Sinful Resurrection (CSA Case Files 2) (9 page)

Chapter Eleven

Jax looked into the rearview mirror, assuring himself that they had no tail.  Honestly, if they were going to be ambushed on the way to New York, it wouldn’t come from a vehicle following them.  The contractor would think ahead and be stationed, ready to launch some type of attack on their convoy. 

“Will we be stopping off for the night?”

Jax glanced at Emily, still sipping on the coffee that she’d gotten at the store.  They’d ridden in silence for a good thirty minutes, but now that
she’d struck up a conversation he’d take advantage of that.

“No, we’ll drive straight through.”  Jax shifted a bit, trying to prevent the holster from digging into his
side.  He’d tossed his jacket onto the back seat and adjusted the heat accordingly.  He knew that Emily liked the interior on the warm side, so there was no way in hell he’d last long with Ethan’s leather jacket.  He made a mental note to swap back at the first opportunity.  “It’s an eighteen hour drive, so I figure we’ll pull in the hotel around eleven tonight, although it will probably be more like midnight.”

Emily fell silent and looked out the passenger side window.  Her index finger was lightly tapping the side of her Styrofoam cup, indicating that she wasn’t as relaxed as she wanted him to think.  He was about to make things more uncomfortable
.  He had an idea of what she was withholding, and at this juncture he had to force her hand.

“We have a long drive ahead of us,” Jax said, turning the radio down slightly.  “How about we play a game?”

He could feel her eyes bore into him and it took everything to keep from smiling.  To hell with it.  Jax turned and displayed a smirk.  Emily’s brows furrowed, showing her bewilderment.  It felt good to finally have the upper hand.  He felt more like his old self.

“What kind of game?” Emily asked warily.

“The one where we get to ask each other questions and the other has to answer honestly.”  Jax switched on his blinker and carefully drove around a semi.  “That is, if you remember how to.”

“You can cut out the sarcasm, Jax,” Emily snapped and shifted in her seat to face him.  “I’ve already told you that I stashed the evidence.  The best thing we can do is take this on the offensive instead of waiting for Schultz to convince the government to act —
it’s not their asses on the line.”

“It’s simple.  Either you’re out or in.”

“Fine,” Emily replied, placing her coffee in the cup holder.  She pulled the band out of her hair and then pulled the strands back again, as if readying herself to do battle.  “I go first.”

“No.  I suggested the game, so I’m up in rotation.”

“Fine.  Shoot.”

“You have an aunt, although you didn’t mention her before.”  Jax could tell by her expression that he’d surprised her by bringing up something other than the case.  “Is she your only family?”

“You know that my mom was a single parent up until the day she died,” Emily replied, shrugging her shoulders as if to say it wasn’t important.  Jax knew differently.  “During college, I stayed with my aunt.  She’s like my second mother.  I think that was the hardest thing for me when I went into hiding, but revealing that to you would have only held you back from giving me the opportunity I needed.”

“You’re smart enough to realize that every time you made contact with her, you put her life in danger.”  Jax couldn’t help but chastise her for those actions.  He’d made it clear back then that she was to cut all ties with her past.  Seeing all the things she
had
done made him realize she ignored each and every directive.  “It doesn’t matter how careful you were or how ingenious your methods were, you still could have gotten her killed.”

“You weren’t the one waiting every second of the day to be found out,” Emily responded with her voice full of irritation.  “Now it’s my turn.  Did you really expect me to be on the run until the day I died?  Let’s face it, Jax.  While I was doing my damnedest to fix everything that had gone wrong, you were living your life as if I hadn’t existed.  I’m done with this game.  Don’t bother replying, because the answer is evident.”

Emily quickly faced forward, her anger apparent, and put her head back against the seat.  She crossed her arms and closed her eyes.  Jax hadn’t planned on the made-up pastime going in this direction.  His goal had been to get her to reveal more than she’d been.  He did feel a twinge of guilt for doing exactly what she’d accused him of.  Although there wasn’t a day that passed that she hadn’t been on his mind, he had moved forward in his own way.  Having her back only made him realize how much they had both sacrificed, which is why he was about to throw down the gauntlet.

“We’ll come back to that another time,” Jax said, turning his focus back on the road.  He knew that his words had her attention.  It was time to play hardball and he hoped like hell she didn’t call his bluff. 
He was the one responsible for keeping her alive and he would go to any lengths necessary to make that happen — even blackmail.  “You have until we reach New York to come clean with me.  If not, I’m calling Jessalyn myself and telling him that you’re his responsibility or you’re on your own.  Either way, I’m out.”

* * * *

Emily opened her eyes to reveal the glaring lights of New York City.  She used her fingers to massage her eyes, trying to adjust to the harsh illumination.  Stifling a yawn, she sat up a little straighter.  They’d come to a red light and she glanced around, noticing the sleepless patrons as they roamed the streets.  She pretended they held her interest for she refused to glance over at Jax, not wanting to be forced to give in to his ultimatum.  At least not yet. 

Weighing the pros and cons, Emily’s big fear was that Jax would walk away anyway. 
His expertise and that of CSA in dealing with governments was her best chance of coming out of this alive.  Either way, his mind was probably already made up.  She just needed to come to terms with it.  It wasn’t like Schultz was around to tell her this was a mistake. 

She pushed aside the thought for now, wondering where
Jax and the team had chosen to stay for the evening.  Emily wasn’t about to suggest the apartment that she still had, for by now the contractor might have already located it.  She’d never stayed long in one place and that one had outdone itself a while back. 

They’d stopped a couple more times, although not for any length of time.  Connor and Kevin were a constant, although she never saw the other members of the team that Jax had said were in on the transport.  Would they all stay at the same place or would they separate, giving them better leverage against who
ever might be hired to kill her?

