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Relieved to have that conversation over with, James left the secure room—the only place he could use telepathy without Dr. Christopher Kelton potentially able to intercept. Julia had every right to be pissed, but he’d been sworn to secrecy, and he didn’t take his vows lightly. But he was glad she’d worked out the details, and had a better idea about the op, or at least the magnitude of the mission. There was no way they were going to miss the bastard this time. James was part of a massive task force, and, laughably, the only one Rollins thought was after him.
Kelton was waiting where they’d been when Julia had reached out to James. “Well?”
“My wife is an extremely intelligent woman. She’ll be putting the details together as we speak, and I expect within the hour Grace will contact your wife to find out if you’re with her, or perhaps away at the moment.
Grace’s half-sister, Sarah, was married to Dr. Kelton—head of ETCETERA, and the man responsible for planting new ideas in Rollins’s head. Aiding in his discovery of Luna as a perfect place for an extended stay.
Kelton had powers beyond what most could even imagine, and he also had a burning desire to watch Rollins die a drawn-out, excruciating death. Many years earlier, Rollins ordered the execution of Kelton’s brother, and Kelton had witnessed the act through a psychic connection. From that day forward, seeking revenge had become Christopher’s primary life mission.
“When Grace makes contact, my wife will only be able to share what she knows. Simply put, her husband is tracking Rollins, and she is unaware of his location. I’ve shared nothing more. She has no need to know my whereabouts.” James noted the censure behind the comment. The two men could not be more different, even in their relationships with the women they’d pledged to spend their lives with.
James did keep a great deal from Julia, but not on principle. It was the nature of his work, and there was much that would pain her if he shared everything.
He stared into the cold fireplace. He’d kept the details of this mission from Julia because it had been a direct order. But would he have told her otherwise? No. Unlike their private contracts, this was government-run, but by an agency unknown to most. One that fell under the umbrella of what was often referred to as Black ops—teams chosen to work on one clandestine mission at a time, then disbanded, perhaps to never work together again. Luckily, James had the latitude to bring in the twins instead of Broughton. Was it a move he’d live to regret? Anything was possible, but he trusted Julia’s instincts, so didn’t expect anything to backfire.
Gerald had the task of updating Nathan and Tyler on the way to Luna, and soon all the satellite dishes would be hooked up and ready to go.
“He’s getting antsy,” said Kelton. His psychic connection to Rollins was what the entire mission had been built on. “Demanding to know when the cameras will arrive. Considering going in before they’re installed.”
“That would fuck everything up.”
“Not to worry, I’ve directed his thoughts to being patient and waiting until he’s certain the place is ready, safe, before he goes in.” Kelton’s smile was all teeth and no feeling. “He’s concerned now that the food he requested won’t be there yet. He’ll be calling shortly.”
“Perfect. Let’s go to the war room and listen to Kyle field it. He’s bloody brilliant.”
Kelton shook his head. “I’ll remain here in order to maintain control of his thoughts.”
Of course.
James pushed on the wall panel in precisely the right place, and it swung open to admit him to the room filled with computers, sixty-inch screens, and a communications setup that looked like something out of mission control.
“Hey,” said Kyle from his position in front of one of the keyboards recessed in a desktop.
“There’s going to be an incoming for Luna.” All calls were being redirected to the safe house. “Rollins is concerned about his food shipment.”
Kyle wheeled himself to another station, swung out a collapsible arm with a set of photos attached. Flipped to the one of the ranch manager, then pushed the mechanism on the side of his wheelchair, and it slowly moved him into a standing position.
James nearly laughed aloud at the ringtone direct from a famous western movie. Instead, he put on a set of headphones so he’d be able to hear both sides of the call.
Kyle answered when the green light indicated the caller had heard six rings.
“Luna Resort.”
“Have the cameras arrived yet?”
“No, sir, but I was notified the delivery driver has passed through Clinton, so they should be here within the hour.”
“What about my food? I’m coming weeks early. Will you have the food I ordered?”
