CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
There was no relief from a Texas summer, not even at three in the morning. The heat was thick with humidity, and there was only a sliver of moon and a sprinkle of stars in the black sky. The lake was black and still, not a ripple since there wasn’t a breeze.
It had taken twenty-four hours of planning and preparation. To make sure The Shadow knew of their equipment needs and the possible cleanup opportunities. They had four days until the world as they knew it would virtually end.
Deacon felt the vibrations of the stealth Black Hawk helicopter in the air before he heard the buzz of the rotor blades, and he watched as it touched down in the middle of the grassy field near the lake. He looked back toward the hidden entrance of the tunnel, thinking about Tess still curled up in bed, content as a cat. More than the memory of the way she looked, it was what she’d said as he’d leaned down to kiss her good-bye.
“I love you.”
It was incredible how three little words could have such an impact. He’d gone a lifetime without saying those words to a woman. His relationships had never lasted more than a few months. They usually ended whenever he had to go on the next assignment. He’d liked those women—respected them—and enjoyed them. But he’d never loved any one of them. Not like he did Tess. The sincerity of her words had left him speechless, and he’d only been able to hold onto her a little longer—kiss her a little deeper.
“Ah, that sight never gets old,” Elias said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Up close and personal,” he said. “Let’s roll.”
Their faces were streaked with black paint, and they wore leather gloves and balaclavas, along with helmets. They’d be rappelling from more than a hundred and fifty feet in the air.
They loaded up silently and hooked themselves into the rappelling gear, checking the nylon ropes and the attachments. They tested their comm units and gave the thumbs-up. Then it was go-time.
The helicopter went straight up, and Deacon’s stomach dropped out from under him with a sense of adrenaline. It was always his favorite part of the ride. The doors were open, and the cool night air rushed in as they ascended higher and traveled across the city. A much better ascent than going up in the closed space of the cargo plane.
Egorov had kept nighttime lights to a minimum, hoping to keep his operation hidden, so when they arrived at the warehouses only the yellow glow of a few spotlights could be seen. They hovered high above the darkest building.
Deacon looked to Elias since he was in charge of all the ropes—the rappel master—and Elias tugged on each length of nylon, checking it one more time. Deacon tossed his deployment bag out the side of the helicopter and watched the rope fall to the roof of the closest warehouse. The others each did the same in turn.
Elias gave the nod and Deacon moved into position, sitting in the open doorway, his legs swinging out. When Elias gave the signal, he turned his body so his feet rested against the door frame and he faced the others. His left hand went to the small of his back where the brake was located. Axel mirrored him on the other side of the chopper.
On Elias’s go signal, they both pushed off with their feet, and the rope slid through Deacon’s hand as he sped to the ground. He saw the deployment bags from the others drop down next to his and knew they were only seconds behind him. He braked and slowed his descent when he was almost to the roof of the warehouse.
And then his feet touched down silently and he stood still, waiting for the rope to drop after him. He wound it up and put it in his deployment bag as the others landed also, and then a few seconds later, Elias dropped down next to them and the Black Hawk was gone. They removed their helmets and replaced them with black balaclavas.
They each had a target and an assignment, and they scattered off the roof and down to the ground, finding a place to stash their deployment bags. If they were lucky, Egorov or Levkin would be somewhere inside the warehouses, getting ready to send off their shipments. If they were really lucky, they’d both be inside.
Deacon waited in the shadows behind the warehouse he’d been assigned to. The noise had picked up from inside and there was plenty of movement. They were getting ready to deploy the trucks and head to their destinations. Deacon had his knife in his left hand and his right hand free. He moved behind several stacked crates, keeping to the shadows.
The warehouses were equipped with large doors on the front and backside. Big enough for a couple of eighteen-wheelers to drive in one side and out the other. The back door was closed, but there was a smaller, standard-size door that two men walked through.
They both wore jeans and T-shirts, and were probably somewhere in their early forties. They immediately lit up cigarettes and began to speak in Russian. Or at least one of them did. The other grunted on occasion and sucked down his cigarette as fast as he could, and then he lit up another.
Deacon caught Levkin’s name and listened a little closer. He knew how to be still and wait for the right moment to strike. Just a little closer. The man who was sucking down cigarettes was nervous. He moved constantly as his friend talked, and if he backed up just a little more he’d be within reach.
Levkin was inside one of the warehouses. Apparently he was a real tyrant now that they were in the end game, and everyone was pissed their payments had been delayed. Egorov was supposed to have showed up that morning to pay them in cash, but he’d never come. And the men were getting restless. A lot was at stake.
