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Ella dug out her necklace from where she’d hidden it years ago inside the small pocket of her jeans. Each time they’d given her new clothes, she’d carefully hid the chain in the same pocket while terrified that Alhasan or one of his men would find it. Always surprised when they hadn’t.
A simple silver ring with two entwined hearts dangled from the chain. She couldn’t remember where it came from, but through the years she found a small comfort in knowing it belonged to another lifetime. A happier time. Ella put the necklace on for the first time and started walking.
The simple act quickly took its toll on her weak body, forcing frequent breaks just to catch her breath. After she’d covered some distance, she took stock of her surroundings. All around was desert. To her left, mountains loomed against the night sky.
Where was she? Like she’d done endless times, she tried to recall the slightest memory of being captured, but it was useless.
Fighting back the hopelessness, she headed for the mountain range. At least they would provide some cover. She could watch the prison and surrounding area safely from there. Her gut told her Joseph was still nearby. She wouldn’t leave until she found him or she died trying.
That she’d escaped at all was a blessing. She would do everything in her power to save Joseph, and she’d leave the rest of it in God’s hands.
Ella had barely covered a quarter of a mile when something unsettling caught her attention. The ground beneath her feet rumbled with the sound of an approaching vehicle. She could see its lights. There wasn’t as much as a bush to hide behind. She was in the open and exposed. What if it was Alhasan? The thought threatened to take away what little bit of courage she possessed.
She was still standing, frozen in terror, when a Humvee came to a screaming halt in front of her.
The driver jumped from the vehicle with his weapon drawn. “Get your hands in the air,” he shouted.
His voice...his voice. She recognized it!
Ella sucked in a shocked breath, imprisoned by the intimate sound. Had she heard correctly? Maybe she was delusional and this was all part of a dream?
Fragmented recollections flew through her head. No, she was positive she knew his voice. She struggled to hold her focus.
“I said get your hands in the air,” he ordered once more. Ella hesitated for a second longer then lifted her hands, the knife she’d taken from the camp soldier still in her left hand.
This new threat quickly spotted, his tone turned deadly. “Drop the weapon. Now.”
She hurriedly let it go. The man moved closer and kicked the knife out of her reach.
“Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head,” he demanded while keeping his weapon trained securely on her head.
The faintest of memories teased her briefly then disappeared. How did she know him?
She silently prayed for the strength to do as he asked. Ella dropped awkwardly to her knees. Bile rose in her throat and she swayed back and forth, fighting to stay conscious.
She squinted through the headlights. If she could just make out his face...
The man shifted on his feet, and then she knew. With a mixture of shock and horror, her suspicions were confirmed. She definitely recognized him. She’d seen his face dozens of times in the photos Alhasan had shown her. This was the leader of the elite CIA team known as the Scorpions.
She’d seen photos for each of the team’s eight members. Alhasan had told her that Kyle Jennings had created the Scorpions after the war to fight the rising number of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and in an effort to prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands. He’d raged on about the Scorpions’ interference in his activities and bragged about taking out key members in the past. Then he’d laid out what was expected of her if she wanted to save Joseph.
“I can’t believe it’s you,” she whispered in total disbelief, still not certain she wasn’t hallucinating.
This was the Scorpions’ leader. The man she was supposed to kill.
* * *
Somehow, Agent Kyle Jennings managed to hang on to his composure. Even weak and raspy, when she’d spoken she’d sounded exactly like...Lena. The thought struck home like a lightning bolt and he immediately rejected the notion.
Impossible. He’d buried his wife almost seven years ago when her badly burned body was discovered in the desert close to this same area. The overwhelming grief and heartache he still experienced every time he thought about losing her assured him there was no coming back from that. Lena was gone. And he had a purpose to fulfill.
He’d come here to meet Hadir after receiving an ominous text message from his asset. She was unexpected. What was she doing out here anyway, in the middle of a territory the military had nicknamed no-man’s-land for good reason? This Afghanistan desert terrain was under the control of the Fox, the CIA’s most wanted terrorist target.
