DarkestSin (24 page)

The boss man hobbled out the front door, and Brody was left
facing Roc, who he couldn’t already stand, and Hunter. “We scour the house,
then the neighborhood, then the town. We start small and expand our search
area,” Brody said before turning to Roc. “Did you get anything out of Adams?”

A sickening smile formed on Roc’s face, and Brody wondered
why women flocked to him. His black hair and green eyes might be considered attractive
on a woman, but Roc just looked mean as hell. “Yeah. Collins hired him. He’s
been here since two weeks
before
Xan moved to town.”

“Fuck,” Brody breathed. That settled it. Collins definitely
had someone on the inside. He pulled out his phone and called Blade. He told
him the news and the theory about Gage. He seemed a little hesitant to believe
it too, but agreed that anything was possible at this point. After Brody warned
him not to let any feds near Scott, he got off the phone and faced Roc and
Hunter. “Let’s get to it.”

The guys spent the next hour tearing apart Xan’s house,
which was where the fucking FBI put her. And with someone on the inside working
for Collins, that asshole probably knew everything that’d happened in this
place.

Including the nights he’d spent here in bed with Xan.
Collins’ ex-wife and the woman Brody now loved. If that man so much as breathed
on her, Brody was going to rip him to shreds.

He just might anyway.

Might? Oh hell no. He was definitely going to tear that man
limb from limb. All the damage he’d caused in Xan’s life, Collins deserved to
die. Painfully.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway pulled Brody
out of his musing. He turned around and saw Hunter easing the blinds from the
window to peek out. “Well, I’ll be a son of a bitch. It’s Gage.”

Hunter stepped away from the window as Gage came barreling
in without knocking.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Brody barked. “You have a
hell of a lot of explaining to do, man.”

Gage looked frazzled, tunnels running through his curly
brown hair making it look as if he’d been running his fingers through it
repeatedly.

“I’ve been looking for Jeff Coleman.” He shut his eyes
briefly before giving Brody a haunted look and turning his eyes to Roc. “Sorry,
man. I thought it was you.”

Brody didn’t see anything wrong with that suspicion because
he’d already considered Roc as the mole. It may have only been a brief thought,
but he’d had it.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Roc drawled, and if Brody wasn’t mistaken,
Roc seemed to be amused by the negative attention now that it seemed as if he was
in the clear. But as for Gage…

“Yeah, well, Colonel seems to think you’re the mole, Gage.
You’ve been able to find out a lot of helpful information, but when it was time
to tussle, you weren’t around.”

Gage shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not the mole, but I haven’t
been honest, either.” He hesitated, and Brody wished Gage would just spit it
out already. “I work for the FBI. I mean directly. I’m an agent.”

Okay, Brody didn’t think he’d say
that
. “But you’ve
been here two years.”

“We’ve known Collins has had people on the inside, so I was
placed here when communication was intercepted between Collins’ people and a
payphone at the gas station in town about coordinating Xan’s next move here.
Someone in the know understood how the feds operate and knew she would’ve been
moved around the time he was up for parole.”

“It could’ve been any current agent who knew the game plan,”
Hunter said.

“Or any
former
agent,” he said to Blade and then
turned to Brody. “Jeff Coleman.”

“Former? We hadn’t been able to find out if he was still
with the FBI or not.”

“We know now. Jeff “Cole” Coleman is Cal Sheppard.”

The blood roared in Brody’s ears. No way. No fucking way did
he hear Gage right.

“That’s right,” Gage said, answering Brody’s unspoken
denial. “Our very own Colonel is the mole.”

Everything hurt.

As she came out of some kind of foggy state, Xan wasn’t sure
where she was at or what had happened to her, but her body was screaming. And
her throat hurt.

Maybe she
had
been screaming.

“
Mi sei mancata!
Oh, how I missed you.”

Her body might’ve been aching, but at the sound of that evil
voice she hadn’t heard in over twelve years, it went completely numb. “Marco,”
she breathed. She didn’t have to ask. She knew exactly who was standing near
her, even though she couldn’t see.

