CHAPTER FIFTY NINE


It was a shithole.


Oscar had told us right. The driveway led through a myriad of overgrown
bushes and grass that our cars needed to push their way through. The trees
loomed over and sometimes seemed to actually be in the middle of the driveway,
but Oscar led us right and we got through. I glanced behind us and noticed that
the brush quickly hid our entry so maybe Oscar chose the place for a reason.


The house was in shambles. The once-white outside looked like it had been
scratched off, pounded off from storms, or just beaten off. It would've been a
beautiful white home with a porch that held two rocking benches and blooming
potted plants. Instead, so much of the white paint had chipped off so it was a
black, gray, and white house. The two rocking benches were held on by one chain.
The other had broken and so the benches rested on the ground at one end. And the
blooming potted plants were dead and long forgotten.


It was a three story house. If I were one to believe in the supernatural, I
would've automatically turned the other way because I would've been pretty sure
that ghosts inhabited this home.


I didn't and I knew Jace would out-scare any ghost, so I stayed put and
followed behind as Jace walked up the creaking porch steps.


"Bed and breakfast of the supernaturally inclined, here we come." Scott
muttered sarcastically underneath his breath.


He read my mind.


"It'll work." Jace only said as he opened the door and dropped our bags in
the living room.


The front door opened into the main hallway with the stairs leading upwards.
The living room opened to our right. Another large room was on our left side
with only a table and two chairs. It must've been the dining room. If we walked
down the main hallway, it would've led into the kitchen, but I circled through
the living room and discovered another smaller room that connected the living
room and kitchen. It looked like it might've been an office. The kitchen
connected on it's left side to the dining room with a back entryway that opened
to a backdoor and another staircase that led upstairs.


I gingerly touched the screen door and saw the backyard had a garden at one
point. There were some old swings held up by two cement posts. The swings looked
withered, but the posts would outstand anything during our century.


Yes.


It was a shithole that had once been a home.


Oscar stood behind me and pointed into the forest. He said, "If you trek that
way five miles—you're on my lands. And if you keep going another two clicks
north, that's where the encampment is."


"Or those were the coordinates that Krein gave us." Scott said from the
kitchen. "I truly think that the rats turned on themselves." He opened a
cupboard, "See. A dead rat that's been eaten. Good find, Oscar."


"It came cheap and as close as we can get." Oscar wasn't offended.


"It's a good find." Jace said briefly. "Smart."


"Thank you." Oscar inclined his head. "And I did get new bed mattresses
upstairs in the bedroom. Abagail brought over clean sheets this morning for you
all and the rest when they arrive."


"Are there more coming besides Jake and Adam?" I asked.


Scott and Oscar quieted. It was a question for Jace to respond.


He said, "Stirley will show up. And a few more."


"Any of your Panther buddies?" Scott asked.


Jace looked up with flat eyes and said casually, "If they do come, they won't
be staying with some DEA agents. You can trust me on that."


"Don't think we'd feel comfortable with them underfoot anyway." Oscar grunted
and moved outside. "I'll get all the food and equipment."


Jace disappeared into the living room.


And Scott remarked, "Better get comfy, Maya. We're going to be here for a
long while."


I sighed and wandered into the living room where I saw Jace unfolding
blueprints, files, and the three books on the table.


I sat in one of the chairs, one of the two, and flipped through the Master
book.


Jace paused as he reached for a set of blueprints, watched me, and asked,
"Any more headway on that?"


"Since the hotel room and airplane ride?" I remarked. "No."


Oscar came back inside and cleared his throat.


Scott stood in the dining room, across the open foyer, and paused.


Jace looked up.


I saw Oscar and Scott share a look Oscar took point and started, "We think
that you need to sleep."


Jace glanced to me.


I shook my head. "They're not talking about me."


"Guys." Jace turned to his two agents.


"We're serious, Boss." Scott added. "You haven't slept. You need to
sleep."


"You know me—"


"Exactly." Scott cried out. "We do know you and you can go without sleep for
days, but you're a lot nicer when you've rested and when you're thinking
clearly."