Kyle recalled something disturbing Hadir had told him recently. The man had said the Fox had bragged about grooming a female operative for a critical mission that would shock the world.
And he was certain this woman recognized him. The only question was how? Because of the criticalness of their missions, anonymity was key. The Scorpion team members’ names and personal information were closely guarded. There were no pictures of the team in circulation. Their background files were kept in a safe at Scorpion headquarters in Painted Rock Valley, Colorado.
How would she know him?
With the lights at his back, he moved a little to the left so that he could see the woman’s face more clearly. Through the dust motes caught in the headlights, what he saw just about took his legs out from underneath him. She looked like Lena. Her hair—raven black—was the same color as Lena’s, although it was much longer and looked as if it hadn’t been cared for properly in a while.
But it was her eyes that really got to him. They were dark brown and soulful, like his wife’s had been.
His mouth twisted involuntarily at a memory. He recalled how he used to joke with Lena that at times it was as if she could look right through him. He saw the same expression in this woman’s gaze and it was gut-wrenching. Shocking.
He crushed the tiniest bit of hope taking life inside his heart. He couldn’t go there.
Kyle struggled to pull his thoughts together. “You recognize me?” The question came out sharper than he intended, mostly because everything about her unnerved him.
He waited for an answer she clearly had no intention of giving. She shook her head and stared at the ground.
Frustrated, Kyle glanced around the area. It was just the two of them, but clearly she believed she recognized him.
I can’t believe it’s you.
It didn’t sit well. Had she escaped from somewhere or was she part of a trap set by the notorious Fox? Her appearance certainly seemed to confirm someone who had been imprisoned. She was disheveled, her clothes tattered. Still, he didn’t like the fact that she’d appeared out of nowhere.
“Answer the question. How do you know me?” he barked, and she flinched as if he’d struck her. Kyle didn’t let up. He had to know. “What’s your name? Why are you out here alone?”
She closed her eyes. She appeared so frail—barely hanging on—so unlike his strong, confident wife.
Until he knew her true identity and why she was wandering the desert, he had to treat her as a hostile.
She swallowed visibly. “My name?” she managed, as if confused.
“Yes, your name.” Kyle didn’t try to hide his annoyance. She was fading fast and he needed answers.
“It’s...Ella...Weiss.” She didn’t sound very positive. “Please, you have to let me go. I have to find him.” Helpless tears filled her eyes. He watched her clench her hands into fists until the tears disappeared.
“Who do you have to find?” he asked, even more concerned. What was she doing out here alone? Who was she searching for?
She moaned softly, and it captured his full attention. He was losing her. Kyle rushed to her side. He wasn’t in time to catch her before she slipped to the desert surface.
He knelt next to her and felt for a pulse. It was there but weak. She had a scar that ran the length of her right cheek and another far more severe one that parted her hair. Someone had hurt her badly. He couldn’t imagine the pain she’d suffered. He turned her hands up and swallowed back anger. Her fingerprints had been deliberately burned off. They didn’t want her identified.
He couldn’t stop his thoughts from wandering back to Lena. He’d known the moment he met her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. They’d dated only a year before he’d asked her to marry him. Their five-year marriage had still been in the honeymoon stage when she’d disappeared. He shivered as recalled the horrible night he’d learned of Lena’s death.
Because of the effects of the fire, her body had been unidentifiable except for the wedding ring still on her left hand. The inscription “To the love of my life” was on the inside of the band. There had been no mistaking the ring he’d given his wife on the day they’d wed. But knowing she’d been wearing it was the most confusing part.
Lena had never worn her wedding ring on a mission before. As a seasoned operative, she knew better than to wear anything that might jeopardize her cover story. When he’d seen the band, he’d been shocked. It was a rookie mistake and one he was sure Lena never would have made. But then again, she hadn’t been herself in the days before she left for the mission. Something had been wrong, and yet she’d refused to talk to him about it.
Now, the similarities between his wife’s death and this woman left him unsettled. They’d both been found in the same area, and someone had gone to great lengths to keep their identities a secret.
