by Kaylea Cross
Megan eyed Ty for another long moment, then spun around and marched back into the study where she sat in the chair closest to Marcus and opposite Trinity. Ty followed her movements with a trained eye, no longer fooled by her misleading appearance. She still moved in that confident, purposeful way that had captured his attention all those years ago, though her matured curves gave her gait a slight sway that made it even sexier.
Of all the women he’d trained over the course of those fateful seven months, she was the one who stood out. Her quickness and determination. Her restless energy. Her complete lack of complaint when circumstances went from bad to shitty.
He’d been so impressed with her ability to compartmentalize and make the best of things. Then he’d gotten a taste of what she was truly capable of, and been blown away.
There were no more chairs left, so Ty leaned a shoulder against a bookcase stuffed with old, leather-bound volumes and waited, holding Megan’s borderline-hostile stare.
“My team was looking for someone we could bring in from the inside,” Trinity began, speaking to Megan. “One of them remembered Tyler and he remembered you, so we checked him out and vetted him thoroughly. He’s well qualified for this mission—”
“What mission?” Megan demanded, staring at him.
“We’ll get to that,” Trinity answered calmly. “Tyler was Special Forces until his honorable discharge several years ago, and he’s been a security contractor since. The head of our taskforce knows him personally and agreed we should bring him in.”
Megan looked at her. “Who’s that?”
“Alex Rycroft.”
Megan stared at her for several seconds, and though her expression and body language gave nothing away, Ty sensed she recognized the name. Though it would have surprised him if she hadn’t. Alex Rycroft had served in SF for the first part of his career before becoming one of the NSA’s most celebrated agents. A nod from him amounted to the stamp of approval throughout the U.S. intelligence services, and Ty was honored to have it.
“When you met Tyler as a SERE instructor, he was filling in on a temporary basis before his unit rotated overseas to Afghanistan. Circumstances being what they were, he was completely unaware of the Valkyrie Program, or that you were a part of it,” Trinity explained.
Megan glanced over at him again, skepticism clear in her gaze.
“It’s true,” he said, for what it was worth. Though his word probably didn’t mean much to her. He hadn’t even heard of the Valkyrie Program, and he certainly hadn’t known it entailed taking orphaned girls and turning them into the most lethal female assassins walking the planet. “I’d never heard of the program until the whole story about Balducci broke in the media a few years ago.”
She met his stare for a long moment before focusing back on Trinity. “So, what’s this mission you’re talking about, and what’s his role?”
“Like I said, he’s your partner.”
Megan shook her head. “We work alone. Always. You know that.”
“Not this time.”
Megan opened her mouth to argue but Trinity didn’t give her the chance. “We’re trying to get a lead on whoever leaked the identities of the other Valkyries, and bring all of them in before our enemies find them. Once we get a lead, you’ll be sent to retrieve the target’s files and bring him or her in. For that to work, you’ll need backup, and since our hacker is intimately familiar with the Valkyries, going as a single woman just makes you more suspicious, and therefore a more likely target.”
She paused before continuing. “Rycroft trusts Tyler, and so does a close Valkyrie friend of mine. That’s good enough for me and will have to be for you as well. You’ll conduct this mission together, and pose as a couple for your cover.”
Megan sat up straighter, her eyes shooting sparks first at Trinity, then at Marcus. “You knew about this and you didn’t say anything?” she said to him.
“I only ‘eard it last night. And we’ll talk later.” They stared at one another, some kind of secret conversation going on that only they understood. It was eerie, and based on what he’d learned about Megan, Ty half-believed she could actually send telepathic messages.
“Rycroft and I asked Marcus to keep it secret,” Trinity said, drawing Megan’s attention back to her. “If he’d warned you, you would have been a flight risk. So any hostility you have should be directed at me. I’m a big girl, I can take it.”
Megan drew a deep breath and settled back into her chair, her expression grudging but calm. “I’ve got no say in this?”
“Not about the partnership.”
She turned her head to meet Ty’s stare, and this time he could see the resentment burning there. “Not sure how much you know about us, but I’m not known for playing well with others.”
“I’m aware,” he said dryly. He’d seen it when he’d been an instructor for the survival portion of what he’d assumed was a normal SERE school. She’d stolen gear right out from under his nose, twice.
And then she’d shocked the hell out of him by showing up at his solitary camp in the middle of the night a week later, battered and bruised but defiant and proud, having escaped the enemy prison camp during the escape phase. He’d later learned from the cadre that she’d broken out of the bamboo cage they’d placed her in and snuck out of camp, without anyone noticing.
It was the first time it had ever happened. Everyone had been certain one of the instructors had helped her. But nope, it had been all her.
Ty had found it fascinating at the time. Now he wanted to get to know her, see what she could do firsthand, and somehow make up for any damage he’d unwittingly aided in all those years ago. He’d thought he’d been preparing her and the other students for life behind enemy lines. In reality, he’d been complicit in something much harsher.
Megan focused on Trinity again. “How many Valkyries have been killed?”
“Four so far that we know of, but we’re not even sure who we’re looking for yet because we only have partial personnel files. I recovered some on an op two days ago from a former CIA officer involved with the program, and your information was there. It took us until last night to locate you.”
