The Last Target (8 page)

J
ack knew that now more than ever he had to do everything within his power to keep Rachel safe.

She looked pale as she sat beside him in the SUV, and he was almost certain she’d lost weight in the few days since coming to Eyes. Jack knew enough about Rachel to know that she was once vivacious and full of energy. She seemed to be becoming a shell.

Seeing her house ransacked and realizing that the terrorists had stolen a page from her photo album had only added to her stress.

Why would they steal pictures from her album, of all things? The question wouldn’t leave his mind as he drove down the road headed back to Eyes. At least the FBI now had the letters from Meredith. Maybe they would discover something within them that would give a clue about Rachel’s connection with the list. The FBI had also recovered some files from Rachel’s computer at Operation 26 Letters and were searching those records now, hoping to find something—anything—that would provide some answers.

“Jack, tell me about your wife.”

Jack’s heart felt like it stopped for a minute. Of all the conversations he wanted to have with Rachel, this was not one of them. He glanced over at her and saw how she looked so earnest and sincere with her wide eyes.

“What do you want to know?”

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know. Start at the beginning, I suppose. How’d you meet?”

“I came home for a holiday visit my first year being enlisted,” Jack started, the memories still as vivid as if it were last week. “We met at a friend’s Christmas party. We started a long-distance relationship. A year later, we got married and she moved to Norfolk where I was stationed.”

“How long were you married?” Rachel’s gaze still held that compassionate, soft look that so easily sucked him in and made him want to forget about everything else around. Yet instead of thinking about Rachel, he had to think about his ex-wife, his past failures. Any hope he had for a future with Rachel seemed to extinguish like a candle in a windstorm.

“A year and a half.”

“What happened?”

“I moved her away from everyone she knew to a place where she knew no one. And then I went out to sea for eight months.”

“Did she get a job? Join a church? Find a support group for military wives?”

Jack shook his head. “No, I wasn’t a Christian back then, and we didn’t go to church anywhere. I kept encouraging her to get a job or do something to get out of the house. She just didn’t seem interested. She always had excuses. At first, she said she wanted to get moved in and adjusted to being in Virginia. Then she said she couldn’t find a job that she liked. She couldn’t relate to any of the other women in the military wives’ support group. She missed her family and friends in Ohio terribly.”

“It sounds like she didn’t make much effort to adjust to life here.”

“I should have seen what was coming.”

Rachel leaned toward him. “Seen what?”

He shook his head as the memories flooded him. “I should have known that she was sinking into depression. I should have seen the signs. I should have done everything within my power to get off the ship I was stationed on and get home. I could have helped her.”

“What happened, Jack?”

The muscles in his neck flexed as his throat tightened. “I came home from my deployment. Needless to say, she wasn’t at the base to greet me. She barely even looked up when I walked into the house. She was sitting curled up on the couch wearing her pajamas and a bathrobe. The house was a wreck. Bills had been left unpaid.”

“I’m sure it was hard to see her like that.”

“Hard would be an understatement. She was vibrant at one time. The life of the party. I’d underestimated how poorly she was doing while I was overseas. I thought maybe she was exaggerating, but when I saw her, I knew she wasn’t.”

“Did you get her help?”

“I tried to, but she wouldn’t see a counselor. I was home for four months. She really seemed to start doing better. We went out every weekend with my friends and their spouses. She finally found a job working as a teacher’s aide at a local elementary school. I felt like there was hope for my marriage again.”

It was the first time he’d really talked about this in years. His divorce had been finalized nearly ten years ago. Yet he still struggled with the memories, the demons from his past.

“Hope is always good.”

“Unfortunately, I had to go back out to sea. She decided she was going to stay with her parents in Ohio for this deployment so she didn’t fall back into the same habits and thoughts. I thought it seemed like a good idea. But she never came back to Virginia. She fell in love with someone else while she was in Ohio and filed for divorce. As soon as it was
finalized, she married this other guy. She wouldn’t even talk to me. Once she’d decided it was over, there was no changing her mind.”