“You understand that by doing this, you’ve just exposed yourself?”

Jax’s voice jolted her out of her thoughts.  She understood better than he knew, but refrained from saying that.  Instead, Emily nodded.  The minute they left the safe house, she was well aware that she’d made herself visible.  But it had to be done and with his protection, and that of CSA, she was positive this choice held the best chance to get her life back.  It was what she was about to reveal that had her questioning the outcome.

“The evidence I have
are recordings of Alekseev discussing the murder of Bianchi,” Emily said, as if they were engaging in a normal conversation.  She kept her face toward the passenger side window, looking out at the random people who were living their life with no thought to international corruption or hits for hire.  “Within these series of recordings, Batkin and Alekseev prepared for the murder, executed the murder, and thought they got away with it.”

“Recordings?”

Emily could hear the caution within his voice.  She was well aware that he probably had just put all the pieces together, but it was best if she spell it out for him.  She didn’t want him to claim she withheld something after this. 

“
I’m an agent for the NSA.”  Emily paused long enough for her admission to really sink home.  In her opinion, the NSA was the most dangerous and lethal agency on U.S. soil.  “Or I should say
was
.  My mission, going undercover as an administrative assistant, was to place listening devices throughout the United Nations’ building to garner intelligence on certain foreign missions.  I did as I was told and when things turned sour…”

“
Fuck me.  The National Security Agency used you as a NOC,” Jax said in a deadpan kind of way, finishing her sentence.  His verbiage stood for
non-official cover
, which meant she was disposable.  She could be disavowed if her cover was blown, which she was.  The NSA would claim no knowledge of her position within the agency, which they had.  He didn’t seem shocked, although he did seem to have trouble believing it.  She didn’t blame him, but there were clear rules about classified information.  Would he respect that?  “You’re about to go on national television to expose a government agency for engaging in illegal activity.”

Emily could hear the disbelief in his voice, but needed to make him understand.  This went far beyond the NSA listening to private conversations.  This had to do with international policies and relationships. 
The crimes committed on U.S. soil had to be brought to light.  It was the only way that she could ensure that she got her life back.  Whatever semblance of a life that was left after this.

“No,” Emily argued, finally turning to look at him.  Even in the dim lighting of the vehicle, she could see the brown in his eyes flashing.  “I’m exposing an assassination of an international presence on U.S. soil.”

“We’ll all be dead before we step foot inside any media outlet.  Fuck me,” Jax said, repeating his words.

“Crest and your team handle government contracts, Jax.  I’m sure they can handle this.
  Why do you think I made Schultz call in that favor to Crest?”  Emily knew they had hurdles, but nothing they couldn’t overcome.  “This is something I have to do in order to get my life back.”

“Is that what Jessalyn promised you?” Jax asked, easing off the brake pedal and following at a decent distance from the vehicle in front of them.  Despite his outward appearance of relaxation, she saw his fingers tighten on the steering wheel.  “He’s lying through his teeth.  As an agent, you should know that.
  The NSA fucked you over the minute you accepted that assignment.”

“You don’t seem surprised at my occupation,” Emily responded warily.  Had he known all along?  “And Schultz has no clue
that I’m about to expose Alekseev on national television.  But I’m sure my chosen profession has answered your questions.”

“
Let’s just say I had a gut feeling that you were in way deeper than you originally claimed.  But actually hearing those words come out of your mouth…Jesus Christ!  As for your profession answering my questions, you mean the fact that you knew who to call when the shit hit the fan back then?  With you being an agent for the No Such Agency, why would you have Jessalyn on speed dial?  What’s the connection?”

“I met him a few times over the years before my last assignment.”  Emily shrugged, but then realized he was watch
ing the road.  “I took a chance calling him, but then changed my mind.  I trusted you more.”

“Should I be thankful?” Jax asked, finally glancing her way.  The icy stare had returned and instantly dashed her hopes of his understanding her predicament back then.  “
Do you even understand the ramifications of what you’ve done?  You withheld information that would have made me make different choices back then, Emily.  I sent you into deep into a forest, right into the path of rabid wolves that would pick their teeth with your bones as if you meant nothing.  And it doesn’t negate the fact that you contacted Schultz afterward.  All it did was put you on the NSA’s radar.  Is he the one who aided you in digging up more information?”

“I was the only one who knew where the other bugs had been placed within the building.  It was my only leverage and I knew it was keeping me alive.
”  Emily resisted the urge to touch him.  She thought for sure that she’d made the right call back then, withholding her true identity.  If anyone had made a connection between the two of them, it would have been his death on her conscience.  And that was something she refused to even consider.  “For all I knew, Schultz had contacted the NSA and it was only a matter of time before he took me out.  So I made a deal and so far, everything’s been running as planned and Schultz hasn’t let me down yet.”

“Except now you have a bounty on your head, an assassin on your tail, and you’ve changed courses,” Jax replied sarcastically.  “I hate to break this to you, but the assassination of the
Secretary-General will take a back seat with the public once they hear that the NSA is placing illegal wiretaps within the United Nations.  They’ll immediately leap to conclusion that the NSA is doing the same with the general public.  They’re a rogue agency, playing cowboy on the international stage.  I’m curious about one thing.  Who do you think took the contract out on you?  Is it the Secretary-General or your former employer?  Let me tell you the real truth — we’re fucked either way.”

* * * *

Ryland walked over to the hotel mini-bar in the penthouse that he’d reserved for the week and poured himself his usual whiskey.  The clink of the crystal echoed slightly as he slid the top back into the neck of the decanter.  Tumbler in hand, he strolled across the living room to the open balcony where the sheer drapes blew in the light breeze. The taste of the vintage liquor he savored calmed his busy mind as he took in the visage before him.