Or move her hands and legs.

She was blindfolded and tied up. Her body started trembling.
This was so not good. He’d wanted to kill her all those years ago, and it
seemed now he’d get his wish. She couldn’t let herself think that. Not yet.
There had to be a way out of this.

“Yes,
tesoro
.
Mi hai mancato?
Because I missed
you,” he sing-songed, taunting her.

Hell no, she didn’t miss him, and if she got free, she wouldn’t
miss him then, either—because she’d plant her foot right in his crotch. Yeah,
she was big and brave all tied up and helpless, but if she let herself believe
for one minute this situation was hopeless, she’d lose it. And she had to keep
her wits about her.

“No answer, Dria? Are you ignoring me?” he growled.

Okay, best not to piss off the psycho ex who was hell-bent
on doing a little killing and a little torturing—in no particular order. “Er,
how did you find me?” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat as she tried
to shift up so she wasn’t lying on the floor. God, she hoped it was the floor
of some house because it felt—and smelled—as if she were in a barn. This town
had grown on her, but she didn’t want to be cozying up to livestock.

“You were never lost,
tesoro
. I’ve had eyes on you
since the day you crossed me. One doesn’t get to this station in life without a
few men in his pocket. And I have several. Your precious Agent Cole has been an
employee of my father’s since before I started taking on some of the
responsibilities, which as you know, I was fairly young when I started doing my
part.”

“What? Daddy couldn’t handle all the killing on his own, so
he had to delegate? How tragic.”

“You’ve grown quite brazen, my dear. You used to not be such
as bitch.” She heard him shuffle and then felt his breath on her face. A tremor
shot through her, but she tried to mask it by shifting again. She didn’t want
to show any fear. “I don’t mind bringing you to heel before killing you.”

Lightning pain sliced through her cheek when his fist
connected with her face. Her head crashed into the stone floor and she saw
stars behind the blindfold.
Don’t pass out.
If she did, it’d be over.
For good.

He stepped away, and she silently thanked God for the
reprieve. She tried to think back, tried to remember the last thing that’d
happened to her before she woke up in this hellhole. She’d been at home with
Colonel, wondering what the hell was taking Jack so long to get there so she
could be with Scott at the hospital.

Scott. She stifled a sob. If she didn’t get out of this—and
it wasn’t looking good—he’d be on his own, running from his father.

She couldn’t dwell on that now. It’d only make her
emotional, weak. She needed to stay focused. Subtly twisting her hands behind
her back—or at least she hoped she was doing it subtly, she had no idea if
people were standing around her—she tested the binding. It barely moved. She
wiggled her ankles and felt how constrictive those ties were too. Shit. Okay,
she had to keep moving to loosen them. As she worked her hands and feet, she
thought back to the house. She’d gone to the restroom, and when she came out,
someone had attacked her from behind.

And that was all she remembered.

“I’ll kill her if you can’t, Collins,” a gravelly voice said
and a shiver rocked her. She didn’t even try to hide it. It was Colonel’s
voice. “I’ve killed other members of your family before.”

She gasped.

“Oh, that’s right,” Colonel said. “That little bit of info I
fed Brutus was a lie. He didn’t kill your daughter. I did.”

Relief, because it hadn’t been Brody, swamped her, but it
fought with the agony that consumed her. Marco had still ordered Tess’ death.
And those emotions quickly turned to shame since she’d believed the lie and not
trusted in Brody.

“Brutus,” Marco growled. “He doesn’t deserve to keep
breathing.”

“Not much longer, sir. Your plan has played out perfectly.”

“Ah yes, well, of course it has,” Marco scoffed, and Xan
heard him walking closer to her, so she braced herself for another strike. “You
see,” he murmured as he knelt beside her, stroking her hair, “I’d gotten into a
little trouble with some street thugs your lover, Brody Jackson, was running
with, and he helped me out. I took him in, gave him a job. He’d lived his life
on the streets, and I gave him paradise. And what did he do?”

Marco paused, and Xan realized his question wasn’t
rhetorical. “Grew a conscience?” she offered.

