Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #2 (47 page)

He knew she wouldn't. Feeling safe with her, he decided to divulge a bit of his life. “I told you that I grew up going to church. My family was all about show. In the community, they were highly respected. But at home it was a very different story. Both of my parents had issues that led them to being unavailable. My mom was hooked on pain pills and my dad to his job and, unfortunately, other women. I never experienced any physical abuse like you did, but my childhood was filled with apathy. Smiles outside the house and very few words spoken inside the house.”

“That's a tough way to grow up,” she said.

“When I got older it was hard for me to understand how they could claim to be believers when they couldn't even show the smallest bit of love toward me—their only child. A complete lack of concern. That is, unless it had something to do with how the community saw me. I had to do exactly what they wanted to be the perfect child.”

“I'm so sorry, Max. Every child deserves to be loved.”

“Sydney, I have to say that seeing how you have carried yourself during this entire crisis has made me more curious about how faith works for you. I can't help but wonder, what if I was wrong? What if I've been too hasty to throw out all religion because of the experiences I lived through?”

“It's not too late, Max. If you feel like the Lord is calling out to you, then He probably is.”

“You've shown me through your actions and words what it's really like to live by faith. And now a return to my faith is something that I'm interested in exploring further. Believe it or not, as a child I enjoyed church. It wasn't until I got older that the experience became tainted for me.”

“I'm here, Max. For whatever you need. You're risking your life for me. The least I can do is lend an ear.”

“Syd, I appreciate everything.”

Silence overtook them as she cleaned up her food wrappers. As she went to gather his trash, he reached up and gently touched her face. “My promise to you has always been the same. To keep you safe.”

“I know, Max. Thank you.”

As he looked into her eyes, he was amazed at how his life continued to change all because she had come into it. And he wasn't going to let her down.

* * *

Sydney sat quietly in the passenger's seat as the car sped down the highway to an unknown destination. She couldn't stop thinking about their earlier conversation. Her heart had almost exploded at Max's words about his past and how she had influenced him spiritually. For a man like Max, who not only had misgivings about religion but prided himself on his logical approach, this was a big breakthrough. She would continue to pray for him and live her life the only way she knew how.

But even with Max's desire to return to his faith, she wouldn't allow herself to think there could ever be anything more than friendship between the two of them. While she trusted Max in his role as her friend and protector, trusting in a romantic sense was a different matter entirely. She truly believed that her heart might not ever be ready for romance again.

It hurt a bit that he was skeptical about her work as a sketch artist. She was proud of all of her accomplishments as a forensic artist—including the sketch-artist work. Just because he'd had one bad experience didn't mean that she couldn't do her job and do it well.

Max's phone rang from the console.

“Put it on speaker, will you?” he asked. “That has to be Brian.”

She picked up the phone and pressed the speaker button.

“Brian,” Max said. “What's going on?”

“It's not Brian,” a deep male voice responded.

“Who is this?” Max asked. He kept the car on the road, but Sydney could see the anger streaking through him as he clenched his hands on the steering wheel.

“I'm disappointed that you forgot about me so quickly, buddy.”

“Davies. What are you doing?”

“I could ask you the same thing, but for now here's what's going to happen. I have your FBI pal here with me.”

Max blew out a breath. Sydney knew this was bad. Their entire operation had been compromised. How had this happened? Her heart thumped wildly as she worried about Brian's safety.

“What do you want?” Max asked.

“A trade. Sydney for your FBI agent.”

Before she could react, Max replied, “When and where?”

“Your response was so quick, I almost believe you.” Davies laughed. “I know you're going to want to save the day—to keep your witness safe and rescue Brian—but you're smart enough to know that won't happen. Especially if you pull any fast ones. So you're going to do this exactly as I say if you don't want me to put a bullet through your friend's brain.”

She noticed Max's jaw clench as Davies spoke. Then he ground out, “Tell me how this will go down.”

“I don't know where you are, but you need to get yourself back to Atlanta. I'll text you an address and time later today.”

The call ended and Sydney realized she had been holding her breath. She hit the End button. “What happened?”

“I don't know. But Brian's in trouble. They have his phone and they know who he is.”

She was almost afraid to ask the next question. “They're going to kill him, anyway, aren't they?”

“Unfortunately, there's a good chance that might happen, but I'm obviously not going to hand you over to them under any circumstances.”

