Ekko jogged forward, pulling him with her. He wasn’t against making that last dash in a hurry.
The doorman snatched at the door, barely getting it open before Silas shoved Ekko inside. He whirled, peering out on the street, but no one paid them any mind save for the doorman in his red and black livery.
“Thanks,” Silas said to the man, pretending that had been the reason for the abrupt stop.
He turned and found that Ekko had retreated inside and stood with her arms around herself. The contacts made her eyes look green and huge. Her skin color was paler than normal and her lips pressed into a tight line. She’d been terrified. But she was alive.
“Come on.” Silas turned her and kept one hand on her back, the other on his gun concealed under his coat.
The hotel had decent enough security. They’d supposedly added a few more people to the shifts with the UN team here. But what kind of training would they have? Could they go up against whoever was after Ekko?
Were there people after her? Or was he making connections again?
Silas stepped onto the elevator after Ekko and shook his head. He breathed a little easier once the doors shut.
It was just the two of them now.
He turned toward Ekko.
She stood in the corner, arms wrapped around her, staring at the floor. The coat covered her from shoulder to mid-thigh. And what was that smell? Was it him? Had he stepped in something?
He’d never seen her look anything except confident. No part of him liked seeing her backed into a literal corner and scared. It probably said something about how he was wired, but so be it.
The elevator dinged. He turned his attention on the doors, his hand still on his weapon.
A maid walked down the hall, her stride quick, towels in hand.
Two guys from one of the camera crews stood outside a door talking.
“Come on.” Silas held his hand out to Ekko.
She took it in both of hers, holding on tightly. They didn’t run or jog, but they walked with purpose and speed to the door of Ekko’s suite. He paused outside, her keycard in hand and looked at her.
Ekko lifted her chin and blinked at him.
“Wait here,” he said.
Her lips parted and her eyes widened.
She hadn’t considered that whoever tried to grab her in the park might also try her room?
He didn’t want her to be scared of her own accommodations, but his job was to keep her safe. He had to be overly cautious on her account.
Silas ducked into the room and drew his weapon. There weren’t many options for a man of any size to hide, so he made his way through the front room quickly. The bathroom only needed a glance inside.
So far nothing had been disturbed.
The bedroom looked as if housekeeping had just left, and he knew for a fact Ekko hadn’t allowed them in here. Which meant she tidied up after herself.
Nothing was on the floor. Her things were neatly out of sight or lined up on the dresser.
Most notably, there was no one in the bedroom or the closets.
The room was clear.
He returned to the entrance to the suite and waved Ekko inside. She practically threw herself over the threshold and shut the door, flipping the lock.
“What happened?” he asked as soon as they were alone.
She held up her hand and brushed past him. “Not yet.”
“I want answers.” He followed her. “I need to know what the hell just happened.”
She stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut in his face.
“Ekko.” Silas pounded his fist on the door. “Why did you leave the hotel? What were you doing out there?”
And why had someone tried to grab her? Did she know the dead man in the park? Was that connected to her? What was she involved with? Why hadn’t she told him?
The unmistakable sound of retching had him taking a step back.
Ekko’s pale face and fear-filled eyes hung in his memory.
He turned and yanked the cap off his head. The room was too warm for layers. His coat went next. He laid both over the arm of the sofa and went to stand at the windows.
It had an excellent view of the police on the street and in the park. In fact, the entire park was laid out in front of him like a map.
Was all of this planned? What was she doing?
He knew from his own research that Ekko wasn’t a fan of Dauria getting representation at the United Nations. How her video game streaming and her political opinions came together wasn’t clear to him, but that was all he had to go on.
Silas remained standing there, listening to the sounds of Ekko moving about the bathroom.
Why did she have to be so stubborn?
The minutes stretched on.
Was she coming out of the bathroom tonight? Should he say something?
He was contemplating texting his boss for tips from his wife when the bathroom door opened. Ekko held the coat at arm’s length. Some color had returned to her face, though she still seemed off balance to him.
“This reeks,” she said.
Was that what he’d smelled earlier?
Silas crossed his arms over his chest.
They stood there a moment and he had to wonder if she intended for him to deal with her stolen goods. She’d taken the coat. Not him.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Yes.” Her gaze dropped to the carpet. “I... I get sick sometimes when I’m nervous.”
That was news to him, but not the part he needed to know about. “What happened tonight, Ekko?”
She blew out a breath and walked to the entry where she deposited the coat on the floor by the door.
He kept quiet, waiting her out.
Would she tell him the truth? Or would she try to feed him some story? A line?
Ekko whirled to face him. “I just wanted to go outside, okay?”
He shook his head. Somehow he was disappointed in her. “That’s how it’s going to be, huh?”
“That’s how it is.”
“You went out there alone for a reason.” Silas stared at her. He had years of experience watching people, waiting for the right moment.
