Page 70 of Avenging Angel

“What happened next?” Owen asks.

“When Eva begged to die, there was a raid on the facility where she was being held. She was rescued by this ‘Dominion Group’ and given two choices: return to her family, a family she believed never loved her and had forgotten about her, or be a part of something greater. To help change the world. To have a purpose.”

My stomach turns when Kenneth shares what he knows of Eva’s story. “Are you telling us that the same group who brainwashed her is the same group that came riding in on a white horse? That’s despicable, and to think she chose to work for them.”

“Like I said, Eva was their first success, and there were more after. Eva was given a handler who took care of her and groomed her for years to be the perfect woman for Andrus Saarenõlv because he had the drive and ambition to become someone of prominence in Estonia. She became his mistress; they shared secrets, and she whispered in his ear ‘suggestions’ that would ultimately lead him to a position of power.”

I excuse myself to pour Kenneth a glass of water, using the time to collect myself. Eva’s story could have been mine. I’ve always thanked God for keeping me alive, but I don’t know if I ever thanked Him for how He did it. Spending three weeks in the wilderness and even praying for death doesn’t seem like something to be thankful for. But the entire time, I never stopped believing that I was loved. It was my family that kept me going until I could no longer do so. The hardship I endured changed my life, but it also strengthened me physically, mentally, and spiritually because I knew I wasn’t alone. Those girls spent years being conditioned into believing they had nothing to live for.

It’s sick and twisted, Dominion playing the “white knight,” rescuing them from the pits of Hell and giving those girls a false sense of security.

I go back into the room and hand the glass to Kenneth, who gulps it down and asks for more. I do as he asks and refill the glass. When I return the second time, I feel more composed. “If Eva didn’t kill Andrus Saarenõlv, then who did?”

“Eva was more than Andrus’ mistress. She loved Andrus with all her heart and had helped him start the Renewal Front political party, per Dominion’s instructions. It was supposed to be a cog that upset the balance in Estonia, to be the tiebreaker like the role our Independent Party plays. Instead, Andrus was amassing power on an unprecedented scale. Andrus was a good man who had the love of Eva and the people.”

None of us need to say it out loud, but Owen does anyway. “Let me get this straight. Dominion killed Andrus and pinned it on Eva since she was no longer compliant. They’ve got the CIA and Interpol looking for her, knowing that if she ever surfaces, she’d end up rotting in a prison cell in some foreign country without so much as a trial.”

“That is correct,” Kenneth says. “I only have Eva’s side of the story, but I believe her.”

“We have to find her,” I say. “She’s already a prisoner in her own life, one she hasn’t been able to escape from. Let’s do what we can so that she doesn’t live in another.”

Roger hangs his head, then turns so our eyes lock. “Daisy, you’re going to have to make a choice. We can find Eva, or we can save the next girl. Which is it?”

Chapter twenty-eight

Angel

No longer able to just listen in when Daisy says, “There’s a surefire way to find both,” I tap my comm device and switch to two-way.

“You are not going to sacrifice yourself,” I tell her.

Everyone chimes in after that to the point where it’s nothing more than a cacophony of garbled voices in my ear.

“I’m a loose thread that needs to be clipped,” she says as though the end justifies the means. “To come out victorious, sacrifices must be made. I can’t ask, won’t ask, anyone else to do it.”

There’s no way I’m losing Daisy. Not now. Not ever. “You aren’t thinking clearly. You’re tired, you’ve been through a lot this week, and you need more than a few hours of sleep. Go get a good night’s rest, and then we’ll come up with a plan together; preferably one that doesn’t have you throwing yourself on a proverbial sword.”

Daisy laughs, but there’s no mirth in it. “I am tired, Angel. I’m tired of the nightmares that haunt me in my sleep. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder. I’m tired of playing a game I can’t seem to win. When will this ever end? Think about it. We’ve been warned that the man we’re after knows who I am. I don’t know how, but he does. And as the one who got away, I’ll always pose a threat to him and his little enterprise. Now that he knows for certain that I’m still alive, he’ll never stop looking for me.”

When Owen speaks, his voice is hard, resigned, and devoid of emotion. “I don’t like this any more than anyone else, but my sister is right. This is what she’s spent years dedicating her life to; for this very moment.”

The view of the campground through my night vision scope blurs as anger courses through my veins. “You can’t be serious, Owen. Are you really going to stand by and let your sister sacrifice herself? To be bait?”

Owen’s tone doesn’t change. “No, Angel. I’m not going to stand idly by. But I will respect my sister’s decision because I know she doesn’t make it lightly. Every single one of us is willing to take a bullet for those we protect. This isn’t any different. Stop reacting from the heart and start thinking like an officer who has a duty to this country. If the roles were reversed, would you hesitate to put it all on the line?”

Jaxon speaks up. “After we rescued Faith from the cartel, the last thing I wanted was for her to go back in and risk her life. The idea that she might not have made it out alive was nearly debilitating.”

My sister chimes in next. “But I knew I wouldn’t be going in alone because I had a team behind me, just like Daisy does. Angel, you had to watch me risk my life, and I know that was as hard for you as it was for Jaxon, our parents, and our family. But you trusted them, me, and more importantly, the Lord to protect me.”

“Angel, please do the same for me,” Daisy pleads. “Trust me and have a little faith.”

Remembering Uri’s message that we’re all right where we’re supposed to be, I sigh. “Tell us your plan.”

Daisy chuckles. “I don’t really have one.”

Jaxon’s voice echoes in my ear, alerting me to a change in the situation. “We have movement at the campsite. The girls are beginning to stir at the smell of breakfast cooking on the propane stoves.”

Daisy has opted to walk around the campground armed with nothing more than her modified Canik hidden underneath her jacket. She says, “The girls will be flocking to the bathroom for their morning beautification rituals. The good news is that teenage girls always go in pairs or a gaggle. Look for the outlier.”