Текст книги "Uncovered by Truth"

Автор книги: Rachael Duncan

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

ELIZABETH

HE’S ALIVE.

Oh my God, he’s alive.

As soon as Cal leaves the bedroom, I let the emotions I was holding back take over and consume me. It’s a welcomed change where utter despair and sorrow aren’t swallowing me whole, threatening to suffocate me. I can’t count how many mornings I’d get up and pray this was all a really bad dream. That I’d wake up and see him lying in bed next to me, only to be brought back to my harsh reality. He was gone and he was never coming back.

I’ve been struggling with how to find the will to live. How do you pick up the pieces when the one person you’ve ever loved and cared about has been ripped from you in an instant? Now that I’d had a taste of what it was like to be loved and treated with respect, it was impossible to go back to the way things were and pretend to be the wife I once was. For weeks I’ve been walking around in a blind fog with no purpose, no real reason for existing.

My head starts spinning as I come to the conclusion that this is real. He was actually here touching me, talking to me, comforting me.

Saving me.

I’m in a state of shock, joy, and complete disbelief. How can this be happening? Where has he been? I had so many questions I wanted to ask but was afraid to. Afraid of it all vanishing if I started to wonder. Afraid my mind was playing a cruel joke that would reveal itself once the questions started coming out.

Suddenly, what I almost did hits me with such force that I find it hard to breathe. My hand goes slowly to my mouth. Oh God, I tried to kill myself. My stomach twists into a tight ball, the tenderness from forcing myself to vomit still prominent. I would’ve never seen Alex again. Even though I didn’t know he was okay, the thought of missing the opportunity to be with him has tears running down my face. Once the first few tears leak out, the gates open and my body shakes as I sob. I cry for the things I have lost, for the burdens that I’ve carried, and for the life I chose. But most importantly, I cry for the hope of a better future.

I see it. It’s there standing in front of me. A future where there are no obligations, false pretenses, and phony relationships, but one of hope, love, and happiness. With Alex, all of those things are a possibility now.

I’m not sure what he’s doing or how we’re going to get out of this, but I know I’ll keep fighting. I’m not the person that I let Cal reduce me to. I’m stronger than that, and I will take my life back.

Getting up, I look at myself in the full-length mirror off to the side. I almost don’t recognize the person looking back at me. She’s too thin with hollow cheekbones and clothes that are too baggy. Her hair is dull, and her skin is pale. But when I look in my eyes, I see the woman I used to be. The fire, the strength, the determination. Yes, she will come back. It might not be today or tomorrow, but she’s going to fight to overcome the shit that’s been thrown her way. And when she does, Cal better watch out.

ALEX

“WHERE THE FUCK have you been?” Bruce asks as soon as I walk through the door.

“Doing my job,” I grumble. I’m in no mood for this asshole right now. Everything has changed. All of my plans, my part in the investigation, everything. It’s all been flipped upside down and I’m not sure where to go from here.

“What did you do?”

“Don’t fucking worry about it,” I say with a glare. “I don’t answer to you.”

“Really? Do we need to remind you who is in charge around here?” He starts stepping toward me in a threatening manner. For once, he isn’t blindsiding me and he’s going down. He has no idea what he’s up against.

He comes at me in an awkward, slow way. I expected him to go low and try to take out my legs, so when he’s close enough for me to reach, I turn to the side, grab his hair, and bring my knee up and connect it with his face. Blood splatters on my knee as I hear the bone crunch from impact.

“Son of a bitch!” He screams as he grabs his nose. Before he has time to think, I nail him with a right hook to the face. He stumbles back a bit before collapsing to the floor. From the corner of my eye, I see movement. I turn just in time to see Rodney coming after me. Nope, not this time asshole.

His left arm swings out to hit me in the face, but I dodge it easily. He loses his balance just a little from missing, and I take advantage. I pull back and hit him in the stomach as hard as I can. He doubles over and coughs in agony. I’m about to hit him again when two arms wrap around my throat, hindering my ability to breathe.

“You think you can do this and get away with it you little shit? I’m going to fucking end you,” Bruce says in my ear, anger clear in his voice. Balling my right hand into a fist, I place my left hand over it and rear my elbow back with everything I have. When it hits his diaphragm, his grip on me loosens while he gasps for air. I’m able to turn around and slug him in the jaw while he’s bent over.

My sights focus back in on Rodney when I hear the front door open.

“What the fuck is going on?”

