“And I’m sorry about that. We have a plan in place to get your daughter out with no further trauma to her. If this woman takes the bait, it will increase our chances of getting the rest of them out unharmed, as well. You were given one hour, Mr. Burnham.” He raised his wrist, showing him the countdown on his watch. “Time’s almost up, so let’s go. I sure as hell don’t want to find out what happens if you don’t show up.” He spun around and got behind the wheel of a large passenger van, the armed female agents, along with a few emergency medical personnel, filing into the rear compartment.
Alexander hesitated, wishing there were some way to guarantee everyone would get out with no further harm, but he knew Moretti was right. His priority needed to be getting Melanie out in one piece. Then he would worry about the rest of the women.
Jumping into the passenger seat of the van, he looked at Moretti.
“Ready?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Let’s do this,” Alexander answered.
Moretti cranked the ignition and headed toward the safe house. As they were waved into the FBI perimeter, Alexander prayed this would work. That by the time Aliyah realized the agents weren’t the women in question, it would be too late for her to do anything about it.
The van seemed to move at a snail’s pace, the sound of tires crunching on snow grating on Alexander’s nerves. They passed block after block of darkened houses, the only lights those of Christmas decorations the homeowners hadn’t turned off before evacuating. Alexander had driven down this same street countless times, even in snowstorms like this one. It had always been full of warmth. Today, in the darkness of night, it was barren and haunting, no sign of life to be found.
When the van slowed to a stop a block away from the safe house, the agents jumped out, long dark cloaks worn over their body armor, hiding their guns. They wrapped scarves around their heads, their faces all but hidden, except for their eyes. Unease crossed Alexander’s face, and he felt as if he had aged years in the past two days. What if Aliyah figured out it was a trap? He prayed these women were as good a draw as Moretti claimed they were.
“It’s time.” Moretti glanced at him.
Alexander pulled his pistol out of his holster and made sure a round was chambered, then returned it to its hiding place.
“Even if they ask you to surrender your weapons, we’ll have your back.”
Letting out a breath, he opened the door to the van. “I hope so.”
Making his way up the block, the team of agents followed behind him, their heads lowered. As he treaded carefully in the snow, he couldn’t ignore his gut telling him this was a bad idea. From watching him work with persistence and complete disregard for anyone and anything in his search for the truth, Alexander knew Moretti was a good agent. That still didn’t alleviate his fears that something horrible was about to happen. He hoped, for once, his gut was wrong.
Facing the three-story brick building, where he had kissed Olivia for the first time all those years ago, Alexander pulled his phone out of his jacket, his pulse racing as he found Aliyah’s contact and dialed. He gripped Agent Long’s arm as they all stayed huddled together, feigning terror, just as Aliyah answered.
“Mr. Burnham,” she said in her accented voice. “I was beginning to think you would leave your wife and daughter to fend for themselves, just like you failed to come save your friend. Oh, what was his name?”
He pinched his lips together, glaring at the front door of the house with venom in his eyes. “Landon,” he muttered.
“Yes. That’s it. Landon.” She laughed a vindictive laugh. Her voice had taken on a malicious quality, at complete odds with the warm, compassionate woman he thought her to be. He had a thousand questions about how she could have been involved with all of this, given everything she had done at the ministry, but none of that mattered. All that did was getting his family back.
“I brought the girls, just as you asked,” Alexander said, not wanting to dwell on the past.
“So glad to see you finally came to your senses.” He could almost hear the smile in her voice. “Send them in, then you’ll get your daughter back.”
“It’s not going to work that way,” Alexander replied. “Look out the window. You can see I brought the girls. They’re all here and accounted for. Every last one of them. I’ve held up my end of the bargain. Bring Melanie out, then you and your men can take the girls inside.”
“I’m not so sure you have a leg to stand on, Mr. Burnham. You do realize one of my men is holding a gun to your wife’s head at this very instant.”
The lights in the living room of the house sprang to life and Alexander saw Olivia standing in the bay windows, holding that poor baby. A man dressed all in black stood next to her, a gun to her temple. But she wasn’t crying. She didn’t look scared at all. She looked strong, fearless.
Their eyes met through the window. A thousand memories rushed back in an instant. He’d spent so many nights in his car, staring at her through those windows after an argument, wondering if he’d ruined his chances with her. But he hadn’t. They’d made it through it all. Staring into those beautiful brown eyes, he knew they’d somehow make it through this, too.
“That’s fine. Two can play this game.” Alexander pulled Agent Long toward him. She made sure to keep her eyes down as he retrieved his weapon, holding it against her temple. “You already killed one of the girls. I have over a half-dozen out here with me. Each minute that passes that you don’t send Melanie out, I’ll kill one.”
“Alex, what are you doing?” Moretti’s voice muttered in his ear. Something just clicked. Alexander had a feeling there was more to this than just upholding age-old traditions. He was taking a huge risk, but they’d overlooked one of the biggest motivators there was…money.
“You’ve already shot one of the girls to make a point. I don’t care if they live or die,” Alexander said harshly, hating to say the words, but he had to. “Hell, until this morning, I didn’t even know they were still alive. No skin off my back if they’re dead.” He cocked his weapon so Aliyah could hear the clicking of the gun over the phone. “Isn’t that what you want anyway?”
“No! Don’t.”
“Interesting,” he continued slyly, allowing a smile. “It appears you do care whether they’re still alive. How much are you getting per girl? Or is each family different? Did you shoot that poor girl because she was worth less? Do you still get paid if you return them in a body bag?”
He placed his hand on the trigger, praying he was right, that he hadn’t misread the signs.
“Fine! You win!” Aliyah bellowed. “I’ll bring your daughter out, just as soon as you lower your weapon and throw it in the snow.”
Hesitating at the thought of being unarmed, he tried to find comfort in Moretti’s assurances he would have his back. Tossing his weapon to the side, he stepped away from Agent Long, their eyes meeting. He gave her a silent apology and she nodded slightly.
“Done. Now send Melanie out.”
“Fine! Fine!” She shouted some orders in her native Pashto as the phone went dead. Alexander widened his stance, his eyes focused on the red door of the safe house, drawing in steadying breaths as snow fell around him.