They shouldn’t have been able to find her, though. That worried her. “How were the others killed?”
“Some were executed. Others were captured and tortured first.”
Megan’s expression never changed, but her eyes chilled. “Who do you think’s behind it?”
“A hacker. An extremely skilled, elusive tracker.”
“CIA? U.S. intelligence?”
“Possibly.”
“Anything else?” Megan asked.
“That depends on you. Is there anything else you want to know?”
“Just when I’ll be dismissed from this meeting.”
Ty hid a grin, amused and intrigued by the fire in her. She might hate the idea of working with him on this, but she would do it, because the stakes were huge. The lives of the surviving Valkyries hung in the balance. Based on her background, he was pretty sure that was the only motivation she would need.
“As soon as you give me an answer on whether you’re in or out,” said Trinity.
“I’m in,” Megan answered.
Trinity nodded once. “You can go.”
Megan stood, aimed a loaded look at Marcus and turned for the door. She shot a warning glare at Ty as she swept past, leaving the scent of her fruity shampoo trailing in her wake.
The wooden door shut behind her with a thud. Not exactly a slam, but close.
For several seconds, no one moved or spoke.
“That went well, all things considered,” Marcus said.
Trinity sighed. “Well, Tyler, you’ve got your work cut out for you on this one.”
“That’s okay.” He’d faced longer odds than winning over Megan Smith, or whatever her real name was. “Should I go after her?”
“No,” Marcus said immediately. “Steer clear of ‘er for tonight. I’ll talk with ‘er once she’s cooled of
f. You can start trainin’ together in the mornin’.” He reached down to scratch the dog’s ears. “Karas, go find our lass, eh?”
The dog got up and trotted to the door, ears up and tail wagging.
Tyler opened the door for it and stepped into the hall. This assignment should be interesting. But even if he was wrong and it turned out to be boring as hell, it sure felt good to be doing something he believed in again.
Chapter Three
Megan’s fury had eased from a boil to a simmer by the time dusk fell and she started back across the fields to the house with Marcus’s rescue dog trotting at her side. She’d left immediately after the “meeting” in the library, needing to get outside and burn off some steam before she’d exploded.
Though she wasn’t in contact with any of them, it was sobering to know that she and the remaining Valkyries were being systematically exterminated. By who? And why?
The long run had helped burn off the worst of the emotional turmoil. Impulse control was something she’d struggled with when she was younger, and she’d had to learn to control her quick temper. Two of her many flaws, and none of her instructors or handlers over the years had been able to rid her of them.
Tyler freaking Bergstrom.
She shook her head, a wave of anger rising all over again. She’d liked him. Had liked him the best of any of her instructors during the entire course of the program, though she’d only been his student for a few weeks. Worse, she’d been attracted to him, and it had taken all of her formidable skill even back then to hide it, shove it down deep inside where no one, not even she could see it.
Right from the start she’d had no illusions about what her life as a Valkyrie would be like, and understood that there was no room for personal entanglements along the way. Nothing about those had changed.
Ahead in the distance, Laidlaw Hall came into view, warm rectangles of golden light spilling from some of its windows against the darkening sky. Overhead the sky was turning purple, a blanket of stars beginning to appear. Crickets and frogs sang all around her.
An unexpected pang of sadness hit her. She’d never had a home. Not a real one. She’d only been here a few months but somehow this place felt like home. It seemed weird to return to it now that other people were inside it. Like an invasion, or even a violation. A defilement of the private sanctuary Marcus had allowed her into, and yes, she was still annoyed with him.
She was no coward, however. She’d been tasked with helping save the remaining Valkyries, and she would do everything in her power to make it happen. Loyal Unto Death.
And sometimes, beyond it.
“Come on,” she said to Karas, and quickened her strides. The dog broke into a lope, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth in a grin. Not only because she had dinner waiting there, but because Marcus was there, and the animal literally worshipped him.
So did Megan, secretly.
She steeled herself for another confrontation with Trinity or Tyler but the house was still and quiet when she entered the lower floor. A bar of light came from beneath the closed study door. Marcus’s most secluded domain.
She paused at it and knocked softly.
“Come in.”
She pushed the door open. Karas rushed past her and headed straight for the desk where Marcus sat, her head down in a submissive posture, thick tail wagging in a blur of doggy euphoria.
“There’s my good lass,” Marcus said, his hard, battle-scarred face softening as he reached down to stroke the dog’s head and neck. “You both had some energy to burn off, eh?”
Megan wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or the dog, but she answered anyway. “Yeah. Where are the others?”
“Upstairs in their rooms sleepin’ off the jetlag, I reckon.”
Good. Megan didn’t want to see either of them tonight. She needed a few more hours to come to grips with her situation. She planted her hands on her hips and faced Marcus across the expanse of his desk. “So? Why’d you set me up like that?”
Rather than answer he leaned back in his seat and turned it slightly, the hint of a wince contorting his face as he raised his left leg to rest his foot on the footstool. The surgeons had done their best to reconstruct his shattered hip joint, but he would never again walk without pain.
