Rocky Ground
Page 23
“I’ll order you some from room service,” Rycroft promised, a smile in his voice.
He was a good man. A hard man with a legendary reputation both in Special Forces and with the NSA. But he was fair. If you were motivated and dependable and delivered results, there was never a problem. After the people Trinity had worked for in the past, that was a revelation.
They rode in comfortable silence until they reached a hotel and he turned into the underground parking garage. She didn’t bother asking him where they were going because he wouldn’t answer, and because she trusted him. So she followed him into the elevator and down the hall to a room, which he unlocked with a key card.
“After you,” he said, his silver eyes gleaming with secrets and a hint of a smile.
Not sure what to expect, Trinity stepped inside. She drew up short, barely concealing her shock when she saw they weren’t alone.
The two women waiting for them both jumped up to greet her, big grins on their faces. “Surprise,” they chorused.
She laughed and reached for the slender brunette first. “Wow, a reunion.” They were the closest thing she had ever had to sisters. And they had been through so much together.
Briar DeLuca returned the hug a little stiffly, so much less awkward about it than the former sniper would have been a few years ago. “Yep. Not sure what he’s got up his sleeve, but I know it’s gotta be good.”
Georgia was there to hug her next, blond hair cut to her shoulders, pale blue eyes bright with glee. “Nice to see you.”
“You too. Where’s your mysterious husband at, anyway?”
“He’s around,” her friend answered evasively, and they both grinned.
“So, wine and cheesecake all round?” Rycroft said from behind them.
Trinity faced him and arched an eyebrow. “What’s going on?” If he’d brought them all together for a secret meeting, then something big was up and she wanted details.
He gestured to the chairs in front of the flat screen TV. “Sit and I’ll fill you all in.”
When everyone was settled he leaned back against the desk and folded his arms across his chest, still broad and hard with muscle even though he was now in his mid-fifties. “I have confirmation that the Valkyrie Program was still operating up until several weeks ago.”
Stunned silence met his words, and the mood turned dark. Trinity exchanged shocked glances with her fellow Valkyries before focusing back on Rycroft. “That’s impossible.”
He shook his head. “You three and the others who trained with you were part of phase one. But there was a phase two as well, initiated a few years later, and it kept going even after Balducci and the others were brought down.”
Will Balducci—a former trainer and would-be senator who had betrayed them all for money and influence several years ago. He had put hits out on Briar and Georgia’s handlers. Tried to kill them both to cover his tracks.
Trinity was glad he was currently rotting behind bars. But apparently the decay within the CIA went even deeper than she or anyone else had realized.
“They changed the name and buried everything deeper,” Rycroft continued. “I’d just been informed about it and authorized an off-the-books investigation, then the trail went cold. Everything stopped, almost overnight. Then I found out why.”
He pulled out his phone, typed in something and held it out so they could see the picture on the screen. It showed a young woman probably in her twenties, her face bluish, eyes closed on top of an autopsy table. “Her name was Martina. And she had a very interesting tattoo on her left hip.” He swiped to the next photo, showing a symbol they were all intimately familiar with.
It was about the size of a silver dollar, positioned on her left hip. A black crow with a sword clutched in its talons, with the word Valkyrja written inside a stylized scroll beneath it. Each Valkyrie received it upon “graduation” from the program.
“Her death was reported to U.S. intelligence a few weeks ago. She was killed by a quick-acting isotope used exclusively by Chinese operatives. Divers found her in a back alley Dumpster in Shanghai.”
Trinity shifted her gaze from the phone to him. His expression was somber. As somber as she’d ever seen it, and a warning tingle started up in the pit of her stomach. Alex Rycroft had seen and done it all. If this had brought him out of retirement, it was huge.
“Her name and picture were sent to a Chinese mobster one day before her death,” he continued.
“By who?” Trinity asked.
“That’s what we need to find out. Because Marina is just one of four dead Valkyries who have turned up over the past month—ever since the media got wind of the program. Each murdered in a foreign city after completing a job. So far, all the evidence points to them being killed by the organizations they targeted.”
Silence greeted his words, all of them absorbing the gravity of the statement. Valkyries were notoriously difficult targets. Nearly impossible to find, and hard to kill. Because they were ghosts, and only a few people knew their true identities and locations.