"Since when am I not nice?" Jace countered.


"Since…" Oscar coughed again.


"When you shoot people, you're not nice." Scott piped up. And grinned.
"Besides, the little cat nap you took on the drive to the airport didn't count.
It wasn't even a half hour."


"I don't have time to talk about sleeping. We have work to do." Jace turned
back to the table.


Oscar spoke up behind his back, "We've gone over the preliminary stuff.
Scottie and I can handle it while you sleep. You…and Maya. You're both wiped.
You need to not be wiped."


"Oscar—" Jace started.


Oscar interrupted, "—it's not personal. This is being professional and
logical. Get some sleep, shower, and then eat afterwards. You'll have a
different outlook on things. Go."


Scott nodded his salute.


Jace studied them both, tucked away the papers, and held out a hand to
me.


As I reached to take it, I noticed that Oscar and Scott both looked
relieved.


Jace tucked my hand in his and led us to the stairs. As we started to climb
upwards, he called over his shoulder, "I'm going to expect things done when we
wake up."


"Wouldn't have it any other way." Scott said cheerfully.


Oscar came to the bottom of the steps and looked upwards. He nodded, that was
it. Jace nodded back and they both turned their own ways.


That was all it took. Jace trusted Oscar to do what he couldn't do at that
time.


The upstairs was one hallway that led forwards from the stairs and circled to
lead behind the stairs. Rooms broke off on either side, but as Jace circled
around the stairs and towards the back, I saw another small hallway led off on
the farthest north end.


"Where does this go?" I stopped Jace and nodded down the small hallway.


Jace paused and shrugged. "I don't know."


"We should check it out."


"We're supposed to sleep."


"What? We have a time limit? Let's see where it goes."


"Maya." Jace frowned.


"What?" I asked and tugged him behind me. Slightly hesitant, Jace followed.
He had decided to sleep and then work. That was his mission and any other
detours weren't accounted into the schedule.


The hallway led behind one of the bigger bedrooms and abruptly narrowed. It
looked like a small storage hallway, but there weren't any boxes or traces of
dust that would indicate anything had been stored there. The narrow hallway was
swept clean.


We inched a little further and the hallway got even more narrow.


Anyone bigger would've stopped and probably dismissed the tiny hallway.


I kept going.


"Maya." Jace murmured. He had to stop.


I looked back, saw his dilemma, but murmured, "I can keep going. I want to
know where it goes."


"Come on. It's probably nothing. Let's go and sleep."


I shook my head. "No. This is something. I just want to know."


He gestured ahead of me and said, "You're not going to get much further."


I judged the width and agreed. I knelt down and started to crawl forward.


"Maya. Come on."


"It's just a little further." I called over my shoulder and moved again.
Before long, I looked back and realized that I couldn't Jace any longer.


The hallway curved and now I crawled east. It kept going. As it curved again,
back north, I was plunged into darkness and then I bumped into the end.


It was a wall, but I frowned when my head hit the wall.


I knocked against the wall and then felt around it. The sound was hollow,
like it was a thin wall and something was on the other side.


As my finger smoothed over a small hole in the wall, I felt around it, and
suddenly the wall fell away.


I couldn't see, but I knew that I was in another room. It was a hidden room.
Tentatively, I crawled forward, felt for a ceiling and the side walls, but I
couldn't feel anything.


I stood up, cautiously, and circled around the room.


It was a large room, with nothing inside, but I couldn't figure out where it
was located in the house's main structure.


And that's when I heard Jace's muffled voice.


I pressed against one of the walls and heard him more clearly. He was on the
phone.


"I know."


I frowned. He sounded right beside me. I knocked.


"We're moving ahead, even if it is a trap. We have to move forward and
intercept the kids before she arrives."


I had raised my hand to knock again, but now I stopped.


If Jace had heard my knock, he would've stopped immediately, but he didn't.
He couldn't hear me at all, but I heard him almost as if he were beside
me—almost, but slightly muffled.


"I know." Jace shifted. His voice become clearer.


He was standing right beside the wall now.