Something around the woman’s neck caught his attention as it glistened in the headlights. A necklace. He lifted the chain in his hand. A small silver ring caught the light.
“What’s happening out there, Kyle?” He barely registered Sam Lansford’s voice coming through his radio. He couldn’t move. His body glued in place.
“Kyle, come in. Are you okay? Is that Hadir?” Sam said in a frantic tone. Sam had been the one to alert him to Ella’s approach.
As a former CIA agent himself, Sam was highly skilled, and Kyle trusted him to have his back. Sam’s hostage-retrieval team had been in Afghanistan on assignment when Kyle enlisted Sam’s technical expertise as a pilot so he could have a real-time view of the entire location in preparation for his meet with Hadir.
It had been through Hadir’s intelligence that they’d been able to confirm that the man in the photo that former Scorpion team member Eddie Peterson had smuggled out of a war zone was indeed the person Hadir knew as Alhasan. And the man they believed to be the Fox. For the first time they had a name attached to the notorious terrorist.
Kyle couldn’t get the last conversation he’d had with his asset out of his head. Hadir had told him Alhasan was preparing to move his entire operation. Their window to capture him was closing quickly. Was this the reason for tonight’s meet? Did Hadir have the location for the move? His asset’s message was so unusual that it had sent up all sorts of warning flags.
Kyle pulled his straying thoughts together. Too many people were counting on him staying alert.
With one final glance at the woman, he snatched up the radio. “It’s not Hadir. It’s a woman...” His voice trailed off. Although Lena and Sam had never met, Kyle had told him everything about his former CIA agent wife.
“A woman?” There was no mistaking Sam’s surprise. “Who is she? And more important, what’s she doing out here alone?”
Kyle wasn’t able to voice his suspicions. “I have no idea,” he managed while trying to shut out painful memories of his final moments with Lena. The argument they’d had. If only he’d known it was the last time he’d see her alive.
“I don’t like this.” Liz Ramirez, Kyle’s second in command came on the radio. “Something’s wrong, Kyle. Why would she be wandering around in the desert? This feels like a setup. We’re on our way.”
As much as he might agree, he couldn’t allow it. Hadir had been very specific. “No, Liz, I’ve got this. I need you to stand down until I give the order.”
Liz didn’t respond, but Kyle could read all her doubts in the silence. He shared them.
He scrubbed his hand over his eyes. Being back in the field had opened up old wounds.
With Jase Bradford running the day-to-day operations for the team, Kyle had realized he missed the action of the field and wanted to be there when the team brought down the Fox once and for all. He had a personal stake in capturing the formidable enemy—he believed the Fox was responsible for Lena’s death.
Still, nothing he’d seen to date prepared him for running into a woman who so strongly resembled Lena. He slammed the door on that possibility. He couldn’t go there and survive having his heart torn to shreds again, because not a day went by that he didn’t miss Lena terribly. Longed to have just another moment with her. Seeing this woman had brought all that back.
“Kyle, we’re picking up at least four vehicles west of you. They’re heading your way. Get out of there now,” Sam yelled into the mic.
Kyle grabbed the binoculars and spotted dust boiling up on the western horizon beyond the compound. Liz was right. It felt like a setup.
He raced back to the unconscious woman and scooped her into his arms. He’d managed only a couple of steps before an explosion split the night and shook the ground beneath his feet. The blast dropped him to his knees. Shocked, he glanced at the compound near where he was to meet Hadir. It had exploded in a firestorm.
There was just enough time to cover Ella’s body with his before a rush of ash and debris chased past them. Kyle could feel the heat from the explosion blast his back and embed bits of shrapnel into his exposed flesh.
In an instant, his misgivings for Hadir’s safety doubled. If Hadir had been anywhere close to the compound, he wouldn’t have survived...unless... An uninvited thought popped in his head, but he couldn’t let it take life. He knew Hadir. They’d grown close through the months of working together. Hadir was desperate to get out of the life he’d lived in the past. He wouldn’t sell Kyle out.