He laughed as if that were the most absurd thing he’d ever
heard. “Funny but no. He fell in love with my wife.”

What? That was impossible. Marco was trying to rile her up.
She’d never met Brody before moving to Mayflower. “No way.”

“You think it’s impossible for a man to fall in love with a
woman from afar as he discreetly watches over her? Or that I’m ignorant enough
to let you around my employees? Oh no, I knew your loyalty was lost long ago.
The only people you had contact with were family members and security. Brutus
might’ve been my friend for many years, but he was also an employee. Therefore,
off-limits to you. But he was around. Every day.”

Her head was swimming. Brody had been that close to her all
those years ago. And he was in love with her then? She still couldn’t wrap her
head around that.

“After I had Coleman here take care of that abomination you
gave birth to, Brutus changed. Oh, it wasn’t right away, but I noticed him
becoming distant. And when he planted that flash drive in my office and had the
nanny send you in to retrieve some bauble, I knew his loyalty had strayed.”
Marco leaned down, brushing his lips along her ear and she gagged. “He was too
stupid to notice the cameras in my office.” Mercifully, he leaned away from
her. “I sat back and watched everything unfold. So you see,
tesoro
, day
one. And I would have killed you before you fled if Brutus hadn’t shot at me
before I’d entered my study that night.”

She remembered hearing those gunshots, signaling Marco’s
arrival, and then all hell had broken loose. Wow, it had been Brody.

“Brutus is a traitor, which is why I’ve named him that. He
betrayed his one true friend in this world, and I do not tolerate betrayal. So
that night, Coleman took Brody, beat him to within an inch of his life and
dumped his body.”

Xan heard footsteps and then Colonel’s voice. “Two days
later, I went back and the son of a bitch wasn’t dead. I reported this to
Marco, and he took it as a sign that Brutus was meant for greater things. I
admitted him into the hospital, stayed with the FBI a few more years, handing
off your case to other agents, making sure it was handled the way I needed it
to be. Since you knew me as Cole and had only spoken to me on the phone, I had
papers drawn up before I left, changing my identity and hiding that fact. Then
I had surgery to permanently damage my voice.”

Ah, that was why she hadn’t been able to identify him before
now as her former agent. “While Brutus went through all his surgeries and
physical therapy, I retired and bought the garage. The old fucker didn’t
want
to sell, but I could be persuasive.”

Oh, she could image just how persuasive Colonel could be.

“Brutus’ amnesia was another gift. Because he didn’t know
who he was, I let Coleman feed him some bits of truths with the lies. That way,
if he ever did anything to investigate his past on his own, he wouldn’t have
any reason to question what he’d been told.”

This was a lot to take in and she was glad that they were
doing a lot more talking and a lot least beating, but neither one had yet to
say why Brutus was used like this, what the real plan was. “Why?”

Marco laughed bitterly. “You,
tesoro
. Coleman stayed
with the FBI long enough for me to get more plants in there, so I’ve
orchestrated your every move. And before you ask, no, Jack Parsons isn’t one of
my men. I couldn’t risk having someone that close to you. If he didn’t roll,
then I was fucked. I couldn’t take that kind of chance.

“As for Brutus, the betrayal of a friend is the darkest sin
one can commit, and he had to pay for his sin against me. You’d think murder
would be worse, but it’s not. In this business, loyalty means everything, so I
punished him by giving him what he wanted. You. Coleman let the guys at the
garage believe watching you was an official FBI assignment, when in fact, I’d
ordered the official watch. I wanted to give him what he coveted, so I could
hurt him. As soon as the sap fell for you all over again, I struck. Outing him
as Tess’ killer was one way I caused him pain. Letting him live life without
you after I kill you, is the other. I get my revenge against you, against him,
and I get my son back. Perfect,” he purred.

Marco was beyond insane. Xan worked her hands and feet
frantically. It didn’t matter if they knew she was trying to get away because
she was as good as dead anyway.

“Enough talking.”

The blow was so fast Xan didn’t have time to prepare. The
second one introduced her to darkness.

