Relentless (Option Zero 2)

To save his own life, Ronnie Wiggins would be helping to save the lives of others.

If that wasn’t irony he didn’t know what was.

He headed back to his SUV and on the way pressed the call icon for Ash. “Hey, I got the intel.”

“How many of us do you need with you?”

“Not sure yet. I’ll do a check and see where we are.”

“Sounds good.”

“Anything on the other?”

He’d met with Ash before leaving and told him what Aubrey had revealed about her last day in Syria. There was something altogether hinky about her abduction, torture, and release. Without her knowledge, he’d asked Ash to do a deep dive into her family. The stabbings she’d endured had been meant to send a message. To whom and for what reason? Had she been taken as a punishment or a warning for someone?

“Not yet. Serena dug up some things but nothing that would raise more than a brow or two. We’ll get there, though.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for doing this. I know that—”

“Stop right there. What’s important to an OZ operative is important to us all.”

“Thanks, man

. I’ll call you as soon as I find Drury.”

“Sounds good. Stay safe.”

Liam pocketed his phone and climbed into his SUV. He wanted this over and done with. For the first time ever, he had someone waiting at home for him. Her name was Katarina Aubrey Starr, and he could not wait to return to her.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Cyprus

The tedious boredom would soon be over. He had put a plan into place that would keep him entertained for weeks, if not months. It had been so easy. With one phone call, life was grand again.

When the girl he’d known as No. 7 had died, he had been outraged. Giving the young ones drugs rarely worked out well. It had always been his policy to gain compliance through bribes and coercion. Mix in a little fear, and you get a perfect and well-behaved girl.

This one had been special. He had enjoyed her on numerous occasions and even considered bringing her into his stable full time. She was young and malleable. Once she had aged beyond his preference, he could have sold her for a nice profit. Instead, she had OD’d in one of his houses, which was infuriating.

Maybe if he hadn’t been so upset, he would have ensured that the girl was actually dead. When he’d told his people to dump her body, he had assumed they would make sure she was no longer breathing, like any fool would. Instead, the morons had taken her to the woods and left her. Not only had the girl still been alive, she had dragged herself to civilization.

Good thing he had a bevy of spies. Even though the story had been quickly covered up, the enticing tidbit that a young girl had been found on a hiking trail in upstate New York had caught the attention of one of his people. The woman had put two and two together and made an inquiry. Wasn’t long before she’d pieced together the mystery and contacted him.

No. 7 was still alive.

By the time his people had tracked her down again, she’d been too old to bother with. The girl had no clue of his identity, and he’d been prepared to look at her as the one that got away. And then he’d learned something exciting.

She had a younger sister.

Still a little younger than he preferred, so he had been willing to wait. He’d kept a watch on the family. And now…now, she was almost just right.

The family had changed their names, moved across the country to Iowa of all places. They thought they were safe, thought they’d hidden themselves. They were wrong.

When he’d learned that Aubrey Starr, that little busybody filmmaker, had visited the family, he’d known something was up. Had she found out something?

She was making a new documentary—like the one she’d done a few years back. That one hadn’t stepped on his toes. But if she was talking to No. 7, the new film might point toward him. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

His plan had been to silence her permanently. Problem was, she had some protection. Wasn’t that a kick in the ass? The girl who was trying to uncover dirty deeds had her own dirty little secret.