Oh, she still suspected there was one bad apple, and it was damn frustrating that she couldn’t quite figure out who. But she was beginning to suspect he wasn’t in this small group of agents. And as long as Warrick was nearby, she trusted him to keep her safe.
She lifted her wrist and squinted down at her watch, trying to make out the time. One sixteen. Whoever was supposed to meet her was running late. Or were they? How did these sting things usually go down?
They’d wanted her to come alone, but surely the people who had her father would assume the agents would be nearby? Or maybe both sides knew and were just screwing with each other’s heads?
God, it was so confusing. Way over her head. She would be a terrible apprentice in this whole cloak-and-dagger world of secret federal agents.
“You’re doing fine, Sienna. Just keep calm.”
Warrick’s voice filtered from the earpiece hidden in her ear, and she bit her lip to keep from replying. He’d been sending her words of encouragement for the past fifteen minutes, and it definitely helped hearing him. Knowing he was close by with the other agents.
She pressed a hand to her forehead as a wave of pain flashed through.
Dammit. These weird headaches needed to stop. Ever since last night she’d been having them, and unfortunately they only seemed to get worse. The headaches and the nausea.
She’d meant to ask Warrick if he had any pain meds, but had forgotten. Though the last thing she’d wanted to do was stress him out in any way by telling him her head was hurting and she might puke at any second.
“Have you come alone?”
And just like that, any hope of relaxing vanished. Her stomach clenched as a wave of fear rose inside her. She tightened her fingers around the jump drive and turned to where the voice had rung out.
“Yes.” Amazingly enough, her reply was steady. Confident even. “I want proof that my father is here.”
There was a shuffle of footsteps in the shadows, then her father’s voice rang out weakly, “Sienna.”
Her pulse quickened, but she wasn’t stupid enough to fall for that again. Who’s to say it wasn’t another recording?
“I want to see him.”
A pause, before more footsteps sounded. Through the light of the dirty glass window near the end of the building, she saw her father’s silhouette.
“I’m all right, Sienna,” he said warily. “You shouldn’t be here. You—”
He broke off on a gasp of pain, as if someone had hit him, and Sienna’s relief was severed as panic and fear swept through her.
“Don’t hurt him!” She took a step forward. “Please, I have the jump drive.”
“Place it on the floor, Sienna,” Warrick ordered gently in her ear. “Tell him you’re placing it on the floor and then start backing away.”
Swallowing hard, Sienna nodded and knelt down, dropping the small object on the floor. “I’m placing the jump drive on the floor, okay?”
“Good. Now step away from the jump drive, Ms. Peters,” the abductor murmured.
“I am. I’m walking away. Please. Let my father go.” She took two steps backward, trying to think if she recognized the scratchy voice of the man, but nothing was familiar.
Her father stepped farther into the light, the figure behind him was still in shadows though. Hope sprang inside her and she couldn’t breathe.
“Good job, Sienna. Stay calm and keep backing away.” Warrick’s voice was almost hypnotic, as if he were talking to a child. Full of praise and comfort. “We’ve got you covered, and we’re ready to grab your d—what the fuck.”
From the earpiece she heard ominous thumping sounds and men’s voices rising in alarm and anger.
“Warrick?” She realized her mistake immediately, that she’d said his name aloud.
Pounding footfalls rushed toward her. Sienna stumbled back, but it was too late. The man in shadows was now directly in front of her and had a gun pressed against her temple.
“What do you want?” she asked, the blood draining from her face at a rate that left her woozy. “The jump drive is on the floor.”
“We’re not here for the jump drive, Sienna. We’re here for you.”
They were here for her? The terrifying thought barely took root, before she registered the other comment. We. Meaning there were more than one of them. The other one had probably snuck up on the agents and—no!
“Warrick!”
“Come on, Ms. Peters, it’s time to leave.”
“No!” She struggled against the man’s grip as he dragged her toward the back door of the building.
“They’re dead now, Ms. Peters. All of them.”