Chapter Twelve

 

 

Jax sat in the back booth at Trio, watching River dance with Robert and Owen. They were grooving to a fast beat, River moving with perfect grace. Jax had already figured out he was a terrible dancer, but he did like swaying with her in his arms. What he didn’t like was the new information they’d discovered about their would-be kidnappers.

“I think they were working for someone inside the Agency. From the information Robert was able to get us, we’ve identified all three. They were mercenaries. They offered their talents on the Deep Web,” Big Tag said, his voice low. “My working theory is someone from the Agency hired those assholes. They had a private plane waiting and the flight plan indicated they were going to a facility in Mexico City.”

“I happen to know Levi Green has ties there.” Ezra nodded. “I knew they would come at us one way or another.”

Tucker took a sip of his beer. “If they come for me, I’ll go with them. I’ve got a subcutaneous tracking unit in my butt. It might help to know where they’re set up.”

They all had trackers. Every man who worked deep cover for McKay-Taggart and Knight had them.

Big Tag snorted, a sound he managed to make authoritative. “Someone might think you’ve got a martyr complex. And if it’s the Agency, they will pull that tracker out of your ass long before they take you to their leader. The Agency has a big book on me. I assure you, they know I microchip my operatives. If they come for you, I expect you to fight like hell. But damn, leave one of them alive, unlike Jax there.”

He held his hands up, offering his only defense. “I only killed one of them. Someone else took out the other two.”

Ezra nodded. “Yes, and that’s what worries me. We knew the Agency would come. I’m more interested in the identity of our helpful sniper.”

Jax had been thinking about it all afternoon. He’d gone over it in his head again and again. They wouldn’t stop coming after him and at some point, they might get River. “I caught a glimpse of the dude. He moved fast. I think he was using the eighteen-wheeler as cover. My question is how he knew to be there at all. I think he might have been following those guys.”

“Why?” Dante asked, sliding into the booth. He’d left Sasha at the bar where the man was downing vodka and talking animatedly to Alexei in rapid-fire Russian. It was good to know someone could put a smile on Sasha’s face. “Why would this man follow hired thugs and then not take you out when he has the chance? He didn’t try to kidnap either of you. It makes no sense.”

That fact had been bugging him all day. “I don’t know. Maybe he wasn’t ready to make a move, but he wasn’t willing to give up the prize to someone else.”

“Did you see a face?” Big Tag asked.

He shook his head. “I saw a shadow. It all happened very quickly and then I had to deal with River. I thought about going after him.”

“How can you be sure it was a him? We can’t assume we know anything at all about this person.” Big Tag leaned over. “I want to rerun all the background checks on River’s employees.”

He hadn’t considered that it could be a woman. Tag was right. That was a mistake. In his world, women could be as deadly as any man. And the idea that Tag brought up made his stomach clench. “You think we should be worried about River?”

“Not River,” Tag replied. “Henry thinks River is exactly who she says she is, and I trust his instincts. He’s not sure about the others. He hasn’t spent much time with them.”

Ezra nodded in agreement. “I want to interview them all personally. I haven’t met this Heather person. I personally have my questions about both Andy and Ty.”

“Ty spent time in Virginia.” Dante had helped with the background checks.

“He went to college there.” Jax didn’t think there was anything sketchy about Ty. He’d grown up in the area, was childhood friends with River.

Dante shrugged. “The Agency recruits from colleges from time to time. It would have been easy for him to make some contacts. There has to be an insider. Otherwise, how would they know where you would be?”

“Andy’s been trying to get River to rethink working with us.” She’d told him about her conversation with Andy when they’d taken Buster out earlier that afternoon. “He’s been on her about it for days. He’s telling her not to trust us.”

And River hadn’t listened. River had chosen her lover over her friend and employee. She’d chosen the lover who was lying to her. How would she feel if she learned the truth? How would she feel if she knew he was taking her into something more dangerous than she could imagine?

Tucker sat back. “I’ll watch him. I’ll tail him for the time being, see where he goes and who he talks to. I’ll try to dupe his phone.”

“Not you. He knows you,” Dante said. “Sasha and I will follow him for a couple of days and we’ll keep track of him while you’re in the woods. Although I would much rather follow the woman. Heather is quite lovely.”

“I’d just like to meet the woman,” Ezra admitted. “She’s conveniently gone any time I go to the office.”

“They don’t spend a ton of time in the office when they don’t have to.” Jax couldn’t believe it was Heather. “She’s nice. She’s the reason River gave me a second chance.”

Heather had walked him through everything. She’d been the one to find Buster and the one to tell him where River would be that night.

