Page 32 of Storm Surge

“The sooner we figure out my mother’s past the better.” She hesitated. “Has the body in the woods been confirmed as hers.”

The look of sympathy on his face told her that the small amount of hope she’d clung to was unfounded.

“I’m sorry, babe, but yes, we’ve had a positive identification thanks to a DNA sample she provided the CIA years ago.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I knew it was her, but I was hoping.”

Will gathered her close. “I know. I hoped for the same thing.”

Mark had told her about her mother being married before, and she wanted to share what she knew about her mother’s past with Will.

“What is it?” he asked when she pulled away and spotted her hesitation.

“There’s something you need to know about my mother’s past.” Lizzy drew in several calming breaths and told him everything about how Mark had contacted her a few years back with a story about their mother.

Will took out a pad and started scribbling as she talked.

“Mark said my mother and his father had married young. She got pregnant and had Mark. Then he died. My mother’s parents helped to raise Mark though our mother visited him often. He said she joined the CIA and seemed to be on a good track. She even spoke about bringing him to Washington D.C. for a while, and then something happened. She changed. When she did visit, she was a different person. Reserved. Almost as if the joy had gone out of her life. And then she stopped coming to see him altogether. When he was older, he asked around at the CIA, but no one had any idea where she’d gone, but shortly after he reached out to them, someone tried to kill him.”

Will’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

“No, and they didn’t stop. Mark finally had to go into hiding to stay safe.”

“Unbelievable. That had to be Collins. And I’m guessing Sofia’s change happened when she met Collins. He had that effect on people. Collins isolated them, much like he did you and your aunt. Then, once he had total control, he’d make them believe what he wanted.”

Lizzy thought about her strong mother. She’d seen the change in her from the carefree spirited woman to the one that appeared terrified most of the time.

Sofia had worked alongside Martin. Had probably fallen in love with him. Her father could be charismatic. She’d seen that side of him from time to time. After all, how had he managed to gain control over so many people, bending their wills to his?

Were there others involved with her father inside the CIA that Strike Force didn’t know about? The fact that anyone from an agency sworn to protect the US could advocate its overthrow was unheard of, but that’s what happened. A former CIA deputy director was part of Legion and had done immense damage.

Will said there were others within the intelligence branches and the military who were part of the scheme to overthrow the government. His people had months if not years of work ahead of them searching for the truth. But they would find it, no matter what. They would unravel the truth. All of it.

Chapter Ten

The plane touched down in Alaska. The last time he’d come here, he’d hoped it would be the last. Yet here he was once more, this time far different than before. This time he was a fugitive.

“Sir, what do you wish me to do?” The pilot spoke in Pashto. Ahmad had escaped his Afghan home seconds before the authorities led by Strike Force members raided it, his family taken into custody. They’d be interrogated relentlessly. The thought saddened him for his children, but he was the lucky one. He’d escaped. Now it was up to Collins to follow the same plan, and the man had proven his only weakness were his daughter and sister.

“Do?” Ahmad asked. He wasn’t confused by the question, just unsure how to answer it. The plane had landed on a private runway in the frozen tundra. There was only one house on this side of the mountain. Collins had put the contingency plan in place many years ago. The house belonged to one of his former colleagues. Collins said he had information on the man that would keep him cooperative. At the time, Ahmad had doubts. Now, he had no other option.

“Stay with the plane, both of you,” he told the pilot and copilot. “I’ll return soon with instructions.”

“Yes, sir.” The pilot acknowledged and opened the door. Ahmad and his trusted bodyguard descended the steps.

Disgust rose in his throat once more. This place wasn’t fit for an animal to live in much less him, a descendant of the royal line of Afghanistan.

“What is this place?” Kader Malikzai, his bodyguard and his sister’s oldest son, asked.

“Hell!” Ahmad hissed and started for the cabin. Snow piled high all around, midway to the front windows. Ahmad stopped a little way from it while a fissure of fear sped through his limbs. What if Collins had set him up to save his own hide? He’d known Martin Collins for years. Had offered him sanctuary when he needed it because he believed Collins shared his view for world domination. But Collins had a mean streak that no amount of culture could refine.

“Do you want me to check inside? Make sure it’s empty?” Kader asked.

Ahmad’s attention went to his nephew. Since he’d brought Kader onboard the team, he’d proven himself more than loyal. If he sent the young man inside and Collins was having one of his manic moments, his nephew would be dead. Ahmad couldn’t imagine having to explain the youth’s death to his sister.

“No.” Ahmad removed his phone and called the number Collins had used to reach him. “Where are you?” he asked once the call was answered.

“Inside. Where I told you I’d be. Who is that with you?”

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