Dangerous Assignment (Aegis Group Book 4) (11 page)

“I shouldn’t tell you this, but…your mother’s dead,” Beardy said in soft, gentle words. As if he cared.

Abigail’s eyes widened, her mouth worked silently.

“No, she isn’t,” Luke said.

“She is.”

“When?” Abigail asked.

“Three weeks ago.” Beardy’s gaze softened.

“How would you know? How do we know you aren’t just telling us that?” Luke yanked against the handcuffs.

Beardy finally glanced at him and flicked his fingers toward Abigail. “We might not have worked out, but I cared deeply for my former mother-in-law.”

Wait.

Mother-in-law?

Beardy…was Abigail’s ex-husband?

10.

Zacharias gnawed on the
plastic fork.

She was in the damn pit.
The Pit
. And there was no way for him to get to her.

Yael was under constant supervision. He couldn’t eliminate her while cameras and microphones tracked her every movement. Even if he could, they had that damn man in there with her because Baron had some stupid notion that she’d say things in order to protect him. If he could get the cameras off, even for a moment, he’d have to put them both down and that would cause a ruckus with those tasked with watching her every move.

Damn it.

The pieces of her life since her defection were falling into place. The Mossad hound dogs were ferreting out everything. It wouldn’t be long until someone asked her the right question and she gave him up. Even if she didn’t realize what she knew, someone watching would. And there was always someone watching Yael. She was the most decorated clandestine combatant since Sylvia. And Yael had been a loose cannon for years.

He had to put a stop to her mouth, the questioning. But there was no way to do that with her still in The Pit. He needed to get her out of there. Spring her himself, or go on a campaign for her freedom.

The monitor image flickered, but neither Yael or the man with her moved.

He’d been watching the feed since they were brought in. He was likely to get a stupid commendation for acting so fast, not that it mattered. Mossad still had her. She was right there—and still out of his grasp.

Maybe he was going about this all wrong.

Who was the man? Luke Briar. What skeletons were in his closet? Could those be used to spring them? Maybe this man was the key. The answer to all the problems.

What had the analysts said about him? It was all a blur. Except for one name.

Nador.

A Lybian mercenary with a beef against Aegis Group. Nador had a nasty reputation and a penchant for shedding blood. A man like that could be awfully useful at a time like this.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend…

And Zacharias always needed new friends to throw under the bus.

Abigail closed her eyes
and let her head hang forward.

It was over.

She was done for.

Baron would have no pity for her, but he was not a cruel man. At least he hadn’t been after they were granted a divorce. Now she wasn’t so sure. Leaving Luke in here with her was another kind of torture altogether.

The harsh, glaring lights felt as though they were all around her. It was intentional. Designed to disorient captives. After all, most people who went into The Pit never came out again. At least not in one piece. Luke might be one of the few, if he’d just cooperate.

Leaving Luke in here was by design. One of the things they did during training was to imprison the recruits, sometimes with spies planted in their midst to get people talking. She’d been on both sides of the scenario, both in practice and reality. All Baron had to do was listen to them talk and he’d learn far more than she wanted him to.

Chains rattled.

“Abigail? You okay?”

No, she was slowly dying inside.

“Was he really your husband?”

There it was.

The burning question she’d felt the moment Baron uttered those words.

“Yes,” she said.

There was no reason to deny it. She wasn’t ashamed of her failed marriage. At least not in the same way Baron had been.

“What? When?” The pitch of his voice went up, the disbelief a clear tone.

“I was…fifteen when we were engaged. It was an arranged marriage.”

“Why?”

“It’s a long story.” An invisible hand squeezed her heart. Someone might as well know all of it. After this, Mossad would bury any mention of her name. At least Luke could know the whole truth. “My parents moved to America. My father was a rabbi. He wanted to see more of the world. He was…he was the last son in an old bloodline. My mother did not take his death well. We were poor before I knew it. My mother moved us back to Israel in the hopes that my uncle, her brother, could help us. He spent the last of our money, and we would have been homeless if it weren’t for Baron’s family. Our fathers were friends, and one night his mother comes to us and says they have a solution.”

“Marry him? Baron? You were a fucking kid.”

“I was. But—”

“Do not make excuses for him.”

“I loved him. In a way. He was the man who swooped in and saved us. Yes, I was young, but it was not uncommon. He was kind, but he did not love me.” For once, she didn’t feel anything at that statement. She was numb.

“He married a kid. He’s a fucking pedophile.”

“I agreed to the marriage. It’s not common for girls to get married that young anymore, but it does happen.”

“You’re defending him.”

“I am not. I’m just…” She sighed. “It was a different time. I was someone else.”

“Let me guess what happened next. He wanted to upgrade, so he divorced you and made you a spy?”

She cringed. It was near to the truth.

“He wanted children. I couldn’t give them to him.”

“I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

“It’s in the past, Luke. Besides, I was a good agent.”

“You were a kid.”

“They needed someone my age. I did important work. I was good at it. My mother was provided for. I wanted for nothing. Baron got to remarry.”

“Did he ever have those kids?”

“I don’t know.”

Lies.

She knew.

But it was not her place to talk about her ex-husband’s life. All she wanted was for him to be happy, even if he’d crushed her young heart.

“What could be so fucking important that Mossad needed a teenage girl to do their dirty work for them?”

“It’s old news.” She tipped her chin up staring at the ceiling.

“Seriously, what was so important?”

