Chapter 31
“You gonna ask me what’s on your mind or are you gonna just keep looking over at me?” Marc growled his question as Chad grinned, his eyes now back on the road.
“I’m driving as fast as I dare, but I get the feeling you wish I’d go faster to get you back to the pretty lady waiting for you back at your place,” Chad said.
Blowing out a breath, Marc leaned back in the seat, rubbing his hand over his face. Looking out the passenger window for a few silent minutes, he said, “I watched it happen…over and over with each of you. I just didn’t expect it to happen to me.”
Snorting, Chad glanced to the side. “What? Fall in love?”
“Yeah,” Marc answered. “She’s nothing like what I thought I wanted…and yet everything I need.”
Chad agreed as he moved though the southbound traffic. “Do you think she’ll stay?”
“I don’t know,” Marc admitted. “I want her to but I don’t want to limit her career. We’ll just have to see what happens—”
Interrupted by his phone ringing, Marc pulled it out of his pocket and grinned as he saw the caller. “Hey, sweet girl. Did you have a good day?”
“Yeah,” she said, “but that’s not why I called. I just talked to my dad and he told me that he had been to Fahdil’s house to visit with his wife. Their daughter was there, but not Tariq. Dad said that Mrs. Mahdi said Tariq’s not there now.”
“Fuck!” Marc cursed, gaining the immediate attention of Chad. Looking over, he said, “Tariq’s not in Louisiana…or at least not at his home.” Putting the phone back to his mouth, he said, “Babe, where are you? Are you locked in? Security on?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she exclaimed. “I just thought you should know. Should I call someone?”
“No, I’ll call both Nick and Jack. Listen, I’m calling Jack first and sending someone to the house to stay with you.” Hearing her about to object, he interrupted, “Non-negotiable, Kendall. But don’t open the door to anyone until you see them on the porch and recognize one of the Saints.”
Gaining her acquiescence, he looked over to Chad. “How much longer?”
“Only about thirty minutes,” he replied, his voice as hard as his stare.
Relaying that information to Kendall, he hung up after gaining her promise to call him if she heard anything.
Disconnecting, he looked over at Chad, his jaw so tight he thought his teeth would crack. “We know that asshole fucked with my plane to get rid of Kendall and now he’s missing. I’ve got a sick feeling he’s coming here.”
“He’d be crazy to try to get into your place,” Chad replied, shaking his head. “But then, he’s got nothing to lose.”
Dialing Jack, Marc quickly barked out the information gaining Jack’s assurance someone would be at his house in fifteen minutes. Then he called Nick, unsure he would be able to get hold of him. Sighing in relief he was thankful when Nick answered immediately. Relaying the information, he heard Nick curse in response.
“I’ve got Fahdil here and I’ll see if he has any idea where Tariq is.”
“We’ve got Charlie and Luke trying to see if he was on a plane but, with false documents, they’ll have to work through security cameras.”
“I’ll get the agency on it as well and see if we can find him,” Nick said. “Fuckin’ hell. I’ll also get the Louisiana office to see if he’s still there just not at the Mahdi’s home. I’ll get someone on Kenneth Rhodes also.”
“Appreciate it,” Marc replied, angry that he had not thought of that himself. Looking at the time on his phone, he growled to Chad, “Twenty-five minutes. Can you shave any time off that?”
*
Jack immediately sent the Saints into action, sending them to Marc’s house while ordering Luke and Charlie to check Marc’s security system.
“If he hacked the security at NCBRT, I want to make sure what we’ve got on Marc’s house is working.”
Charlie narrowed her eyes as she turned to her computer, Luke already tapping on his keys. “Nobody better fuck with my system!” A few seconds later, she yelled, “Damnit! Someone’s bypassed the first line!”
*
“Lay the phone down where I can see it.”
Kendall’s gaze jumped toward the hall, where a figure stood in the shadows. Gasping, she did not move, the phone still stuck in her hand.
“Lay the phone down and keep your hands where I can see them,” the man repeated.
Heart pounding, she placed the phone on the sofa as her eyes stayed glued to the figure. She recognized an accent, but could not distinguish the features. Gaze not wavering, she said nothing, waiting for him to speak again. Her body quivered with adrenaline and she swallowed deeply, willing her nerves to steady.
“You’re not going to ask how I got in?”
She replied with a jerky shake of her head.
The figure stepped forward into the light and she recognized the young man. “Tariq,” she stated with no surprise.
“Were you expecting me?”
Her stomach dropped as she nodded slowly while she tried to discern if he had a weapon. He was not holding anything in his hands but a bulge in his jacket pocket appeared ominous. A smile spread across his handsome face as his black eyes bore into hers.
“Your man’s system is good…real good…but I managed to get past it.” When she made no comment, his lips pinched as he continued, “Just like I got by my father’s work security system.”
