Stealing Vengeance

by Kaylea Cross

  She nodded. “The people working on this—they’re good?”

  “Yes. Rycroft considers one of them to be his honorary daughter, and another is my sister-in-law. They both have the security clearance and the know-how to get this done.”

  “Okay, then I’m going to be blunt.” She’d learned to be forthright with people because her social skills sometimes weren’t all that polished. Dancing around things for the sake of politeness was a complete waste of time that drove her nuts.

  “Good, shoot.”

  “You were trained to be a seductress, weren’t you?” Megan was pretty sure, but clarification never hurt.

  Faint amusement showed in Trinity’s eyes. “I was.”

  Knew it. Not only that, everything she knew about Trinity so far told her the woman had been exceptional at her job. How many in Trinity’s position had lived long enough to retire from the field? “Then how come you’re not heading up this operation? You’d be way better at posing as a couple with Tyler than me.” That part of the situation made no sense to her.

  Trinity laughed softly. “You’re not getting out of this, sorry.”

  She pushed out a frustrated breath. “Why not? You pose as his other half to maintain the cover, and I’ll break into the buildings and steal whatever you want.” She was good at being unseen, blending into her surroundings. Alone. Being with Tyler for this whole mission made her skin itch. He was just one more complication that increased the risk against her and the mission.

  “Because reasons.”

  Megan scowled in annoyance at the sucky answer. “Such as?”

  Trinity gave her an almost pitying look, then leaned in. Not that Tyler could overhear them, seated on the opposite side a few rows back. “Because you two know each other. Because he’s got what it takes. And, if you want the cold, hard truth, the couple ploy works because you’ve got chemistry.”

  Her eyes widened in outrage. “Chemistry?” Resentment and mistrust, maybe. Anyone thinking there was physical chemistry between them was dead wrong. “I spent less than a week with him during SERE school, and neither of us knew the first thing about each other.” She’d been stupid and naïve about men, and had indulged in a little harmless fantasizing about him. It galled her now.

  Trinity’s eyes twinkled. “Yep. The moment you saw him in the study, it was there. Sparks. Lots of sparks.”

  I don’t think so. He’d snuffed out any “sparks” the night he’d turned her in. But she wasn’t going to argue with Trinity because A, it wouldn’t get her anywhere, and B, it would only make her seem immature and petulant. Professionalism was a point of pride with her. “You want him to keep tabs on me, not to watch my back.”

  “He’s responsible for both.” Trinity’s stare was steady. “We can’t afford to have another Valkyrie disappear on us.”

  She snorted. “You think I couldn’t ditch him if I wanted?”

  “You could,” Trinity acknowledged with a slight nod. “But we’re hoping you won’t.”

  Well, this conversation was pointless. Megan switched tactics and went for reason. “I’m a high-level thief. I’ve always worked alone, and I’m totally antisocial. Kind of comes with the territory, you know? I’ve never been partnered with anyone on an op before. I don’t like this. It’s too messy.”

  “You’ll do great.”

  In other words, the discussion was over. And Megan was betting that there was more going on here than she realized. Trinity knew something she didn’t. They’d chosen Tyler for this specifically, because of her. Why?

  It wasn’t easy for her to let this go, but at this point what choice did she have? Part of her training had made her an expert at adapting to whatever was thrown at her. At compartmentalizing. She’d take this in stride and deal with it, even if she didn’t like it.

  She glanced at the tablet in Trinity’s lap. “Anything new?”

  “Just some SIGINT reports. Analysts are trying to narrow down which of these signals might have come from our suspect so we can narrow down another area to search.”

  “Those files you retrieved from the CIA officer. Is he dirty?”

  “Let’s just say he’s under close investigation. And once we know exactly who we’re dealing with and how they’re involved in all of this, I have some pretty juicy blackmail material at our disposal if necessary.”

  Megan grinned. “Sex tapes?”

