Chapter 16

The wind howling woke Ella. Or maybe it was the demons chasing her in her sleep. Whatever it was, she woke before Jude. They faced each other, only inches separating them, their legs tangled beneath the covers. She relished the feel of his hairy legs against her smooth ones, the heat of him seeping inside her cold soul, warming her.

Nina had once said that Jude was like a burly bear of a man—not attractive by any stretch of the imagination but sexy as hell. Ella had laughed at the comparison but frowned at her friend’s description of Jude as “not attractive.” To Ella, he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. She knew his crooked nose and scars took away from any prettiness his face may have once promised, but his features were a gorgeous picture, giving insight into who Jude was before he ever said a word.

Of course Nina had also said Jude had the finest body she’d ever seen. Ella had been kinda pissed because that meant Nina had been looking at her man. Ella remembered Nina laughing at the expression on her face.

Ella hadn’t even realized she was possessive until she’d opened herself to the man sleeping in front of her. She’d seen him, met his gaze, and everything inside her had gone silent, accepting that she had just met the man who would own every piece of her.

She wasn’t fanciful. She’d grown up on the streets of Chicago, moving from one foster home to another, somehow managing to do well enough in school to skip a couple of grades, graduate from high school early, and go to college on a scholarship.

She’d gone to Stanford University on a full-ride scholarship, graduating with honors and a double major—in foreign languages and in international finance. She’d dabbled in computer programming and knew just enough to be dangerous. It was while at Stanford that she’d drawn the notice of the CIA. Her story was much like any of the other analysts she’d talked to. The CIA recruited heavily at colleges, though they did it quietly and hardly ever drew notice.

Ella had always known she was a throwaway person. She had no discernible history, had a certain set of skills valuable to the agency, and nobody would miss her if she left or disappeared.

Her memories of her parents were vague at best—a feeling of love, a memory of gardenias and cigar smoke, but that was all she had of them. She’d formed no lasting relationships in any of her foster homes or at school.

When she saw Jude, everything in her world had clicked into place. He became her home so fast she hadn’t even noticed the feeling of impending doom until the Piper approached her about a mission within a mission.

Ella had spent every day of the last year regretting that she hadn’t told Jude as soon as the Piper had come to her. But she’d been so afraid that Jude was in danger, and she was the only one who could prevent Dresden from going after him. She wanted to hate Noah Caine for manipulating her by using her love for Jude. She should hate him. She’d taken the Piper’s bait with barely any lure.

And she and Jude had both paid for it.

This man who’d taken her body yesterday—twice, and made her toes curl and her heart sing—was so precious to her.

And regardless of what Nina or anyone else thought, he was the most perfect-looking man in the history of men. She smiled at her musings.

When he slept, he was even more so. Something about sleep allowed his rough edges to smooth out. He looked younger than his thirty-two years and definitely not as burdened.

The shutters rattled against the wooden frame of the cabin, and Ella wondered how much longer she could burrow here, hiding from her responsibilities. Despite regretting that she’d taken this mission from the Piper, she had to finish it. The need to get Anna Beth Caine away from Dresden and safe was like a drumbeat in Ella’s skull.

Dresden had to be taken down from the inside, and that plan could now be in great peril. By her estimation, she’d been out of contact with him for two entire days. She needed that computer. Hell, she needed a satellite phone again. She needed to make contact with the Piper as well.

Ella eased from the bed, watching for any sign Jude had woken. Once she pulled her clothes on, she tied her hair up in a knot because her ponytail holder was somewhere on the floor and she didn’t have much time.

She made her way gingerly down the stairs, nearly falling when the cat came bounding down after her. Whose cat was it?

Ella had no idea, but the weather was too cold and snowy to let the animal back into the wild. She found a can of Vienna sausages in the pantry, opened it. She chopped the tiny sausages into bite-size portions for the cat and placed them on a saucer. The cat attacked the food as if it hadn’t eaten in a year.

She poured some water into a bowl and placed it beside the cat.

The cat stopped eating, looked up at her, blinked slowly, and went back to eating. “Girl,” Ella said. “With that much attitude, you’ve gotta be a tough chick. I think I’m gonna call you Chica.”

The cat sniffed delicately, which Ella took as approval.

Now that the cat was cared for, Ella walked to the den and located the computer on the coffee table. She knew Jude had a communications room somewhere in this house, but she didn’t have time to search for it. She needed information now.

She opened the computer, again surprised to find no password protection. It was outfitted with security and encryption though, probably thanks to Vivi.

