Page 25 of Finding Eve
“Look, I know you’re pissed, but we have one lead. If Johnson screws up and his backers eliminate him before we do, we’re fucked. You prepared to live the rest of your life without knowing the truth about Tak, because I sure as hell can’t.”
In an angry gesture, Jay swept his arm across the desk to encompass the array of hardware he went head-to-head with daily. “Well, your plan sucks, and I’m trying to give you an alternative to a pine box. I’ve got tracers running twenty-four seven, but I need more eyes on the data, and multiple hackers to tap into who knows how many systems without setting off alarm bells and bringing the fucking house down on our heads.”
“So, what’s the alternative here, Jay?”
“We need Diane Heu—”
“No.” Recruited straight out of college by the CIA’s Deputy Director of Intelligence and Analysis, Jay seemed prepared to risk his life and the life of every member of the JTT on one woman.
Adam had no clue as to why, and he didn’t share the sentiment.
Diane Heughan was operating outside of CIA mission parameters by interfering in domestic counterintelligence activities, and for his own reasons, Adam had his doubts about her motives.
“She sent another coded message, Adam. We need someone on the inside, she has the resources, and she wants to talk to you. I think you should listen to what she has to say.”
“After everything that went down in Washington?” Adam shook his head. “Not happening.”
“The colonel trusted her.”
“And look where it landed him.” When they discovered the truth about Johnson and his plot to secure the presidential election, his father had gone to Washington to solicit his ex-wife’s assistance. Hours later, he was dead. A bullet to the chest, followed by a military burial with honors neither of his children could attend.
Too big a coincidence as far as he was concerned.
No. The woman who put her career above all else was not an option. “Find another way,” he ordered, turning his back and making his way to the boardroom door. “I’ll be in touch when I have some intel to share.”
A string of curses followed him into the hallway, making it clear what Jay thought about his orders, but there was no question about him following them. He was a man who respected the chain of command, and for now, Adam was still in charge.
Eve was lost.On an isolated two-lane highway. In the middle of a forest. Somewhere in northern Montana. Exhausted, feverish, and about to run out of gas, she needed to make a decision soon. Keep going and pray for a service station to magically appear or pull a U-turn and hope she made it back to the last small town she’d passed through.
Too tired to see straight, she hit a pothole, and the single bench pickup rattled like every nut and bolt needed a double shot of Loctite. Secured in a rack against the back of the cab, an assortment of long-handled garden tools clanged loud enough to scare the wildlife in the next state over.
Meant to be a utility vehicle, The A-Bloom Landscape and Design truck offered little in the way of upgrades or comfort. No navigation system, no adjustable seating, no automatic anything. Not that she was complaining.
Carlos had no problem offering her the key to the old Ford. Even warned her she had until Monday morning before he, and the truck, were reported missing. The two thousand cash Yolande pressed into Eve’s hand had been another matter. By the expression on his face, parting with the money had hurt him physically.
She couldn’t blame him, the small amount probably consisted of a large chunk of their savings, and by helping her, the couple had lost everything. Jobs. Apartment. Friends. Safety. Their entire lives forfeited to give Eve a fighting chance.
Yolande had told her to run. Fast and far. No police. No looking back.
If she wanted to live, Eve Langley had to die.
Eve shook her head. She couldn’t do it. Couldn’t let Bryan abduct another woman. Handcuff her to the rail. Perform his bloody masturbation ritual before leaving her alone, terrified, and in the dark, wondering if she should add her initials to those already scratched into the white bed frame.
No.
Hell, no.
After a full day of driving, her conviction remained. Something good had to come of her freedom. Justice for the women murdered. Closure for their families. For now, she was on the run. Once she found somewhere safe to stay, there would be no hiding.
The only person willing and able to stop Bryan and the judge, she would do what she had to. Those bastards needed to pay for what they did.
Twelve women dead.
Lucky number thirteen alive.
Eve just needed to make it to the border. What happened next? She had no idea. She had already spent a considerable amount of time weighing her options, and they all sucked. Ditch the truck and attempt to cross into Canada undetected? Crash the border and make a run for it? Steal a passport—slip a bribe between the pages—and hope for success?
All likely to land her in jail. Her best option?
