Redeem My Heart (32 page)

“I don’t even know how you got in with the security measures in place, but you cannot do this alone,” Fallon said, waving a hand toward the closed door in apprehension. Her blue eyes pleaded with him until his chest tightened in regret. “This is something that we all need to do together. Schultz and Crest will see to it that Derrick is returned and that the people responsible are stopped. But you are a part of that plan, Ryland. You need to work with them. You said you know who is responsible. Tell them and this will finally be over. I’ll be there every step of—”

“It’s not going to happen the way you want it to, Fallon.” Ryland sighed in resignation and looked out the window as the bright sun finally forced its way over the skyline only to then be covered by ominous clouds inciting an early snowfall. He understood the earth’s plight in being denied the sunshine and forced to face the fated elements. Fallon had been his sunshine, lighting up all of the possibilities…only to have them taken away. “Go. Now.”

“I’m not allowing you to do this on your own. You can’t,” Fallon stated forcefully, taking a step closer to him. “We’re talking about a little boy. You have to tell Crest who—”

Ryland had Fallon up against the window in her office before she could finish her sentence. He placed both hands on either side of her head and didn’t give her a choice but to hear what he was saying. He could have handled this a number of ways, one to have reverted back to his old style and been the coldhearted bastard the world thought he was. He didn’t. He wanted her to remember the man she’d brought back from hell. He needed her to know one thing before he left this life.

“Say my name.” Ryland could barely get the words out from around the knot in his throat. He’d become a desperate man in the short hours of learning who’d been responsible for his creation, but he didn’t care that Fallon saw him like this. She was the only one who’d given Ryland, and then Travis, the benefit of the doubt. Unlike everyone else, she’d accepted his flaws and still stood by his side. “Please. Say my name.”

“Travis,” Fallon whispered, one single tear running down her face for something she couldn’t change. “I love you. Stay with me and I promise we can see this through. Please, for God’s sake.”

“Thank you, my little savior.” Ryland brushed Fallon’s tear away with his thumb, wishing it were just as easy to wipe away his past. The best he could do was to eliminate the person who was responsible, freeing himself and the boy in the process. “You accomplished more than you set out to do. You’re a warrior who redeemed my heart.”

Townes called out, shattering this moment as if it were made of glass. Ryland slowly stood and backed away from Fallon, leaving her against the window to make her choice. They’d run out of time.

“Give me one more gift,” Ryland advocated with a sense of calm, relieved and fortunate that he’d had a chance to tell her everything he wanted to. “Your trust for me to see this through. I will make sure that Derrick Christensen is returned to his parents unharmed, but only if we do things my way.”

Voices carried closer to Fallon’s office door, forcing her to make a decision. With a desperate moan of concession, she quickly snatched a file off of her desk and made her way to the exit. Her hand was on the knob when she looked back at him over her shoulder, her blue eyes darkening in determination.

“I’ll stall them only long enough to give you a ten minute lead,” Fallon offered, her intentions loud and clear. She was negotiating and she’d come out the victor, or she’d reveal his presence. God, but he now believed in this love she kept talking about. “I want the name of the man responsible.”

“Grahn.” Ryland rubbed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, unable to remove the bad taste that lingered from saying the name of his contact…his handler…the agent who had transformed Travis Bowers into Ryland. “Agent Raymond William Grahn.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

F
allon remained quiet during the drive to the hospital, not alerting Townes to the fact that Ryland had been waiting for her in her office. How the man had managed to get around the vast array of security measures in an FBI Field Office, let alone a federal building, was beyond her comprehension and she honestly didn’t want to know. The most important thing at the moment was ensuring that Derrick Christensen was in his parents’ arms by noon today, if not before. It had taken the drive to the hospital for her to accept that Agent Grahn had fooled them all. Townes’ phone rang two blocks from the parking garage.

“Speak to me,” Townes instructed, lifting the phone to his ear. Fallon looked out the passenger window, constructing what she would say to Crest once inside the hospital. Had the three agents started their debriefing? Was it from them that Ryland discovered Agent Grahn was behind the resurgence of E.D.A.? She rested her elbow on the side of the door and rubbed her forehead, easing the tension that had built up into a dull headache. There was so much more she’d wanted to say to Ryland and a genuine fear had settled over her that she wouldn’t be given the chance. Things were happening too fast and she had no way to control it. “We’re turning in now.”

Fallon had apparently run out of time. She straightened, recognizing the tone of Townes’ voice. No wonder he hadn’t spoken much on the way here. It was in his nature to remain quiet, but he’d played her. She’d been nothing but bait. He’d known all along that Ryland had been in her office and so had Crest. Damn it. Had Schultz already taken Ryland into custody to be used as nothing but a token to exchange?

“You’re good,” Fallon reluctantly praised, feeling somewhat sick to her stomach. She searched the parking garage they’d just pulled into for any sign of Crest. “I’ll give you that much.”

“You two were becoming predictable,” Townes offered up wryly, driving up the ramp until an opening appeared. He turned the wheel until the car fit just right, shifting the gear into park. He didn’t waste time shutting off the engine and then opening his door. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Taryn is monitoring his whereabouts via CCTV while Ethan is currently running a small band of my compatriots who are switching off on a revolving tail.”

Fallon thought of everything Ryland had been taught and the tension in her shoulders slightly eased. She didn’t doubt that he could maneuver around those obstacles. He would also figure out a way to rescue Derrick without putting anyone else’s life on the line. Now she needed to convince Crest and his team of that as well, but first she needed to give them the name of the man responsible.

