EDGE OF SHADOWS: The Shadow Ops Finale (Shadow Ops, Book # 3) (24 page)

They said it differently in the Marines, but it was pretty much the same idea.
No man left behind.
Not ever.

He straightened as Rose and Billy approached. “Glad you’re here, boss,” he told Rose with a jaunty smile that was all show. “Now the fun can begin.”

Like finding KC and taking the fight to the bastards who’d taken her.

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Eve was here, safe and sound, with Billy. The sight of the two of them made Rose feel light-headed, giddy with happiness. Short-lived happiness, as soon as she thought of the danger to Eve that was still out there, hunting for them.

She’d have to leave again. It was the only way to ensure Eve’s safety.

She and Billy entered the cabin, Billy finishing giving his report on the activities she’d missed.

“Why don’t you kids wait in the other room?” Billy said as they settled around the table. Chase stayed on guard, scanning the perimeter.

Jay and Eve looked at each other. Jay said, “We’re not kids.” His tone contradicted his words, but Eve merely glanced at Rose and raised one eyebrow.

“They can stay,” Rose said. “They have as much at stake in this as we do.” Maybe even more in some ways—she’d given Eve as much training as she could, but it was hardly enough to face up to the Preacher’s people or being a fugitive on the run.

Jay and Eve scraped back chairs and joined them. And everyone looked at Rose.

“How did you escape?” Jay asked.

“What did you find in the warehouse?” Billy asked.

Eve laid her hand over Rose’s. “Was Grigor there?”

Rose interlaced her fingers with Eve’s to borrow Eve’s strength. Eve squeezed back, offering whatever Rose needed. God, what had she done to deserve such a wonderful gift?

She had to focus on the job at hand. Best way to keep Eve safe. Rose reluctantly let loose of Eve’s hand, gathered her thoughts, and gave them a report, keeping it as emotion-free as possible. She did skip the part about killing the two in the van—Billy and Chase could fill in the blanks, and the kids, Eve especially, didn’t need to know about that.

“So no one actually died in the warehouse? They were already dead? Shouldn’t the coroner or CSI or someone have figured that out?” Jay asked.

“The coroner called me, told me he’d ID’d your body,” Billy put in. “Clearly, it wasn’t really the coroner. The feds would know those were corpses they found. Maybe they wanted me to think you were dead, so I’d unveil whatever secret plan you supposedly had?” He’d explained about Susan Payne’s crazy idea that Rose had manufactured the Preacher and everything that had happened in the past week merely to save her job and secure the Team’s future.

She had some choice words about what she thought about Senator Payne, but was saving them for later.

“Maybe it was the Preacher’s group, just messing with your brain,” Eve put in. “The traitor could have told them about you and Rose.”

“There is no me and Rose,” Billy protested.

The two kids exchanged glances and laughed.

Chase’s crutch thumped against wood as he whirled. “Cut the crap. We need to find KC.”

“Of course. You’re right, Chase. KC is our priority,” Rose said.

She stood and began pacing, her best method of thinking. Ended up near Chase. He wouldn’t meet her gaze at first, using the need to keep guard as an excuse, but she saw the rigid set of his shoulders, the way his hands were clenched. She said nothing, merely touched his elbow. Finally, he glanced at her and gave a nod. He knew she was doing everything she could to get KC back. They all were.

“We need to find the traitor,” Billy said.

“The traitor could lead us to KC,” she argued, “so it’s the same thing. The man who took me, the one who said he was the Preacher’s son—”

“The guy on the Mall said that as well. Think they mean it literally? Maybe we could do some DNA testing.”

Rose didn’t answer, just stopped and glanced around the tiny cabin. Billy grimaced. “Yeah, right. Not going to happen.”

“Whoever they are, they’re determined to avenge the Preacher’s death—”

“That’s the part where they want all of us dead,” Jay said, in case anyone missed it. Eve hushed him.

