Avenged (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (Volume 5) (19 page)

Taya sighed and rubbed a hand over her forehead. “I just feel like nothing’s happening fast enough.”

“I understand. I wish we could move faster, but we have to have systems in place first.”

“I know.”

When he didn’t say anything else she glanced up at him, caught off guard by the way her heart lurched when she saw the way he was looking at her. There was concern in his eyes, but also a protectiveness that warmed her. Hard to believe she’d been in his arms a little while ago, holding him, kissing him back as he explored her mouth and neck. It had been even more amazing than she’d dreamed. She trusted him to do everything in his power to get her to her father, but understood it wasn’t his call to make.

He reached one hand up to tap his earpiece. “Go.” A pause as he listened, staring right at her. “Understood. See you downstairs.” He tapped the earpiece again and spoke to her. “Just got the green light on a flight out of a small, private airport about fifteen minutes from here. One of the new agents here reported seeing a vehicle with two males drive by a few minutes ago. They’re running the license plate now and keeping an eye out, but we’re gonna make sure no one can see you as we leave. And leave your phone here, you can’t use it anymore. I’ll get you a new one. You ready?”

Taya was on her feet and reaching for her suitcase before he’d finished speaking. “Yes.”

Nathan took her bag from her. “Cruz and Vance are going to follow us. We’ll head out the west side entrance.”

“Okay.”

“Put this on.” He handed her an olive drab ball cap with an American flag patch on it. Taya tugged it on and slid her chemically-lightened hair through the opening in back. She hurried down the stairs.

An unfamiliar female FBI agent with long curly brown hair was in the foyer with two male agents. Taya nodded at them but didn’t say anything as Nathan ushered her out the side door. Cruz was standing by a different SUV than the one they’d arrived in, with the motor already running. Hedges and a privacy fence prevented anyone from being able to see her from the street.

“Good to go?” he asked Nathan.

“Yep. See you at the airfield.” He opened her door for her, then set her suitcase into the back before sliding behind the wheel. The windows were darkly tinted, adding another measure of privacy and if she had to bet, she’d guess the glass and frame were bullet resistant.

Nathan kept the headlights and driving lights off until he’d reached the end of the street. She could see a silver minivan about a block in front of them and knew Cruz would be fairly close behind them in another vehicle.

“Any further word from your brother?” Nathan asked her.

“Not in the last hour or so, since the cardiologist was in to see Dad. No news is good news, so I’m hoping that means he’s stabilized.” It scared her to death, the idea of losing him.

He’d been her rock, her anchor, even before Taya’s mother had died during her first grade year. If it was his time to go, then she wanted to be by his side when it happened. She wanted the chance to hug him and tell him she loved him one more time. She pulled in a shaky breath and blinked to battle the sting of tears.

“We’ll get you there as soon as we can.”

“I know, and I appreciate it. Thanks.” It couldn’t have been easy, to rearrange everything and bring in extra people for this on such short notice. She realized the importance of being the prosecution’s star witness against Qureshi. Moving her was a risk, but with someone working for The Brethren hunting her, Nathan had explained they couldn’t have stayed put anyway.

Nathan reached across the console for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. Then he surprised her by raising her hand to his mouth and pressing a firm, lingering kiss to the back of it. “I’ll do whatever I can, okay?”

A sudden lump in her throat, Taya nodded and squeezed his hand in reply. She was glad they were alone in the vehicle, the privacy helped calm her a little bit, soaking up Nathan’s strong, steady presence. She didn’t know the route to the airfield but he took what seemed like a bunch of random turns on the way there, she guessed to make sure they didn’t have a tail.

When they arrived at the airfield there were more FBI agents waiting for them at the gate. They checked Nathan’s ID, then Taya’s, and allowed them in. Cruz was right behind them.

A small, sleek jet was waiting on the tarmac, parked near the small terminal building. More agents were waiting at the stairs set against its side. Nathan parked close by, grabbed her bag and led her to the aircraft. Two pilots were up front with a female flight attendant, who simply nodded at them as they boarded.

