Willow Read online

  “But…You were married!”

  “I wish that weren’t true, but I was naïve and I believed him. You can sort out all of this later, but I’ll leave as soon as I have all the codes, and I want you to come with me.”

  Mandy got up.

  “Can you do that?”

  “I’ll have to think about it. I’ll see you later.”

  She left without another word. Willow was worried, but after laying out the possibilities to Simon’s girlfriend, she was more worried about what the next few hours might bring. She needed to figure out those codes, and she’d make Mandy go with her, one way or another.

  Simon had indeed changed those passwords, and made it harder for Willow to get the required information off the intranet.

  “Damn you,” she swore. When had he done all that? Hours of her work were gone. She didn’t think he was clever enough to have figured out what she’d done, but that he had created those virtual locks as a precaution. Willow abandoned all pretense of working on the commission—she concentrated solely on cracking the codes that would enable her, and Mandy, to get safely out of the front door and away from here.

  Finally, the numbers came together, and she had a fifteen minute window—otherwise she’d have to start from scratch, go panel by panel. No, she’d better find Mandy now.

  The house wasn’t small, but Willow had gotten an impression from the layout between the bedroom and the lab. She knew where the master suite was. She hoped the kitchen and living area, or wherever she’d find Mandy, wasn’t too far.

  * * * *

  24 hours ago

  “Don’t move!” Kat yelled, keeping her gun trained on the man while she made a call on her cell phone. Crystal didn’t pick up. She hesitated only for a split second—if she asked for help, that would be it, she’d be in again. She had no choice. If this guy could come close, then Dale might have others not too far away. She couldn’t take the risk that they might find Crystal and Willow—even with a couple of agents around. Dale’s men were ruthless.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him, and you can come with me if you need a ride.”

  She spun around, for a moment frozen when she saw the man who had spoken those words.

  “Peter. What the hell are you doing here?”

  “You’re welcome,” he said. “Crystal thought it might be a good idea to follow you, because she wasn’t at all sure what you were going to do.”

  “Aw. There I thought she might be worried about me. I was going to the same place you hopefully intend to bring this fellow.”

  “That’s the plan. Maybe we can chat a bit later. It’s been a long time.”

  She and Peter had been partnered on some missions after Franklin had mentored her. He wasn’t in it for the thrill or because he didn’t have alternatives—for Peter, this was just a job like any other. Sometimes, Kat hadn’t been sure whether she was relieved or worried about that. In any case, him showing up at this moment was convenient. She caught the cuffs Peter tossed her and fastened them around the driver’s wrists.

  “Hey, careful!”

  “Yeah, like you were earlier?” she snapped at him.

  “Are you okay?” Peter asked. “I mean her,” he added.

  “Sure, just a few bruises. Let’s go.”

  They didn’t talk much in front of their prisoner who kept moaning and complaining for most of the ride. They would get him medical attention at the local offices, but Kat thought he’d gotten off easily after nearly killing her.

  “You should report back to Crystal,” she said. “I don’t want her to tell Willow. She’ll be worried for nothing.”

  Peter gave her a curious sideways look, but didn’t comment. Instead he called Crystal on his cell phone.

  “I tried to reach her earlier. I hope everything’s okay?”

  In the backseat, their prisoner sneered.

  “Hey,” Crystal’s voice finally came over the speaker. “You’re still on her tail?”

  “So to speak, yes. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine, but we have a situation. The princess made a run for it.”

  “What?” Kat exclaimed.

  “Oh, hi, Kat. Wait, why are you in the car?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Why do you think she ran? Are you sure security wasn’t breached?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. She had a few text messages from her ex right before she left. Peter?”

  “Well, yeah. We had company,” he explained. “One of Dale’s guys, but we apprehended him. We’re taking care of this now. You guys stay where you are.”

  “I want to go,” Kat said. “You can let me out as soon as we are—”

  “No way, Kat. Crystal will already have a search team out, which is exactly the same you would do. You can assist them later if necessary, but for now, we’re going to headquarters. You’re the one who wanted answers.”

  “Willow Garrett is missing. That’s more important now.”

  “And, as I told you, we have people on that. There’s nothing you can do for her at the moment, but you can help us. You can help Franklin.”

  “I don’t understand a thing, and I’m not sure I want to. Franklin didn’t tell me the whole truth, and neither did any of you. I quit for a reason. I have no desire to come back.”

  In fact, her only desire was to find Willow, and then, maybe a long hot bath. She’d probably take Willow with her to make sure she wouldn’t lose her again.

  “Franklin has something for you too. We’ll call him later, and I make sure any agent who spots Ms. Garrett will deliver her right away.”

  Kat resigned to the fact that she needed to bide her time until she could make a stealthy getaway. Her priorities hadn’t changed even if there was a small chance to illuminate the many secrets Franklin had kept from her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Peter had handed the driver of the Jeep off to a couple of agents, then showed Kat to an office with a rather comfortable couch. She could have drifted off if she hadn’t been so high on adrenaline and fear for Willow.

  “I’ll let you know when the assistant director will see you.”

