Deceived (5 page)

Will steeled himself to deliver the news. “Senator Hal Blake has been shot in what appears to be an assassination attempt.”

“When did this occur?” asked one of the council members. “I've seen nothing in the news feeds.”

“We're controlling the spin,” Will assured him. “The shooting wasn't public, so we've created a cover story to release. Tomorrow's news will state the senator has had emergency surgery due to a non-life-threatening medical issue and is recovering well at an undisclosed location.”

“And who is caring for Senator Blake?” the high commander asked. “Are we on top of this?”

Will inclined his head. “He was taken to a Seattle hospital where we have
confreres,
who saw to his care. We're in the process of transferring him to Chicago to our local medical facility, where our doctors will oversee his recovery and I can monitor the situation personally.”

“
Will
he recover?” another council member demanded. “Should we make preparations?”

Will hesitated for a moment. “His situation is grave. We're doing everything we can.”

“He has named his successor,” the high commander reminded the council. “We must assume that Hal put the necessary precautions into place in that regard.”

Will shifted slightly, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by the high commander.

“You have something to add, Commander Asher?”

Will kept his tone even as he said, “Late last night, one of my best field operatives was sent to take into custody Hal's successor and the boy's mother. The child was successfully extracted, but not before someone attempted to abduct the boy, killing at least two civilians in the process.”

His words were met with a heavy silence as each of the Grand Council considered the implications. It was clear from their stony expressions that they were thinking the same thing Will was—that the attempt to assassinate Hal and abduct his successor meant either that one of them was a traitor or that someone outside the trusted circle of leadership within the Alliance knew their most guarded and potentially damning secrets.

It was the high commander who finally spoke, breaking the silence. “I am instituting emergency protocol Alpha Delta Zed. Commander Asher, as this has occurred under your watch, you will be coordinating asset-relocation efforts. And I expect a full investigation into the matter. Do you have any sense of how deep the breach goes?”

Will shook his head. “Not yet, sir. But my team is assessing the damage as we speak to determine what information, if any, has been compromised.”

“Thank you, gentlemen,” the high commander said, dismissing his fellow council members. “We will keep you apprised of the situation. That will be all.”

All of the council members signed off except for the high commander. He waited thirty seconds to ensure that all lines had been cleared before fixing Will with his fiery glare. “Exactly how the hell did this happen? Where was Hal's security detail when he was shot? Who the hell dropped the ball on this, William?”

Will refused to waver under the old man's fierce gaze. “I am looking into the matter of his security detail, sir. However, it's my understanding that he dismissed them from duty and ordered them to leave him.”

“He was alone then?”

At this, Will couldn't help but squirm. There was no way he was going to throw Jack and Luke under the bus. He'd deal with them himself. But he knew if he didn't tell the truth, the high commander would sense it in a heartbeat. “No, sir. He was not. His daughter Madeleine was with him. They were settling a personal matter, from what I'm told. Two of my field operatives were also there—as a favor to the Blake family.”

The man made a noise of disgust. “Personal matters. There is no room for personal matters in the Alliance.”

Will was well aware of the high commander's stance on anything personal, that was for damned sure. Any personal life Will had hoped to have, any semblance of a normal existence, had been unceremoniously ripped away from him years ago by the very man on his screen. One would think that Templar Priest forefathers had had it bad, but perhaps having no affiliations would be better than having only the fleeting ones they were permitted under the high commander's watch. Never mind the fact that both the high commander and his son had married and fathered children, as had several other members of the Alliance.

But Will also knew from experience that it was a special person who could marry into the Alliance and all the bullshit that came with it. His grandmother and mother had been saints to put up with the shit they had over the years....

All that said, he let the comment go and focused on the crisis they were facing. “Do you have any reason to doubt the members of the council, sir? Should I have my people look into their communications?”

The high commander peered down his hawkish nose, pegging Will with a chastising look. “Of course you should. You are far too trusting, William. It will be your undoing. You have already given your team far too much freedom to run their own ops. Clearly, they have little respect for your authority if they are running rogue ops and endangering the very essence of who we are. I expect you will adjust your management style accordingly.”

Will bit back his furious retort. “Of course, sir.”

“How long will it take to move the Alliance's assets?”

Will had no fucking clue. The last time they'd had to scramble to relocate assets after a potential breach of this magnitude had been over a hundred years before. And before then? Hell, the last major relocation had been in the early 1300s, when the leaders of the Templars had been tried for heresy and their Order officially dissolved.

