Twenty-One

It was almost nine when they got back to the city and parked near the consulate. The sun had disappeared behind dark clouds, and it was now a cold, gloomy day, with a storm approaching. Jared hoped that wasn't a precursor of what was to come.

He'd gotten a couple more texts from Gary, pleading with him not to throw away his entire career for this quest, that April wouldn't want that. And Gary was right—April wouldn't want him to do that. But he'd already disobeyed orders to stay out of the case, and when he got to Langley, there was a good chance he'd find out his job was already over or that he would be sent to a desk, which was not something he was interested in.

He was going to play things out for a while longer. He still had a couple of hours before he had to decide.

"Are you okay?" Parisa asked, giving him a thoughtful glance, as they neared the consulate. "If you want to go to the airport—"

"I'm good. Let's see what's happening here."

They went up the steps to the consulate, where they were detained by two guards. They gave their names, then waited as one of the guards went into the building. A moment later, Kabir Bhatt came to the door, nodding at Parisa.

"Miss Maxwell. What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Bhatt. This is my boyfriend, Jared MacIntyre. We'd like to see Anika and Kenisha."

"They're not taking visitors."

"Well, I'm not just any visitor, and I want to wait with them," she said. "I know what's happening this morning. Please tell them I'm here. I'm not leaving until you do."

He frowned at her words. "One moment." He left them on the step as he stepped into the building.

"He better let us in," she murmured, tapping her foot impatiently as she looked around.

He followed her gaze, feeling a bit exposed. There was still danger in the city for Parisa, and they couldn't forget that.

The front door opened again, and Mr. Bhatt waved them inside. "Mrs. Kumar and her daughter ask that you join them in the salon," he said, motioning toward a room off the main living room.

Jared wasn't thrilled with being relegated to the sitting room when he could see FBI agents, Westley Larimer, and Raj Kumar in the main living room, but maybe he'd have a chance to slip inside once Mr. Bhatt moved on to his other duties.

Anika and her mother were seated together on a gray sofa, coffee mugs in front of them, as well as a plate of untouched pastries and fruit. As Anika stood up to greet them, he couldn't help noting her immaculate appearance, the dark-green dress that clung to her frame, the high-heeled black boots, the made-up face. Kenisha, on the other hand, looked like she hadn't slept since her daughter had been taken. Her face was haggard, and her black pants and sweater were wrinkled as if she'd been wearing the same clothes for days.

"Parisa, thank you for coming," Anika said, giving Parisa a half-hearted kiss on each cheek. Then she turned to him. "We haven't met."

"Jared MacIntyre," he said, extending his hand.

"Jared is my boyfriend," Parisa put in.

"I hope you don't mind my presence," he added. "But since Parisa was attacked yesterday, I don't want to let her out of my sight."

"You were attacked?" Anika asked in surprise.

"Yes. Since the kidnapping, there have been a couple of attempts on my life. Someone is obviously concerned that I saw something."

"Which clearly you didn't," Anika said. "Or you would have told someone by now, right?"

"Of course," Parisa replied.

"I thought you said you were single," Anika continued, giving both of them a hard, questioning look.

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to get serious with Jared, but after what happened Friday night, I started wondering why I was pushing him away when life can change so quickly," Parisa explained, giving him a loving look.

She really was a good liar. But he also knew how truthful she could be.

He moved past Anika to avoid more questions and also to speak to her mother. "Mrs. Kumar? I'm very sorry about all this. I am praying that Jasmine comes home safe."

"As am I," Kenisha said, dabbing at her eyes with a well-used tissue. "Please sit down. Do either of you want something to eat or drink?"

"We're fine," Parisa said, as they settled on the couch across from the two women. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"There's nothing to do but wait," Kenisha replied. "You heard about the ransom demand?"

"Yes, that's why I came by. I wanted to offer my support. I also heard about Ben."

"Ben," Anika said scornfully. "I can't believe he betrayed Jasmine. He let the kidnappers into the house. He knew something was going to happen to her. I hope he rots in jail for the rest of his life."

"Anika, please," Kenisha said. "We don't know the whole story."

"We know enough. And I don't know how you can defend any of the Langdons." Anika turned back to them, fury in her gaze. "Neil and Elizabeth hired an attorney and won't let Ben talk to the FBI."

"I heard that," Parisa muttered. "I was hoping they'd changed their minds. I actually spoke to Neil last night. I thought maybe I'd gotten through to him."

"I haven't heard that anything has changed," Anika said, crossing her arms. "But then, Mother and I are being kept out of the loop. Apparently, the women have no place in any of this."

"Anika, don't do this. Your father and Westley are focused on getting Jasmine back. They're not trying to punish you," Kenisha said. "And I just can't take any more anger or unhappiness today."

"I'm sorry," Anika said quickly. "I'm just terrified, Mother."

"I know," Kenisha said, putting her arm around Anika.

While the two women were consoling each other, he rose. "Do you mind if I use the restroom?"

