Stolen. Part 33

I know; I know.

He had to get his bearings or he wouldn't be able to escape. He didn't care how they'd cuffed him, he would find a way out. If his head didn't pound like the world's worst hangover, he might actually be able to think.

"Sean! It's Duke. Wake up."

"I'm awake," Sean mumbled. His mouth was swollen and dry.

Duke is here?

Sean opened his eyes, and while they still felt heavy, he looked around and realized the light was changing. It was dark, no lights, but windows on the far side of the barn faced east and the sun was beginning to come out. What did that make it? Five thirty, six in the morning?

"You've been out for hours."

"They shot me with a d.a.m.n tranquilizer." He coughed to clear his scratchy throat. A gallon or two of water would go down real good about now.

"What the f.u.c.k is going on?"

Duke rarely swore, but when he did it was usually because Sean had screwed up. There was more than simple anger in Duke's tone; an underlying hostility had Sean on edge.

"I don't know." His head pounded and he tried to get his thoughts together. He took a couple deep breaths and moved his limbs. Nothing was broken, but his shoulder was sore from the Taser and his knee was banged up. They probably had dragged him over rocks.

"You don't f.u.c.king know?"

"What are you doing here?"

A testament to his being disorientated-he just realized his brother Duke should be in California.

"I took the red-eye Tuesday night, first flight I could get after talking to that FBI agent, Deanna Brighton. She's now dead, in your apartment. The two a.s.sholes who grabbed me shot her."

He absorbed everything Duke said and immediately understood the implications.

"Brighton was at my apartment?"

"Focus, Sean. Are you sure you're okay?" The first hint of worry in Duke's voice.

"I'll be fine. Why was she there?"

"I have no idea, but they were expecting her."

"Someone sent her there? The mole?"

"Mole? What mole?"

"The FBI mole." But that didn't make any sense. No one knew where Sean lived, unless they'd followed him. Or maybe someone had put a tracker on him. Who? And why would the mole have Brighton killed? Unless Brighton was the mole and Paxton-but why would Paxton kill her? And, ultimately, attempt to frame Sean?

And if they planned on framing Sean for her murder, then that meant they would kill Duke because he was a witness. So why keep him alive?

Thinking wasn't doing Sean's headache any good. He took several deep breaths as a wave of nausea washed over him.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Good question. He had no idea. Colton was dead; Skye and Evan had kidnapped him. If Noah made it to PBM it had been too late.

"Why are you in New York?"

"I just told you-"

"Give me a sec; my head feels like mush."

Duke didn't say anything for several minutes and Sean took the opportunity to shift and adjust, roll his neck, feel out his body for serious damage. And think.

Duke came to New York because he thought Sean was in trouble with the FBI.

Sean finally said, "It's a long story, but trust me when I tell you I'm not in trouble with the FBI."

"I find that hard to believe, considering."

"There's a lot more to this than you know." How could he explain it?

"You always think you know best. Action before thought. Do you know how many times I've had to bail you out because you didn't think things through?"

This time, there was nothing further from the truth than that statement. Sean had done nothing but think about what he was doing, from the minute Rick Stockton and Noah came to him with their plan.

"I don't want to talk about this here-I don't know who's listening-but you have to trust me!"

"Trust?"

As the sun rose higher, Sean could see his brother more clearly. He was handcuffed to two steel rings on the floor. Sean had no idea what they were used for. Sean himself was handcuffed to a horizontal pole. Maybe something that they wrapped horse reins around or a saddle or something. Sean had never been a horse or farm kind of guy.

Duke was staring at him, disappointment and anger the dominant emotions.

"Duke-"

"I'll never be able to trust you again."

Sean realized that Duke had never thought he had changed, had never believed he would stay on the right side of the law. Worse, Duke believed Sean was responsible for all this-and that hurt. It hurt as much as when he had walked away from RCK and led Duke to believe he was working for Colton again and Duke had said he expected it.

Sean needed to explain to his brother what was going on. The way Duke must think of him-once he knew the truth, he would understand.

Sean didn't see or hear anyone but he kept his voice low.

"We need to figure out their endgame. I need to give you the abridged version of events, because I don't know how much time we have."

Duke stared at him. "You've never taken a job without knowing the endgame. Did you trust Colton Thayer so much that you didn't find out what he was doing?"

"This isn't about Colton."

"Maybe it's always been about you, always trying to prove to the world, to prove to me, that you're smarter than everyone else."

"It's never been about that."

"Bulls.h.i.t." Duke glared at him. Disappointment clouded his eyes. "You're just like Liam."

