Allison Brennan - Fear No Evil

“How did you track him then?”

“He wasn’t as cautious then as he is now. We tracked him through his corporation, Trask Enterprises, which has several online pornography sites.”

“What happened to the corporation?”

“The board of directors testified that they didn’t know anyone named Trask, that Roger Morton was the owner/operator as far as they knew, and that someone from the outside had hacked into the company’s equipment. We didn’t catch anyone lying, but that’s not to say someone didn’t. Soon after, several people disappeared from the company. The corporation lost all its assets, but ultimately it owned the domain names and rights to all the big online porn sites and was able to refill its coffers. Quickly. Trask operates solely outside of Trask Enterprises, at least for now. The FBI is still tracking the company. Spending too much time doing it, in my opinion.”

“He’s bringing in money from all over the world. He’s promised these people something,” Dillon said. “He’s not going to renege on his deal with them. He’ll lose face, and they won’t trust him down the road.”

“But if Lucy is on that island, we can get her out before anything more happens to her.” Connor’s voice cracked. “You can stay, Dillon, but I’m going.”

“Go,” Kate said. “I never asked any of you to come here. I didn’t want anyone to find me. You’ve already screwed me. As soon as this is over, I’m going to have to find another place.”

“You’re already giving up,” Dillon said.

“I am not giving up.”

“You’re talking about when this is over. When Lucy is dead,” said Dillon. “But if we do stop him this time, you won’t have to hide anymore.”

“You don’t understand. Quinn didn’t tell you everything.”

“You might be surprised. He’s been protecting you. You have friends you might not even know about.”

Kate shook her head, not wanting to hear what Dillon had to say. And he couldn’t push. He didn’t have time to sweet-talk her, to coddle her and tell her everything was going to be just peachy. He didn’t know if he believed it himself. But if they didn’t do something , he’d never forgive himself.

Patrick spoke up. “I think these coordinates are valid. If we jam, we might make it to Hidalgo in four hours, maybe less, charter a plane and get to Baja in another four hours. That puts the countdown at twenty-five hours, giving us time to set up a rescue effort. It’ll take the feds nearly that long to get permission for an op on foreign soil. We can meet them there.”

“Do what you feel you must.” Kate rubbed her eyes as if she had a fierce headache. “A few things you need to know. First, Trask will wire any facility to explode. He did it with Paige and others. Second, he kills on sight. He will give you no time to negotiate or plead. He shot Evan at point-blank range without hesitation.”

“Who’s Evan?” Dillon asked.

Kate didn’t answer. “Third, he has four to six men surrounding him at all times. Trask doesn’t like to lose his men, but they are casualties of war as far as he’s concerned. He’ll leave the wounded behind, possibly even shooting them so they can’t talk. I doubt he trusts any of them, even Roger Morton, who’s been with him since the beginning.”

“We should wait until Quinn Peterson returns his assessment.” Dillon remembered what Peterson had said about the last false lead and the lives that had almost been lost. Lucy was already in danger. Dillon couldn’t send his brothers on a deadly mission without additional support.

“We don’t have time,” Patrick said, showing rare frustration. “Dil, I understand where you’re coming from, but we have to move. We can’t wait for the feds.”

Kate pulled open a desk drawer and took out a laptop. “This is my extra portable. It has a four-hour battery, and an extra four-hour battery in the bag.” She plugged the unit into her hard drive and started typing a bunch of commands.

“What are you doing?” Dillon asked.

“Giving Patrick everything I have. Everything except the trace program, which you wouldn’t be able to run off this anyway without wasting battery life. You have the coordinates, maps, the connections he’s used in the past. If I learn anything else, I’ll communicate with you through this computer.” She pulled another trick out of the drawer. “Here’s a nifty device. Checks for explosives. Trask loves his bombs.”

As Kate’s hand brushed against her keyboard, a scream pierced the air. All four of them jerked their heads toward the screen.

Lucy was still tied to the chair. A woman stood over her. Dillon couldn’t see her face, but she had short dark hair and was small and bony. Lucy’s arm had been cut, the skin barely punctured, and blood slowly seeped from a three-inch incision.

“Dear God,” Patrick said.

They heard Lucy’s voice on the speakers. “Get away from me, you freak! Get away from me!”

The knife came up in the woman’s hand and her profile was in view.

“No!” Connor screamed at the same time Lucy did.

The woman laughed, a low, barely audible rumble. “Just teasing,” she said and kissed Lucy on the lips before walking out of view.

Dillon turned to Kate, whose face was ashen. “What is it?” he asked.

“It’s Denise Arno. She’s supposed to be dead. She’s supposed to be dead !”

Kate punched her fist into her desk.

DILLON WALKED with Connor and Patrick as far as the edge of the observatory. “I wish you’d wait until we hear back from Agent Peterson. They’re on top of this.”

“We’ve been through this,” Connor said. “You know how to reach us.”

Jack motioned for his team. They immediately fell into position without a word.

Dillon stared at his twin. So much time had passed since they had considered themselves brothers. And they had been close-best friends as well as brothers.

Dillon wished he knew what had changed. He had hints, his years of experience, his counseling, understanding the delicacy and strength of the human psyche. But he didn’t know enough to get into Jack’s head. Jack’s actions, however, gave Dillon hope. His help today had been invaluable, and Dillon would never forget it. Maybe later he and Jack could reconnect. When Lucy was safe and the family was back together.

“That Kate Donovan is a piece of work,” Jack said. “Leave her. I don’t think she’s all there.”

Dillon raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you get your psych degree?”

“Observation, brother. You don’t need a fancy degree to see what’s what.”

“I’m staying until we hear from the FBI.” Dillon slapped Connor and Patrick on the back. “Be careful. I know why you need to go. But stay in the loop. Remember that Kate thinks it’s a trap.”

“We’re expecting anything,” Connor said. “But you be careful, too.” Connor looked worried and told Dillon to keep his backup weapon.

“Don’t try to leave the mountain alone,” Jack told Dillon. “I’ll come and get you when I’m back in the area.”

“Don’t count on me being here.” Dillon believed Kate was close to finding Trask, either through her computer or because Trask wanted her to find him. If she left, Dillon was going with her.

Jack turned and walked with his team, Connor, and Patrick down the mountain road. They disappeared from sight.

Dillon didn’t know what made his twin tick, but he had ideas. A fierce sense of loyalty. A code of honor that wasn’t exactly the same as their father’s. Jack showed no fear, no remorse, and little emotion. Like an automaton. He did what he did-both good and bad-for a purpose, not because he enjoyed it. Unlike the man who had Lucy.