Laurel hesitated, and trepidation swept across her face. “A while.”
I tried to keep my emotions from showing, but I must not have been successful because Kara straightened and her tone was reassuring. “I’m sure she’s fine. Markus is the best on my?—”
I yanked out my phone and dialed. The line rang.
And rang.
And the tightness returned to my chest, crushing me until she finally answered. “Where are you?”
“I’m heading to Rome, Nathan.” Her voice echoed and sounded far away, as if she had me on speaker, and I could hear the rumble of an engine in the background. “The Abramos would like to see you.”
A half-second later, the line went dead.
No.
All the air was punched from my lungs and my body went numb. My heart thudded to a stop.
Was she trapped in a car with Carlo, or already on the plane? Even if they weren’t yet at the airport, I’d never make it in time to stop them.
My numbness blurred, replaced with rage. It balled myhand into a fist and drove it straight into the nearby wall, and I welcomed the burning agony across my knuckles as I dented the drywall. I was eager to feel the pain and release.
“What’s happened?” Shawn demanded.
I had to force my thoughts into focus. The scattered, fractured feeling... this panic was disorienting. I dialed, cursing when my handler didn’t immediately pick up.
I didn’t let Daniel say anything when the call connected, I just barked out my demand. “I have to get to Rome, now.”
“Wow, you’ve got some balls on you, Foster, after the shit you pulled. Forget it, you’re coming in?—”
“No,” I snapped, trying to shake the pain through my fingers. “The Abramos have Olivia.”
Surprise splashed across Shawn’s face, but it only lasted a single heartbeat. Then he pulled up his phone, and after the press of a button, asked to speak to the captain.
“Do I need to remind you again?” Daniel said. “Your cover is blown. I can’t send you after her.”
“Then send someone else, but Jesus, do it now.” Dread started low in my center and rattled up my body. “I don’t know how long they’ll keep her alive.” Or what they’d do to her until then.
“I don’t have anybody.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s not, and even if I did, how would I justify that?”
“She’s the one who IDed Castillo.”
There was no response from the other end of the line. This wasn’t enough. I needed something else, anything that would make the Agency take action and?—
Oh.
A warning flashed through my mind that she wouldn’t like it, but I ignored it. “She’s Kathryn Pierce. Remember that name? She’s the Army private who survived a helicopter crash and fought off a Taliban attack. She’s the one the Pentagon splashed all over the media.”
“Son of a bitch.” His pause lasted much too long. “Shit. I might be able to pull Tragar to lead the strike team, but he’s three hours out, minimum.”
Three hours was a fucking lifetime, but I would need this as a contingency plan, in case things went farther south. “Do it.”
“Tragar’s team might be risking their life for someone who’s already dead. Consider that.”
“Say something like that again and I’m going to knock your teeth right out the back of your skull the next time I see you. Considerthat, Daniel.”
