Walk In My Shadow: A Gripping Romantic Thriller (Mirror Book 3): A Mirror Novel (21 page)

“What did you threaten Ethan with? Because he wouldn’t have cared about being burned.”

She sighed. “He didn’t pass.”

“You killed him.”

She shook her head. “He killed himself because he couldn’t take the heat.”

“Bullshit.” It took all he had not to attempt to leap across the table and kill her—and break his goddamned arms in the process. “You killed him and then you contacted Abby.”

“Abby was contacted, yes. You know as well as I do that she’s another legacy. For the FBI, of course, but we’ve got our eye on her. I’m grateful studying Ethan allowed us to study her at the same time.”

“You leave her the fuck alone.”

“I want to tell you that you’re not in a position to make demands, but the truth is, you’ve been the one we wanted. Your father always said that Ethan’s intuition tended to trip him up rather than help him. We took the opportunity to study that and found his assessment accurate.”

A game. An experiment. Started by his own father. Ethan was hunted and haunted in their father’s quest to create the perfect operative. “So what happens now? Why do I get to know everything? Doesn’t that make me dangerous?”

“Very. And unpredictable.”

“Are you burned, Nita?”

She laughed. “Burned? Try promoted.”

“So this is all about vengeance because your father killed mine and then got busted for it?”

“Your father was a killer. Stone-cold. He needed to be stopped.”

She stopped short of admitting that her father had killed Vance’s but God, what a complete and utter mindfuck this agency was screwing him with. “What did he need to be stopped from? You’re all goddamned power hungry—how much worse could he have been?”

“Vance, your father started the concept of the Whitelist, and you lived up to his name. You’ve got the best parts of him inside of you with none of the greed that got him killed. You took Abby hostage and shook her down. You didn’t run. You fought back.”

But Ethan hadn’t. Because he’d known everything. And the longer Ethan stayed alive, the longer they’d leave Vance alone. “What did my father do? Sell the Whitelist to foreign agencies?”

She smiled and shrugged. He guessed that secret wasn’t on the agenda. But he pressed on, trying a different route. “So is this more like a one-woman mission or is this all done for the committee? Because it must be really difficult being a female agent in the Whitelist environment.”

“Is this reverse interrogation? Vance, honey, you’re such a good agent.”

Vance itched to slap her but he smiled and tried again, leaning forward conspiratorially. “So you’re going to go on this one-woman mission to repair our family bonds or to prove yourself and redeem your father’s rep? Because obviously, I understand about ruined reputations and being a part of something you have no choice in.”

“Oh, this is the part where I’m supposed to give away something important to my mission. Okay, I’ll play along since you came all this way. I have help. I have the power of the Whitelist behind me.”

“And they came to drug me and brought me here to you?”

“It wasn’t that difficult, Vance. I have your codes. I’ve been watching you. Just because you’re prepared for me doesn’t mean you’ll get away. Besides, you knew you were handing yourself over tonight.”

He had. Part of his plan. Just because Nita knew his reasoning didn’t mean he wouldn’t learn something. Anything. “Tell me more about Ethan. You owe me that.”

“Ethan not only knew about what I was doing—he agreed to it.” Nita smiled.

“I don’t believe that.”

“Why not? Why wouldn’t Ethan come to you for help if he really wanted out?” she paused. “Yes, he was protective but he wasn’t stupid, was he?”

“You tell me.”

“The machine wanted Ethan. We took him. We wanted you but you’re not as cooperative.”

“Come on, lady. More carrot, less stick. Because I’m not playing your game,” Vance told her.

“But you do—and well.” She sighed. “You’d be a good operative for us. Abby, not at all.”

“Thank God I picked the right woman, then.” He paused. “Let me make it clear—I don’t want to be your operative.”

“I know. It’s a shame.”

“So you’re going to just let me walk away?”

“Well, there will be consequences. For your loved ones, of course.” She looked over her shoulder to the large one-way mirror that Vance knew someone else must be behind and made a “come here” motion.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Abby walked in. Then Knox. Then Leila. Leila was holding the gun and Abby and Knox both had big, heavy casts on their right arms.

“You okay?” he asked Abby, trying to keep his tone causal. Because those weren’t just simple casts. Now, Vance had used something similar on a mission—those casts were wired to blow. It was a perfect way to distract someone while making a clean getaway.

Abby’s face looked bruised. Knox just looked drugged, much like Vance himself felt.

“I’m fine,” Abby assured him. “I need to learn Systema though. Can you teach me?”

“I can,” Knox offered.

“Sorry to interrupt but it’s my party,” Nita told them.

“What the hell are you doing, Nita?” Vance demanded.

“You want to be left alone? That’s fine. But do you think you’ll stop the Whitelist? You won’t. Eventually, we’ll find someone to take your place.”

“I already told you I’m willing,” Leila said, reached out and touched Knox’s neck. Knox didn’t acknowledge the touch or even turn in her direction, but Vance, Nita and Abby all did as she murmured, “He’s a strong one.”

