Targeted (24 page)

As they neared the house she spotted a familiar-looking man sitting on the brightly lit veranda.
Miguel Vargas.
The name had sounded familiar earlier, but now that she was in front of him she remembered seeing him on the news.

The man next to her roughly grabbed her arm and pushed her onto a cushioned seat across from Vargas. Her skin briefly stung from the treatment.

“Thank you for joining me,” Vargas said. His voice was surprisingly smooth and calm and almost charming.

“Did I have a choice?” She inwardly chided herself for the automatic smart-ass answer. Her mother was right, her smart mouth would definitely get her into trouble one day. Probably today.

He ignored her question. “Do you know why you are here?”

She shook her head.

His lips pulled into a thin line and any hint of charm he’d had a second before vanished. “Why were you leaving your house in the middle of the night?”

A battle waged in her head. She couldn’t tell him what she didn’t know and it wasn’t as if she was betraying Sophie. The man in front of her obviously knew something. Something in her gut told her she needed to be smart if she wanted to survive this conversation. “My friend called me and told me to run.”

“Friend?”

She shifted in her seat but didn’t respond. His dark gaze was penetrating and downright scary.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” That razor-sharp edge to his voice sent fear slithering down her spine.

“Her name is Sophie Moreno.”

His head tilted slightly to the side. “An honest answer. Good. Who is the man she’s with?”

“I don’t know.”

When his dark eyes flashed in anger, she knew she’d said the wrong thing even if it was true.

“I swear I don’t know! She just met him and she didn’t expand on who he was. The only thing I know is that she told me my life was in danger and that I needed to hide somewhere that even she wouldn’t know about. She was very forceful about that.”

“What else? Did she say where she was going?”

“No. I could hear the man in the background and he told her to get off the phone before I could ask any questions.”

“How were you going to contact her?” His eyes narrowed a fraction. It was almost imperceptible, but she knew he was testing her.

“What?” Blood rushed in her ears.
Think,
she silently screamed at herself.

“What number were you supposed to call?” He bit the words out.

“She didn’t give me one. She was going to call me.” She could taste the lie in her mouth, but she prayed he wouldn’t sense it. There was no way she was going to give him the number her best friend had given her. For all she knew he could trace it.

He stared at her, his expression unrelenting and hard, but she forced herself not to squirm. Finally he spoke. “Don’t get too comfortable. We’ll be leaving soon.”

“What are you going to do to Sophie?”

He chuckled as he motioned to one of his men. “
I’m
not going to do anything, but your friend is likely dead by now anyway. You are simply insurance in case she’s not.”

Pain sliced through her. Sophie was her best friend. Hell, one of her only real friends. “You son of a bitch!” Her words were cut off as the scarred man once again grabbed her by the arm and yanked her from her seat.

Tears stung her eyes as he dragged her back across the lawn. She wanted to scream and struggle but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Besides, now of all times she needed to keep a level head. If only there was some way she could escape and warn Sophie. She was fairly sure there wasn’t an American embassy in Cuba, but there was a naval base. Considering that she didn’t know where they were, she sure as hell wouldn’t know how to get to the naval base.

If she could escape, though, she’d find a way.

Sanitize: to delete specific material or revise a report or other document to prevent the identification of intelligence sources and collection methods.

Carrying Mandy down to the garage was a risk, but their window of opportunity was closing fast and Jack needed to get out of this building. He gauged that Mandy was supposed to take care of Sophie, then no doubt check in with her boss.

When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, Sophie finally spoke. “What exactly do you plan to do to her?”

“We’re going to tie her up better and lock her in the utility room.”

“Won’t she be . . . I mean, will she . . . How long are you leaving her here?”

“I need to contact Wesley and have him send someone he trusts to pick her up. Why don’t you go sit in the vehicle while I take care of this?” Considering he and Wesley had no clue who the mole was, they had to be careful about who they trusted with this information. Especially since Jack planned to make it look as if Mandy had disappeared.

