Sinful Resurrection (CSA Case Files 2) (12 page)

“I’ll have to agree with her,” Jenkins said, her hand at her throat as she looked at someone behind him.  “Whatever this is will make wonderful news.  Steve is right and this happens all the time.”

“Ethan is outside with the car,” Kevin said, letting Jax know it was his presence that had Jenkins all atwitter. “The natives are getting restless and none of us are comfortable with this.”

“Signs of a sniper,” Lach said, his voice coming through the earpiece loud and clear.  “Get out.”

Jax and Kevin had their weapons drawn instantly and unless Crest had some pull with the entire staff of the news station, this incident was bound to make international news.  It just wasn’t exactly what they’d intended.  Jenkins had pushed her chair back as if she thought she might be their target.  Emily stood, ripping the mic from her sweatshirt and pulling out her own weapon. 

“Kevin, give me the evidence,” Emily ordered, holding out her other hand.

Ka-boom!

The entire building shook as if in slow motion.  Screams, crashes, and exploding glass from office windows and equipment resounded through the air.  Jax forced Emily low to the ground, covering her with his body as one side of the building seemed to collapse.  The noise was deafening and Jax couldn’t hear the voices in his earpiece.  Apparently, neither could Emily or Kevin. 

“Stay low and I’ll lead,” Kevin yelled from his left.  Jax tightened his grip on Emily’s sweatshirt and pulled her with them.  Dust and smoke filled the air as they tried to make their way toward the exit where Connor had last been seen.  “Shit.  It’s blocked.  Go back.”

Jax immediately turned and headed north, knowing there was an exit on that side.  It would make them a target, because it was obvious whoever set the bomb wanted them trapped to the extent that they needed the northern exit.  Ryland was earning his paycheck, the
cocksucker.

“Emily, stay between me and Kevin.”  Jax veered around some smashed equipment and stepped around the glass.  His boots wouldn’t be penetrated, but Emily’s tennis shoes would.  The fire was spreading behind them and they had no choice but to continue what was most likely an ambush.  “Be ready for an attack on
our remaining exit.  He’s funneling us into his kill zone.”

“I got a lock.  Sniper
north side.”  Lach’s voice finally broke through the carnage on the earpiece.  “I’m taking a shot.”

An exchange of gunfire could be heard and Jax knew they had to exit now while Ryland’s attention was diverted.  He picked up the pace, making sure he kept his hand in hers.  People had come out of nowhere and were running in front of him, helping his case.  It would make it harder for Ryland to distinguish between who was who.  He tried to blend them in with the crowd.

“I lost visual,” Lach yelled.  “The smoke is too thick.  Crest, he was headed for the second floor.”

The mic was silent, so Jax wasn’t sure that meant Crest had lost his earpiece in the chaos or he’d been taken out.  Not having time to dwell on it, he looked ahead and saw light streaming in from a door that someone was keeping open as they helped people escape.  He hoped that Connor had gotten out of that fucking hallway before that half of the building
fell.  There was no way in hell Jax would go back to Lauren and tell her that Connor had bit the dust over his past indiscretions and bad choices.  No way in hell.

Thwack!

“Fuck!” Jax yelled as he yanked Emily to the side away from where the bullets were slamming into the cement.  Taking the chance that no innocent bystander was still on the second floor, he raised his gun and returned fire.  Kevin did the same.  Not giving Emily the chance to raise her weapon, Jax pushed her forward.  “Move, move, move!”

Chapter Fourteen

Emily w
atched the dark scenery whiz by as their SUV finally left the city behind.  It was hard to see what was beyond the guardrail of the highway.  She really wasn’t interested in the landscape anyway, but it was better than addressing her mistake that could have cost people their lives.  She wasn’t sure it hadn’t.

“Do you know if everyone made it out?” Emily asked, rolling her head on the back of the seat so that she could see Jax.  He’d taken his jacket off and thrown it in the back,
while his holster and weapon remained in place.  Her piece was now stored in the glove compartment.  Although his jaw was set, he’d remained conspicuously silent since they’d started driving. “Were there any casualties?”

Emily’s ears were still adjusting from the resonating sound of the explosion.  The silence of the vehicle was almost painful, but hearing him confirm her suspicions would hurt worse.  Her head was pounding as a result and she reached up and let her hair down, hoping it would ease the tension.  What she really needed was
Tylenol, but she wasn’t about to ask him to stop.  She’d already requested too much.

“Two people perished who were near the end of the building where the bomb was located,” Jax said in a low voice, as if to lessen the hurt.  She didn’t know why he was being kind about it.  No matter how it was said, it was still her fault.  She hadn’t taken his warnings seriously and thought they’d still been able to carry on. 
She wasted precious seconds arguing with him that cost people their lives.  “We’ve warned Jenkins to not to release any information she may have gotten from us, but we can’t gag her either.”

“She’ll be dead before morning,” Emily murmured, knowing that Alekseev wouldn’t have a loose string to contend with.  Besides her, there actually was one more strand who’d been noticeably absent.  “Has anyone heard from Schultz?”

