Relentless, An Option Zero Novel

They met in darkness. Each one going through their own personal hell, they gave each other hope and a reason to live. Their connection was real and true, but fate had a different plan.

OZ operative Liam Stryker is known for his bravery, his wit, and his ability to find an escape when there’s no way out. He’s also a man on a mission. He needs to find her. She’s out there somewhere. He refuses to believe she’s gone. Someday, somehow, he will find the woman he’s never seen but loves with all his heart. And if it’s the last thing he does, he’ll find the people responsible for causing her pain.

Aubrey Starr once had a plan for her future, but when her life is derailed and upended, she’s motivated to create a new one. As an award-winning documentary filmmaker, she’s known for digging deep to uncover and expose evil. Few know about the past that drives her or the man who inspires her. She never knew his real name, never got to see his face, but without him, she wouldn’t have survived. Even though she doubts that he’s still alive, she dreams that one day she’ll see him.

Evil takes many avenues and insinuates itself into every aspect of life, causing havoc and pain. Some are born to fight against it with every fiber of their being. Others are thrown into its path and have no choice but to stand up to it or die. Liam and Aubrey have been on parallel paths for years. When their paths finally converge, it’s as if life has given them another chance, and everything has fallen into place.

But there are enemies out there who will do everything they can to make sure Liam and Aubrey never find the happiness they seek. When events take a tragic turn, they’re faced with the knowledge that fate has thrown them a new, cruel twist.

And this time, there’s no way out.

Chapter One

Twelve Years Ago
Damascus, Syria

Liam Stryker winced at the sound of fists slamming into flesh. It happened again, then again. Jaw rigid with fury, teeth clinched, Liam stayed quiet. He’d learned that shouting, saying anything at all, only spurred the bastards on. He listened in silence, suffering along with his friend. And knowing they would be coming for him next.

Dying was easy. It was living that Liam was struggling with. What made a man give up? How did he decide he’d just had enough? A part of him wanted to know, another part thought it’d be best not to have an answer. That might make it easy…might make their job more fun. They wanted him to give up, to reveal all his secrets and then just die. Damned if he’d make it easy for them.

A cell door opened and then clanged shut. The interrogation was over for the time being. A groan came from Xavier, and the agony in the sound sent a new surge of rage gushing through Liam’s bloodstream. Even though he would be next up, he was glad Xavier’s beating was over. Liam had suffered with every blow, every grunt, and every curse. That was part of their torture, too. Their captors hoped that hearing each other’s pain took a little more of their strength each time. Little did they know that such things only made them more determined to live. These people would pay…they would pay with everything.

“Hey, you okay?”

There was no answer and Liam closed his eyes in fear. Had they finally defeated one of the strongest men he knew? Xavier had been shot when they’d been taken. Liam had been conscious, but his hands had been tied and a bag had covered his head. He hadn’t been able to see the injury for himself. Xavier had told him it wasn’t bad, only a flesh wound, but how long before infection set in? How long had they been here? Felt like a year, but he figured it hadn’t been more than a week. Still, who the hell knew when your every waking hour was spent in agony?

“Hey? You hear me over there? Hang in there. We’re going to get out of here.”

“That you?”

Relief flooded Liam. The bastards hadn’t won yet. “Yeah. Still here. How you doing?”

“Been better.” He snorted out a dry, very Xavier-like chuckle. “Been worse, too.”

“You about ready to get out of this place?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Good. Been thinking…”

And with that, Liam began to tap on the wall. He’d devised the secret code when he’d first started deep-cover missions. He and Xavier had communicated with it on numerous ops. Liam hadn’t used it in a while, but Xavier would have no trouble following. Communicating wasn’t the problem. The plan was. Even as he tapped, a part of Liam knew it would likely get them killed. But if they didn’t try, they wouldn’t survive anyway. It was as simple as that.

“We can do that,” Xavier tapped. “I can—”

Liam sat up, his ears straining. “Shh. Hold that thought. Somebody’s coming.”

Laughter, followed by curses, came closer and closer. What had gotten the monsters riled up this time? Were they already coming back for him?

“Get off me!”

No. Apparently they had a new prisoner to torture. Another American, from the sound of his accent. An extremely pissed one. Which was good. Anger kept hopelessness at bay.

The next few moments were painful as Liam listened to their questions and the brutal aftermath when the man refused to answer with anything other than curses.