  Trinity smiled back, smug as hell. “Sex tapes.”

  Ha, good. The people involved deserved to be brought down hard and humiliated before they had their lives blown up and went to jail. “We still hitting the first target when we arrive in Prague?”

  “Yes. In the meantime, you might as well review everything again with your partner.” She gave Megan a sweet smile. “You should spend some time together before we land, get your cover story nailed down.”

  Bah. She wasn’t that good an actress. Not like Trinity and her kind were—since Megan worked alone out of view, she rarely had to interact with anyone. Faking being in love with a man she was still pissed at was a tall order.

  Chemistry? She mentally snorted, embarrassed that Trinity or anyone else had picked up on her subconscious reaction to seeing Tyler yesterday. This whole thing was stupid, she thought sourly as she marched back down the aisle toward her fake boyfriend for the duration of the mission.

  Tyler glanced up from his own tablet as she approached, and in spite of herself a rush of awareness slid through her. Grudge or not, something about him called to her on a primal level that she couldn’t deny. She didn’t like it, though. It made this entire charade even more complicated. And risky. For her, at least.

  He moved a stack of papers over to make room for her on the seat next to him, watching her expectantly.

  “We’re supposed to go over our cover story together again,” she informed him crisply, dropping into the seat beside him and taking the tablet from him, careful to make sure her shoulder and hip didn’t touch his. “And I want to review the first op plan, too.”

  “Okay.” Being this close to him was unsettling. It reminded her how big he was, over six feet, and muscular. He leaned over a little to get a better look at the folder she opened, and she caught his clean, soapy scent.

  She cleared her throat, irritated that she’d even noticed how he smelled. So he was good looking and built and had good hygiene. Didn’t mean she trusted him. Or liked him.

  “Not sure what kind of security the target location has, but probably not much. If the suspect’s been moving around a lot, then he or she wouldn’t have time to set up anything good anyway. So, once I disable any exterior cameras, I’ll go in through the basement. I’ll know what we’re dealing with once I get inside.” She tapped the screen to bring up the schematics of the building she was going to infiltrate.

  A big, bronzed hand landed in the middle of the screen and pushed it downward.

  Her gaze snapped to his with a frown. “What?” It was irritatingly disconcerting, being this close to him. Close enough for her to smell him and see the blue and gray flecks in his eyes. As well as the shape of his lips amidst the few days of light brown stubble on his face.

  “You’ve really never worked with anyone on an op before, have you?” he asked incredulously.

  She shrugged. “We work alone. Always.” Well, she did, anyway. And most of the others did too, only teaming up with another Valkyrie when absolutely necessary. “Easier that way. And then we don’t have to worry about anyone else screwing something up, or, you know, screwing us over.” She couldn’t resist adding the barb.

  He kept his hand flat on the tablet now resting on her lap, and his body heat radiated along her side. His steady stare delved into hers, his expression serious. “I didn’t know what was really going on back when we met. When I turned you over to the other instructors that night, I thought they’d just make you complete that portion of the course with the other students, and that would be it.”

  Surprised he’d brought it up, she made a huffing sound and
pushed his hand out of the way, lifting the tablet again. “Let’s just focus on this.” Nothing would change the past. They had to figure out a way to work together now.

  “No.” He pushed the tablet flat into her lap again, bringing her gaze back to his—this time in exasperation. “We’re supposed to be a couple. We need to get past this and start fresh if we’re going to be convincing.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe we’re going through a rough patch,” she said, an edge to her voice. “Maybe we fight a lot.”

  “We’re on vacation together in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. We’re new and in love. We won’t be fighting. Yet. And if we did have an argument, I’m sure we’d make up really fast.” There was a teasing gleam in his eyes.

  She jerked the tablet out from under his hand, tamping down her irritation. “Maybe my background is old school Italian and I hold grudges.”

  He grinned. “Are you?”

