Lost in You

by Lexi Blake

  Ezra’s shoulders straightened. “Damn it. Do we know where the keys to those locks are? Please tell me he didn’t swallow them.”

  “He left them on the kitchen table,” she said. They needed to get moving. They had to get to Kronberg.

  “I got this.” Kim pulled a pin out of her hair and had the cuffs unlocked in seconds.

  “Of course, you do,” Ezra said with a sigh. “Get dressed. I’m calling in to update Damon and Big Tag and then we’ll go after them. You’re sure they’re at Kronberg?”

  She sat up, pulling the blanket around her. “It’s our best bet.”

  “I’ll check the trackers.” Ezra had his phone in his hand, staring down at the screen. “Unless they’re hanging out two blocks away, I would bet they got rid of their trackers. I’m going to kill them.”

  “Not if Levi kills them first, you won’t.” She stood and walked to the closet. “I’m going with you. Someone needs to make sure they didn’t completely clear out the armory.”

  Ezra groaned and put the phone to his ear. “I’ll check. Hey, Damon. Yeah, I know it’s late but we’ve got a bunch of puppies who’ve slipped their leashes.”

  She dropped the blanket and reached for her clothes. The good news was she always carried a pair of athletic pants, a black T-shirt, and black hoodie. It was a force of habit left over from her MI6 days and one she was thankful she’d never gotten out of.

  “So this is exciting,” Kim said. “I thought burying Emily would be the funnest thing I did all day but now I might get to kill Levi.”

  She shimmied into her underwear while giving Kim her sternest side eye.

  Kim shrugged. “I’m a ‘look on the bright side’ girl. I can’t help it. I feel super bad about all the dead people except Emily, because she was a ho-bag, but this job is all about making lemonade. It looks like you and Robert are solid now that his wife is permanently gone.”

  “He left me handcuffed to a bed.”

  “Did he take care of you beforehand?” Her eyes narrowed. “Dude, if he stripped you down and handcuffed you and didn’t get you off, I will help you take his balls.”

  “We had a perfectly fine time up until the moment he decided to go and do something spectacularly stupid.”

  “So you two are okay now?”

  “Our relationship doesn’t…” She’d been ready to say their relationship didn’t matter, but it did. “I love him. I’ll very likely forgive him completely if he finds a way to survive. He wouldn’t be Robert if he didn’t go. I wasn’t thinking straight or I would have suspected what would happen. There’s not a chance Rob leaves Owen here alone. They’re family and he takes that seriously.”

  “Yeah, well, you had a day.” Kim grabbed the trainers she’d left by the door and tossed them to Ari. “You can’t blame yourself. We couldn’t figure out if it was Dante or Sasha. Turns out it was both. Beck’s feeling guilty, too. Not that he talked to me about it, but he did talk to me. This has been the most the man has talked to me in years. Oh, sure it was mostly him bitching about my grave digging techniques, but there’s progress there. He let me in the same car with him even after we finished putting Emily in the hole. I was kind of worried he would get in the van and leave me out in the middle of the forest, but he didn’t.”

  It was sad that not being left behind to walk fifty miles back to town was a relationship goal for Kim.

  Kim held up the cuffs. “He padded them for you so you couldn’t nick yourself and use the blood as a lubricant. That’s super romantic when you think about it.”

  “We need to retrain your brain.” She pulled the T-shirt over her head and started working on the trainers.

  “Or I need to understand that it’s over,” Kim said wistfully. “He’s not the same man and I’m not the woman he married. I’ll always love Beck, but it might be time to let him go.”

  Ariel pulled on the hoodie. “It’s past time.” She wanted the best for her friend and Ezra was toxic around her. He was a lovely man until the minute Kim walked in the door, and then he turned into something else. “I promise if we get through this, I’ll set you up with a nice man.”

  “Really?” Kim asked as she grabbed Ariel’s backpack and held it out for her. “Big Tag’s actually got a couple of pretty cute guys. I wouldn’t mind being introduced to Michael Malone.”