Kyle stumbled to his feet. Hauling Ella up with him, he charged for the Humvee. He deposited her in the seat, got in next to her and engaged the vehicle’s starter. It didn’t respond. He tried the radio, and his worst nightmare was confirmed. The explosion had taken out the Humvee’s electrical system. They were now sitting ducks.
“Hurry, Liz,” he murmured with urgency. Sam’s team would have picked up the explosion and Liz would dispatch a rescue team. Still, in the best-case scenario, it would take Liz twenty minutes to reach them from Bagram Air Force Base. That was the equivalent of a lifetime when facing off with an enemy. Anything could happen. He’d need some advantage to buy them time.
The woman beside him moaned softly and opened her eyes. She glanced around her surroundings and then to him. The second she saw him, she scooted as far away as possible. She was terrified.
I have to find him...
He didn’t see her as a threat. Her injuries were too severe to be faked. She’d probably escaped from the compound, just in time to save her life. As the approaching vehicles drew closer, Kyle realized, like it or not, he’d need her help if they were to survive.
He unholstered his Glock. “Do you know how to shoot?” Her brows shot together. She appeared baffled by his question.
“There are enemy vehicles on the way here now. They’ll reach us before help can arrive. So can you shoot?” His tone was short. Agitated.
She eyed him suspiciously before she answered. “Yes, I think so.”
There was no time to wonder why she wouldn’t know the answer off the top of her head. He grabbed the backup weapon he’d tucked under the seat and handed it to her. “We just have to stay alive until our exit team arrives. Okay?”
Fear chased across her face, and she shook her head. “I’m not leaving here. I won’t desert him.”
“Who are you talking about? If you want my help you’d better tell me.”
She inched farther away, staring at him wide-eyed and tight-lipped.
“We have to move now,” he ground out in frustration. With the enemy gaining quickly, they had to take cover behind the Humvee if they wanted a fighting chance.
Kyle grabbed her hand. Before he could move, she jerked free. He’d sort out the reasons why she was so terrified once they were safe.
“We’re dead if we stay here. We have a chance if we take cover behind the Humvee.” She hesitated a second longer then gave a short nod.
“Go ahead of me, I’ll cover you. Stay low.” Kyle barely got the words out before the lead vehicle reached them. Seconds later the world around them went up in gunfire.
With the enemy’s headlights aimed straight at them, it was impossible to see anything. Kyle fired off a round in their direction to give her time to reach the rear of the vehicle.
There was no time to retrieve the M240 machine gun he’d stashed behind the backseat just in case. The enemy quickly retaliated and shots ricocheted off the open door he was standing behind, mere inches from his head. Kyle tucked and dived for the back as another barrage of bullets splintered the door off its hinges. If he’d been a second slower, he’d be dead.
God was watching out for him.
Ella leaned heavily against the Humvee’s bumper as if the effort exerted by running to the back of the vehicle had taken its toll.
When he reached her side, she quickly straightened and moved away.
“Are you okay?” she asked when she got a good look at him. “Your back is burned and you’re bleeding.” She stared at him with those eyes. He realized she stood almost at eye level to him. She was tall like Lena, yet where Lena had been slim, this woman was suffering from extreme malnutrition.
“I’m fine,” he managed. “I caught some of the debris from the explosion. The compound I’m guessing you came from must have been wired to detonate.” Whatever her reason for wandering the desert, it might just have saved her life.
It took a second before what he said registered. Her hand flew to cover her trembling lips, immediately capturing his attention. An emotional reaction he couldn’t relate to Lena. Lena had already been a top CIA operative by the time they’d met. Keeping her emotions in check was critical to her survival. The only time he’d seen his wife cry was when he’d had to deliver the news of her parents’ deaths.
Another round of shots whizzed past the Humvee and they both ducked.
The additional vehicles came to a noisy halt next to the first, their high beams glaring. Kyle had no idea how many men they were up against. Adrenaline rushed through his body, buoying his courage. He’d almost forgotten how harrowing combat could be.
He flattened himself against the vehicle, fired quickly, then retreated. The noise of bullets striking metal was so loud it sounded like it was right next to them. Someone screamed in pain. He’d hit one of the enemy soldiers.
