Dark Enemy (DARC Ops Book 9) Page 15

  Beth wouldn’t have the choice that Holly had made hours before. And she wouldn’t have the choice to get up out of the bed and walk away. Walk as far away as she’d like. Holly made the choice to do it for her, while she still could.

  Under the cover of darkness, and under the deep drone of Logan’s snoring, she dressed silently and then snuck out of his bedroom, tiptoeing toward the door. She spent almost a minute in the hallway making sure the door closed as slowly and quietly as possible. Alone in the hall, feeling finally truly alone, she took one big breath and then set out on her way. Out into the early morning darkness.

  The nights with Logan had been wonderful. The sex incredible. The possibilities endless. But she was finished waiting for help. She’d gotten herself into trouble in the past, doing things her own way. But it was also her only way to get out of trouble, too.

  If she was going to sneak away from Logan, it would have to be while he was asleep. The sex helped that, of course. And God, she’d enjoyed it, too, despite the lingering guilt about her leaving. Her love for him was real. That was one sure thing. But so was the need for her to get moving on helping Beth.

  She only hoped that Logan could understand.

  Like everything else she tried proposing to him last night: If he loved her, he would understand why she had to do this.

  Rachel opened the door, wide-eyed. Almost looking scared to see an old friend on her doorstep.

  Were they even friends anymore?

  Rachel smiled. “Holly, you’re such a fucking nutjob.”

  Yep. They were still friends.

  “I’m so sorry to do this to you,” Holly said, walking into her old college friend’s house. “I know it’s been . . . a while.”

  “How did you even find me?”

  “Take a guess,” Holly said.

  “I’m guessing it’s the same reason why you’re in trouble.”

  “I’m in trouble?” Holy said, trying on her best innocent smile.

  “Of course you’re in trouble. The sun’s not even up yet.” Rachel showed her down the hall into her living room. “So who did you hack this time? The Federal Reserve?”

  “No . . .”

  “Was it activism or straight up criminality? Aren’t you with the CIA?” Rachel slapped her forehead. “Oh, Jesus Christ.”

  “Stop, it’s not that.” Holly looked back out the screen door, checking both ends of the street. Everything seemed quiet so far. “I just have to . . . I, uh . . .”

  “You have to use my tech because you don’t want this traced back to you?”

  “What tech?” Holly laughed. “You finally got some tech?”

  “What do you need?”

  “Your brain, your openness to ideas, and conspiracy theories.”

  “Jesus, so it’s that bad, huh?” Rachel walked to the kitchen. “Let me get some coffee going.”

  Rachel came back with the French press and Holly filled her in with the G-rated version of the current events, just enough for her to know the situation. There was no way she was putting anyone else in danger. Though, Holly supposed, she’d put Rachel in a little danger already, coming over like this. She would have to be brief, use her system, get in and out. Holly couldn’t help the odd look on her face.

  The wide-eyed expression was back on Rachel’s face. “What? What is it?”

  “I won’t lie,” Holly said, “Part of the reason for this, too, is because I always knew you to be a card-carrying NRA member.”

  “Oh,” Rachel said with a laugh. “So it’s that kind of tech you want.”

  “I figured you’d be carrying a lot more than a card.”

  Rachel’s face went blank. “You seriously came to borrow a gun?”

  “Nah, I’m just kidding,” Holly said, not really kidding at all.

  After a pot of coffee and catching up, Rachel showed her to the work station. It wasn’t anything fancy, certainly nothing like the CIA or the wonders she’d witnessed at the DARC headquarters, but she’d be able to make do.

  She took a USB stick out of her pocket and said, “May I?”

  It reminded her slightly of the last night with Logan, only putting in the USB stick was far less exhilarating. She wondered for a moment about him, feeling terrible again. He would wake up to her empty space next to him. It wouldn’t be a nice way to start the day, especially after all the fun they’d just had. And especially after the words they’d shared. She could only hope that he would understand when everything was said and done.

  She would do what she had to do to save Beth. And then he would understand.

  Holly thanked her friend and then got to work on the file. With Rachel’s systems and her access, she knew she could make something passable. It didn’t have to be perfect, just enough to fool the virus and see what it really did.

  “It’s all good,” Rachel said. “I’m planning on moving and changing careers soon, so . . .”

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be accessory to something.”

  “Accessory to rescuing my cousin,” Holly said.

  “The sounds a lot better,” she said. “I’ll put on another pot of coffee.” She walked out of the room and left Holly to her work.

  Holly was suddenly very glad to be alone, because what she saw on the screen disturbed her to her core. She blinked hard and looked again, trying to wipe away the blurriness of fatigue. The virus was trying to slice through the database, looking for records on undercover agents working in Russia—an NOC list.

  Her first instinct was to get in touch with Tansy.

  And then a stronger instinct. Logan.

  While she was lost in thought, Holly’s phone vibrated on the table next to her keyboard.

  An unfamiliar number.

  Holly answered it, her eyes almost squinting shut as she winced and waited and hoped for the best. Please don’t let it be Andrei.