Rachel grabbed his hand. “I’m so sorry, Jack. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been for you.”

“I begged her to come back, tried to convince her we could make it work. The thing was, as long as I was in the military, she didn’t want to be married to me. And once you’re in the military, you can’t get out until the term you signed up for is over.”

“No, you can’t. Balancing job and family can be so hard, especially when you’re in the military. You’re called to serve your country. They won’t even let you go home for the birth of your baby, not if you’re out to sea. That’s what you sign up for. Didn’t she know that when she married you?”

“She thought she understood it and could handle it, but she couldn’t really. It was all like a culture shock to her. She was a little sheltered to begin with. She had these illusions of what marriage would be like. Reality was much different.”

“I’m sorry, Jack. I can tell all this still affects you.”

“I guess the good thing that came out of this was that it brought me to my knees and led me back to church. I hit rock bottom after she left me. I didn’t know where else to look for help until my friend introduced me to the Navy chaplain. He really helped to point me in the right direction. I started going to church again and slowly got my life back together. The next year, I became a SEAL. I found a lot of purpose in serving my country that way.”

“Everyone needs to feel like they’ve found their purpose. When I used to work in public relations, I thought I was doing what I loved. I was good at it. But when I started this nonprofit, I just knew I was in the place God had called me to be. I was just sorry that I had to lose Andrew to realize my calling.”

Jack caught her gaze. She would never understand how her words had impacted him. He felt the same way. Why did his marriage have to end before he realized he’d found his place in life? He knew that God didn’t honor divorce, but he’d tried everything he could to win Jennifer back. She was dead set on marrying someone else. Through those trials, he’d found a ministry, though.

“What are you thinking about, Rachel?” he finally asked.

She offered a weak smile. “I was thinking that I’m glad you shared that with me. Thank you.”

“Thanks for listening.”

“I’m also thinking about the day care you have at Eyes. I like how you’ve made everything so family oriented. I guess I understand a little bit more about why you’ve done that now.”

“I want to keep families together, not pull them apart.”

Her gaze fluttered toward him. She reached over and squeezed his hand. “I think that’s great.”

As quickly as her hand appeared, she just as quickly pulled it back over into her lap. Jack liked the feeling of her fingers against his. He liked their conversations and being with her. He swallowed, his throat dry. He’d done what he’d vowed not to do. He was starting to fall in love.

“I hope Olivia is doing okay.”

Jack slipped a glance at her, turning his thoughts back to their conversation…or at least attempting to. “What do you mean?”

Rachel shrugged. “She didn’t seem like herself today. Said she wasn’t feeling well. Allergies.”

Funny, Jack never remembered Olivia mentioning anything about allergies before. He knew a lot of people were bothered with them at this time of year, though. He began slowing down as they approached the gates at headquarters. “She’s had a rough time since her son died. She misses him terribly.”

“That’s what she was telling me. At least she has her grandchildren. She said they mean the world to her. It’s just too bad they don’t live closer.” She squinted at an oncoming car.

“What’s wrong?”

Rachel’s head swiveled to follow the car that had just passed them. “That was Olivia who just left.”

Jack looked at the clock on his dashboard. 3:21. “It’s not time for her to leave yet.”

“Jack, I dropped Aidan off with her. If Olivia’s not with him, then who…”

Jack swerved around and quickly caught up with her sedan. As he approached the vehicle, Olivia sped up. All of his senses went on red alert, screaming that something was wrong.

“What’s going on? Why would she leave?” Rachel shook her head. Her hands went to her stomach as if she might get sick.

Jack pulled his cell phone out and dialed Luke’s number. “I need you to look for Aidan. Olivia just left. Do you know anything about this?”

“I’ll look into it.”

Suddenly, out of the back window of Olivia’s car, Aidan’s head popped up. Rachel gasped. “She’s got Aidan!”

Jack sped up until he was at the car’s bumper. Rachel’s hands went to the dashboard as if she wanted to reach through the window and grab her son.

