Christmas Justice (Carder Texas Connections #7)(44)
“Like I said, you saved my life, not to mention my wife and daughters. No questions needed. I know what loyalty means, Garrett. You’ve earned mine. Now, time is passing quickly. What’s your plan?”
“I can’t leave my witnesses alone. One is a five-year-old girl. I can’t watch them all the time and do what needs to be done.”
“I understand,” Daniel said. “We’ll be there, but it’ll take more than the hour you have.”
“Then I’ll make do until then. I don’t know who else will be waiting for us, but meet me in Trouble as soon as you can. I can’t let anyone else die because of me.”
“Wheels up in ten. See you soon.”
*
THE SUV TURNED a corner, waking Laurel. She blinked her eyes against the hazy light of dawn. She glanced at the back of Garrett’s head from the backseat. “You shouldn’t be driving. You need rest. And a doctor.”
Garrett glanced around at her, then at his watch. “No choice. We’re going back to Trouble.”
He refocused on the road and pressed down the accelerator, lurching the SUV forward. At the urgency in his actions and his tone, Laurel straightened in her seat. She met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “What’s happened?”
“Someone tracking us has taken hostages.” Garrett’s jaw tightened. “My deputy, Lucy and Hondo. They gave us an hour and time is almost up. They’re going to kill the hostages one by one.”
“Oh, God.” Her hand covered her mouth and she kept her voice low. Molly didn’t need to hear this.
“I can’t let anything happen to them, Laurel. You understand that.”
She nodded, wanting to hold Molly even tighter. This couldn’t be happening.
Garrett glanced back at her and Molly. “The problem is, the caller who has the hostages wants all three of us.”
“Why? I don’t understand. What is it that we’ve done that’s so threatening? Especially Molly?”
“The world thinks we’re dead, and we potentially know too much. It’s safer and easier to eliminate the witnesses.”
“I’ve seen a lot of evil during my time with the CIA, but this— She’s just a little girl.” Laurel shivered. “We both know if someone wants you dead, eventually they’ll succeed. It’s too easy. Tampering with brakes, a car bomb, a sniper shot from a thousand feet away.”
“Unless they can’t find you.” Garrett pressed harder on the gas.
Laurel looked over at Molly. “What’s the plan for the three of us?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m running options through my head. It will depend on who is waiting for us, how many. Wish I had a sitrep.” The SUV sped up and he glanced at his watch. “They’ll call in the next five minutes to set up a rendezvous point. I want to try to surprise them. Hopefully it’s not too many.”
“I can help, Garrett. I may not have field experience, but I’m a good shot. You know I am.”
“You need to protect Molly. I have help coming.”
“But will they be here soon enough?”
“I don’t know.”
“Another lie.”
“It’s not good that you can read me so easily. I’ll have to work on that.”
“I’m watching your back, Galloway, so get used to it.”
*
A BRIGHT LIGHT blasted into the midnight-dark prison room. James blinked as the beam burned the backs of his eyes.
He tried to squint through the glare, but he could barely see.
“You should have told us about the chip sooner. It might have saved your daughter Ivy and her family’s lives. Too bad she had to start digging and learned too much.”
James squeezed his eyes shut tight. God, no. Not Ivy. Not the kids. What had he done? He didn’t remember revealing anything, just the shot from a hypodermic needle.
A chuckle from across the room lit a fire of hatred. James jerked up his head, not caring how much it hurt. “You won’t get away with this.”
“I already have. My reputation is impeccable. I’m trusted. People come to me because they know I’ll find a way to get them money, resources, equipment. You knew that, too.”
“Which should make them suspicious of you.”
“People see what they want to see, even in the intelligence community.”
His captor pulled out a gun and sauntered over to him. The barrel pressed against his temple. “I should kill you now. You’re a loose end.”
James knew he wouldn’t come out of this alive. For now, he had to try to get a signal to Garrett. There had to be a way.
“Do it.”
“You’d like that. Well, it won’t be so easy, James.” A quick flick of the wrist brought in a beefy man with eyes cold and dead as a snake. “Find out what else he hasn’t told us.”
James swallowed. The inflamed scar on the man’s face was obviously the result of recent burns. He carried an iron rod with him. “Make it easy. I can’t stop until you give me something,” the man said, touching his cheek.
The man walked over to a heating element and flicked on a switch. A gas flame roared to life and he stuck the tip of iron in the flames, rotating the bar slowly, evenly. After a few minutes the man pulled the red-hot iron from the flame and walked toward James.