“Yes, well, you would know,” Nita said. “And thank you for the offer, but I’ve already told you, you’re not who we’re looking for.”

Fuck.
Vance looked between the women and wondered how deeply involved in this Whitelist shit Leila was…how badly she’d fucked Knox over. But judging by the look on his friend’s face, Knox didn’t seem surprised by any of this.

Whether that boded well for Vance and Abby remained to be seen.

Leila motioned to Abby and Knox as she addressed Nita. “You said yourself that a woman’s always underestimated. You’ve proven that.”

“And what have you proven?”

“I’ve neutralized the man and woman who could ruin your plans,” Leila said pointedly, staring directly at Vance as she spoke.

Vance’s throat tightened painfully as he tried not to scream.

“Impressive,” Nita said calmly. “I liked Abby, but, as I was telling Vance, I don’t think she’d fit in here well.”

“Agreed. Now, why not let me take over the jobs you had planned for Vance. He’s not going to do them. He’s going to keep looking for ways to get out. And losing another one won’t look good on your record.”

Nita stared at her. “You have attachments.”

Leila looked at her for a long moment and Vance grew cold with dread. Before he could say anything, Leila pulled her weapon and shot Knox in the shoulder of the same arm with the cast, with zero hesitation. When he fell to the floor from the force of the blow, making sure somehow to land on his good arm, she moved in front of him to hover her weapon directly at his chest.

Like a stone-cold killer.

“And here I thought you owed him a favor for saving your life,” Nita said as Knox lay there, finally locking his gaze on Leila’s as Vance held his breath.

“I was doing myself the favors. I want in. I want CIA protection and in return, I’ll do the dirtiest jobs you’ve got,” Leila said.

Nita turned to Vance. “You know this trick, so I won’t bore you. One of the casts will detonate, the other won’t. Which one will you save?”

“I’ll make it more interesting,” Leila said and leveled off another shot, this time making good on her implied promise and shooting Knox in the chest before she and Nita made their exits.

Together.

“Hang on, Knox—hang on,” Abby called, rushing over to Vance and using the skeleton key she pulled out of nowhere to unlock his hands. Then they both rushed back over to where Knox lay.

Knox, who was staring up at him, stunned. “Hold on, Knox. Shit.” Vance took his shirt off and tried to put pressure on Knox’s chest, but there was so much fucking blood.

It was a good sign—an odd one—that Leila hadn’t killed him dead with the shot. Point blank, she easily could have.

There were no phones in the room and none of them had cell phones.

“Abby, go find a phone to call 9-1-1,” he told her.

Knox groaned, “Save Abby—come on, man. Don’t be a fuck-up.”

But it was Abby herself who ignored both of them, grabbed the saw that Vance hadn’t noticed propped in the corner and began to cut away at Knox’s cast, saying, “It’s got a remote detonator. This won’t cause it to detonate.”

“How do you know it’s his?” Vance asked, as he continued trying to stop the flow of blood from Knox’s chest wound. The shoulder would have to wait.

“I know,” Abby assured him. “Trust me.”

“I do,” Vance said.

“We do,” Knox added weakly. “Just fucking hurry.”

“Hey, Abby.” She looked at him. “I love you.”

She smiled even as she sawed. “I know.”

Knox laughed weakly. “She told you.” Then he wheezed, and Vance and Abby concentrated on getting all of them out alive.

T
eige saw
the explosion break out the windows of the fifth floor at the same time a woman matching Nita’s description exited the building and went to get into a waiting car.

He ignored the terror that tried to break through. Because Abby…

No. Fuck that. Do what you can in the now.

He had the rifle’s scope set. He’d been patiently waiting, wanting to shoot at the woman who’d half-dragged his sister into the building. But now, even as he answered Vance’s tense call saying, “We need a bus,” Teige steadied himself and pulled the trigger, then said, “You’ll need two.”

* * *

B
y the time
Vance got Knox downstairs, the first ambulance had arrived. The EMTs took Knox first, probably because they didn’t see Nita. Teige had dragged her body off to the side and now Vance went over to her, Abby behind him.

He knelt next to her and Nita greeted him with, “I’m not going to make it, but neither is Knox.”

He didn’t answer, just let her talk.

And she did. “It wasn’t about you, Vance. It was about studying you. How much could you take before you broke. How fast could I kill your brother versus bringing you in. You get to stay alive with your guilt. Your family created what got your father killed…and what killed Ethan. That’s better than killing you.”

“After all of this, did you really think I’d work for you now? For the Whitelist?”

“I don’t think you have much choice. We’ll be in touch.”

“Who is we?” Vance demanded as Nita stared down at the blood seeping through her fingers. “Who is
we
?”

Nita smiled, blood staining her teeth. “Too many of us to count.”

“Vance, it’s a puzzle—a cipher. Something you’ll fall into and never come out. It’s not worth solving. It doesn’t matter,” Abby reasoned.

“Ethan’s death didn’t matter?”

“It did. But this—what Nita’s spewing? It’s senseless bullshit. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Designed to drive you crazy,” Abby insisted.