“But what about Brian?”

“We'll figure out something, but we need to go back to Atlanta. And I need to call Elena. I'm not going to be able to do this alone.”

“You're not alone, Max.”

He looked over at her briefly and nodded. “I know that, Sydney. But my priority hasn't changed. Your safety is still not only my job, but it's what I need to do.” He asked her to dial Elena's number, which Max had committed to memory.

She dialed and put it on speaker.

“Sanchez,” Elena answered.

“Hey, it's Max.”

“Where in the world are you? I thought we agreed you'd let me know before you left Brian's house.”

“I never agreed to that.” He paused. “But we have bigger problems than that right now. Brian went on an undercover operation to get evidence tying Lucas Jones to Kevin Diaz. And somewhere in all of that Davies got involved and was able to figure out Brian was FBI. They have him.”

“Oh, no,” she said. “Why didn't you bring me in on this at the beginning of the op?”

“I'm sorry if I was still a bit hesitant about trusting you given all that had gone on.”

“I know, Max. And I'll be apologizing to you and Sydney forever about that. But I promise you that I'm on your side.”

“Well, at this point I don't have much of a choice but to trust you. Davies says that unless I turn over Sydney, he'll kill Brian. Davies is going to send me a meeting time and place later today.”

“You can't give over your witness,” Elena said in a commanding tone.

“Obviously not. That's where you come in. You're going to be the decoy.”

Sydney was just as shocked as Elena.

“What?” Elena's eyes widened. “It isn't like Sydney and I look a lot alike.”

“We'll make it work.”

Without hesitating, Elena replied, “You're right. I'm partially responsible for this mess. I'll do whatever it takes. Is Sydney doing okay?”

“I'm right here,” Sydney said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “I'm fine.”

“Max, Davies has to have something else planned, though,” Elena said. “He can't really think that you'd actually give him Sydney, even if it was to save Brian's life.”

“You're right,” he replied. “But we have to play by his rules for now.”

“I'm on board.”

“Elena, we also found out that Ward is definitely working with East River,” Max said.

“What? I thought the FBI didn't have any information connecting them since Ward's release from prison.”

“Well, that information was given to us by Davies.”

Elena groaned. “Yes, I remember now. The problem is that I'm still no better off here than I was. I can't say for certain that there aren't other dirty marshals.”

“We might be able to go to Brian's boss, and my old boss, Tom Hilton at the FBI. Brian didn't tell him anything about the op, but the guy's pretty open-minded when it comes to operations. Maybe he'll help us.”

“Are you sure that he's clean?” Elena asked.

“No, but we might not have a choice.”

“I'll reach out to Hilton,” Elena said. “Assuming you're all right with that, Max?”

“Sure. Elena, now's not the time for us to have a lack of trust. Once I made this phone call to you, I had made the decision that I was going to trust you. So we need to be able to move forward together as a team to get this job done. Dwelling on the past isn't going to help any of us right now.”

“Thanks, Max. I'll let you know what I find out. I'll also find us a place to meet.”

“Talk to you soon.”

Sydney ended the call and glanced over at Max.

He flicked his gaze to her. “Well, looks like we're headed back to Georgia.”

“I should've known it was too good to be true. There's no getting away from that monster. From my past. From all the danger that surrounds us both.”

He grabbed her left hand with his right, keeping his other hand on the wheel. “Sydney, I promise you that I will do everything I can to ensure that Ward never hurts you again.”

“That's a big statement,” she said softly.

He shook his head. “I'm not going to change the way I feel about that. I'll protect you whatever it takes.”

“I know that, but Rick truly is an evil man. I pray each day to forgive him and to move on with my life, but if I'm being completely honest with you, I haven't gotten past it. I don't know if I ever will. I don't know if I'll ever be strong enough to forgive him.”

“Well, I'm obviously not the expert on prayer, but I'll tell you this. He hasn't asked for your forgiveness. He hired what he thought was a hit man to kill you. So I don't think you should feel obligated.”

“It's not good for me to feel the hatred I do for him. I know that logically, but emotionally it's more difficult to process.”

“I think you're doing the best you can under incredibly difficult circumstances. Most people would've crumbled by now, especially with him back in the picture. But you haven't. And you won't. Because that's who you are.”

She offered a tentative smile. “You act like you know me pretty well.”