“I updated the supply company when you called to move up your arrival date. All the special items will be here about an hour before you check in tomorrow. You did say you’d be here at noon, correct?”
“Yes.” And with that he disconnected.
The door slid open to admit Kelton.
“He was ready to go now, but the food’s making him wait, because he doesn’t want any deliveries while he’s there,” said Kelton. “He was going to call his pilot, but decided against it.”
And all three of them understood that Kelton influenced all his decisions. What James didn’t understand was why Kelton was going through this whole production. Why not just plant a suicidal thought in Rollins’s mind, or have him accidently step in front of a bus or a train or something? Granted mind control generally couldn’t make a person do something completely against their nature. But Kelton was devious and brilliant, so James continued to wonder why the hell they were going through this whole charade and putting other lives at risk.
He’d love to have Julia’s take on Kelton, or, better still, Grace’s. Grace had no use for her brother-in-law. Years before he met Sarah, Grace had an encounter with him that left her skeptical of his motivations and morality to say the least, and in years since, there’d been other run-ins. James often thought it was only because of Sarah that Grace refrained from doing him bodily harm on occasion.
For the most part, James found him to be a pompous ass. Too sure of his superiority to the entire human race. But he’d been exceptional to work with on this project. Did exactly what was required, manipulated Rollins’s mind so beautifully there hadn’t been a single hitch. But had James been able to capture their target? No. And could Kelton have purposely kept James that one step behind? Absolutely.
Witnessing the manipulation now, James was certain the timetable was completely under Kelton’s control. Therefore, the question became, would he change up the ending? Were they all being played? Did Kelton have his own agenda?
Kyle lowered his chair back to a sitting position. “I’m going to take a break if you’ve got things here.”
“What if Rollins calls again?” asked Kelton, and Kyle held up a small device. “This will notify me.” He dropped it in his breast pocket.
Kelton watched him manually wheel across to the door. “Have you ever considered exoskeleton robotics?”
Kyle spun around at just the right speed to not tip over. “Yes. I’m on a waiting list.”
“I could expedite the process if you joined ETC.”
Kyle’s smile was genuine—as was so much about him. “Thanks, but the wait is good for me. Gives me time to prepare myself.”
James was impressed to hear such a beautiful lie on the heels of his thoughts about how honest his nephew was. He loved Kyle like a son.
After Kyle’s dad committed suicide to escape the PTSD symptoms he said he couldn’t live with any longer, James hadn’t been able to reach Kyle. Not until after a horrific helicopter accident cost the young man the use of his legs.
James had taken over forcibly at that point, setting up a dedicated rehab room and accommodation for round-the-clock-nurses and physiotherapists. And just a few months ago he’d gotten Kyle into a highly secretive exoskeleton research program, and the last time James was at the mountain house where Kyle and his wife lived, the young man had nearly made him bawl like a baby by walking across the room to shake his hand.
But he was back in his chairs for as long as Kelton was on the premises.
Must also be pissing the doctor off to be unable to access the young man’s mind. Kyle was extremely adept at protecting his thoughts, a skill he’d perfected during the long hours he spent literally tied to a hospital bed while his body healed.
It was an infallible system, similar to one James and Broughton had created together, comprised of an intricate pattern of thoughts and extreme imagery woven into a kind of camouflage for the mind’s pathways. Which was why he had to go to a secure room to create an opening so he could have a conversation with Julia.
“An interesting young man,” said Kelton. “Do you have other nephews?”
James frowned. Kelton not only knew the answer to that question, but had all of the family’s DNA in ETC’s database—stolen years earlier for the purported purpose of researching the inheritability of extrasensory perception.
He turned to answer Kelton and found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Flicked his glance to the man’s eyes. “What the fuck?”
“I’m certain you have spent some time considering my personal agenda. Why would I assist with this mission when I could easily eliminate Rollins one of a hundred different ways? I could have executed him using his own mind in the weeks since learning his identity. Have you figured it out yet?”
