Walk In My Shadow: A Gripping Romantic Thriller (Mirror Book 3): A Mirror Novel (20 page)

V
ance woke
in a room that looked like a padded cell. He blinked, forced down the panic like he’d been taught.

You were at Abby’s. In her bed. And then…

The text.

The honor of your presence is requested outside

Until that moment, he hadn’t known sarcasm could drip from a text. He had known that this meeting was coming, only a matter of time, so rather than run from it he’d walked into it willingly. He hadn’t wanted to waste more time wondering if this was the beginning or the end. He just needed it to end so he could get to his new beginning.

Had Ethan had a similar meeting at one point?

He started to drift off again and bit the inside of his cheek hard. He tasted blood, spit it out between his front teeth on a perfect arc, wanting to howl with anger.

He tested the bonds. Chains locked to metal, locking thicker cuffs on one end and the wall on the other. He wanted to get up and give them a good yank, but he had to conserve his energy for whatever was coming next.

After another twenty minutes, he heard the door behind him open, but he didn’t turn to look at who’d entered. Instead, he stared straight ahead at the table that had been set up in front of him, with a single chair behind it.

He heard the click of heels on the floor. Heels had a distinctive click depending on whether the shoes were men’s or women’s, and he could even distinguish between the very different types of heels.

These were stilettos.

Fuck.

He flexed his fists. His head ached and his mouth tasted like cotton and blood. He’d been hit on the head and drugged, because a guy like him didn’t go down easily.

Especially for a woman. Then again, this woman had the help of the committee, drugs…and a taser, if his aching muscles were correct.

She approached the table and placed down the file folders she’d held. He stared at her through narrowed eyes, because otherwise there were two of her, the same sleek, dark-haired, glasses-wearing doctor who’d helped him when Abby hurt her ribs in the CIA facility.

“You knew what you were coming here for, but you’re still surprised to see me,” Nita acknowledged crisply, her fashion-forward black-framed glasses the perfect accessory, because she had perfect eyesight. At least that’s what she’d told him one night after work, when they’d gone out for drinks and she’d comforted him about Ethan.

Comforting didn’t extend to sleeping together, although she would’ve. But he’d shut that down, because fucking where you work was too complicated, and because he hadn’t been into her. She was excellent at her job but she always made him want to…

Run.

Now he understood why and cursed himself for not questioning his instincts. At the time, he’d assumed it was because she’d wanted more than he could give her. And truly, that appeared to be exactly the outcome.

She laughed at what must’ve been his expression of complete and utter
what the fuck
and pulled her glasses off. “You’re shocked. I love that. I mean, how amazing is it to be underrated, all the time, because of my sex? None of you even took into consideration that I could be a woman—you all assumed it had to be a man, tracking Ethan the entire time.” She made a tsk-tsk sound by clicking her tongue. “Wrong, so wrong. But fun to watch. We all appreciated it.”

We.

Play along, Vance
. He managed to croak, “Glad to give you all some fun. So what do I have to do to make it right?”

“It’s about time you put a piece on the board. Welcome to the game, Vance.”

* * *

T
he operator
who’d come up to her was as lethal as she was gorgeous. Abby was jealous of the former, especially as she seethed at being taken advantage of.

Leila had moved Abby quickly into a waiting car after forcing her to hand over her phone. She’d cuffed Abby’s wrists together and she’d taken off like a shot in her sleek Porsche.

“Please—I know you understand that I have to find Vance. If something happens to him…”

Leila glanced over at her. “I know you’re worried.”

“Then take me back to the house. Work with us to find him,” Abby suggested.

“Sorry, love. Both Vance and Knox made me promise to keep you safe if something happened to Vance.”

“And you always take orders from men?” Abby muttered. The sideways glance she received in return told Abby she’d hit her mark.

“Knox mentioned you were smart. I didn’t want to believe him. I guess I didn’t give you enough credit.”

“The stalker’s in my backyard. We’ve got an advantage and I’m not going to hide.”

Leila stopped at a red light and turned to stare at Abby. “This person’s hunted Ethan through jungles and hellholes. Ruined his life before he took it. Just because you’re not in some green hell, don’t make the mistake of believing you’re on solid ground.”

“The stalker’s a woman. How do I know it’s not you?” Abby demanded.

Leila glanced over at her. “Because you know. Think about it.”

Abby did, closed her eyes and forgot how worried everyone back at the house had to be, forgot that Leila could be playing her.

Instincts, Abby. They’ve kept you alive this long.

And then, it popped into her head. Her, having just bruised the hell out of her ribs so she didn’t have to take the lie detector test. The doctor giving her a small smile after Abby merely shrugged and said, “
Hurts a little
,” and countering with, “
Hurts like a bitch. I’ve always loved that expression. No one can hurt quite the way a bitch can make you hurt.”

At the time, it had actually made Abby smile back in solidarity. She’d thought the doctor was giving her a little pat on the back, a ‘great job for getting through this’ kind of thing.

But what if Nita had been sending another message? “I think it’s the doctor. Nita,” she clarified. Leila didn’t seem surprised, leaving Abby to demand, “How long have you known?”

“Unfortunately, probably ten minutes longer than you have.”

“So we have to do something.”

“Doing something is what got Vance into this situation. Vengeance doesn’t bring back the dead.”

