"What? I don"t understand."
He took a step toward her. "Then let me make it clear. I"m not on a mission. There"s noteam waiting for me to be done helping you. This isn"t a sanctioned killing."
Her chest felt as if a band were being tightened around her ribs. Her breath caught in her throat. "What are you saying?"
"Officially I"m on a six-week leave of absence from my job inWashington. I got tired of waiting for Kray to make a mistake and get caught. I"m going to take care of him myself. I"m here on St. Lucas to kill your ex-husband."
Chapter 12.
She physically recoiled from him. Jeff watched as Andie took a step back and folded her arms over her chest. She drew her delicate eyebrows together as if she hadn"t understood what he was saying.
"You can"t mean that," she said, disbelieving.
"Every word."
She shook her head slowly. Maybe she thought her denial would change the truth. "You"re going to kill Kray in cold blood? You"re going to murder him?"
It was like watching something from a distance. A play or a movie, maybe. Nothing felt real. "Yes."
"I don"t understand. Is this to repay him for what he did to Jeanne and your son?"
"In part. But most of the reason is that Kray"s evil. I"m tired of waiting for him to make a mistake. It"s been five years and nothing has happened. At least this way he"ll be gone."
"Gone? Don"t you mean dead?"
He shrugged. "Whatever. He needs to be stopped."
"Not like this." Her eyes widened and she stared at him as if she"d never seen him before. "You can"t do this. It"s not right."
"Whatever"s right isn"t working."
"But if you do this..." She turned away and stared at the ocean. "You can"t. I thought you were different from Kray. You"re supposed to be one of the good guys. You aren"t if you do this. You"re just like him, destroying whenever it suits you."
He narrowed his gaze. "We"re hardly the same," he said. "Kray"s entire life is based on getting what he wants at any price. He lives in a world outside normal rules and boundaries."
"Won"t you be doing the same thing?"
"No. I"m here to kill my enemy, no one else."
She spun back to face him. "And that makes it all right?"
"You"re the one so concerned with semantics. A few minutes ago it was fine because I was part of a mission and had my government"s permission to take him out. Now that I"m on my own, it"s wrong? Explain the difference."
"Now it"s personal."
"It"s always been personal. He killed my wife and child. How can it not be personal?"
She shook her head. "You"re twisting my words. I know what he did and how it hurt you. However, that doesn"t give you the right-"
He took a step toward her and stared down. "Don"t talk to me about rights. You weren"t there. You didn"t see the car explode, or smell the burning bodies. You don"t know anything about this."
She couldn"t meet his gaze. She stared at the ground. "I know, Jeff. It"s hard, but you"ve got to see-"
"No." He grabbed her arm. "I don"t have to see anything. I"ve sent men to their death before. I"ve killed before. What do you think happens in the field? It"s not like the movies. We"re not exchanging bits of microfilm in cigarette boxes. People do die and sometimes it gets ugly."
"But then it"s for a reason."
"I have a d.a.m.n good reason for wanting him dead."
"You have no purpose in doing this except for a.s.suaging your guilt."
They glared at each other. She blinked first and looked away. He dropped her arm. "Are you saying the world won"t be a better place without Kray in it? That you won"t be better off? You should be pleased about this. If I succeed, then all your troubles are over."
"If you don"t succeed, Kray will see you dead."
"I might be dead anyway. If Kray"s men catch me, they"ll kill me."
She flinched. The color drained from her face. "What happens if you get away?"
"Our government won"t take kindly to a rogue agent acting on his own. I"ll be arrested and brought to trial."
"You"ll risk everything to destroy Kray?"
"Wouldn"t you?"
The sun had risen over the jungle and now shone down on the pool area. Heat from the ground swirled up and surrounded them. Jeff could feel a trickle of perspiration beginning between his shoulder blades and running down his back.
Andie sank down in the middle of the chaise lounge. Her long hair spilled over her lap. She brushed the blond strands away impatiently. "As easily as that?" she whispered. "I can"t reconcile what you want to do with the man I"ve come to know here."
"You never knew me. You made me into what you wanted me to be. I"m the white knight here to rescue you. You didn"t want to know anything else."
"I can"t connect your willingness to kill in cold blood with the man who risked his life to save me and Bobby."
"What about reconciling your former loving husband with a man who killed Jeanne and my son?"
She raised her head and stared at him. Sorrow filled her face. "You must hate me. I never understood how much before now. Everyday, watching Bobby and me. You"ve been so nice, but it"s all a facade. You want us dead, too."
"Not anymore."
She went on as if he hadn"t spoken. "Would it be enough, do you think? Our deaths, an eye for an eye? Maybe our families should die, too. I don"t have any relatives, but if I did, should they die? Would that be enough? Where does it end? How much payment do you need?"
"It"s not like that," he said loudly. "That"s not what this is about. It"s between me and Kray."
She stood up. He could see her body shaking. She balled her hands into fists. "You"re wrong. It"s about all of us. I can"t believe you"re going to do this. Even more than that, I can"t believe you don"t think it"s wrong."
She turned and started toward the house. He thought about calling out to her, but he had nothing to say. She didn"t understand. She was a civilian. She didn"t know all that he knew, all that Kray had done. If anyone deserved to die, it was that man.
