Dark Deceptions (32 page)

“What is it?” she whispered as he reached for his gun.

“Not sure. Probably nothing, but better to make sure. There’s another gun in the bedside table. You go check on Adam and I’ll
check downstairs.”

She nodded and slid the drawer out, her movements calculated and almost noiseless. Moving in tandem, they worked their way
to the bedroom door, Annie covering him as he stepped out into the hallway. Everything was quiet.

“Be careful,” she whispered as she headed toward Adam’s room.

Moving on silent feet, Nash worked his way down the stairs, careful to avoid the creaking fifth step. Below him something
or someone moved. Maybe in the kitchen. He moved quietly through the foyer, back to the wall, and with a silent count of three
swung out into the kitchen, gun drawn.

A shadow shifted near the back door, and he took aim.

“Holy shit, Nash,” Tyler’s voice broke through the dark. “It’s just me.”

“What the hell are you doing in my kitchen in the middle of the night?” he asked, lowering the gun and reaching over to turn
on the light.

“Your damned cell phone was off again. And I didn’t want to wake everyone in the house.”

“So you decided on breaking and entering?”

“No. I just got the key from one of the security detail.” She held up the key as proof. “Avery called me when he couldn’t
get you. I should have known you’d be on red alert.”

“Nash?” Annie said, appearing in the doorway wearing nothing but his shirt.

“Everything’s fine. It was Tyler. Is Adam okay?”

“Yeah, he’s still asleep. So what’s the deal?” She laid her gun down on the counter and pulled up onto a barstool, the shirt
sliding up her thighs in the process. Nash swallowed, and Tyler smothered a smile, then sobered.

“Hannah’s found Kim. Or at least she thinks she has. Avery wants to mobilize as quickly as possible. They’re waiting to brief
you now.”

“What about Adam?” Annie asked.

“That’s another reason why I came in person. If it’s all right with you, I’ll take care of the squirt until you get back.”

Annie looked to Nash for confirmation, and he felt a rush of surprising emotion. Gratitude, fear, and an intense urge to protect.

“I swear I’ll guard him with my life.”

“Of course you will,” Annie said, her smile warm. “We know that.”

Nash glanced at Tyler to see if she’d noticed Annie’s choice of pronoun, torn between wanting his friend to know, and wanting
to keep his private life just that.

“Nash,” Annie said, laying her hand on his arm. “We need to talk to Adam. He needs to know what’s happening. And I think he
deserves to know the whole truth before we go.”

His body went cold, the idea of telling Adam sending every neuron in his body into overdrive. On the one hand he wanted his
son to know, but, on the other, the idea terrified him more than facing an entire battalion of enemy combatants.

“It’ll be fine,” Annie said, as always reading his mind.

“I’ll hang out here, until you guys are ready,” Tyler said, pointedly ignoring the undercurrent. If she’d guessed the truth,
she was keeping it to herself. “Maybe get some coffee going. The guys outside said that everything’s quiet, but you need to
get moving. Avery’s expecting you ASAP.”

“Right.” Nash nodded. “We’ll move quickly.”

He and Annie walked into the foyer and started up the stairs. About halfway up, she stopped him.

“Nash,” she said, her voice rough with emotion, “before we tell Adam, I need to know that you want him. That no matter what
happens with the two of us, you’ll be there for him. You’ll be his father. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I can’t do it any
other way.”

He’d expected to be torn but he wasn’t. In that instant, he knew that he wanted his son in his life. More than he could have
ever thought possible.

“I want him, Annie,” Nash said. “And for the record, I want you, too.”

“All right, then—” Annie’s smile reached out to him, like a living breathing thing, the warmth settling deep inside him, in
a place he’d forgotten existed—until now. “Let’s go tell our son.”

They walked to the top of the stairs, and Nash waited while Annie pulled on some sweats, and then together, they walked into
Adam’s room.

“What’s going on?” Adam asked, his hair tousled from sleep, his eyes still groggy. “Is it morning?”

“No, buddy,” Nash said. “It’s the middle of the night. And your mom and I hated to wake you but we have something we need
to tell you.”

“And it couldn’t wait until morning?” he asked, tilting his head in a perplexed way that reminded him of Annie.

“No, baby,” Annie said, sitting on the side of the bed, motioning for Nash to do the same.

