Kim Baldwin - The Gemini Deception

“There’s a lot going on.”

“Which means you don’t matter? I mean, forget me . They probably think I deserve whatever I get, but aren’t they supposed to care for your safety?”

“I offered to help them,” Shield said. “The plan was to stay with you and wait for pickup, but I can’t sit back and do nothing.”

“That’s your problem,” Ryden replied. “You think you need to please everyone.”

“That may be true, but it’s who I am.” After a long silence, Shield turned to her. “I’ll make sure you’re safe, okay?”

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

Ryden was nervous about coming face-to-face with the people who knew about her deception. They could have her arrested. Would this nightmare never end?

When they got to Andrews, Harper paid the cab driver and led her toward a dark van. She spoke in low tones with the driver, a thirtyish tank of a man in a business suit, and then opened the back door for her. This van was very different from the stripped-down one TQ’s people had used. It was a luxury model, designed to transport celebrities or high-level government officials, and was as well equipped as any limousine, with a minibar, tinted privacy windows, and a DVD player with surround sound. Instead of the typical front-facing seat arrangement, the back held two wide, plush bench seats facing each other, with enough room for four on each side.

As they sat side by side on one of the benches, Ryden noticed a long, large, black duffel beneath the seat opposite. She wondered what it contained but didn’t dare ask.

They didn’t have long to wait. A few minutes later, two men and a woman joined them.

The first in was a sixty-something man in a business suit tailored to minimize the paunch above his belt. He had thinning blond hair, a pasty complexion, and deep creases in his face that gave him a permanently dour expression. At first glance, he seemed not at all the type to be heading into the lion’s den that was TQ, but when she looked a little closer, she could see he was a formidable presence. Despite the bit of thickening around his waist, he seemed otherwise very fit for a man his age—the muscles in his biceps stretched his suit coat ever so slightly—and his eyes held a strength and resolve few men could match.

He greeted them. “Shield. Ms. Wagner.”

Ryden caught the curious way he addressed Harper, but now wasn’t the time for explanations. Probably a nickname he’d given her, she guessed. Appropriate for a bodyguard.

An attractive young blond woman in her late twenties was next into the van. She was dressed all in black—boots, trousers, and a turtleneck sweater. Behind her, another man in a suit, this one also in his sixties, maybe younger. With his copper-colored crew cut, streaked with gray, chiseled features, and lean, muscular physique, he looked like a career soldier out of uniform.

The trio took the bench seat opposite and the van got under way.

“Both men are my employers,” Harper said, avoiding their names. “Lynx is a colleague.”

The man with the light hair, sitting in the middle, seemed preoccupied, his focus entirely on either his watch or the road ahead. His face was tight with worry and impatience.

The other two practically gawked at Ryden.

“TQ must’ve spent a fortune on your transformation,” Lynx said to her.

“I guess.” Ryden looked away, her cheeks warming from the intense scrutiny. “I never cared to ask.”

“Dead ringer,” the guy with red hair said. “Even your voice is the same.”

“We have to drop her off at the Washington safe house,” Harper said.

“I don’t know about that,” he replied. “Not that TQ is likely to run, but I don’t want to give her too much thinking time.”

“Who knows what that sick mind will come up with,” Lynx said.

Ryden would probably be better off in a safe house, but for some reason, she felt more secure staying close to Harper. “I don’t want to cause more problems than I already have. If you think I can wait for you in the van, that’s what I’ll do.”

“We need to get to Jaclyn ASAP.” The light-haired man checked his watch again.

“What’s the plan?” Harper asked.

“We threaten to destroy her, make public who she is, if she doesn’t give us Jack.” The blond woman—Lynx—who’d initially looked like a model on a photo shoot or something, transformed before Ryden’s eyes as she spoke about the woman who’d helped them. Her tone of voice, steely determination, and rigid posture—she looked coiled tight and ready to pounce—were sure signs of her underlying strength and lethal capabilities. “If she has so much as touched a hair on my woman’s head—”

“I will kill her with my own hands,” the fair-haired man said.

So Lynx had a thing for the mystery woman, Ryden realized. And the man in the middle had some vested personal interest in her as well, apparently, judging from his vehement response.

“I wouldn’t trust her.” Ryden took a chance and spoke. “She’s…she’s the deadliest-looking predator I’ve ever seen, and that’s including the Animal Planet channel.”

“We know better than to trust her, Ms. Wagner,” the light-haired man said seriously. He looked at Harper. “Shield, you’ll get your orders when we reach our destination.”

“I don’t mean to put anyone down, and I’ll be the first to admit I owe Harding my life, but what’s this really all about?” Harper asked him. “She faked her death years ago to join the other side and, from what I understand, wants nothing to do with us. Yet, you not only let her live when treason is punishable by death, but you also come running to save her.”

Valid question, Ryden thought. Although this Jack woman had saved both their lives, something was definitely very dangerous about her.

“It’s complicated,” Lynx replied, while the fair-haired man stared at the wall behind them, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the edge of the seat. The closer they got to their destination, the more his anxiety showed in his face and body language.

Harper sighed. “Either way, I’m here to get her back, and for the record, I like her.”

The man in the middle—obviously the guy in charge—sure was acting strange, Ryden thought as she studied his face. He certainly didn’t seem like the average employer worried about a subordinate. More like a guy in a hospital waiting room, fretting about the condition of a loved one.

“Mister…” Ryden looked at him until he turned to face her.

“Yes?” His eyes met hers.

“Jack is a very strong woman.” Ryden hoped that would help him relax. Though she didn’t know him, or what the connection was between him and the woman they were headed to rescue, she felt for the big man. His paternal behavior indicated he clearly cared about Jack.

He didn’t reply, and they drove the rest of the way in silence, the tension so palpable Ryden could hardly breathe.

Traffic was still light in the heart of the capital when they reached their destination and the driver parked at the curb. He remained behind the wheel while the others got out, all but Harper, who hunched down in front of Ryden.

“You’ll be fine here,” Harper said. “Do what the driver says, and do not leave the van unless you’re told to.”

“I understand.”

“I don’t know what they want me to do, but I will be back for you.”

“Just…be safe.”

“Will do.” Harper smiled and Ryden’s heart melted. “Later, then.” She touched Ryden’s knee.

“Harper?”

“Ye—”

Ryden grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her softly on the lips. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Let’s go, Shield,” one of the men yelled from outside.