EDGE OF SHADOWS: The Shadow Ops Finale (Shadow Ops, Book # 3) (20 page)

Comfortable but worn chairs and a love seat were clustered in the center of the wide-open space, a simple daybed piled high with colorful quilts was angled near one corner and a small kitchen area was opposite.

Rose’s true home. Nothing at all like the cramped apartment she maintained in Alexandria. He slowly spun around, taking in the small, framed photos of Rose and Eve, Rose and an older woman, another of two teens: Rose and a boy. A delicate glass coffee set rested on the kitchen island beside an old-world samovar. The faint smell of pungent, rich coffee mingled pleasantly with the floral scents of the flowers in bloom.

“Rose never did like being cooped up,” he finally said, hoping his voice sounded more neutral than he felt. Why couldn’t she have ever brought him here? he wondered, imagining the two of them making love on the thick Persian rug near the sofa, her resting afterward in his arms, her presence more intoxicating than the fragrance of tuberose and jasmine that perfumed the air.

“Can’t blame her, can you?” Eve said, her words clipped.

“Rose lived here to be close to you?” Chase asked.

Eve walked over to an old-fashioned roll-top desk, the kind with dozens of small drawers and compartments. “Yes. Last year, when I turned eighteen, my mother—my adopted mother, Rose’s sister—told me the truth, and I moved here to attend Georgetown. Rose didn’t want me anywhere near her at first, but,” Billy glanced up at the change in her tone and saw a wistful smile cross the girl’s face, “I wore her down. Had no idea what I was getting into, of course. After Rose told me everything, she offered to relocate me, wanted me as far away from her as possible, but I just couldn’t give her up. All my life I knew I never fit in with my family, and I finally knew why, had finally found someone who really knew me, understood me.”

Her voice trailed off. “She wouldn’t have killed herself,” she finally continued. “She never would have given up on me—on our chance to be a family. I thought you would have more faith in her than that, Price.”

Her voice grew sharp once more, and Billy wondered what Rose had told her about him. He looked up. And saw what Eve was taking from the desk. A handful of passports from various countries, wads of cash in a variety of currencies. Talk about saving for a rainy day.

“What are you planning to do with those?” Chase asked, clearing his throat at the sight of the handful of loose diamonds Eve transferred from a velvet sack to a smaller pouch.

“Getting the right people to talk takes money,” she answered in a matter-of-fact tone. Then she withdrew a Beretta nine millimeter and, with practiced movements, ejected the magazine and cleared the chamber.

“Give me that,” Billy told her, snatching the weapon. Damn, he sounded like his father, barking commands.

Eve laughed in his face. Oh, she was so Rose. “I’m going to find Rose. You can’t stop me.”

“Try me.” The staring match would have gone into sudden-death overtime if Chase hadn’t intervened.

“Eve. I know this has all been a shock—”

“She’s alive. I can’t leave her out there, all alone, not if Grigor has her—”

“I know,” Chase said, touching the girl’s arm.

Billy’s gut clenched as Eve finally broke down and tumbled, sobbing, into Chase’s awkward one-handed embrace. Echoes of his own heartbreak swirled around the room. Billy wished he knew what to say to her, but Chase seemed to be doing fine on his own. KC was a good influence; a few months ago, the sight of a sobbing girl would have sent the Marine into a headlong flight in the opposite direction.

“I have to go,” Eve was saying. “I can’t lose her—not again.”

Chase raised his gaze to meet Billy’s with a question as he patted Eve’s head like she was a child. She was—a child who had barely grown to know her mother only to have her torn away. Just as Rose had been torn away from Billy.

He glanced once more at the photo of Rose as a teenager. The boy with her—could he be Eve’s father? Where was he when his daughter needed him? Where was he when Rose needed him?

The letter next to his heart grew heavy. No way in hell he was letting this kid head into Lord knew what kind of trouble alone. He’d lock her up, maximum security, if he had to. At least until Eve came to her senses. Which, if she was half as stubborn as Rose, wouldn’t be until either Rose was brought back safely—or her body was.

