Behind the Lies (A Montgomery Justice Novel) (35 page)

She heard a small clicking noise.

God, was that a gun?

She wrenched her wrists against the cuffs and moaned as they cut deeper into her open wounds. The pain was nothing compared to her inability to help Sam. She hated being powerless. Brad had made her feel that way for far too long, but this madman evoked a terror like she’d never known. He could kill them both, at any moment.

She could only plead.

“Please. Please,” she begged, sobbing. “Kill me. I don’t care, just let my son live.”

Brad couldn’t look away from the laptop screen.

Sam’s face, covered in blood. Jenna pleading for his life.

Farzam struck her again.

Brad’s mind swirled with memories.

“You went to the cops!” his father screamed at his mother. She bent over, coughing up blood. Streams ran down her face. “You’re as weak and stupid as your son.”

He raised the belt. “You.” Smack. “Will.” Slap. “Not. Talk. To. Them. Again.”

With a cry, Bobby ran to his mother and hugged her tight. Wet dampened his face, but not tears. Never tears. Bobby wiped his cheek. His hands turned red. He looked at his mother. Her eyes were swollen closed. Blood dripped from a cut on her forehead. She whimpered even as she held him close, trying to protect him from his father’s wrath.

Martin Swinton grabbed Bobby by the waist and threw him against the closet door. His father’s huge hand gripped Bobby’s throat. “You listen and listen good, boy. There is no room for mistakes. No room for talking too much.”

His father threw Bobby into the closet. He locked the door.

Bobby hated the dark. He threw himself against the old oak. “Mommy! Mommy!”

“You won’t be talking to the cops again, will you?” A loud smack. A thud. Again and again.

Then silence.

Bobby curled into a ball. Alone.

“Mommy. I’m sorry I told him,” he whispered.

Brad’s horror still filled his head, screams banging through his skull. His father. Farzam. Brad shook his head to force away the past—a past he’d worked so long to bury. A past that had roared back. A past that he’d repeated with his son.

“Silence!” Farzam dug into Sam’s arm, then slapped him across the face. “Be silent and look at the camera, boy. Or I kill your mother.”

Sam went completely still.

Brad’s nails bit into his palm. His heart racing, his own bloody, tearstained features superimposed on his son’s ravaged face.

Nausea rose in Brad’s throat.

“Tell Zach Montgomery,” Farzam spat, twisting Sam’s arm. “Tell him you want his help.”

“P…please, D…D…Dark Avenger. Save us.”

The camera went dark.

Brad grunted and glared at his captors. He rocked the chair back and forth.

Zach whirled on him, then his eyes widened. He stalked over to Brad and ripped off the duct tape. “You better be making noise over something important.”

“I know where that bastard is,” Brad spat, “and I want him dead.”

G
ABE’S KITCHEN WENT
silent.

“Dear God,” Jazz whispered though a strangled voice, speaking the words with the choked sob Zach couldn’t afford. She reached out for Luke’s hand.

Seth and Gabe erupted with a string of curses through gritted teeth.

Zach didn’t know about his brothers, but he couldn’t wipe the image of Jenna’s bruised face or Sam’s stark terror out of his mind. Yet he couldn’t let his heart linger on anything but resolve to have them both in his arms again. They didn’t need the man who loved them, they needed a warrior.

He grabbed Brad and squeezed the bastard’s windpipe. Fury like Zach had never known exploded. “Tell me where they are, you son of a bitch, or die now. We’re done with games.” He squeezed tighter.

Brad gasped, blinking, sucking in puffs of air. “Safe house. I know the location. I was ordered to kill Farzam.”

He released the assassin and shoved him hard against the chair. “So help me, Walters, if this is a trick to save your sorry hide, I’ll kill you now and won’t ever regret it.”

“Sam is my son,” Brad choked. “I have to save him.”

“And I’m supposed to trust you?” Zach leaned over Brad, placing his hand strategically across his throat. The Chameleon’s eyes widened. He had to know one flick of Zach’s wrist would end his life. “You helped your son a lot when you beat his mother.”

Brad paled, then cursed. “We don’t have time for bullshit. They gave me the coordinates for Farzam so I could kill him. It’s in that ten square miles you pointed out on the map. Do you want to save my son or not?”

Zach didn’t move. Brad didn’t shrink away.
The idiot.
Zach’s hand twitched. Brad had no idea how close Zach was to—

But the bastard was right. There was no time. “Give me the address.”

“I’m not a fool.” Brad shook his head. “My contract’s been broken. I’m dead anyway. I know too much. Take me with you. I’ll help you save Sam and Jenna, then let me disappear. I won’t contact you again.”

“Dream on.
If
you help us find Jenna and Sam, and
if
they’re…” He couldn’t say alive.
If they were alive.
No. He refused to consider the possibility aloud. “I
might
put in a good word with the federal prosecutors. That’s as far as I’ll go. But…I
will
save your son.”

Brad stared at Zach for several seconds.

“Take your time, asshole,” Zach bit out. “You say you care about your son. Then why are you even hesitating?”

“Agreed. Once Sam is safe, I plan to stay alive…and free.”

Zach’s gaze burned into his brother Seth. “He so much as twitches in the wrong direction, end it. Get him in the car.”

Seth gave a quick nod.

“If anyone wants out—?” Zach began.

“Shut up,” Gabe muttered. “Just shut the hell up, Zach. We’re all in.”

At that moment, Jazz’s beeper went off. She cursed and stared at the message. “There’s a hostage situation at a day care center.” She bit her lip, clearly torn.

“Go,” Zach said. As much as he admired Jazz’s skills, he didn’t want the love of Luke’s life anywhere near Brad or Farzam. This fight would be up close and personal. “Those kids need you.”

