If it came down to it, Mark could still tie up the loose ends. It would be bloody, big and cost him an arm and a leg, but he could do it.
“Sir?”
“What?” Mark wheeled around.
“Thomas has been taken care of,” the man said.
“Good.” That was one thing taken care of. He wouldn’t put it past Thomas to cut a deal to save his skin. Having him out of the picture was for the best.
“The guys want to know...what’s our contingency plan?”
“Don’t worry about it. Everything is under control.” Mark grabbed the door connecting his room to the next and shoved it closed.
Worst case scenario, Mark could dump the guys and go his own way. It wasn’t the right thing to do, and he’d make a lot of enemies, but if it came down to it and they were every man for himself, Mark couldn’t hesitate.
His phone finally rang, only he didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?” At this point he’d answer anything.
“You did it, didn’t you?”
THURSDAY. SAFE HOUSE, Las Colinas, Texas.
Riley paced the house. The cops gave him a wide berth while Casey sat back, giving him that flat stare that never failed to piss Riley off. If his brother was going to pop over to watch, the least he could do was be helpful.
“Dude. Stop. Sit.” Casey nodded at the chair next to him at the dining table.
Riley wanted to get out. Do something. Find Erin. But he couldn’t. She’d vanished without a trace. The best thing they had was a neighbor’s security camera catching her feet as she walked down the sidewalk.
He circled the table and sat next to Casey, picked up his brother’s cup of coffee and drained it.
“Have a drink, why don’t you?” Casey said.
Riley didn’t answer.
“I thought you were here on work?” Casey studied him in a way that wasn’t entirely comfortable.
“We are.”
“They might be.” He nodded at Grant standing with Brenden. “You aren’t. Who is this woman to you?”
Riley bit the inside of his cheek.
“Riley likes a girl. There’s one Mom would love to hear.” Casey leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Mom talked to her yesterday.” How would Riley tell Erin’s family she was gone? They had to get her back. Riley watched Grant escort the officers to the front door. “Wait, are they leaving?”
“Your girl wrote a note saying she was leaving, and she left. Without more evidence, there’s not a lot they can do,” Casey said.
“But—Colborn?”
“That does make it interesting. They still aren’t going to find her by sitting around here.” Casey shrugged.
Grant closed the door behind the cops.
“That’s it? That’s all we’re doing?” Riley glared at Grant.
“I don’t want to hear it from you.” Grant held up his hand.
“Guys!” Melody stepped between them, breaking Riley’s line of sight. “Stop. Zain has an update.”
Melody carried her laptop to the dining table. Everyone gathered around and in a few moments, Zain was staring back at them. Judging by the suit jacket hung on a hook behind him and the loose tie around his neck, he hadn’t yet been to sleep.
“I’ll make this quick. The link Erin found doesn’t just lead back to the video. Once you remove the file name, you get—” Zain twisted and frowned at something off screen. “Erin’s laptop is online.”
“Can you find it?” Riley leaned forward.
“I’m working on it. I’m working.”
Grant pushed to his feet. “Everyone, get suited up. We’re bringing Erin home.”
“I shouldn’t be here for this,” Casey muttered.
“It’s bring your brother to work day.” Riley grabbed Casey and hauled him toward the stashed gear.
They’d need every capable person if they were going up against the black ops side of Allied Security.
THURSDAY. UNKNOWN, Texas.
Erin shrank away from Khalil. He grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her to him. The twelve-inch, fixed blade knife wasn’t a toy. She’d had one like it during her deployment. He’d left her alone for a few minutes and come back like this. Completely enraged.
Khalil sliced through the restraints binding her wrists together in one move, then cut the ones around her ankles without saying a word.
She stared at her hands, then at Khalil.
He’d spent hours on her laptop.
That was a stupid move.
With detailed information about the company facilities, Khalil could organize devastating attacks on all sites. She’d only meant to show him the truth, get him to help her stop Mark and his team. Instead she’d handed him the keys to what was undoubtedly a bigger revenge plan.
Khalil pushed to his feet and paced from one side of the building to the other.
What had he discovered? What plans was he making?
Erin glanced at the laptop sitting on the concrete a few yards away.
Could she grab it and run? Or should she just run?
“He did it.” Khalil whirled around and stared at her.
“W-what? Who? Did what?” Erin swallowed, her throat so dry it hurt.
“Mark.” Khalil pointed the knife at the laptop. “He did it.”
“I-I don’t understand, Khalil. Can you explain it to me?”
Khalil lunged at her, the blade still in hand and shouted, “He’s the one who did it! He killed them.”
She held up her hands and shrank down farther. “I know. It’s terrible. That’s why I’m trying to get that video to the police.”
“No. No. No, you don’t understand.” Khalil wheeled away from her and stalked across to the laptop. He grabbed it by the screen and dragged it across to Erin. “Watch.”
He ripped the headphones out of the jack and tapped the track pad.
The scene was not familiar to her, but the people were.
Erin gasped and covered her mouth.
Those were the faces burned into her mind. The people who’d died because she hadn’t done enough. She hadn’t convinced enough people that there were errors in the project.
Khalil hit the play button.
The man in the foreground, decked out in cammo, had his face covered. Except for his eyes. She’d stared at Mark Forest’s picture long