“She could have motives we don’t understand because we don’t know who she really is.” Big Tag had his phone out. “I’m going to have Hutch run everything again on River’s whole staff. I don’t like the fact that those mercenaries knew where you were going to be. River decided to go shopping this morning. It wasn’t planned.”

He didn’t like it either. God, how would River take it if Heather or Andy were CIA plants? Both had been hired in the past year. They could have been embedded because of Henry Flanders’s former life as John Bishop. The Agency would want someone watching him in an attempt to figure out if he was a threat. Or someone could have been playing a long game of chess, positioning pieces in anticipation that Ezra would make this move. Or perhaps they were here to make sure no one got into The Ranch.

He didn’t like any of those choices and hated the idea that River was going to get hurt. “I think we should find another guide.”

Tag cursed under his breath. Dante sighed. Ezra simply rolled his eyes.

Only Tucker backed him up. “I think Jax is right. This is too dangerous. She doesn’t know what she’s getting into.”

“She knows a hell of a lot because Jax’s dick told her,” Tag retorted. “Your dick got us into this. There’s no going back. The fact that those three assholes tried to take you today makes it even more important to get into that facility and try to find any scrap of intelligence we can. Or do you want to live in The Garden for the rest of your life? I love a good dungeon, man, but not even I want to be stuck in one twenty-four seven for the rest of my life.”

He’d considered it, but she was more important. “I’m not willing to put River at risk.”

Dante stood. “Then you should have thought about that before you started fucking her. If she won’t go, I’ll walk into those damn woods myself. We’re close and we’ll never get closer. I’m not going to allow your cock to fuck this up for the rest of us.”

Well, it was good to know how Dante felt.

Robert moved in as Dante stalked off. “What’s he so pissed about?”

Ezra stood. “He’s pissed because Jax has decided to tank the op.”

Robert’s eyes widened. “What? No. Not when we’re so close. There could be a cure in that research.”

“There’s no cure,” he shot back. Robert was being naïve. “McDonald didn’t want a cure. She wanted soldiers without conscience, without any kind of loyalty except to her. She wanted to build us from nothing. She was never going to say ‘hey, you’ve done your share, here’s your history back.’ When she was done, she would have had one of us put a bullet in the subject she was finished with. She wasn’t ever going to waste time on something she wouldn’t use.”

“And if her notes have something that leads to figuring out who we are?” Robert’s eyes held a hint of desperation. “Our histories could be there.”

“I don’t think we want to know who we were,” Tucker replied. “I know I don’t.”

“Well, I do,” Robert shot back. “Even if it’s bad. I want to know. I want to remember my mother and father. I want to know if anyone ever loved me. We can protect River but if you won’t go, I will. I’ll go all by my fucking self.”

Well, he was pissing everyone off, but he had to think about River.

Tucker put a hand on his shoulder. “I understand. You have to watch out for her. When you care about a woman, you take her safety seriously. Robert’s being a hypocrite. He wouldn’t even allow Ariel to come with us.”

Robert snorted derisively.

Ezra leaned over. “I understand why you’re scared, but this is going to happen one way or another. You can be with her in those woods or you can leave her out here in Bliss alone.”

Tag’s eyes were steely as he looked at Jax. “I think what Ezra is trying to say is she’s on their radar now and there’s no going back. It’s precisely why I thought this was a bad idea, but I do get it. If my Charlie walked in, it wouldn’t have mattered how dangerous the situation was. I would have taken her because you get one shot. You need to make a choice. Do you want to be her man or do you want to play it safe? You can get her off their radar, but it’s got to be public and nasty.”

“What do you mean?”

“He means you have to break up with her because someone is watching us,” Robert replied. “You have to let everyone know she means nothing to you. Otherwise she’ll always be in danger.”

“Or you love her enough to take the risk,” Big Tag said without an ounce of his usual sarcasm. “Women are funny creatures. When they love someone, they tend to risk everything. Most of the women I know would rather go down with their man than live a safe life without him. We’re trained to sacrifice, but if a woman loves you the last thing she wants you to do is sacrifice her.”

“But how will you feel if you get her killed?” Robert asked, his voice tight with emotion.

“She can get killed without you,” Tag challenged. “Not a damn thing about this life is guaranteed. Whoever is watching us might not care that you break her heart. They might decide she could know something and off her just in case.”

“Or you could realize that you barely know her.” Ezra seemed taut, like a bowstring pulled tight, ready to go off. “You could be logical and choose your job because you don’t know this woman. She could choose her job over you. Very likely she would. She could be using you for any number of reasons. We’ll take care of her out in the field. Unless you choose the first option and break up with her tonight. We’re in a public place. Pick one of the single women here and fuck her. That’ll end the relationship and let every person here know you don’t care about River. I don’t think they’ll come after her. She’s got people who care about her and they would ask questions if she disappears.”