She made a cursory search of the databases on the hard drive, searching for Vivi’s signature spying software. Ella found none, so she proceeded to the Internet. She’d only had time to send Brody a limited amount of information last night before Jude had pulled at her attention. She’d uploaded the information she had on Dresden’s mansion in Ukraine, and then she’d disconnected. It had been quick.

The computer pinged a few times, searching for a secure connection, and once she had it, she looked up the date first. She’d been with Jude for three days. Damn.

That didn’t bode well for Anna Beth Caine. But Brody was on it now. The woman had hope.

Next, Ella pulled up everything she could find on Noah Caine, a.k.a. the Piper. She scanned several entries, committing them to memory for later recollection and dissection. She had a nearly photographic memory and a propensity for languages. That’s what had drawn the CIA’s eye.

After that, she looked up Anna Beth Caine and found absolutely nothing. No mention of either Cameron or Anna Beth.

She pulled up Google and logged into one of her many Gmail accounts. She searched quickly for a response from Brody about the thumb drive she’d sent him the other day—the one she’d retrieved from the train station at Cameron Markov’s behest. There was nothing from her teammate.

That foreboding feeling she’d felt during the last year returned in full force. Brody was a crack at deciphering code, and if he couldn’t get it, he’d turn it over to Vivi. Ella had known the risk of Endgame getting the information before she did, but she’d felt the benefit outweighed that risk.

“Damn it,” she said around her thumbnail.

She penned a quick email to Vivi Granger and had just wrapped it up when she felt, more than heard, Jude enter the room.

“Just couldn’t wait, could you?” His voice held no small amount of accusation.

She looked over at him and noticed his shirtless chest and hooded gaze. Her hands itched to touch him, and her mouth watered for a taste. “I just emailed Vivi. If I’m hiding anything from you, I’m sure she’ll tell you what it is.”

Jude walked over to her, taking the computer from her hands and placing it on the coffee table. He sat in front of her on that same table, just watching her.

“Can we eat first?” she asked.

“I could eat,” he responded, face blank, tone equally so.

She nodded and stood. He grabbed her hips and held her in front of him. She glanced down, intent on asking him to let her go, but his words stopped her.

“I don’t ever want to wake up without you in my bed. Ever again, Ella. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Her heart melted into a great big puddle at his feet. She brushed his hair off his forehead. “Oh, Jude, I can’t promise that.”

“Just give me the words, Ella. I’ll help you hold to them,” he promised her.

“What you’ve yet to realize is that I’m always with you, Jude. You hold my heart in your chest. You have from the moment I saw you. Corny, right?” She laughed mirthlessly. “I’ve loved you from the first time our eyes met. You were as much of a storm in my life as the one raging outside.”

He nodded and kissed her palm. “You don’t know what it was like…” His voice trailed off, breaking at the end as his pain at her desertion communicated loud and clear.

“I don’t. I left. I didn’t give you what I should have, which was my trust. I’m responsible for that. I have to live with that for the rest of my life. But, Jude, until I’ve finished this, I can’t make you any promises other than that I’ll love you until the breath leaves my body.”

He stood then and ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t say that! Don’t you talk about dying!”

She fell back to sitting on the couch. He stalked away from her, and she sat there accepting what she’d done to the man she loved and resolving to somehow fix what she’d torn apart.

Pans banged in the kitchen, and she followed the sounds.

He moved with contained violence. It shimmered in the air around him, but Ella wasn’t afraid of her man. He was mad for her. Not at her.

He stopped what he was doing, dropping a pan on the floor as he stalked to her. “What is going on? Tell me right now.”

“Let’s eat first, Jude. A truth?” she queried softly.

He nodded once, his eyes burning into hers.

“I really need you to put a shirt on. And I’ll make this truth a twofer. I’ll tell you everything after we eat.”

She had to. She’d waited too long already. After what he’d given her in that bedroom, she needed to shed any preconceived notions about protecting Jude. She’d hindered him way more than she’d ever protected him, and in the process, she’d nearly destroyed them both.

He drew in a deep breath, and she felt the violence recede. He ran upstairs and came back wearing a gray T-shirt. Jude walked over to the pot he’d dropped moments ago and picked it up.

“You want a really late breakfast or lunch?” he asked her cautiously.

“Lunch.”

He nodded and began gathering the makings for lunch. She watched him as he moved, soaking up his presence like a sponge. God, what he did to her by simply breathing. She moved to the counter and began working alongside him as he heated up what looked like…

“Is that Tia Rosa’s hot pepper chili?”

He grunted, which Ella took as a yes.

“Damn. Do you have Coronas?”

Another grunt.

