Page 2 of The Ghost

I rolled away, releasing the soldier and climbing to my feet. Trapped and out of alternatives, I put my hands up. Maybe Mr. Ashcroft didn’t want me dead after all. That was something I could use to my advantage. And at least Z had gotten away safely.

“Move,” the gunman growled.

He ignored his fallen compatriot, motioning back toward the helicopter. I’d come all this way only to be forced back to the battleground. My thoughts leapt to Theo and Lukas, wondering whether they’d managed to subdue Mr. Ashcroft. If our luck ran out and we were all captured, then New Dawn would have free rein to put their evil plan into motion. More than anything, I hoped that wasn’t the case.

I turned to follow instructions but was caught off guard when Z appeared behind Mr. Ashcroft’s henchman. She hefted a log, bringing it down on the man’s neck. He tumbled forward without preamble, crashing to the forest floor like a sack of armor and bones.

I glanced up at Z, astonished and relieved all at the same time. We fell into each other’s arms, sparing a moment for a hug. Though Z had the same training that I did growing up in Mr. Ashcroft’s mansion, she wasn’t a field operative. Much more comfortable behind the scenes, she made all my missions possible with rapid intel and support. I didn’t know what I would do if I lost her, and knowing that we were both out of the crosshairs was a brief victory.

I grabbed both guns from the fallen soldiers and handed one to Z. She might be a computer nerd, but she knew how to handle a weapon. We crept back to Mr. Ashcroft’s helicopter, determined to rescue the boys before all hell broke loose.

Theo and Lukas were fighting with Mr. Ashcroft’s guards. It looked like they had successfully disarmed the assailants, but they were a little worse for wear from the fire. Theo was trading punches with one guy while Lukas was kicking ass a little farther away. I knew they were both beyond capable, but since I was armed, I dashed to the rescue.

With a battle cry, I charged the scene. Mr. Ashcroft saw me coming and ducked back into the belly of his bird. The rotors picked up, and I could hear him shouting to the pilot. I didn’t want to let him get away, but that concern was secondary to making sure Theo was okay. I had to focus on my boyfriend and his attacker first if I wanted to protect my heart.

Theo punched the gunman’s nose, pushing him back toward the helicopter. I skidded to a halt, getting between Theo and the threat. The helicopter hovered above the grass, showering all of us with bits of grass and ash from the raging fire.

“Get Ashcroft!” Theo yelled.

I had a decision to make. If I put my weapon down and leapt onto the helicopter, I might be able to stop Mr. Ashcroft from escaping. But that would leave Theo vulnerable and eliminate any advantage we had in terms of ending the fistfight. I chose to abandon the more valuable target and focus on extracting Theo from his altercation.

“Down on the ground!” I shouted above the whirr of the blades.

The henchman didn’t follow my instructions. Instead, he twisted and lunged for the helicopter, draping his body over the landing skids. I fired once, hitting him square in the back. The body went limp, but the helicopter continued to rise. By the time the body fell to the ground, it was too high to recover.

I fired a dozen rounds into the undercarriage as it picked up speed, diving away from the ruins of Mr. Ashcroft’s mansion. But no matter how targeted my shots were, they didn’t reach the fuel tank or slow the bird in any way.

Lukas was still struggling with one of the men, so Theo and I ganged up on him, bringing him to the ground. Lukas stumbled back, thinking clearly.

“Don’t kill him,” he said. “We need information.”

Without warning, the captured assassin whipped out a pistol and pointed it at Theo’s head. I shot him square in the eye, dropping him like a hot potato. Lukas let out a groan of frustration, kicking the body with his good leg.

Z came running up, now that all the gunmen were accounted for. We were no closer to learning what New Dawn was up to than we had been the previous night, but at least we knew that Mr. Ashcroft was alive.

I looked around, astonished by the devastation. I’d seen bombings before and worked my way out of many a tight spot. But that blazing ruin atop the hill was my childhood home. We’d found a lot of information about what Mr. Ashcroft was up to hidden within its walls, but I was sure there was more to uncover. We wouldn’t have another chance, but we couldn’t stay where we were either. Out in the field, we were sitting ducks. We needed weapons and vehicles and a plan of action. With just one more base of operations up in flames, we needed to reconvene and figure out who was still alive.

“Come on,” Lukas said, pointing toward the driveway.

I agreed silently, lowering my rifle. Together, the four of us walked away from the crime scene, down the expansive drive toward Mr. Ashcroft’s private road. We had only traveled a mile or so when the sun began to rise. I felt the weight of little sleep dragging me down. The adrenaline from the fight was wearing off, and I was just glad that we were all still alive.

As we walked, a black van pulled up alongside. I checked with Lukas to make sure he was aware of the situation. He didn’t look concerned. There were two ways an unexpected arrival could go down: Either they were a friend or a foe. But one glance at my foster brother put my mind at ease.

The van stopped, and a driver got out. He shook hands with Lukas, proving that he was friendly, at least for now. We needed transportation and a place to reconvene. So we all got inside, sitting on seats nailed to the wall. The driver resumed his position and began to move. I closed my eyes to rest for just a moment, putting my head down on Theo’s shoulder. He took my hand and squeezed, assuring me that we were safe for the time being.

Chapter 2

Clark

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IT WAS IMPERATIVE TO get back to Europe. That’s where Dark Sparrow’s headquarters was and where the majority of agents had died. Someone I’d once trusted went on a killing spree, putting a lot of good men and women in early graves. We had to stop them and build our resistance to New Dawn.

On top of that, Theo’s ex-handler Regg was still out there somewhere. He’d betrayed both of us, choosing to go underground rather than face the consequences. We needed to discover his hiding spot and make him pay for trying to kill us. But first, we needed to connect with the only people capable of putting a stop to Mr. Ashcroft’s devious plan. And they were somewhere in Eastern Europe, though I didn’t know exactly where.

Lukas’s van drove us to a private airstrip just north of New York City. From there, we caught a charter plane to Germany. I was able to take a shower on the way. There was only one bathroom, and while it wasn’t large, it did feature a walk-in shower. We traded off freshening up, and Lukas had additional clothes stashed away so that we could put on something new. I felt refreshed in a pair of sweatpants and an FBI T-shirt.

“FBI?” Theo asked, when he stepped out of the shower.