  It was good to know Kim used CIA files to pick out potential dates. “I can make that happen.”

  “If you two are done setting up Solo’s Tinder profile, maybe we should get down to the armory and suit up. They took some of the C-4, so I think you’re right. They’re going after the safe. Before he died, Peter wrote up a memo about a man who’d contacted him on the Dark Web. He said that’s where the secrets were kept.” Ezra’s expression had gone arctic. “Or you can plan your double dates.”

  Kim’s face went stony. “We’re ready to go whenever you are. I’ve already got the building mapped out. I was planning on stealing that data if I had to.”

  “Of course you were,” Ezra replied before nodding to Ariel. “Damon told us to stay put. We’re going in anyway.”

  “I’m sure it was more of a suggestion.” Damon couldn’t honestly believe they were going to sit on their hands while their men were out there in danger. He’d been behind a desk for far too long.

  “It was a lot of yelling in that weirdly polite British way, and I think he promised to go medieval on me if I get in trouble.” Ezra turned. “You two grab another couple of pistols. We’ll talk about plans in the van.”

  He strode away.

  Kim tossed her the backpack. “Let’s get you loaded up. I think he might have been jealous.”

  Ariel followed her out the door.

  It was time to save her man.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Levi Green hadn’t come alone, but the team surrounding him was different this time. When Robert and his team had walked out of the office door, they’d found themselves completely surrounded.

  “Mercenaries?” He had his hands up as the group of six heavily armed men worked to pull the weapons off his body.

  The man who’d been assigned to him took his second pistol and grunted something to one of the others in German. Or a language like it. He studied them carefully. They didn’t move like a group that had worked together for years. The two dealing with Jax seemed to be having an argument.

  The man who’d just patted Tucker down glanced Robert’s way. “It’s none of your business.”

  Peter or Solo would have known if Levi was working with German intelligence, so logic told him these men were mercenaries. The previous times they’d gone up against Levi, he’d either been surrounded by a military special ops team or had Agency backup. Why was he working with mercenaries? The good news was they could handle mercenaries.

  “I hope everyone understands that we’re dealing with a group of paid contractors and not US or German military,” Robert said.

  Jax nodded. “Yes, I got that.”

  “I did, too.” Owen’s low growl sounded like a promise.

  A large man was rifling through his bag. “We used to be German military. Don’t think we’re amateurs.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” It was good to have confirmation.

  Tucker merely nodded his way. They all understood they didn’t have to be careful. They would be very reluctant to go hard at US soldiers who were simply doing their job. Those soldiers weren’t briefed on which part of the Agency they were working for. A Special Forces team didn’t receive pamphlets educating them on what an asshole their boss was. They did their job, and Robert wasn’t about to kill them over it.

  But a mercenary was just in it for the money, which meant his men could fight with everything they had.

  “You will take the package to the boss.” The head of this particular group pointed a gun at Tucker.

  “I’m going with him.” He glanced at Owen. “I will bring her back. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

  Owen’s jaw was
tight, and the look on his face let Robert know he would find a way to get clear of his captors. Still, he nodded. “See that you do. And watch your back. I don’t like this at all.”

  He knew exactly what Owen was worried about. Why bother to force them to march down to the lab when Levi could easily have been waiting right outside the doors with his hired army? Why all this drama when all Levi needed to do was reach out and take the bag in Tucker’s hands?

  Because he was planning something. He wanted something beyond the files, or he had a plan in case he didn’t get them.

  He looked at Tucker and nodded again and then started for the elevator. There wasn’t anything to do. Rebecca was down there and they had to walk into the trap or they could lose her.

  Ariel wouldn’t be happy with him if he got shot again. She’d been there the first time Levi had shot him.

  Don’t you die on me. Don’t you dare die on me.