He didn’t want another woman. He was worried he might never want anyone except River again. “I couldn’t do that to her.”

She’d been hurt too many times.

Tag nodded. “Good. Then we’ll proceed, and you can make the decision at the end of this which way to go. If you decide to stay here with River, Henry can watch your back. You can watch his. Honestly, I’m worried about him now that the Agency knows he’s alive.”

Stay here with River? Was that worth taking a chance with her life? Or should he utterly ruin the trust she’d placed in him? Wasn’t it better to be alive and hollow than dead? Surely she would move on.

Or would she? How many times could she get kicked before she stopped getting up?

Or he could tell her everything and show some trust in her. But that would mean betraying his brothers.

“Trust your instincts, Jax,” Big Tag encouraged.

“My instinct is to tell her the truth.”

Ezra’s eyes closed. “You can’t.”

“He can if he’s careful about it,” Tucker offered. “The bad guys already know everything about us. Why are we hiding it from people we care about?”

“Because again, we can’t trust her staff.” Ezra stood up. “We can’t trust her. I’ve lost everything because of a woman before and I assure you I didn’t think she was capable of doing what she did when I met her. I took one look at that woman and thought the whole world revolved around her. She was the sun in my fucking sky and she took everything from me. Ian, did you think Charlotte was dangerous when you met her? Did you think she would blow up your career?”

The faintest hint of a smile crossed Tag’s face, like he was remembering something private and precious. “Oh, yeah. I knew my baby could do some serious damage from the moment I met her. Hurricane Charlie rocked my world, and not always in a good way. I loved her anyway. Look, man, I don’t know what this chick from your past did to you, but after everything these men have been through, if they’ve got a chance at something resembling happiness, I say take it.”

“Let’s talk about it.” Tucker sent him an encouraging smile. “I’ll go grab Sasha and Dante and we’ll order a round of beers and figure this out. I’ll let Owen know what’s going on and he can distract River for us. There’s not as much at stake for him. He knows who he is. I don’t have a problem with her knowing what happened.”

“I don’t either, but I think we should still go forward with the mission. I think if she’s in, she’s in. You’ll hurt her far more if you break her heart. Let her make the decision,” Robert said.

Jax stared at him. Tucker was right about Robert’s hypocrisy.

Robert shook his head. “It’s not the same. Ariel doesn’t love me. We’re not going to be together. I can’t ask her to risk anything.”

Tag made a vomiting sound. “I need another beer. Where’s Mel when I need him? I would like to be abducted by aliens now, please.”

“You’re the worst about this,” Ezra pointed out. “You are the most gossipy asshole I’ve ever met.”

Big Tag and Ezra started arguing over whether or not he was a meddling old man, but Jax was looking for River. He glanced out at the dance floor. The song had slowed down and couples swayed in each other’s arms. Well, the ones who weren’t threesomes did. There were a surprising amount of thruples out on that dance floor, two men surrounding a single female. He caught sight of Owen, his hands on a pretty blonde’s hips as he swayed to the music.

“Where’s River?” He stood up.

“I’m sure she went to the bathroom or something,” Robert replied, but he stood up as well.

Tucker was beside him, looking out over the crowd. “I thought she was dancing.” He waved Owen over.

The big Scot frowned but moved their way, gently disentangling from his dance partner. “What is it? I was making time with…I can’t remember her name, but she was definitely into me. It’s the bloody accent. Makes American ladies go crazy.”

“Where did River go?” Surely she was at the bar or she’d seen a friend.

Owen shrugged. “No idea. I thought she went to find you.”

He moved toward the front of the bar, scanning the tables and booths. He found Ty sitting next to a pretty brunette. “Have you seen River?”

Ty’s lips turned down. “Nope.”

Oh, he was lying. Even he knew that. He had to get the information out of River’s employee as quickly as possible. “Ty, it’s important. I need to find River. There might be a problem. Please. I need to see her now.”

Ty sat up, his expression changing to concerned in a heartbeat. “She’s going to kill me. She said she was planning a surprise for you and some guy was going to help her.”

“What guy?” His heart started to beat heavy in his chest.

“No idea. Never seen him before.” Ty stood, worry suddenly clouding his eyes. “Is she in trouble? She did seem tense, but I thought she was trying to keep her surprise a secret. You don’t think she was lying, do you? Look, I know River. She wouldn’t do that. If you think she’s covering up some kind of date with this guy, you’re wrong.”