Taya chose a window seat near the back and sank into the plush leather. She was anxious to get going, impatient to get in the air, but it didn’t escape her notice that this was no ordinary passenger jet.

“Does the FBI own this plane?” she asked Nathan as he sat in the seat beside her.

“Not exactly,” he answered, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “DeLuca called in a favor to a friend over at the NSA.”

“Oh.” Cruz and Vance boarded, nodded at them and each took a seat on opposite sides of the plane in the middle. At first she thought it was to give them some privacy, but then she realized it likely had more to do with weight distribution for the flight.

The flight attendant closed the forward door and the pilot’s voice came over the intercom, giving information about the flight. Taya had no idea how much this was costing whoever was paying for it, but she was grateful to them for making this happen. They taxied a short distance to the end of the runway then began their takeoff run.

As the aircraft picked up speed she found herself gazing out the small, oval-shaped window into the darkness at the lights on the runway skipping past, her heart thudding hard. The moment the wheels lifted off and they began their ascent, she breathed out a sigh of relief and leaned back into the seat, suddenly exhausted.

Nathan pushed up the armrest between their seats and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Tugging her toward him, he leaned over to murmur close to her ear. “Go ahead and get some sleep if you can.”

There was nothing for her to do now and worrying wasn’t going to make the situation any better. Taya allowed him to urge her head down onto his shoulder. She curled into his body, resting her cheek in the hollow between his shoulder and chest. Nathan wrapped his arm around her back, his hand tucking into her waist. She felt safe nestled there, his strength surrounding her. Breathing him in, letting his comforting embrace soothe her, she closed her eyes and tried to doze.

He woke her just before they began their descent. By the time they stopped in front of the terminal building, more agents were waiting for them.

Nathan handed her a new, secure phone and put her into the backseat of another waiting vehicle. Then he, Cruz and Vance went to speak with the other agents for a few minutes. She used the new phone to text Kevin and tell him she was on her way. He responded that their father was awake. It felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted from her shoulders.

Nathan slid into the driver’s seat while Cruz took the front passenger seat. “The local field office has plain-clothes agents posted at the entrance to the Emergency ward and the ICU,” Nathan said to her as he drove from the airfield. “We should be there within twenty minutes.”

“Great. He’s apparently awake, thank God.”

“Good news.”

Taya nodded and stared out the window, and thankfully neither of the men tried to initiate any small talk. Nathan pulled up in front of the Emergency entrance of Duke University Hospital. Cruz got out first and opened her door for her, then walked with her through Emergency and up to the ICU. He showed his ID to the nurse at the desk and she directed them to her father’s room.

“I’ll wait out here with Nate when he comes up,” Cruz said to her once they reached the door, his light brown eyes warm with understanding. “Take your time.”

“Thank you.” Lifting her chin, she took a steadying breath and pushed the door open.

Kevin rose stiffly from a chair in the corner, his gait still a little awkward with his prosthetic, a wan smile on his face. “Hey, you.”

“Hi.” Normally she would have hugged him but her gaze shot to her father, lying propped up in the hospital bed. Relief flooded her at the sight of him, then fear. His face looked almost gray. His thinning, nearly white hair was sticking up all over the place and he had about four days’ worth of stubble on his face. An IV was plugged into his arm and they had several leads attached to his chest, an oxygen tube in his nose.

She glanced at Kevin, reached out a hand to him. “Did they knock him out?”

He took her hand, squeezed. “Yeah. They told him you were coming and his pulse spiked so they sedated him.”

Taya went over to set one hip on the edge of the bed, sought her father’s hands. The rough calluses on his hands reminded her of Nathan’s, only her father had earned his from over fifty years of working with horses. “Hi, Dad. I’m here, safe and sound. I love you. Now you keep fighting and come back to us.” She leaned forward to press a kiss to his scratchy cheek, grateful for the chance to tell him so.

“Something’s not right.”

Jaleel looked over at him sharply as they walked down a sidewalk a block over from the inn. “Whaddya mean?”

Ayman shook his head. “It feels wrong.” He never questioned his gut instinct. Back in Syria it had saved his life a few times. It was telling him now to get the hell out of there.