Until now.
A cold wave of anger spread through her. Someone had deliberately leaked the operative’s names and locations once the public had gotten wind of the program. A program that to her and everyone else’s knowledge had been shut down years ago.
Rycroft regarded all three of them in turn before continuing. “Here’s what I know. Whoever leaked these files is involved with the program, and they’re no longer with the CIA. They’re likely a talented hacker, because it would take an electronic wizard to get hold of those files. Whoever they are, our target is operating alone from the outside, and I’m currently analyzing anyone who might be involved. But whoever this is potentially has files on all former and current operatives, and is selling them off piece by piece to our enemies.”
“To kill us off one by one,” Briar finished.
He nodded. “That’s how it seems right now. And that’s why I’m asking for your help to stop the bleeding before it gets any worse. Nobody knows better than you three what needs to happen. The clock is ticking. We’re in a race to find the hacker, mitigate the damage, and then bring in the at-risk Valkyries before they’re taken out.”
“I’m in,” Trinity said without hesitating.
Rycroft nodded at her, then looked at Briar. “You’re a new mom, so I would never ask you to do field work. But I want you to work logistics with a small, hand-picked team I’m putting together.”
“Yeah, of course I’ll do it,” Briar answered, her espresso-brown eyes burning with resolve.
“What about you?” Rycroft asked Georgia.
“I’m in too. Whatever you need.”
“Good.” One side of his mouth lifted, then his expression straightened. “Zahra got one name by complete accident, and we’re trying to locate her right now.” He swiped on his phone again, then held it up so they could see the new photo. “This is Megan Smith,” he said, showing a young Caucasian woman with chestnut-brown hair. “She was last operational in Europe, but with the media fallout surrounding Balducci’s trial, she went to ground. We have no idea where she is, but we need to find her, and fast, because her name was leaked to a terrorist organization two days ago.”
Trinity studied the picture, trying to place her. She was fairly certain she’d never met the woman. But it took a Valkyrie to catch a Valkyrie, and Trinity was going to be the one to find her. “I’ll go.”
The meeting lasted another half hour while they went over logistics and a plan of attack. As soon as they got a hit on Megan Smith’s location, Trinity would be on the next flight out of D.C.
Rycroft stopped her at the door on her way out of the hotel room, searching her eyes. “Is Brody home?”
“He’s due home tomorrow night.” And he wasn’t going to be too happy when he found out what she had just agreed to.
His smile was sympathetic. “Good luck.”
On her way down the hall she rubbed her thumb over the bare spot on her left ring finger, thi
nking of her fiancé and then Megan.
Brody might not understand, but she had to do this. She had no choice.
Holding Megan’s image in her mind, she strode for the elevator.
Wherever you are, I’m going to find you. And then I’m going to set you free.
—End Excerpt—
About the Author
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards, including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, and has been nominated multiple times for the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.
You can visit Kaylea at www.kayleacross.com. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please join her newsletter.
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Complete Booklist
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Valkyrie Vengeance Series
Stealing Vengeance
Crimson Point Series
Fractured Honor
Buried Lies
Shattered Vows
Rocky Ground
DEA FAST Series
Falling Fast
Fast Kill
Stand Fast
Strike Fast
Fast Fury
Fast Justice
Fast Vengeance
Colebrook Siblings Trilogy
Brody’s Vow
Wyatt’s Stand
Easton’s Claim
Hostage Rescue Team Series
Marked
Targeted
Hunted
Disavowed
Avenged
Exposed
Seized
Wanted
Betrayed
Reclaimed
Shattered
Guarded
Titanium Security Series
Ignited
Singed
Burned
Extinguished
Rekindled
Blindsided: A Titanium Christmas novella
Bagram Special Ops Series
Deadly Descent
Tactical Strike
Lethal Pursuit
Danger Close
Collateral Damage
Never Surrender (a MacKenzie Family novella)
Suspense Series
Out of Her League
Cover of Darkness
No Turning Back
Relentless
Absolution
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Empowered Series
Darkest Caress
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
The Vacant Chair
EROTIC ROMANCE (writing as Callie Croix)
Deacon’s Touch
Dillon’s Claim
No Holds Barred
Touch Me
Let Me In
Covert Seduction