  “Wait. I thought—”

  “Everything is taken care off, I promise. You’ll have that conversation in a bit, and then you can talk to Franklin.”

  Kat didn’t sleep when Peter returned. Granted, she hadn’t done much for the Agency in six years, but they didn’t have to lock her in a room with cameras? She had looked at every possible way out, knowing from experience that there was none. Meanwhile, Willow was in danger. This was unacceptable.

  “What the hell was this all about?”

  “Nothing personal,” he said. Behind his back, Kat scoffed.

  “You don’t trust me, I get it. I don’t care. But you’re risking a woman’s life!”

  Peter didn’t comment. This time, he led her straight to the assistant director’s office. He knocked on the door and they heard a curt “Come in,” before he opened the door for Kat.

  “Sir,” she said. “Thank you for making time for me. Is there any news on Ms. Garrett?” If there was sarcasm in her tone, she couldn’t help it.

  “Agent, what a pleasure to see you. I think we haven’t met in person.”

  “I quit being an agent before I came to live here.”

  He made a dismissive gesture. “Semantics at this point. We know that Franklin booked you for a private job, which is fine with us. You know the financial situation.”

  “He pays for your missions.”

  “Well, not all of them, but that’s beside the point. The point is…Your mission would have been contained if it was just about playing bodyguard for a spoiled little girl…”

  Kat gritted her teeth. Willow was all but that. She wasn’t going to argue with him though. The sooner they could end this, the better.

  “We didn’t find her yet, by the way. But you already know it’s much more than that, with the ex-husband, and his dealings with Dale. I’m sure you did a great job protecting her, but now
we’re stepping in. With the history you and Dale have, and the fact that you haven’t been in for retraining in years, we want to be on the safe side. Besides, there’s something Franklin would like to talk to you about.”

  “You’re calling me off?” No way.

  “I’m sure you took good care of Ms. Garrett. Now let someone else do the job.”

  Kat held his gaze. She wasn’t prone to blushing, but her stomach fluttered a little at the idea that he might know.

  “I’m concerned with the luck of success so far.”

  Again, the assistant director didn’t bother responding to what she’d said.

  “You’re right, I’m calling you off, and I want you to go quietly. In exchange, Franklin will answer some questions I know you have.”

  “Then I can go?”

  “As it is, we have some questions for you, too, so we’d prefer if you keep us company for a little while longer.”

  “What are you doing to protect Willow Garrett?”

  “Enough, believe me. It’s not in our interest to have any harm coming to her. In fact, she’s one of our contractors, so we’d prefer her products go to us rather than Dale’s people.”

  Kat felt dizzy, wondering if she’d taken a harder hit than she’d thought when her car went down the ditch.

  “Does Franklin know about this?”

  “Confidentiality involves family members. I believe they do their work best if there are no interferences. So I’ll trust you won’t tell him either. As you’re well aware, we deal with matters of national security, and it’s of utmost importance that all our locations are safe. Ms. Garrett’s company has contributed to that.”

  “Yet, you call her a spoiled princess.”

  “Well, she is related to Franklin. Who do you think invested in that business?”

  Kat shook her head. She wasn’t going to start a pointless argument. Franklin didn’t even know Willow was working, or what she was working on. She didn’t think there was much of his money, if at all, in her company. Willow had worked hard to be independent from the men in her life, be it her father or her ex-husband.

  “About that phone call, sir.”

  “Peter will take you to the office. We’ll have a secure line there, and we can talk some more afterwards.”

  “As you wish.”

  Kat followed Peter once more through the maze of corridors and into another, sparsely furnished, office. Peter checked his watch and pointed to the phone on the table in the corner. “He’ll call in exactly four minutes. I’ll give you some privacy.”

  “Because you’re eavesdropping on the conversation anyway.”

  He shrugged. “You know how it works. When you’re done, you’ll find your way to the assistant director’s office.”

  “I hope breakfast is an option somewhere in there.”

  “Sure. We’d love to have you as our guest.”

  Kat wondered about the hint of sarcasm, but decided it wasn’t important now. She had to play along for the moment, so she could find a way out the moment it presented itself. First, she needed to talk to Franklin, and she needed the local resources to help find Willow. She didn’t trust the assistant director and his agents to do enough about an albeit valuable contractor. She knew firsthand that when dealing with Dale and his network, casualties were quietly counted in. That wouldn’t happen this time.

  The ringing of the phone made them both flinch, and then Kat picked up.

  “Franklin, what a surprise. I’ve been told you have something to say to me.”

  “That’s true, and I’m taking a substantial risk to do it, so you better listen carefully.”

  “I’m not sure I like your tone.”

  “That’s because just about everyone here has enough of your antics, Kat. We all take risks. In your case, that nearly went bad, but it was well within what you signed up for. Stop digging. There is no conspiracy, no big secret, and Dale would have killed you if I hadn’t saved your ass. That’s the truth. Now, how are the gardens doing?”

  Kat was so baffled by his outburst it took her a few seconds to answer…even if she had understood the message, clearly, she thought.

  “They are doing fine, so far, but I have to get back to them soon.”