“Hot damn, Jude! I needed this today!” Her mouth was already watering. She pushed him out of the way because he was taking too long to get the chili thawed and heated. “Grab some bread or something—get it sliced and toasted,” she ordered as she stirred and adjusted the temperature beneath the simmering pot.

Ella heard him behind her, doing as she’d asked. It took him about five minutes to slice the bread, warm it, and set the table. Once the chili was ready, she placed the pot on the table. “Is there any butter?”

He pointed, still clearly wallowing in his anger. She couldn’t blame him, so she didn’t give him hell about it. She just pulled the butter from the mammoth refrigerator he’d pointed at and placed it beside the bread on the table.

“Beer, Jude? We must have beer,” she told him.

He rolled his eyes, but another small smile tugged his lips up as he stood and opened a smaller fridge set into the island counter. He pulled out two beers and placed them on the table.

“Let’s eat,” Ella said enthusiastically.

Jude grunted again. Three grunts. She’d take that after being caught with his laptop.

She took the first bite, felt the warmth of the chili tickle her throat. She closed her eyes, savoring, and then the burn hit, tearing her eyes behind her lids, making her smile. She’d missed this. So much. His aunt’s hot pepper chili was food for her soul. She’d met Tia Rosa three times over the course of the year she’d been with Jude. Each time, the woman had come to the beach house, and each time she’d made her infamous hot pepper chili. Ella had loved the chili, but she’d loved the way the woman fussed over Jude more. Add in the fact that his aunt had immediately taken Ella into her heart, and it was the perfect trifecta.

Ella took another bite and groaned. It was delicious food, and memories, and… She opened her eyes and met Jude’s gaze.

His face was so solemn, so controlled. But his eyes were wet, and she knew it wasn’t from the chili. He’d eaten it for so long that he was immune to the peppers his aunt used to make the base for the chili.

Ella reached for her beer, took a long swallow, and watched him. He did the same, watching her.

“I’ve missed you, Ella.”

She nodded. “I can dig it. I mean, I’m pretty damn awesome and hard not to miss.”

He threw a piece of bread at her, and she picked it up and popped it in her mouth. He gave her a laugh this time. Definitely better than a grunt.

“I missed you too, babe.”

His eyes flared, the black depths no longer cold, but heated, like her stomach.

“How’s the team?” she ventured.

“For the most part, they’re good. We lost four teammates in one fell swoop. It took us all a few months to find our ground. King got pissed before the rest of us…went hunting. Rook and Vivi, Knight, Chase, and Black all entered back into the fray shortly after King. It took me a while longer,” he told her but said nothing more.

Her chest ached at his words. “How’s Tia Rosa?” Ella asked, choosing safer ground.

“She’s older. When she found out you’d died”—Jude choked a bit on that word—“she grieved for a few months too. But the old lady is tough. She’s lost her husband, and her children are all gone. All she had was me and, by extension of me, you. Yeah, it took her a minute too, but she’s doing well now.”

Ella nodded. “We’re in the Sangre de Cristos, aren’t we?”

“Yep.”

“How long have you had this place?”

“Few years. Place was finished right before I met you, but I never had the opportunity to bring you out here before… Well, you know.” Jude shrugged and took another pull of his Corona. His bowl was empty.

So was Ella’s. “I need another beer,” she said. “You?”

He nodded, and Ella grabbed two more beers, handing him one. “Let’s clean up later.”

He stood and walked with her back to the den. They sat across the coffee table from each other. It seemed instinctive to keep that distance. She couldn’t tell him what she needed to if he was touching her.

They sat in silence for long moments. Jude finished his second beer and started a fire in the huge stone fireplace that dominated the southern wall of the cabin. When it was roaring and the heat had staved off the chill in the air, Ella took a deep breath.

Jude leaned against the back of the opposite couch and waited, his gaze hooded but locked and loaded on Ella.

This was going to be so damn hard.

“Just start somewhere, Ella. It’ll come as it comes,” Jude said gruffly.

Always, he cared for her. Even when he knew what she had to say was going to hurt him.

“The Piper approached me about four months after I joined Endgame.” Her opening foray fell like bullets into the silence of the room. A log fell in the fireplace and popped, sending sparks outside the grate. Jude didn’t move. Ella didn’t either.

Instead, she locked her eyes on his and drew strength from him.

“He had concerns and information about Horace Dresden and some underground society comprised of influential leaders who were looking to take over the world—real Illuminati-type stuff.” Ella glanced at the fire. Hearing her own words, she would have laughed had she not seen proof that what the Piper had described was very much a truth. They weren’t Illuminati; they were much, much worse. “He had Endgame hot on Dresden’s heels, but there was something he knew that he hadn’t shared with the team yet. Dresden was a lynchpin. He was the head of his own organization, but he was also a key into that mysterious group the Piper kept hearing about. So he determined that he needed someone inside Dresden’s organization.