  Those were the words he’d come to consciousness to in that field in Canada when Levi had first taken Rebecca and Owen into custody and shot him. Ariel had managed to get him out of the car, stabilized him, and then she’d broken down. His angel had been crying when he’d finally managed to fight his way back. And he’d heard the quiet words she said. They’d been like a prayer from her lips.

  I love you.

  He’d just remembered. She had said the words to him. God, he wasn’t going to let today be the last time between them. No. He would get back to her and make her understand why he’d done what he’d done. He would hang around until she forgave him.

  If he survived.

  He followed the three men escorting he and Tucker. Tucker had slung the bag over his left shoulder, leaving his dominant hand ready if he needed to use it. He glanced Robert’s way as if to say you know we could still take them.

  He and Tucker had always had this shorthand. From the day they’d met, somehow he’d been closer to Tucker than the rest. Theo had been his closest friend and Tucker had Jax, but there had always been this weird connection between the two of them.

  He wouldn’t have been able to allow Tucker to do this alone. It was a damn good thing Levi Green had realized that. But then Levi might not have known that Jax was coming, and he certainly hadn’t wanted to deal with Owen, so Robert had been his only choice.

  “Why you?” The elevator was moving toward the fourth floor.

  “Why me?” Tucker’s eyes were on the display above the doors, marking each floor they moved past. “Why would he want me to bring the bag?”

  “He specifically asked for you. Why would he do that? Why not let me handle the whole thing?”

  “You should concentrate on getting out of this alive,” one of the mercenaries said.

  Tucker glanced Robert’s way. “He wants something from me.”

  “Don’t you be a fucking martyr,” Robert ordered.

  The doors opened and the man behind him pushed Robert forward. He stumbled and found his footing. Up ahead he saw a wall made entirely of glass. This part of the building was sleek and ultra-modern. There was a reception desk to his side, but it was empty. The whole place was eerily quiet, and up ahead he could see Levi Green standing in the middle of the lab. He wore what Robert liked to think of as his asshole working outfit. All black, with a bulletproof vest over his chest and a ballcap on his head. It told Robert he was taking this scene seriously and Robert should too.

  The mercenary at the front of their group swiped a card over the reader and the glass doors opened with an audible swoosh. The lab was white, almost too bright given how dark the night beyond was. Not that he could tell. The shades were drawn, giving him the impression of being inside an egg. Everything here was white, from the walls to the long desks to the laptops. To his left there was another set of doors that seemed to lead deeper into the lab.

  McDonald’s labs had been like this. White and always scrubbed clean, though there would be moments when blood would drop to the cold floor, stark red against all that purity.

  He couldn’t let that be Tucker’s blood this time.

  “I meant what I said.” He muttered the words under his breath as his heart rate ticked up and the adrenaline started to flow. “Don’t you dare walk into that room with even the slightest thought of not coming back out.”

  “I’m going to do what I have to do,” Tucker said with grim resolve. “I’ll trade myself for Rebecca if that’s what he wants.”

  “Why would he want that?” Rebecca was the prize here. Rebecca was the one who could look through the research and put things together for Levi. Tucker’s medical skills were buried deep, and they came out at the oddest of times. When he was under stress, Tucker could do some amazing things, but Robert wasn’t sure he could study research and come up with the same things Rebecca could.

  So why Tucker? For that matter, why the two of them?

  Whatever happened he would have the answers very soon.

  * * * *

  Ariel strode toward the lift, leaving the sleeping guard behind. She had no way of knowing how long the man had been out, but she knew who to blame. She and Ezra and Solo had only made it as far as the parking garage of the building, but she already knew she was in the right place. “They’re here.”

  Ezra followed her inside. “Let’s hope they’ve managed to take them all out the way they did that one. He’s still alive at least. I’m sick of dealing with dead bodies.”

  “Hey, at least Emily was pretty easy to carry.” Kim was the only one who seemed comfortable with their mission. “I had to bury a six-foot, seven-inch Russian operative once. He didn’t fit in the trunk at all. Shop class came in handy that day.”

