Beneath the Veil of Deceit

Part 9 : The Unforeseen Reunion

The shock froze Kimberly where she stood.

Her mind struggled to comprehend what was unfolding before her eyes. Rachel is alive. And Rose... here?

Kimberly's pulse quickened as she looked from her daughter to the woman who should have been dead.

Michael tensed, his gun still in hand, his eyes narrowing at Rachel as if expecting her to attack at any moment.

"How did you find us?" His voice was sharp, demanding.

Rachel gave a bitter smile, leaning heavily against the doorframe.
Blood dripped from a wound on her side, mixing with the rain-soaked clothes clinging to her body.

"You underestimate me, Michael. I've survived worse than a bullet."

Kimberly rushed forward, pulling Rose into her arms, her mind racing as she held her daughter tightly.

"Rose, are you okay? What are you doing here? How did you find us?"

Rose clung to her mother, fear etched into her wide eyes.

"Mom, she found me," she whispered, nodding toward Rachel. "She told me you were in danger. She... she saved me."

Kimberly's heart hammered in her chest. Rachel saved Rose?
Her mind scrambled to piece it together.

She had left Rose with her trusted handler from the agency, how had Rachel gotten past him? And why?

Michael wasn't satisfied with the cryptic answers.
He stepped closer, his voice filled with suspicion.

"Start talking, Rachel. You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't even be alive."

Rachel's eyes darkened, and for the first time since she appeared, her gaze softened when she looked at Rose.

"I may hate you, Michael, but I'm not a monster. I couldn't let them take the girl."

Michael lowered his gun slightly, confusion flickering across his face.

"Take her? Who's after her?"

Kimberly pulled Rose closer, panic rising in her throat.

"Who, Rachel? What's going on?"
Rachel winced as she pressed a hand to her side, clearly in pain but determined to speak.

"Matthew wasn't just a rogue agent. He was working with a faction inside the cartel.
There's a plan in motion a plan that involves taking you and your daughter, Kimberly.

You're leverage now."

Michael's expression hardened. "Leverage? For what?"

Rachel's eyes flickered between them, calculating her words.

"To force you out, Michael. To take control of the cartel. You and Kimberly together, you're a threat. They know you'll stop at nothing to protect each other, and they're counting on that.

If they control Rose, they control you both."

Kimberly's stomach dropped. Leverage. They were going to use Rose to get to Michael... and to her.

"You're lying,"

Michael growled, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"If they were after Rose, why bring her here? Why not just let them take her?"

Rachel looked down, and for a moment, she seemed almost human, the bitterness melting away into something more raw.

"Because I was a part of this, too. I was supposed to be the bait.
I didn't realize how far it had gone until I saw them coming for her. I couldn't let them do it, Michael. Whatever we were... I couldn't be part of that."

Kimberly's mind raced. Rachel's words felt too real, too desperate to be a lie.

And Rose... her daughter was here, terrified. This wasn't a game anymore.

Michael seemed to reach the same conclusion. His jaw clenched as he looked at Rachel.

"So, what's your plan? You come here, tell us all this, now what?"

Rachel's voice was hoarse. "I need your help.
We need to stop them before they come for all of us."

Kimberly's heart pounded as she looked at Michael, who was still weighing his options, his cold exterior starting to crack.

"I don't trust you," Michael said, his voice low. "You've betrayed me before."

Rachel let out a bitter laugh, wiping blood from her mouth.

'And you think I trust you? After everything? We're all in this for our own reasons, Michael.
But right now, if we don't work together, none of us will make it out alive. I'm telling you, they're coming. And they won't stop."

Kimberly tightened her grip on Rose, her instincts telling her that Rachel was telling the truth. "Michael... we have to protect her," she said softly, pleading with him through her eyes.

Michael's gaze flickered between the two women, Kimberly and Rachel.
The tension thick in the air. Finally, he holstered his gun, his expression dark but resolved.

"Fine. But if you cross me again, Rachel, I'll make sure you don't get back up next time."
Rachel nodded weakly, her body sagging from the blood loss. "Fair enough."

Michael gestured toward the kitchen. "Sit. We need to clean that wound before you bleed out."

Kimberly took a deep breath, her mind still spinning as she helped guide Rachel into a chair.
Rose stayed close by her side, clinging to her, confused and scared.

Kimberly's thoughts were racing. How had it come to this? Just a few days ago, she had been an undercover agent, on a mission to take down a cartel kingpin.
Now, she was on the run, her daughter in danger, caught in a web of betrayals.

As Kimberly fetched a first aid kit, Michael stood by the window, scanning the tree line for any signs of movement. The tension was suffocating.

"Mom," Rose whispered, her small hand clutching Kimberly's sleeve.

"Are we going to be okay?"

Kimberly crouched down in front of her daughter, forcing a smile she didn't feel.

"We're going to be okay, Rose. I promise."
But deep down, she wasn't sure. Not anymore.