Echoes at Dawn

“All right,” Sam said. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Can you make it to Virginia by sixteen hundred hours tomorrow?”

“We’ll be there,” Rio said grimly.

ADAM Resnick never knew anyone was in his house until he felt the cold slide of a knife against his neck. His hands froze on the keyboard of his computer and he went utterly still, not wanting to do anything to make the blade sink farther into his flesh.

Already blood welled and trickled down his skin. He could smell it.

He was disciplined enough not to shake, but that didn’t mean his pulse wasn’t about to explode inside his head.

“Very good,” the man murmured behind his ear. “Most people would panic, then have their throat cut and die as a result of their own stupidity.”

“What do you want?” Resnick demanded, his hands still locked in place.

“I understand you have quite the association with KGI. I need information. They’ll be making a move soon and I, of course, want to head them off at the pass.”

“Who?”

The knife bit farther into his neck, and Resnick gritted his teeth against the sting.

“Let’s not play games. You know who I am. I know who you are. I know you have KGI in your back pocket and I also know you have the information I want.”

Resnick’s lip curled in disgust, but he held his tongue. Pissing off this faceless man would only get his throat cut.

And then the knife was gone and the hard point of a pistol dug into the back of his head.

“Get up. Slowly. No sudden moves. My friend here is somewhat of a whiz when it comes to computers. They like him, you see. They always tell him what he wants to know. I have a feeling yours will have everything we need to know about KGI.”

Resnick closed his eyes, knowing there was no way out. He could die but they’d still have access to his computer, and Titan would have someone who could hack into the best system. The average computer expert wouldn’t have a prayer of hacking into Resnick’s files, but Titan wouldn’t have anyone average on their payroll.

He slowly rose, holding his hands up where they could be seen. A hand curled around his arm and pulled him to the side. He stumbled over the chair leg and then righted himself before he was instructed to stand facing away from the desk.

“Hands behind your head, fingers laced together. I better not even hear you breathe or you’re a dead man.”

He was a dead man anyway. It was a simple truth, one he accepted with no emotion. He should have already died. He was a marked man, and not by Titan, but by his own government for what he’d done to help Shea and Grace Peterson and, by proxy, KGI.

He’d blown the top off the secret research that had been resumed after years of dormancy. Even now, in the upper echelons of the military and the U.S. government, an investigation was ongoing about who and what was responsible for the group who’d been behind the creation of the two women with extraordinary powers.

And Resnick was waiting to die for the simple fact that he now knew too much.

He closed his eyes and listened to the tapping of fingers on his keyboard. The men di

dn’t talk, didn’t communicate verbally, not until the end when the newcomer said, “I have it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Resnick, for your service,” the one who’d held the knife to his throat said.

A single pop followed, the unmistakable sound of a silencer. Pain sliced through Resnick’s back and into his chest. His knees buckled and he pitched forward, agony tearing through his body at supersonic speed.

Blood was warm, the smell sickening, and it pooled underneath him, soaking into the carpet.

After a moment the pain faded, replaced by complete numbness. He couldn’t breathe. Every time he tried, a peculiar gurgling sound erupted from his throat and the metallic taste of blood seeped onto his tongue.

He tried to roll over, tried to move, but even sliding his hand along the carpet took unimaginable strength.

The phone. He had to get to the phone. He had to warn Sam.

CHAPTER 32

RIO gently shook Grace awake as the plane touched down on the private airstrip owned and maintained by KGI. He dreaded being separated from Grace, especially when he had no idea if he’d make it back to her. But what mattered was her being safe, and he didn’t want her anywhere near when Titan made their eventual appearance.

Grace sat up, sleepily rubbing at her eyes, and then she looked at Rio, sorrow tugging at her features as she realized where they were.

“Don’t look like that,” he said, forcing a smile. “I’ll be back for you before you know it. And you’ll get to see Shea.”

Grace nodded. “Yes, I can’t wait to see her, but I don’t want you to go, Rio. I hate that you’ll be so far away and I won’t know what’s happening.”

He touched his mouth to hers as the plane came to a stop near the hangar. “You’ll know. We have a connection that distance can’t break. We’ll still be together.”

She smiled then and squeezed his hand. “I love you, you know.”

“Yeah, I do know. We’re going to do this, Grace. Go see your sister and get better for me, okay? I want you at full strength when I get back.”

Rio stood and then motioned for Alton and Decker to follow him. Grace also stood, but Rio put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down.

“I don’t want you to get off,” he said. “Terrence and Diego will stay on with you while the plane is refueled and you’ll be taking off immediately. You have clearance to land at Fort Campbell. Sam brought along an army pilot who’ll fly you to Kentucky.”

Panic flared in her eyes as the hatch opened and the steps were pushed to the doorway. Rio leaned in one last time, kissed her hard and then pulled away, not looking back as he disembarked the plane. If he looked back, he wouldn’t be able to walk away.

On the tarmac stood the rest of KGI. It was an impressive sight. Sam and his brothers Garrett, Donovan, Ethan, Nathan and Joe, along with Swanny, their newest recrnuit, stood next to Steele and his team. Dolphin, Renshaw and Baker stood on one side of their team leader, while Cole stood near P.J. Rutherford, the only female member of KGI. P.J. was in civilian clothing, though she didn’t look too happy about it. Her hair hung loose, fashioned like Grace’s. She wore jeans, a T-shirt and simple tennis shoes.

As soon as she saw him, she walked toward him. When she neared, she bared her teeth in a smile and spoke from behind those teeth.

“Hello, sweetheart. I hear we’re off on a lover’s retreat to bum fuck Alaska.”