Sophie took the keys from his hand, not even arguing about staying to help, which told him a hell of a lot about her state of mind. After jimmying the lock, he dragged Mandy into the small room, bound her feet, rebound her hands with twine, and placed the tie around her mouth. Then he tied her arms to a metal cabinet bolted to the wall. Not bad for last-minute business.

When he was finished, Jack found Sophie strapped in on the passenger side.

“You all right?” he asked as he steered out of the garage, keeping his voice low and soothing.

“I guess. What did you guys talk about while I was gone? And don’t say nothing.” Her voice sounded so small it tore at him.

“Long story short, Vargas has your boss’s daughter—”

“Holly?” Sophie gasped. “I thought she was backpacking for a few months.”

Jack shook his head. “Not anymore. Vargas has been using Ronald to do his dirty work by using her as leverage. Then when you took those pictures, you became a target. My guess is he wants you out of the way by this weekend. There’s probably a big deal going down in a couple days, but we can work this to our advantage.”

“How?”

“I think we’ll be able to convince Weller to help us bring Vargas down.”

“What if Ronald doesn’t want to help?”

“Too damn bad.” Jack pressed on the accelerator.

Sophie was silent for a few long moments and he wished he knew what she was thinking. Someone she cared about had betrayed her trust, and he knew that cut deep. When she spoke, however, her voice was lighter than he expected. “We’re not going back to that motel, are we?”

He shot her a sideways glance.
“No
.
”

“Where are we going, then?”

“You might not like this place any better. I found a cheap hostel close to the beach. They accept cash and I’m pretty sure they don’t have video cameras outside. We’ll probably be the oldest people there.” They had private rooms, free Wi-Fi, and it was in a safe part of town. That was all that mattered. But first . . . “We have one more stop to make before then.”

“Where?”

“Mandy’s condo.”

“You know where she lives? Of course you do,” she said, answering her own question with a shake of her head.

As they pulled into the parking lot of Mandy’s condominium complex—which he’d memorized from her small, obviously not thorough enough file—Jack took note of the number of cars and exits. After brief surveillance, Jack was satisfied there wasn’t anyone watching the place. She lived on the second floor of a high-rise in an exclusive part of South Beach, but the lock was a low-end Schlage. So damn typical.

They slipped inside the front door without any trouble. He withdrew his weapon and started down the hallway toward the interior. A kitchen to the left was the first entrance. He cleared it, then continued. The hallway opened into a big living room with a sliding glass door that led to a balcony.

Since the living room was clear, he swept the only other hallway to the right. The master bedroom and office were also clear.

“Start with her bedroom. Pack a small bag of her clothes and take all her jewelry and cosmetics. Leave things messy. Make it look like she left in a hurry,” Jack said as soon as he finished with the last room.

While Sophie was busy, he started in Mandy’s office. After downloading anything that looked as if it might be helpful from her computer, he sent Wesley a message, then riffled through her two-drawer filing cabinet.

“What about shoes and stuff?” Sophie called out from the other room.

“Grab a few pairs. Make it look good . . . Oh, see if she’s got any nail polish remover in the bathroom.”

Sophie stepped in and handed him a half-empty bottle of pink liquid. “The bag is packed. Why do you need nail polish remover?”

“I’m making this look good.” He shoved the drawer shut, then rounded back to the other side of the desk. After tipping the computer tower on its side, he poured the liquid through the round vent, then stomped on it. It might not destroy everything on the hard drive, but it would make Mandy look even guiltier. And it would send Vargas’s men in the wrong direction. They’d be wondering where she went and who she talked to before she left. Hopefully this would take some of the pressure off Ronald Weller.

“Her place is very sterile,” Sophie commented as he stood.

“I noticed.” The place had a few tropical pictures hung up, but all the walls were stark white, and there weren’t any personal pictures. The office had an inexpensive fiberboard desk, a metal filing cabinet, and an office chair. Even her bedroom was bleak. No pictures, no television. Just one dresser and a bed. With the exception of her expensive clothes and a few bottles of pricy perfume, the place looked as if she might have been planning to leave anyway.