“No.” And not about to play games, James ignored the gun and stared into the other man’s eyes. “Why don’t you just cut to the chase and tell me what the fuck you’re up to instead?”
Kelton shrugged. “I’ve considered a myriad of ideas. Could I make him take a swan dive off a tall building? Certainly, but perhaps he’d land on an innocent bystander.” He propped his hip against a desk, but the gun didn’t waver. “Are you familiar with Grace’s history? The man who killed himself when she was only a child?”
Kelton waved the gun. “Strike the question. Julia couldn’t have kept that from you when she learned. Women have a weakness for sharing.”
“There’s an opinion you share with Rollins.”
James could imagine his wife’s reaction to that comment and nearly shuddered. That he disagreed with Kelton was beside the point. Now James would play the hand he’d been dealt.
Christopher’s jaw clenched. “Do not compare me to that heathen.”
“You know what they say about shoes fitting.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d attempt to offend me, of all people.”
“Keeping it simple is often very effective.” He doubted Kelton would be able to hold the gun up that way for more than about ten minutes before his arm began to shake. James wasn’t positive, because he’d only ever seen Kelton in a suit and tie, but he suspected the man underneath wasn’t very fit.
“I assume you have a plan?”
Kelton’s smile was sly. “I do, and I won’t be sharing it with you.”
“So, I just stand here until Kyle comes back in? Then you’ll have both of us.” But that would leave Angie, and Kyle’s wife, Lissa. Women. Perhaps Kelton would discount them.
“By the time he comes back I’ll be done.” He pointed with his other hand. “You’re going to send a message for me. Sit.”
James rolled a chair into position when what he wanted to do was rush the man and end this foolishness. But he needed to know what Kelton was up to, and had to make sure the idiot didn’t influence Rollins in a way that would fuck up the entire op.
Ass in the chair, but the balls of his feet on the floor beneath him, so he was prepared to launch, he said, “Okay, now what?”
“You’re going to send a message to those working at Luna.”
“What kind of message?”
“Abort mission.”
Seriously? How could he be so dense? No team would accept a message like that. They had code. Protocols to follow if a mission was being called off.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. And then you’re going to have your daughter fly us out of here.”
Hell. Angie was the most volatile of his children. Would she go along? Or knock Kelton cold?
“Then what?”
“We’ll be there to greet Rollins and have a long talk with him. Then there will be an execution. He’ll know. He’ll know, just as my brother did, that he’s going to die, and there’s nothing that will help him. No way to escape the inevitable. But first, I’ll let him share all kinds of information because he’ll hope he’s buying himself a way to save his own life. But it won’t work. Nothing will save him from a slow, gruesome, death, just like my brother’s.”
James had no need to speak or prod, because Kelton wasn’t about to stop. He was unloading what he’d been keeping to himself for a very long time.
“You were all led to believe my brother died of a gunshot wound to the head, but he was still alive when they dumped his body. Alive, but paralyzed. The bullet had damaged his spinal cord, but he lived for hours. Hours during which he, screamed and begged me to find him, save him or finish him, he didn’t care which, but I couldn’t find him, could see only the sky he saw above him.
“He still screams in my head when I let my guard down. Still cries for me to help him, and Rollins is going to know what it’s like to die that way.”
When he wiped a hand across his face, James could have easily grabbed the gun, knocked him to the floor, but didn’t. Better to play this out Kelton’s way. Let him believe he was in control.
“I didn’t know,” said James.
“No one did.”
“I still don’t understand why you’ve let this whole mission drag out until now. You could have manipulated him into position without all the extra people, details.”
“Have you ever watched a cat play with a mouse? Repeatedly allowing the prey to get away, only to haul it back at the last second? That appeals to me. I’ve been putting you closer and closer to him, had you breathing down his neck once, even though you didn’t know it.”
“Denver.”
“Exactly.”
James had felt so close, but the word from Kelton had been that Rollins was already on board his plane, leaving, so James had been turned around to find Alexandra. But she, too, had been gone. Had Kelton known? Was it on him that she’d been forced to endure two flights and the paralytic drugs before she could be rescued? Hadn’t Kelton assured them she was fine and would be returned to the mainland?