“While it hasn't been very long, I do feel like I know you. Even better than people who've been in my life for years. Being with you has made getting to know you easy. If that makes sense.”

“I feel the same way. As tough as all of these issues are, we seem to be working through them.”

“Day by day,” he said. “Along with the rest of this madness.”

Somehow Max's words settled her, as they always did. His presence had a calming effect on her. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” he said.

“Why did you leave the FBI to go to the US Marshals?”

He let out a laugh. “I don't know what I thought you were going to ask me, but it definitely wasn't that.”

“I'm sorry if you don't want to talk about it. I was just wondering.”

“No, it's nothing like that. I'd been at the FBI for ten years. I enjoyed my job, but I felt a bit boxed in. I didn't really feel challenged the way I used to. I'd done a lot of undercover work and really enjoyed it, but there were a lot of management demands that came with more seniority. I was behind the desk more and more. Pushing paper and other desk work in the bureaucracy is not my strength.”

She couldn't help but laugh loudly. “Right, I can't even imagine you sitting behind a desk all day. You excel working out on assignments in the field.”

“So when this opportunity opened up at the US Marshals, I thought, why not apply? See what happens. My boss was on board with it and thought it would be a good change of pace for me. I wanted something new that would allow me to be on my feet more. I realize I won't want to be this active forever. I want to embrace it now while I'm still relatively young.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-three.” He shot her a smile. “And I know better than to ask a woman her age.”

“I'm not most women. I'm thirty and I'm not ashamed of that.”

“Believe me, Syd. I realized how different you were from day one.”

EIGHT

M
ax felt his blood pressure rising with each passing moment. He was seated at a table in an FBI safe house in Atlanta. Around the table sat Elena, Sydney and Brian's boss, Special Agent in Charge Tom Hilton.

Sydney had barely said a word since they'd walked in, but Tom had a lot of questions and concerns. And Elena was trying to take the temperature down in the room, but it didn't appear to be working.

“When Brian told me about his undercover operation, I had no idea he'd be putting himself in this much risk,” Tom said. “Had I known, I would've specifically forbidden it.”

Max was about to speak up, but Tom kept right on going.

“And there's an APB out for the two of you.” Tom pointed to him and Sydney. “Max, I don't have any idea what you've gone and done here. So someone needs to start at the beginning and tell me everything.” Tom's light blue eyes were full of intensity. Max knew the seasoned FBI agent wasn't going to be easy to deal with. But they needed him as an ally.

It took about an hour between Max and Elena's explanations and Tom's questions to get him caught up to speed. Tom confirmed a few points specifically with Sydney as they went.

“And where is Davies now?” he asked Max.

“I don't know, sir. He's supposed to text me a time and place to make the exchange.” He looked at his watch. “It's almost eight p.m. now, but Davies correctly assumed we weren't in Atlanta and that it would take us a number of hours to get back.”

“What's your theory on how Brian's cover was blown?” Tom asked.

Max shrugged. “Davies isn't stupid. He was probably skeptical of Brian from the start. I think Davies probably decided to try to make sure Brian was legitimate and in that process was able to figure out he was working undercover.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But how did Davies get out of the hospital so quickly?” He looked at Elena.

“I'm not sure,” she said.

“I'm more concerned about what we're going to do now,” Tom said. “I can bring in additional FBI resources.”

“We have to be careful, sir,” Max said. “We don't know if any of the agents have been compromised by East River.”

“I'd handpick the team myself,” he said. “So there wouldn't be any concern about that.”

“Think about it. If we're wrong about any of those guys, then Brian is dead. We've got to give him a fighting chance.”

Tom looked down for a moment and the room was silent. Then he made eye contact with Max again. “I hear you. So for now it's you and me against them, while Elena protects the witness.”

Max shook his head. “No. Elena will help you. I'm not leaving Sydney. That's nonnegotiable.”

Elena must have sensed the tension building in the room. “Sydney, let's give them a couple of minutes to hash out these details.”

Sydney didn't argue and left the room with Elena.

“Is there something you're not telling me, Max?”

“I think you're insinuating something, so why don't you come out with it?”

Tom crossed his hefty arms. “I'm a bit disappointed in you, Max. After all the years I've known you, I would've never expected it.”

“Expected what, sir?”

Tom leaned forward. “There's something going on between you and your witness.”