He’d watched three vehicles leave the property about twenty minutes ago. It was dark out and all the windows had been tinted so they hadn’t been able to see who was inside.

They’d just done another recon pass. Yet when he and Jaleel had taken another peek at the building through the binoculars after that, hidden in some shrubs across the street, several of the curtains of the downstairs rooms had been left partially open. They’d caught a glimpse of the same woman from earlier walking past before she’d disappeared from view again.

There was no way the FBI would be so lax with such an important federal witness. They’d never let her walk in front of an open window like that. “It feels like a set up. Like they know we’re here and want us to see inside. Like they’re waiting for us.”

He heard something moving behind them on the street, near the side entrance to the inn. Quiet footsteps on gravel.

They saw us.

Fear drove him to grab Jaleel’s arm and yank him around the corner of the next house. Together they pressed up against the wooden siding, hidden from view. Holding his breath, he waited a full minute before pulling Jaleel away and darting for the alley behind the house. They raced over the asphalt, veered around the corner and ran for the car.

The moment he got inside he started the ignition and put it into gear. The car was moving before Jaleel had even closed his door.

“Do you see anyone?” Ayman demanded, darting glances in all the mirrors. He didn’t see anyone behind them but that didn’t mean they hadn’t been spotted. His instincts were screaming at him. He had to get them out of there.

“No, nothing,” Jaleel blurted, sounding shaken. “You think they saw us?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t know why he was so certain but he wasn’t going to start doubting himself now.

Jaleel cursed and gripped the door handle. “We need to—” He stopped as a low buzzing filled the interior. Pulling out his phone, he checked the caller ID and answered. “Yes? Hold on. It’s Darwish.” He put the caller on speaker. “Okay, he can hear you.”

“Jaleel’s program just got a hit,” Darwish said.

“Doesn’t matter now.” Ayman kept driving. Without a doubt the FBI were tailing them and he had to get out of the area. Find a new car and regroup. “I think we were spotted. We’re driving back to you—”

“Are you stupid?” Darwish yelled. “You come near us now, I’ll kill you both myself.”

The Brethren could get to him and Jaleel. At least while they were in this vehicle, because it had a GPS chip Darwish could track. Ayman clenched his jaw. “I think they suspected someone was coming. It was a trap.”

“Did you see her or not?”

Ayman hated the man’s impatient tone. “We saw someone who looked like her, but we can’t be sure it was.”

“Well then you’re lucky that Jaleel’s computer program just alerted us about her father being admitted to a hospital a few hours ago. Apparently he had another heart attack.”

And then it hit him. “It wasn’t her we saw.” He knew it in his bones.

“What?” Darwish demanded, and Jaleel stared at him.

“It was a decoy. She’s really close to her father,” he said, knowing that from the meticulous research he’d done on her prior to this op, “so I’m betting they took her to him. We saw three vehicles leave the property a little while ago. They must have had her in one of them, and left another agent who resembled her there. They knew someone was coming for her. It was a sting.”

“Are you willing to stake your life on that?” Darwish asked him.

I’ve already staked my life on this operation.
“Yes. Where did they take him?” It was after midnight.

“Duke University Hospital, in Raleigh.”

“Then that’s where we’ll find her.” He was more certain of that than anything at the moment.

Darwish gave a chilling laugh, but it was tinged with something else. Almost as though he admired Ayman’s response. “All right. Then that’s where we’re headed. Be there in three hours and ready to take her out. If you’re not there I’ll come after you personally. And don’t bother trying to skip town. You try to run, I’ll go after your family.”

The line went dead, the hollow sound of the dial tone matching the sensation in the center of Ayman’s chest.

****

Taya followed Nathan across the hotel lobby toward the elevator. After staying with her father for the past two hours, her brother had finally convinced her to leave and get some sleep. She’d reluctantly agreed, mostly because it wasn’t fair that Nathan and the others had to stand guard here if her father was stable. With her father sedated she couldn’t speak to him anyway, so she’d promised Kev she’d be back first thing in the morning.