“Hey, we talked about this,” Cooper admonished.
“Yeah, I’m supposed to be fine because my sister wants this complete asshole to feel good about himself. He ran off. He knew the protocols and he still ran off like a puppy being called by his master,” Kala accused. “He got Lou kidnapped, and god only knows what’s happening to her now.”
“She’s not here.” TJ strode in. “The place is deserted.”
A new face was with him. Tristan Dean-Miles. He’d met the man before, but it had been a while. “He planned this out. It’s his way of letting us know whatever we discover about him, he can get out of it. Sami and Lucy are going through what look like the offices, but I think he bricked everything before he left. We also found the tunnels they used to get everyone out under Sami’s watch. She saw nothing out of the ordinary until they brought Ben in. Huisman wasn’t sighted at all.”
“Because he never meant to be here. Ben was the distraction,” Taggart said and touched his ear where Ben was sure a comm was. “We have the target. Tell our doc he’ll need to look him over, but Coop thinks he’s good to come back to base. No. No sign of her, but then we knew that would happen.”
Cooper stood and reached for his wife’s hand. “Come on. Let’s get back to base and try to figure out where to look next.”
“Lou?” They were talking about Lou. He’d gotten Lou caught. His anger was at a low simmer since guilt seemed to be taking up all the space. And anxiety. What had Kenzie seen? What had she believed?Was that the reason she wasn’t here?
He needed to see her, to let her know he wasn’t going to allow a few fucking words to keep them apart. Who was to say this feeling he had for her wasn’t love? It was definitely commitment and passion and companionship and affection. She made him think about the future in a way he hadn’t in years.
“Lou’s somewhere being tortured because of you, asshole,” Kala spat.
Her husband wrapped her up in his big arms. He whispered in her ear, and she seemed to calm.
“It wasn’t his fault.” TJ was perfectly stoic. He had a hand on the P90 he wore on his chest like he needed the comfort of it being there. “We talked about this. Huisman set us up. Tris pulled the CCTV cams around the building. You know he told her to go back.”
“Yeah, and I know she wouldn’t let him go alone because she’s a good human being who knew how dangerous it was for him to be out there. She wouldn’t let anyone go alone,” Kala said in a calmer tone. “Which is why idiot here should have known something was up. Tim was poisoned, you know. He almost died. And all because Huisman knows which strings to pull with you.”
“Hey, he did a good job with all of us,” Taggart reminded her. “After all, he knew which of mine and your mom’s strings to pull.”
“We never trusted them,” Kala argued. “We always had eyes on them.”
“And yet they managed to set us up perfectly,” TJ replied. “Even down to knowing Sosa was going to break and trying to kill her, too. Lou did what she was always going to do. She helped. Now we have to pray Kenz knows what she’s doing.”
“He won’t hurt her. Not while he needs her.” Ben managed to get to his feet. The world still felt woozy. “He wants her to make the bombs for him. I need to talk to Kenzie.” The whole thing had been a play to get Lou. He’d understood it at the time, but it crashed over him again. How useless and pathetic he was. How Manny manipulated him and got him to throw away the best parts of his life. He looked to Kenzie’s father. “Mr. Taggart, I didn’t sleep with Deanna. I haven’t seen her since she died. Well, I thought she died.”
He still wasn’t sure what was going on.
“We know, Ben,” Taggart said.
“The video is AI.” Tristan moved in. “It took me a while because it is incredibly advanced AI. Like nothing I’ve ever seen. My dad had a program that was similar, but this is light years ahead.”
“She doesn’t think I cheated on her?” Ben’s head was still whirling. “I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I know I acted like an ass.”
“She knew before Tris verified it,” Kala replied. “She knew when she watched it. She told me there was zero way it was real. Damn it, she knew everything and I treated her like dealing with her boyfriend was an annoyance because Lou is in danger.”
“I’ll find Lou.” He was fairly certain they wouldn’t believe him, but he would do it. He would visit Tim and make sure his friend was all right and then he would do whatever it took to find Lou and bring her home. He would sacrifice himself if he had to.
“You’ve been recalled to Toronto,” Taggart said, his voice grave. “Tomorrow. Tim should be strong enough to leave the hospital. I spoke with Joseph and CSIS is recalling you.”
“I quit.” Nothing mattered but getting Lou back and making it all up to the woman he…to the woman he loved. “I can help you.”
A brow rose over Taggart’s icy eyes. “From what I can tell you’re the reason I’m down two members of my team, so I will withhold judgment on whether or not you can help us. Trust me, Ben. If I thought I could trade you for Lou or Kenz, I would.” He touched his ear again. “We’re coming out. Let French intelligence know it’s all theirs now, and thank them profusely for their quick aid.”
He stood there as everyone started to move, his mind processing what Taggart had said. “What do you mean? He’s got Lou. He’s going to try to use Lou to get Kala. You should be prepared for him to send her a private message. He’ll do it only to her because he knows she’ll turn herself in if it means Lou gets to live. He’s lying. He won’t trade Lou for anyone, but he’ll take Kala if he gets the chance.”
“Yeah, she figured that out.” Kala frowned, holding her husband’s hand like she desperately needed the support. “This whole thing was to throw us off and make it easy to miss it when I slipped away for my meeting with Huisman. He sent instructions and everything. But in the chaos of dealing with what happened yesterday, the team would be planning the mission to save you, led by my sister, who would obviously want revenge on her cheating, betraying boyfriend.”
Every word felt like a cut, but he would deal with it because shewas scared. And angry. “I’m glad you saw through it. The act was for Manny? He was probably watching up until the moment you took the cams down. Let him think it worked. I’ll act out the next time he calls. I’ll tell him how he ruined my relationship with Kenzie.”
“You fucking moron,” Kala spat.
“Ben, Kenzie figured it out,” Taggart said with a grimness that sent a chill down Ben’s spine. “She knew what would happen shortly after she received the video. She didn’t fall for it at all, but she did make plans. She changed phones with her sister so when Huisman called, she was the one who answered. She was the one who offered herself up to save Lou. She told him she was Kala and that she would do whatever it took to save her best friend.”
