Exit plan, p.4
Exit Plan, page 4
The morning my team lead told me she was gone was the worst moment of my life. Looking at photos from the car wreck and talking about my feelings with a shrink to get cleared so I could be put back out on active duty was brutal. But I went through it all for her. So I could get back out in the field and begin looking for her on my own.
And it was always a dead end. Her body was never found and she was declared deceased after a couple of years. No one can stay hidden for that long.
Except her.
There she was standing right in front of me.
Watching her run from me completely devastated me. After calling for her and realizing she didn’t slow down at all, my composure drained out of me.
Hunter moved toward the door to set the explosive and the three of us backed off the porch for the detonation, but I didn’t stop there.
Before considering my options, I broke all protocol and bolted around the side of the house as fast as I could. As I rounded the first corner, I heard the front door go and I saw Grizz on the porch nearing the corner towards the back. Chatter in my earpiece picked up and I knew she had cleared the house and was running.
The sound of wood breaking caught my attention as the porch collapsed beside me, taking out some of my team and placing me as the closest to her in pursuit. I picked up my pace at the thought I could lose her again.
Rounding the corner, she was halfway across the back field and she still had a lot of distance to go before she was at the tree line. Her eyes locked with mine, but she didn’t slow down.
Blood pumped fiercely into my head as I watched her continue to run. She’ll keep running until I catch her.
And I will catch her.
At once, I remembered our shooter in the trees. I gave instructions to shoot anything getting away. Yelling into my headpiece at Charlie, I keep my pace. “Stand down. Do not shoot. Do. Not. Shoot. She’s mine.” My last words startle me as I growl them out.
With an internal force I’ve never felt until this moment, one thought rages through me and fuels me on.
She is mine.
Then I chastise myself for claiming her out loud. I’ll be answering to Logan for that later.
“Please, don’t…” Her sweet voice pierces my ears. It’s one of the first things she’s said to me in ten years. Her fear ignites my rage and I don’t back down.
She should fear me right now.
I see it in her eyes. She knows I won’t stop, and she turns to try to keep her pace and for a moment, I think she might as I call out her name.
She’s more fit than I remember. Even through her clothes, her body is toned and her arms are defined.
Link’s voice speaks through my earpiece. “The drone is picking up a boat, just past the trees. She’s heading straight for it.” And my heart tightens. It would have been a matter of time if we both remained on foot. I can’t let her get to the boat.
“Female target, on foot at the back of the house. Do not let her get to the trees. Charlie, on my mark.” Logan’s voice commands through my earpiece as I quickly glance and see him moving around the side of the house, well behind us.
There’s no time to process how I need to handle this now.
All I see is her closing in on the tree line and my whole body heats up as blood and anger feverishly pulse through me.
“No. Don’t. I’ve got her. Hold your fire.” I yell orders into my headset with the ferocity of a beast, unhinged. We have one of the best sharpshooters on our team but the mere thought of a bullet accidentally hitting her makes me want to rip Charlie’s head off through his asshole.
“Spook her, Charlie. Fire.” Logan’s detached voice shouts through my earpiece and I know it’s over before he finishes speaking.
The crack of the bullet rings out against the sleepy countryside as the dirt in front of her kicks up and I watch her legs physically react as she trips and attempts to keep going.
My body relaxes as I take my final few steps toward her.
She won’t be able to recover from this.
She’s mine. The thought fills my head with a vengeance as I connect with her and begin to crash to the ground. I roll to minimize the damage as my mind starts to work overtime.
I need to get my shit together before everyone catches up to us.
I need to compose myself.
My life just got better but my day just got a metric shit ton worse and I need to sort through everything.
And Jessa.
Everything is raw and hitting me all at once. This is Jessa. My Jessa. The life that was ripped away from me. After all of the searching, after accepting her death, after letting her go. She’s in my grasp. She’s alive and she’s found.
But she’s Jay.
Jessa is Jay and she’s our target. It’s her face that matches the codename in that flimsy file laying on the floor of the SUV. She works with Zane, and she works for Maxwell. For the last decade, she’s been working for the monster I’ve been trying to put down.
But why?
She has to know he is most likely responsible for her own family’s death.
She’s been hiding all this time—from me, and her first instinct was to run.
Pressure begins to build behind my eyes as my anger swallows my relief and I don’t know what emotion to entertain at the moment.
So it will have to be indifference, for now.
As we shuffle to get up, her eyes lock on mine and I can tell by her reaction, everything I’m feeling is written all over my face.
She’s terrified.
She looks like she’s seen a ghost. But I’m the one looking at a ghost.
Logan and some of our team meet us in the field with her friend in tow and I move to place Jessa in Tex’s custody before I change my mind about letting her go.
Both of the women are quietly looking at each other. This is never how I pictured our reunion happening. I never thought we’d have a reunion.
Now, looking at Dee, I remember her as Dana. Her hair used to be much shorter and she was heavier back then. She was Jessa’s best friend in high school. They were inseparable. Dana’s father had been incarcerated for domestic violence charges before I moved to the area with my undercover assignment.
