Christmas Justice (Carder Texas Connections #7)(53)

Laurel’s knees buckled and she sagged onto the bed. “You’ve seen my father. Is he okay? Is he safe? I’ve been so worried about him.”

“Oh, honey.” A sob came through Fiona’s voice. “He’s been through hell, but he escaped yesterday and found his way home. We thought...” She could barely choke out the words. “We thought we’d lost everyone.”

Laurel’s hands trembled. “Can I...can I talk to him?”

“Of course.” Laurel heard fierce whispering in the room. “I’ll put it on speakerphone. His hands...have been injured. He’s weak, but it’s all okay now.”

“L-Laurel?”

Her father’s voice sounded tired, hoarse.

“Dad. Oh, Dad. You’re okay?”

“I’ve been better.” He let out a chuckle, then started coughing.

“I have proof you aren’t a traitor, Dad. And neither is Garrett.”

“But how?” Fiona asked. “We’ve been trying for so long. I thought we’d have to leave the country. I couldn’t find anything but horrible corroboration that your father was dealing with terrorists.”

“I-Ivy. You know what happened—?”

Fiona cut Laurel off. “I’m so sorry, Laurel. Look, your father is hurt. Badly. And he has to lie down, but we need to talk—”

A grunt sounded through the phone, then a crash.

“James!” Fiona shouted. “Laurel, your father just fell. I have to go to him.” Muffled whispers filtered through the receiver. “James, darling, stay still. You’ve torn the stitches.”

The phone went silent. Laurel gripped the cell tight. “Fiona, is Dad okay?”

“For now. I’ve had to treat him myself.” Worry laced Fiona’s breathless voice.

“Garrett Galloway is going to Washington. He needs help. Please.”

“I have to get back to your father. I don’t know what I can do. We felt it better to keep James’s reappearance and Galloway’s identity a secret. I could make it worse. Things don’t look good at the agency.”

“But if you looked at the file, maybe we can discover who is doing this.”

“You have the file? With you?”

“Yes. Please, Fiona.”

“Don’t send it to me,” she said sharply, all business now. “Come to his house, Laurel. I have someone I trust who can bring you. Are you still in the U.S.?”

Laurel took in a deep breath. “I’m in Texas.”

“What are you doing—? Oh, Garrett.”

“You knew about him?”

“Of course. James and I share everything. But we had to keep it quiet.”

“I wish I’d known.”

“I understand. Listen to me, Laurel. I have to get off this phone. It’s been almost three minutes. We can’t risk surveillance. I’ll send a plane for you. Your father needs to see you.” She lowered her voice. “And, Laurel, don’t tell anyone where you’re going. Anyone. Do you understand? Not until we end this. Once and for all. Trust no one but me.”

*

THE BLACK ESCALADE idled on the side of the road. Shep glared at Léon. “You got us lost. Do you know what the boss does to people who make mistakes?”

“I watched you blow Strickland’s head off,” Léon snapped. “I get the picture.”

“We should have taken out the woman and girl first?”

Léon fiddled with the GPS receiver. “Do I need to explain this in small words, Shep? Galloway’s the hard target. We kill him first. He’s the biggest risk.”

Shep thrust his fingers through his hair. “Well, we’re pretty close to finding him right now, aren’t we?”

The device in Léon’s lap beeped. He smiled. “Maybe I just saved the day.”

The tablet blinked on again. Shep let out a curse. “Are you going to be able to fix that thing or not?”

Léon tugged out a small tool set. “I’ll fix it. Be patient.”

“Tell that to the boss.”

The phone sitting between the two men rang.

“Are we bugged?” Shep pressed the speakerphone button. “Yeah, boss?”

“I have a job for you.”

“Kill our three targets and dispose of the bodies,” Shep repeated.

“No. I want you to pick up your targets just outside of Trouble, Texas, and bring them to me. I’ll give you the location.”

“We could dispose of them more easily here.”

“Are you questioning me, Shep? Strickland started using his brain—that’s why you had to blow it away.”

“Of course not.”

The boss rattled off a rendezvous point. “I want them both alive. I need them unharmed. At least for another few hours.” There was a slight pause. “After that, you can use them as target practice.”

*

JAMES MCCALLISTER’S VIRGINIA home appeared deserted.

Garrett glanced at his watch one more time. Five minutes to midnight. He looked over his shoulder. Rafe had parked a second vehicle down the block. They both recognized this was a trap, but they also knew it was important that the mastermind behind this plot believe Garrett had come alone.