Max chose his words carefully. “There is, sir, but not what you think. Yes, I care about her. But we are not in a physical relationship.” How else could he say it?

Tom raised a curious eyebrow. “I know we had our share of disagreements during the time that you worked for me. But I trust your instincts, and I know that Brian does, too. He wouldn't have gone on this assignment otherwise.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“But let's just hope you didn't send him to his death.”

“Please don't say that.”

“I hope not. But someone had to say it.” Tom shook his head. “Back to the issue. What were you thinking the plan would be?”

“You'd go to the meet with Davies, keeping Elena far enough back to make him believe that she's Sydney.”

“The problem with that is that he's going to know I'm not you.”

“Will he really care as long as he thinks he's getting Sydney?”

“It will definitely raise his suspicions.”

“Like I said. That point is nonnegotiable. I'm not going to leave Sydney.”

Max's cell buzzed, and he picked it up to read the incoming message. “It's Davies. He just sent the address. He wants to meet at midnight tonight.”

“Where?”

“The address is 55 Century Park. It's in Atlanta. But that street doesn't mean anything to me.”

Tom pulled out his smartphone and typed in the address. He gave his phone to Max and pointed. “There it is. On the south side past the airport. Basically, it's an industrial zone with some local manufacturing plants. Lots of trucks and warehouses down that way.”

“So I'm thinking that you'll get out to meet Davies, leaving Elena in the car. You tell him that you have to see Brian first before you'll do anything.”

“Davies knows how the FBI and marshals work. He'll know that we would never turn over an innocent civilian in exchange for an FBI agent.”

Max stood and started pacing. “True, which means our main goal at this point in the operation should be to apprehend Davies. And we have to be prepared for anything. That this could be a trap of some sort. Davies knows protocol, and he has to know that if he dangled Brian in front of us, we'd have to agree to a meeting. For all we know Brian may already be dead. At the very least, there's no guarantee that Davies will actually bring Brian with him to the meeting. You're just going to have to go with your gut. I'll be there, but I won't be able to get too close.”

“We better explain the plan to Elena and Sydney.” Tom rose from his chair. “We'll also want to get there well in advance of midnight. Especially so I can scout out the best place for me to be.”

“You're right.”

“Go get Elena and Sydney so we can brief them,” Tom ordered. “It's going to be a long night.”

* * *

Sydney knew she had to be prepared for anything. She and Max sat in the car in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. She could smell the pungent smoke that filled the air from the manufacturing plants that surrounded the entire area.

Max and Tom had briefed her and Elena on the plan. A plan she didn't like because she wanted a more active role. She hated sitting on the sidelines, feeling as though she was the cause of everyone's problems. Not only had she been trained in self-defense, but she also knew how to shoot. And she was a good shot. She'd convinced Tom to get her a gun for tonight, and she had the feeling that this operation might go south.

She watched Max use his FBI night-vision goggles Tom had provided. Tom seemed to be completely prepared for anything, as he had a basement full of supplies. She guessed someone in his position had to take every precaution.

She scanned the area. It wasn't very well lit and just thinking about the implications of everything had her on edge. A chill shot down her arms in anticipation of what was to come.

“How're you doing?” Max asked.

“I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm ready to take action if I need to. I won't just sit back and watch others get hurt because of me.”

Max shook his head. “Remember what we all talked about. Just because you have that gun doesn't mean you're supposed to use it. That's only for protection and not for anything else.”

“I know that, but I feel better knowing that I have it.” She looked down at her watch, struggling to see the time.

“It's almost midnight,” he said.

“Thanks.” They were in his car stationed behind one of the 18-wheelers. But they had a line of sight to where Tom and Elena's SUV was parked, which was directly in front of the address Davies had provided.

The minutes passed slowly as she waited and watched. Then another SUV drove up and parked near Tom's.

“Game time,” Max said. “Stay alert and listen to any cues I may give.”

“Got it.” Sydney had her gun out just in case. She wasn't taking any chances. She tried to breathe normally, but it was difficult.
Lord, please keep us safe here tonight.
She controlled her breathing and stayed focused.

“That's Davies,” Max said.

Sydney watched as a man stepped out of the driver side of the SUV. She didn't have night-vision goggles, but he fit Davies's body description.

Tom hopped out of his SUV and the two men walked toward each other. Sydney wanted desperately to hear what they were saying, but all she could do was try to read their body language.