My eyes dart to see none other than Cal standing in the doorway with a crease firmly set between his eyebrows as he looks at the scene before him. The words I heard him speak to Elizabeth earlier today flash through my mind. I look down to his hands remembering them gripping her arms and face. My jaw grinds and my chest heaves up and down. I’m coiled up so tight with restraint that at any moment I’m afraid I’ll spring forward and beat the shit out of him. And I probably won’t stop until he’s dead.

“Nothing, sir. We were just about to take care of him,” Rodney responds, still wincing in pain.

“I can see that,” Cal deadpans. “If you two can’t take care of business, then I’ll find someone who can. I’m not going down for your incompetence.” He maintains a calm demeanor, but the fire in his eyes indicates he’s anything but.

Knowing I have to keep my cool for mine and Elizabeth’s sake, I calm down enough to say, “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence, Senator? I haven’t seen you in a while. I was starting to take it personally.” The sarcasm in my voice is hard to miss.

He arches an eyebrow at me, clearly not amused. Good, neither am I. “I’m wondering what the hell is going on and why Hutchison isn’t dead?”

A sigh leaves my lips, clearly bored with this topic of conversation. “This again?”

“How much longer is this going to take?” he asks through clenched teeth.

“Look, I had it all planned out. I can’t help his speech got canceled last minute. Now I’m starting over.”

By the look on his face, I’m guessing that’s the last thing he wanted to hear. He narrows his eyes slightly before they cloud over with anger. “Get it done!” he screams with such intensity, I can see his body shake. I’m a little shocked to see him snap and lose control. His hands pull on the bottom of his suit jacket to straighten it out while he regains his composure. “You better complete your task soon,” he says in a lower tone. He might not be yelling, but the way he keeps tugging on his clothes lets me know he’s clearly agitated.

“Yes, sir,” I reply in mock obedience.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to that sweet pussy at home. You remember Elizabeth’s pussy, right Alex?” His smirk is the final thing to snap my control. I’m on him in a nanosecond, moving like a linebacker ready to crush the quarterback. I’ve got him pinned against the wall with my left forearm pressed firmly against his throat. A feeling of déjà vu sparks, remembering the last time I had Cal in this same position.

When he hit Elizabeth.

The memory combined with what I saw today has my insides boiling with rage. This piece of shit doesn’t deserve to breathe and it would be so easy to end it all now. His widened eyes give away his true feelings. He’s a little scared and a lot nervous. “Let’s get this straight, motherfucker. You will not talk about Elizabeth like that around me, and you better keep your filthy fucking hands off of her.”

“I think you forget who’s holding all the cards here,” he says in a strangled voice.

“Oh, really?” I ask as I apply more pressure to his throat. “That’s not the way I see it. In fact, it looks like you don’t hold shit. You need me. There’s no one else who can do this job for you. And guessing by the little visit that guy paid me the other day, I’d say you have a lot more riding on this than you’re leading on.” I feel him swallow against my forearm and I know I’ve hit the nail on the head. A thin layer of sweat forms above his upper lip, which gives him away even more. “Tell me, Cal. What’s in it for him?”

“You think you know everything,” he wheezes out. I loosen the pressure so that I’m able to understand him better. “You have no clue what you’re talking about. I’d suggest you get the job done now, or it won’t be just my ass on the line.” I stare at him for a beat before releasing my hold. He takes in a large breath as his hand comes up to hold his throat.

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told your buddy; I’m working on it. If you want to risk this being traced back to you, then take out an ad on fucking Craigslist.”

“You better not be messing around or I’ll have to think of a little . . .” he trails off and looks at the ceiling in deep thought, “motivation.” My eyes drill holes in him, understanding exactly what kind of motivation he’s referring to.

“Noted.”

“I want this done within the next two weeks.” He doesn’t wait for my response, he just leaves.

When I turn back around, I’m met with two shocked faces. “What?” I ask gruffly.

“You’ve got balls, man,” Bruce says, shaking his head. Dried blood crusts around his nose and down his face.

“Yeah,” Rodney agrees, “Mr. Fitzgerald’s punished people for a whole lot less than the shit you just pulled.” This definitely gets my attention.

“What do you mean?”

“He just doesn’t let people disrespect him like you do,” Rodney replies. They both walk over to the couch and slump down on it, but I’m not done prying a little.

