Page 155 of Enemy of My Enemy

Everyone shouted as an alarm wailed a high pitch, a steady tone that kept going on and on and on.

His eyes closed.

* * *

Chapter 50

Saudi Arabian Coast

Ethan still felt wrecked,his muscles torn apart. Even his bones ached. The headache he’d nursed through his swim back to shore had turned into a blinding migraine, made worse by the punishing Arabian sunlight.

When he’d hung up with Irwin, it was all he could do to roll into the back seat and pass out, lying in the open vehicle in the stifling desert until the sun had finally cracked over the horizon. The heat followed the sunrise. He clambered to the front and drove off, squinting at the road as he downed water bottles, one after another. He made it twenty miles to Kuff, a dusty village, and pulled off outside of town to sleep under a scraggly Ghaf tree.

A wet camel nose poking into his broken window woke him hours later. An older Saudi man berated him in fast Arabic, too fast for Ethan to catch anything. He grumbled, waved, and started back down the highway.

He kept the radio off. His migraine raged, and he propped an elbow on the windowsill and rested his head in his hand for the long hours of the drive back south.

As the miles rolled on, his tires slapping on the burning asphalt, sand whipping through the broken window and stinging his face, every one of his thoughts fixed on Jack.Irwin’s got him. Irwin will keep Jack safe. He’s going to be all right. He will be.Still, his fingers squeezed down on the steering wheel until it shook beneath his grasp and the leather whined.

He got back to Jeddah late and ended up stranded in the city’s traffic, breathing exhaust fumes and biting down on sand grit between his teeth.

Finally, he made it through the city, winding south along the coast until the turnoff to Faisal’s private drive. Hulking security men let him through, glowering at the damage to the Land Rover. He flashed them a peace sign and parked in the circular drive.

Exhausted, heavy footsteps took him to the door. He almost fell over when he entered and the cool air slammed into him.

Shoes slapped against marble. Someone running for him. He waited.

Adam skittered to a stop in the foyer, his suit jacket swishing around his hips. He stared at Ethan, his face bone white. He clenched his phone in one hand, and his mouth tried to form words as he stared at Ethan.

“Clones—” Ethan started.

“We know.” Adam tried to speak again, but his expression fractured.

“What?” Ethan’s heart plunged.No. No, no, no.“What?” he snarled, exhaustion forgotten as he charged Adam. “Tell me now!”

“I’ve been calling you!” Adam hissed. “Why didn’t you pick up?”

Ethan shoved Adam back, pushing him against the white foyer walls, “Tell me what’s going on!” He tried to clamp down on his raging heart. “Jack—” His voice stopped, choked off.

He couldn’t ask. Couldn’t say the words.

“L-T!” Doc shouted from Faisal’s living room. “It’s starting! She’s on!”

Ethan’s eyes searched Adam’s. Pain, so much pain, and a crushing wave of guilt crashing in on all sides. “No—”

“I’m sorry,” Adam grunted. He grabbed Ethan’s arms. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

The drone of the TV filtered through Ethan’s static-filled mind, a haze that had descended over him as Adam spoke. He heard the words, felt their impact like gunshots to his chest.

“…we’ll listen now to the just-confirmed president of the United States, Elizabeth Wall.”

He headed for the TV.

Elizabeth appeared, striding toward the podium, a hard look hanging on her exhausted features. The White House seal screamed in technicolor behind her, and off to her side, Pete stood like a ghost, ashen and staring at nothing. His jaw worked, biting the inside of his cheek.

“I will not be taking any questions at this time,” she started. “My fellow Americans,” pausing, she pressed her lips together before continuing. “Today, our nation came under attack, targeting the very heart of our government and intelligence operations. An explosion at CIA Headquarters, in Langley, Virginia, has devastated the CIA and this government.”She breathed in, carefully.

“The explosion at Langley took many from us—friends, family, and neighbors—and, in particular, this attack has taken a great man and a great president.”