Payback Read online

  “Thank you. I…I’ll never be able to repay you for all of your help. He’s…he’s not just the only family I have left, but he’s my best friend. He’s the only one in the family who supported my career. And he never blamed me for not giving in to Lyndi’s demands to return home. I don’t know how I’ll keep going if I lose him.”

  Mark’s hands tightened on her back. “I don’t want thanks, Faith. Don’t you understand? I care about you. All I want is to make you happy.”

  She thought she’d used up all of her tears during her breakdown the other evening on the beach. But at Mark’s kindness, Faith started crying.

  “Don’t cry, sweetheart. Please don’t cry. It hurts.” Mark sounded so baffled by his empathy that Faith gave a watery laugh. Then she pushed away from his chest and looked up at him. When she’d started her search for Toby she’d had no idea that she’d end up meeting a man who could look at her with such tenderness. A man that she knew, despite his flaws, would die to protect her.

  “I know it’s too soon, but I’ve never felt this way before. I love you, Mark.” She laughed at the stunned look in his eyes. “Um. Sorry. I—”

  Mark’s lips took hers in a bruising kiss. “Say it again.”

  “I love you Mark.”

  He kissed her again. “I don’t know anything about love. I don’t know if I’m actually capable of love. But what I feel for you?” He shook his head. “It’s beyond my control. I can’t imagine life without you. If that’s love, then I love you.”

  Her heart soared. “Oh, God, I didn’t expect this. Not now. Not with you. But I’m so glad not to be alone in how I feel.”

  “Me, too.” With shocking quickness, Mark scooped her up into his arms and carried her upstairs. Then he proved that despite his lack of experience, he understood love very well.

  Chapter Nine

  One Week Later

  Mark stared out the window of his car. Once again he’d retreated to the safety of a lone stretch of public park. Only this time, he was trying to get his game face on before he returned to the safe house and Faith.

  He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. For the first time since they’d met, he had to withhold critical information from Faith. The prospect of lying to her about what he’d just learned ate him up inside. A bitter laugh escaped. Telling lies or omitting key information were critical components of his job. He’d never minded before. But now that he’d met Faith and become used to sharing his thoughts and his past with her, he hated knowing that he couldn’t tell her about the President’s involvement in the upcoming attack.

  He sighed and got out of the car, needing to move in order to settle his nerves. Since when did he suffer from nerves? His reputation of being a cold-hearted bastard was taking a serious hit. All because he’d fallen in love.

  Not that he’d give up Faith for anything. But their relationship was definitely a complication. Mainly because she was a reporter and the news he’d received today was potentially explosive.

  According to Jamieson, the President had requested that teams of enhanced Kerberos soldiers participate in an upcoming assault against an island in the Pacific. Mark at first had refused to believe it. No matter how badly the President wanted to get revenge against the terrorists who’d killed his son five years ago, retaliating against the entire island where the terrorists lived was the act of a man out of touch with his humanity. It would result in the deaths of thousands of innocent people.

  Would Toby be part of the attack? Probably, but Mark didn’t know for sure.

  He strode along the boardwalk, but found no solace in the crash of the waves against the shore. He knew Faith’s reporter instincts would sense his lie if he outright told her there was no new update regarding her brother or Kerberos. Hopefully, she’d be satisfied to learn that Toby’s notes had been correct when they suggested that the President planned an upcoming show of force.

  After that, Mark would have to play it by ear. Either he’d have to lie and tell her that he didn’t know the details of the attack, which was mostly true, or he’d have to explain that he couldn’t reveal any additional information because it was classified. Neither of which would earn him any good will from Faith.

  He sighed and kicked a seashell out of his way. Before he’d left the office, Mark had called Ryker at the SSU and passed on the information about the attack. Unfortunately, Jamieson had not revealed the name of the targeted island. To his surprise, Ryker had already heard rumors about the anniversary demonstration. He’d asked Mark to search for the name of the island, plus any information regarding the poison the Kerberos teams were going to put into the island’s water supply. The SSU’s scientists would then attempt to create a counteragent.

  Unfortunately, Ryker had also relayed the information that Dr. Montague, the woman who’d reversed the effects of Kaufmann’s program on SSU agent Rafe Andros, had been kidnapped. The SSU assumed she’d been taken by Kerberos and returned to Dr. Kaufmann.

  Which meant that finding the location of the lab was now doubly important. Without Dr. Montague’s help, there was little chance that Toby would ever return to being the brother Faith knew and loved. Of course, Ryker couldn’t guarantee that even if the SSU rescued Dr. Montague she’d be in any condition to work. But Mark refused to dwell on that now. First he had to locate the damn lab.

  He stopped and stared out at the ocean. Should he even tell Faith about Dr. Montague?

  After a long moment, he decided that he had no choice. From what he’d heard about relationships, trust and honesty were important. Faith was already going to be angry with him for withholding information about the attack. He wouldn’t keep her in the dark regarding Dr. Montague, as well.

  Besides, knowing the doctor had been kidnapped would keep Faith focused on uncovering the location of the lab and hopefully keep her mind off of the attack.

  He just had to hope that when Faith did discover the details that he’d withheld, her generous heart would forgive him.