He wasn’t worried River was planning on cheating on him with some random asshole she picked up in a bar. He was worried the asshole wasn’t random at all. River would be the ultimate bargaining chip for him. Still, he couldn’t have Ty getting messed up in all of this. He needed to concentrate on finding River, not be worried about saving the civilian if things got nasty. He plastered what he hoped was a casual smile on his face. “I think he’s probably one of my bosses. They mentioned they might stop by to check in on how things are going. I’ll see if I can find them.”

Ty nodded, obviously relieved.

“I’ll go with you,” Ezra said. “I’d like to know if our friend is here, too.”

Jax leaned over and whispered to Robert. “You and Big Tag check the rest of the bar. Send Owen out back. I’ll go out the front. Ask Alexei if there are cameras anywhere that might have caught them.”

Robert nodded and went back to the table to talk to Big Tag and Owen.

Jax led the way outside, Tucker and Ezra following.

The night was quiet around him, the streets eerily empty after the raucous party in the bar. She was gone.

He had to find her. He had to.

 

* * * *

 

River stared at the pictures in front of her, trying to reconcile the image with the vision in her brain. She understood on a logical level that it was Jax. He had the same straight jawline, his hair flowing to the nape of his neck in the same semi-curly wave. His sensual lips were present. It was the addition of the AR-15 and the wretchedly angry look on his face that threw her off.

“I don’t understand.”

Levi Green pointed to the photo. “That image was taken off CCTV in Madrid during a robbery. The bank was small and local, just like this team likes it.”

He started a long recitation of the crimes Jax and the others had committed, but River couldn’t take her eyes off the photos he’d lain out on the desk of his motel room. She’d followed him back to the Movie Motel at the edge of town, well aware that she was trailing after a complete stranger who might or might not be a serial killer. If he was, his MO was outstanding because she’d been caught from the moment he’d mentioned he could save her from almost certain personal and financial ruin.

He hadn’t been able to save her from getting her heart ripped out of her chest again.

“Why would they rob banks?” She knew it was a stupid question but she had to say something.

“Money, of course.” Mr. Green laid out another several photos, each more damning than the next. “I’ve run the numbers and I believe over the course of two years, Jax and his ‘brothers’ managed to hit seven banks on three continents to the tune of roughly three million dollars. These are copies of the warrants for his arrest in Europe and South America. The group is careful in the States. They don’t spend a lot of time here.”

She shook her head because it was all too much. There was a grainy photo of a man holding a gun to a crying woman’s head.

How was it possible that was Jax? Maybe he was acting. They were a film crew. Maybe he’d done some work as an extra.

“Do I need to show you news coverage? I have a file on my computer.” Green’s voice was gentle but relentless.

“If he’s such a bad man, why don’t you arrest him? The sheriff of the town vouched for him. And my friend Henry said he was okay.”

“Do you mean John Bishop?” He had another file in his hand. He opened it, showing the CIA credentials for the man named Bishop. It was a younger version of the man she knew as Henry Flanders. He was younger and harder, his eyes flinty as he stared out. She knew she should wonder if the documents were faked, but the truth was there in his eyes. The man in the picture was cold as ice. And yet it was clearly Henry.

All those rumors were true.

Mr. Green stared down at her, sympathy plain in his gaze. “You are surrounded by wolves, River. The man you know as Ezra Fain used to work with me.”

“I’m sorry. I’m confused. His name isn’t Ezra Fain?”

“His real name is Beckett Kent, but he’s gone by many names over the years. He used to call himself Mr. White when he ran black ops missions. Ian Taggart worked as an operative for a time as well. He was the Agency’s go-to guy for wet work. Do you understand what that means?”

It meant he had a lot of blood on his hands. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“You don’t have to know the finer points to understand that you should never have been placed in the middle of this war. No man who cares about you would do this to you.”

She was starting to get the feeling Jax didn’t care about her at all. He’d needed her for something and he’d found a way to make her do his bidding. Still, he’d told her some of the truth, right? “He told me about the CIA and that this place he wants to find was run by them.”

Green nodded as though he’d known that was coming. “Yes, but he’s not trying to save the environment. When The Ranch was closed down, the Agency locked everything inside that facility. They evacuated the employees and sealed the building shut. Everything that was being worked on is still in there, and that includes some serious research. I believe they are trying to gain access to the research of a doctor named Hope McDonald. She was murdered by Taggart’s sister-in-law, though he would have done the deed himself.”

Who the hell were these people? It was surreal. She’d sat and had dinner with a killer? “I don’t know that I believe any of this.”

“It’s easy enough to look up. Take your phone out and search for the world’s most wanted criminals.”