The chain smoker had finished another cigarette, and Deacon could tell they were about to go back inside. They both moved toward the door and he came up behind them. He slid his knife neatly between the chain smoker’s third and fourth ribs, pushing up as he did so to pierce the heart. It was the quietest and least messy way to kill someone. Deacon withdrew his knife and moved to the next one.
The other man had started to turn to see why his friend was on the ground, but it was too late. Deacon snapped his neck and then wiped his knife on the man’s shirt, cleaning the blood off. He dragged both bodies behind the crates and then moved to the door. He needed to find Levkin.
There was a small window in the metal door, and Deacon peeked through it to see if he could get a head count. There were two eighteen-wheelers inside. One of the cabs was painted bright orange, and the trailer said “Broncos” down the side, with an image of the team logo. The other truck cab was painted navy and the trailer belonged to the Seattle Seahawks. Or at least they made a good impression of it.
The backs of the trailers were open, and he could see the equipment being loaded inside. Bags and bags of footballs, extra pads, sideline equipment. The preparation for this event had been months, if not years, in the making. They had everything they needed to get any explosives and XTNC-50 into the stadiums.
He counted six men inside the warehouse, and all of them were busy. No one even paid attention as he slipped through the door and kept to the perimeter so he could hide behind whatever cover he could find. He dropped whoever he came in contact with, making his way toward the two men talking at the front.
He recognized Ivan Levkin. He was a tall, thin man. Almost stork-like in appearance. His blond hair was fine and fell in wisps around a face that only a mother could love. He resembled a vulture—bony face, crooked nose, and prominent Adam’s apple.
The comm in Deacon’s ear buzzed as Elias came on and gave the all-clear for warehouse number one. It wasn’t long after that Levi gave his all-clear. They indicated that they’d move together to the next warehouse and repeat the process.
Deacon didn’t dare speak. He was completely focused on Levkin, who seemed beyond stressed.
“We don’t have time for your tantrums, Josef,” Levkin spat in Russian. “We must leave here. By this time tomorrow this place will be swarming with cops and God knows who else.”
“I want my money. Egorov promised we’d be paid,” Josef said, not budging.
“And you will be. After everything has been moved. Remember that if the plan is interrupted, you’ll be getting no money at all.”
“I don’t trust you,” he said. “Egorov either.”
Levkin shrugged. “I don’t really care. There are enough explosives and XTNC-50 in these warehouses to reduce the entire city to dust. It wasn’t the goal, but it’ll work in a pinch. Your family lives here, right?”
“Fuck you,” Josef said. “Tell Egorov I’m not going down for him. If that money isn’t in my hand before we leave, then you can find another driver. I’m not doing this for charity.”
“Right, right,” Levkin said, his smile cold. He pulled a weapon from the small of his back and fired point-blank at Josef.
It was one less man Deacon would have to kill.
“Who is going to drive your truck now?” Deacon called out in Russian. He was hidden behind the cab of the truck and well out of the way when Levkin turned and fired.
“Who is there?” he answered. “Is that you, Vasily?”
“I think Vasily is dead,” Deacon said. “They all are.”
Levkin turned in all directions, looking for the others. But there was no one. “Who are you?” he called out.
Deacon stepped out from behind the truck to face him, and to his surprise, Levkin broke out into a grin.
“Ahh, he said you would come,” he said. “But I did not believe him. I thought his trap too trivial for one such as you. You are Deacon Tucker. You were CIA. I’ve read about you. Operation Quantum Leap was very impressive.”
“Thank you,” Deacon said, making sure nothing in his voice betrayed his anger. “It seems you know as much about me as I know about you.”
“More, more, my friend. Much more. You see, Yevorovich’s email that your team hacked into was set up specifically for those fishing to find out more about us. Instead of you finding out about Yevorovich, the tables were turned and we were able to find out all about you.”
“I’m clear,” Axel said in his comm unit.
“All clear,” Dante said. “Heading to rendezvous point.”
“How did you know we were coming for you?” Deacon asked.
“We’ve been linked into your satellite and communications systems. You are not the only ones who have top-notch technology.”
“But it’s not my men who are dead, and it’s not my shipments that are going to be stuck here so they can be confiscated by Homeland Security.”
Levkin took his eyes off Deacon to look around again, searching for his men and listening for the normal sounds coming from outside. There was nothing. Just silence.
“You’re going to want to drop that weapon before my friend standing behind you breaks your wrist.”
Levkin turned his head and saw Axel there, and then he turned back to face Deacon. “You cannot beat me. You cannot win against those who are willing to sacrifice it all.”