  “Hello, Holly.”

  His voice felt like a spider crawling around in her ear.

  “It’s your friend, Andrei.”

  No, a spider bite, stinging and burning.

  “I’m not very happy.”

  Holly tried saying something, but her voice croaked to silence.

  “I’m sure you can understand why,” Andrei said.

  She tried again. “What the hell do you want?”

  “We’re moving up the deadline,” he said. “If you don’t meet me in Gary Johnson’s office in thirty minutes, then you can forget about everything. Including poor little Beth.”

  Click.

  Holly waited at the desk with the phone still held to her ear. From the kitchen, she could hear the kettle begin to whisper, then whine, then scream.

  26

  Logan

  He almost felt like a client, needing the help of Jackson’s famed cybersecurity agency. He definitely felt like Holly must, his desperation creeping in and warping every thought and action. It was dangerous territory. The longer he went with this feeling, the more likely he’d revert back to his usual pattern and act out alone, foolishly and recklessly. He couldn’t let himself think about how reckless Holly had been in the several hours of her going rogue.

  Time was ticking. For both of them.

  He was glad Jackson was already in the office.

  “She didn’t go rogue,” Jackson said. “She’s just acting like you. You must have rubbed off on her.”

  “Or maybe the other way around. She was the rebel I could never be.”

  Jackson waved in his secretary, who brought two espressos, white ceramic cups clattering on little saucers. “How about you?” Jackson said. “Were you professional last night?”

  Logan smiled and shrugged and said something as vague as possible about getting a good night’s sleep.

  “And yet,” Jackson said, “here we are.”

  He smiled again, but this time with no heart or light in it. His day started with an almost crippling sense of abandonment. He tried not taking it personally. Thank God
he was more worried for Holly’s security than the security of their relationship. Or whatever it was.

  She had said she loved him . . .

  “I’m sure Tansy can track her down,” Jackson said, keying something into his phone. “In the meantime, I need you to be as cool as possible.”

  “I’m cool.”

  “We’ll see how cool, how much you let us do our job. No matter how hard it’s going to be, you can’t go off half-cocked.”

  Logan nodded, taking another sip of espresso. Outside, the rising sun began to glint off the windows of a skyscraper across the street. He looked away. “So what’s the plan? I’m gonna need to hear something good and concrete if you expect me to ‘be cool.’”

  “Tansy’s looking for her.”

  “How?”

  Jackson paused for a moment, allowing Logan’s mind to begin filling with doubt and worry.

  “Jack? Come on, tell me something.”

  “He’s working on it,” Jackson said, sticking a piece of gum in his mouth after his espresso. “We’re working on it.”

  “How?”

  Still no answer.

  Jackson’s phone chirped, vibrating across the hardwood desk.

  A moment later, Tansy said over the phone speaker, “Got her.”

  “You got her?” Logan said, sitting at the edge of his seat. “Where is she?”

  “She’s heading back to her CIA station.”

  Okay. Good. Fine. They found her. Logan felt temporarily relieved, until remembering Johnson’s promise.

  She knew it, too. Why would she be putting herself in that kind of danger? Walking right back into a trap?

  As far as Logan was concerned, that whole building had been compromised. Another kill zone, this time perhaps deadlier than the last. He immediately felt the urge to suit up, arm up, and head out to blast away anyone in his or her path.

  “Logan,” his boss said after the call. “Be cool.”

  “You know what I’m cool with?” Logan said. “You know what I’m really cool with?”

  “Right now, I need you to be cool with trusting your team so we can bring back your girl. Can you do that?”

  Logan took a deep breath.

  “Good,” Jackson. “Now, let’s roll.”

  27

  Holly

  The security guards waved her through as usual. During the usual smiles and small talk, Holly considered dropping the slightest hint about her situation, tipping them off about her mission. About Andrei. It might be nice to have a little extra help.

  But then she realized that if Godev’s men could have gotten to Gary Johnson, they could’ve gotten to anyone. It wasn’t worth the risk. So she gave them a nod and went on her way to Gary’s office. She employed her newfound trick at the door, picking the lock again and clearing her mind completely as she moved into the room. Confident. Strong. Ready for anything.

  What she wasn’t ready for was for the door to lock on its own after closing behind her. And then the sound of the whole floor locking down. A security protocol that she knew would put the entire wing on lockdown. Her hands felt clammy and unsteady on the handle as she tried pointlessly to open it. When she turned around, her whole body felt unsteady.

  And then full of dread.

  Andrei Godev bore down on her, handgun raised and aimed at her forehead.

  His face was so eerily cool and calm.

  Her face, her body, numb. For a moment, she could see everything from up above as if she’d left her body. Maybe it would be fortunate to leave her body. A defense mechanism. Maybe that’s what Beth had been doing in order to keep her sanity. Maybe if she could just—

  “So good to see you, Holly.”

  She scanned the room for something she could use to bludgeon him to death.

  “You came to run the code?”

  “Yeah,” she said, coughing the word out. “So what’s with the gun to my head?”

  “Bullshit.”