Ekko flinched. She tried to cover it up, but she wasn’t that good.
He let his arms fall to his side and took a step toward her. “Is it coincidence that when you decide to slip out someone died and two men tried to grab you? Maybe kill you, too?”
Please let me be wrong...
Ekko couldn’t look at him. Her chest heaved and she breathed as if she’d just run miles.
It was a fear response.
She could just be recalling the man grabbing her. It didn’t mean the sneaking suspicion in his gut was right.
“What are you talking about?” Ekko gaped at him.
“I’m trying to understand what happened.”
“By saying I got a man killed?” Her voice rose. She was shouting now.
Silas regarded her for a moment. “That’s not what I said. Do you think you got a man killed?”
“You’re unbelievable.” Ekko stalked toward the bedroom.
Silas stepped between her and the door. “I’m trying to do my job, but you’d rather yell at me than answer a damn question. You’re welcome for saving you, by the way.”
He bit the inside of his mouth to keep from saying anything else.
Damn ungrateful woman.
“Oh, thank you for following me everywhere. Fucking creep.” Ekko pushed past him into the bedroom and slammed the door.
Silas shoved his hand through his hair.
This job was so not worth the paycheck right now.
He took a step toward the door and pitched his voice loud enough so she had to hear him. “Until I get answers, I’m sleeping on this sofa.”
Truth was he couldn’t shake the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. If she wanted to call him a creep for doing his job and keeping her alive, that was her prerogative. Keeping her breathing was his.
&n
bsp; WEDNESDAY. PARK, ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia.
Igney watched the retreating backs of the target. His head swam and he was seeing two sets of figures in the shadows when he knew there was only one.
Days of recon. Hours spent in this damn fucking park. And all for nothing.
He slid the knife into the sheath concealed by his boot. It wouldn’t do for the cops to find the murder weapon in his hand.
Well, the night wasn’t a complete waste.
They had eliminated a known dissenter on this side of the border. Igney knew the man had provided documents for people fleeing Dauria. Taking that person out of the equation meant that the DSS would recover more of their errant people.
Footsteps swished in the grass.
Pasley groaned and Igney caught sight of the man moving his arm.
They’d been taken down by a single man.
Igney grit his teeth.
Whoever that man was, he wanted him dead.
“We need to go,” Pasley said, his voice pitched low. Though Dauria wasn’t that far away, speaking their native language would draw unwanted attention.
“Yeah.” Igney jerked his head in a nod, then wished he hadn’t as the world slowly began to spin around him.
That wasn’t good.
“Are we going after her?” Pasley asked.
“No. Too many eyes.”
Igney took a step forward. When he didn’t face plant on the grass, he took another. The world could spin and he could walk. Not fast, but it would do.
A DSS operative couldn’t show weakness. If he did, Igney would expect Pasley to put him down, and Igney wasn’t ready to die yet. He had things to do, like find that man and kill him.
Pasley broke the silence after they’d left the park. “What do we do next?”
Igney grimaced.
They’d acted on chatter that something was going to happen. Something that coincided with the United Nations delegation visit. But what?
There was no proof that Ekko Kaur was involved, but no DSS operative would pass up the chance to take out one of those on their black list. Not that the list was an actual document or even something acknowledged by anyone. It was simply a list of names passed around the DSS circles of people who’d fled the country, those who spoke poorly about their president, or actively worked against Daurian interests.
“We stay close to the delegation, but out of sight. We still don’t know what’s going to happen.” Or if anything would happen. It was all guesswork right now. Even the loosest lips chattering away knew next to nothing.
“If they were meeting, she was getting documents. For who?” Pasley said out loud.
Igney didn’t bother answering. Pasley liked to talk things out, a habit that annoyed Igney to no end because the answers were always obvious.
If Ekko Kaur was taking a trip to the border with falsified passports, she was likely trying to get some of her family out. It was logical, and if she succeeded it wouldn’t matter. Those family members remaining in the country were nothing. School teachers, bakers, a few clerks. Unimportant people in the grand scheme of things.
No, the chatter had to be about something else. Ekko’s presence was merely coincidental.
3.
Wednesday. Hotel, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Ekko barely made it to the armchair in her room before her legs gave out on her. She caught herself and lowered herself onto the cushion. She drew her legs up tight against her chest and turned her head toward the window. This far up she couldn’t see directly down, but the flashing lights of emergency responders created a colorful display across her ceiling.
A man was dead.
She didn’t know for certain if the person who’d left the envelope for her was the one who’d died, but she also didn’t believe in coincidence.
Who was that person? Did they know what they’d died for?
She’d always known this plan was dangerous. Her parents and others had warned her that the things she said on camera could make her a target. It was widely known that DSS executioners sometimes killed people who spoke out. Part of the reason she’d made sure to plant her in front of any camera willing to film her was to protect herself.