“Father? Fahdil?” she breathed, her voice exposing her nerves.
Sneering, Tariq repeated, “Yes, my father. I’m thankful he’s not my real father or I’d be ashamed.”
Her mind reeling, she sat trying to reconcile his words with his obvious disgust but understanding did not come. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
“I listened to him talk about the work he was doing…how you all were researching ways to keep us from being able to accomplish our great jihad.” His face contorted as he continued, “From his emails, I was able to hack into his work, but only to a certain degree. I found someone who would help. Someone on the inside who wanted more…wanted to be more.”
His words tangled inside her mind as she tried to piece together what he was saying. “Inside?” she asked.
Spit flew from his mouth as he growled, “Yes, inside, you stupid woman!” Moving a step closer he grinned, saying, “I just needed to ply him with alcohol and he let me know what Fahdil had not—you were the one whose research was the most dangerous to our cause. You needed to be taken out.”
The two watched each other in silence for a moment, before he chuckled. “You still don’t get it, do you?”
Shaking her head, she replied, “No. No, I don’t. I’m not the only one with research knowledge against bioterrorism. That is what we’re talking about, isn’t it?”
“Give the good doctor a gold star,” he sneered again. “My group wanted to get to you before you had a chance to talk to the Olympic Committee.” Leaning forward, he asked, “If we could take out either you or your father, then we could disrupt the work you are doing.”
“Disrupt?”
Shrugging, he answered, “We kill you, your father wouldn’t be able to go on for a while…if ever. If he was killed, then the same would happen to you. Either way, it furthers our cause.”
“Your cause?”
“I was recruited in Louisiana and sent to Alaska. I was seen as having potential. Smart. Driven. None of the simple activities for me. No, I was destined for greatness.”
“I’m not the only one researching. Why focus on me?”
“The ways to cause bioterrorism are well known,” he said, stepping closer. “But the ways to counteract are more specific. Your research needed to be interrupted…halted. Our insider let us know that the rest of the group did not know all of your findings, as you were still working on them. I even know that what you just presented to Homeland Security is not complete until your theories are more researched.”
“Who’s on the inside?” she asked, this time her words barely a whisper.
“Oh, no,” he chuckled. “This isn’t like some stupid American movie where someone finds out everything right before they’re killed.”
All other thoughts flew out of Kendall’s mind as soon as he spoke the word “killed”. The roar of her blood rushing through her ears almost drowned out the audible pounding of her heart. She remembered the party Fahdil and his wife gave when Tariq first came to live with them. Nostrils flaring, she said, “You were given everything…everything! And you’re throwing it all back in their faces.”
“When a higher call comes, you answer it,” Tariq clipped, his words harsh.
“If you’ve got your hands on my research, then what are you doing here?”
Irritation mixed with anger settled in his eyes. “I had help, but found that I was unable to get completely into your system. So the decision was made to get rid of you. And by getting rid of you, your father would soon follow.”
Jumping to her feet at the mention of her father, she stood, hands clenched in fists as she eyed the man in front of her. “You won’t get away with this. The FBI is already looking for you.”
A slow smile curved his lips. “You still don’t understand. Maybe I will get away…maybe not. But for me, death would only bring me honor.”
“There’s no honor if you’re in prison,” she bit back, unable to keep her anger in check.
“I won’t end up in prison,” he said, his smile reducing to a smirk as his dark eyes continued to bore into her.
*
The Saints rendezvoused at the end of Marc’s long driveway. Jack jumped out, racing over to where Marc and Chad had just screeched to a halt. Grabbing Marc’s arm, he held fast.
“Hold on! We’ve got Luke patched into your place. Tariq is in there. It’s just he and Kendall and it appears they’re in the living room. Tariq’s got no idea that when he disabled the first round of security, it tripped the next level. Luke’s sending the feed straight to Nick.”
Marc felt the punch to his stomach as his heart fell. “Fuck,” he breathed as anger penetrated every fiber of his being. Pulling his weapon out, he only managed to take one step before being faced with a line of Saints blocking him.
“Bro,” Cam said calmly. “We do this smart. You know that. Fucked up missions happen because we get ahead of ourselves.”
Marc’s lips tightly pressed together as he fought to tell his fellow Saints to get out of his way, but he reined himself in. Jude and Bart slipped through the woods around to the left as Monty hustled toward the right. Monty, on the phone with the local FBI agent stepping in for Nick, filled him in on the situation.
Chad, a former bomb disposal expert, grabbed the suit Jack had brought for him. Looking at Marc’s anguished face, he said, “Just being prepared, man. That’s all.”
Sucking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, Marc’s eyes cut over to Patrick as he called out, “Listen!”
Patrick turned up the volume on the receiver from Marc’s security system and the group listened, Marc’s heart pounding in frustration…and fear.