Page 161 of Enemy of My Enemy

“This is the fourth move, but they won’t know that.” He leaned back, smug satisfaction leaching from his bones. “General, begin preliminary maneuvers for our operation. When everything is set, launch your invasion force.”

“Where are you going?” Moroshkin frowned. “You’re not a part of the invasion. Why not? I thought this was what you wanted.”

“My own plans are sending me elsewhere, General, for now. But don’t worry. It will all be over soon. Our new dawn is coming. A new sky awaits us all.”

* * *

Chapter 54

Silver Springs, Maryland

Jack triedhis best not to limp as he shadowed Scott up his driveway, keeping his head down and his borrowed hoodie pulled forward. Scott had his belongings wrapped up in a paper bag, and Jack wore stolen hospital scrubs under the hoodie and thick sunglasses over his eyes. His facial hair had grown out, two days of not shaving, and silver patches mingled in his blond scruff. It was a passable disguise, along with the heavy bruising and the black eye.

The key turned in the lock and Scott hauled him inside. He leaned back against the door, pulling off his shades.

A scream tore through the house. He froze.

“Dad!”

Scott paled but ran for the kitchen. A teenage girl wearing a baggy plaid pullover, her long brown hair loosely braided down her back, raced down the hall, crashing into Scott at the foot of a dark staircase. “Dad!” she cried again. Scott grabbed her, pulling her into a massive hug. His face disappeared into her braid.

A middle-aged woman, her hair cut into a short bob, appeared next, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched Scott and his daughter. Scott reached for her with one hand, pulling her close, and the three ended up in a three-way hug as Scott kissed both their heads.

Jack stayed frozen at the front door, watching.

“I thought you were at your mother’s house?” Scott pulled back, just slightly, just enough to talk to his wife and keep his arms around his daughter. His daughter clung to him, her face tucked into his filthy shirt and his chest. “Why did you come back?”

“After last night? Of course we came back. We’ve been calling and calling. Why didn’t you pick up?”

“Phone died. I’m sorry. And—” Scott glanced back, over his shoulder.

His wife and daughter spotted Jack. They stared, speechless. Scott spoke first. “Mr. President. This is my wife, Stacy, and my daughter, Liz.”

“Mr. President? I thought you were—” Stacy looked from Jack to Scott and back again. “We saw the press conference, from President Wall—”

“We’ve got to talk,” Scott said softly, reaching for her hand.

* * *

Jack’s legs jiggled.He wanted to pace, but his aching body kept him frozen on the couch in Scott’s study. Scott had plopped him down, given him an unreadable look, and vanished with his family to the kitchen.

Loud voices bounced down the hallway minutes later, Stacy’s frustrated anger rising and falling in time with Scott’s muted words.

He pulled a white pillow at the end of the couch into his arms, breathing deeply Ethan’s lingering scent. Just days ago, Ethan had been right there.

Copies of Irwin’s things he’d gotten from Elizabeth lay scattered over the coffee table before him. It wasn’t everything, but it was a start. Buried in Irwin’s notes, he found Prince Faisal’s cell number. For a moment, it felt like he’d struck gold.

He’d given his phone to Elizabeth and charged up Ethan’s, pulling it from his blood-soaked clothes before they left the hospital. The screen was cracked, but it still worked. Elizabeth had given him a secured cell encrypter, and he plugged the boxy device into the phone’s battery port before dialing the prince’s number.

The buzz of an international ringtone whined in his ear, once, twice, three times. He chewed his lip. If anyone knew where Ethan had gone, other than Irwin, his money was on the prince. Cooper had spent so much of his time there, and Ethan had spent long hours talking through intel with Cooper and the prince for months. He’d fled to the prince before when he’d been dead and in hiding. It was a good place to start.

“As-salamu alaykum.”

“Prince Faisal?”

A long pause. “Who is this?”

He took a shaky breath. He’d talked to the prince exactly once, thanking him in private for his help and the assistance he’d given to Cooper and Ethan after Ethiopia. He didn’t know how this would go over. “Jack Spiers,” he said softly. He dropped the “president.”