“Crest has.”  Jax flipped the handle for the wipers, allowing them to clear the raindrops from the windshield.  She wished it were that easy to wipe away the stains on her soul after today.  “He obviously wasn’t happy with your decision to go on international television.  He wants us to trust him that he’s handling his part.”

“He wants us to go underground and wait until Ryland corners us like rats,” Emily said with a wry laugh.  She wasn’t going to allow the innocent people who’d given their lives to die in vain.  She had no choice but to atone for her own sins at this point.  “Doesn’t Schultz realize that Alekseev isn’t going to allow him to turn evidence over to anyone else?  With the Attorney General out of the picture, we now know how easily they can get to prominent figures.  I still say going
international is our best bet.”

“After what happened today, I agree with Schultz that we need to hit the pause button and take a deep breath.  You had a knee jerk reaction to the Attorney General’s death and I allowed that to happen.  I’m not saying it was wrong, but we rushed it,” Jax said, surprising her when he reached across the center console and laid his hand over hers.  The warm contact stole her breath for many reasons.  “Crest has a friend whose house we’re going to borrow for a while.  The team is doing everything they can to throw them off of our trail.  They’ll meet up with us in a few days and we’ll figure out a safer way to get your story out there.”

“What’s made you change your mind in working with them?” Emily asked, almost afraid to shift her hand for fear that he’d cease all contact.  It felt more than nice to have his touch and she hadn’t realized how much she’d needed it.  “You said trust was an illusion and now here you are, letting them take the reins.”

“I’ll be honest, Emily,” Jax said, sparing her a glance before then returning his concentration to the road in front of them.  “When I saw you in that office, basically throwing away any chance of survival I had given you, I didn’t know what to think.  I reacted,
just like you did.  I’ll admit I’m instinctive at times.  I can also acknowledge when I’m wrong and in this case my team put their lives on the line for you.  I can’t ask for more than that, can I?”

Emily knew he wasn’t expecting an answer, so she didn’t give one.  Instead, she leaned back her head and closed her eyes.  It was impossible to shut out the images from today.  They’d made it o
utside, breathing much needed oxygen into their lungs.  Ethan had been standing by the SUV.  Connor rushed by, entering the burning building while Jax had ushered her inside the vehicle.  Kevin and Ethan made sure they escaped, before joining the fray.  It wasn’t until they’d used a secure phone to contact Jax some fifteen minutes later that he received an update.  Ryland had somehow escaped, but not before a slight confrontation with Crest.  They still didn’t know the details, but it really didn’t matter.  He was still out there, coming for her.

Jax’s hand still covered hers.  Taking whatever he’d give her at the moment, Emily turned her wrist until their fingers entwined.  He gently gave them a squeeze and as if his action were the cause, a tear escaped her eye as she turned her head back to the passenger window.  More deaths were now a result of this mess she’d been caught up in.  The hope she’d clung to for the last two years had dwindled and she was left with a fear that this wouldn’t end the way she’d envisioned it.   

* * * *

  Ryland stepped into the shower, letting the hot water run over his body and wipe away the soot and defeat of the day.  That’s how he viewed it too…a defeat.  An unacceptable defeat.  He rubbed his face, trying to get rid of the glue around his hairline.  The wig and make-up he’d used for today’s purpose was of quality substance, but it was hell to get off.  He then pressed his palms against the cool tile of the penthouse suite’s luxurious bathroom and hung his head, although he could have cared less right now about money.  His pride had been given a beating and he didn’t take that lightly.

Images of the day sped through his mind.  Once Ryland had realized that Grace Emily had help in the form of what appeared to be a tactical team, he’d had no choice but to improvise.  He’d made his way quickly to the other side, descending until he’d reached the bottom floor and located an electrical utility room far enough away so that he could create a diversion.  He would have blown the damn building with her in it had he’d thought he could make it out before the explosives he’d planted would detonate.  This team had the exits covered.

The blast had caused enough disorder and mayhem that he’d been able to return to the rafters relatively easy.  Upon exchanging fire with one of the men, Ryland used the smoke and debris to cover his path in order to finish his mission.  Unfortunately, the same pandemonium had been the cause of making it so difficult to eliminate his target.  Before he’d been able to get a better angle to take the kill shot, he’d encountered someone from his past.

Gavin Crest.  A man whose path Ryland had run across only once in the hell that was Iraq.  It had been many years ago and he rarely thought of that operation, although it had been successful.  It wasn’t as if it had been a tough assignment.  He finally managed to dredge up enough energy to reach for the soap as his thoughts drifted back to the past.

Ryland had been given the name of a high-ranking official to eliminate and he’d done his job efficiently.  He’d been leaving the tent that had been his target’s makeshift office when he’d been confronted by Crest, who’d stopped him to ask what Ryland was doing in a restricted area.  In preparation of the assignment, he knew every ranking official that had been stationed there from the photographs he’d been provided.  The resistance from Crest that Ryland had been facing could have been the catalyst for dire measures had the incoming alarm not gone off to indicate their camp was under
rocket attack.  Crest had immediately sprung into action, letting go of the fact that Ryland hadn’t had the right credentials to be in the controlled space. 