“The Piper approached me shortly after Dresden went after Vivi. He told me he had inside information that Dresden was coming for everyone in Endgame, and he was going to start with you. He said that the only way I could protect you was to insert myself into Dresden’s organization and divert his attention.”

“Goddamn him,” Jude bit out. He wasn’t lounging against the back of the couch anymore. He was sitting upright, muscles tight, hands fisted.

“I fell hook, line, and sinker. All I could see, all I could hear, was that Dresden was coming for you, and I had the opportunity to stop him. I jumped in with both feet,” she admitted.

“Goddamn you too,” Jude said harshly.

She held up a hand. “I can’t do this if you’re going to do that. I need you to listen to me, Jude. Reserve your judgment until the end, okay?”

He nodded, but she could tell it cost him a lot. Poor man. He’d already paid too much.

She swallowed and took a cleansing breath. “The Piper had no particular plan he’d made me aware of, had said only that I needed to be diligent, and that when the time was right, he’d call me up. I told you in Russia I had no idea that op in Beirut was meant to insert me into Dresden’s operation. And putting together everything now, I don’t think the Piper planned it that way. But once I was down, he didn’t do anything to get me out. He saw it as his way of obtaining an objective with minimal effort.”

“He couldn’t have known Dresden wouldn’t kill you. It was too much of a risk,” Jude bit out.

“Gray Broemig didn’t know that either, but one of his main intentions of inserting me into Endgame was to pursue Dresden. He and the Piper were making the same moves.” Ella bit her thumbnail and glanced at Jude. “I wonder if they even knew.”

She shrugged lightly. “I do think the Piper knows a lot more than he lets on and not enough about what he doesn’t.”

Jude breathed out roughly. “What he’s doing is borderline criminal.”

Ella didn’t disagree. “I wondered for a long time if it wasn’t the Piper who’d given Dresden the information about our mission, but it didn’t make sense. He created Endgame. He had no reason to risk destroying you all just to insert me. Plus, I’ve looked him in the eye, and this team is his. He wouldn’t destroy what he’d built and the men and women he’d built it on. He might sacrifice an operative to the greater good, but the whole team? I don’t buy it.

“I’ve also since found out that Loretta Bernstein most likely leaked the information to Dresden about our incursion in Beirut that night. She’d mined Gray Broemig for information, using other contacts to put pieces together. I believe she gave Dresden the information. He fired the RPG that brought us down, and the rest was just shooting fish in a barrel.”

She winced at her comparison. A fine man had lost his life that night. Micah Samson, Jude’s best friend, had perished. Only Brody and Ella had been allowed to live.

“Savidge shot Micah, where I couldn’t tell. I just knew he fell. He got Brody in the neck and winged me on the temple. I remember hearing you call my name in my earpiece. And I remember seeing Brody fall. But then my vision washed in red, and I was out. When I woke up, I was facedown on a dirt floor, naked and cold.”

Jude stood and began to pace. She let him. It was hard to recount. It had to be hard to hear.

“Dresden wasted no time allowing Savidge to break me. ‘Get them before their spine strengthens,’ he said. Savidge laughed and then clapped the manacles around my wrists. He pulled on a long chain until I hung from a bolt in the ceiling. They’d leave me hanging for hours at a time in the dark, bleeding, hungry, and cold. Then Savidge would come in, hit a lever, and lower me to the ground where I’d lie for hours more.

“I started making marks in the ground to count the days. The sun would pierce a high window in my cell. It would travel the sky and go away. That would mark one day. By the time I had five days crossed off in the dirt, they’d begun bringing Brody into my cell.”

She stared into the flames, feeling colder than she’d been in that cell. Memories hurt.

“The things they did to Brody made me scream. But eventually he screamed louder. I vowed in that dirty cell that I’d watch the life leave Horace Dresden’s eyes.” She glanced at Jude, noticing his jaw was bunched and his face wore a tortured expression. “He’s mine, Jude. You may want to kill him, but it will be me who takes him.”

Jude nodded at her demand.

“They finally took Brody away. He lost his voice for a long time. Probably lost more than that, but he’s never said a word to me about what happened in that room, and I haven’t either until just now.” She wiped a tear away. “By the time they took him away, eight days had passed. When Savidge would hit that lever, and I would fall to the ground beside Brody, I’d talk to him. I lied, Jude. Every minute I was with him, I lied to him.”

