Kidnapping cold case, p.19
Kidnapping Cold Case, page 19
In what was billed as an altruistic move, the Turners footed the bill for two military couples to join each retreat, and at least three of those couples over the past decade had seen their dreams dashed and their accounts drained. That was enough to bring Overwatch into play. While the unit typically investigated deep within the military system, they’d been called in due to the complexity of the operation and the amount of time it would require two investigators to remain undercover as a married couple. Several teams had applied in the hope an Overwatch team would make the cut.
Phillip and Thalia had received the call.
The thought of someone playing on the emotions of hopeful parents soured Phillip’s stomach. He hoped their intel was wrong, but at the same time, his driving motivator was to bring the agency to justice if the accusations were true.
It had taken time to build their undercover profiles and to set up housing on Fort Carson in Colorado, where he and Thalia had been posing as a married couple for several months. Only they knew they shared a house but not a bedroom. Overwatch’s team had done a fabulous job of building a foolproof backstory for them, though it had taken time to apply and to be accepted to a retreat. Now they needed evidence.
It was a tall order for one week, but they’d faced worse.
Phillip ran his toothbrush under the water that poured into a polished marble sink and started scrubbing. Despite the gravity of the situation, he had to smile. He’d roughed it in places the American public would never know about. For now, he’d soak in a little luxury. Their next mission could find them in the darkest regions of a foreign country, wrapped in poncho liners and sleeping in the dirt, with organic cotton sheets only a distant memory.
He rinsed his mouth then swiped his face with the kind of towel he’d never imagined existed. His own were thin brown Army issue. Maybe when this mission was over, he’d spring for something a little softer.
This mission had the potential to spoil him.
The suite door banged against the wall in the living area and Phillip froze. It was too early for housekeeping. Too soon for Thalia to have finished her run.
Quietly, he reached for the pistol he’d laid on the back of the toilet. It was never far away. He inched toward the door, holding the weapon low in both hands as he glanced through the crack into the bedroom.
All was still. Whoever had entered was still in the living area.
Grateful for the plush carpet that muffled his bare footsteps, he sidestepped to the bedroom door and pressed against the wall, then peeked out.
Thalia stood with her back to him at the kitchenette’s sink, water running into the copper basin. She splashed her face then reached for one of the dish towels on the counter.
Exhaling slowly, Phillip tucked his SIG into the concealed holster at his waist. All was well.
Maybe. They’d been partners for nearly three years. From past missions, he knew she typically ran for an hour, so her early return was notable. “Cold get to you?”
Thalia’s head jerked up and she grabbed the counter with both hands, the cloth she’d used to wipe her face falling silently to the dark hardwood.
“Yes.” She spoke the word in her typical no-nonsense tone, but beneath her blue windbreaker, her shoulders shook.
“Not buying it.” While their team was one of the youngest in the Overwatch program, they’d already been on nearly a dozen missions, from investigating attacks on an infantry captain and his young daughter to protecting a potential Overwatch recruit from a criminal seeking revenge.
His footsteps thudded softly on the hardwood that marked the living areas of their suite. The wood was cool beneath his feet. Nonetheless, that coolness did nothing to quell the rising heat of warning in his belly.
Thalia Renner didn’t shudder.
When he reached her, he stopped short of grabbing her shoulder and turning her to face him. He’d have to pull the truth out of her slowly by being her sarcastic teammate, not behaving like a friend. As close as they were, she still tended to view concern as intrusive.
Phillip leaned against the counter beside her and crossed his arms over his chest. “What gives? You take on a bear out there?”
She had turned her face so all he could see was her profile. Her jaw worked from side to side before she spoke. “You could say that.” With a deep inhale, she looked him full in the face.
Phillip’s hands dropped to his sides. “What happened?” He reached for her despite knowing it wasn’t the wisest idea, gently turning her to face him.
Beneath her left eye, blood oozed from a cut, blazing a trail to her chin. Small drops stained the front of her jacket, which was smeared with mud. A bruise was forming around the edges of the cut, an angry red against her olive skin. The black headband she’d used to pull her hair back was gone and brown shoulder-length waves tumbled in every direction, leaves and twigs tangled in the strands.
“Did you fall off the mountain?” He backed away and surveyed her from head to toe, but other than the injuries he’d already cataloged, she appeared to be unharmed.