At this point, there were only a handful of Templars within the Alliance who even knew where all of the treasure caches were located, all the others with that knowledge having died off. Only the members of the Grand Council and their chosen Guardian—and, apparently, the Guardian's successor—knew all of the locations. Even Will didn't know of the locations outside his regional control. He knew only that they were out there, scattered across the globe so that no one could take possession of the entire treasure should they happen upon a single cache.

“Two weeks at most,” Will finally answered, pulling the number out of his ass. “I've already implemented our North American protocol. The international caches will be a challenge, but as soon as you send me the coordinates of the caches, I'll move people into place.”

The man gave him a sharp nod. “I expect a full report filed by morning documenting this incident, William, as well as a complete risk assessment with the corrective measures you intend to take to control the damage.”

Will's jaw clenched, and he felt the muscle in his cheek twitch. “Sir, I would prefer—”

“I don't give a damn what you'd
prefer
, Commander Asher,” the high commander hissed. “I only care that you do your duty and clean up the mess you've allowed to happen.”

Will took a deep breath and expelled it on a harsh sigh. “Of course, sir. Understood.” Before the high commander could hang up, Will quickly added, “There's one other thing that I wanted to discuss with you, sir. I didn't want to bring it up in front of the council, but I think you should know. The man who attempted to abduct Eli Scoffield claimed to be a follower of the One True Master.”

The high commander's already fair complexion blanched at the phrase. “You will keep this information to yourself, William. Is that clear?”

“I think my men should know who we're potentially dealing with,” Will argued. “They need to understand the implications—and the danger.”

“You are not to mention the Illuminati in any of your conversations,” the high commander snapped. “If I discover that you have disobeyed my orders in this, I will strip you of your command and have you burned from the Order.”

Will clenched his hands into fists. “They killed my father. And now we have evidence that they are re-forming, making a move against the entire Alliance. And you would have me do
nothing?
”

The high commander's hard expression softened almost imperceptibly as sorrow briefly passed over his features. But the lapse was momentary. “Do you think I don't mourn my son to this day? You should hope to be half the man your father was, William.”

“You can't bury your head in the sand and hope that the Illuminati are not plotting to rise against us again, Grandfather!” Will snapped. “We've already lost enough due to your unwillingness to act!”

The man's face grew red with fury. “That will be all, Commander. I look forward to your report.”

The line disconnected and Will's screen went black. He sank down into his chair and ran a hand over his sable hair. His grandfather had been high commander for decades and had managed to keep the Alliance thriving during difficult times, especially during the Cold War era when it was all they could do to keep the world superpowers from annihilating one another.

But his determination to deny the facts before him was a danger to them all. And his stubborn belief—that the men who had murdered his son and left Will an orphan had merely been rogue operatives invoking a defeated enemy to instill fear and unease—might be exactly the kind of arrogance that could bring the Alliance to its knees....

“You should get some sleep.”

Luke glanced over to where Sarah was curled in the passenger seat. She hadn't really slept either during their long night of driving, finally dozing off for a little while as the sun rose, but in spite of the harrowing night and hours in the car, she was as beautiful as when he'd first seen her at the festival.

“I'm good,” he assured her.

“Interesting choice of music,” she said, with a glance toward the stereo. “Do you always listen to stuff this hard early in the morning?”

He followed her glance. Five Finger Death Punch. Good choice actually. But he honestly hadn't even noticed what was playing until now. “Sorry. I always listen to hard rock or metal when I'm driving. Helps me think. And keeps me awake.”

“I can imagine.” She smiled sleepily, teasing him. His stomach filled with heat. God, he'd love to see that smile on the pillow next to him....

He leaned forward to adjust the volume, but she intercepted his hand, sending a shot of sensation up his arm. “It's fine,” she assured him. “Trust me, I'd like you to do what you need to do to stay awake.”

He gave her a terse nod and settled back into his seat. “Don't worry. I've got about three more hours in me before I need to rest.”

“I could drive,” she offered, emerging from beneath his biker jacket, which he'd insisted she use as a makeshift blanket.

“Probably better if I stay behind the wheel.” They'd been followed for a little while a few miles outside of Bakersville, but he'd managed to shake the tail. Still, not knowing exactly who they were dealing with, he didn't want to take any chances. He'd already been in the same vehicle for too long, making their trail far too easy to pick up as it was. He was going to need to ditch the SUV ASAP, but until then, he was staying behind the wheel.

Sarah didn't argue. She stretched with a stifled yawn, then pivoted around to peer at her son, who was out cold in the back seat, his mouth hanging open just a little as he slept. “I don't know what I'm supposed to tell him,” she murmured on a sigh. “I mean,
I
don't even know what's going on. How am I supposed to explain it to
him?
”

“He's a strong kid,” Luke told her. “When you figure out what you want to say, don't sugarcoat it. Trust me, being straightforward is the best approach.”

