Exposed Target, page 15
“You’re welcome.” U.E. gripped Beck’s shoulder. “You get a hold of me if you need any damned thing. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, U.E.” Beck went to the passenger side and opened the door. “Get on in,” he said to Ciara.
She had only her gun and the small backpack filled with food and the supplies Elmo had insisted they take with them. She got in and Beck closed the door behind her.
Beck climbed into the driver’s seat and started the SUV while U.E. stepped back to watch them go.
In moments, they’d waved goodbye to Elmo and hit the road.
Ciara looked out the windshield as a fat raindrop splattered it. “I’m going to miss Elmo.”
“He’s a good guy.” Beck studied the dirt road ahead. “I don’t like not telling him everything or admitting you and your mom are in WITSEC, but the service has rules for a reason, and we don’t break those rules for anything.”
She sighed. “Like stealing. I committed a crime, so I shouldn’t be allowed to stay in the program.”
More raindrops hit the windshield. “You took the broach before you came into the program. We’ll talk more about that later.” He glanced at her.
Her cheeks reddened. “I’m not going to apologize. If I hadn’t taken the broach then we wouldn’t have anything except me to use to bargain with the Sokolovs.”
“We’re not using you to bargain with, no matter what.” His words came out harsher than he’d intended, but he would not allow the Sokolovs to have her, no matter what she thought.
“Our flight will head to JFK. Deputies will pick us up and take us to New York City to get the broach,” he said. “Then we’ll take you to a secure location.”
Ciara stared out the side window. “I never wanted to go back to New York, especially the City and Long Island. I knew I had to return for the trial, but then I would have been done.”
She turned her gaze back to him. “I never thought I’d be returning to bargain for my mother’s life. That didn’t occur to me.” She frowned. “Although I did take the broach to protect us.”
“It didn’t occur to any of us, Ciara.” Rain began drumming the top of the SUV and splattering the windshield even harder. “This is unprecedented. We don’t know how they managed to track you or your mother down in the first place. But we’ll figure that out and we’ll make sure it never happens to anyone again.”
His mind grew shadowed, filled with thoughts of the coming day, and he didn’t like any of the options he could see.
“What?” Ciara caught his attention. He glanced at her, and she stared at him with a puzzled expression. “You look like you’re thinking of something bad.”
Beck worked to relax his features. “Just thinking about getting you to New York, grabbing that broach, and getting you safely to a safe house. That’s all.”
Ciara sighed and adjusted her seatbelt. “It’s like walking through landmines while doing handstands.”
“Pretty much.” Beck glanced at the familiar scenery surrounding them. He purposely hadn’t told her where he had a home in this corner of Wyoming.
A hard and fast rule, Beck didn’t let anyone know where he lived. He’d told her too much when they’d shared their backgrounds, that he’d purchased a home in Wyoming when he’d returned as an adult. He didn’t worry she would tell anyone. He just did his best to stick to the Service’s rules, and his own.
“Where is your home?” She asked, jerking him out of his thoughts of congratulating himself for not bringing it up and telling her.
Beck focused on the road. He needed to make sure he didn’t hit a deer, elk, or other large animal. If he did, they’d all be having a real bad day, including the animal.
He glanced at her before looking back to the wet road. “One day I’ll show you.”
It just slipped out. Like he’d be taking her there.
That’s because you’ve fallen for her, you idiot.
Was he an idiot for caring so much, or an idiot for not realizing he’d already gone down for the count?
Ciara studied Beck, a tickling sensation skittering through her belly as his words played over in her mind.
One day I’ll show you.
Had he meant that? Or had it been intended to deflect her so that he didn’t have to tell her?
She’d admitted to herself that he’d come to mean more to her than she’d ever thought possible. She hadn’t known him long all those years ago, yet it felt like she had known him forever.
It had been just over two weeks since they’d met again, but it might as well have been years.
I love him.
She loved him like crazy.
The way he looked at her said he had strong feelings for her. Maybe not love, but maybe he did. Or perhaps he would. She’d just take it a day at a time.
Ciara bit her lower lip. She might not have many more days.
She looked out the window and stared at the rain. She swallowed down the sudden crushing sensation that nearly knocked the breath from her.
Whatever it took to get Mamá and the caregiver safely away from the Sokolovs, she would do it. Even if that meant she would have to die, so be it.
Ciara swallowed hard. But then who would take care of Mamá if she died? It wouldn’t help her mother if she gave up her own life. But she had to do something to save her mother and the other woman. If she could save Mamá and make it out of this mess alive, she could go back to her mother after the trial.
Every time she thought of Mamá, she nearly burst into tears. She could barely hold on to her sanity. If anything happened to her mother, Ciara wondered if she could she ever forgive herself.
The rain grew harder and soon grew so intense they might as well have been driving through milk.
Beck cursed. “Good thing we left for the airport with time to spare.”
Her heart skipped a beat as she let her gaze drift over him. Over the span of a lifetime, if they had one together, she’d never be able to get enough of him.
His steadfast determination, his loyalty to his family and the people he protected, his humor, his intelligence...the way he made love...