After a minute Tom took a step back. And that's when everything changed. Gunshots rang out—from where, she couldn't tell. Multiple shots were being fired at the SUV—with Elena inside it.

“Do something, Max!” she implored.

“I'm not leaving you here alone.”

“I'm fine. I've got my gun. You've got to help them. Now.”

More gunshots rang out in rapid succession. Tom ran for cover behind a nearby building, and Davies retreated toward his SUV. Three men ran toward the SUV that held Elena.

“Go, Max. Go!”

Max jumped out of the car and drew his gun. He started shooting, taking down the first man with a shot to the leg, and the second man with a shot to the shoulder. Even at that distance Max was a stellar shot.

She prayed that Elena hadn't been hit by the attackers' bullets.

A loud tapping sounded on her window, she turned and her heart stopped.

Staring at her with a gun pointed right at her face was her biggest nightmare—Rick Ward.

“Get out of the car now, Sydney,” he said.

He must not have seen her gun as it was cloaked in the darkness. She actually had the upper hand. But what if she made a move and he was quicker? What if he shot first? She weighed her options as he stared at her through the window.

“Don't make any sudden moves. Get out nice and easy,” he said. His eyes were filled with pure hatred, and it took every bit of her strength not to curl up in a ball and give up. But no. She wasn't that woman anymore. She was going to fight back. She hadn't trained and fought to become strong to let him see her weakness now when it mattered most.

Given the situation, she decided it was now or never. She had to catch him off guard while she could.

“Okay,” she said, keeping her voice calm and steady. She moved slowly to unlock the door. Then with all of her strength, she swung open the door making him stumble backward. She drew her gun and didn't hesitate. She got off a quick shot, but he was able to duck just in time and she missed by a few inches.

She fired again, and he was thrown off balance dodging her bullet. He hit the ground, his gun falling out of his hand. She was about to take another shot when he stood up and charged her like a raging bull. This time she did hesitate for a second—one second too long. He knocked her to the ground hard with him on top of her. The gun fell out of her grasp.

Here she was again. In a place she'd prepared and trained for years to handle but prayed she would never have to be. Fighting with this man. But one thing had changed. She was no longer afraid and unable to protect herself. No longer defenseless against him or any other man wanting to do her harm.

Her training and instincts all kicked into action. Even though he was on top of her pressing his weight down, she knew what to do. He had her arms pinned to the ground, but her legs were her best and strongest defense. She'd learned that the first day of her most basic self-defense class. So when he lifted up slightly she took the opportunity to act.

In one well-practiced motion, her left knee slammed into his stomach as she pushed as hard as she could against his hip with her right leg. He hadn't seen that coming, she thought, as she was able to get to her feet. Her instructor would have been proud.

But now she'd made Rick angry.

“Where did you learn your little moves, Sydney?” he spat out. “You think taking one little self-defense class taught by some idiot at a rec center is going to keep you safe from me?” He laughed, but it was a laugh filled with hatred and evil.

Little did he know she hadn't just taken basic self-defense. Yeah, that's where she'd started, but it wasn't where she ended. Over the years she'd moved on to advanced martial-arts training. And she was prepared to use those moves on him now.

She looked over, but the gun was still out of her reach.

He lunged toward her but she quickly sidestepped, avoiding his grip. Then she delivered a strong kick to his shin. He dropped to his knee and spouted words so foul that she never wanted to hear them again.

But now wasn't the time to cower. While he was kneeling down, she delivered another swift kick, this one to his head. He rolled over and howled. But he grabbed her ankle, yanking her down to the ground hard. Dirt filled her mouth mixed with the taste of blood.

She rolled over and got back to her feet as he staggered up off the ground.

“I have to admit, this is almost fun,” Rick said as he breathed hard. “I'm enjoying this new side of you, Sydney. You've become fiery.”

Hearing those words sent a jolt of energy through her body. She wasn't going to let this man make a mockery of her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her gun not far from where she stood. She made a move for it as he lunged toward her with his hands open wide, reaching.

She was able to grab the gun, but he pushed her down, and they wrestled on the ground. Using her training, she managed to get the upper hand. A part of her wanted to kill him, yet something held her back. She'd come so far and taking his life wouldn't do anything to heal her wounds. So when she had the kill shot she didn't take it.

Instead she jumped up off him and pointed the gun at his head.