“What are you going to do? You’re not going to run into them, are you? Don’t hurt him!”

Jack had no intention of hurting anyone. He jerked into the next lane and came up beside Olivia’s car. He tried to see Olivia’s face but couldn’t. She stared straight ahead, both hands gripping the wheel. She leaned forward, close to the windshield.

Jack had no choice. He had to stop the car somehow. He accelerated until he was in front of Olivia’s car. Then he swerved and slammed on brakes. The SUV skidded to a halt in front of Olivia’s car.

Jack heard tires burning against asphalt. Olivia’s sedan stopped just inches away from his SUV. But everyone was safe.

Jack and Rachel both jumped from the vehicle at the same time. Rachel ran to the passenger door of Olivia’s car.

“Rachel!” Jack warned. Olivia could have a gun for all they knew.

She didn’t listen. She jerked the door open and pulled Aidan into her arms. Jack opened the other door and pulled Olivia from the car. He looked her dead in the eye. “Olivia, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”

The woman’s eyes welled with tears. She shook her head, moaning. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He loosened his grip. “What’s going on, Olivia? You need to start talking, because it looks like you were just kidnapping a child.”

“Oh, Jack. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“What do you mean?” Jack asked.

“They said if I didn’t bring Aidan to them, then they’d kill my grandchildren!”

Rachel still hugged Aidan to her as she sat in Jack’s office, listening again to Olivia share her story.

“I stopped at a red light and this man jumped in the backseat. He put a gun to my head and said that if I didn’t leave with Aidan today that he was going to kill my grandchildren. I didn’t know what to do!”

“So you were going to let them kill Aidan?” Rachel asked, putting her hands over Aidan’s ears so he wouldn’t hear their conversation. “How could you do something like that?”

Jack’s gaze flickered to Rachel, his expression a mixture of compassion and concern. His gaze lingered on her a moment before he turned back to Olivia. “What was their next instruction to you, Olivia? Where were you supposed to take him?”

“They didn’t say! They said I’d receive further instruction later.” She buried her face in her hands. “I just didn’t know what to do. I waited until the other children were picked up so I could know they were taken care of. Then I left with Aidan. Told him we were going for ice cream. Please forgive me.”

Jack turned to Denton. “We need to get some men over to Tennessee to watch over Olivia’s grandchildren, to make sure nothing happens to them.”

“How did they know who I was? It was like they’d been watching me. They knew my car. They knew my route to work, when I left, that I had grandchildren.”

Rachel’s heart panged with unwanted compassion. She didn’t want to feel sorry for the woman who’d just tried to kidnap her son, but at the same time she could relate to Olivia’s words. She felt the same way.

“Jack, we have a problem.” Luke stopped in the doorway.

“What is it?”

“One of the SUVs leaving headquarters was just bombed.”

A
idan leaned from his booster seat into Rachel’s arms, easily going to sleep as they rolled down the road. The sky was midnight black and the air still as stifling in the middle of the night as it was during the day.

There was no conversation during the drive. Just silence. What else could you say when it felt like all means of protection had been exhausted? Even Jack seemed quieter than usual. Rachel saw his jaw flexing, saw his tight grip on the steering wheel.

Luke and Denton followed behind them. In the cover of night, it would be easy to spot any approaching headlights, to know if they were being followed. At least, that’s what Rachel told herself.

She had no idea where they were going. She didn’t care. All she could think about was staying safe. As it happened every time they ventured away from the headquarters, her stomach was in knots, her hands trembled and sweat covered her brow.

Where was her faith? she wondered. Shouldn’t she be trusting God? That He would take care of them? Didn’t the Bible warn against worry? But how could she not worry when her life and the life of her son were in danger?

Eventually, exhaustion must have gotten the best of her,
because she drifted to sleep. Not a restful sleep, but sleep kept coming in snatches. Roads surrounded by woods became highways surrounded by strip malls, streets surrounded by houses, and eventually they rumbled down gravel lanes as the landscape became hilly.