“Done this a few times, have you?” she joked with an attempt at a saucy grin.

He couldn't help but return it. “Well, not
this
exactly.”

They sat in silence for so long after that exchange, Luke thought Sarah had nodded off again until she said, “Thank you, Luke. For everything. If you hadn't shown up . . .”

He glanced her way, surprised to see her studying him, her head tilted to one side as if she was trying to puzzle him out. The warmth in her expression made him quickly look away. “No problem.”

“So what now?” she asked. “Where are we going?”

Luke shook his head. “Not sure yet. I should be hearing from my commander soon with instructions.”

“What about everything that happened?” she asked. “Shouldn't we be making a report to the police or something now? And poor Hunter . . . what about him?”

“We'll do everything we possibly can,” he told her. “We have resources that—”

“Who exactly is this
we
you keep talking about?” she interrupted. “And don't even think about giving me some kind of ‘the less you know, the better' bullshit. I'm sick of being kept in the dark. My father always had his secrets, keeping us all ignorant of his business dealings and then his political career until my mom finally couldn't take it anymore and left us all. And now it seems those same secrets have brought danger to
my
door. So please don't sit there and presume to know what's best for me.”

Luke chanced a glance at her. She looked so goddamned adorable, her cheeks red with righteous indignation, that if they hadn't been driving he would've been tempted to drag her into his arms and kiss the hell out of her. As it was, he felt his defenses weakening.

And she was right. After what they'd been through the previous night, she was entitled to know what she was part of and why she was in danger—especially since her sister seemed to be in the know. It seriously chapped his ass that the senator would tell one of his daughters all about them and not the other. What the hell was the guy's problem? From everything he'd seen, Sarah seemed like an intelligent, level-headed woman. She deserved to finally know the truth. And, hell, what was one more ass-chewing from his commander at this point? Luke heaved a long sigh, then said, “I work for an organization called Temple Knight & Associates.”

“Temple Knight?” Sarah said with a laugh. “You've got to be kidding me! My dad sent his
financial advisors
to look after us?”

Luke shifted in his seat, his back beginning to ache. “It's a little more complicated than that, Sarah.”

She motioned for him to continue. “So enlighten me.”

* * *

“The firm is a front,” Luke explained, his tone taut as if what he was telling her was normally only pried out of him with a crowbar.

Sarah shook her head. “A front for what? The mob? Drug cartel? CIA?”

“The Knights Templar.”

“You're a
Mason?
” she asked, grimacing as soon as she'd spoken, her voice sounding even more patronizing than she'd intended.

Luke sent an exasperated look her way. “No, I'm not a Mason. We're the actual Templars. After the Order was dismantled, some of the remaining knights scattered and were absorbed into other orders. Others simply changed their name—like the Order of Christ in Portugal. And some of them banded together and went underground to continue their mission of guarding the innocent, renaming the organization the Dark Alliance centuries later. They moved the caches of treasure to secure locations to keep them from being confiscated and to help fund their operations. Since then, our numbers have grown to include hundreds of Templars and hundreds more
confreres
and
consoeurs—
civilian allies who work closely with us to help us embed operatives within key business and government positions.”

“Uh-huh,” Sarah said, scooting closer to the door just a little. “You know, you could've just said you didn't want to tell me. You didn't have to make something up.”

“I'm not making it up,” Luke insisted. “We've been operating secretly for centuries, recruiting members from the most elite soldiers and intelligence officers around the globe, insinuating our own into the highest echelons of society, working outside the law when necessary to try to right some of the wrongs in the world.”

“Sure. Okay.” Sarah shrugged. “If you say so.”

“You gotta be shitting me,” Luke mumbled. “Listen, do I seem like the kind of guy who'd waste his time just feeding you a line of bullshit? I honestly shouldn't be telling you any of this. And if you were anybody else, I wouldn't be. But seeing as how it's
your
family involved, I'm making an exception.”

Sarah studied him for a long moment, watching the muscle twitch in his chiseled jaw, his irritation at being questioned clear. For the first time, she noticed the black metal band bearing a stylized silver Templar cross on his right ring finger. The ring was simple, inconspicuous—she wouldn't have found anything remarkable about it if not for the context of their conversation. Could it be that he was telling her the truth? Was there still some remnant of the Templars operating independently, guiding the fate of humanity?

Part of her wanted to believe him.
He
certainly seemed to believe it. But at this point, she wasn't sure
what
to believe. If anyone had told her a couple of days ago that some nut job would murder two people and try to abduct her son, she certainly wouldn't have believed that either. And yet here she was, riding in the car of a man she barely knew but who had already risked his life once for them.

