dining room table near Rafe.
“The whole thing with Echo team doesn’t sit right.” Liam pinched the bridge of his nose. “Run it down for me.”
Boone rested his arms on the back of the chair and leaned forward. “The bad guys captured Echo Team due to the black market sale of the GPS codes on the experimental technology in the vests.”
“Raven found them, and we rescued them without Washington’s knowledge because Raven’s concern was squashed when someone buried her report.” Dax picked up where Boone left off. “Then she went on vacation to Mexico, and someone abducted her.”
“But they didn’t kill her immediately. They brought us in.” Xander ran a hand over his mouth and chin. “What if things went sideways for them and they needed us to find her?”
“As in they lost her?” Dax asked.
Xander wavered his hand back and forth. “Kinda. More like the losers they hired decided to see if they could get more money. Benefit from figuring out why someone wanted her so badly.”
“It’s possible, considering Agent Scott told us to stand down not long before we found her in that hut.”
“That makes me seriously question if he’s in on it.”
Had they chased the wrong theories? Liam pieced together the information they had. What if…? “We made an assumption that Echo Team’s capture was a test. What if it was, but not the way we thought?”
Rafe’s head jerked up. “Explain.”
“Who has been the constant person throughout everything?”
“Well, us and Raven.”
“True, but we were brought in after the fact. Raven found the code problem and Echo Team. She tried to get the director’s attention, but someone inside suppressed the report. She was abducted and chased.”
“We knew the person was after her, but you’re thinking a more deliberate target.” Boone rubbed the back of his neck. “But why?”
“That, I don’t know.”
Rafe’s eyes narrowed.
Liam could see the proverbial wheels turning in his second-in-command.
“Dude, you think any harder and smoke will come out of your ears.”
Rafe ignored Xander’s tease and drummed his fingers on the table. “What if they were assessing her? Not to see if she would catch their attempts to sell codes, but for her brain. Testing to see how smart she actually is.”
“We all know she’s smart,” Dax said.
Rafe shook his head. “You don’t understand. Since we’d never actually met her, we only had our experience to go on. But I’ve watched her over the past couple of days. The woman is a genius.”
Boone lifted both hands, palms up. “Okay, so she’s incredibly intelligent.”
“You’re not getting it. She’s borderline Einstein-level genius. As in scary smart.” Rafe's gaze connected with each man.
Dax’s mouth dropped open and stared at Rafe. “We worked with her for how long, and we didn't know this?”
“You’ve seen her. Her fears control her environment. There’s no way she’d advertise her abilities like that.” Liam’s head throbbed, but the nausea and dizziness had eased.
“Liam, we’re talking national asset. If I’m right, the things she can do would scare the pants off POTUS.” Rafe’s words shook him.
The truth smacked him like a two-by-four to the face.
“I think you nailed it. Her life hasn’t been easy.
I’m guessing she’s stayed under the government’s radar as far as what she’s capable of.
She worked her job but never let them see her true capabilities.
To everyone, she was, as you guys said, smart. ”
“Can you imagine what the D.C. boys would do if they discovered the extent of her brain power?” The concern in Xander’s eyes mimicked his own.
“She slipped up and outed herself, and someone found out.” Bile rose in Liam’s throat. “That’s why they took her. Not because of the report or the rescue of Echo team. But her intelligence.”
“The question is why? What do they have planned?” Rafe asked.
“Dig in. Figure out who learned about her IQ level.” Liam flipped through his mental index cards. “Boone start with Evan Rhodes.”
“You got it.” The man moved to the table and commandeered another laptop.
“Rafe, finances. Who has money? Who needs money? Xander, see to our transportation. Once we have a location, I want to be gone within minutes. Dax, help Boone run through our list of possible suspects.”
“Copy that,” the men said in unison.
Liam pulled in several breaths. His mind might still be muddled, but he’d trudge through muck and quicksand to find the woman he wanted a future with.
The room fell quiet except for the click of keyboards and the occasional soft exchange of questions or information.
“Boss, I think I have something.” Dax peered over his computer.
“What?”
“No one has seen Evan Rhodes for a couple of weeks.”
“Meaning?”
“He’s disappeared. Not that it’s unusual for him when he’s working a case.” Dax scowled at his screen. “But my gut says he’s involved. Somehow.”
“I’ll do you one better. He receives a hefty sum of money that drops into his account every Monday.” Rafe leaned forward and squinted at his screen. “So does Noah Stone. The rest of the names on our list are clean. Even the contractor.”
“So, they’re working together?” Dax asked.
“I can’t answer that,” Rafe responded.
“Find them, and we find Raven.” Liam rubbed his eyes.
But would they discover her location in time? Or would they be too late?