“Fuck your lectures,” Abby spat. “Nita has Vance, and I think she’s got Knox too. Unless you happen to have him in your trunk.”

“I haven’t seen Knox since last night,” Leila admitted after several long moments. “I was waiting for him at his place. I stayed for about four hours and then I left.”

“And he didn’t mention going anywhere?”

“Honey, we weren’t really talking.”

“Right.” Abby fought the urge to roll her eyes. Maybe this was how spies did it. Then again, she’d learned that all spies—and most people—lied when necessary to further their cause. “Knox isn’t answering any of my calls. Nothing would keep him from helping me help Vance. Something’s wrong.”

Leila frowned. “He saved my life once, years ago.”

“So you owe him.”

“In simple terms, yes. But for me, it’s so much more complicated than that.” Leila glanced in the rearview mirror. “Do you trust any man you’re in love with completely?”

“I do. I did. I mean…” Abby paused, frustrated.

“Exactly. We’ve all been burned enough to know that trust isn’t automatic. Trust is earned. Sometimes it’s taken. But most of the time, we just have to dive in and pray we’re doing the right thing.”

“What’s the right thing, Leila?”

Leila considered that as she drove along the curving road. “I’ve always trusted my instincts, but when it comes to Knox I’m never sure if I’m getting in my own way. But now thanks to you, I know what the right thing is. And it’s letting me do this alone.”

“I thought you were keeping me safe.”

“From yourself. From doing anything stupid,” Leila agreed.

“Too late.” Abby leaned over awkwardly but still managed to grab the wheel with handcuffed wrists to angle it—and the car—to a hard left.

From there, it was a blur. After the car raced off the road and landed half in a ditch, Leila got out to grab Abby and stop her from going anywhere while Abby concentrated on breaking the chain between the cuffs. That was a trick Teige and Jacoby had shown her and made her practice a thousand times on as many different brands of cuffs. She’d be left with metal bracelets but her arms wouldn’t be tied.

And even though Abby pretended that escape was her agenda, she didn’t plan on leaving Leila’s side. She wanted Leila to lead her to Vance and Knox, and fast, and Leila wanted to keep her busy, keep the group scattered.

“Abby, be reasonable—“

“Fuck you,” Abby spat as Leila caught her and wrestled her to the ground.

“Fine. You can come with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Abby lied, slamming her hand under Leila’s chin and throwing the operative off her.

Abby had fought for her life before, but this was harder, because she hated to throw a fight. In truth, she might’ve lost this one anyway but she still managed to get off a few good punches and satisfying kicks, just to make it look good.

The operative was a formidable opponent. Obviously she thought Abby was one as well, calling her “Bitch” after Abby landed a particularly harsh kick to her stomach.

“I hope that’s a compliment.” But once Leila had her pinned to the hood of the car with her arm behind her back, Abby warned, “If you hurt either Vance or Knox…”

“How sweet. Maybe you can have a threesome with them. I’d like to watch.”

Abby turned her head as much as she could to smile up at Leila. “Maybe you’ll learn something.”

“I suppose I would.”

* * *

V
ance was still fighting
mental and physical exhaustion, thanks to the drugs Nita had administered. An adrenaline boost would allow him to take her down, but the chains and the lack of proximity to her were obstacles he couldn’t overcome.

So he waited. And he listened. And he prayed that Nita hadn’t involved Abby.

Nita, of course, was a fucking mind reader. “Relax, Vance. You’ll be here for a while. Remember your training. Fighting the inevitable zaps your energy, physically and mentally, and you need your energy for more important things.”

Great. She was giving him training tips, like she was a life coach and not a kidnapping Whitelist psychopath. “So why not tell me what you brought me here to tell me? That seems reasonable.”

“Very.” She paused. “Did you know that my father was an agent too?”

“I don’t think I did. But is this really the time for small talk?”

She smiled. It was chilling. “I think it’s finally the time. My father knew yours quite well. They worked together.”

“Did you kill my father?” Vance asked bluntly. Because his head fucking hurt and he was done being tactful.

She laughed. “No. Your father’s death was deemed suspicious though. It was enough to derail my father’s career and almost ruined my legacy.”

“But you’re here.”

“Barely. My role’s diminished from what it should’ve been.” She sat back. “This isn’t personal, Vance, no matter how it seems.”

“It seems like one big mindfuck.”

She pointed at him. “And we’re all part of it. Our fathers were the best of friends.”

Vance frowned. “He had a lot of buddies from the service. He was well-liked.”

She leaned forward, elbows on the table. “No honey, he was feared.”

Vance didn’t want to believe her, but it rang true. His father had been a very strict disciplinarian, but never to the point of cruelty. Not to him or Ethan, at least.

Then again, the brothers toed the line. “Did Ethan know who you were?” Vance already knew the answer to the question he asked and he wasn’t the psychic in the family. But he had to hear it from Nita.

“Of course he did. But what was he going to do? I had too much I could do to both of you, so he sat there and took it. We gathered a lot of data on him.”

Vance’s hands tightened on the chair’s arms. “This was all an experiment?”

“Not was.
Is
.” She tapped a finger on the file in front of her. “You did beautifully.”

“Is this a goddamned game to you?”

She looked offended. “Absolutely not. It’s serious business. It’s not about vengeance. It’s about controlling your emotions to become the perfect operator.”