  “No idea. But I could be.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t let you stay mad at me for long.” He leaned back in his seat, his expression sobering as he regarded her. “I’m sorry I turned you over to them.”

  The stark apology took her off guard. She wished he’d just let it go already, she was getting embarrassed. Her stupid face was starting to heat up. “Just…whatever. Can we get back to this now?”

  “In a minute.” He reached out and took her chin in his hand, stunning her into stillness. She rarely let anyone touch her intimately. But what disturbed her far more than his touch was the weird curling sensation it caused low in her abdomen.

  His hand was large and powerful, his skin warm. Yet he cradled her chin gently with his fingers, holding her gaze. She was too proud to shove his hand aside, or be the first to look away. So she sat there and endured it, refusing to acknowledge the sudden jump in her pulse or the tingles skittering outward from his touch.

  “You caught me off guard when you showed up at my campsite that night,” he said. “I turned you over because it was my job as an instructor to make sure you finished the course. Whether you believe me or not, I had no idea they were going to be so hard on you for it.”

  Hard on her. Yeah, they sure as hell had been.

  “If I’d known that—or even half of what I know now, I wouldn’t have turned you in.”

  She studied his face. She was good at reading people. Not as good as the more intimate operatives like Trinity had to be, but still pretty good. And based on Tyler’s expression and body language, he seemed like he was telling the truth. Although considering the effort it was taking to ignore what was happening to her body, maybe she wasn’t reading him well at the moment. “What would you have done?” she countered.

  “Help you escape.”

  That was ridiculous. Because they would have caught her eventually. And then she and Tyler would both have been punished. He’d been a Ranger. It might have ruined his career and prevented him from earning the coveted Green Beret later.

  She pulled out of his grasp and studied him in suspicion. “Did Trinity or Rycroft put you up to this?” In her experience, guys didn’t apologize for shit they did.

  His teeth flashed in another grin. As though he got a kick out of her. At least she’d given him a real one this morning, hard enough that he wouldn’t forget it. “So suspicious,” he murmured. “And no. I’ve wondered what ever happened to you for years. After Rycroft and Trinity filled me in, I wanted the chance to apologize to you in person.”

  Megan wasn’t sure what to do with that, or whether she could trust it. She lowered her gaze, wanting to get back to work. “Fine. Apology accepted.”

  “That didn’t sound very convincing.”

  She shot him a look. “Can we move on now?”

  “All right. Cover story. Do you have a family?”

  The question shouldn’t have snuck under her armor, but it did. Hitting a tiny, secret part of her that had yearned for a sense of belonging all her life. “Seriously?”

  He blinked. “What? If we’re a couple, then it stands to reason I’d know about your family.”

  What was this BS, and what did it matter for this mission? He had to know she was an orphan. That all Valkyries were. Because it was way easier for the government to recruit and train young girls the way they did if the candidates didn’t have ties to anyone. “That’s overkill. We don’t need to go that far.”

  Thankfully he let it go. “Then how long have we been together?”

  “A month.”

  “Where did we meet?”

  She considered that for a second. “At a library. We were both in the military history section looking for a book. You saw the one I picked and told me you’d just read it.” She’d read that same meet cute in one of her favorite romance novels and it had always stuck with her as sigh-worthy. Finding a man who shared the same interests as her seemed like an unattainable dream.

  He raised his eyebrows. “Do you read military history?”

  “Yeah. Don’t you?”

  “Once in a while.”

  “Okay, well, you’re an…engineer, and I’m a consultant in the tech industry.”

  The side of his mouth went up. “Fine. So we hit it off, and things got hot and heavy from the get go.”

  “Nope. We both travel a lot for work. It’s been a long-distance thing, and this is our first trip together to see how things go.” She arched an eyebrow. “A trial period, you could say.” It worked. And it also gave them the perfect excuse if something awkward should happen between them while anyone was watching.

  He chuckled softly. “I can work with that.”