Having been on the receiving end of their interrogation tactics more than once, Liam knew what the guy was feeling. Anger, pain, and a pit-deep feeling that the agony would never end.

For what seemed like an hour or more, they worked the guy over. When they finally got tired of not getting any answers, they issued a few guttural warnings that the next time they wouldn’t be so easy on him. The cell door clanged shut, and the assholes stomped away.

Liam waited a couple of minutes and then called out, “Hey, you still with us?”

When there was no answer, Liam figured they’d gone too far. “Guess they got the worst of the poor bastard,” he said to Xavier.

Before Xavier could respond, a deep voice growled, “Don’t count this poor bastard out yet.”

Relieved, Liam said, “How bad are you hurt?”

“Been better…been worse.”

Liam smiled at the similar answer Xavier had given earlier.

“What’s your name, man?”

“How do I know you’re not a plant to get something out of me?”

Reasonable question, considering the circumstances.

“You don’t.”

“Then I guess I’ll remain nameless.”

A chuckle came from Xavier’s cell. “You’ll have to forgive him. He’s only had me to talk to for weeks.”

“You two came in together?”

“Something like that.”

“Who are these bozos?” the stranger asked.

“Not sure yet,” Xavier said. “They’re not much on sharing.”

“I’ve heard English, French, Arabic, and German,” Liam added.

“Nice to know I was sold to such a diverse group.”

“You were sold?”

“That’s my guess. I was in Colombia, got attacked by some kind of cartel. Things got bloody and bad. Next time I woke up, my surroundings looked nothing like Colombia.”

“Hate to be the one to break the news to you, man, but you’re in Syria,” Liam said.

“Ah, hell.”

There was a wealth of meaning in that statement. One that Liam could identify with. There were so many factions and groups here, it was hard to know who was responsible and what they wanted.

Not that he and Xavier didn’t know what these goons wanted from them. That had been made clear the first day they arrived. And they would die before they gave it up.

“How long you two been here?” the newcomer asked.

“Hard to say,” Liam said. “What do you think, Bear?”

“Bear?” the man said.

“Since we’re not saying names, I thought we’d just give each other nicknames. The guy in the other cell is Bear. I’m—”

“Let me guess. Lion?”

“That’ll work. You can be Tiger.”

“So tell me, Bear, does Lion always talk incessantly, or do I just bring it out in him?”

For the first time in days, both Xavier and Liam laughed. It felt good, real good. Liam was liking this guy more and more.

“Yep. My mama used to tell me that I—” Liam cut off when heavy footsteps headed their way. The footsteps stopped at his cell. His body tense, he waited. He knew what was coming.

The cell door opened, and Liam didn’t even bother to look. He refused to give them even that much respect.

Grabbing him under his armpits, they picked him up and carried him toward the door. They were taking him away? That had never happened. They’d always interrogated him inside his cell. What was going on?

“Hey! Where’re you taking me?”

Refusing to go without a fight, Liam put all his energy into kicking and throwing punches. Using his bound hands, he swung with all his might, making contact with a hard jaw. He had less than a second to feel triumph before a fist slammed into his head, and he went limp. The last thing he heard was Xavier shouting.

Chapter Two

A strange, unfamiliar noise jogged him awake. Blinking open heavy, swollen eyes, he looked blearily around. This wasn’t his regular cell. He’d figured after the questions and the subsequent beating, they would’ve returned him to his old one. This one was cleaner, in better condition. Not only was there a toilet, as opposed to a bucket, he was lying on a narrow cot, and a small, high window blew a cold breeze through the openings in the bars. Liam inhaled the first fresh air he’d felt in days. Icy air went through him, waking him further. The beating hadn’t been as bad this time. Just a few good punches, three or four kicks, and then a solid head thunk. So what was the point of moving him here?

In the midst of wondering, he heard a sound again. Someone was in the cell next to him. Before he could speak, a harsh cough followed by a moan of misery had him on alert. The moan had been distinctly female.

Oh hell, they’d taken a woman hostage?

“Hello?” he said.

Like a faucet being switched off, the noise ended abruptly.

“Sorry,” he said, “didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Hello?” The voice was tentative, most definitely female, and painfully hoarse. From the hacking cough he’d heard earlier, he imagined she’d been ill for a while.

“Are you okay?” Stupid question. Of course she wasn’t okay, but for the first time in years, he was stumped for the right words.