Her hands shook as she did what he’d told her to do. It took a moment to pull up. She selected the first website in the search and there he was. He had no name, was merely known as a member of a gang labeled the Professionals, but it was obviously Jax. Tucker and Dante and Sasha were on the list of internationally wanted criminals. Robert was missing, as was Owen, but they probably hadn’t been caught on camera.

Bile hit the back of her throat. She looked at the second site and he was there as well.

He was a criminal, and not the kind who sat behind a computer, though he did that, too. She had two million in her account that he’d stolen from her ex-husband. Was she laundering money for him? Would she look in there and find the account empty and her fingerprints all over the records?

She thought she’d been conned by the best, but Matt had nothing on Jax. Jax had managed to do more damage in a few days than Matt had done in years of marriage. She might never recover from this. God, she might go to jail. “He put a bunch of money in my account. He said he stole it from my ex-husband.”

“The con artist?”

It shouldn’t surprise her that he had a file with her name on it. The man seemed to know everything about everyone. He was a master at finding out dirty secrets. “Yes. It happened a couple of days ago. He said Matt had stolen money from a lot of different women and that he would help me find them and get it back.”

How naïve was she? Now that she was saying the words, she realized how stupid she sounded. Why had she believed him? She’d bought every lie he’d told her.

“It’s possible he took it from your ex,” Mr. Green allowed. “It’s also possible this is another way they’re laundering the money they stole. You could be in a lot of trouble. I can help you.”

She went quiet, trying to find that place deep inside her head where she could be cold and logical. “He wants this research so he can sell it?”

How could he be so sweet? So thoughtful?

“There are dangerous secrets in that facility. Do you understand what I mean when I call it a black ops development site?”

She thought she did, and it meant Jax’s group was involved in something incredibly dangerous. But then he also robbed banks, so he likely considered it all in a day’s work. “They were developing weapons?”

“Yes, and running experiments that would likely make Joseph Goebbels blush. It all sounds horrible, but the Agency will do anything to defend this country. What Ezra Fain and Taggart want to do is tip the balance of power. When they do that, there will be all-out war inside the CIA. The Ranch needs to stay closed.”

“He’ll still try to find it.” She was speaking, but she couldn’t feel anything. She’d gone numb, a comfortable cage she’d been in for the last eighteen months.

“He won’t succeed without you. Their time is limited. Have they been pushing you to go? They can’t stay here in Colorado for long. They have to keep moving.”

Because they were criminals. “Why don’t you arrest them? Why don’t we walk to the sheriff’s office and tell him?”

“I assure you Nathan Wright knows exactly who Jax and his group are. John Bishop would have told him.” He held out a hand, staving off the question she’d been about to ask. “Wright is a do-gooder and they’ve convinced him that what they’re doing is for the betterment of everyone. I could call in the police, but the truth is I would rather convince them to turn themselves in to the CIA. They have information that would be dangerous if it got out. We could try to take them in, but Taggart has surprisingly strong allies. Again, that group of men is part of the balance I’m trying to keep.”

The door swung open and Heather stood there, a pistol in her hand. River got to her feet, shocked at the sight of her friend. She was aiming for Mr. Green’s head, but he was cool and calm.

“I should have known you would show up. Were you hanging around outside the bar, watching him with longing eyes?” Mr. Green asked. “You must have freaked out when you realized he was coming into town. Or have you solved your problems?”

Heather frowned and the gun came down to her side again. She pointedly ignored Green, coming in the room toward her. “River, come with me. I need to talk to you. You can’t trust this man.”

How had Heather tracked her down? Why had she pulled a gun on a CIA agent?

Mr. Green shook his head. “Oh, Solo, I’m not the one she can’t trust and you are on the wrong side of this fight.”

Heather had a hand on River’s elbow, trying to guide her toward the door. “Come on. We need to get out of here. I’ll explain it all to you when we get back to the office. Don’t believe a word this man said.”

But Levi Green might be the only one who’d given her a single bit of truth. She pulled her arm free. “No. I’m staying here.” She turned to the agent. “Can you help me?”

She had to get that money out of her account. More importantly, she needed someone who would believe that she hadn’t put it there.

A triumphant smile crossed his lips. “I can. I can tell you everything. I’ll start with your best friend’s real history. How long have you been here? You look good, by the way. I’m glad you went back to blonde. It suits you.”

“How do you know Heather?” Suspicion played through her.

“She’s the Agency operative sent to make sure we don’t get to The Ranch,” a deep voice said. “Hello, Solo.”

Ezra Fain moved into the room, his eyes on Heather.

It looked like Green was right. She was surrounded by wolves.