But she didn’t think she’d be around for anything to develop further. The more she thought about it, the greater the truth hit her. The Sokolov’s would never just accept the broach.
Once they had Ciara, and they had the broach, the Sokolovs would take her away and kill her.
Pain shot through her chest so hard and fast she would have doubled over if not for the seatbelt. For a moment, she wondered if she could possibly be having a heart attack, but she knew it was the pain of a love lost before it ever had a chance to bloom.
God, she would miss him.
She turned away from him, refusing to look at his face. She would break down if she stared at him any longer. Instead, she remained quiet while he drove.
Lightning cracked the sky. Thunder shook Ciara out of the intensity of her thoughts.
She shivered, as if she stood outside the truck, the raging storm surrounding her, threatening to take her away. Like the Sokolovs.
It could kill her. Like the Sokolovs.
“You okay?” Beck broke into her thoughts.
She turned her gaze on him and nearly broke down.
Can’t do that. Don’t do that.
She tried to smile but couldn’t. “No. I’m so worried about Mamá.” Her throat ached and her words came out thick as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Why do they have to be so evil? Why did I fall for a man who is so evil? I don’t understand how my life came to this, Beck.”
He took her hand and squeezed. “We’re going to get her back, Ciara. And she’s going to be all right.”
She nodded, numb with cold. Another bolt of lightning sliced the sky open, and the crack of thunder jarred her. Rain poured down even harder, as if falling through that rent.
“Are we going to make it in time to catch our flight?” She rubbed her arms but couldn’t warm them.
“You’ve had to slow down.” She rubbed her arms but couldn’t warm them. “Are we still going to make it in time to catch our flight?”
“We should be fine.” He drove slower in the rain that came down impossibly harder. “If we do miss it, we’ll still be able to catch another. Lots of flights to and from Denver on any number of airlines throughout the day.”
She gripped her hands into fists. The longer it took, the longer Mamá was in danger.
The truck trudged through the rain—they might as well have been walking. It forced Beck to drive slower yet. Wind smacked the SUV and rain blurred oncoming lights that didn’t show up until the other vehicle was only yards away.
He slapped his palm on the steering wheel. “I’m going to have to pull over if this doesn’t slow down.”
Ciara wanted to say “No, you can’t.” But they couldn’t sacrifice safety just to hurry. The Sokolovs didn’t know Ciara had received the news or the demands. Not yet.
Two minutes later, Beck tensed his jaw. “Gotta get off this damn road the next place we see.”
Ciara hugged herself, her stomach twisting into knots.
Beck pulled off the highway, onto the side of the road. He turned off the lights so that no one would hit them.
Silence reigned between them as they waited for a break in the storm. He’d turned the windshield wipers off, and the rhythmic motion didn’t mesmerize her any longer.
“Are we still going to make it?” she asked then realized she probably sounded like a little kid saying, “Are we there yet, are we there yet?”
He took her hand. “Don’t apologize. You’re going through hell right now, and this is one more thing adding to the stress. What you’re going through isn’t something small. You know that.”
She nodded. “Can’t get much bigger. My mother is everything to me. She’s my family. She’s the person who has been there for me every step of my life. From a baby to my first day of school. Helping me cope with my father’s death, even as she tried to work through her own emotions. Baking her apple pies.”
Tears rolled down Ciara’s cheeks. “I would give anything to be standing in our kitchen, eating a piece of apple pie with her. Anything, Beck. My mother is everything to me.” She knew she was repeating herself, but she couldn’t help it.
“Your mom was an amazing woman.” He spoke softly. “She still is, despite the health challenges she faces.”
“I love her so much,” Ciara whispered.
He squeezed her hand. “We’ll bring her home, Ciara. And this time, we’ll do whatever it takes to keep you two together.”
Ciara’s sobs came faster and harder, her chest shaking with the power of each one.
Beck grabbed a package of tissues from the glove compartment. She took them and tried to slow her crying.
He leaned over the center console and wrapped his arms around her the best he could. He was so big that he made her feel safe in his embrace.
“We’ll bring her home, Ciara,” he said again. “We are going to bring her home.”
She nodded, despite the tears that wouldn’t stop. She didn’t care if she cried until she had her mother back. As long as she came back.
The rain let up almost an hour later. Beck turned onto the road and passed a couple of other vehicles that had pulled off to wait out the storm.
“We might still make our flight.” He guided the truck down the wet highway. “I think I gave us enough extra time.”
Ciara wiped her eyes again. They felt puffy and swollen. Maybe she should try to calm down so that she didn’t draw attention to herself at the airport.
The thought sobered her. She didn’t want anyone noticing her for any reason.
They left the storm behind them and entered the sunshine a short distance into Colorado.
“Night and day.” She leaned back against the seat with some relief. “Do you think they could be tracking us now?”
“I don’t believe so.” Beck shook his head. “We’ve been hiding underground for two weeks. They can’t have known where we’ve been.”
After all the times they’d been found, a part of her remained skeptical. “They did it before, several times.”
“That’s true.” He nodded. “But they did it with technology that they couldn’t use while we were in the missile silo. They had no way of knowing that.”