“Do you think she was planning to leave town?” Sophie asked, reading his mind.

“I think it’s more than probable. Vargas probably approached her with a deal she couldn’t pass up. He pays well, but she’s likely smart enough to realize she’s expendable and eventually, she would be a liability to him.”

“Expendable,” Sophie murmured before turning and walking out.

Damn it.
His gut twisted as he watched her disappear from the room. Ronald had treated her as if she was expendable, and he wasn’t the first person to do so. She didn’t have to say any more for Jack to understand what she was thinking.

At the moment he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, but they needed to get out of there. He flipped off the light in the office, then followed her to the master bedroom. Half the hangers were on the floor, and clothes were scattered around the carpet. “Nice job,” he said quietly.

He was rewarded by a small smile that did something insane to his insides. Hefting the bag onto his shoulder, he flipped off the light, then drew back the floor-length blinds to reveal another sliding glass door.

Sophie came up next to him. “Think she hid anything on her porch?”

He shook his head. “No, I just wanted to check—”

She stiffened as a rattling sound reverberated through the place. She opened her mouth, but he held one finger to his lips and opened the glass door. He motioned for her to step outside, then shut it quietly behind them.

They stepped into the shadows of the porch, but the darkness wouldn’t provide them cover for long. He glanced over the balcony, then tossed the bag onto the grassy area.

“Come on. I’ll hoist you over,” he whispered.

Sophie’s eyes widened as she glanced over the balcony. She shook her head, but loud cursing from inside spurred her into action. He climbed over the ledge and she followed. Staring at him with those big dark eyes, she clutched on to the railing.

He glanced down again. The drop wasn’t far, and they had a soft, grassy landing.

“On the count of three,” he whispered.

On three he pushed off and landed with a thud. He rolled onto the grass before jumping to his feet. She still hung on.

“Sophie,” he whispered, fighting panic. He was too far to help her if someone discovered her.

Staring down at him, she shook her head. It was dark, but with the moon and lighting from other balconies, he could see her expression clearly and she looked terrified.

“I’m right here,” he whispered again.

Something must have startled her because she turned back around toward the balcony, then looked at him and pushed off.

She landed with a quiet yelp, but he didn’t give her time to react. Jack grabbed the bag and her arm and they started running parallel to the building. Weapon drawn, he rounded the corner of the building and found himself staring down the barrel of a SIG. No matter how many times he’d been in the same position, having a loaded gun pointed at his head didn’t get any easier.

Without pause, he lifted his own weapon.

Behind him, Sophie gasped, but he focused on the man in front of him. Thinking about her could get them both killed and he needed to stay calm.

“Put your weapon down,” his friend—ex-friend—Levi ordered.

His finger twitched on the trigger. “You first.”

A long moment ticked by. “Same time?”

Jack narrowed his eyes but nodded. As Levi lowered his weapon, Jack followed suit so that they both held their weapons at their sides. “What the hell are you doing working for Vargas?”

“You have forty-five seconds to get to your vehicle and get the hell out of here before Vargas’s guys spot you.”

Jack felt as if he were staring into the eyes of a stranger. “Damn it, Levi, I just heard about Meghan and I’m sorry, but talk to me. What’s going on? Why are you working for that piece of shit?”

“My problem isn’t with you. Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. You’re down to forty seconds now.” His voice was icy.

Jack could stand there all day and not squeeze any information out of him. “Fine . . . How deep are you involved with Vargas?”

“Deep enough to know he’s got a mole in the NSA. You need to close that leak.”

Jack didn’t show any outward reaction. He couldn’t afford to. Whatever he’d originally thought about Levi, it didn’t sound as if he was betraying his country. This
had
to be about revenge. It was the only thing that made sense. Maybe that was wishful thinking, but he’d known this man too long. “Is this about her death?”