  “Yes, I would think so. There’s some bad stuff in the forecast. I hope you have taken all the necessary measures.”

  “I have,” she assured him.

  “And be careful. I heard some bad roots or poisonous flowers can destroy the whole thing.”

  “Yeah, we looked out for that. Franklin…thank you. I needed to hear this, and I’ll do my best. I promise.”

  “Now, that’s more like it. I need to go.”

  The same was true for Kat. She couldn’t wait around any longer while the “bad weather” was around the corner. Clearly, she’d received a warning not to trust anyone.

  There was someone though she could think of, and this time, she wouldn’t take the risk of Crystal potentially passing information along.

  * * * *

  Present

  Willow finally found Mandy in a huge sunroom, doing yoga.

  “What?” She gave Willow a challenging look. “It relaxes me. It’s what I need right now.”

  “Oh for Pete’s sake, we don’t have time for that! We both need to get away from here, and we have exactly seven minutes before the alarm kicks in. I’m sure it’s connected to a phone somewhere.”

  “Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t let you leave, if Simon thought it was a good idea to have you here.”

  Willow almost scoffed. It was hard to imagine that Mandy could stop her, but then again…maybe she was doing other kinds of sports. She seemed quite fit, and maybe she’d taken the same self-defense classes Willow had.

  “Mandy! Simon might get arrested soon, and they’ll have a lot of questions for you too. Even if you don’t know anything, you’ll be tainted by proxy. Ask yourself if you want that.”

  “He’s been good to me,” Mandy said.

  “That might be, for now, but he also made lots of bad choices that could become really dangerous for both of us. Let’s go.”

  Reluctantly, Mandy got to her feet.

  “Now!”

  They ran all the way to the front door.

  “Do you have a car?”

  Mandy nodded.

  “Okay. I’ll take it from there. You’ll be okay, I promise.”

  It was a bit of a premature promise. Both of them froze at the sound of heavy boots on the stairs. Through the glass, she could see the men approaching, carrying shotguns.

  “Who are they?” Mandy shrieked.

  “I’m not sure, but they don’t look friendly. Change of plans.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  Willow wished she’d have a clearer concept of that, but seeing that their time was running out…It might work in their favor.

  “I’m sorry it doesn’t sound glamorous or especially brave, but we’ll hide for the time being. I was only concentrating on the quickest way out, but maybe there’s another option. We can get to the lab and check that out. Do you know where Simon keeps his guns in this house?”

  Mandy nodded, looking frightened.

  “Don’t worry. It will all work out.”

  The young woman’s gaze said, You keep telling me that.

  * * * *

  Kat knew she only had a small window of opportunity, and if she bothered to have breakfast or conversation with the assistant director right now, it would be closed. At this point, there was only one person she trusted, someone she knew Willow trusted as well. Using the office’s resources was not an option any longer—she’d lose too much time and draw attention towards her.

  The bad roots...Lucky for her Franklin had finally told her the truth, in an unusually poetic way. It made her wonder how long ago he had planned this. Kat sent a quick text message, hoping its recipient was aware of the urgency. Now.

  Peter had waited for her outside. Figures.

  “I’ll go find the assistant di
rector in a minute, but I need the restroom first.” He pointed in the general direction and Kat went, aware of cameras on her. The restrooms were the only places where no one was spied on. She closed the door behind her, and then looked into each of the stalls. One of them was closed.

  “It’s me. We’re alone for now.”

  A nervous looking Judy Mancini opened the door to her.

  “I’ll be the first one to admit this is exciting, but I’m also freaked out,” she admitted. “I can’t reach Willow…I have an idea where she might be though. Judging from what Crystal had, she might be in acute danger. Those bad guys are in front of Simon’s country house right now.”

  “You have an address?”

  “Yes. We have to be quick.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Judy started stripping, and Kat did the same, putting on Judy’s dress and coat after. Judy changed into Kat’s rather non-descript black shirt and jeans. “You really think this will work?”

  “I’m not sure, but you have to stick to the story, okay? If they ask you, you tell them I had a gun and forced you to change clothes. You can also tell them that none of this would be necessary if they took better care of their own people.”

  “I’ll remember every word of it.”

  “You better—and, thank you. I owe you for this.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Judy mumbled.

  “Be careful—and if possible, stay in here as long as you can.” Kat tied back her hair and put on Judy’s sunglasses last. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Yeah. I hope.”

  Peter was talking to another agent when she opened the door, and turned for the exit. They only gave her a quick cursory glance and went back to their conversation. Kat wished she could walk faster in those heels, but that would only make her look suspicious.

  It was lucky that they both had the same shoe size. Wearing Judy’s ID, she walked past the guard at the front entry, and then took the car keys from Judy’s purse. Kat had no illusions about how long it would take them to figure out she had made a run for it. She hoped to make it to Simon’s and get Willow out before anything else. If anyone from the Agency, the Annex specifically, was involved with Dale and his crew, the bad roots, they would have to lay low. She could keep them safe until Franklin returned and gave them more information, something they might be able to take to a judge.