  “What do you think I came here for?”

  “Everything you say and do is bullshit.”

  Holly couldn’t really argue with that. There were so many horrible things she wanted to do to him. And with such a strong motivation. Yet, nothing. She failed every time. She was bullshit, as bullshit as her attempt to rescue her cousin. Everything, bullshit.

  She turned to him. “I won’t run the code unless I see some proof of life.”

  “What?”

  “Prove to me that she’s alive.”

  Andrei took a step back, the gun still pointed at her. He smiled. “That shouldn’t be too hard. We’ve got her set up on webcam so my clients can browse and pick and choose in real time. It’s like a menu.”

  Holly wouldn’t allow herself to think about it. Aside from the nausea it would produce, she would likely do something drastic resulting in hole in her head. Instead, she focused on the hole currently pointing at her head, the barrel of the relentless aim of Andrei’s handgun.

  How could she get out of this without one?

  Follow the commands?

  “Hey,” Andrei said, “you watching?” He had pulled out his tablet, showing her the screen. From Holly’s vantage point, a glare from the ceiling lights obstructed the view of whatever it was she was supposed to see. And she was very glad about that.

  “You see or not?”

  She wanted to see her cousin, to know she was safe and alive. But to see her like that . . . to see her own cousin in some sick human catalogue . . .

  Andrei had tilted the screen, and now the image was all too clear.

  They had Beth tied up with bungee cables, the ropes digging into her naked flesh. Holly looked away, unable to stifle the scream that erupted from deep inside, the pain and anger. The thirst for revenge driving through her and making her crazy. She was shrieking now, unable to stop until the hard thunk of metal struck her forehead.

  He had smacked her with the butt of the gun.

  And now she was quiet.

  “You’re out of time,” Andrei said. “Log in to the computer and let’s get to work.”

  She logged in to Gary’s computer without a word, her hands steady over the keys, her mind thinking of anything else but the way the ropes were so tight around—

  “Come on,” Andrei said. “Double time. I know you can do this in your sleep.”

  It felt like sleep. She was in a haze, on autopilot as she worked through Tansy’s experimental program. She felt herself dissociating again, that defense mechanism. And then she thought of a better one.

  Holly began stalling for time, little bits of seconds here and there. A half a minute while she typed absolute gibberish. Then deleting it and trying again. She needed to squeeze as much time as possible from Andrei’s grasp. Maybe he would look away long enough for her to try contacting Tansy and asking for help. All she needed was a few seconds.

  “Stop fucking around,” Andrei said.

  “I’m not.”

  “You’re stalling.”

  Yes, she was definitely stalling. But now that Andrei was watching her so closely, there was no point. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to execute his plan. She wouldn’t. She absolutely would not cooperate with that fucking pig.

  But maybe she’d get lucky and not have to cooperate.

  Maybe Logan—

  Then she heard a bang.

  28

  Logan

  Logan’s promise to stay cool was teetering on the edge of obviation. He stood in the lobby of the CIA building, fighting the urge to punch the security guard in the mouth. That little smarmy fuck had no idea how badly he wanted to. But he also had no idea how much danger Holly was in.

  “I’m sorry,” the guard said, “but the security protocols have been activated. Now, you’re claiming to be government agents—”

  “I showed you my documentation,” Jackson said, the frustration marking his face. Logan was ready for him to start throwing punches, too.

  “So I’m sure you’d understand why I can’t let you through,” th
e guard said.

  “You know who we are,” Jackson said.

  “I don’t give a shit who you are,” the kid answered. “I care about who you aren’t. And right now, you’re not my boss.”

  He sounded so whiny, too. How did he ever get a job like this?

  “No one’s going up there until we figure this out internally,” the guard said.

  “You need our help,” Jackson said. “Look at you guys here. It’s complete disarray. Will we have to make a phone call and get a general on the line? They won’t be happy about that.”

  The guard sneered at him.

  It wasn’t working.

  Logan spoke up. “I bet you know Holly pretty well, huh?”

  The guard’s face changed. It hardened into a subtle squint at the mention of her name.

  “I’m sure you do. She’s a special woman. And she never skips over the important people. And she never forgets who’s actually important. You. The grassroots, ground-level guys. The surface-level people. You know what I’m talking about.”

  He looked like he was about to say something, and then stopped himself.

  “She’s in danger, Mike.” Logan used the guy’s name badge, laying on a personal touch. He was still angry, and still agitated and nervous as hell about Holly, but he had to calm himself down and concentrate long enough to convince this guy. They needed this to work. “She’s in big shit and needs our help.”

  “What kind of trouble is she in, exactly?”

  “Let’s just say it’s a continuation of what happened yesterday,” Logan said. “With Gary Johnson. Only this time it’ll be worse, and it’ll be your fault. This time it’s happening right now with you stopping us from doing anything about it.”

  “You act like you know exactly what’s going on. And exactly where it’s happening.”

  “I do.”

  “And yet,” the guard said, “you’re not there to stop it.”

  “Because you, my friend, are the only thing left in the way from getting there.”