Before Levkin could blink, Axel had snapped his wrist and the gun fell to the floor.
A voice buzzed in Deacon’s comm again and said, “We’ve got a problem.” He recognized Dante’s upper-crust British accent.
He turned off the mute button in his comm unit and said, “What’s wrong?”
“There are only twelve trucks here. The thirteenth is long gone.”
Deacon looked at Levkin and said, “I’m going to give you one chance to tell me where the truck that’s already left is going. And then I’m going to start putting bullets in you.”
He pulled the Sig and pointed it at Levkin.
“Like I told you,” Levkin said. “I’m ready to die for my country.”
“Oh, I’m not going to let you die,” he said. “I’m going to make sure you get the best hospital care you can possibly get to patch up all your wounds. And then I’m going to do it all over again.”
“Go to hell,” Levkin said.
“I’ll give you one more chance. Where is the truck going?”
“Fuck you.”
“Wrong answer,” Deacon said and shot him in the knee.
Levkin howled and dropped to the ground. “I couldn’t hear you the first time. Where did the truck go?” Deacon asked again. “If you give me the answer I want, I promise to give you death.”
“Phila . . . Philadelphia,” Levkin gasped out.
“See,” Deacon said. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He looked at Axel. “Let’s wrap him up and put a bow around him for Eve. I’m sure she can get all kinds of information from him.”
Levkin started laughing and rolled around on the floor, the high-pitched sound grating on Deacon’s nerves. It was almost maniacal. Sometimes pain could do that to a person.
“Do you think we didn’t plan for this?” Levkin snarled through gritted teeth. “Egorov is smarter than that. You’ll never catch him. There are many chess pieces in play. There’s nothing to do but watch the game. You’ve failed. In more ways than one.”
TESS CHECKED THE clock for what had to be the hundredth time. It was close to five in the morning, and they still hadn’t returned.
Deacon had kissed her good-bye and told her to get some sleep. Instead of kissing him passionately and giving him something to remember her by, she’d grabbed his shirt, given him a rough peck on the lips, and blurted out that she loved him. She had to be the biggest dork on the planet. He hadn’t answered her. He’d only stared at her, and then he’d kissed her one last time.
It was impossible to go back to sleep after he’d left, so she got up and made a pot of coffee and turned on the TV. She’d listened to them play out the op over and over again. And she’d heard them lay out contingency plans in case one of them was killed or injured. They talked about death as casually as they talked about their favorite sports teams or the weather. They’d gotten so conditioned to it being a very real possibility that it was part of their daily lives.
She checked social media while she was waiting for the coffee to finish, and noticed that the only other person she knew online was Miller. Miller habitually kept weird hours, depending on when her writing was going well, and when it wasn’t going well she could be found on social media.
Why are you awake and posting Kermit the Frog memes at three a.m.? Miller messaged her.
Tess smiled and replied, Can’t sleep. Making coffee and going to watch a movie.
Good, I’m out of coffee. Why don’t you bring some extra this way and we’ll watch the movie together?
The book must be going well, she replied.
I don’t want to talk about it. Bring chocolate if you’ve got any of that stashed somewhere. I ate all mine.
Tess laughed and dug out a package of Axel’s stash of Tim Tams, and she grabbed a small bag of gourmet ground coffee from the freezer. She also grabbed a bottle of Tums because the worry was giving her heartburn. Loving Deacon wasn’t going to be easy. There was no need to get ready or dress up. That was the good thing about having lifelong friends. She wore an old pair of gray sweats and a T-shirt, and her hair was piled in a knot on her head. She wasn’t even going to bother to put on a bra. She was only going three blocks away.
She put everything in a bag and had reached to grab her keys from the hook when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Eve Winter stood just in front of the locked door that led to HQ. She had no idea how long Eve had been standing there or how she hadn’t heard Eve slip through the door. But she was there, in the flesh, and Tess had never felt more outmatched in her life.
Intimidating didn’t begin to describe her. Even at five in the morning she was dressed for serious business. She wore a sleeveless black sheath dress that stopped just above her knees and a pair of wicked stilettos in a neutral color. Her legs were long, her nails manicured and painted crimson, and her lips slicked with lipstick of the same shade. Her hair was like black silk and hung to the middle of her back.
“Did I scare you?” she asked.
“No, of course not,” Tess said. “I’m used to seeing strangers pop in unannounced. I’m actually just leaving.”
Eve smiled and walked around the spacious kitchen, looking at the area as if she were a prospective buyer, her heels clicking on the tile.
“He’s an excellent lover,” she said. “Deacon, I mean.”