Luke looked at Zach, and he knew he’d done right. Relief flared in Luke’s eyes. He gave Zach a slight nod then cupped his wife’s cheek. He twisted the strand of long blonde hair that had pulled away from her French braid. “Just be careful. We can handle this. Four against two.”

Jazz gave Zach, Seth, and Gabe a stern stare. “Find that little boy and his mother, but I’m warning you. If my husband returns with one scratch, I’ll come after you. And I’m handy with more than just my rifle.”

She gave them a nod and raced out of the house, leaving Zach and his brothers facing each other. Zach could barely breathe. He hadn’t been there for them in five years, and they’d stepped in. Just like his father would have. They accepted the challenge; they accepted him. How could he have doubted them—but he knew his own guilt had driven his actions. He’d hurt not only himself, but his family. “Let’s move.”

They stashed the gear into the back of the SUV then jumped into the vehicle. Seth held his Sig on a handcuffed Brad as Gabe gunned the SUV. The motor roared and the car raced through the Denver streets.

Zach palmed his father’s 1911 and stared at Brad. He wanted to kill the bastard. He couldn’t believe he sat a few feet away
from him and the man still breathed. But he’d do anything to save Jenna’s life, even make a deal with the devil.

Brad sucked in a shuddering breath. “I loved her the only way I knew.”

“You had a choice. We all have a choice on how we treat the people we love.”

He stared at each of his brothers.

Seth’s brow rose. Luke blinked in acknowledgment.

“Damn straight,” Gabe muttered. He twisted the steering wheel. The tires barely hugged the street on the tight turn. The vehicle leapt forward.

Zach nodded his own agreement. He hadn’t understood the truth of his words until today. His choices had been selfish, protecting himself and his emotions. He’d been afraid to love Jenna and Sam. He’d never even told them. What a fool.

Seth grabbed Zach’s shoulder. “Glad to have you back, brother.”

“I’m at the edge of the grid,” Gabe interrupted. “Which way?”

“Go west of Golden, into the hills.”

“Damn. On the very border of our grid. We would never have found them in time.”

A beeping noise sounded in the vehicle. Luke cursed. “Link just went live again.”

Zach stilled. The third showing of a prisoner. He met Seth’s gaze, and his brother’s eyes had gone deadly. They both knew what this could mean.

“Open it,” Zach said, his entire body rigid. “I have to know.”

Luke clicked the link and gasped.

Jenna couldn’t breathe. Pain speared through her side with every small movement. He’d broken her ribs. Her arms ached, her wrists were on fire, and her hands had gone numb from the cuffs.

Blood streamed down her face, warm against her cold skin.

She couldn’t see, but she heard Sam’s quiet sobs.

“Silence!” her captor yelled. “You shame yourself.”

A sharp slap sounded and Sam cried out.

She struggled but couldn’t help her son.

A door slammed opened, then closed, leaving her doused in the dark.
Oh, God, had he taken Sam?

A small whimper brought her heart back to life.

“Mommy?” Sam whispered. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she said through swollen lips.

“The man left,” Sam cried. “I’m scared. I want Zach.”

“Me too, baby. Can you run away?”

“I’m tied up.”

Jenna shifted her hands and the cuffs clinked together. If only she could get at the lock, she might—

The paperclip. The one from her father’s file. She’d shoved it in her pants. Her father’s lies might come in handy after all.

She bent her wrists, working to reach her back pocket. She bit her lip against the agony.

“Mommy?”

“Quiet, honey.”

Success.

She dug into the jeans. She felt for the small bit of metal and used her fingernail to scrape it closer. Seconds later, she grasped it in her hand. She bent the metal and went to work on the lock. She had no idea how much time she had.

“Come on, come on.” Every lesson from her life on the streets after her father had left her returned in a rush. The lock clicked. Her hand slipped free. Jenna let out a sob. Should she thank her father for letting her fend for herself? If it saved her son, no question. Yes.

She worked the ropes free from her legs and staggered over to Sam, feeling her way around the ties. He latched onto her. “He hit you, Mommy. I couldn’t stop him. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, baby. He’s a bad man.”

Jenna kissed Sam’s cheek. “We have to hurry.”

She took his hand and stumbled to the door, trying desperately not to cry out. She grabbed the latch, but before she could open it, Farzam pushed in.

His eyes widened, then narrowed in fury. “I will kill you.”

Jenna’s heart raced. She folded her hand at the second knuckle. She could do this. One blow to the throat.

“You’re bad,” Sam yelled. He slugged the guy in the crotch. Farzam doubled over. Jenna struck, but the terrorist knocked her off balance and they crashed to the ground. The man clutched her throat, squeezing.

“Run. Get help,” she gasped.

Sam didn’t hesitate—just like Zach had taught him. He raced out the door.

She sagged with relief.
Thank God.

Her captor dragged her to her feet. “Your son doesn’t matter. All I want is Zane Morgan. We finish this now,” Farzam said. He shoved her into the chair and secured a rope tight around her bloody wrists down to her ankles. “You won’t get away this time,”

She moaned, tears burned her eyes, but she didn’t care. Sam was free.

With an evil smile Farzam picked up the bent paperclip. “You’re more worthy a warrior than I expected an American woman to be, but this will soon be over. Your fate is decided. You wish to say a last prayer?”

Jenna sucked in a deep breath, not resigned, never resigned. She’d fight until her heart stopped beating and her lungs stopped breathing. She’d learned one thing from Zach. There was always a way. She gritted her teeth and tested her wrists through the pain. With Sam out of this hell, she could take the risk. She would take the risk, because unlike before, she had Zach to back her up. No matter what happened to her, Sam had escaped. Zach would take care of her son. She had faith in Zach Montgomery. He loved Sam. He would protect him.