I'm not enough, and now I know that I never will be. It's time to do the only thing I can-take on the mission that will end my life. I'd never kill myself, but nothing's stopping me from taking the one assignment that I should never even get close to. I was asked for help, but even the person asking knew I couldn't personally help without putting myself at risk. Which is why it's perfect for me now.
I email her and then put everything in place. I'll have one hour to get out of town before everyone realizes what I've done. I'm going to miss my friends, but I can't stay here any longer. I can't be here, watching Matt parade his women in front of me again. I let him fool me twice, and now I have no one to blame but myself.
I put that smile back on as I seal my office, telling Alex I have an unexpected appointment. She doesn't question the sunglasses on my face, even though I can tell she wants to. I make it out of the building and into my car without any problem, and then I drive to the private airfield. It's time for the end to begin, once and for all.
Matt
I'm on my third glass of Scotch when the alarm on my desk goes off. It's a distress signal from the Society, one I've never heard before, so I know it's bad. I'm running for the door before it ends its chime. I make it into the Foundation offices and find chaos. I follow Alex into the conference room, but notice that Reina isn't there. My grandmother is in her place at the head of the table, and my stomach drops.
"Where is Reina?"
"She's gone. That's what the alarm is for."
Oh God no. No. "How can she be gone? She's in charge."
"She deactivated herself. She had it on a delayed timer, so it didn't take effect until she was already far enough away for anyone to go after her," Ainsley says.
"You have to know where she was when it deactivated."
"Yes. She was in the air. My team is trying to find the plane, and they're also trying to recover what they can from what's left of her hard drive."
"She destroyed her computer?"
"She destroyed her whole office. She broke everything that wasn't bolted to the floor," Faith tells me.
"We've got something," Ainsley says before I can ask any more questions. She's looking down at her tablet, and all of a sudden there's an email up on the screen.
It seems straightforward. A nun is asking for help because her convent is being threatened by a trafficker. Audrey stands up so fast that her chair topples over, which tells me there's more to it than just a normal mission.
"No. Jane … no. She didn't. Why did she go? Oh my God."
"I don't know, Audrey."
"What is it? What's wrong with Reina going on a mission? I know she's out of practice, but she's still tough."
My grandmother practically collapses into her chair before answering. "What's wrong is that the man who's terrorizing the convent is the man we saved Reina from over eleven years ago."
"Saved her? What the hell are you talking about?"
It's Audrey who answers. "I had just been recruited into what would later become the Society when I met a woman on the bus. She was crying, and something drew me to her. I took her to a diner, and after getting her some food, she told me about her daughter. A beautiful girl who was taken by the Coyote who helped the family cross the border. They had paid him, but once he saw Reina, he wanted a different kind of payment."
"Son of a bitch."
My grandmother speaks up to finish the story. "Yes he was. And is. Reina was the first official Society mission, and we got her out. She would never tell us if he raped her-."
"He didn't," I blurt out. "I was her first."
"I guess I needed to know that, but then again, I really didn't."
"Sorry, Gram."
"As I was saying, we got her out, but without killing him."
"That's my fault. I couldn't do it. I should've done it," Audrey says, looking like she's going to break down.
"It was everyone's first mission. You got Reina out, and that is what's important," my grandma tells her.
"You know he was obsessed with her. If he sees her, he'll do whatever he can to have her again."
"Why would she do it, though? She had to know it was a suicide mission," Jade says.
"I don't know. It had to be bad, whatever it was. Her office, deactivating herself. I never thought she would leave. Something had to have happened," Audrey says.
"It did," I say, and feel all of their eyes on me. "I gave her our divorce papers today. I sent her over the edge, and now you need to tell me what we're going to do to get her back."
Acknowledgements
To the kids, Dominique and Gabi, for keeping me grounded.
Helen Williams, Jesse Gordon, and Ally Murphy are my great team, and I love all the work they do for me!
For my readers and friends, many of whom are one in the same! Thanks for the support, and loving the characters! You guys are the best!