“Look at me, Ella,” Jude demanded in a hard voice.

She did. But the words had started, and now she couldn’t stop them.

“I told him we would be saved. That you were coming for us, and King would be right behind you. I told him our team would get us out of that hell. But you never came,” she ended with a whisper.

He picked her up, pulling her body to his before he sat down and arranging her in his lap. She laid her head on her chest and listened to his heartbeat.

“Listen to me, Ella,” he ordered. He raised her head until her gaze met his. “We watched you all fall. We thought you were all lost. Then hell broke open, and we had to fight for our lives. By the time the secondary helicopter made it to us, Dresden, Savidge, and all of your bodies were gone, as if they’d never been there. We never left you. We didn’t know you were alive.”

“But when you found out? Why didn’t you come then?” She hated that she sounded like a little child begging for an answer.

“We didn’t know anything for sure until Loretta Bernstein showed King a video that Dresden had made of the entire thing. That was two months ago, Ella. I had heard rumors of a dark-haired woman with eyes of frost and a scar at her temple, but I thought I was chasing a ghost, baby. I had no idea you were really alive.” His voice was terrible. His pain giving it a deep, rough, mournful quality.

“When I found out you were searching for information on me, I got scared. Brody did everything he could to throw you off the scent,” Ella said with a teary smile. “God, I had forgotten what a pit bull you can be when you catch a scent.”

“It ripped me to pieces when I saw that video. I saw with my own eyes that you’d left breathing, and I finally had verification that the rumors I’d been chasing were true. I hated you when I watched it. How could you have not come to me as soon as Dresden let you leave?” he asked.

She stood off his lap. It was her turn to pace. “I told you that Dresden used you as a tool, Jude. A tool to hone me. Keep me compliant. The Piper hit the nail on the head when he said Dresden was coming for you. He still is. He’ll do whatever is necessary to keep me in line, and he thinks you’re the only way to do that.”

Jude shook his head. “Why does he want you so badly?”

She looked at him then. “Dresden is twisted that way. He wants me because he knows that using me hurts Endgame because it hurts you. His ultimate goal is to watch each of us fall by his hand or his machinations. He’s driven, and he’s motivated by a hatred so deep it can only be personal, Jude.”

“And now it’s personal for me,” Jude replied. “That bastard is wily, and he has information he should never have. Someone in the White House is supplying him with information.”

A chill skated down Ella’s spine. “You know that he was on the team with Rook and Knight that went belly-up in the Hindu Kush four years ago. And at some point he’s had dealings with King. I haven’t been able to ferret that out yet.”

Jude nodded.

“My gut tells me Dresden’s hard-on for Endgame begins in the Kush. But he despises those three men with the passion of a thousand white-hot suns. His objective, as unattainable as it sounds, is world domination. But along the way, his driving force is to end Endgame Ops.”

A ring sounded from another room.

“Hold on, Ella,” Jude urged as he exited the den, returning a minute later with a sat phone to his ear. “Yeah. I get it.” Then, “I’ll ask her and call you back later.”

He disconnected and glanced at Ella before placing the phone on the table between them.

“That was King,” he told her. “Chase has radioed in. He’s got a doctor who was working with Doctors Without Borders in his possession.”

“Possession?” she asked carefully.

“Apparently, she was his objective per the Piper. Another mission within a mission, it would seem. Her name is Gabrielle Moeller. Name ring any bells?” Jude asked her, a note of betrayal in his tone.

“No. I have no idea who that is.”

“You don’t have any idea why the Piper wants her brought home?”

“None. Wait, what was Chase’s original mission for the team?” she queried quickly.

“Recon on the warlord Abrafo Nadege.”

“Oh damn. That’s not good at all. Nadege is a killer, and he’s in bed with Dresden.”

Jude glanced at her. “We knew he was an associate of Dresden’s. What is the relationship between the woman Chase is getting to safety and Nadege?”

Ella shook her head, her mind whirring. “Maybe the association isn’t with Nadege, but with Dresden? Give me your laptop. Hurry, Jude!”

He left and returned with his laptop. She opened it and got busy. Twenty minutes later, she’d managed to amass only minimal information on Gabrielle Moeller. A plastic surgeon turned trauma physician, Moeller seemed a nonentity.

And then Ella saw a picture that added another piece to the puzzle.

“Look at this picture,” she said to Jude.

“Just two women in graduation caps and gowns,” he replied with a shrug.

“This,” she said, pointing to Moeller, “is Gabrielle.”

His brows lowered. “And?”