Gossip was the favorite past time at the high school and when word got out that Dana’s family wasn’t picture perfect, she became the topic of the day and her friends began to drop like flies.
But not my Jessa. She doubled down. That’s who she always was. It’s why I gravitated to her almost instantly.
It’s how she found a place in my head and my heart.
I look over at Logan who seems to be working his own thoughts out in his head and things are different between us now.
He’s guarded.
I don’t blame him.
The only woman I’ve ever talked to him about is standing mere feet away from us and she’s alive. I’ve shared everything about her with Logan in an effort to deal with my feelings and move past her loss. I opened up completely because I was finally convinced she was dead. After years of looking for her body, running her prints, checking alerts and quietly following up on leads, I thought she was gone forever.
But she’s not.
She’s here.
And he knows everything.
“Do you want to share with the rest of us, Dee?” Logan’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts, his patience clearly wearing thin.
Jessa answers for her friend. Always the protector. She attempts to maintain an indifferent tone, but her soft voice rings through her words and I detect a slight shake. She’s scared.
Standing directly behind her, Tex tries to shut her down but she’s not having any of it. As soon as his words leave his mouth, Jessa’s elbow jerks up, hitting Tex square in the nose. Judging by how fast his head snaps back, she made a solid connection and he buckles to the ground behind her.
A surge of pride bursts through me but I keep my expression cold as I reach around to grab a photo of him sprawled out on the lawn. Then I shake my head in disbelief. We’re going to need to have a group discussion about underestimating our opponents and letting our guard down or I might lose one of these guys one day.
Distracted by my own thoughts, I catch the end of Logan telling our men to put the women in a different vehicle from ours and I lose what was left of my composure at the thought of being away from Jessa, even for the four-hour drive back to our compound.
“She stays with us, Jekyll.” Pointing my finger in claim at Jessa, I square myself on Logan. I won’t entertain the slightest chance I could lose her again.
“No. They drive back in the van.” Logan’s jaw is clenched. I know he doesn’t want to have this discussion here, but I’m not letting her go, so this conversation is going to happen.
Then I notice the guys waiting. Thinking back, this has never happened before. We have never disagreed on protocol. We’ve always worked together toward what is best for the mission.
Then I realize I’m not thinking about the mission.
I’m thinking about her.
Looking at Logan, he knows it too. He’s trying hard to give me the chance to fall in line and get my head back in the game in front of our team.
I make one last attempt to have her in the same vehicle with me then Logan shuts it down and I know he’s right. He ends our conversation, for now. “You heard me. Move out.”
As we follow everyone into the front yard, I look over to the farmhouse. Some of our team are still coming out of the house with bags and equipment, but by the looks of the computer and laptop they recovered, we won’t be getting any information that way.
Back in the SUV, Grey and Charlie are silent. Grey has his eyes on the road, he knows where we’re going. Charlie is packing up his equipment in the front seat. We have at least a few hours until we are back on our own turf.
“We’re heading back to camp on radio silence. Until we can assess the situation, I don’t want any information on what we are transporting getting out. Notify the rest of the team and turn on some music, Grey.” Logan’s curt command breaks the silence and he pulls off his earpiece and tosses it into the front seat.
“What do you want to hear, boss?” The moment the words are out, I see Grey’s shoulders tense up and I know he regrets asking.
“I don’t give a fuck, just turn it on. You can even play some of that frilly pop shit you like.” Logan barks back and Grey starts pressing buttons as I settle back into my seat and wait for it.
Taking a deep sigh, Logan adjusts himself in his seat and looks out the window for a long minute. I take the pause to gather my thoughts.
This was an unexpected turn of events and if Logan loves anything, it’s control.
Our two vehicles drive off the property and onto the dirt road followed by the rest of our team in their own cars and I keep my eyes forward, watching the van in front of us, carrying Jessa back to our base.
Music beats through the speakers in the front seat but I’m barely here.
Before I allow myself to drown in thoughts of her, Logan breaks the tension between us.
“Mind telling me where your head's at, Jack?” His tone is short and serious.
Truth be told, my head is in the vehicle in front of us and we both know it.
“Target acquired. Nothing to talk about,” I say. My focus stays on the van kicking up rocks and I know he’s not buying it.
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” Logan asks and I notice the guys in the front seat exchanging side glances with each other. “The only piece of ass you’ve ever mentioned is in that van. Don’t act like it’s nothing. I know all about your nothing. I know everything, Jack.” His attempt at asserting his dominance with me is beginning to grate on my nerves.
Logan lets his words linger between us and I know he’s right.
This isn’t about the mission.
I can’t even see the mission anymore.
In our silence I take a moment to look down before I engage with Logan and that’s when I see it. I’m wringing my hands together like a junkie waiting for his next fix. I’m on edge and I’m wired up. My tells are all out in the open and I can’t control myself.
The only way out of this conversation is honesty. I owe it to Logan. He’s been there for me for ten years and he’s right. I’ve told him everything. I’m thinking with every part of my body right now except for my brain and I need to sort this shit out before we get to our destination and I see her again.