“Is this about the bad guys?” Adam asked, his little face clouding. “Are they here?”

Nash shook his head. “No way. You’re safe here. But your mom and I are going to have to leave.”

“What about me?” Adam asked, his voice trembling.

“Tyler’s here,” Annie said. “And I bet she’ll play computer games with you if you ask her to.”

“Now?” he asked, his expression changing to incredulous. “In the middle of the night?”

“Yup,” Nash said. “It’ll be like a special tournament.”

“So when you get back,” Adam asked, “are we going to stay here with Nash?” The last sentence landed somewhere between a question
and a statement, his little face filled with both hope and trepidation as he waited for her answer.

Nash shot a look at Annie, not sure where exactly they stood. They hadn’t had the chance to fully discuss their relationship
or the future. Everything was still too new. Too fragile.

“Would you like that?” Annie asked, her voice deep with emotion.

“Totally,” Adam said. “Nash is cool.” He looked from his mother to Nash and then back again. “I’m glad you’re friends again.”

“Me, too,” Annie said, reaching out to squeeze Adam’s hand. “But it isn’t permanent. Just until all this is over and we can
sort things out.”

Nash’s heart constricted at the thought of either of them leaving. But Annie was right, there was no point in making promises
that might not be kept. It was enough for now that she knew he wanted them in his life and that she wanted Adam to know the
truth.

“Well, I think we should stay.”

“Well,” Nash said, his eyes shooting up to meet hers, looking for some kind of guidance, “I’d like for you to stay, too, so
that we can get to know each other better. But first your mom and I need to take care of the guy with the games.”

“Is that where you’re going?” Adam asked, raising his chin to counter the quaver in his voice. “To stop him?”

“Yeah.” Annie nodded. “And before we go, Nash and I wanted to tell you something.” Annie met Nash’s gaze, his own trepidation
reflected in her eyes.

“What is it?” Adam asked, his brows drawing together in a puzzled frown.

“You know how you thought your father was dead?” Nash said, his tone matching Adam’s solemnity. “Well, it turns out it might
not be true.”

“Really?” Adam asked, his eyes widening as he turned to Annie for confirmation.

“It’s true, baby,” she said, smiling even as tears shimmered against her lashes. “Your dad is alive. He just didn’t know he
was your dad.”

“How could he not know?”

“It’s really long and complicated. But the important thing is that he loves you.” Annie lifted her gaze to meet Nash’s. “And
he wants to be a part of your life. That is, if you’re interested.”

“Of course I’m interested,” Adam harrumphed. “Everybody wants a father.”

“Even if it’s me?” Nash asked, feeling as if he were walking barefoot across a minefield.

“You?” Adam asked, his eyes, if possible, growing even wider.

“Me,” Nash said, heart in his throat.

“For real? Wow. I mean, you really are a hero, just like Mom said. I always figured she was making it up.”

“So you’re not disappointed?” Nash asked, holding his breath, surprised at how much he cared about the answer.

“It’s really true?” Adam asked, his face a mixture of excitement and worry. “He’s really my dad?”

Annie nodded with a soft smile.

“This is so cool,” he said, eyes shining. “Now I’ve got someone to do stuff with.”

“You’ve always had your mom,” Nash said.

“It’s not the same,” he said, with the simplicity only a child can achieve. “She doesn’t like to do guy stuff. Now you can
teach me all kinds of things, like football and fishing.”

“I’m not so good at fishing,” Nash said, shaking his head. He’d always been too short on patience.

“All dads are good at fishing,” Adam pronounced. “But if you want, I can show you how.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Nash agreed, his voice hoarse with emotion.

“So now we’re a real family, right?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, something like that,” Annie said, chewing on her lower lip. “There’s still a lot to work out.”

“Why don’t we just take it one day at a time,” Nash suggested.

“Okay.” Adam shrugged, clearly at peace with the idea. “So when do you gotta leave?” he asked, his face tightening with worry.

“Pretty quickly. If we’re going to catch Wii guy we have to act fast, but we’ll be back before you know it. And in the meantime,
why don’t you hang on to this.” He slipped off his watch and gave it to Adam.

“Wow,” Adam whispered, staring down at the watch with reverence. “It’s even better than the old one.”

