Redemption (Bennett Sisters Book 5) (23 page)

“That’s my girl.”

****

Rick walked back to his room and plopped down on his couch. He ran his hands through his hair and ground his teeth together. He wanted to make this right. His heart was just as broken as
Lydia
’s was. He didn’t want to leave here without her. He could hear her sobs through the walls. His instinct was to go comfort her, but he knew his presence wouldn’t be welcome. He couldn’t blame her for hating him. Her sobs made his heart ache even worse. He’d surprised himself when he admitted that he loved her. He knew she wouldn’t believe him, but he felt compelled not to keep anything else from her. He left himself open, and she’d done more than slam the door on their relationship; it was his fault.

He pulled the phone from his clip and dialed the same number that had been calling him for the last hour.

“Where the hell have you been!” his boss yelled through the line.

“Sorry, I’ve been busy.”

His boss breathed into the phone. “Don’t forget why we sent you. Do you have any more information for us?”

Rick let his head fall. One more lie, one more time. He needed to do this for
Lydia
. If he didn’t, they would always be after her. She would never have the normal life that she craved. “Lydia Stevens was killed today in an explosion. There’s nothing more to report.”

The line was silent for what seemed like minutes. “Fine, get your ass back here. We have another assignment for you.”

Rick closed his eyes. Visions of
Lydia
filled his memory. Her laughing, them making love, times that he would remember for the rest of his life. “Consider this my resignation. I’ll fax you over the paperwork.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’ve never been more serious. I’ll be by to clean out my office and turn in my badge when I get back.”

Rick clicked
End
and turned his phone off. Only one more thing he needed to do before he went to the airport, the last thing he could do to get
Lydia
off the FBI’s radar. He knew there would be an inquiry. They’d even be looking for a funeral.

Rick heard Briggs next door yelling at
Lydia
. He’d waited until he’d heard them leave before he too left his room.

He walked through the command center and stopped to talk to Jonah. “How hard will it be to get
Lydia
some new IDs?”

Jonah smirked. “Not hard, why?”

Rick patted Jonah’s shoulder. “Get her the whole package, new name, new license, new background. Everything.” Rick walked past him before he glanced over his shoulder. “A whole new identity and give her a brand-new past.”

Jonah nodded.

Rick knocked on the doorframe to the general’s office. The man was sitting behind his desk on the phone. His steely gaze never left Rick’s as he talked. “Yes, sir. That’s right. I’m sorry to say it was a freak accident.”

Rick closed the door behind him and sat in one of the leather seats he was becoming more familiar with. The general hung up the phone. “You care to tell me why I had to lie to the FBI that Lydia Stevens died today? In an explosion no less.”

Rick crossed his ankle over one leg. “That’s why I came. I’ve had
Lydia
under surveillance the whole time I was here. It seems the FBI had her targeted on their terrorist list. My mission was to recruit her for her talents or kill her so she wouldn’t be a threat. They don’t know about her tie with the Bennetts, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

The general nodded. “You have my word.”

“I appreciate that.”

The General cleared his throat. “Have you told her?”

Rick never lowered his gaze. As much as he hated to admit it, she’d never forgive him. “Yes, she knows about my mission.”

“And?”

Rick clenched his jaw. “She knows that I love her.”

“And?”

Rick looked down and picked the imaginary lint off his jeans. “I haven’t told her I killed her yet.” He looked up. “That’s where you come in. Let her think it was your idea. She won’t be able to have a normal life if the FBI knows she’s still alive.”  He felt his brows pull together. “I just want her to be happy. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“I’ll take care of
Lydia
.” The general leaned back in his chair. “What about you? What are you going to do?”

Rick stood from the chair and walked to the door. “I turned in my resignation, so I don’t know.” He pulled the door open. “But I’ll be in touch every now and then to check in on her.”

The general rounded his desk and pushed the door closed again. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple, son.” The general gestured to the chair. “You’ve been injected with something that we can’t identify. You need to be monitored, not only for your own safety, but for those around you.”

Rick waved his hand in the air. “I’m not going far, just back to Southall.  I’m hoping Jake will give me a job now that I’m unemployed.”

The general nodded and walked to his desk. He pulled out a spare phone and handed it to him. “Go lick your wounds for now, but I’ll in touch.” Rick tried to hand him the phone back, but the general ignored it and walked back over to his desk. “If you don’t take it, then I’m afraid I can’t let you go.”

Rick slid the phone into his pocket and pulled the door open. “How do you know I won’t ditch it when I leave?”

The general grinned and glanced at Rick’s watch. “You’ll do the right thing. I have faith in you.” The general lifted a finger. “Hang on a sec.” He picked up the phone. “Thompson needs a ride to the airport. He’ll be ready in five minutes.” The general grunted. “Take the Hummer.” He hung up the phone. “Your ride will be ready when you are.”

Rick went back to his room. He pulled out a piece of paper and pen from the drawer and scribbled a note. He picked up his bag and stopped by
Lydia
’s room before he left. The guys standing guard just nodded and let him in. After leaving he made the walk of shame. He’d failed not only his mission but more importantly he’d broken her heart.

Rick pushed open the compound door and pulled the sunglass down over his eyes. He groaned when he saw who was waiting on him. “You again?” Rick glanced back over his shoulder at the closed door. “I guess the general wants to torture me one more time.”

Brody lifted a brow.  “I hear you confessed whatever the hell it was you were hiding.”

Rick ignored him and pulled open the Hummer’s passenger door and climbed in.