“Not exactly.” She sighed heavily then pulled her shoulders back, seeming to find the inner strength Phillip knew well. “A freakishly huge Neanderthal attacked me on the trail.” The statement was so calm that it took a second to register.
“Wait. What?” Nobody got the jump on Thalia.
“I handled him.” She backed away and walked to the island separating the kitchen from the living room. She was in investigator mode, relating the facts. Reaching into her pockets, she slid a cell phone, a wallet, a pistol and a clip onto the gray granite. “Got these off of him.”
“You handled him? What does that mean?”
“It means he was coming to when I left.” She grabbed the wallet and flipped it open. “We just arrived last night. There’s no way our cover is blown already, is there?”
Phillip walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking thick forest that sloped away from the lodge. A thin layer of snow blanketed everything. It all looked so peaceful.
Peace was always deceiving.
He turned and walked into the middle of the living room, skirting a large live-edge wooden coffee table. “Unless you have evidence to the contrary, I doubt it. It’s more likely he was an opportunist who saw a female and took his chances.”
Chances that could have killed his partner.
Thalia nodded as she slipped a card from the wallet. “He didn’t act like a pro. He came out of nowhere, but he confronted me head-on and lost the element of surprise. Although he did have a silencer.” She pressed her cheek with the pad of her finger.
“He shot at you?” She could not be serious.
“A couple of times.” Dropping the wallet and the license to the counter, she lifted her brown eyes to his. “Regardless, you’re right. We can’t assume someone has already made us. It took way too long to get here. But this does lead to a bigger problem.”
“What could possibly be bigger?”
“How about the fact that we’re supposed to be a lovey-dovey husband and wife who are in the process of adopting a child, and now I have this?” She aimed a finger at her cheek. “We’re out of here in a heartbeat if someone decides Staff Sergeant Phillip Atkins, working in military intelligence, is smacking his wife in the face when no one’s watching. We have to report what happened to the resort’s security team.”
She couldn’t be more right. They were supposed to be deep undercover, so deep that if someone was concerned and called the police, they’d have to play their roles through until the investigation was over. There was no “get out of jail free” card on this op.
There was a way out of this. “So, job one is making sure no one thinks I did this to you. Did anyone see you when you came in?”
Her eyes caught the spark that said she’d followed his train of thought. “I came through the lobby. Don’t know if anyone saw me, but they’ll have cameras.” Rounding the island, she strode into the living room. “Call the front desk. Tell them your wife was attacked on the trail, but don’t say by who or what.” Dropping to the couch, Thalia rested her hands on her knees and stared out the French doors, her face clouding.
Concern blipped across Phillip’s radar. Was she hurt worse than she’d let on? Internal injuries could—
Thalia’s head jerked up, her expression hard. “Phone call. Now.”
Nah, she was fine. Just getting into character as the terrified victim. Thalia could fight with the best of them. Eight years earlier, one of her first undercover ops, before she’d joined Overwatch, had been as a female MMA fighter busting up a drug ring. She’d briefly revisited that persona a few months earlier when she’d stepped into the cage for a week to determine who the key player was in another drug ring.
He’d hated that op. Watching her step into the octagon for a no-holds-barred fight had been... Well, it had been rough.
This had the potential to get rougher.
Reaching for the phone, Phillip shot up a quick prayer. As soon as he dialed, their cover personas were under scrutiny in ways they hadn’t calculated or practiced.
If they failed to sell the ruse, then the entire op could explode in their faces.
Copyright © 2024 by Jodie Bailey
Fall in love with Love Inspired—inspirational and uplifting stories of faith and hope. Find strength and comfort in the bonds of friendship and community. Revel in the warmth of possibility and the promise of new beginnings.
Sign up for the Love Inspired newsletter at LoveInspired.com to be the first to find out about upcoming titles, special promotions and exclusive content.
CONNECT WITH US AT:
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
ISBN-13: 9780369741448
Kidnapping Cold Case
Copyright © 2024 by Laura Iding
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Without limiting the author’s and publisher’s exclusive rights, any unauthorized use of this publication to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is expressly prohibited.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at CustomerService@Harlequin.com.
Love Inspired
22 Adelaide St. West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.LoveInspired.com
Laura Scott, Kidnapping Cold Case