“No.” Another harsh cough, and then she continued, “Not really.”

“How long have you been here?”

“I don’t know. A few days…maybe a week?”

“Have they given you any medical treatment?”

“No.” She sighed and then coughed again. “I don’t think making me well is in their plan.”

“You’re American?”

“Yes.”

“You were abducted?”

“Yes. One minute I was in the market looking at a scarf, and the next minute I had a hood over my head, and I was in some kind of vehicle.”

“Have they hurt you?”

There was a long pause, much too long for the answer to be favorable. “Yes,” she finally said softly.

There was no need for her to elaborate. And since she wasn’t dead, they weren’t through with her yet. The chances of her getting out of this hellhole without being hurt again, or killed, were almost zero.

“Were you with friends, relatives?”

“No. I came to Paris to do some research for—”

“Paris?”

“Yes.”

Telling her that she was no longer in Paris without freaking her out was probably not going to happen. But she deserved to know.

“You’re not in Paris. You’re in Syria.”

There was a long pause and then the shocked words, “That’s not possible.”

“I wish it wasn’t, but it is.”

“But how…why?”

“Were you knocked out?”

“Yes…wait…no. Not knocked out. I think maybe they gave me an injection of something. My brain was all fuzzy for a while.”

Being drugged would account for the confusion. What was less apparent was why she’d been taken in the first place. He knew almost nothing about their captors, but kidnapping a woman in Paris and bringing her here to brutalize her seemed like an awful lot of trouble. There had to be something they wanted from her.

“You were in Paris alone?”

“Yes. My cousin was supposed to come, too, but she got sick at the last minute. I decided to come alone. I’m up for a part in a play. My character is French. I can read and understand French, but I can’t speak it as well as I need to. I thought a few days in Paris would help.”

“You’re an actress?”

“Yes…well, that and a college student.”

Liam’s heart hurt for her. She was young and naïve…an innocent. Even if she survived and returned home, that innocence would be gone.

“You have any family that would pay your ransom?”

“You think that’s why they took me? To ransom me?”

That would be a best-case scenario for her. And the one that made the most sense. Didn’t mean they wouldn’t abuse her while they had her, but if someone was willing to pay for her release, there was a chance she could survive.

Ransom wasn’t the reason for his and Xavier’s abductions. Even if it had been, they were SOL. No one was going to pay a ransom for them. Being on a black ops mission didn’t always mean you were on your own, but in this case it most definitely did. Five people had known about their op. The question of which one of those five had betrayed them would have to be answered after they got out of here. For now, he had enough on his plate.

Their captors apparently had prisoners here for a variety of reasons. What was this place? Some kind of eclectic prison clearinghouse?

“Are you still there?”

Liam shook his head to clear it. “Yeah…sorry. What questions have they asked you?”

“None, really. And they haven’t answered any of mine. My parents aren’t wealthy…I’m not wealthy. I don’t know why they would think I am.” She paused and then added, “Do you…are you here for ransom, too?”

For the first time, it occurred to him that she could be a plant. The delay in wondering about such a thing showed just how screwed up his head was. She could be a sister or wife to one of these assholes. Soften him up, charm him, and make him spill his secrets.

That wouldn’t happen. He knew how to keep secrets. But if she was legit, then he needed to figure out a way to help her.

“Do you think that’s why the other women are here, too? They’re going to ransom them?”

His heart sank. “Other women?”

“Yes. I was thrown in with them for a while, but when I couldn’t stop coughing, I think they decided I might be contagious. That’s when they put me in here by myself.”

It was clearer and much more dire than he’d feared. If they had other women here, ransoming her was not the likely reason she’d been taken. Things had just gotten a lot more serious and complicated. Human trafficking was rampant everywhere.

“Did you talk with any of the other women?”

“No. Not really. I was kind of out of it, but I saw them…heard them.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a half dozen or so.”

This changed things. He was going to have to scrap the escape plan he’d come up with before. No way in hell was he leaving this woman, or any of the others, behind.

She coughed again, the sound torturous. She wasn’t going to last long without medical care.

In a raspy voice, she asked tentatively, “Do you…can you tell me your name?”

He delayed in answering and her next words told him she understood immediately. “I’m sorry…you don’t know me. I could be an enemy for all you know. I’m not, but you don’t know that.”

If she was a plant, she was a good one because Liam suddenly wanted to tell her everything. If that wasn’t a dangerous thought, he didn’t know what was.