Tess’s blood chilled at the words.
“A well-oiled machine in his prime. Men like Deacon are trained for one thing. Don’t you want to ask me what that one thing is?” Eve arched a brow like a teacher expecting an answer from a student.
“Not really,” Tess said. “Like I mentioned, I was on my way out.”
“You’re stubborn. And you’ve got spine. I can see why he enjoyed this assignment more than the others.”
The bottom dropped out of her stomach. It wasn’t difficult to read between the lines and interpret what Eve was trying to tell her. It was clear Eve and Deacon had been lovers. Was she jealous? Were they still lovers? And the insinuation that Eve had ordered Deacon to sleep with her had been a debilitating blow. The slice had cut deep and she was bleeding, only she couldn’t feel the cut yet because her body was numb.
“I’d told him you’re an asset to us here because of your connection to the community in aiding our transition here. But I can see you’re a woman who’s ready to break free. It’s hard being the steady one. The responsible one.” Her nails drummed rhythmically on the granite countertop of the island. “It’s hard being the one everyone always depends on. Everyone else gets to live their life as they choose and have adventures. To come and go as they please and sleep with whomever they choose. What’s holding you back from doing the same? Fear?”
Tess’s hand balled into a fist around her car keys and the metal bit into flesh. It seemed Eve knew every one of her secret thoughts. Knew exactly what buttons to push. She hated being manipulated. And worse, she hated that it was so effective.
“I’m exactly where I want to be,” she said firmly. She could feel the blood rushing to her face and hated that she couldn’t be calm and cool like Eve. That her emotions were too strong to contain. But she really hated Eve Winter, and there was nothing she could do to hold it back.
“Really?” Eve said. “My mistake. But are you experienced enough to be able to go on with your daily life, to see Deacon every day and not have it cut you to the bone when he moves on? You wear your heart on your sleeve. Men like Deacon don’t have hearts. They only have love for the next mission. The next adrenaline rush. Though there are benefits to those adrenaline rushes, as I’m sure you know.”
Her smile was smug and knowing, and a vision of Eve and Deacon, naked and wrapped together in an intimate embrace, flashed through her mind before she could stop it. Eve seemed like the type of woman he’d be attracted to. Beautiful and smart and polished. Not a small-town, blue-collar girl who didn’t crave that same adrenaline rush.
“I just don’t want you to get your heart broken,” Eve went on. “You’re useful to the team for now, and his interest lay in the fact that you’re needed here for us to work effectively. But that’ll change once this mission is complete, and he’ll move on to the next mission. The next woman. There’s always another woman. A man like Deacon is very . . . virile. They all are. It’s learning how to contain and harness all that sexual energy that’s the challenging part of my job.
“I’ve known of his fascination for you since he met you, and now that he’s gotten a taste he’ll be able to move on and become more effective. So I should really be thanking you. And as I told you earlier, I have use for you in another location. Your skills are useful, and you’ve proven to be trustworthy with our secrets. Your salary would be triple what it is now, and you’d finally have the opportunity to have your adventure and go off on your own. And it would make things easier on you. Putting that separation between you and Deacon while you’re piecing together your broken heart.”
“Wow,” Tess said. “You are a piece of work. Really.”
Eve arched a brow, her full lips moving into a sensual pout. “I won’t make the offer twice.”
“Thank God for that,” Tess said. “If you’re done, I’m still on my way out the door.”
“Be careful, Ms. Sherman. I’m not someone you want to irritate.”
“And I’m not someone you want to bully,” she said, her anger past the point of no return. “Unless you want to deal with the mess of killing me and figuring out a way to keep the people in this town from noticing my disappearance. Because I can guarantee they’ll notice and they’ll have a lot of questions. Otherwise, I’m going to go on about my daily life and deal with my personal life how I see fit.”
“You think I’d just make you disappear?” she asked. “That would be very reckless of me. It’s so easy to have an accident in the home these days. Or for rumors to get started that you’ve been troubled and depressed recently. Everyone would be shocked by your decision to take your own life.”
Tess felt the blood drain from her face, and her skin went cold and clammy with fear. She was dealing with forces that were more powerful than she could ever hope to be. She’d never be completely safe as long as she was involved with The Gravediggers.
“Make sure you clean up your brimstone residue before you leave,” Tess said, and hurried out the kitchen door to her car.
Her hands shook as she hit the key fob, and they were still shaking as she drove the three blocks to Miller’s house. She’d been stupid to think she could have anything permanent with Deacon. This was the world he came from. The world he lived in. And she had been naïve to think he was capable of having anything different.