She felt the humming of the motor die and pulled her eyes open. Through a sleep-dazed state, she saw a rambling house before them. Uncle Arnold’s, she realized. One of several homes he owned, but she did remember coming here a couple of times. He usually resided in his apartment up near the Pentagon in D.C.

Jack glanced in the backseat. “You awake?”

Rachel nodded and yawned. She was more exhausted than she originally thought. Every one of her muscles seemed to ache at the moment. She rolled her head back, trying to get the kinks out of her neck.

Jack nodded toward the house. “Luke and Denton are clearing us before we go inside. It will just be a few more minutes.”

“Uncle Arnold’s, huh?”

“He volunteered the space. It’s ideal, I must say. There’s no one around for miles, and a fence surrounds the entire property. There’s a state-of-the-art alarm system. No one knows we’re here except Luke and Denton. And your uncle, of course.”

She nodded, too exhausted to think of any other response. She just wanted to feel safe, to know that Aidan’s life wasn’t in danger. Was that possible?

A few minutes later, Luke strutted out from the front door. He approached the SUV and nodded. The property was cleared. And so a new chapter began, Rachel thought wearily.

She climbed out, walked around the car to the opposite door and lifted Aidan from his booster seat. He slumbered
peacefully in her arms as Jack guided her inside. Jack showed her to a room that looked like it could have been decorated especially for Aidan. She laid him in bed, pulled up the covers and kissed his forehead. Jack waited in the doorway.

“If anything touches the window, an alarm will go off. Luke and Denton will monitor the perimeter in shifts. There are also cameras set up all around the grounds, so we’ll be keeping our eyes on things from the inside.”

Rachel nodded. Jack really had thought of everything, and Rachel had no doubt that he took this assignment very seriously. She appreciated his dedication and concern.

With his hand on her back, Jack led her down the hallway. “This is where you can stay. I’ll bring up your bags and leave them outside the door for you.”

Rachel glanced up at him, at his towering, brooding frame that seemingly could protect giants. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Jack. For everything.” Her throat went dry as she realized how much she enjoyed feeling his fingers beneath hers. He was becoming more than a bodyguard to her, she realized, whether she liked it or not.

“I’m just doing my job.”

Rachel released his hand, snapping back to reality. Reality, at the moment, felt like a bucket of cold water to the heart.

Of course Jack was just doing his job. What did she think? That he was falling in love with her? The thought was ridiculous, caused obviously by her heightened emotions. Deep inside, perhaps she did long for a protector and a provider for the family. She’d been silly to think Jack would be that man.

“Of course.” She cleared her throat and looked away. “I need to get some sleep. Goodnight, Jack.”

She slipped into her room before Jack could see any of the emotions she was sure flashed across her face. She couldn’t let him know how much his words had hurt.

Why had he said that?

Jack gritted his teeth as he walked back down to the SUV to get Rachel’s luggage.

Rachel had just been standing there, looking so lovely and vulnerable in the shadows of the hallway. When her fingers intertwined with his, it had brought up too many old emotions. He remembered how he’d failed Jennifer. He didn’t want to ever do that to another woman he cared about.

And he had to be honest with himself—he was starting to care about Rachel in terms that were more than merely professional.

He stepped out into the night, and the sound of crickets singing their song immediately enveloped him. Vice Admiral Harris’s home was beautiful and just what they needed—secluded, unexpected and a safe respite, at least for a few days.

He grabbed the few bags that Rachel had packed. She had so few possessions with her. He’d tried to provide what he could, but he knew that nothing compared to having your own clothes and belongings, especially when you were desperate for comfort.

But there had been no opportunity to grab those items. Between Rachel’s house being ransacked and the threats to Olivia and Aidan, Jack knew he had to leave and fast. The terrorists knew where Rachel was and they were desperate to play games with her.

The question was, why did they want to scare her so badly? It almost seemed like their goal was simply to scare her. But that didn’t fit Apaka’s modus operandi. Everyone else on the list had simply been killed, not threatened beforehand.