James had listened to his gut instead and sent in his friends Pierce and Everly to check on her in Hawaii. Relied on their special abilities to assess her condition and decide if she needed to be rescued instead of allowing the FBI agents to proceed with her on the next flight.
Had he been doubting Kelton already? At a gut level he’d never completely trusted the man, and now reality was right here in the room with him. Not only could Kelton not be trusted, but his sanity was also in question.
James would go along with the program until it reached a point where it couldn’t go on. And he’d make damn sure no lives were put at risk. “How have you planned the takedown? Tell me the steps.”
“Are you concerned about your offspring?” Hadn’t Kelton just determined the team would be pulled out first? Was he completely losing it? Best to just go along. Answer in a way expected.
“Yes.”
“I still can’t figure out why you’d put them on the mission instead of Broughton. He’d have helped me.”
“Maybe that’s why I left him behind.”
Kelton’s eyes narrowed. “What do you know about him?”
“Plenty.”
He squinted. “You’re bluffing.”
James allowed a corner of his mouth to lift.
***
Trepidation crept up Julia’s spine like a lazy spider, and foreboding flooded her senses while she swung her attention back and forth between the monitors where she could see what her sons were seeing.
Nothing seemed off there. No jerky movements, no sweeping views. She’d watched the arrival of the delivery truck with the man she knew as Bud at the wheel. He’d spoken with Gerald and the boys while they unloaded the cameras, and everything seemed fine.
But now, while they installed the last of the delivery, her subconscious mind was picking up something else. Was it the remoteness? The stillness, lack of life beyond the four men? She studied the backdrop of snow—deep and pristine, but for the narrow, well-trodden paths.
James?
As always, she waited for him to get to a safe place to respond.
James.
Still nothing. Not unusual, except that he was at Mountain House, not out in a jungle, or in a building that might not be secure. She rubbed at the back of her neck where the skin tingled. Waited a full minute more.
James.
Okay, this wasn’t right. Angie? Her daughter’s telepathic abilities were still being refined, so there was a chance she wouldn’t hear the call, wouldn’t be open for receiving. Angie?
When Broughton suddenly arrived in the war room, Julia breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m picking up a bad feeling, and I don’t know if it’s about the boys at Luna, or related to the mountain house, because I haven’t been able to raise either James or Angie.”
“Did you try phoning?”
“Not yet.”
“Any reason?” His eyes locked onto hers.
She shook her head.
He sat at the com center, and flicked switches, keyed in a request. “Hello,” a voice came through the speaker, and Broughton nodded at her to respond.
“Kyle?”
“Hi, Julia. What can I do for you?”
“Is something wrong?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“Just a feeling, and James isn’t answering me. Neither is Angie.”
“Angie’s standing here beside me, and I just left James in the war room. It’s tough to pick up a T-signal in there. I’ll go relieve him and let him know you need to talk to him. Or is there a message?”
Broughton spoke up. “If all is well, we’ll hear back from you.”
“Roger that,” said Kyle, and he disconnected.
Julia stared at Broughton. “You, too?”
“Yeah. That’s why I came in here. I’m not on shift for another hour, but I was suddenly driven to get here quickly.”
“Do you think Rollins could have infiltrated the house?”
“Anything’s possible. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why didn’t you want me to go with James?”
“My gut was telling me you needed to stay here. I don’t know why, but it was important. Could have been connected to Alexandra, or not.”
“Okay. Here’s what I think about the op. It’s too pat, and the people involved are high-end. Good chance black ops is running things, but my question is this: how were they able to set Rollins up with Luna?”
“I’ve thought about that. And James left me with the impression I’d be able to figure things out, so my guess is Kelton, because he’s the one who’s been keeping James on Rollins’s heels.”
Broughton nodded. “He’s very powerful, and has spent his life honing his skills.”
