Next Exit, No Outlet Page 6

  The door behind her slid open and she felt rather than saw Damon step out onto the deck. Buddy lifted his head from where he was sniffing around the tree line, spotting Damon on the deck. With a joyful bark, he bounded across the grass and up the steps, heading straight for him. Damon chuckled as Buddy reared up on his back legs and planted his front paws on his chest, tail wagging furiously as he attempted to lick Damon’s face.

  “Whoa, boy,” he laughed. “Easy there.”

  He lifted Buddy’s paws from his shoulders and dropped him back down onto the deck, glancing at Alina as he did so. She wasn’t paying him any attention, her gaze fixed across the lawn, her mind years away.

  “Hey,” he said, walking over to the railing and glancing down at her. “What’s going on?”

  Viper raised her eyes to his, her lips pressed together in a thin line.

  “What makes you think something’s going on?”

  Damon raised his eyebrow. “You look like you’re ready to kill someone.”

  Viper’s lips twisted sardonically. “I’m always ready to kill someone.”

  Damon studied her face silently as Buddy plopped down at their feet.

  “What happened?”

  Alina was silent for a long moment, never taking her eyes off Damon’s. Even though she had just received an unexpected blow, the look in his eyes seemed to soothe the fury inside her.

  “I just received a secure message,” she said. “It was sent encrypted, with no traceable IP.”

  Damon looked at her steadily. “What was in it?”

  Without a word, Viper held her phone out to him. Damon frowned and took the phone, lowering his eyes to the screen. He read swiftly, a frown gathering on his brows he did so. When he was finished, he handed her the phone.

  “He’s playing mind games,” he said. “That’s all this is. He’s trying to get inside your head. You know that.”

  “I know, but it doesn’t change the fact that this could be true. In fact, I’m sure it is true. This isn’t something Angela would have made up years ago just to have in her journal. And actually, it does explain a few things,” she added thoughtfully.

  “Like what?”

  “When Dave went to boot camp, Stephanie was very upset. At the time, I thought it was because we were all so close. But Angela wasn’t that upset and, if anything, she and Dave were closer than he and Stephanie, or so I thought. I was with John at the time thought, and I clearly didn’t notice anything going on between Stephanie and Dave.”

  “What does it matter?” Damon asked after a moment.

  “Normally it wouldn’t.”

  “Normally?”

  “This is just another example of something I don’t know about Stephanie. What else don’t I know?”

  “Seriously? He’s trying to get inside your head.” Damon placed a hand on either arm of her chair and leaned down, his face inches from hers. “So she had a relationship with your brother years ago. So what? How does this affect anything today?”

  Alina looked at him, her lips pressed together. He was right, of course. It didn’t matter. Whatever happened all those years ago was in the past. It did not affect today.

  “Why?” she asked softly. “Why the mind games?”

  Damon straightened and backed up to lean against the railing, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at her for a long moment, and then shook his head.

  “You know why. He can’t get to you any other way. Every attempt he’s made to come after you has failed. Every person that he sent, you sent back in a body bag. The only other way he can get to you is through your head. Remember, this is what he’s good at. He’s always been able to push your buttons, especially where your brother’s concerned. He did it in training, and he’s still doing it.”

  Vipers lips tightened. “Yes, he did.”

  “Remember our final training mission? You were sent to Rio, where the CIA asset on the ground looked just like Dave. That was a test. He’s always tested you with your brother.”

  “And I always failed,” she said, her voice a whisper. “He doesn’t know that I’ve changed. I’ve become the weapon they trained me to be. In the process, I’ve learned not to react the same way.”

  “You don’t think with your heart anymore. We can’t afford to, especially now.”

  She nodded slowly. He was right. The person who wanted her dead couldn’t get to her physically, and so he was reaching for the one thing he thought would work. Divide and conquer. If he could sow doubt in her regarding everything she thought she knew about the people she loved most, then she would make a mistake. Even so...Viper shook her head and looked out over the back lawn.

  “I already can’t trust Stephanie,” she said. “This only reaffirms that.”

  “This has nothing to do with that,” Damon told her. “It’s apples and oranges. You can’t trust Stephanie because she’s been spying on you. That has nothing to do with your brother, or any kind of relationship they had when they were kids.”

  Viper raised her eyes to his. “That’s not my point.”

  Damon stared at her. “Then what is?”

  “What else didn’t I know? Not just about Stephanie, but about John? This whole time we’ve been wondering why Dave sent all these emails to him. John wasn’t anything at the time. He wasn’t even an investigator with the FBI yet. He was still bartending, for God’s sake. So why did Dave send classified information from Iraq to him?”

  Damon sucked in his breath. “You’re wondering if John was something more than you knew.”

  Viper nodded slowly. “Maybe this isn’t just about Stephanie.”

  Damon was silent for a long moment, staring at the ground thoughtfully. Finally, he raised his head.

  “It could very well be that Dave sent him the information simply to keep it safe. He had no one he could trust there and, as it turns out, the one person he thought would help was the one who blew his brains out. Pardon my bluntness.”