  Because as uncomfortable as he sometimes felt with all these new emotions, he did not want to go back to being the man he’d been before he met her.

  “Something big is definitely going on,” Siobahn said the next time Faith called her.

  “Like what?” Faith stood at the edge of a decorative pond set in the middle of a public garden and watched the ducks swim by.

  “I’m investigating a couple of other stories that touch on the military and no one will talk to me, even though some of those sources were the ones who first encouraged me to dig deeper. It’s like they all sense something bad is about to happen and are slamming all doors shut.”

  Faith thought back to Toby’s notes and to the argument she’d had with Mark last night.

  “What type of attack?” Faith asked. “Where? Against what target?”

  “I can’t tell you that!” Mark shouted. “I would if I could, but damn it, this is a matter of national security and I’m not authorized to share the information.”

  Faith blinked, not used to seeing Mark lose his temper. Oddly, his anger cooled her own ire. Replacing fury with an icy sense of betrayal. “You don’t trust me because I’m a reporter.” The pain struck deep. She’d thought the connection between her and Mark had been strong enough to bind them together no matter what.

  “Don’t you dare start accusing me,” he shot back. “You need plausible deniability if everything goes wrong. Do you really want to give them another excuse to kill you?”

  “So you’re doing this to protect me? Or is it really to protect your reputation? Lord forbid that the super spy Mark Tonelli get caught in an affair with a reporter.”

  “No! Faith, I don’t give a damn about my reputation. All I want is to keep you safe.”

  Mark had grabbed her and kissed her, then made love to her with fierce possessiveness. Still, Faith couldn’t get past the feeling that he would have given her more information regarding the President’s upcoming attack if she hadn’t been a journalist.

&n
bsp; Faith sighed. “Listen, Siobahn, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but my contact says the President has authorized an upcoming attack against some undisclosed target. Kerberos soldiers will be involved.”

  “Wait. That sounds familiar—”

  Faith heard the rustle of papers before Siobahn continued. “Yeah, here it is. A few months ago, President MacAdam held a press conference regarding the summit talks with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. At the end of his speech, he made an offhand reference to an upcoming show of force that would show the world that the United States is not a country to forgive or forget the wrongs perpetrated against it.”

  “What? When? How come I didn’t hear about that?”

  “The statement didn’t get much airtime. MacAdam had just finished talking when an aide rushed into the room with news that a series of tornadoes had devastated the southwest. The only reason I remembered is because I was in the press room when the President spoke. The phrasing struck me as odd, and the topic unrelated to what had been mainly economic talks with ASEAN, so I included the statement in my notes as something to research later.”

  “That’s interesting, but it doesn’t help us narrow down what’s going on,” Faith pointed out.

  A little girl ran toward the edge of the pond. Leaning over the short retaining wall, she started throwing pieces of bread toward the ducks on the shoreline below. The ducks converged noisily on the food and Faith retreated, putting her finger in her ear.

  “But it could explain why my contacts have gone silent,” Siobahn said. “They’re afraid of retaliation from the top.”

  “Yeah.” When Faith had moved far enough away from the little girl and her parents not to be overheard and not to have to compete with the quacking, she continued, “My contact did say that there are people aware of the attack and working to stop it. But I have no idea whether he means the military, a government law enforcement agency, or some sort of private organization.”

  “Okay. I—” Siobahn made a sound of frustration. “Sorry, I have to go. Work’s calling on my other phone. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “Just continue to lay low. With the confirmation of the President’s involvement in the upcoming attack, I think there’s more danger than ever.”

  “Right back atcha, kiddo. Talk soon.”

  Faith shut down the phone. She hoped they’d more than talk soon. That this situation would be resolved before long, so she could have lunch with Siobahn without worrying about who was watching. All this hiding was wearing on her nerves. Without Mark’s steadying presence beside her, she didn’t know how she’d have handled her worry over Toby these past few weeks. She only wished there was a greater chance of finding him before the attack went down. Because she feared that if her brother took part in the attack, he might not survive.

  One Week Later

  “I’m calling to give you fair warning.”

  Ryker’s statement sent Mark’s senses into high alert.

  “Rafe remembered the location of Kaufmann’s compound. His team is converging on the lab as we speak. You might want to take precautionary measures.”

  Mark cursed softly and shut off his computer. “Thank you.” But he was speaking to a dial tone.

  Moments later, he closed the door to his office and headed down the corridor toward the elevator. It wasn’t that late. There should be lights on behind doors and an occasional person in the hallway.

  Instead, all offices and cubicles were dark and the corridor was deserted. Every hair on the back of his neck stood on end as his footsteps echoed against the walls.

  Where was everybody? Had Jamieson sent all the staff home? Mark’s office door was thick, so it was conceivable that everyone had left while he’d been absorbed in his work.

  There could be no good reason for him being alone. Particularly not given the timing of the SSU’s raid.

  Mark waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive, feeling as if the shadows were moving in on him. With his back pressed against the wall, he scanned the empty hallway.