* * * * *

Brody paced frantically as Gage and Jack Parsons
orchestrated the search and rescue of Xan with the twenty or so FBI agents
crowded at the shop. They’d gotten a lead there was movement in an abandoned
farm down highway 365. It was a vague lead, but he’d take what he could get.

“You wanna cigarette?” Blade asked. Brody was glad his
closest buddy was here. He hated leaving Scott alone with Roc, but he felt
better giving him a babysitting duty than having him cover his back. If things
went to shit, Brody knew Blade and Bear would be there for him. There’d been
too much animosity between Brody and Roc for him to let that asshole loose with
a gun. He wouldn’t put it past the prick to nail him with a round just for
shits and giggles.

“I thought you quit those fuckin’ things.”

“Naw. I try, but I don’t last very long. Any word on
Colonel?”

He shook his head and started pacing again. Hell no, there
hadn’t been word. What Gage had told him he’d found out had left Brody stunned.
And he wasn’t the only one. Bear looked devastated. He’d been closer to Colonel
than anybody else.

And the guys were all shocked to learn about Gage too. But
in a good way. It seemed learning he was an undercover FBI agent propelled his
status within the group from newbie to official member—but he wasn’t even
really a mechanic, and he’d be leaving once this was over. Funny how things
worked out like that. As Brody kept pacing, he saw Gage stepping away from the
horde of agents, so he walked over.

“What’s up? I’ve gotta do something, man.” Brody was itching
to get out of this damn place. He’d tear apart the whole state of Arkansas to
find Xan if he had to.

“Adams confirmed the barn was a meeting place for him and
Colonel. The feds cut him a deal, so he’s spilling his guts. Satellite imagery
shows she was carried in and heat sensors suggest three people in the barn.
We’re going in.”

“Let’s go.” Brody started to step away and Gage grabbed his
arm.

“I can’t let you come. This is an official raid.”

Brody got right in his face. “Don’t fuck with me, Gage. I’m.
Coming.”

Gage sighed. “Look, Brutus, I like you. If you tag along,
you could do something reckless, end up behind bars.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he growled. “Either I’m coming with
you, or I’m going without you.”

Gage glared at him for several seconds, narrowed his eyes
and then nodded. “Behave.”

Yeah, he’d behave. Right after he sliced Colonel’s throat
for letting that crazy-ass ex-husband of hers get a hold of her, but not before
he put a bullet through that crazy-ass man’s chest for daring to harm what was
Brody’s.

Not waiting for any signal, Brody dashed for his truck with
Blade and Bear on his heels.

“Damn you, Brutus!” Gage called out as the other agents
hustled into their vehicles.

“Don’t worry, man. We’ll get her,” Bear said as he grabbed
the oh-shit handle, white-knuckling it as Brody peeled out of the parking lot
and onto the two-lane country highway. He sped, hitting ninety miles per hour
within seconds. He passed a mailman and a tractor several minutes later, not
slowing down.

Within fifteen minutes they’d arrived at the old farm. Brody
slammed the truck into park, jumped out and ran toward the barn as the sounds
of the agents’ vehicles neared.

“Brody,” Bear hissed, but ducked and ran behind him. Brody
knew Blade would follow too. Brody ran around back, hearing what sounded like
someone beating on flesh, and his blood froze. Gun drawn, he crept to the door,
peering through the cracks.

Jesus Christ! Collins was beating the shit out of Xan. He
couldn’t wait for the cavalry. All he had were his two buddies. They’d do. “I’m
going in first. There’s a stall door on the east side. Blade you take that
entrance. Bear, you go back around front. You’ve got fifteen seconds to get
there. I ain’t waiting any longer,” Brody barely whispered.

The guys nodded and left quickly, quietly.

And as Brody watched Marco strike Xan again and again, that
was the longest damn fifteen seconds of his life.

After he counted down those heart-wrenching seconds, he
trained his gun on Marco but couldn’t get a shot at his chest like he’d
envisioned earlier. No problem. His head would work just as well, so he took
aim as he burst through the back door. Two shots and Marco keeled over.