  Vipers lips curved faintly and she waved one hand absently.

  “Didn’t we just talk about this last night? Stop apologizing for stating facts. He did get his brains blown out.”

  “I think it would be a mistake to read more into this than what might be there,” Damon continued. “He’s trying to get inside your head. That’s it. In the long run, it doesn’t matter why Dave sent those emails to John, only that he did. And if he hadn’t, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

  “And where are we?” Viper asked, her face grim.

  Damon shrugged.

  “A hell of a lot closer than we would’ve been without those attachments. So let’s just focus on that, and forget the mind games.”

  Alina sighed and lifted her coffee cup to her lips, draining the mug. Setting it down on the arm of the chair, she nodded slowly.

  “You’re right. That’s a rabbit hole I don’t need to go down.”

  Damon studied her for a minute. “Good. Am I still bringing Stephanie and Blake here?”

  “Yes. As much as I don’t like it, there really is no other choice.”

  “I think it’s the lesser of the evils. We can keep an eye on all of them if they’re together.”

  “I know.” Alina stood up and picked up her coffee mug. Turning, she began to move toward the sliding doors. “I have somewhere I have to go,” she said over her shoulder. “Can you handle getting them here on your own?”

  “Did you really just ask me that?” Damon demanded, following her.

  Buddy waited for him to pass before getting up and stretching, then plodding after them, his paws sweeping across the deck.

  “Just checking,” Alina said, opening the door and stepping into the house. “I should be back by late afternoon.”

  Damon followed her into the house, Buddy close behind.

  “I’ll get Stephanie here safely,” he said, closing the door behind them. “You just make sure you keep yourself alive, and get back as soon as possible.”

  Michael glanced in his rear view mirror as
he pulled through the E-ZPass lane and out of the toll plaza, picking out the black sedan easily in the moderately heavy traffic. After getting a late start out of the house this morning, he hadn’t gone two blocks before he noticed his tail. He’d lost that first one only to pick up another on his way out of the city. Since then, he’d lost and gained at least four.

  His phone rang and he pressed the hands-free button on the steering wheel of his truck.

  “Hello?”

  “You don’t sound happy,” Blake said, his voice filling the cab.

  “I’m not. Things aren’t going according to plan today.” He switched into the left lane and lowered the gas pedal. “I’m running behind.”

  “But you have left, right?” Blake pressed.

  Michael frowned. “Yes. Everything ok?”

  “I wouldn’t define everything as ok, no.”

  “Care to explain?”

  “There was a snafu when we tried to leave the hospital last night. They came after Stephanie again.”

  “What happened?”

  “What happened? Your girlfriend happened, and thank God she did. They sent a full wet team.”

  “What?!”

  “I gotta tell you, Mike, I felt like I was back on active duty, only without my gear. These people are serious. They were in full body armor and armed out the ass.”

  Michael rubbed the back of his neck and glanced in his mirror again at the sedan.

  “And Viper?”

  “She was waiting for them. She had a guy with her. His name is—”

  “Damon.”

  “Oh, you’ve met?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, between them, they took care of the whole team. I’ve never seen anything like it. I never want to be on the receiving end of either of them on a bad day, I’ll tell you that much. I’m starting to see why she’s such a threat.”

  Michael tamped down an irrational flash of irritation.

  “She’s not a threat, she’s a target. Where are you now?”

  “In one of her safe houses, but we’re not staying. That’s why I called. It seems Damon managed to talk some sense into her. He’s coming to take Stephanie to her house in an hour.”

  “Why didn’t she take her there to begin with?”

  “They said there was no time. They wanted to get her hidden quickly. Then Stephanie went and complicated the issue by saying she didn’t want to put your girlfriend in even more danger by bringing more trouble to her.”

  Michael frowned.

  “There has to be more to it than that,” he muttered. “I mean, she’s right in one aspect. Someone is trying to kill Alina. She’s a target herself, and has a lot on her plate trying to find the bastard before they succeed. But I can guarantee Lina doesn’t care about that. If anyone is more qualified to protect Stephanie at the same time as herself, I have yet to meet them.”

  “Oh, there’s definitely more to it. We had a big discussion about it last night and when they left, I thought something more was going on than she was letting on. Granted, I don’t know Viper well, but I got the impression she was holding a full hand of cards to her chest last night.”

  “Sounds about right. That’s usually the impression she gives, and it’s often accurate.” Michael was quiet for a moment. “Where are you going to go?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Steph’s apartment is out. They’ll be watching it. They’ll just latch on to me when they can’t find her. I could stay here, but the email Alina sent this morning made it clear she didn’t think this place would be safe for much longer.”

  “Did she say why?”

  “Of course not. Hell, I’m not even supposed to be using my phone, but I wanted to get in touch with you and tell you what kind of storm you’re walking into.”

  Michael bit back a short laugh.

  “Welcome to her non-transparency. I’ll see what I can find out when I get up there. Where’s Buddy?”

