The Vietnamese American woman, lithe and dressed in black, emerged from the barn, armed and wary. Her gaze swept the clearing and the shadows beneath the trees. A few years younger than Keira, Jade moved with the same control and silence.
Keira’s heart pinched hard in her chest as she stared at a younger version of herself.
They stood staring at each other in the dusty barnyard, the last light of day fading into gray.
Jade shook her head slowly. “You really came.”
“I told you I would,” Keira said.
Jade’s brow furrowed. “Viktor told us that you’re a traitor. That you murdered a senator for personal reasons. That you were a danger to our country and to Onyx.”
“I didn’t kill Senator Morales,” Keira said softly.
Jade’s frown deepened. “But they found an onyx stone.”
Keira’s lips twisted. “When have any of us left a calling card? We were trained to leave no sign or indication that we were there. It was a setup. Viktor lied to you, as he lied to me. When I didn’t kill the senator, they sent someone else in to make sure he died, and now, they’re pinning it on me.”
“How do I know you’re not lying to me?” Jade asked.
“Hear my story, and you decide,” Keira said. “But let’s take it into the shadows. I feel like a target standing in the open.”
“Move toward your three o’clock,” Rogue’s voice sounded in Keira’s ear. “My direction.”
Keira was comforted to know he was watching and wanted her closer.
Jade nodded and moved with Keira as she angled in the direction Rogue suggested.
Once they were in the shadows, Keira gave Jade a brief description of what had happened the night Senator Morales was murdered, the conversation she’d overheard, and how she’d been hunted since by law enforcement, and worse, trained mercenaries. “I suspect the mercs belong to the Kaufman Syndicate,” Keira said. “They use them, and they use Onyx, to do their dirty work. Viktor and Strickland have been lying to us all along.”
Jade shook her head, her pale face drawn and shocked by what Keira was saying. “They made us think we were working for the good of our country.” She looked up into Keira’s eyes. “When I couldn’t do what they asked, I felt like I’d failed Onyx, my sisters and our country.” She buried her face in her hands. “I felt like I’d betrayed my found family, the only place I’d ever belonged. When I heard you were on the run, I didn’t want to believe you were a traitor. That would make you like me, and I looked up to you.”
“If I’m a traitor to Onyx, then good,” Keira said, her teeth clenching. “What they did to us was wrong. What they turned us into wasn’t for the good of our country. It was for the financial and political benefit of Strickland, Marcus Kaufman and anyone connected to their criminal activities. I suspect it goes deeper than we know—possibly all the way to the nation’s capital.”
Jade nodded. “They wanted me to take out the prosecutor in Houston. They told me he was selling classified information to foreign agents. But when I...when I was in his house, I saw his files. He was investigating Kaufman, building a case. I couldn’t kill him. But it doesn’t matter. He’s dead anyway. They sent in a backup.”
“They lied to you, as they lied to me about dozens of targets,” Keira admitted.
“What can we do?” Jade asked. “I want to stop, but I can’t. They have my sister, Lily. She’s only fifteen. They took me first and later stole Lily from our foster home as leverage. Viktor said if I complete my missions, she'll be safe. If I refuse, she dies. I’m sick with worry. They know I didn’t kill the prosecutor.”
“Oh, Jade.” Keira pulled Jade into her arms. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea the bastards were holding your sister’s life over your head.”
“No one knows,” Jade said. “If I tell anyone, they’ll kill her. If I don’t complete my missions, they’ll kill her. That’s how they control us. They find that one thing we can’t lose and hold it over us.”
“We need to blow it all wide open, free your sister and our other sisters whom they’ve brainwashed and blackmailed into doing their bidding,” Keira said.
“How?” Jade asked.
“I don’t know yet, but I’m working on it.”
“Wrap it up,” Rogue’s voice sounded in her ear. “Incoming. Multiple vehicles. You have thirty seconds. Get out of there!”
The sound of vehicles coming up the path galvanized Keira into action. “We need to move. Now.”
“It’s Viktor,” Jade said. “He must’ve tracked me. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“No time for regrets. Run!” Keira grabbed Jade’s hand and dragged her into the woods.
As they ran through the woods, a voice sounded over a bullhorn.