Billy blew out his breath and took a step to join Chase and Eve. “Don’t worry,” he said, his hand lifting to stroke Eve’s arm. “I’ll go. I’ll bring her home. One way or the other.” Then he said the two words he never, ever used. “I promise.”

Eve sniffed and looked up, her gaze like a laser etching his soul. And so very much like her mother’s. “Thank you.”

To his surprise, she held her hand out, as if an old-fashioned handshake would ensure Rose’s safe return. Billy took it. Gripped it hard, then let go, surprised by the warmth that flooded through him.

Chase was looking through the treasure trove of passports. “One thing I’ll say for Rose, she thought three moves ahead.”

“Thinks,” Eve corrected firmly, taking the passports from him.

Billy’s phone rang, giving him an excuse to turn away. Looking at Eve, hearing her voice that sounded so much like Rose’s…before Rose met Grigor, Rose as he'd first met her…any distraction was welcome. “Price.”

“Did you know what she was planning?” Susan Payne’s voice lashed at him. “Did you know how unstable Prospero was when you sent her there? Because no amount of perjury is going to save her this time.”

Billy moved as far away from Chase and Eve as he could. Chase took the hint and subtly directed Eve to the corner where the photos were, asking her about them.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Billy demanded. He was getting damn tired of Rose and his team being accused of murder and treason without the chance to defend themselves.

“Rose Prospero. Who supposedly went to Savannah looking for Grigor.” Susan enunciated every syllable as if talking to a two-year-old. “Only Grigor’s dead.”

Chapter 21

“Grigor’s dead?” Billy repeated.

“Yesterday. In Razgravia. Never left the country, never came here, was never near any damn purported bio lab in Georgia. Rose made it all up, an excuse for her to carry out her vendetta or whatever the hell she had planned.”

Billy didn’t waste energy on even a flinch at Susan’s accusation. It was wrong. She was wrong. Rose would never… “How did we not know about Grigor yesterday?”

“His people covered it up until they had his predecessor in place, according to State. CIA is reporting a bit of a tussle between his prime minister and the defense minister. Looks like the military won out. But that’s beside the point. Obviously, Rose’s contacts in Razgravia told her about Grigor’s death. She knew he was dead before we did. With Grigor and the Preacher dead and my committee questioning the existence of STR, Rose needed to concoct a bigger, ongoing threat that would force us to dismiss the charges against her and support STR’s continued operations. Hence, the stunt yesterday on the Mall.”

“Wait. You think Rose arranged for those kids to be placed in danger?” Susan was clearly delusional if she seriously thought Rose or anyone on the Team could do that. Of course, she was a politician. Maybe it wasn’t delusional, just the question of finding a handy scapegoat.

Which left Rose dead center in the committee’s sights. The perfect target—and unable to defend herself.

“The only question is: Did Rose act alone?” Susan continued. “I want KC at Justice within the hour, ready to give us some answers.”

“KC’s already there.”

“As if you didn’t know. She never showed. I’m sure you have her squirreled away somewhere. It’s not going to work, not this time—”

Billy’s gut clenched as if preparing for a punch. He lowered his voice so Chase couldn’t hear. “Susan, are you telling me you don’t know where KC is?”

She never slowed her verbal rampage. “I’m through, Billy. You’re not playing me for the fool anymore. Your team is disbanded. Immediately. All operations to cease, all of your people are to report to your headquarters and wait there to be debriefed.”

Another voice could be heard in the background. Her assistant telling her it was time to leave for Norfolk and that the president wanted a word in private with her before the commissioning ceremony at four. Right. He’d forgotten all about the new destroyer being launched today. One of the events he was supposed to escort Susan to. Guess that wasn’t going to happen.

“Susan—”

“Don’t even try. I’ve risked my career supporting you and your team. Now I have to protect what little I can salvage. The Special Threats Response Team is finished. You are ordered to report to your headquarters. Immediately. The FBI and Homeland Security will be securing the building.”

Her voice crackled with anger. But was it real? Or was she giving Billy one last warning instead of an order?