“The other woman… Read her name for me so I don’t think I’m imagining it.”

“Anna Beth Caine,” he read from the old newspaper clipping.

“Damn,” Ella whispered. “That’s not good.”

“What is it, Ella?”

“That woman? Anna Beth Caine? She’s Horace Dresden’s former fiancée.”

“I hate to keep repeating myself here…and?”

“She’s also related to a man named Noah Caine,” Ella said softly.

“The Piper,” Jude stated and hung his head.

“When your operative took me from Dresden’s house, I left Anna Beth behind. Dresden has Anna Beth Caine, Jude. She’s locked in the same cell I was locked in, and though she wasn’t in as bad a shape as I was, her fortune could turn any minute…possibly already has.”

Jude’s face went hard and cold. “Dresden has the Piper’s daughter.”

Though he’d not asked a question, she still responded. “Yes.”

“There’s something else I need to tell you, Ella. Harrison Black tracked Anton Segorski to a flat in Russia. He’s bugged down and not moving. No one has seen the prime minister in four days. We could very well be the last ones to have seen him alive.”

“Dresden doesn’t suffer fools well. Segorski is a small player, but his political machinations helped put Crimea’s oil rights into Dresden’s hands so the bastard could bargain with it. I can’t believe Dresden would knock off the prime minister though. He wanted his money too badly. No, it just doesn’t make sense, unless…”

“Tell me, Ella. Unless what?”

“Unless it was never about the money.”

Jude hissed in a breath. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that if Dresden didn’t need the money, he had another fish on the hook all along. That oil will net him enough money to do what he’s always wanted—effectively rule the world. He’ll be the single richest entity on the globe. Richer than any sovereign nation, richer than Croesus. And that much money would allow him to control everything, Jude. Everything.”

“Who do you think the fish is?”

“I don’t think it’s a who. I think it’s a group of whos.”

It must have hit him then. “No way, Ella. You’re talking treason. There’s no way someone, or a group of someones, would sell out their own countries for money.”

“Remember me telling you about that mysterious group the Piper was always talking about?”

Horror masked Jude’s face. “No. I can’t believe it.”

“What if people in the White House are involved with this group? I don’t have enough yet. Let me search. I need to talk to Vivi,” she told him, but it came out a request. “I think at this point we need to start considering that the Piper is either onto this group and playing a dangerous game, or he’s as thick with them as Dresden.”

Jude nodded. “Give Brody a call while you’re at it, okay? King said the man’s champing at the bit to talk to you.”

“That’s good news. Give me a few minutes to talk to him, and I’ll explain why,” she informed him.

Ella glanced up and found Jude right in front of her. He’d always moved like a big jungle cat—stealthy and silent. He reached for her face, cupping her cheek in his big palm and thumbing the dent in her chin.

She’d always hated that dent. Jude had always loved it.

“A truth?” he asked.

She gazed up at him, her answer on her face.

“I don’t think you betrayed your team.”

Relief washed through her.

“But we still need to talk about what you did do, Ella. You should have come to me immediately and let me help you. You didn’t trust me, trust us, enough to come to me, and that hurts, Ella. It hurts bad.”

She sank her teeth into her lower lip. That small bite of pain centered her. “I messed up. I’m trying to correct it, Jude.”

“I need you to promise me you won’t leave, Ella. I need you to go all in with me, with your team.” His voice stroked along her nerves. Jude was an excellent interrogator. He could cajole and get information and promises out of men even when they knew they were dead men walking.

Could she make that promise though? In her mind, the only solution was for her to go back to Dresden. He would make it hell for her, but that was the only way she was going to be able to get the information Endgame needed to take him down. And it wasn’t as simple as a bullet to the temple—Dresden was only one head. The entire organization could have many, and all of their organizations had to be dismantled.

She needed to find out as much as she could about the mysterious group Dresden was a part of. And there was the matter of Anna Beth Caine.

Ella was her only hope, and she wouldn’t leave the woman with Dresden to suffer. She needed to hit Brody up again and see where he was with that. She didn’t believe Dresden would kill her—Anna Beth would lose her value then—but he could break her, much as he had Ella.

“Give me the words, Ella. I’ll help you hold to them.”

It was the same thing he’d said to her last night.

“I won’t leave you, Jude.”

“All in?” he asked.

She nodded, and he kissed her forehead, pulling her tight against his chest and just holding her there.

“Jude?” she asked after long moments.

“Yeah?”

“I need to make some calls,” she answered with a smile in her voice.

“And I need to hold you,” he responded.