Who are you to decide?a voice in his head whispered. It had been there from the beginning, since he"d first come up with the plan. He wasn"t sure if thevoice was his conscience or perhaps even the faint echo of Jeanne"s ghost. Sometimes he was willing to admit to himself she wouldn"t have wanted him to do this. She would have counseled him to let the wheels of justice slowly grind Kray to dust.
But Jeff wasn"t willing to wait. He wasn"t willing to listen to the voice in his head. Kray had to be stopped and no one else was willing to take a stand.
He walked off the pool deck and onto the beach. The tide was out. Damp sand stretched toward the waves. Small bubbles and pockets indicated life beneath the surface. There was a small outcropping of rocks near the sh.o.r.e. He sat on the largest one and stared at the sea.
Andie was right about one thing. He had always been on the side of the good guys. Even though he knew he was right, it pained him to cross the line. He didn"t think he would like living on the other side.
But did he have a choice? Once Kray was dead, he wouldn"t be able to hurt anyone again. His reign of terror would end. Was that so bad? Did the end justify the means? Did it really matter if he, Jeff, crossed the line or not? It was unlikely he would live long enough to suffer from guilt. Kray"s men would shoot him on sight. If they didn"t get him, then the local law-enforcement officers would take him into custody and he would live out his days in some small prison cell.
He thought about the price he would pay, he weighed the consequences. He had no other choice. He"d sworn to see Kray pay, and he would risk everything to see that through. It didn"t matter about crossing the line or what Andie thought of him. All that mattered was Kray"s death. But before he could take care of that, he had to get her and Bobby off the island.
He walked to the house and entered the living room. He could hear Andie and Bobby fixing breakfast in the kitchen. Quietly he moved down the hall to his bedroom. After closing the door behind him, he went to the small closet. When he"d first taken up residence in the house, he"d pried up several floorboards to create a hiding s.p.a.ce. Now he popped up the boards and pulled out a small black box.
He carried it over to the bed,then lifted up the cover. Inside was a sleek phone attached to a computer keyboard. He punched in several numbers. When the red lights on the console began to flash green, he picked up the receiver.
Modern electronics would scramble his signal before sending it skyward to bounce off a satellite. The call was coded and untraceable. Unfortunately, it also put him back in touch with the agency.
Jeff waited a few seconds, then heard a sleepy ""Lo?"
"Aren"t you up yet?" he asked, grinning.
CortHollenbeck cleared his throat. "It"s not even six in the morning. The kittens don"t expect breakfast much before seven."
"Sorry, buddy. I had to be sure I got a hold of you."
"No problem." He heard the sound of rustling covers. "Hold on and let me change phones."
The receiver clicked as it was placed on the nightstand. It was picked up immediately. "How"s my second favorite spy?" a female voice asked.
"I"m fine, Faith. How are you?"
She chuckled. "We"re doing great. Everyone is either pregnant or giving birth. Sparky is beside himself acting as a surrogate father to all the cats."
Jeff could picture the stocky black leopard showing off for all the new arrivals.Cort worked for the agency, while Faith ran a breeding center for endangered snow leopards. "What about your baby?"
"Sara"s perfect." He heard the smile in her voice. "She misses her favorite uncle."
"I miss her, too."
"Will we see you soon?" Faith asked.
There was a click on the line. "I"ve got it,"Cort said. "You can hang up now, Faith."
"How did you know I was on the line?"
"Because I know you. Now say goodbye."
"Bye, Jeff." She hung up the phone.
For a moment Jeff fought the pain in his gut. He enviedCort and Faith their happiness. Not only because he missed his own family but because he and Jeanne had somehow lost their feelings for each other. They"d been unable to hang on to the love. In the end their marriage had been more about habit and duty than real affection. Andie didn"t understand that. She thought it had been a perfect relationship. He didn"t think he could explain that the flaws made it worse. The flaws were his fault. He"d been the one who"d cared more about his job than anything else. Jeanne had come toLebanonto compete with his job. In the end, his job was the reason she and J.J. had died.
"Jeff? You still there?"
"Yeah,Cort . Sorry."
"So what"s up?"
"I need a favor."
"Name it."
Jeff clutched the phone. That was the reason he"d calledCort . Because his friend wouldn"t hesitate to help.
"There"s this woman," he began.
Cortlaughed. "A woman? About time. I knew this vacation would be good for you. You haven"t taken any time off since-"Cort hesitated. "I"m glad you"ve met somebody."
"It"s not what you think. I"m on St. Lucas." Jeff heard Andie"s footsteps in the hallway. She tapped softly. He ignored her.
"Are you crazy?"Cort asked. "Do you have a death wish? If Kray finds out you"re there, he"ll hunt you down and kill you."
"He already knows, but that"s not the point."
"The h.e.l.l it isn"t. What are you doing there?"
Jeff didn"t answer.
Cortwas one of his best agents. It didn"t take him long to figure it out. "You"re going to take him out." It wasn"t a question.
"This woman-"
"I don"t care about the woman. Jeff, have you lost it completely? You can"t do this. It"s wrong."
"I don"t have a choice. Look, I don"t want to talk about that. I don"t want you involved. When I do it, there"s going to be an investigation and the less you know the better."
"I could report you,"Cort said quietly.
"But you won"t." Jeff waited. When his friend didn"t say anything, he continued. "I have a woman here. Andie Cochran."
"Why is that name familiar?"
"She"s Kray"s ex-wife."
Cortwhistled. "What"s she doing there?"