“I need to know,” Vance said.

“You think you do.” Abby sighed and looked at Nita. “If we go public, they’ll disavow you and let Vance go. It’s not as satisfying as dismantling the Whitelist but…”

“Ethan killed those people,” Nita managed.

“Because you made him,” Vance challenged.

Nita managed what sounded like a blood-choked laugh. “He was easily controlled.”

“He was saving his loved ones from harm,” Abby corrected. “Vance, this isn’t worth it. Let her go.”

He did, watched her die in front of him.

“How did she get you here?” Abby asked after Nita went completely silent, although she already figured it out. Still, she needed to hear it from him.

“I came to her. I had to. You’d have done the same thing.”

“Don’t try to justify what you did. Just own it.” She stared at Nita’s dead body, fighting the urge to kick it. “I’m tired of never-ending puzzles. Sometimes, you need to decide to let the shit go.”

“What if I can’t?” Vance asked.

“Then you’ll die because of it.”

“We all die,” Vance pointed out.

“It doesn’t have to be a miserable, martyr-like existence. Ethan wouldn’t have wanted that for either of us,” Abby said.

“Ethan was the subject of experiments that my father started,” Vance said angrily. “The Whitelist? Has to be stopped.”

“How?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Not without me. So what do we do?”

“We take back the list. Help free people they might be screwing over for fun and profit.”

“Can we find a way to help Mary too?”

“I’m sure we can manage it.”

T
he funeral service
at the cemetery was a bigger gathering than Vance had anticipated, but he wasn’t surprised. There were a lot of Knox’s military buddies there and several CIA friends. They all spoke highly of him, his bravery, his service, his medical skills under pressure.

Vance’s formal retirement from he CIA had come in three days ago. Two days after he’d carried Knox out of the building, praying the ambulance would arrive in time and hugging Abby tight. “Vengeance doesn’t bring back the dead,” he murmured.

“But it fills the time waiting for karma to kick in,” Abby reminded him gently, threading her fingers with his.

Her official dismissal from the US Marshals had come through only hours earlier. They were both free.

Scarred, but alive.

Vance stared at the grave. “It’s all a fucking game. And my father started it.”

“A wise woman reminded me that I’m not my father. Neither are you. You couldn’t have stopped Ethan from trying to spare you.”

“I know.” Still, this would all haunt him. But Abby? She promised to heal him.

Now, he glanced around at Teige, Kayla, Jacoby and Ward, all of whom had a part in this. Following Nita’s shooting, they’d all converged in a private hospital room procured by Ward, for Knox, away from prying eyes. Mainly because Leila was still nowhere on the radar.

While Abby’d cut the cast off Knox, Vance had forced himself to leave them for the briefest of seconds to make a call to Teige. After Abby cut the cast off Knox, Vance had carried his bleeding friend out of the room with Abby following down the hall, managing to all get far enough away from the blast that happened maybe a minute later.

Now, the men and women who’d gathered had begun to say their soft goodbyes, to Knox and to each other. Many of them shook Vance’s hand before they left.

There was no sign of Leila.

But there was no hiding for her. Vance would make sure of that. He and Abby were now jobless, according to their official records.

Unofficially? They’d be working underground, helping witnesses and abuse victims escape. People who needed to disappear.

People the system failed.

People like Mary.

People like Ethan. So no, there weren’t many places Nita or Leila could hide from them or from Teige.

“It’s the right thing,” Abby told him now. “We’ll make his sacrifice worth it.”

Vance put an arm around her, looked into the distance and gave a nod that wasn’t meant for her.

* * *

A
ll endings were beginnings
. Some of them were just better than others.

Abby watched Vance glance off to the side for the briefest of seconds before he turned his attention back to her.

“Knox wasn’t just a doctor, was he?” she asked.

Vance flicked his gaze somewhere over her shoulder again. “Apparently not.”

“At least he was on our side.”

“At least we were on his.”

Finding out that all this was done just because they were good, just because they were researching…it was devastating. Devastating in its simplicity. There was no ‘bad guy’—there was an entire organization that had grown massive arms and legs, and it had all started from Vance’s father and his obsession with psychological games.

If there was one thing Abby understood, it was the reach of psychological games. She also understood that somehow, there were always guardian angels who were there solely to protect and serve, and she’d happened on one of them.

“We’re safe, Angel. As safe as we can be. As safe as we will be…”

He was giving her an out, an opportunity to say,
then let’s stay this way and not do a damned thing more
. And she’d thought about that—she had. This decision hadn’t come easily to her. But she’d made it. “We’ll be okay, Vance.”

He nodded before admitting, “You were right about which cast was going to detonate.”

She smiled. “Haven’t you learned by now that I’m always right?”

“Always?”

“I’ll give you one percent but I will never admit it. Out loud.”

He shook his head like a man who knew he’d been beaten but in this case, he didn’t look the least bit upset. “Ready?”

“More than.”

“Good. We’ve got work to do.” And hand in hand, they walked out of their old lives and into the future.