“You’re saying he had the balls to take out a guy like me?” I’m trying not to seem too eager to get information, but I need more from these guys. They might know something about Cal and his connections with the cartel.

“We don’t really know anything. One day we see the guy, the next day we don’t,” Bruce offers up. I let it go for now, satisfied with this small detail.

After everything calms down, I’m lying on the damn smelly mattress again thinking about the person who consumes my every thought.

Elizabeth.

Now that the adrenaline and all the other shit has settled, the day hits me like a Mack truck. I thought our reunion would have been a more pleasant experience and not so damn scary. I’ve stared death in the eyes plenty of times in my life, but nothing terrified me more than watching her chug all those pills. A cold sweat runs down my back just thinking about the what ifs. What if we didn’t tap into the hidden cameras? What if I had shown up a few minutes later?

What if she had died?

Those thoughts get expelled from my mind as I focus on the positives. Taking in a relaxing breath, I envision her in my arms, tucked beneath my chin as I hold her tight. This is my happy place, my home. It’s where I feel most at peace. Even though she was crying in my arms, absolute contentment washed over me while I held her. She consumes all of my senses and completely owns me. Owns my soul. I missed the feel of her hair as I ran my fingers through it, the smell of her vanilla skin as I buried my face in her neck, the taste of her perfect lips, the sound of her voice as she said my name, and the sight of her bright smile.

Her vibrancy was completely gone when I stared at her lying on that bed waiting to die. It was painful to see her like that. There was no passion, no drive, but there was something more disturbing than that.

There was no will.

I know she loves me and I’m sure my “death” impacted her significantly. Hell, I’d be a complete wreck if I thought she was dead. But I wonder if there’s something more to her depression, something that pushed her over the edge. Whatever it is, I swear on my life she will find happiness again. I’ll make sure of it.

I’M SICK OF being sent to this shit hole. It’s my fourth deployment and it’s taking its toll on me. It’s the same thing day in and day out. Find the bad guy, try to bring him in alive, take him out if the first option fails, and above all, don’t get yourself killed.

I’m holding up position in an abandoned building, keeping my sights down the street where the rest of my team will come down. Our mission is to take in this guy who’s been making IEDs. They prefer for us to take them in alive to get more information from them, but it usually doesn’t work out that way.

The streets are quiet, almost too quiet as I look around for any movement. This is always a bad sign. When there aren’t any kids playing or people walking around, we know shit is about to go down.

“All’s quiet here. Keep your eyes open,” I say into my radio, letting the rest of my team know that I’m set up.

“Copy that.” A few minutes later, I see my team come around the corner of the building I’m in. They move from building to building, taking cover and surveying the area before advancing. I look through the scope of my gun to check the windows of the surrounding structures to make sure no one else is doing what I’m doing. My guys are almost to the target location when shots ring out. I quickly look around, trying to find out where it’s coming from.

“Fuck,” I whisper to myself. It’s my job to make sure the path is clear and I know I’m fucking it up. Shots go off again, but this time I see the muzzle of a gun coming out of a window. The asshole holding the gun is in the shadows, so I can’t make out his face. I line up my shot and aim for a few inches above the barrel, knowing that it’ll hit him in the chest if he’s standing upright, or the face if he’s got the gun pulled in and aiming. My lungs take in a deep breath, I hold it for a beat, and squeeze the trigger as I release it. The shot is fired and the gun falls out of the window. The shooter comes into the light where I follow his movements to make sure he dies. That’s when I notice it’s not a man, but a woman. She stumbles a little in front of the window and grabs the front of her hijab and pulls it down to expose her face. That’s when my heart stops.

Elizabeth.

She looks at me from across the road with wide eyes¸ her mouth hanging open as she clutches her chest. A second later she collapses.

“No!” I shout out as I jump out of bed. Just like the last nightmare I had with her in it, it takes me a second to get my bearings and realize that it wasn’t real.

“What the fuck are you shouting for?” Rodney grumbles, obviously pissed off I woke him up.

I wipe the sweat off my eyebrow and work on regulating my heart rate. “Nothing.” He doesn’t ask any more questions and rolls over on the couch and passes back out.

God, it felt so real, so vivid. It seems like each nightmare I have with her in it gets worse and worse. I rub the back of my neck with a shaky hand. With as frequent as they’re becoming, I can’t help but get a bad feeling about it. My actions have directly and indirectly caused her deep emotional pain. So much so that she thought her only way to stop the suffering was to take her own life. Maybe I’ve already killed her.