“And they want to finish his plans. Fulfill his destiny is how they worded it.” Rose pivoted. “So. How do we stop them? The only hard evidence we have is the cell phone I took from the men who had me. It’s wiped clean as far as I can tell, except for the last number dialed.”

“Should we risk reaching out to EZ to trace it?” Chase asked.

“No,” Billy snapped. Rose wondered at his tone.

“It all comes back to the traitor,” Eve said. “Find them, and you’ll have a way to find KC and learn their plans. Or at the very least know what they know and could have passed on about you. Because it seems like whatever they have planned, they want all of you involved in it.”

“She’s right,” Billy said. “And the only thing the traitor knows that the rest of the world doesn’t is that you’re alive, Rose. Everyone else thinks you’re dead.”

“And the traitor thinks I’m safely locked away—at least until they figure out they’ve lost contact with their two men.”

“So you need to stay dead,” Chase said. “Out of sight.”

“Any thoughts on who the traitor is?” Eve asked.

“Susan Payne,” Rose said, just as Billy said, “EZ.”

They stared at each other. “EZ gave you bad intel.” Billy made his case. “About Grigor and the bio lab. He sent you into a trap. And Susan has always been helpful.”

“Right. Like sending the Preacher’s men after you when you left her house last night was helpful. Who else knew you were there, Billy?”

“Let’s focus on EZ. Maybe his getting shot at was a setup. And why couldn’t he figure out what kind of weapon they were working on? Hell, Celeste and Hollywood had the intel for a few hours and got us more info—”

She held up her hand. “There’s a way to answer this. We check the copy of the hard drive the FBI computer techs are working on. If their data matches what EZ gave me, he’s in the clear. If not, he’s our guy.”

“I already tried,” Billy told her. “Couldn’t get into any of the databases or secure networks to see what the feds have found.”

Typical Billy. Trusting technology to get the job done. She’d take people any day. “So we’ll ask.”

“Hate to break it to you, boss,” Chase put in. “But we’re not exactly in a position to be asking the feds any favors. Unless you want to get arrested.”

“We don’t ask the feds. Senator Susan Payne asks the feds.”

“Susan?” Billy said. “She’s not exactly on our Christmas list right now.”

“Who’s the highest-ranking FBI official who was in on your debrief?”

“The assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office was there this morning.”

“Then we go up a level. Someone who knows the case and how important it is, but doesn’t have all the specifics,” she said. Then she switched to Susan’s uptown, nasal accent. “William, could you please arrange a call coming from my personal cell to the Washington Field Office’s special agent in charge?”

“You’re going to impersonate a US senator?” Jay asked.

Rose gave him a wink. “Easiest acting job I’ve ever had to do.”

Billy got to work on the computer. “It will have to come from Norfolk. She’s with the president and first lady attending this afternoon’s launch ceremony.” He glanced at his watch, not quite eleven. “I think the officers’ wives are honoring her and the first lady about now. Let’s see if we can access a live feed.”

A few minutes later, he found a live streaming video of the brunch. Handed Rose a headset when he got the background mix where he wanted it. “Okay, Susan is out of the frame right now.” He placed the call using a Voice over Internet Protocol connection. After playing the harried assistant, he finally waved Rose on once the SAC answered.

“Special Agent in Charge Bransford, so good of you to take my call,” Rose said. Her voice was the tiniest bit lower-pitched and huskier than Susan’s, but she nailed the accent. “Now, I know you sent this information to my DC office, but I’m in Norfolk with the president and first lady, and I’m afraid it hasn’t reached me yet. I need to know if your technicians were able to decrypt anything further from that hard drive we’ve been discussing—oh, this is a secure line, is it not?”

“Yes, ma’am, it is. Now, I know your committee had an emergency meeting this morning—”

“And we’re meeting again upon my return to the Capitol, which is why I need this information ASAP. It’s a rather hectic day, you understand. By the way, if you turn on CNN, you might see me and the first lady—they just finished filming a spot.”