Rio chuckled. “And may I say how lovely you look, P.J.”

“It’s Grace, dumbass. We can’t afford any fuckups, so get it right.”

Rio looked beyond P.J. to where Sam stood next to Garrett. “We ready to roll?” The longer they stood around, the uneasier Rio grew. His gut was screaming and the hair prickled and stood up on his nape.

There was something decidedly wrong with this picture.

He was about to shout a warning when a gun barrel was shoved against the back of his head. In his periphery, he saw the men who were refueling the jets yank out automatic rifles and train them on the assembled group.

The reaction was instantaneous. Steele and his team dove behind the pile of bags and supplies. Sam and his brothers scattered, some hitting the ground, others diving for cover behind one of the planes. Guns came up in all directions.

Hancock grabbed P.J. by the hair and yanked back. Then he glanced sideways at Rio. “Do you think I’m that dumb, Rio?”

“Do you really want an answer to that?” Rio snarled.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Hancock called out. “This can be as bloody or as civil as you choose to make it.”

“You aren’t getting her,” Rio gritted out.

“You’ll never make it out of here alive,” Sam returned from behind a barrel where he’d crouched.

Dolphin scooted out to the side, rifle up, aiming toward Hancock. A shot rang out, knocking Dolphin back several feet. He hit the ground hard.

“Son of a bitch!” Dolphin yelled. “Fuck, I’m hit! Goddamn it!”

“Get him back,” Steele snapped. “Get him out now!”

Cole grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him to cover.

“Sniper at six o’clock!” Garrett yelled.

“And nine and noon and three,” Hancock calmly called out. “We have you completely surrounded. Yeah, we can shoot each other all to hell, but in the end, you’ll all be dead and I’ll still get the girl. If I die, she still gets delivered. Mission accomplished. Maybe Rio hasn’t informed you, but Titan never fails to complete their mission.”

“Bunch of crazy-ass motherfuckers,” Donovan snarled.

“So how do you want this to go down?” Hancock yelled. “Grace, I know you can hear me. Is this what you want? Do you want them all to die for nothing? If you come with me, there’ll be no further need for bloodshed. My mission isn’t to kill all these men. My mission is to bring you in however I have to accomplish it. So, it’s all up to you. We can do it the easy way. Or we can do it the hard way.”

“Fuck you!” Rio snarled. “Grace, don’t you goddamn do it, do you hear me? You stay the fuck out of sight.”

Inside the plane, Grace shook so hard that she managed to shake Terrence, who covered her. The mod her. Tment the gunshot sounded, Terrence and Diego had hauled her over the seat and stuffed her underneath them. They were crouched behind a row of seats, using them for cover, their rifles up and trained on the doorway.

The door was wide open. She could hear every single thing that had occurred. She knew that a member of KGI had been shot. He may even now be dead.

She opened her mind, put all her strength and energy to reaching out, casting her net wide to pull in the surroundings. She was instantly bombarded by a myriad of adrenaline, anger, fear, calm assurance. There. She refocused on the calm one. He was the one dictating the action. He was the one who’d issued her the challenge. Come quietly or suffer the consequences.

She focused intently on him. His mind was a fascinating irregularity. More machine than human. He had an objective and he was single-minded in his determination to achieve that objective. But what she saw, what she knew without doubt, was that he was utterly serious about killing every last person who stood between him and his objective.

He may die doing it, and he was at peace with that outcome. But he’d turn the airfield into a war zone and take out any threat to his success.

She pushed at Terrence, panic rising sharp and furious within her. Diego turned, his face a mask of anger and determination.

“Do you honest to God think Rio would ever let you just walk into the hands of the enemy? Think about what you’re doing, Grace. He’ll go crazy. He’ll get himself killed. Is that what you want?”

“He’ll be killed anyway,” she said with forced calm. It was imperative that she convince Terrence and Diego that this was the only choice. This was their only option. “I saw into his head, Diego. You don’t understand. I saw him. I know how he thinks. I saw his resolve. He has a sense of honor, as twisted as it may be. His only objective is to take me. However he has to do it. He is absolutely prepared to give the order for every single person out there to be killed.”

“You aren’t giving us any credit,” Terrence snarled.

She shoved at him again, pushing herself up into the seat. “It has nothing to do with credit. What I’m trying to tell you is that he is perfectly willing to die. It doesn’t matter to him because he has men behind him who’ll complete the mission. He has snipers surrounding us all. They’ve already shot one of your men. How many more are you willing to sacrifice?

“He’s not normal. Threats won’t work. He doesn’t care if KGI starts shooting back. He doesn’t care if they take a stand. He’ll mow down anyone who gets in his way. Will we win in the end? Maybe. But at what cost? How many families will lose their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers? Is one person worth that many deaths? No. It’s not. And what you’re not considering, what you don’t realize, is that they have no intention of killing me. They want me for what I can do. And that buys you and Rio and KGI time. This isn’t the time or place to take a stand. They have the advantage.”

“Son of a bitch,” Diego swore. “Goddamn it, Grace. We can’t just let you walk into that son of a bitch’s clutches. Do you not remember what they did to you before?”

“I survived,” she said calmly. “I survived before. I’ll do it again. Besides, I have a hell of a lot more to live for now. If you think I’m giving up and rolling over, you have another think coming. I’m going, but I damn well expect you guys to get your asses in gear and come save my ass before it gets too bad. All I’m doing is buying us some time.”

idth="1em">Terrence stared hard at her, respect and admiration bright in his eyes. “I’ve never known another woman with bigger balls than you, Miss Grace.”