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Kaylie had played a lot of roles in her life. The obedient foster child, the besotted girlfriend and docile wife. Now, she had to play the most important role she’d ever attempted.
Letting fear and betrayal paint her expression, she shook her head and filled her voice with anger. “No. They refused to help me.”
Shane narrowed his eyes. “I don’t believe you.” He released her hair, and she relaxed to the ground, still holding Lia tightly.
“It’s true,” she said, lying through her teeth. “They care more about your defense bill than my daughter. They didn’t care what happened to her.” Kaylie let the anguish of that thought play across her face. But Anthony and Black Tower had proven they weren’t heartless like Moreno or Lowell.
Shane Lowell seemed amused by the idea, but skeptical. “Didn’t they?”
Kaylie pulled Lia into her lap. “Anthony said—” She cut off her words, as though she couldn’t bear to think of his name. “He had to think of the greater good.”
Lowell released a chilling laugh. “Well, that certainly sounds like something those pious pricks would say. That’s too bad, though.” His voice took on a casual air. “It means I have no incentive for keeping you and your daughter around a moment longer than I have to.”
Kaylie felt her stomach clench in panic at Lowell's implications. The seconds stretched into an eternity as she scrambled to find a way to delay him, to buy just another hour for the team to enact their rescue plan.
Kaylie's mind raced. She needed to convince him, find a way to appeal to his sense of self-preservation. "Wait!" she pleaded, desperation coloring her voice. "You can't just kill us. I-I know things about Black Tower. I’ll tell you everything. You just have to let us go.”
A calculating gleam entered Lowell's eyes. He considered her words, weighing the risks. Time seemed to hang in the balance, each moment critical to the success of their plan. Kaylie held her breath, praying he would buy into her desperate plea, at least long enough for Anthony and the team to mount their operation.
“Interesting…” Lowell seemed to ponder the words. His eyes flashed to Lia. “Or I could just torture it out of you before I kill you. I do have some new recruits who need some interrogation practice.”
Kaylie’s blood turned to ice in her veins. The mere suggestion of torture sent shivers down her spine, and she clutched Lia protectively against her chest. The innocent trust in Lia's eyes contrasted sharply with the cruel reality of their situation.
"Please," Kaylie begged, her voice trembling. "I'll tell you everything. I'll cooperate. Just spare my daughter. She's just a child, she doesn't know anything. You can't hurt her."
Lowell chuckled, a sinister sound that echoed in the mostly empty space around them. "Ah, the lengths a mother will go to protect her child. How touching. But you see, my dear, I don't trust you. You're desperate, and desperate people say anything to save themselves."
Kaylie's heart pounded in her chest as she fought to keep her composure. She couldn't let fear overtake her. "I swear, I won't say a word to anyone. I'll disappear, and you'll never hear from us again. Just let us go."
Lowell's gaze lingered on her, assessing the sincerity in her eyes. The stakes were high, and Kaylie clung to the hope that he would buy into her scheme. She knew he’d never let her go. Anthony had made that very clear. But maybe if he thought she was naive enough to believe he would let her go, it would give them enough time.
“Mr. Lowell, you have a call from Madame Sidarov.”
Lowell cut a sharp glance toward the interruption, a younger man with a trimmed beard and a meticulous demeanor standing at attention near the door. The man extended a sleek smartphone toward Shane Lowell, his eyes betraying no emotions.
Lowell glared at Kaylie. “We’re not done here.” He marched toward the door, grabbing the phone. He pointed at the man. “Watch them and make sure she doesn’t try anything.”
Then, he exited the room. “Dobryy vecher, Ksenia. I didn’t expect–” The door shut heavily behind him, and his words were cut off.
Kaylie jolted at the noise, realizing too late that she’d been staring at the door and craning her body to listen.
She glanced at the new guard, but he seemed more robot than human. There was no glimmer of understanding or empathy on his face. Still, he was an improvement over the chilling presence of Shane Lowell. She’d thought perhaps she had exaggerated the memory of the evil aura the man carried, but being back in his presence was just as bad as she remembered.
Kaylie ran a hand over Lia’s hairline. Holding her daughter again soothed the ragged edges of her nerves, despite the knowledge that the night was just beginning. Hiding her face in her daughter’s hair, she winked her right eye twice in rapid succession.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
Tank's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the terrain through night-vision goggles, the world reduced to shades of green and black. Beside him, Marshall and Connor maintained their focus, their movements synchronized with the rhythmic hum of the boat's engine.
The moon hung low in the night sky, casting an ethereal glow over the dark waters of Lake Michigan as the Black Tower team approached the Citadel compound. Tank's boat skimmed the surface, occasionally splashing them with an icy spray. He knew the other team was only a few minutes ahead in the other boat, but in the dark there was no sign of them.
Joey's voice crackled through the earpiece. "IRIS just came online. Your girl is in. And she’s with Cecelia.”
Tank flexed his neck, stretching it with a twist as relief flooded him. There had been a non-negligible chance that Lowell would kill Kaylie on sight. But she’d made it in, and she’d found Lia.
Tank felt a surge of adrenaline, knowing that the first phase of the plan was a success. Now for the hard part. The boat glided smoothly toward the shore, the team poised for the critical moment.