Perhaps this woman who had sent Andrew letters would have some of the answers they needed.

As Jack stepped back toward the house, he glanced up
and spotted Rachel standing on the second-story balcony. She didn’t appear to see him. Instead, her gaze fixated on something in the distance. The rolling hills, perhaps? Jack knew the past twenty-four hours had put a strain on her. He could even see it now in the solemn expression she wore.

He looked away and gave her some privacy. Inside, he climbed the stairs and set her bags outside her door. He then peeked in on Aidan, just to make sure the boy was okay. He’d been such a trouper throughout everything. He had to admit that being with Rachel and Aidan had stirred up some kind of longing within him. He liked feeling like they all belonged together—like a family.

When he was sure Aidan was okay, he turned to find Luke and Denton. As he passed the door to the balcony, he paused. Should he even interrupt Rachel? Perhaps she wanted to be alone. Or perhaps she needed someone to talk to…

He stood at the door, contemplating what to do.

Earlier he’d said he was just doing his job. His job wasn’t to protect her emotions. Yet that’s exactly what he desired to do. To protect her inside and out, physically, and emotionally and spiritually.

Why was doing this job so hard sometimes?

He remained at the doorway another moment, his desires toying with him while his responsibilities smacked him in the face. Was there even a win-win in this situation?

A pleasant breeze fanned Rachel’s face. She knew they were in the foothills of the Blueridge Mountains, and she welcomed the change in temperature. The fresh, crisp air helped to clear her head a little.

After she’d said good-night to Jack, she stood in her temporary bedroom for a moment, simply staring at it. The thought of lying down and trying to find the sleep that had
once felt so demanding seemed impossible. She needed a breath of fresh air, a moment to try to process everything.

She leaned against the railing and replayed the image of Aidan’s face staring at her from the back window of Olivia’s car. What if it hadn’t been Olivia who’d taken him? What if it had been a terrorist? What if they hadn’t gotten him back?

A tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it with the back of her hand.

Why was she crying? None of that had happened. Her heart should be overflowing with joy that they’d been victorious. She needed to get a grip, to stay strong. Yet the tears kept coming. And the images of Aidan kept replaying over and over. The what-ifs repeated themselves.

A footfall sounded behind her. Ever so quiet. Almost imagined.

But it wasn’t.

She sucked in a breath. Apaka. What if it was an Apaka operative? She needed a weapon. Something. Her gaze scanned her immediate surroundings.

Nothing.

“Rachel.”

She twirled around. Jack. It was Jack’s voice. Relief rushed through her. Jack stepped from the shadows, his gaze accessing her, as he often did.

Rachel quickly wiped at her face again, trying to get rid of the evidence that she’d been crying. It didn’t work.

“I just thought I’d check on you,” he said quietly. He stepped beside her.

Rachel turned back toward the breeze and nodded. Her chin trembled, though, belying her true feelings. No more saying, “I’m fine.” She looked into the distant darkness. “I’ve been trying really hard not to feel sorry for myself throughout this whole process. It’s not working right now.”

“You’re not feeling sorry for yourself, Rachel. You’ve just
been through a lot. You’ve been processing everything very well.”

“It’s just that…when I saw Aidan…” Her voice caught.

Jack slipped his arms around her. She let herself cry there. She didn’t care anymore. She was tired of trying to be strong, of trying to constantly be in control of her life, her emotions. She just had to let go and trust God.

“I’m sorry, Rachel. I wish you didn’t have to go through this.”

It felt good to have Jack’s strong arms around her, holding her up, to hear his words of comfort. But she knew having his arms around her was making her dream about a life she couldn’t have. He’d made that clear only moments earlier. Was he trying to toy with her emotions? Is that why he’d taken another step forward after he’d just taken a step back?

No, she remembered, he wasn’t toying with her. He was doing his job.

She stepped back and felt Jack’s intense gaze on her.

Before he could say anything else or remind her of the nature of their relationship, she hurried inside, desperate to protect her heart.