"It's down the hall on the right," Anika told him.

"I'll be right back," he said, hearing Parisa ask a question about Westley as he left the room.

They hadn't discussed what they'd do when they got inside the consulate beyond finding a way to get whatever information they could. Now that he'd made his move, Parisa would keep Anika and Kenisha distracted.

As he made his way down the hall, his memory of the layout of the consulate came in handy. There were two doors leading into the living room: one from this hallway, and one from the front foyer.

He paused by the bathroom, glancing around. There was no one in the hall, no one paying attention to what he was doing, so he moved closer to the living room door, which was partially ajar.

From his limited view, he could see Westley and his father Phillip, Agent Wolfe, Mr. Bhatt, the NYPD detective who'd been at the hospital with Parisa the first night, and the older man she'd spoken to at the party, Vincent Rowland. Maybe it was a good thing they'd been sent to the smaller sitting room. Vincent didn't need to know Parisa was here.

"Just do exactly as we've practiced," Damon told Westley. "No deviations. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Westley said tersely. "I've got it. We've gone over it a hundred times. I don't hand over anything until I see Jasmine. But I'm afraid they're going to realize there are cops all over the place and not show themselves."

"We already have people in place," Damon said. "They've been there for over two hours. When the kidnappers get there, they won't see anyone new arriving on the scene."

"I hope that's true."

"This will work," Vincent reassured Westley. "The bureau knows how to run this."

"That better be true. I can't even think about what Jasmine has been going through the past few days."

"Don't think about it," Damon advised. "Stay focused on what you need to do."

Hearing footsteps, Jared quickly backed away from the door and dashed across the hall into the bathroom. He heard heels clicking down the marble floor and peeked out to see Anika walking toward the kitchen. This might be the perfect time to get a moment alone with her, ask her what she was doing with Westley the day before.

When he entered the kitchen, he saw a male chef at the stove and a woman chopping vegetables. Where had Anika gone? Had she simply headed toward the back stairs?

Then he felt the rustle of a breeze and realized the door to the basement was open.

His heart jumped against his chest. He knew better than anyone what was in that basement—a way out of the consulate. Why would Anika be leaving her family now?

"Can I help you?" the woman who'd been handling the vegetables asked.

"I was just looking for some water," he said, improvising a cough.

She reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottled water.

"Thanks," he said, as she handed it to him. He made his way quickly back to the salon.

Parisa gave him a speculative look. Kenisha was on the phone. He motioned for Parisa to get up.

She moved across the room, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "We need to go—now."

A dozen questions filled her gaze, but she simply nodded. They walked down the hall and out the front door. Neither of the guards seemed interested in their departure, and the law enforcement personnel were still in the living room.

Once they were out of sight, they jogged the rest of the way to the car.

"Where are we going?" Parisa asked, as he fired the engine and pulled into the street.

"To the end of the tunnel," he replied, turning quickly at the next corner. "I'm pretty sure Anika is using it to get out of the house unseen."

"She said she was going upstairs to make some calls."

"She didn't. She went down to the basement."

Parisa grabbed at the door handle as he sped around the next corner, and then he slowed down as he saw Anika walking toward a small silver Prius by the park. She had a duffel bag over her shoulder now, and his pulse leapt once more.

"Oh, my God," Parisa said, putting her hand on his leg. "That duffel bag…"

"Filled with cash, I'm guessing."

"Anika is making the drop. Westley is going to be a decoy."

He flung her a quick look. "I think so, too. Maybe that's what she and Westley were setting up the other day. But I don't think the switch is sanctioned by law enforcement. I heard your pal Damon going over the rules with Westley, and there was no mention of Anika's involvement."

"The kidnappers must have contacted Westley separately."

"And he enlisted Anika's help."

"Which is crazy, because she won't know what to do, how to handle a situation as volatile as this."

"I don't know about that. Anika seems like a pretty cool customer to me."

"Cool, yes, but she's not a hostage negotiator."

"I don't think there's going to be a negotiation." He stayed several cars behind Anika as she drove away from the park. The last thing he wanted was for her to spot them.

"I should call Damon," Parisa said.

"Let's play this out a bit longer, just in case we're wrong. Plus, Vincent Rowland was in the living room with Damon. If you call Damon, and Vincent is involved, you could be putting Jasmine's life on the line—"

"Got it," she said crisply, pulling her gun out. "We've got this."

The FBI agent in Parisa had just come to life. He could see the determination and focus in her eyes, and he felt exactly the same way. If Anika was meeting the kidnappers, they might have only a split second to make a decision that could save Jasmine's life.

As he stopped at a light, he saw Parisa drilling her fingers against her thigh. He covered her hand and met her gaze. "We're going to do everything we can to save her. We're as well trained as anyone."

"I know. I'm glad you're with me, Jared. We're stronger together."

"I agree." They were better together in a lot of ways. He just didn't know if they could stay together.