“Agent Raymond Grahn is behind E.D.A.’s rebirth,” Fallon confessed before Townes could shut his door. She reached for her handle to open hers but someone had already beat her to it. She met his steel gaze, not ashamed of the choices she’d made. “I don’t need a lecture, Crest. Ryland is going after Grahn and will have this wrapped up well before noon. It’s our best option.”

“That wasn’t your call to make.” Crest waited until Fallon had stepped totally out of the vehicle before shutting her door. He led the way to the elevator bank on the side of the parking garage that would take them to the back entrance of the hospital. “Your son isn’t the one missing and the last I checked, you weren’t the Special Assistant to the National Security Advisor. Schultz could have your badge for withholding information about the whereabouts of a person of interest in a kidnapping case.”

“My badge means nothing if I can’t do my job,” Fallon countered back, her long legs more than enough to keep up with Crest’s. She couldn’t very well tell him that he was allowing his personal feelings to interfere with this case, because she was doing the exact same thing. What she could do was convince him that Ryland was their best possible choice. Crest hadn’t been in her office a half hour ago to hear the resolve in Ryland’s voice. “Ryland has the wherewithal and the freedom of action to get this done that we don’t have. Even I can recognize that fact.”

“You mean illegal means?” Crest pressed the elevator button forcefully and then stepped back, watching the blinking lights run across the bar atop of the entrance. He wasn’t going to bend on this, but Fallon had worked around harder obstacles. Ryland had as well and would have figured out by now that he was being tracked. “Fallon, our justice system might be flawed, but I’m disappointed you think I wouldn’t use whatever means necessary to ensure Derrick Christensen’s return.”

Fallon hated to feel as if she were back in time and just starting out at Quantico, getting her ass handed to her over an assignment she hadn’t answered correctly. There was no right or wrong way to handle this. All of them were striving to do the right thing and she had belief in Ryland to do just that. She wasn’t going to spend time arguing or being lectured to when there was business to be done.

“You’re aware of Grahn then?” Fallon asked, walking into the elevator shaft first, followed by Crest. Townes was nowhere to be seen and that made her somewhat nervous. “He must have had quite the staff in his private hospital room to pull off such a coup.”

“Grahn was never here,” Crest replied unemotionally, watching the doors close before focusing his attention on Fallon. She liked it better when he wasn’t staring at her like she’d just made a pact with the devil. She didn’t ask how he knew about Grahn because she probably wouldn’t like the answer. Had her office been bugged? Crest had probably already verified the intelligence from the three agents. She gritted her teeth as she forced herself to listen to him. “This entire story regarding the car accident and the lies regarding his critical status was to keep us from discovering his true identity. He’s got the money, the power, and the backing from several people within both agencies as well as officials in the power elite of the government. Rachelle Grahn has already been taken into custody and is currently being questioned by one of Schultzy’s staff. This will be a scandal like Washington has never seen before so we need to watch every step we make.”

“Why don’t we go public then?” Fallon quickly proposed, throwing an option out into thin air. “If we expose Grahn and E.D.A., along with the fact that he’s kidnapped a child, he has nowhere to run to. We can force—”

“Out of the question.” Crest was the first to move when the doors opened. Which begged the question—why were they going into the hospital if Grahn wasn’t here? Fallon had no choice but to follow. “This needs to be spun in such a way where it doesn’t threaten our alliances with our partnered countries. This could easily break up multiple treaties, sever friendly ties with those who are still allies of the United States, or destroy others who might not be so firmly established. That’s not my call and I wouldn’t presume to take on that responsibility.”

Well, if that just didn’t hit below the belt. Fallon did her best to ignore the jab that had cut rather deep and proceeded to throw out other options until Crest brought her in front of a door marked
Conference
. Inside waiting for them was Kevin, Connor, and a fellow CSA agent who she hadn’t seen in a very long time—Lach McKinnon. He was more of a part-time agent when time permitted. The larger than life imposing figure was dressed in his usual black ensemble, arms crossed in his customary pose, and was currently looking at her as if she were responsible for this situation. She was grateful that Jax wasn’t here as she set the record straight. He had more than enough to deal with and she didn’t want to add to that baggage. She stood in front of the table and stated her case.

“Gentlemen, I’m going to say this once. I understand that Crest brought you in to protect me once I uncovered the Agency’s covert black ops program codenamed E.D.A. I comprehend the dangers of the jobs which we’ve been assigned. Uncovering such an illegal venture placed you, Ryland, the other test subjects, and myself at risk. I take full responsibility for that, but I will not stand here and be made a villain because of the lengths Agent Grahn has taken this.” Fallon paused to take a breath, finally noticing the map someone had brought up on the large computer monitor hanging on the wall. Red circles decorated the screen, some with Xs through them and others untouched. It became apparent that CSA was using this room as a temporary base, most likely set up within the last thirty minutes. She scanned the areas and recognized where she could help them if they could put aside their differences. “Ryland is not on anyone’s Christmas list. I get that. He’s done horrible and atrocious acts that can’t be undone. But I’m standing in front of you as a federal profiler, telling you that he is not the same person you’ve come up against in the past. He was taken at a young age and forced against his will to become the assassin you have known him to be. He became that man through an illegal government operation which stole his life and corrupted his soul. He’s going to redeem himself today. He’s going to bring Derrick home and we need to do everything in our power to help him do that.”