Sean hadn't been expecting the comparison to their other brother. Duke hadn't spoken to Liam in years because of major business disagreements. "I'm nothing like Liam."

"You're exactly like him. I just didn't see it, because I felt responsible for you. He and Eden created their own business, they played by their own rules, and I understand them. Liam is in it for the challenge and the money, and he's going to be caught one of these days-I thought you'd grown out of it."

"Please listen-"

"I've always listened to you! I always defended you and stood by you because I blamed myself."

"Blamed yourself for what?"

"Your crimes."

"I'm not a criminal."

Duke laughed. Really laughed.

"That stunt at Stanford-"

"That wasn't a crime-"

"Really? You would have gone to prison if I hadn't stepped in."

"I'd never have been convicted. But I was seventeen. I thought what I was doing was right because too often the cops are tied with rules and red tape and that b.a.s.t.a.r.d was going to continue to hurt little kids."

"You can tell yourself that."

Sean hated that his brother thought so low of him, but now wasn't the time to fight about it. He buried the pain, because pain and regret were going to keep him from focusing on getting out of here. Instead he focused on his anger.

He said through clenched teeth, "I'm working with FBI a.s.sistant Director Rick Stockton. Ask him when we get out of this mess."

Duke didn't say anything for a long minute. "If that's true, why didn't you tell me?"

If that's true? That Duke even thought Sean was lying angered him more. "Rick wanted this operation to be completely undercover. Only Rick, me, and Noah Armstrong know the truth. Lucy didn't even know until yesterday." Get to the point, Sean told himself. No apologies. There would be time enough for explanation later.

Sean said, "Noah has been quietly investigating Senator Paxton since January, ever since the vigilante ring was shut down and Paxton walked away. Noah learned that Paxton hired Colton, and he and Rick asked me to go undercover to find out what they were doing. I agreed." He didn't feel the need to explain why-if he told Duke about what happened with Martin Holdings, Duke would disregard everything else Sean said and focus on his mistakes.

"Why you? Why not a real agent?"

"Because Colton has been trying to bring me back for years. You know that."

"And that's why you hacked into the pharmaceutical company? Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because Colton had to believe that I really quit and the only way he would was if you and I had a major falling-out. It had to be real."

"There were other ways."

"We didn't have a lot of time to put this together."

"Why would you do this? This isn't like you, working for the FBI."

"You're right," Sean said, his anger exploding. "I did it for me. I committed a crime nearly ten years ago. The statute of limitations is up in six months. I have full immunity for helping Rick. Does that make you feel better? Knowing that I'm the sc.u.m you always thought I was?"

Duke stared at him. Sean had let his temper win and hated himself for it. Sean said, "Paxton hired Colton to steal a file and tape out of Joyce Bonner's office. I helped him."

"Of course you did."

"You don't listen to me, do you? I did it with the full backing of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

"So you wouldn't go to prison."

Sean didn't want to talk anymore. Not about his reasons for going undercover or what he'd done ten years ago. Nothing he said was going to change Duke's opinion of him.

"Evan and Skye took something from the bio-lab at PBM. I don't know what it is; I don't know what they have planned, or why they kidnapped you, or why they didn't kill me when they shot Colton."

"Colton's dead?"

Sean blinked back sudden tears over the brutal murder of his friend. "Yes."

"I'm sorry."

Duke sounded sincere, so Sean accepted the apology.

"I overhead something that didn't make sense, but maybe it will to you," Duke said. "They're planning to break into a place with RCK security."

"There can't be many," Sean said.

"Maybe two dozen in New York City. Two museums, a chain of banks-probably twenty total banks with the same system within the five boroughs. Several private homes. A college. There's more, but I can't remember all of them."

"They couldn't have known you were here, so how were they planning on getting me to cooperate without leverage?"

The barn door opened, bringing in a rush of colder air. Skye stood there. "Sean, I have my ways. But I'll admit, having your brother as part of the 'leverage,' as you say, seems particularly apropos. Time to meet the boss."

The way she said boss Sean had the feeling she wasn't sincere. He watched her direct two thugs to uncuff him. She thought she was in charge. Maybe she was.

"Be good, Sean, or I'll kill your brother. Understand?"

Sean wanted to slap that smirk off Skye's face. How could she have gone from a fun, carefree college student to a killer? To Colton's murderer? That Sean had underestimated her aggravated him. He'd let the past cloud his judgment.

Never again.

He nodded without breaking eye contact. "Yes, ma'am, I understand perfectly."

Noah watched Senator Jonathan Paxton sweating in the interview room as Paxton watched the tape Sean had stolen. Noah didn't need to see it again; he'd already viewed it twice.