She laughed, and he pulled away from her. “Make ’em then. You’ve got ten minutes,” he told her gruffly.

Her mouth dropped opened.

Jude shrugged. “I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to stay here. I’m starting to realize how badly Dresden wants you, and we need a head start if he’s headed our way.”

He handed her the sat phone and walked out of the den. “Hey,” he called. “When you’re finished, come to the door under the stairs.”

“Code?”

“5572463.”

“Give me a few,” she said and sat down on the couch. She dialed Brody first.

“What do you want, Keeper?” Brody’s broken voice called over the line.

“Madoc, it’s Ella.”

“Ella-Bella—you call, give me limited information, and bail. What the hell have you gotten me into?”

She chuckled. “How are you?”

“Still alive, same as last time we talked,” he told her.

She’d take that from Brody. It meant he hadn’t decided to eat a bullet yet, and damn but she’d struggled to pull him out of that hell for a year. She didn’t want to lose him now. “I’m okay with that. You eating? What about the meds?”

“Did you become my mother over the last month or so?”

“Nah, but somebody’s got to look after your mean ass. Now, eating? Meds?”

“Yeah. I’m doing all that shit. Look, I got your information, and I’ve got some for you. That drive you sent me? Damn, Ella, do you have any idea what that holds?” It was hard to gauge Brody’s attitude or demeanor from his voice. He sounded like someone had shoved his vocal cords into rubbing alcohol after using a cheese grater on them. Most times it came across very gruff and very hollow. He’d once told Ella it hurt to talk.

She believed him.

“I do. I need confirmation,” Ella said.

“I had to do a detailed decryption on it, and still it took almost forty-eight hours. The first file is a list of all of Dresden’s holdings. The second file is a list of associates. The third file, Ella, that’s where shit gets real interesting.”

Ella held her breath.

“It’s got pictures.”

“Let me guess—Noah Caine, Anna Beth Caine, and Cameron Markov?”

He grunted. “There’s some other woman too. I’m running face recognition on her as we speak…no clue who she is. There are pictures and video. Whoever took the videos didn’t do a great job. The audio is horrible. Vivi is working on cleaning it up right now. Most of the meetings are between, wait for it, the Piper and Horace Dresden.”

It fell in line with what Ella was beginning to suspect was going on, but that wasn’t good news. “What else? You’re holding out on me,” she said, warning in her voice.

“There’s a file encrypted so tightly I couldn’t break it. Vivi is trying to break it, but even she has doubts about how she’s going to get it done. She says it looks like there was a fail-safe on it. We need to know who has the fail-safe. And Ella, the file is labeled ‘Endgame.’”

“Anna Beth Caine,” she whispered.

“The woman I’m busting my ass to get away from Dresden?” Brody asked.

“Yeah, that one. Anna Beth Caine either is or knows the fail-safe,” she whispered. It’s why Cameron had been so insistent that Ella get to the drive and tell her father to protect Anna Beth.

“How is she related to the Piper?”

“Daughter. Where do we stand on getting her out of there, Brody?”

“I’m working on it…tugging on every resource I have in that area, but you gotta know going in there is suicide without my team.”

Ella did know. “Yeah…no heroics. My take is he’s not going to kill her. Not until he’s flaunted her for the Piper.”

Brody went silent for long moments. “It’s what he’ll do to her in the mean-and-between-time. You know that, Ella.”

She knew that too. “We’ll get her. I don’t know if she’s innocent, but nobody deserves Dresden. We get her out. It’s got to be a priority.”

Brody grunted, and she took that as agreement.

“I’m sending you and Vivi everything I have on our secured link. Have Vivi look at it all and put together a board for me. I’ll be in Port Royal as soon as I can. We’ll put it all together then,” she told Brody.

“Got it,” Brody said. “Later.”

“Later,” she promised and disconnected.

She knocked the phone against her forehead. There was still something she was missing. She needed to meet minds with her people like they used to do, and then the picture would be clearer.

She dialed Vivi’s number.

“Damn you, Jude. Where’s Ella?” Vivi yelled into the phone.

Ella laughed. “Good to hear your voice, Viv.”

“Ella? Damn that man for not putting you on the phone with me immediately! Are you okay? Tell me you’re okay!” Vivi spoke so fast that Ella couldn’t respond.

She laughed again. “I’m okay, Vivi. Done any riding lately?”

“Rook took the Hyabusa away from me. Said it was too heavy and I’d kill myself, which would kill him, therefore I couldn’t drive it anymore. Pissed me right off.” She paused long enough to draw a breath. “Enough about me. How’s you? Been a long time. You couldn’t hit a bitch up and chat?”