  She liked his laugh. It was one of the things she’d remembered about him all those years ago. He was quick to smile, wasn’t harsh or austere like some of the robotic, programmed instructors she’d had during her training. And the way he’d smiled at her, with admiration and respect… No wonder he’d gotten under her skin.

  Megan looked away. Concealing her feelings—even from herself—was something she’d learned to do at a young age. She hadn’t completely mastered it, though. If she had, she wouldn’t feel lonely or secretly wonder about her parents, the extended family she must have had at one point. Still, she was curious about Tyler. “Do you have a real family?”

  He nodded. “My parents live in Michigan.”

  “Any brothers or sisters?”

  “I…had an older sister. She died when I was fourteen.”

  She was surprised he’d told her. The slight hesitation made it clear the loss still haunted him.

  Now she felt bad for asking. She floundered for something to say. She wasn’t good at this sort of thing. “I’m sorry,” she finally said.

  He nodded once. “Thanks. I’m still close with my parents. And I’ve got aunts and uncles and cousins back home, too.”

  That actually sounded…kind of nice. Having a network of people you were linked to. “Do you have Christmas dinner together and everything?” The idea captivated her. She’d always wondered what that would be like. To be in a room full of people you belonged with, a decorated tree, presents, everyone gathered around the table together for a big meal. Like on TV.

  “Every year I’m in country. But I’ve missed a lot of them over the years when I was deployed.”

  She was quiet a moment, unsure if she should say anything more. But she couldn’t help herself. “What’s it like?” she asked softly, inwardly cringing a little at the sense of exposure the question brought.

  “Like?” He thought about it for a second. “Loud. Chaotic. But nice.” A fond smile softened his face. He was twice as good looking when he smiled. It was damn hard to look away from him. “After dinner we sit around and play board games while we eat dessert.”

  She could almost picture it in her mind. She liked the sound of his voice, too. “What do you have for dinner? Turkey?”

  He cocked his head at her, as if curious why she wanted to know. But he probably didn’t know that she’d never had a Christmas dinner. Or even celebrated Chri
stmas since she’d been taken into the program when she was small.

  There were snippets of memories, though, faded and tattered. A tree glowing with festive lights in front of a window that overlooked a darkened street. A feeling of excitement that Santa would come, and a rush to get into her pink flannel nightie then climb into bed and get to sleep so he wouldn’t pass their house by.

  There were faces too, but indistinct. Adults. Another child, maybe around Megan’s age. A little girl in a matching purple flannel nightie. She had brown hair.

  Megan shook the thoughts away, unsure if they were real or imagined. She remembered practically nothing about her life before the program.

  “Yes,” Tyler answered. “And all the trimmings to go with it. My mom makes apple pie instead of pumpkin, though. And she makes a homemade vanilla custard ice cream to go with it. It’s legendary.”

  It sounded idyllic. It also made her ache in that secret place she tried so hard to hide from the world. “So. Back to work?”

  “Wait. What’s your favorite thing to eat?”

  She withheld a sigh and humored him. “Noodles.” Though she rarely indulged because carbs were Satan to someone who needed to keep slim to maintain optimal flexibility and speed when slipping in and out of a target.

  “Favorite color.”

  She couldn’t imagine why he cared, but okay. “Cobalt blue.”

  “Music?”

  “Rock.”

  He smiled. “I like all those too.”

  Wonderful. And that smile was dangerous, especially when directed at her at close range. “Now can we get back to work?” They were landing in just over an hour. She wanted everything to go perfectly.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Worried I won’t remember the plan? This isn’t my first time,” he added wryly.

  “Just want to be prepared. This is my first time on a non-solo op.” Let alone posing as lovers. That made it ten times as hard. With someone else it would have been easier. But she noticed Tyler. Too much, and in a way she had trouble ignoring.

  “One last thing.”

  She shot him an impatient look. “What?”

  “How do you feel about public displays of affection?”