Brody climbed in the other side. “If it makes you feel better, she’s pissed at me too.” 

He wasn’t happy to hear that she was mad at Brody too. It defeated what he was trying to accomplish. Rick leaned back in the seat. Having
Lydia
mad at Brody was going to make it difficult for the man to watch out for her, to be there for her. Rick didn’t know how to make everything right again for
Lydia
. He glanced over at Brody. “You need to fix it.”

Brody raised his brow and glanced at Rick as he put the vehicle in gear. “Easier said than done, Romeo. You didn’t see her in the cafeteria. She was pissed. And trust me when I tell you, redheads have a whole different level of pissed than most women.”

Rick released a long sigh. He needed to make Brody see how important it was not only for
Lydia
but the rest of the unit. Unlike Brody, Rick had met the notorious Floyd, and Rick’s instincts were to grab
Lydia
and take her someplace safe. Rick turned in his seat. “Brody, you need to listen to me very carefully. If Floyd ever gets his hands on her, we’ll be lucky if he doesn’t drain all of the blood out of her and inject himself and his so-called soldiers.”

Rick turned and glanced out at the passing trees. “You are the only one strong enough to keep her safe and fight back. She needs you.” He paused. “And I need you not to fail.”

Brody was silent for all of five seconds. “You love her, don’t you?”

Rick nodded. “More than you’ll ever know.”

Brody pulled over to the side of the road and put the Hummer in park. He turned toward Rick. “Then how I see it is you have two options and only two.” Brody glanced out the front window before he turned back to Rick. “You can leave her with me, but I can’t promise that I won’t try and win her heart…” The muscles in Brody’s arm flexed with his grip on the steering wheel. “I can’t believe I’m saying this… Or you can stay and fight to win her back. If it were me, I’d do everything in my power to hold on to her.”

There was no way she was going to forgive him. Hell, he’d basically signed a contract on her life. “You don’t know the extent of what I lied about. There’s no chance she’ll take me back.”

Brody tilted his head. “I never pegged you as a quitter.” He glanced at Rick. “I guess looks can be deceiving. Maybe I am the better man for her.”

Rick clenched his fist. Brody knew how to push his buttons. Rick breathed in a deep breath and, with it, the energy that surrounded him. He closed his eyes, trying to control the thrumming in his veins. The engine sputtered. The sound of the Hummer’s engine dying filled his ears.
Crap.

Brody unfastened his seatbelt, popped the lever for the hood, and pushed open the Hummer door and climbed out. With one hand on the top of the door and the other on top of the roof, he leaned in. “Why is it every time you try to leave town shit happens? Maybe the universe or some higher power is trying to tell you something. All I know is I wouldn’t get on a plane if I were you without another injection from our guys. You might take the whole thing down like we thought
Lydia
would.”

Rick shrugged as Brody slammed the door.

He knew what he had to do. He had to go back. Brody was right about one thing; he couldn’t give up without a fight. Rick felt the energy strumming in his blood. It felt as though his heart had started beating again for the first time since he’d told
Lydia
the truth. He needed her, and not for the reasons Floyd or even the general had. He needed her like he needed his next breath.

Chapter 24

Lydia
climbed out of the SUV when Briggs pulled up in front of the shooting range. Her mind was preoccupied. Visions of Rick and the time they’d spent together replayed in her thoughts. She thought of how happy she’d been with him and the terrible last words they’d shared. It was inevitable that she was meant to be alone. She was done. No one deserved the hell that her life offered on a daily basis. Throwing herself into catching Floyd was what she was going to concentrate on, the new meaning of her life. Taking the man down was the only thing that made sense and mattered more than her broken heart.

Briggs rounded the SUV and grabbed her hand. “Are you ready?”

Lydia
lifted her chin. “Bring it on.”

Briggs nodded. “Good.”

He pulled the door open and walked behind
Lydia
up to a burly man behind the counter. He didn’t look like a cop but a hunter. A graying, scraggly brown beard hung down below his shirt collar. The fine lines on his face were hard. He looked like a man who had been around the block. A man that she wouldn’t want to meet in the forest alone.

Lydia
glanced around the reception slash store area. Guns and rifles hung from the wall and in the glass cases. Accessories littered the shelves, and the place looked as though it could use a good dusting. Firing rules hung strategically around the room. The overpowering smells of gunpowder and oil made her stomach roll.

“First time to a firing range, missy?”

Lydia
turned toward the old man. “Is it that obvious?”

Briggs cleared his throat and pulled out his driver’s license. “General Lister sent us to get
Lydia
some practice time. I was told he made arrangements.”

Lydia
picked up a package of pink earplugs and turned the package over.

The man lifted a graying eyebrow. “Oh. She’s one of them.”

Briggs placed his palms on the glass case that separated the visitors from the man. “Excuse me?”

The man lifted his palms. “I just meant she’s from the compound. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Briggs leaned against the counter. His muscles bunched, and his jaw clenched.
Lydia
took the earplugs to the counter and touched Brigg’s arm. “You’ll have to forgive him. He’s just very protective of me.” She handed the earplugs to the man. “I guess from the signs it looks like I’ll be needing some of these.”

The man eyed her warily and pulled out two slips of papers and a pen. “We have rules you’re going to have to follow.” He turned and pulled orange earplugs out of a bin behind the counter and set them down next to the pink one
s
. “We run a clean establishment. Safety is our top priority.” He pointed to the papers. “You need to read the rules and sign to say you understand them before you’re allowed onto the range.”