“And been dedicated to seeking revenge the entire time.”
“Always had his eye on the prize. Ever wonder why he didn’t off the guy himself? He could use mind control to force a suicide.”
“I understand the only way it can work is if the person already has a suicidal tendency.”
“Kelton has been after Rollins for over twenty-five years, so why is it only coming to a head now?”
“Because he didn’t know the identity of the man who ordered his brother’s death until Matt made the discovery—just recently.”
“That’s about when I came in, isn’t it?”
“You were recruited because of your previous connection to Rollins. We needed someone who’d been on the inside.”
“And yet I’m here instead of out in the field.”
If he wasn’t going to leave this alone, she was going to have to come up with a different story. But it would be better to just go forward. “It’s been five minutes.”
“And thirty seconds. I don’t like it. Try him telepathically again, then we call in the rest of the team.”
Was he trying to take control? Didn’t matter. James? She stared at the large digital wall clock with her focus on the second counter and her heart grew heavier with each blink of light. James was in trouble.
“Two minutes,” Broughton’s voice was low.
She flicked a switch on the communications panel. Pushed a red button. Then went to the kitchen area at the back of the room. Set up the coffeemaker. Shoved chairs to the wide boardroom style table and hit the control switch so the center portion rose to open the computer stations at each place. She turned on all the wall monitors, and had maps displayed on two of them before Gage rushed in.
“What is it?”
“A twist in the plans.” Another glance at the clock. “Briefing in seven.”
“Cass is on her way.”
Eve and Matt came in together, and when Julia raised her eyebrows in question, Eve said, “We’ve left Dhillon, Chance, and Merlin with Alexandra.”
Matthias might be a big help in understanding Kelton, because he’d worked for the man for years. True he’d been blindsided by Kelton’s motivation for training him, but still knew him as well as anyone did. What was in question was Matt’s ability to overcome the fact his wife was involved in this mission.
“Angie?”
“Fine. She was with Kyle when I spoke to him a few minutes ago.” Was it wrong to erase his worry, then hit him between the eyes in just a few minutes?
Trent was next. Although not often utilized on missions, he held endorsements on all the aircraft, but usually stayed behind as the pilot available to the family, in case of emergency.
Quinn breezed through the door with his wife. “Wasn’t sure about the status. Is Consuelo kid-minding?” Rachel didn’t look as though she’d be willing to let go of the baby in her arms until she knew exactly what was going on.
“No need. Jamie’s fine here.”
Cass came in with a daughter on each hip, and Consuelo followed.
“You want me to take the kids or not?”
Both mothers looked like they’d rather not let their children out of sight. “Want to just put headphones on them?” she asked Cass.
With a nod she headed for the back corner beside the kitchen counter where Consuelo helped her get them set up in the small, fort-like alcove they loved. Best that they weren’t listening to a briefing with many familiar names.
Once the headsets were in place and they were engaged in the movie, Julia proceeded.
“The current op has facets you’re all unaware of, but now there’s a need to know.”
Instead of going through everything from when Broughton recognized Gerald, she began by explaining about the entire Luna operation being run by another agency, and that James was fully aware and participating. “The twins were to be brought into the loop on the ride between Bud’s house, and Luna. “I’ve seen them both on screen, and everything appears to be fine. The satellite dishes have been installed, as have the cameras by now.
“The problem comes from my inability to reach James. I did, however, phone and speak with Kyle who said Angie was currently with him, all was well, and he’d only left James moments before. However, he stated that he was going back to the war room and would make contact as soon as he verified everything was still going according to plan. Thirty minutes have passed since that call, but, more important, both Broughton and I both have internal alarms going off.”
“Shit,” said Gage. “I’ve had an itch between my shoulder blades for the last half hour.”
“Ditto,” said Quinn.
“You two could be picking up it from me and Broughton, but—” she held up a hand when both Gage and Quinn looked like they were going to disagree. “No, I won’t negate your instincts. We go forward from here on the assumption that there’s a problem.”
Everyone in the room nodded.