Knowing it was dangerous and experiencing it were two very different things.
Ekko could still feel the man’s fingers digging into her. She pressed a finger against her bicep. A twinge of pain from a forming bruise made her stop.
She shuddered and hugged her legs tighter, making herself as small as possible.
If it weren’t for Silas, she’d be dead or worse.
He wasn’t stupid. He’d understood all too quickly exactly what had happened. Oh, she didn’t know for certain those two were a DSS kill squad, but she didn’t need to.
A small, worried voice in the back of her mind grew louder.
It made sense that the DSS goons might come after her. She was getting a lot of camera time and though she worded everything carefully she hadn’t said a positive thing about the Daurian regime yet.
How would those men have known to go after the person doing the drop in the park?
Ekko had been careful. Three people knew what she was really doing here and they were all trustworthy. But had they talked?
The only way the DSS team would have known to go after someone in the park was if someone talked. And if someone talked, what did that mean for tomorrow?
She swallowed and wished she could forget all of this, but she couldn’t.
The low murmur of a man’s voice on the other side of the wall drew her attention.
Silas.
He’d saved her life.
She should have thanked him. Instead she’d gone on the defensive.
God, she was being a bitch to him. In the beginning she’d hoped to push him away and get some space to accomplish her own goals. Now, she wished she could work with him. But she hadn’t hired him. One of her sponsors had. And that meant he didn’t answer to her. Therefore she couldn’t trust him.
Even if he had saved her life.
Ekko reached behind her and slid the envelope out from under her shirt. She stared at the brown envelope with bits of soil still stuck to it. She absently brushed the dirt off before opening the flap.
She pulled out a bundle secured with a rubber band.
A few documents, forged exit papers from Dauria, were wrapped around the one thing that really mattered.
The passport.
She swallowed and swiped her fingers across the leather cover.
All this trouble for some paper and ink.
Was it worth it?
She hoped it was.
Ekko flipped the passport over, checking the information she’d memorized.
All was in order.
Tomorrow she’d succeed or fail. Either way she’d just made sure the target on her was twice as large as it had been.
Her throat still burned but at least her stomach had settled.
Though she wanted to remain where she was, she couldn’t. Tomorrow was a big day and she needed to be ready for it.
She stood, making sure to keep out of sight from the window, and drew the curtains. Whatever was going on down on the ground was out of her control.
Ekko spent some time gathering her things. They’d leave early tomorrow and though her plan was to come back to the hotel, she also knew she needed to be ready for plans to change. The routine of packing her things away felt good. By the end of it she was more herself than she’d been before, which also meant she was starving.
And that brought her to the issue she hadn’t yet faced.
What was she going to do about Silas? What should she do?
She stared at the door and bit her lip.
If she tried to go back and start over with him would he be open to it? Could she apologize?
One of her worst habits was her tendency to get defensive. Mom always said it was because she was born to fight with her brother. Most of the time Ekko tried to be rational, but this whole situation had her in
knots. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about it. Especially someone with experience in tense situations.
She approached the bedroom door and blew out a breath.
At the very least they had to eat tonight. She could start with that and see how things went from there.
Ekko tapped on the door before opening it.
Silas sat on the sofa, his phone in hand. He’d taken off the suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his button-down shirt. He stared at her warily and rightfully so.
Could she start over? Was there a way to repair what she’d so wrongfully started?
She summoned a smile and mentally grasped for the words. Just saying, I’m sorry, wasn’t going to be enough. There would be more.
Oh, God. What was she going to tell him? How much could she brush off?
Silas continued to stare at her, the moment drawing out.
“Are you hungry?” she blurted then inwardly winced. That was not what she’d intended to say.
“Do you think you can eat?” he countered.
Her cheeks heated. It had been a long time since her stomach had revolted like that. “I’m fine. Put food in front of me and I’ll eat.”
Silas reached for the leather bound room service menu.
Taking that as a good sign she circled the coffee table and sat on the sofa alongside him while he read off the options. While Silas opted for something more familiar, a nice steak and predictable sides, she chose a Mongolian barbeque dish called khorkhog. She’d had a neighbor growing up who made it that was also an immigrant. Already Ekko could remember steaming hot plates full of tasty morsels.
Now to wait until the food arrived.
She still hadn’t apologized.
What was she apologizing for? And how far back should she go? If she did, would that open the door for him to ask about earlier? How much could she tell him?
Her gut tightened.
Nothing.
She couldn’t tell him anything.
The more he knew the more danger he would be in. But he was clearly in danger so long as he was with her. Still, she couldn’t say nothing. This tense silence had to end.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted. Her throat froze up and she couldn’t get more words out. Probably because she didn’t know what else to say.
Dangerous Connections (Aegis Group Book 9) Page 3