  “With her in Neverland.”

  Michael raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What?”

  “It’s better this way. I’ll probably end up in a cheap motel where I can pay cash. He’ll be happier in a house with Stephanie.”

  “What a mess.” Michael glanced in his mirror at the sedan again. “I already got a hint as to the storm ahead. I’m passing through Delaware now, but it’s going to take a little longer to get there than I thought. I’ve got a tail.”

  “What?!”

  “Yeah. They’ve been following me since I left the house. This is the fifth one, if not more. They keep switching out. I lose one and then another comes along.”

  “Mike, that’s not good. Who’s after you? And how the hell do they know where you are?”

  “I’m assuming it’s the same people after Stephanie,” Michael said. “Either they have access to the traffic cams or they’ve stuck a tracker on my truck. I’m not shaking them. I think I’ll park the truck somewhere and try something else. I can’t risk leading them straight to Viper.”

  Blake let out a long, frustrated growl.

  “What the hell is going on, Mike?” he demanded. “Who are these people?”

  “I wish I could tell you, Blake. All I can say is get yourself gone and keep your phone on you. You said Damon’s coming to get Stephanie?”

  “Yeah. Soon.”

  “When he gets there, ask him for the number to my other phone. It’s safer than this one.”

  “And he has it?”

  Michael glanced in the rear view mirror again. When Viper gave him the clean phone, she made him promise to use it only for herself and Damon, but the game had changed. The stakes had changed. Damon would have to pass the number on to Blake.

  “It’s a long story. It’s a clean phone. I’ll call you when I get to the house.”

  “For God’s sake, get there in one piece.”

  Chapter Seven

  Viper stood at the window and looked out over the city. The streets of the nation’s capital were clogged with mid-day traffic, but the noise didn’t penetrate the hotel room. She watched absently as a bicycle weaved its way through the bumper to bumper traffic, wondering why she was here.

  She had just been falling asleep last night when her watch vibrated, alerting her that Charlie wanted to speak with her. She booked a ticket under the name Raven Woods from 30th Street Station to DC an hour later. Damon hadn’t stirred when she got out of bed, but she knew he was aware she’d got up. This morning when she mentioned she had somewhere to go, he hadn’t even raised an eyebrow. No one else could ever understand why she frequently took off at all hours of the day and night in response to a message from her watch, but Hawk did. He wore the same watch.

  The air shifted around her and she smiled faintly. Turning, she watched as Charlie closed the door silently and flipped the lock.

  “You’re late.”

  “My apologies.” Charlie looked across the en-suite sitting area and smiled. “You look well, all things considering.”

  Viper was surprised into a short laugh. “Well, that’s something at least.”

  Charlie studied her for a moment, then glanced around the suite.

  “The last time we were here the Vice President was trying to kill you,” he murmured almost to himself. “Now, it’s someone much more dangerous.”

  “I’m not exactly a teddy bear myself.”

  His gray eyes met hers and he cracked an amused smile. “No, you’re not. That’s why I recruited you.”

  Viper looked at him for a moment.

  “Is that why you recruited Dave as well?” she asked, her voice soft.

  Charlie raised an eyebrow and moved to sit in an overstuffed arm chair.

  “Ah. You know, then.” She didn’t respond and he sighed softly. “Viper, sit down. There’s a lot to go over and we don’t have much time.”

  Alina responded to the steel threaded through his voice and moved to sit opposite him. Once she was settled, he regarded her soberly.

  “I did recruit your brother,” he began. “
He came up on my radar when he made a damn near impossible shot at over two thousand yards in Iraq. He was in a position to help gather information for me while he was still serving in the Marines, and he agreed to do so. At the end of the deployment, he was scheduled to come to the Organization. His enlistment was almost up, and I talked him into leaving the Marines and coming to us. I’d already arranged for his transfer. Unfortunately, he never made it.”

  Alina swallowed, uneasily aware of dark gray eyes watching her closely.

  “You had him investigating the missing artillery,” she said flatly, her voice unemotional.

  “Investigate is a strong word. He was supposed to see what he could put together, not start sending classified information stateside.”

  Alina raised an eyebrow. “Did you know he was sending information stateside?”

  “If I had known, I would’ve had the information twelve years ago,” Charlie said dryly. “As it stands, the first I heard about it was when you told me.”

  Alina looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then shook her head.

  “Why didn’t he send the information to you? He was as good as working for you already.”

  “I wish I knew.” Charlie shrugged and met her gaze. “What I’m about to tell you is classified. No one else knows this.”

  “Not even Harry?”

  “Especially not Harry. When your brother popped up on my radar twelve years ago, I had an asset in Kabul who swore that the insurgents were getting weapons from our own troops. Before he could find out more, his head showed up in a ditch. They never found the rest of him. After that, I took a personal interest in monitoring the manifests. Over the course of four months, I saw the proof of what that asset had said. The problem was, I had no one on the ground.”

  “And that’s where Dave came in,” Viper stated, rather than asked.