Page 52 of A Moment Never Forgotten
She held tight to his hand. “No. She refused. She threatened to turn him in and then went straight to Director Hennel. Micah, listen to me.” She bounced their joined hands. “Director Hennel was there, in Syria. He saved Mason’s life. He’s the one who sent in the SEAL team which rescued him. But now he’s gone.”
“Okay, so you talked to him. Was it while he was driving home?” He had to start pinning down details.
“No, he was in his office grabbing things so he could work from home. Director Hennel sent him here to protect me.” Tears ran down her pretty face. “Damn pregnancy hormones.” She wiped them away with the back of her hands. “I’m not sure who arranged for the men outside, but I’m damn thankful they’re here.”
“So, he might still be at work? Maybe he got caught by a last-minute emergency.” Perhaps she was making too much of the situation.
She shook her head. “When he didn’t answer either his cell or his office phone, I called the bat phone. That’s the line to the control desk. The deputy director on duty checked his office and it was empty. He also pulled up the feed that showed Matthew heading toward his car. It also showed his SUV leaving the parking lot.” She sniffed. “He should have been home within forty-five minutes, and that’s in the worst of traffic. It’s been hours and he’s not here.”
Micah took out his phone and tried calling Matthew. It immediately went to voicemail.
“There’s more, but I was waiting to tell Matthew.” She squeezed his hand. “After I sent the translations for the past two weeks directly to Director Hennel, I got some more work done.”
Her bottom lip quivered. “This morning, there was a kill contract issued for Berit. There’s a bonus if they kill her tonight at the office party.”
No. Even though he was disappointed in her, he couldn’t imagine a world without Berit. Adorable baby Kenzi would grow up without the love of her grandmother. Mak would lose his own family. Micah would lose the only woman he ever came close to loving.
Silver streaks ran down Elizabeth’s cheeks. “Micah, I know you’re mad at her, but we can’t let them kill her. The contract may be because of us. More specifically, me, just because she refused to kill me.” She sucked in a ragged breath. “You have to go there and stop them.”
“Can’t you just call Director Hennel and tell him? I need to track down Matthew.” He had to prioritize. Matthew was missing, and true, there was a viable threat against Berit, but somebody else could handle that.”
“I tried. But he’d already left for the party.” She scoffed. “Director Hennel is so far up my chain of command, it’s not as though we’ve exchanged cell phone numbers.”
He knew who would have Hennel’s number. Berit needed to know about the threat against her. She was a trained agent. She could handle herself. He hated to, but he scrolled through his contacts and hit send. She might also be able to help in finding Matthew.
“Hello, Micah.” She sounded as though she was in her car.
His name, called out by her, sent memories of pleasure through his body. He couldn’t think about that now. He had to focus on the current issues. “Berit. Matthew is missing. I’m here with Elizabeth and she had expected him home hours ago. Can your IT department track his phone?”
“Absolutely. I’m putting you on hold while I call in the order.” She returned to the line much faster than he’d expected. “They’re working on it now. I’m going to pass this information on to Director Hennel. He has more authority than I do to pull in additional resources. I’ll be seeing him at the office party in just a few minutes.”
“Don’t go,” Micah snapped. If she wasn’t at the party then they couldn’t get to her. “There’s a contract for you, with a bonus if they…” He couldn’t say the word. “They know that you’re going to be at the party tonight.”
She giggled. “Given that I refused to carry out a kill order from my boss this morning, I’m not surprised there’s a contract on me. It’s not the first time, but it is the first time in my home country. How much am I worth? As mad as you were with me on Monday, I’m surprised you’re not going to accept the contract yourself.”
“Don’t talk that shit. It’s not funny.” In that moment, he realized how much he missed her. He loved her ballsy attitude, one that she could back up. He also missed her gallows humor. When they worked together, he’d expected it from Teagan. Sometimes Elizabeth would get in a real zinger, too. It was their way of dealing with a stressful situation.
“Micah,” her tone had softened. “I’m sorry. I know they’re only words, but I mean them from my heart. A heart that you broke by the way. I want you to know that our time in Virginia Beach was special. Private. It had nothing to do with the mission.” Even through the car phone, he heard the shaky breath. “I was falling in love with you.”
He wasn’t sure he’d heard her last words as they were little more than a whisper.
Beep.
The moment was gone, and so was Berit. “I’m doing everything within my power to take down the terrorists within the CIA to clear Matthew and protect Elizabeth.” Deputy Director Berit Barker was back. “Hold on. IT is calling me back.”
This time she was gone much longer. Micah was almost ready to hang up when she returned to the line.
“Micah, they’re going to text you with the location of Matthew’s phone as soon as they can. I’m sorry I can’t go there as your backup.”
“That fucking party is more important than even your life?” He snapped. He’d asked her not to go, given her a good reason to be with him, and yet she was more interested in hobnobbing with the brass, drinking watered-down alcohol, and eating rubber hors d’oeuvres. Well, screw her. She obviously had a death wish, and she just might get her way.
“You have no idea how important this party is.” She let out a long breath. “But if you need backup, Mak and the three SEALs you met in Virginia Beach are only blocks away from my house. Do you need his number?”
“No. I’ve got this.” In one way or another, he would find his friend Matthew.
Chapter Nineteen
Joseph Lambert sipped the passible Kentucky bourbon. It wasn’t his favorite brand, but the restaurant considered it their top shelf. He enjoyed it simply because he knew he would soon be without that vice, at least for a short while.