He gave little thought to what Crest had done after the raid.  Ryland was too preoccupied with exiting as smoothly as he’d entered, which wasn’t hard considering the commotion that had been taking place.  What did stand out was one adversary recognizing another.  And now here they were, on opposite sides once again.

Ryland rinsed off his skin, feeling clean although he hadn’t been able to wipe away the day’s disappointment.  Stepping out of the shower and onto the cream plush mat, he dried himself off and then tossed the towel in the corner for the maid to pick up in the morning.  Walking naked across the bathroom and then the bedroom floor, he made his way into the living room.  Pouring himself a healthy douse of his favorite brown liquor, he then situated himself at the desk with his laptop. 

Ryland knew he’d lost his target, which made this chase only that much more interesting.  For the first time in a long time, he felt a sliver of adrenaline rush through his system this evening.  He’d almost forgotten what it felt like.  What he did know was that there was now a trail that
would lead him straight to Grace Emily — Gavin Crest.

* * * *

“Who is he?”

Jax held the phone to his ear after having entered the code to which made this call encrypted.  He looked over at Emily who’d fallen asleep an hour back.  She needed it, although he wasn’t so sure it was voluntary.  Her body seemed to just shut down. 

“He has no known last name,” Crest said, his voice coming over the speaker loud and clear.  “I ran into him once before…years ago.  Taryn has found traces of him over the last decade, although he’s very good at masking his whereabouts.  He appeared in the late nineties as a contractor for hire on the jobs that no one was willing to take and has worked his way up the ladder as an independent contractor.  He’s never failed to get his target and anyone could have hired him that has enough assets to put into play.”

“If that’s the case, then I’ll have to agree with Emily on
the timetable rather than Schultz,” Jax said, keeping his tone low.  “We don’t have time to wait for him to do this with his T’s crossed and his I’s dotted.  I understand how it would be better than causing an international feud between countries, but not if it means Emily’s life.  Just in case anyone has lost sight of the fact that we really aren’t sure who hired this hitter, whether it be Alekseev or the NSA, his intel could be better than we think.”

“So does that mean you’re over your tantrum?” Crest asked,
an edge of slightly dry humor coming through the speaker.

Jax smirked, not willing to verbally admit that he’d acted out of anger.  One thing that being a part of this team had taught him was that past transgression
s would be forgiven.  He wouldn’t be handing in his resignation, but he wasn’t about to let Crest’s bad decision of not disclosing Emily’s case to him the moment he had it in hand pass without some recognition at some point in the future.

“Be careful with the fucking
boy
treatment, Crest,” Jax replied.  “You should have told me.  Things could have been handled much differently.”

“I did what I thought best and won’t apologize for that.  Remember, you should have told me first that you were the one to help stage her death,” Crest said, returning as good as he got.  It did surprise Jax that he knew, but on the other hand, Crest could probably figure out the mystery of the Bermuda triangle during a lunch break.  “Then maybe it
would
have been handled differently.”

Jax would have told him eventually.  He was curious to know how Crest had found out, but not enough to ask outright.  He was positive that it wasn’t Connor.  His partner would never give him up like that, but Taryn on the other hand let her emotions rule her job.  If she thought it was for their own good, she’d convey whatever Crest needed to know.

“How safe is this house you’re sending us to?” Jax asked, changing the subject.  “The address sounds like it’s in bum fuck nowhere.”

“It is.  No worries,” Crest said in reassurance.  “Taryn worked her magic. 
She’s also following your route, making sure the surveillance cameras don’t trace your path.  It buys us time to make a plan.  Talk it over with Emily, but I think we should give Schultz a couple of days to pull through whatever he’s got planned.  If nothing happens, I’ll arrange for equipment to be brought in so that we can remotely satellite a broadcast signal of Emily’s statement.”

“Which we should have done to begin with.” 

Jax checked his rearview mirror, not liking that Connor wasn’t back there to cover their ass if needed.  He didn’t like the sense of vulnerability. 

“All that matters right now is that we contained the situation.  Now that we know who we’re dealing with, we’ll be better prepared.”  Voices were starting to break through the call and Jax recognized Connor’s.  “If you need anything, let us know.

“Are you heading back to Minneapolis or are you staying in New York?”

“At the airport now.  I’m sending Kevin and Ethan your way, so they’ll be close by should you need them.  Connor is flying back with me and Lach is headed to DC to keep tabs on Schultz.”

“That’ll be a piece of cake,” Jax said sarcastically.  He looked at the sign for the next exit and then glanced down at the fuel gauge.  He could make it another hour before stopping. “The Secret Service will be everywhere.  What the fuck does he think he’s going to do?”

“Who the hell knows,” Crest said with a short laugh.  “He’s proving to have more contacts than me and that’s saying something.  Like I said, sit tight until I contact you and don’t
either of you do anything foolish.”