She smiled, content in the truth of that knowledge, the glow of the flames heightening her intense beauty as the fire raged around her.
Epilogue
McLean, Virginia
Two Weeks Later
1425 EST
Beth Cathey was exhausted from the stress of the past few weeks, wondering when the agency’s counterintelligence division or security personnel would show up with questions. She felt trapped, her heart hammering in her chest every minute of every day she’d been at work at Langley since the attack at the National Harbor. But as the days ticked by, the panic slowly subsided from a raging storm threatening to paralyze her to a subdued presence, and she began to think they didn’t know. She wouldn’t have been the first insider threat the agency had failed to uncover. The number of leaks over the past several years had piled up so quickly it was impossible to keep up with the flow of compromised information.
She’d tried to contact Amira, but her calls had gone unreturned, only adding to her sense of impending doom.
Beth opened the front door of her three-level town home and glanced at her watch as the alarm beeped. She had a few minutes to change into something other than her agency attire – a form-fitting dark grey business suit and white shirt – before she picked up Alexa.
She walked across the small foyer, entered the disarm code on her alarm system, and placed her keys on a small console table. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the table. Normally, a very attractive brunette with chestnut brown hair that hung below her shoulders – although she kept it in a neat ponytail for work – and sharp, chiseled features, she looked tired with lines on her face she hadn’t noticed before. It’s taking its toll on you and finally showing.
The main floor of the town home was wide open, with her family room on the left, which emptied into a large kitchen and then a three-story bump-out with a sunroom. The family room had been decorated for Christmas, and the artificial tree stood on the left side near the wall, waiting for Alexa to open the presents Beth would place there on the Big Day. A staircase to her right led upstairs, and just past the console table, another set of stairs led to the basement. Beyond the basement stairs was a large dining area on the right half of the kitchen that led to the outdoor deck. Due to the staircases, the table was just out of view, which was why she didn’t see Amira Cerone sitting at the table, holding a suppressed SIGSAUER P229 9mm pistol pointed at her chest.
Dressed in jeans, a deep red sweater, and a dark navy overcoat, she blended in well with the upscale townhome community. “It’s a nice place you have, Beth. Truly.”
Beth studied her friend, and said, “Thanks. I spend most of my income on this and Alexa’s daycare.”
“We know,” Amira replied.
Beth nodded at the plural form of the subject. The proverbial gig is up. “Do you want a cup of coffee? I need one…if that’s okay.”
“It is, and then I need you to sit down so we can talk.”
Beth walked over to the Nespresso machine, turned it on, inserted a pod, and turned back to Amira as the creamy coffee brewed. “You know I have to pick up Alexa in forty-five minutes from day care, right?”
“We know. Don’t worry. She’ll be fine,” Amira said.
Not “You’ll be fine,” but “She’ll be fine.” This isn’t good. The panic was once again full-blown, and she forced herself to remain calm as her world slowly crashed down upon her. She took her mug and joined Amira at the table.
“I just need to know why,” Amira said. “That’s all.”
Beth’s face broke into a mask of shame and sorrow at what she’d done to her friend and ally. She’d considered what she’d say to Amira if the moment ever arose, and here it was, reflecting her own guilt and pain in the form of her friend. She composed herself quickly, looked Amira in the eyes, and said, “They took Alexa two days before we had lunch. I don’t know how, but they knew I’d reached out to you. When I first did, that was truly because I was worried about you, but they changed that. They told me to get you to that lunch at that time and place. They told me that if I didn’t, they’d kill Alexa.” She paused, the thought of her daughter dead stifling her ability to speak. “When they took her, they told her I had to go out of town on business, but they let me talk to her. I said her regular sitter was sick and that the people with her would take care of her and that I’d see her in a few days. And God bless her, she believed me. It was awful, but they said any outside involvement would end in her death.”
“Why didn’t you come to me for help? Believe me when I tell you the people I work with could’ve helped,” Amira said.
“Amira, I believed them, completely. I didn’t know it was Trevor at the time. I only found out about that after you killed him. I have to say this, and God help me, but I’d have done it again. I’m so sorry, but I’d do anything for my daughter. As a parent – and you’ll learn this someday if you have kids – my only job is to keep Alexa safe from the horrors of the world, raise her the best that I can as a single mom, and prepare her for the world when it’s her time to go out into it. And by setting up that lunch, I protected her one more time. I’m sorry, but it’s