  The doors closed but didn’t move. Ariel reached out to push the button that would keep the lift in place while they decided what to do.

  Ezra’s eyes slid his ex-wife’s way, and Ariel didn’t miss the way his lips curled up before he schooled his expression again. “We know the safe they’re looking for is on floor twenty-two. I say we go up to twenty and use the stairs the rest of the way.”

  Ariel’s heart nearly stopped when the panel overhead shifted.

  She immediately brought her weapon up, ready to shoot whoever had been hitching a ride on this lift. Kim and Ezra had gone into similar positions.

  “Hey, guys, how about you don’t shoot.” A familiar voice floated down. “I’m just your friendly neighborhood Taggart.”

  Theo Taggart lowered himself down and dropped into the lift.

  Ariel relaxed. “How the hell did you make it here so fast? I assume Rob called you in.”

  Theo was dressed for an op. He’d pushed back the black balaclava that would have covered his face and allowed him to disappear in the shadows. “I was already in Germany. I came over to do some research into Emily Seeger’s background. I had just checked into the hotel when Rob called. I’m his secret weapon. But I might be so secret I’m ineffective. We don’t have comms, so I’m not exactly sure where the guys are.”

  “Hey, I’m Solo. It’s a name and a state of being,” Kim said with a flirty smile.

  Theo reached out a hand to shake hers. “Theo, though my nickname is Taken.”

  “And his wife likes to shoot people,” Ezra pointed out with a grumpy look on his face.

  “Then I’m sure we could be friends.” Kim let go of the handsome Taggart’s hand. “Sorry. I’m trying to get back in the dating game. It’s just a little practice.”

  Ezra turned to his ex. “Seriously, we’re on a mission and you’re trolling for a date?”

  She shrugged. “We’re always on a mission. It’s not like I can really get on Tinder.”

  “You’re impossible.” Ezra gave Theo his full attention. “What do you know about this cluster fuck of an op?”

  “I know it’s not going the way Rob hoped,” Theo replied.

  “Levi’s here.” Her stomach took a deep dive.

  Theo nodded. “He is, but there’s something going on. I infiltrated the building a few hours ago. I’ve been in the ve
ntilation system trying to get a lay of the land, so to speak. I found an excellent perch above the security offices where I watched the cameras. Levi came in with a team of twelve men I’m fairly certain he picked up at Mercenaries ’r Us. I would warn Rob, but like I said, they had to go in without communications. They pulled this together very quickly.”

  “Levi’s not working with a black ops team?” Ezra asked.

  “No, and that’s the funny thing,” Theo replied. “Because I have some friends who told me there’s actually a team in town.”

  “If there is a black ops team in Munich that would be classified,” Kim said.

  Ezra’s eyes narrowed as he focused in on his ex-wife. “What do you know about it?”

  “I don’t, but I would like to know who is leaking classified information.” Kim was no longer looking at Theo like he was a potential way to poke at Ezra. She was now taking the man very seriously.

  “I’ll never tell,” Theo promised. “But I will say I’m worried that there’s a team in town but Levi chose to work with a bunch of contractors.”

  “Levi is having trouble with his bosses because the methods he’s using are attracting too much attention,” Kim explained. “I would bet he doesn’t want a team with him because the team tends to be debriefed at some point. They’ll answer questions he would rather avoid. Which makes me wonder what he’s doing in the first place. How advanced is this safe?”

  Theo shrugged. “I could have done the job myself if I’d had a little C-4. Rob knows I’m here. Jax is here, too.”

  “Of course he is,” Ezra said with a little growl.

  Theo ignored him. “Jax is with the others, but I didn’t get to them before they went in to blow the safe. I’m afraid Levi is going to take them all into custody. I know where Levi is and where he’s holding Rebecca. It’s a lab on the fourth floor, but it’s better protected than the rest of the building. The ventilation system is completely different and I don’t fit. None of us will. If we’re going in, we have to use the door, and those are heavily guarded.”