“Why was that man after Eli?” she asked. “And how did my father know he'd be coming?”

“Because your father's one of us.” Luke turned to look at her, gauging her reaction.

Even as he said it, a foggy, distant image intruded on her thoughts—a memory of her as a little girl, sitting on her father's lap as he rocked her to sleep, holding his hand and drowsily twisting the black band he wore on his finger.

“He has been for a long time. He used to work in the field for the Alliance until he decided to marry and have a family and so was embedded in the government. For security reasons, there are only a handful of people who know the secret locations where our treasures are hidden—your father is among them. Apparently, he has named your son as his successor, which means he somehow has passed on his knowledge of the treasure caches to Eli.”

“Why Eli?” Sarah said, shaking her head. “He's never even met my son.”

Luke shrugged. “Got me. He said something about making amends. Now you know as much as I do.”

“Maddie's text said Dad was in surgery. Where's he now?” Sarah asked, her stomach twisting with fear and regret for the tension that had lingered between her and her father all these years. “Is he okay? Can I talk to him? What about my sister?”

“I'm sure we'll hear something soon.” Luke glanced over at her, offering what she was sure was supposed to be a comforting smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

Sarah covered her face with her hands, trying to process everything being thrown at her. How was any of this possible? She was a schoolteacher, for crying out loud. She led an ordinary life. Eli had been right—
nothing
ever happened in the quiet little town where they lived. That's precisely why they'd stayed there. For three long years, she'd been struggling to get her life back to normal after Greg's death, and now her whole world had been turned upside down again.

“Pull over,” she blurted, her stomach suddenly churning ominously. “I think I'm gonna be sick.”

Luke immediately swerved to the side of the road. Sarah was throwing off her seat belt and opening the car door before he'd even come to a complete stop. A moment later, she was out of the SUV and stumbling several feet away. She doubled over, bracing her hands against her knees, waiting for her stomach to heave, but nothing happened. Instead, sobs shook her shoulders, bringing her to her knees. She sat back on her heels, wrapping her arms around herself as the tears came.

“You gonna be okay?”

Her head snapped up at the sound of Luke's deep voice, and she wiped her cheeks, swiping away the tears of fear, frustration, sorrow. “I don't know,” she told him honestly, surprised to see him crouched beside her. “Two of my dear friends were murdered by some wacko trying to get to my son. And he's still in danger. I'm scared, Luke. I don't know what to do.”

Her heart hitched a little as he reached out and took hold of her arm, his touch surprisingly calming. He helped her to her feet, but kept his hand where it was. “I won't let anything happen to you, Sarah,” he said after a long silence, his thumb smoothing lazily over the material of her sweater. “We're gonna figure this out. You and Eli will be fine.”

“You can promise that?” she asked, trembling as she felt her barely maintained hold on her fear rapidly slipping. “You know for certain that this is all going to end well? That no harm will come to either one of us?”

He pulled her into his arms, holding her close, his embrace comforting. “You have to trust me.”

She pressed her cheek to his chest, closing her eyes, accepting the strength he was offering her. After a moment, the heat of his body permeated her skin, the masculine, woodsy scent of him swamping her senses, having a calming effect she hadn't anticipated. She found herself taking a step closer, her arms encircling his waist, feeling the rock-hard muscles of his back even through his T-shirt.

As her mind began to whirl with crazy, inappropriate thoughts of what it might be like to have those strong arms around her in a different setting, that harsh mouth against hers, she lifted her face and found herself wishing she could see his eyes behind his sunglasses, get a glimpse of what might be going on inside his head at that moment.

She swallowed hard, her breath growing shallower as his hold on her tightened ever so slightly, pulling her just a little closer. “I want to trust you,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

* * *

Luke's phone buzzed, thankfully breaking through whatever it was that'd been going on between him and Sarah. What the hell was he thinking? There was no denying that Sarah was a beautiful woman, but he was letting his libido get the better of him. He had to keep it together and quit letting her get to him. As soon as this job was over, he'd never see her again. And, even on his worst day, he wasn't a big enough bastard to hook up with a woman when she was vulnerable and afraid.

He was just tired. That was it. As soon as he got some sleep, he'd be back on his game, no problem. He took a couple of hasty steps in the opposite direction and grabbed his phone.

“Yeah.”

“How you holding up?” It was his commander. Fortunately, he sounded one helluva lot less pissed off than he'd been the night before.

“I'm gonna need to stop soon, and catch some shut-eye,” Luke admitted, sending a quick glance Sarah's way. “It's gonna be tomorrow before we can get to Chicago.”