Before he could say anything, she hurriedly added, “Could you just talk to me? Even if it’s not the truth, it would help so much to know that I’m not alone.”

That he could do. His mother often said that Liam had started talking at three months old and hadn’t stopped since.

“My name is Lion.”

“Oh…okay.” He thought he heard a smile in her voice as she said, “Then you can call me…” She paused for a moment and then sighed. “I think my creativity is on hiatus. The only thing I can come up with is Cat.”

“Nothing wrong with Cat.”

“Okay, Cat it is. So, Lion, tell me something about yourself.”

He hesitated again, wanting the impossible. He wished they were just two people who’d met under very different circumstances, found each other interesting, and wanted to spend time together.

“Remember,” she said softly, “it doesn’t have to be true.”

Liam shook his head at his stupid thoughts. The way things were going, neither of them would get out of here alive. Wishing that they could really get to know each other was an idiotic hope.

“I grew up on Mars.”

“I…what?”

He grinned at the surprise in her voice. “Yep. Just came down here last week for a look-see, and these bastards grabbed me faster than we Martians can say jackrabbit.”

She giggled and Liam thought it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. A harsh cough followed, and he winced at how painful it sounded.

Finally recovering, she asked hoarsely, “Why were you visiting Earth?”

“Things have been boring on Mars lately.”

“Tell me about Mars. What does it look like? Do you have family there?”

Settling into a dirty corner, Liam stretched out his long legs and began to talk. Weaving a story of his childhood on Mars, he created scenarios of daring adventures on the Red Planet. He talked about his family, his sisters, nieces and nephews. He even told her about his orange cat named Toby. The wilder and sillier he got, the happier she seemed.

His dad had been the storyteller in the family. Family story hour right before bedtime was one of Liam’s favorite memories. He and his sisters would sit wide-eyed while Hugh Stryker entertained them. The more unbelievable the tale, the more they liked it.

After his dad passed, years went by without their unique family tradition. When Robin, his oldest sister, had her first child, Liam took it upon himself to carry on for his dad. In the years since, he had regaled his many nieces and nephews with all sorts of wild stories. Some he made up, but many of them were the ones his dad had told.

He missed those days. Wasn’t even sure he’d ever see his family again.

“Lion, why did you stop?”

“Sorry, got stuck in the memories. You want to try it?”

“You mean I should tell you a story?”

“Yeah. Unless your throat’s too sore.”

“No. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

“Good. Tell me a story. And remember, it doesn’t have to be real.”

“All right…let’s see. I grew up in Caldoria.”

“And where is that?”

“It’s a magical, invisible kingdom. Only people with names that start with C can live there or even see it.”

“What happens in the magical, invisible kingdom of Caldoria?”

She started slowly, haltingly, but finally got into the story of how an unassuming little Caldorian like herself became the ruler of the entire kingdom. It was sweet, funny, and touching.

When she trailed off, he knew she’d likely worn herself out. Seconds later, he heard shallow breaths and figured she’d fallen asleep. That was good. She needed all the rest she could get.

He pushed to his feet and walked around the small area, testing his strength and injuries. Not too bad. Nothing broken. Just bruises and a few cuts. Even though he hadn’t had a decent meal in a while, he was young, healthy, and strong. His stamina would hold for a while.

He’d been right about the cell. It was newer and in better condition than the other one. Something else he noticed was the camera. There had been an obvious microphone in his other cell, but this one had both a mic and a camera in the corner. They could see and hear everything.

The reason they’d brought him to this one was easy to figure out. At that realization, his gut twisted. They wanted him to make a connection with Cat. Once he had, they would use her to make him talk. There was no other reason to bring them together. And he’d fallen right in with their plan.

He had taken an oath to protect and defend his country. He would do that to his last breath. The secrets he held were substantial and deadly serious. A lot of people would die if he spilled his guts. Weighing that against what would happen to Cat wasn’t easy, but he knew one irrefutable truth. No matter if he spilled his secrets—told every single thing he knew—Cat would not be spared. Yeah, they’d use her to get to him, but once they were through with her, then what? There was another reason she’d been grabbed from a Paris marketplace and brought here to Syria. The fact that there were other women here, too, was a good indicator of what would happen once they’d finished with her.

He was going to have to do some quick thinking if he and Cat were going to survive what lay ahead for them.