Rebecca Zanetti - Blind Faith

The commander calmly plugged him three times in the chest.

Blood splattered toward the window. Ernie’s mouth opened wide as he went down.

Dead.

The commander stepped over the broken windowsill, already unfolding a Swiss Army knife. He leaned down and studied the lock on the vest.

Audrey held her breath. Get it off, get it off, get it off. She didn’t twitch.

The commander inserted a small knife and twisted. The lock popped.

Audrey’s heart dropped to her feet.

Silence. Nothing blew up.

The commander unzipped the vest, and the sound magnified in the death-filled room. He expertly removed the explosives and took the detonator from her hands. Placing both on the desk, he jumped through the window and held out a hand.

She paused. The building was going to explode, and yet, she had to gather her strength to accept his outstretch hand. “Thank you,” she said, her mind fuzzing.

“Of course.” He kept her hand in his while leading the way to a Hummer idling in the long driveway. “Keep your head down and hurry.”

She ran and jumped into the front seat of the Hummer. The commander followed suit, driving away from the palatial home. “You can’t blow up the home of a U.S. senator’s chief of staff,” she said, her gaze on the side-view mirror.

The commander pressed down on the accelerator with more force. “Why not?”

Indeed. In his world, there was nothing wrong with blowing up the home and killing people still in it. Audrey shook her head. “I guess this will be one more mystery to go along with the senator disappearing.”

The commander glanced down at her. “Maybe. Don’t really care. Are we going to get his recommendation for funding or not?”

“I don’t know.” Probably not.

The world lit up bright yellow and orange behind her, and she leaned away from the side mirror, even as her gaze remained glued to the image of fire and wood roaring through the night. Glass shattered in every direction, and smoke billowed up.

She’d been so close to exploding. So far, her baby had been in more danger in the past few days than most people saw their entire lives. Sorrow and fear threatened to swamp her. Where was Nate? More than ever, she needed him.

The commander steered onto another street and the image disappeared.

Sirens sounded in the distance.

“Explain about this group,” the commander said, his gaze on the dark street in front of them.

Audrey put on her seat belt and told the commander everything she knew as they drove through Virginia. Finally, she wound down. “That’s all I know.”

He nodded. “I surmised most of that explanation.” A quick glance at his watch had him focusing out the front window again. “Lilith Mayes and three of her men were released from custody an hour ago, and their car should’ve gone off a cliff by now. No need to worry about them any longer.”

Audrey’s ears rang. “You had them killed.”

“Of course.” He increased the speed of the windshield wipers.

Her vision blurred. “I don’t suppose you’re taking me to my apartment?”

“No. It’s time you came in-house,” he said. “The senator isn’t likely to give us funding, and your time undercover is over.”

“What about funding?”

“I have other sources. Always have a contingency plan.” He rubbed a large hand over his wet spiky hair.

She cleared her throat, her mind reeling. Yeah, she’d known the commander would try to sequester her somewhere else at some point, but she hadn’t known it would be so soon. It would’ve been easier escaping from outside the organization. “I don’t want to go in-house.”

No expression crossed his hard face. “How else am I going to get Nathan to come home?”

Audrey’s breath caught. “Nate? Why would he come home?”

The commander glanced at her, the skin twitching at the corner of his eye—the closest he’d ever come to rolling his eyes. “Please. We know Nate is here, and we know you’ve had contact. He’ll come home in order to save his baby.”

They’d been so careful, but the commander had known them all since birth. “What if he doesn’t?” Audrey asked, focusing outside the front window.

“He will. Plus, I assume you know about the kill chips?”

Audrey thought about lying, but why bother? The commander knew all. “Yes. How could you do that?”

“Plan B.” The commander turned the Hummer onto the interstate.

“Where’s your other facility?” Audrey asked. Since she’d been truthful, maybe he would be, too.

“You’ll see the other facility soon enough.”

There had been very few times in her life that she’d been alone with the commander. She’d been raised by nannies, attended boarding school, and then went to college abroad. But she’d known him her entire life. Kind of. “I used to wonder if you’d marry my mother,” she said quietly.

He started. “Your mother and I have a good relationship.”

They’d been together, nonexclusively, for Audrey’s entire life. “Why haven’t you married each other?”

“Why would we?” he asked.

“Love?” She breathed out the word, knowing it was a mistake.

“Don’t be silly. Love is a chemical reaction. You know better.” Disapproval firmed his lips. “My Gray boys know better.”

Audrey kept silent. Even after raising them, training them, studying them, the commander didn’t know Nathan or his brothers. Love had kept them together and had helped them to survive. Then it had nearly destroyed them.

She loved Nate. Completely and truly… and she’d fight for him. For both of them. Maybe they had a chance, and maybe not. But she’d go down fighting.

Since the commander was taking her in, maybe he would finally level with her. “Is Jory still alive?” she asked, holding her breath.

The commander twisted a knob and sped up the windshield wipers. “Are Shane and Mathew with Nathan?”

Audrey pressed her lips together. “No. He’s alone.”

“Pity. Well, he’ll bring them back to me.”

“Why?” Audrey turned to face the commander. “Why do you want them back so badly? They don’t want to work for you.”

He leveled a surprised look at her before focusing on the road. “I created and trained them to be the best. They are the best. Right now, more than ever, with the competition out there, I need them back.”

“What competition?”

He sighed. “We’re not the only group vying for funding, and we’ve actually been attacked. I need the Gray brothers to defend us as well as take out the competition. They owe me.”

“They don’t owe you anything.” Audrey sighed and settled back into her seat. She could try and jump from the vehicle, but taking such a risk with the baby would be a mistake. Plus, her face hurt, her head ached, and her leg pounded. She needed to regroup before fighting again.

The commander switched on the radio, and classical music filled the vehicle. “How badly are you injured?”

“I’m not.”

“Did your abdomen take any impact?” he asked.

“No.” Of course he was only worried about the baby. Audrey swallowed, allowing her mind to drift a little bit. When she’d called him, she’d known he’d come, even though his motivations weren’t what she’d like. She sighed again. “Thank you for coming to get me.” To save her.

“Of course.” He glanced her way, a massive man with ramrod posture. “I own you.”

Nate stared at his cell phone while the storm raged outside the small cabin. Over at the table, Shane kept track of all news reports regarding the senator and the explosion at Ernie Rastus’s place. The commander’s fingerprints dusted all over that one.

Matt organized and cataloged weapons on the sofa, checking clips and muttering to himself.