“I didn’t set you up,” he said in a tone so reasonable it set her teeth on edge. When he talked to her like that she felt like a damn child. “Rycroft called me himself and explained everythin’. Trinity was right, if I’d told you, you likely would’ve run off.”
Her chin came up. “I’m not a coward.”
His dark eyes sliced to her. “No one said you were. And I think I know better than anyone just how brave you are.”
Mollified, she lost the defensive edge and let her hands drop to her sides.
“And there’s another reason,” he added.
“What?”
He reached across the desk and gestured for her to give him her hand.
Sighing, she put her right hand in his. “You gonna read my palm or something?”
“Your fingers,” he answered, bending her wrist up slightly to show the mess around her nail beds where she’d picked all the skin away until she’d bled. “They’ve been like this a lot lately.”
She pulled her hand away, embarrassed. “It’s just a stupid habit.” She wasn’t even aware when she did it.
“Which you only do when you’re anxious or bored out of your mind, and these days, lass, you’re both.” He settled back against his seat to regard her with knowing, dark eyes. “You’ve been goin’ crazy cos you’ve got no direction. You’re restless—more than usual—and you can’t sit still. You’re fidgety. Because you needed a purpose again.”
He wasn’t wrong. Part of her was psyched at the prospect of going on another op. The other part hated the idea of being saddled with a partner, let alone a man who instead of helping her, had delivered her back into the sadistic hands of her other trainers. “I keep busy.”
“Trainin’ and shootin’ targets and ridin’, aye. You’re not fulfilled, though. There’s a difference.” He shook his head. “You think I haven’t seen it? Or that I don’t know ‘ow that feels? I feel it every day and will for the rest of my life. But you don’t have to. With this you’ll be helpin’ save the others. I reckon you need this.”
Marcus was the only living soul outside of the program who she’d told about her past and her training. About the Valkyries and what she had been made into. The highs and lows, the rush of it and the extreme terror. He’d been an accomplice to Trinity and Rycroft because he cared about her. And she’d reacted by being a bitch.
The knowledge made her squirm inside. “How much do you know about Tyler?”
“I know ‘e was one of your SERE instructors.”
She set her jaw. “The enemy camp was situated miles from any water, and I hadn’t eaten in three days. I tracked him to his camp deep in the forest because I knew the area where he’d be, and because I knew he’d have supplies.”
“Aye, I don’t doubt you relieved ‘im of those without his knowledge,” Marcus said with an amused twitch of his lips.
“I was starving, and dehydrated after spending three days in the cage they put me in. So I did what I had to do.” She let out an annoyed breath. “I don’t see what the big deal was. The entire point of SERE school was to teach us how to survive any situation and escape the enemy. Which I did.”
One side of his mouth tugged upward and he shook his head, pure admiration lighting his eyes. “I would’ve paid a lot to see you break out of there, and see their reaction.”
She shrugged. “They didn’t contain me well enough. That’s on them. But when I found Tyler’s camp, do you know what he did?”
“He gave you food ‘n water and access to his first aid supplies.”
“Yeah. And then he tied me up and radioed the cadre at the enemy camp to come get me.” Outrage and something far too close to hurt pricked her. It had been a dozen years, and it still felt like
yesterday. “They dragged me back there, beat me until I passed out, then made me finish the rest of my time in a pit.” They’d broken two of her ribs during the initial beating upon her return, the bastards.
The amusement on his face faded, something cold and hard taking its place, the shadows of his own past visible in his gaze for a brief moment. “He didn’t know they were Valkyrie trainers. He didn’t even know your kind existed, let alone about the program.”
“That’s not the point. The point is, he betrayed me. And now I’m supposed to just accept him as my partner for this op?”
“He didn’t betray you, because he didn’t realize what was really happenin’. It was his job to prepare you for the worst. I might not’ve admitted this until recently, but I’m damn glad he did give you back to the other cadre, because if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
His words slammed into her with the force of an invisible sledgehammer, and Megan found herself at a rare loss for words. Memories cascaded through her mind, from that awful night in Aleppo.
She almost hadn’t gone back for Marcus; the volume of fire had been that great. But she couldn’t leave him there. In the end, she’d risked everything to go back and pull him out.
He’d hated her for it initially. For weeks after his rescue Marcus had raged at her, cursing her for forcing him to live when all he’d wanted was to die. To see him finally okay with still being alive was the best gift she’d ever received.
“At any rate,” Marcus continued, his face tightening briefly again as he shifted his bad leg and reached down to stroke Karas’s fur, “he’s ‘ere because whether you want to believe it or not, he cares.”
“He feels guilty,” she corrected. He didn’t care about her. He wanted to soothe his guilty conscience.
Marcus shrugged. “Does it matter? The lad’s here. He volunteered when they approached him and told him what really ‘appened. He’s here to watch your back and help you accomplish your mission.”
She would ask Tyler about that later. “I’d rather go with you.”
He huffed out a harsh laugh. “A few years ago, I would’ve been the first to step forward. But I’d only slow you down now, and I won’t be a liability that could get you killed. You… mean too much to me, lass,” he finished gruffly, his eyes on the dog.