“Fine. Yes. It’s Jessa. I don’t know what the fuck to do. She was supposed to be dead. I got over her. I was—” but his incredulous laugh doesn’t let me finish.
“You never got over her, Jack. You thought she was dead, but you never got over her. You never stopped talking about her. You mentally compared every woman you’ve met in the last nine years to that feisty little number and I can see why. She is hot. And that attitude? Jesus, I’d never stop fucking that tight little—” Now it’s my turn to shut the conversation down.
“One more word and I’ll rip out your throat.” I glare into his eyes with my warning. My heart rate picks up and I feel my face flush.
“No need. You made my point for me. Your head isn’t where it needs to be. I’m taking the lead on this, Jack.” Logan slips back into his casual business mode and I hate how he can turn himself on and off. I hate myself even more for falling for it.
Logan is a master at pushing buttons and getting in people’s heads. This was a test, one I failed miserably. In this moment, I envy his emotional restraint.
I know he’s right though. He should take the lead on this. My mind and my heart are elsewhere and, until I can sort them out, I’m no use to anyone.
“I agree on one condition.” I acquiesce, and Logan’s eyes assess my every movement as I finish my thought, “I get access to her. I can question her as well and I am there whenever you talk to her, either in the room or watching from behind the glass.”
Logan sits back in his seat and takes a deep breath as he considers everything I’ve asked for.
“I take the lead. You may be there when I question her, but you do not stop the process or come to her defense in any way. If you do, you know it’s protocol to treat you as a hostile.” Then pausing, he takes a deep, frustrated breath. “You’ve seen me interrogate. You may want to reconsider being present, Jack.”, he warns, but both of us know it is futile.
On his final words, I return my gaze to the van in front of us.
Logan listens through his earpiece. No doubt he’s asked one of the guys in the van to wire him into any conversations the girls are having and I’ve been excluded from this part of his plan.
It’s going to be a long, quiet drive.
4
Jessa
Secured in the van with Dana seated across from me, the drive felt like it was close to five hours and I have no idea where we are now.
Judging by the turns of the vehicle, I think we went east after we left the farmhouse, but I can’t be sure with all of the subtle curves in the road. We could be anywhere.
The severity of our situation sank in quickly after the doors to the van closed and Dana sat quietly for most of the trip, looking down at her feet before she closed her eyes and dozed off for a bit.
I took the time to process everything. In a nutshell, our freedom is gone, at least for the time being and I don’t have my phone anymore so I can’t access Zane. I don’t know who these guys work for but, clearly, Jack isn’t who I thought he was.
I thought he was my friend and the first boyfriend I ever had. I never saw him again after the night my parents died. I began searching for him once I knew I was far away from everyone and everything that happened, but he and his dad were gone. There were no police reports on their whereabouts, they both just vanished.
Everything about Maxwell and his dad floated to the top after they skipped town. All of their shady business. My dad couldn’t have known he was working for a crime boss. I’m sure of it. But it doesn’t matter anyway.
Travis and I grew up with Maxwell. Uncovering the layers of lies Mr. Sparr’s family covered up was surreal and I remained in complete denial over Max’s involvement for a few years after I left town. I was so wrong about him.
Was I wrong about Jack, too?
His being here is a positive sign. Jack wouldn’t work with Maxwell. He even said as much when we were standing out back in the field.
But what is his team’s objective?
It’s been ten years. I don’t even know what side of the law these guys are on or who they’re working for.
“Hey.” Dana’s whisper brings me back to the jerking motion of the van as it pulls off onto a bumpier road. I feel a pressure build in my ears as I realize we’ve slowly been climbing in altitude.
“Hey.” I whisper back with a weary smile as I try to hide my uncertainty.
“So... rough day, huh?” She deadpans then pauses to gauge my reaction and I can’t help the grin that creeps across my face.
There’s my Dana. She’s feeling better. As long as we’re still together, we’re okay.
“Quiet back there.” The guy in the front seat pipes up attempting to claw back some of the respect he left behind on the field when I clocked him.
“Oh can it, Macho Man. We’re just talking,” Dana snaps back surprising everyone, myself included, and the two other men in the van chuckle which sets my nerves at ease, but not by much.
For all five and a half feet of her, she is strong but I know her better than anyone. It’s on the outside. She’s just as anxious as I feel on the inside. Settling back into her seat she takes a deep breath.
“You okay?” I ask. Dana is a tough one, but I know she’s worried.
“Yeah, you?” She asks back to silence. I don’t know what I am. “Jessa? That was Jack. What’s going on?” And there it is.
That was Jack.
“I have no idea.” I pause to take in the sheer craziness of our situation. Then I remember I need to say my piece before we stop because we will almost definitely be separated. “Look, I don’t know how long the ride is, so I need to tell you a couple of things. It’s important.” Dana straightens in her seat to listen further and I know the guys around us can hear as well. I don’t care. It will be better for Dana if they hear me say this. “First, I don’t think these guys work for Maxwell.” At my words, Dana lets out a relieved sigh and I continue. “Next, whatever they ask you, anything, no matter what it is, tell the truth. Tell them what you know.”