“And I promise you,” Nash said, covering his son’s hand with his, “I’ll take really good care of your mother until we get
back.”

“Of course you will.” Adam nodded solemnly, his little fingers curling around his father’s. “Cuz you’re a hero.”

“So what have we got?” Nash asked as he and Annie strode into the war room. The entire team was assembled, except for Tyler,
whom they’d left deep in battle against Adam’s dragon.

“Glad you could make it,” Avery said, nodding at two empty chairs on the far side of the table. “I was just telling everyone
that this is going to be a difficult operation.”

“Tyler said you’d found Kim,” Annie said, taking a seat next to Lara. “So where is he?”

“In Cyprus,” Hannah answered. “Or more accurately on an island just off the west coast. It’s a spit of land known as the Devil’s
Horn.” She hit a button and a map of Cyprus popped up on the overhead screen. “Technically, it’s considered a part of the
main island, but when the tide is high, it’s completely cut off with the only access by boat, similar to St. Michael’s Mount
in Cornwall.” She hit the button again and the screen was filled with the photo of a small, rocky island.

“Why Cyprus?” Drake asked. “Seems a little far from home.”

“Devil’s Horn is owned by Anthony Zechar,” Avery said.

“The arms dealer?” Nash asked, trying to connect the dots between Kim and Zechar.

“Exactly.” Hannah nodded. “Although there’s never been enough evidence to take him out, we believe Zechar’s network is responsible
for distributing munitions to some of the most powerful terrorist networks in the world. Including several groups in Asia.”

“Red Sword,” Annie said, leaning forward to study the man’s face. “That’s the group that Tom said Kim Jin affiliated with.
Of course, one has to consider the source.”

“Right. And while we can’t definitely prove that connection, we do know that Red Sword has been involved for years in the
plot for reunification of Korea under communist rule. And since we know that Kim Sun’s reputed reunification efforts have
brought him into that sphere, it’s not that great a leap to assume that Kim knows Zechar.”

“And Zechar offered him sanctuary?”

“It looks that way. And it makes sense from a strategic standpoint.” Hannah switched the picture again, this new one showing
a close-up of the island. No more than a couple of miles in diameter, it looked as if the landmass had simply been pushed
straight up from the sea, sheer rocky cliffs marking the island’s boundaries, and on top, just visible below the line of the
trees, the white gleam of a compound.

“Jesus.” Emmett whistled. “Not exactly a visitor-friendly place.”

“It was originally a temple,” Drake said, his advanced knowledge of ancient artifacts coming into play, “used at different
times by both the ancient Greeks and the Ottoman Empire. Then, sometime during the fifteenth century, it was abandoned until
the Second World War, when it fell into the hands of the Nazis.”

“The building supposedly sits on a maze of tunnels,” Hannah continued, switching to a closer view of the island, “some of
them reputedly leading to the mainland. But as far as I can find, the only documentation to support that fact comes from ancient
Greece. There’s a rudimentary map,” she said, hitting the computer button, and the map appeared above them, “but it dates
back to the early fifth century.”

“Tunnels are tunnels,” Lara said. “It’s possible they’re still the same.”

“Possible, but not probable.” Drake shook his head. “Much of the compound was destroyed when the Allies attacked the island.
It sat empty for years.”

“I’m surprised you archaeologists weren’t all over it,” Jason said.

“Cyprus was at war much of that time. And when things finally did settle down, the country, in desperate need of funding,
sold it.”

“Since then,” Avery continued, “Devil’s Horn has had a string of private owners, most of them with reason to hide. Zechar
bought the place about fifteen years ago, restoring the original buildings as well as some of the fortifications.”

“Bottom line, this isn’t going to be an easy in and out,” Emmett said. “So how do we do it?”

“We climb,” Avery said, switching to another slide, this one showing the stark face of a cliff springing directly from the
Mediterranean.

“That’s a hell of a rise.” Nash frowned.

“Two hundred and ten feet at its highest,” Hannah said, “about a hundred and sixty at its lowest.”

“Definitely not for the faint of heart,” Annie observed.

Avery reached over Hannah and clicked for another picture, this one a topographical rendition of the island. “I’m thinking
we go up here,” he said, pointing to a fairly smooth cliff face about 180 feet high. “There’s a small beach to land and the
cliff fronts the back of Zechar’s compound.”