“Long time, my arse. You had tabs on me the whole time, and you know it,” Ella said, frustration leaking into her tone.

She could imagine Vivi rubbing her nails on her chest before blowing on them. “I’m good, but it took me months to find you. I had to sneak into your profile chart at the Agency. I had to research you, Ella, before I could put together a viable code to find your ass. So as good as I am, you’re not too bad your-damn-self.”

High praise indeed coming from Vivi. “I’m chatting now.”

“Your man went through hell,” Vivi said, her voice now low and carrying just a tinge of anger.

“So did I,” she responded.

“That over now? You all in?” Vivi queried.

“Jude left me no choice. My heart left me no choice,” Ella responded honestly.

“Finally,” Vivi said breathlessly. “Listen, I’m working on that drive Brody sent me. There are actually two files, not just one, that are encrypted so tight with a fail-safe that it will destroy them if I dig much deeper.”

“I think I know who the fail-safe is, or at least who knows what the fail-safe is,” Ella said. “I’m sending everything to Brody via our secure link. He’ll get it to you.”

“I’m kinda jealous you have a secure link with Brody but not me.” Vivi’s tone indicated her pout.

Ella snickered. “We’ll correct that once I’m in Port Royal.”

Vivi chuckled. “Fabulous. I’ll see you when you get home.”

“Oh, I’m already home,” Ella said before she could stop herself.

“Where are you?” Vivi asked, confusion coming down the line.

“With Jude.”

Vivi sighed. “I love that for you.”

“Me too.” Ella smiled. “Okay, I’m logging off. Brody will get you the information. I’ll see you soon.”

“Soon, Ella,” Vivi said. “Oh! One more thing, I was about to hit Keeper up when you called. According to my sources, Dresden is in the States. I don’t have a location. I’m trying to track him now.”

Chills ran down Ella’s spine. What had she said to Jude? Nowhere is completely safe. Was Dresden coming for her even now?

“Ella?”

“Got it, Viv. I’ll tell Jude.”

“I’m out,” Vivi said and disconnected.

Ella got up from the couch, her heart pounding but lighter than it had been in months. How could she have forgotten what team meant?

She made her way to the door Jude had mentioned under the stairs. She punched the code in and entered. The door closed and locked behind her. She walked down a set of stairs into a cavernous room that had literally been carved out of the bedrock the house sat on. Or maybe it was a naturally occurring cave?

Jude sat at a large bank of computers, watching a monitor above him intently.

“Hey,” she said softly.

He opened his arms and motioned her over. She went eagerly. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. “Whatcha’ lookin’ at?” she asked.

He pointed at the monitor. “See that tree right there?”

“Yep.” It was blowing in the tumultuous wind and looked as if it had snapped in half at some point.

“It wasn’t like that last night,” he said absently.

“The wind is blowing,” she reminded him, fear creeping up on her like a wraith.

“Well, Miss I Put on Shoes, I did a perimeter check last night long before you got up and walked around in the snow half dressed to perform your own.”

She arched a brow at him and made a hurry-it-up motion with her hand.

He snorted. “The tree wasn’t snapped then. Hell it doesn’t look like it snapped at all. It looks cut. I’ve got motion sensors a half mile out from the house in all directions. Animal, man, wind, they all trip the sensors.”

She was missing it. “And?”

“No tripped sensors. That falling tree should have tripped the sensor in that quadrant.”

“Malfunction?” she asked as she looked more intently at the tree.

He shrugged. “I guess anything is possible.”

“Vivi said Dresden is in the States,” Ella told him.

Jude went so still that she wondered if he’d stopped breathing. His face went blank, and his mouth thinned.

“Tell me, Jude. Do you think it’s him?” Ella asked, unable to keep a quaver out of her voice. The thought of going back into Dresden’s hell made a mockery of all her brave plans to get more information and save Anna Beth Caine.

“I’m not saying anything except that I’m about to make another perimeter check,” he told her.

“I’ll go with,” she said as she started to turn around.

“No. You’ll stay here,” he told her.

Frustration gnawed at her. “I’m not helpless.”

He held up his hands in front of him as if warding off a blow. “I didn’t say you were. But that terrain is deadly, and I can’t check the perimeter and watch out for you at the same time.”

Her anger evaporated. She was going crazy. “Of course.”

“You good?” he asked, caution in his tone.

“I’m good.”

“I’ll be back in a few. Then you’ll tell me what you talked to Madoc about?”

She nodded. “Jude?”

He turned back to her. “Yeah, woman?”

“I love you.”

He smiled, and it took her breath away. “Always.”