“We’ve got our hands full as well, Senator. I’ve no time for television.”

“I’m sure. Any news on Rose Prospero and her people?”

“We haven’t released to the public that her body wasn’t among those recovered—”

“You mean amongst the corpses recovered. I tell you that woman would stop at nothing—”

“Yes, ma’am. We’ve put an alert out to every law enforcement agency on the East Coast and will expand that as need be. Still searching their offices for corroborating evidence. Wait, my assistant just brought the info you asked for. Looks like our guys weren’t able to find anything on the hard drive. It was degaussed before it was checked into evidence. Wiped clean.”

“Should have known she lied about that as well. One more nail in her coffin. Thank you, Special Agent in Charge.” She hung up. Glanced at Billy. Nodded her head in concession. “Okay, you were right, and I was wrong. It is EZ. Now, how are we going to catch him?”

Chase turned away from the window. His face was devoid of expression—which didn’t bode well if he ever met EZ in person again, Rose was certain. But she also knew the Marine would never allow his anger to control him. He’d stay focused on the mission: saving KC. “What about that guy who got away? If he and EZ are working together, he might know where EZ is—or where they stashed KC.”

Rose spun around and gave the Marine a big hug. “Chase, you’re brilliant.”

“The cops and feds have been looking for the man you tried to kill in the tunnel for a week,” Billy argued. “What makes you think you can find him?”

Rose smiled. “They don’t have the connections I have.”

Chapter 25

Eve had never had the chance to see Rose at work before. Sure, she’d seen the gleam in her eyes when she taught Eve how to escape from a chokehold or where to park to approach a place without being seen. Stuff from the movies, James Bond 101.

Warped mother-daughter bonding, but she didn’t think of Rose as her mother. Her mother was Rose’s sister, Nancy, safe back home in West Virginia with the rest of her family—none of whom ever spoke of Rose or of Rose’s dad or of Eve’s biological father. When Eve had finally learned the truth, it explained so many things.

Her need to explore, her feeling of claustrophobia, trapped in a small town like Scotia. Her artistic talents—she’d won a partial scholarship to Georgetown because of her design work. How cool was it to learn her dad had also been an artist.

She hadn’t counted on the danger being real. Or almost losing Rose—not after she’d just found her. Hadn’t counted on the fear or the pain.

Or the joy when Rose returned.

Not that Rose could ever replace her real mom. No one could ever do that. But these past few months that she’d spent with Rose in a city filled with all the possibilities that college life revealed, Eve had felt more alive than ever before.

She didn’t want to lose that feeling.

Rose worked on the computer a few minutes, and then stood. “I put the word out to my network of assets. Now all we have to do is wait. Jay, think you can fix some lunch for us? There are plenty of canned goods in the pantry. I’m going to get cleaned up.”

She left for the bedroom, and a few minutes later, the sound of the shower started. Eve watched Billy. The way his gaze lingered on the bedroom door as if he wished he were in there with Rose. Did he have any idea that Rose felt the same way about him?

Not that Rose would ever come out and say anything. That was the thing Eve was learning about spies: They were experts at hiding the truth, even from themselves.

Then she realized Billy had turned his focus onto her. “You have questions.” He said it as a statement.

Eve looked away. The sound of the shower stopped, and she knew this was her chance before something else happened, like men in black helicopters storming in to take them all to prison.

“I’ve only known her for a few months. I didn’t—I couldn’t risk what we had by asking…” She faltered, unsure how to explain her inability to face Rose with her questions. But if there was anything that the events of the past day had taught her it was that it was pointless to wait, not when it involved people you love.

“It’s okay. Ask. She’ll tell you the truth.” Billy laid his hand over hers. “Rose almost always tells the truth. Especially to the people she loves.”

“Maybe the truth is what I’m afraid of,” Eve said. She turned her hand up, clasping his. “Will you come with me? I have a feeling my questions are the same as yours.”