Merciless (Option Zero 1)

“We created a mercenary…Jessie Diamond…a hired gun. Diamond had a reputation for such things. Kate spread the word, dangled the bait. Took a while, but Turner finally bit.”

“It must’ve been a good cover. Turner is not only savvy, she’s as paranoid as hell.”

“Kate’s very good at creating people.”

“I’m assuming she’s the one who helped you create Jules Stone. Who arranged your new life.”

“Yes.”

When Lucy Carson had escaped that day, she had believed her nightmare had ended. That Clark could never hurt her again. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Instead, she had learned there were all kinds of nightmares. Being accused of taking part in her parents’ murders and then being blamed for every kill that John Leland Clark committed had been a different kind of hell.

Law enforcement had found no evidence to implicate her as a person of interest. That hadn’t mattered to some. Clark had used the media to start the rumor, and that false narrative had bloomed like a wildfire.

Kate had argued for her, fought for her, and then had arranged a new life for her.

“So as Jessie Diamond, your assignment was to infiltrate OZ and find a way to discredit me?”

“Yes.”

“I’m surprised Turner didn’t hire you to just kill me right off the bat.”

“Ruining you…destroying OZ was her goal. She said you have too many powerful friends to just take you out without trying this method first. Killing you was a last resort.”

“Did you give her any intel?”

“Of course not, Ash. I did this to protect you, not harm you.”

“You’ll excuse me if I find anything you say questionable. Lying convincingly seems to be one of your best talents.”

This barb stung but also was so true that she couldn’t work up the energy to be offended. She was extraordinarily good at lying.

“You’re right. I am a good liar, and you have every right to hate me and not trust me. But I know you trust Kate.”

“Not anymore.”

“Don’t do that, Ash. Don’t push away the one person who can help you bring Turner down.”

“How long did you think you could hold Turner off without giving her something?”

“I did give her something…only none of it was true. I gave her some vague information, and she believed she could build on it to create suspicion of treason.”

Ash nodded his understanding. “Just the question of something like that would cause major problems for OZ. People would stop sharing intel with us, stop trusting us. That would definitely work, but it would take some time.”

“She mentioned another option—one she felt she could use without killing you. I convinced her to let me try for the intel first. Since having you killed held some risk for her, she agreed.”

“What was the other option?”

“She wanted to target your team.”

“She thought she could get away with having my people murdered?”

The fury in that one question swamped his previous anger. Ash had discussed his possible murder as if they were discussing a mundane topic. The thought of having his team targeted was altogether different.

“I convinced her to wait.”

“But why the subterfuge with me? If you and Kate had told me, I could’ve provided you with intel that would have had her running all over the place. Digging for stuff that would amount to nothing.”

“Because Turner is running out of time. She’s got ambitions well beyond being a senator. She wants all obstacles out of her way. You’re one of her biggest.”