She let out a long, shuddering breath. “I know you’re right. It’s just hard to accept it after all we went through before you took us to Elmo’s.” She sighed. “Definitely a good move.”
Beck fought down a feeling of dread as he drove straight to the Denver International Airport. They made it with an hour to spare. Just enough time to meet ahead of time with a local team of deputies and law enforcement.
One of the deputies had already filed the required flying-while-armed paperwork in advance of their arrival at the airport. He carried Ciara’s backpack with her Sig Sauer and knife, too.
Before they reached the airport, Beck had called Claudine to check in with her. Along with gathering a team of deputies, she had arranged for the Port Authority Police Department to meet them upon arrival in New York.
Once they arrived at Denver airport, they met up with the team of deputies and Denver PD officers who whisked them away to the tarmac.
Beck lightly gripped Ciara’s elbow as they walked out in the open to the plane via the tarmac. When they’d driven from location to location, he’d always been on the lookout for someone tailing them or other signs of danger.
Now, at the airport, he did the same thing, searching their surroundings constantly with his gaze. He catalogued everything, noticed everything.
His uneasy feelings had a lot to do with all they’d been through before they’d hidden in Elmo’s silo. Being found continuously, when they shouldn’t have been, qualified as enough to make anyone paranoid.
Knowing the Sokolovs had located him and Ciara using drones didn’t help any. Hell, he couldn’t help but wonder if the Russians had watched from above when they’d arrived at the airport, even if he knew it was impossible. Due to regulations that applied to all airports in the U.S., no way in hell could anyone fly a drone within the five-mile boundary set by the FAA.
And the Russians wouldn’t know what flight they would be coming in on, if any, so he had nothing to worry about.
He would keep Ciara safe.
Even surrounded by law enforcement officers, Ciara’s skin crawled, like someone had her in his sights, ready to shoot her. It felt as if insects scrambled over her skin, and she shuddered. It reminded her of the dreams she’d had. It still seemed real enough that she shuddered again.
It was strange going to the tarmac, surrounded by officers, then climbing up stairs to the plane.
Beck spoke with the flight attendant who had reserved two front row seats. Beck waited for Ciara to take her seat and put her seatbelt on before sitting in his own and buckling in.
Ciara’s heart pounded harder as they waited for the plane to take off.
She leaned closer to Beck so she wouldn’t be overheard as she spoke to him. “I keep feeling like something is going to happen. Like someone is going to show up with a weapon and shoot us both. Is that crazy?”
“You feel that way because of all you’ve been through.” He spoke low, his head close to hers, his eyes on passengers flowing onto the plane. “Hell, I keep looking over my shoulder and yours, and I keep looking around us just to make sure no one is on this flight.”
He put his big hand over hers on the armrest between them. “It is impossible for anyone in their organization to be on this flight. They would have to know every detail and have made reservations.”
“I felt like someone watched me in the airport, as we walked through.” She sucked in her breath then let it out slowly. “What if the Sokolovs’ men did follow us to the gate then one ran off to buy a ticket to get here in time to board the plane?”
Beck shook his head. “If he managed to pull that off, he wouldn’t be able to bring a gun on board.” He went on, “I’m not discounting your concerns. But what are the odds of that happening? Everything would have to be pulled off perfectly.”
“I know you’re right.” She sighed. “I’m just spooked. It was so nice being at your uncle’s after all that happened. I felt safe with you and him, like nothing could ever hurt me or you.”
Her eyes ached and her chest seized. “We’re out in the real world now and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and we can’t get to Mamá in time.”
“Shhh.” He continued to watch the last of the passengers. “Why don’t you take a nap and I’ll make sure you’re safe. Nothing and no one is going to hurt you.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “I’ll try.”
“Good.” He raised his voice slightly. “If I could, I’d kiss you until your head spun.”
She smiled. “Now there’s a visual.”
He gave a low, sexy laugh. “Just wait ’til I get you alone.”
No doubt he intended to keep her from worrying.
“I’ll dream of you while I sleep,” she said softly.
He rested his hand on hers for a moment and squeezed her fingers before moving his hand away.
She closed her eyes, her body drained and weighted down with an anchor, her soul crushed with pain, her heart stabbed all the way through.
Despite her worries, despite all the emotions and feelings slamming inside her, she still felt safe with Beck. So, so safe.
She drifted off and slept.
17
Vadim rolled a bullet between his fingers, up and around and down again, as he stared at the woman’s image. Roman had texted the photo to him earlier in the day. Vadim studied her, imprinting her appearance in his mind.
Facial recognition software had caught a brief image of Ciara Cruz at the airport entrance, before she was whisked away to the tarmac. Roman hired the best and they’d hacked into the airport’s network of cameras.
Roman’s men had been keeping tabs on the closest major airports, including Denver and Salt Lake City, along with smaller airports like Laramie and Cheyenne.
Once Vadim knew Ciara’s flight would land at JFK, he had set his plan in motion. Using Roman’s intelligence, he prepared to follow the deputy marshals and Ciara into the city. He would eliminate the deputies, leaving her wide open to be easily kidnapped by Roman’s men.