I’ve just parked the car and am on my way to see Elizabeth. Rodney and Bruce didn’t question me much when I told them I needed to go out. Honestly, I get the feeling they might be keeping their distance after their ass beatings and my showdown with Cal. They kept eyeing me up all morning and didn’t try to push my buttons like they usually do. They’re supposed to be the hired badasses that watch over me, and now they are walking on eggshells around me. It almost makes me laugh.

Pussies.

After my dream last night, I had to see her. I have to know she’s really okay and is going to hang in there until I can end all of this. I’ve never felt about a woman the way I do about her. I’ve had women in my life, but I’ve never cared this much. There’s just something about her that’s almost indescribable. It’s not one particular thing I can point to that makes her amazing. It’s just her as a whole. She’s the blood in my veins, the air in my lungs. I wouldn’t be able to function without her in my life.

Tyler lets me into the SUV after knocking on the window. “How is she?” I ask him.

“She’s not great, but she’s okay.”

“I need you to kill the feed so I can go see her.”

He sighs. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea, man. Last time you almost got caught in there.”

“I didn’t ask if you thought it was a good idea, now did I?” I ask sternly. My patience is wearing thin and he’d be wise not to push me. He opens his mouth to protest more, but I cut him off. “Look, I’m going to call Turner and give him an update, then I’m going in there to see her. You can choose to kill the feed or not. I don’t give a shit. I need to see her.” My eye contact is unwavering, daring him to argue with me again.

After a few moments, he surrenders and hands me his phone. “This is Turner,” I hear through the receiver.

“Hey, it’s Matthews.”

“Matthews,” he says with a tired sigh, “why are you there?”

“What? I just stopped by to give you an update.” I know he’s not buying my bullshit, but he’s not going to talk me out of this either, so he should save his energy. He lets out a frustrated breath.

“What’s the update?” he asks in a monotone voice.

“Cal stopped by the house I’m staying at. He’s getting a little antsy to get the job done. I have two weeks now.”

“Two weeks? You need to buy us some more time.”

My hand rakes roughly over my face. “I don’t think I can, sir. I’ve done everything I can short of blowing my cover to push this out. They’re not going to buy it anymore. What’s going on with the plane and money? Have you traced any of it back yet?”

“We’re really close to getting a solid lead and connection.”

“What’s the hold up?” My voice rises a bit in frustration over the lack of progress. “You’ve been close every time I talk to you. I’m doing my part and gathering all the info I can to point you in the right direction. The fact that there’s been no definite connection is starting to piss me off.”

“I know. We’ve traced the plane back to a businessman named Henry Williams. The money has been well laundered, so we’re still trying to pinpoint the exact source.”

Henry Williams. For some reason that name sounds familiar. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”

“Well he runs a legit business which is why this just isn’t adding up. We can’t figure out how or to what extent he’s involved with Cal.”

“Hmmm.” I tap my foot on the floor of the car trying to figure out why I know this name. Not having a lot of time to waste, I move on and decide to think on it some more. “Did you talk to my buddy at the DEA?”

“Yep, good call, Matthews. His name is Jose Gonzalez, 34 years of age, and has connections with a group called los Malvados. Translation: The Wicked. The DEA says they can’t pinpoint the leader, Jose is as far up as they’ve gotten in the hierarchy. He’s been watched for a while in hopes he’ll lead them back to the drug lord.”

“So I guess now we have to link this cartel to Cal somehow, right?”

“Yep. Easier said than done, obviously.”

“Do you think the money will go back to the cartel and link them?”

“At this point, that’s what we’re hoping for.”

We end the call and I turn my attention back to Tyler. “Alright, I’m gonna go see my girl now.”

He rolls his eyes. “I didn’t think I’d be able to talk you out of it. I think Cal came home last time because the feed went out. That means he’s either watching it constantly, or has someone else doing it. I recorded her when she was watching TV. She doesn’t move around a lot, so it was perfect. While you’re in there, I’ll stop the live feed and play this in its place. No one should know the difference and hopefully Cal won’t show up.”

I look at Tyler with appreciation. This is really important to me, and I’m thankful he understands that. “Thanks, man.”

“Yeah, yeah, now go.” He waves me off and starts clicking some buttons on his computer.

With a small smile on my face, I feel lighter knowing I’m going to see her in a few seconds. Not able to wait a second longer, I pick up the pace and run toward her house.