Didn’t matter. He knew what needed to be done. Follow Rose. Spooky how she worried that one day it would come to this. But somehow, it felt like she was still there with him, guiding him.

“Yes, ma’am. I understand.” He hung up the phone and turned to Chase. “Change of plans.”

“What’s going on?”

The brilliant colors and textures of Rose’s home distracted Billy for a moment. He inhaled and swore he could smell her right behind him. Could she still be alive? The glimmer of hope was a wedge between logic and desire. He shook himself. He had to focus on the Team. Even if it meant abandoning Rose. Again.

She would want it that way. Besides, he wasn’t abandoning her, not really, not this time.

He was saving her team. And her daughter. “Eve,” he called to the girl, “pack anything you need. We’re leaving, and there’s a good chance the next people here won’t be friendlies.”

To his surprise, she didn’t argue but immediately went to work.

He turned to Chase. “I’m instigating the Heartworm Protocol.”

“Shit. Billy—” Chase wobbled on his crutch, glancing over his shoulder at Eve, then back at Billy. “You’re shutting everything down? Why?”

“Otherwise, we’ll all be in jail facing treason charges.” He explained about Grigor. “The feds think Rose blew up that warehouse in Savannah and that she had help. They’ll be coming after all of us.” Billy raised his phone—one final call before he destroyed it. “Teresa. It’s Price. Implement Heartworm. Immediately.”

He hung up, removed the battery. He’d forward his number to a disposable burner phone as soon as they got out of here. Chase pulled out his cell—he was already using a burner, one of KC’s precautions when she moved him and Jay to their safe house.

“If they’re after Rose, they’ll be after KC.”

Shit. How the hell was he going to tell Chase that KC was missing? Broken leg or not, there was no way he’d be able to hold the Marine back from searching for her.

“I’ll get her. You take Eve and your brother to the safe house.” Thank God for Rose’s paranoia. Her Heartworm Protocol divided the Team into smaller cells, each with an undocumented safe house no one outside of their cell knew about. Once Teresa sent the signal, they’d all be scrambling, going to ground. Unable to help fix this mess, but at least they’d be safe.

“What if Rose is alive?” Chase asked. “If she makes it home, she’ll be walking into a trap.”

Billy ignored the question. There was no answer. This was what Rose wanted, the way it had to be. If she was alive, following her lead was her best hope.

If she was alive, maybe there was still hope for the two of them.

His heart ached as he thought the words. It would probably ache for a long, long time. But he couldn’t think of Rose right now, of what might have been. He had men and women to protect. And he was running out of time.

<><><>

Of course
, it wasn’t as easy as Chase taking Rose’s daughter and Jay to a safe house while Billy picked up KC. Just like nothing had been easy, not since Chase busted his leg last week. Not even getting dressed or taking a leak—try doing that on crutches.

Jettisoning one of the crutches had helped Chase’s mobility, plus it freed his shooting hand, but made for more jostling of his leg and more pain. Pain that faded into the distance now that he had something to do: protect Eve and Jay.

Eve, he couldn’t help but smile every time he looked at her. Not that she looked like Rose, other than their hair being the same color, although Eve’s was straight where Rose’s was curly. No, it wasn’t their looks. It was their attitude. Something they both had plenty of.

She’d been cool in a crisis, led them to Rose’s storage locker below the building where they found plenty of supplies for a rainy day: weapons, ammo, provisions. The six-by-eight closet was a doomsday prepper’s dream.

Rose also kept two vehicles in the garage: a silver Taurus that looked like any government unmarked and the nondescript delivery van that they loaded the gear into and Billy now drove, watching their back for any surveillance as Eve drove the Jeep.

They’d decided on using one of Rose’s safe houses—actually Eve had insisted, refused to join them unless they agreed, but given that Rose did off-the-grid better than anyone, who would say no?

No one, except his stubborn jerk-off little brother. Chase would have told Jay exactly that, but not with Eve right there beside him as he spoke on the phone. “Jay, I told you. Grab your stuff, don’t say anything to anyone, and get out of there.”