"I have it mostly planned out, but there are a few items that still need to
be dealt with….Mallon wants her and she'll be there. Don't worry, sir. I'll make
sure to get her first. He won't get her. Yes, sir…The children are our top
priority. We'll retrieve each one of them, yes, sir. Yes. I am aware of the work
that will follow if we're successful."


Jace halted.


I sighed and huddled against the wall.


'She'll be there.' 'I'll make sure to get to her first. He won't get
her.'


The bastard was planning to use me as a decoy.


Angered, I fisted my hand and pounded against the wall.


Jace shifted away from the wall and a moment later, I heard his voice calling
from the narrow hallway.


He hadn't even heard me when I pounded on the wall.


Interesting.


I shook my head, gritted my teeth, and moved back through the hidden room and
retraced my steps.


Jace frowned when I finally crawled to him. He lifted me up and asked, "Where
did you go?"


"It just ends back there. It took me a little while to turn around."


He studied me a moment, tucked his phone away, and brushed some dust off my
face. His thumb caressed against my cheek and he murmured softly, "Maybe we
should try sleeping for awhile."


Sleep and then be used as a decoy. Where should I sign up.


I held my tongue and let Jace take my hand to lead me to a room. Knowing
Jace, he had probably looked for the biggest room, but I was surprised when he
led me into one of the smaller rooms.


"Why this one?"


It only had enough room for a pair of shoes to be placed on the floor around
the double mattress that laid on the floor.


Jace sat down on the mattress and toed off his shoes. "Because I don't like
excess."


"Including excess emotions?" I asked, tongue in cheek, and sat beside
him.


Jace paused, startled, and looked up. "What?"


"I meant what I said before, Jace. About the—"


"—It's gone farther than sex for me. Yeah—I remember." Jace finished for me.
He laid down and let out a ragged breath. I turned and watched him, still
sitting on the bed. From my angle above him, Jace tipped his head to the side
and held my gaze. He pulled me down with one of his hands and said quietly as he
moved to his side, "I think the answer's obvious."


"No. No, it's really not."


Jace frowned. "What's happened from downstairs and now? You were fine
before."


"No." I pushed him away. "I'm not fine, I just push it down until there's
time to talk about it. Everything's not fine, Jace. So much isn't fine. Nothing
makes sense to me anymore."


"Maya."


"No." I shook my head and stood up. "I'm not sleeping with you."


"What?" Jace pushed upwards and stood with me. "What's wrong?"


"I mean it. Look—you and me, heat of the moment, right? I need to think
clearly if we're going in to save Gray. I can't think clearly if I'm mixed up
about you and me and that's what happened."


"Where the hell did this come from?" Jace cried out, perplexed.


I shrugged. "Doesn't matter, but I need this. A lot's happened, Jace. My
life's been turned upside down and so much…I need some space."


And I sure as hell wasn't going to be sleeping beside you while you planned
to use me as bait.


"What…?" Jace asked again.


I shook my head and left the room quickly.


Jace would push the argument later. He wouldn't like sleeping alone, not
after we'd grown used to each other's presence, but to be truthful—I didn't know
what I wanted to say.


If Jace was planning on using me as a decoy, I'd rather go in knowing. If
that's how Jace needed it to go down, fine. I trusted him enough to know he
wouldn't endanger my life for the hell of it.


I was the smartest way to ensure Marcus' presence. I could possibly unbalance
him and allow Jace to gain the upper hand.


Fine.


But I wasn't going to curl up next to him and pretend everything was fine.
Not yet, anyway.


I wandered into one of the other rooms and laid down. It was a simple room
with a bed mattress on the floor, before a window. The light streamed through it
and hit the end of the mattress where the blankets were folded and placed.


I laid down, pulled one of the blankets over me, and nestled down for some
sleep.


I dreamt of rainbows, melting marshmallows, and I heard the sounds of
children's laughter in the distance. Then everything was gone and I was in the
forest with a small stream at my feet.


I looked up, felt someone tug at my hand, but saw nothing.