  Perhaps he should grab Faith and ask the SSU for asylum. But no, he couldn’t stomach the thought of running away now and letting someone else take Jamieson down. He needed to see Jamieson’s eyes when he confronted him. Needed to personally avenge his father’s murder.

  He’d just have to proceed very carefully. Come into work tomorrow and act as if he didn’t know anything about the raid on Kaufmann’s compound.

  The elevator dinged.

  As the door slid open, Mark took one last probing look around the corridor. Assured that he was alone, he turned toward the elevator.

  Air hissed behind him. Something sharp pierced his back. He took one stumbling step forward, then the world went dark.

  Chapter Ten

  Mark regained consciousness and immediately wished he hadn’t. Every part of his body hurt. What—?

  Memory came trickling back. Working late. Waiting for the elevator in the eerily deserted corridor. Being shot with a dart of some kind that had knocked him out. He’d woken up bound and gagged on the linoleum floor of a small kitchen, surrounded by guards and confronted by his boss.

  Jamieson knelt down in front of Mark, extending his palm to reveal Mark’s father’s little bronze horse. For once, Mark didn’t look at the miniature with longing or a burning anger. Instead, he just felt sad.

  “You’re as much trouble as your father was,” Jamieson said conversationally. “I was able to stop your father before he revealed my name to the investigating committee. Don Marrone was more than pleased to order the hit in return for my arranging for certain pending charges to be dropped.” He shook his head. “I had hoped your time on the streets of Moscow would wear away all that moral superiority your father instilled in you. Yet here you’ve betrayed me just as surely as your father.”

  Mark made an angry sound behind the duct tape. After all these years, he’d finally found the man responsible for his father’s death and he was helpless to seek his revenge.

  “Unfortunately, you managed to do what your father couldn’t. You interfered in my plans.” Jamieson rubbed his thumb over the dent in the horse’s shoulder. “We discovered your transmissions to the SSU. Tell me, have you been working for the SSU since the beginning? Nod yes or no, please or Victor will break your leg.”

  Mark shook his head no.

  “Strange. I believe you.” Jamieson tilted his head to the side. “What turned you? Was it Ivanov?”

  Mark nodded.

  Jamieson’s lips pressed together. “Idiot.” His hand closed around the horse, then he straightened out of his crouch.

  “You’ve ruined my plans for you, Mr. Tonelli. You were supposed to be my scapegoat, but only after the anniversary demonstration. Now, with Kaufmann’s lab destroyed and the SSU in possession of Kaufmann, I’ll be forced to have you killed. Records will show that you’d been embezzling funds in order to support Kaufmann’s lab. The investigation will center on you. Meanwhile, the anniversary demonstration will go off as planned. Afterward, Kerberos will remain in high favor. We’ll free those scientists currently in custody and then we’ll start the lab again using our backup notes.”

  Jamieson sighed. “It’s a pity, Mr. Tonelli. For a while there, I had high hopes for you.” He turned to go.

  Mark was about to watch his father’s murderer walk away and there was nothing he could do about it. Yet oddly enough, he didn’t feel bitter. Instead, he felt relieved to know the truth. Revenge didn’t matter right now. Getting free and getting to Faith before Jamieson discovered her brother’s connection to Kerberos was all that mattered.

  Mark had been knocked out again. And then he’d come awake in the back of a van.

  In the faint light from the rear window Mark recognized one of the men from Jamieson’s assassination squads. Not one of the men who’d been in the kitchen.

  “Call it an attack of conscience,” the man said. “I don’t approve of what Jamieson has done with Kerberos, m
uddying the purity of our mission with those freaky monster men. You were right to help the SSU shut Kaufmann’s lab down. Now I want you to stop the demonstration.”

  Mark shook his head, sure he must have misheard. “Excuse me?”

  The man nodded toward Mark’s hip. “I put a flash drive in your pocket. It has the personnel roster and battle plan for the anniversary attack. Give it to the SSU. Stop Jamieson from killing everyone on that island.”

  Mark opened his mouth to speak, but the man held up his hand. “I don’t have the contacts to get this information acted on immediately. The SSU trusts you. Me and my men will disappear in a few days. We’ll tell Jamieson we dumped you in the ocean if he demands proof of your death. By the time he becomes suspicious, your friends at the SSU should have taken care of him for us.”

  Mark didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to people helping him without asking for something in return. But the man’s voice rang with the truth of conviction. So Mark settled for a simple, “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me too much,” the man said. His teeth flashed white as he smiled. “I still have to make this look good.” With that the man opened the back door of the still moving van. Before Mark had any idea what he intended, he found himself picked up and flung toward the side of the road.

  Mark had a second to think, “Oh shit, this is going to hurt.” Then the ground rose up and smacked him.

  Before he passed out yet again, he thought he heard the sound of the man’s laughter.

  No wonder he hurt so much.

  Driven by the need to get to Faith, Mark climbed gingerly to his feet and took a quick survey of his body. His clothing was torn and he’d landed in a damp, shallow gully next to the road. But his head throbbed only slightly and his vision was clear. He appeared to have suffered mostly cuts and bruises. Good. It would have taken too long to return to the safe house if he had broken bones or a serious concussion.

  He felt his pocket. Yes, the flash drive was still there.