“There was a Palestinian professor teaching history at Princeton. He was sympathetic to the Taliban. Mossad suspected he was recruiting young people. He was. They needed proof. In post-9/11 America, he had to be careful. So I went to Princeton. I took every class he taught. Attended every study hall and special lecture. I pretended to even fail some classes so I would have to retake them. I presented myself as a passionate young woman dissatisfied with my life, and after a few years, he invited me to a special group. A while later, I had coffee with him and a visiting friend who spoke to me in code about a higher calling.”

“He recruited you.”

“He did. I trained on the university campus, and when I proved myself trustworthy, I left for training camps. I spent years as that girl, leading a double life, so scared of failing. Scared of succeeding.” She couldn’t even remember what that rush of adrenaline and fear felt like anymore.

“Mossad gave up valuable information on Bin Laden. Was that you?”

“It’s hard to know.” Abigail shrugged. “I was in that world so deep that it became part of me. I learned how to sabotage my friends to ensure their missions failed. I was good at it. And my handlers always made sure to tell me how good I was doing. That I was making a difference. That they were preventing the deaths of not only our people—but others as well.”

“When did they first ask you to kill for them?”

“I was nineteen.” She didn’t have to think about that. The nightmares no longer haunted her, because after a certain point, death was just part of the world.

“Who was it?”

“The man my professor introduced me to, the one we had coffee with. He was dangerous. We’d never gotten close to him. And without him, without what was in his head, hundreds of cells would wither and die, and missions couldn’t go forward.”

“Holly shit. You were a kid, Abigail.”

“They were my choices, Luke. I could have said no.”

“And what were the consequences if you had?”

“I don’t know. I never refused an order.”

“Until the guy blackmailed you.”

“Yes.” She tilted her head toward him. “Luke?”

“What?”

“Tell them what you know.” She turned, finally looking at him. His face was twisted and angry, his eyes ablaze with righteous rage. What was it like to feel so passionately? Baron was watching. He’d see this moment, and as much as she wanted to keep her feelings for Luke a secret—they had to know Luke was the breaking point. The weak link in this puzzle. If Luke would just tell them, negotiate a deal, he could be free. “Find out if my mother really is dead.”

“You don’t believe him.”

“I believe Baron would say and do whatever he thought he had to.”

“We’re getting out of this.”

“You will. Just tell them everything you know. Baron will let you go. When they come next, tell him.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Your ‘No man left behind’ motto does not apply to me. This is my home. These are my consequences. I am not your responsibility.”

“You were betrayed. There’s a difference. You hear that, motherfuckers?” He was yelling now. “They can hear me, can’t they?”

“Probably.” Last she’d seen The Pit, it’d been newly outfitted with microphones. Tiny ones that were near impossible to see.

“You’ve been here before?”

She nodded.

“Tell me about this place.”

“No one gets out.”

“Humor me.”

“The Pit is a cave dug into the side of a mountain. It goes down to four cells where we hold people meant to disappear.” And no one wanted her to come back to life, not since she’d been presumed dead for so long. She was a security risk.

“How many people are here?”

“I don’t know. This is the largest cell. It is where they tried to break me as a recruit. I was held here for five weeks, interrogated, and tortured. It is the place people go to die.”

“So they don’t keep a lot of staff here, I imagine?”

“No. At most, eight people, but I’d guess they’re keeping maybe two on hand. But we can’t get out.”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do.”

“You’re brave, Luke but don’t be stupid. Tell Baron what he wants to know when he comes back and go home. Your mother must be worried about you.”

“And what am I supposed to tell
your
mom when I find her? Sorry, I left your daughter in a pit to die? I don’t think so. We are getting out of here Abigail, and that’s the end of it.”

Luke wasn’t going to listen to her. He was hardwired to believe an escape was possible. He was cut from the stuff heroes were made from, except he had no idea this was a losing battle. She could not be saved. Mossad could not afford to let her walk out of here. And she couldn’t afford to trust them when Baron said to tell them what they wanted to know in exchange for Luke’s life. He had to make that deal himself, and he wouldn’t. Because he had some fucked up idea he could still save her.

She lost track of time, as the conditions in The Pit were intended to do. Between the bursts of loud music and the lights, it was hard to tell. Eventually the door swung open and Baron stepped in, wearing the same suit as before.

“Take his handcuffs off,” Baron said to the guards in Hebrew and then in English. “They’re going to release you, Luke. Would you care for dinner?”

Luke didn’t respond. The guards unlocked his handcuffs and stepped back while Luke stood and stretched.

Abigail kept her gaze on the ground.

Baron would, no doubt, be curious about Luke. She’d kept her romantic relationships quiet, always conscious that her actions reflected on her ex-husband as much as they did her.

“You must be hungry, Luke.” Baron gestured to the door. “I can have us—”

“No, thanks,” Luke said. He closed the few feet to stand at Abigail’s side. “How you doing, sugar? About ready for these to come off?”

“The invitation was only for you.” Baron sounded…amused. Which was never a good thing.

“Why would I want to go anywhere but here?” Luke slid his fingers up her throat and down her jaw, tipping her chin up. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

She shouldn’t allow him to kiss her, but she wanted it. If it was the last bit of good she got to feel, Luke’s lips were it. His tongue teased her mouth. He pulled back, a wide smile on his lips.

“That’s my favorite flavor right there. You can’t offer me anything better.”

The way Luke stared at her…she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. She could only feel a hundred butterflies in her stomach. Damn him for stumbling into her life now. If they’d met earlier… If they’d known each other before…

The muscles around her chest constricted until it was hard to breathe past the feeling, past the yearning for him. It wasn’t until several moments later that she realized Baron and the guards were gone.

Luke fought the urge
to drum his fingers on the table. He knew interrogation tactics. Could recite the playbook. They all knew what was happening here. The only question was, how long until Luke could bust them free?