I saw a shadow across the stream, but I couldn't see what they were from. And
then, as an owl screeched and flew past me, I looked further into the forest and
saw the same girl with golden hair dash among the trees. Her blonde hair
streamed behind her, but her eyes twinkled and she smiled at me.


They were the same pewter eyes from my earlier dreams.


As I stood there, I watched as she paused abruptly and then turned north. She
ran into the woods and I felt this compelling feeling that I was supposed to
follow her. When I moved forward, I found that my feet were held in place by the
tree roots. I couldn't move and she was gone.


I couldn't follow any more. I wouldn't see what she wanted me to see.


The wind shifted and slammed against my back.


That's when I heard my name. The wind carried it from behind me. I didn't
know who said it, where it came from, but it was an evil voice.


Gasping, I woke up, saw the sunlight had switched to moonlight and felt a 9mm
beside my hand.


Gingerly, I sat up and lifted the gun.


Jace must've placed it there and let me sleep.


Taryn was right. He could be a sweet asshole.


I sighed, ran a hand through my hair, and found the bathroom on the second
floor. I discovered that Jace had left our bag of clothes in the room so I
decided to take a shower.


When I was freshly showered, freshly dressed, I tucked the gun into the back
of my pants.


When I descended the stairs, I heard voices.


Jake and Adam had arrived.


As had a female, but I couldn't place a name to the voice. And then she
laughed a deep, husky, laugh and I instantly knew who it was.


Rafe.


I sighed and wondered if Jace ever told the truth. He'd told me she was a
simple snitch, but I doubted they'd pull in a 'simple snitch' for what we were
planning to accomplish.


As my feet found the last step, turned towards the living room where everyone
had congregated, I knew that Rafe was no 'simple snitch.' She stood in the
corner, her hair in a simple braid that hung down her back, and she was dressed
in a tight black v-neck with black cargo pants.


I also noted the two handguns on her waist.


She was another teammate on their team.


I looked around the rest of the group and saw they all dressed in the same
black v-neck with black cargo pants.


Rafe turned abruptly, but I didn't know who was more shocked. If she was
surprised at seeing me standing, as silent as a ghost behind her, or myself when
I saw that she had black facepaint on her.


They all did.


Rafe and I didn't say anything, but Scottie drew everyone's attention to me
when he called out, cheerfully, "She's awake."


"Let's go." Jace clipped out. He stood at the table and when he gave his
command, everyone followed.


Oscar led the way outside, but he squeezed my arm in passing
acknowledgement.


Rafe bent her head and followed behind.


Scott was next with Jake just after him. Both nodded in greeting and left
through the door.


Jace paused in the room and indicated outside, "We've got something to
do."


"What are you doing?" I asked tightly.


"We'll be back."


He wasn't going to tell me.


I swallowed painfully and looked away.


The door had been left open. It beckoned to Jace, for him to leave me.


"It's nothing important. I'll tell you when we get back. You're not needed
and I don't want to risk your safety." Jace said quietly. "You got the gun I
left for you?"


I nodded.


"Okay." He stepped closer. "We'll be back in a few hours." He hesitated. I
knew it was coming and then he added, hesitatingly, "I'd like to talk about what
happened earlier…"


I nodded tightly. He was going off, leaving me, but I'd use the time to think
my own course of action.


Jace and I were both leaders in our own team. We both survived harsh lives,
but we found trust the hardest challenge of all.


I was starting to face my own realization about certain items.


Jace didn't say anything else or reach for my hand. He left and shut the door
quietly behind him.


I stood there, temporarily lost in my own thoughts, when I looked up and
jumped.


Adam stood in the kitchen doorway, dressed in black cargo pants, but he wore
a Hawaiian shirt over his black v-neck. He smiled crookedly and waved jerkily,
"Sorry."


I gestured to the front door and murmured, "I'd thought you'd be with
them."


"Oh no." He laughed. "I—uh—I'm not that type of agent. Jace would probably
shoot me to prove a point. I'm awful in those field missions. Nope, my job's
here."


He held a plate in front of him and raised it. "Want some jumbo lobster?"


I frowned.