Stealing Vengeance

by Kaylea Cross

  Beneath the table Tyler reached over to grasp her hand and pulled it onto his thigh to stop her from picking, squeezing once. She didn’t look at him, but she also didn’t pull her hand away. Their time together was ticking down and she wanted to spend as much of whatever remained with him.

  “What comes after that?” she asked to break the tension.

  Everyone looked at her. She hid her growing unease. “If we find Hannah and the others and bring them in safely, what then? We need a plan for what happens to everyone afterward.”

  “What do you want to happen?” Rycroft asked, looking around the table at her and the others.

  “All of us will need to work together as a group to make this happen,” she continued, indicating the other Valkyries around the table. “With the ongoing threat against us, it’s too complicated to keep us scattered. It makes more sense to bring us into a secure, central location so we can coordinate and work as a team. And we could use Amber’s expertise.”

  “Everyone can come to Laidlaw Hall,” Marcus said. “Every Valkyrie you bring in and vet as a non-threat can come and stay there. It’s out of the way, and private and fairly secure. There’s plenty of room. You can all stay at the manor together, use it as a base of sorts.”

  Megan gave a startled smile, taken aback by the offer. Marcus was an extremely private person and liked his space, a borderline recluse. Yet he’d offered up his private sanctuary to aid their cause. Because he cared about her that much.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, tightening her hold on Tyler’s hand. He squeezed back.

  “That’s a generous offer, Marcus, thank you,” Rycroft said. “And it could work.”

  “We need some kind of protection for everyone throughout the remainder of this mission, however long that lasts, and we also need it for afterward,” Trinity said.

  Rycroft nodded. “Any suggestions?”

  “We bring all the missing Valkyries in and set up a WITSEC-style program of our own,” Amber said.

  Everyone looked at her in surprise. From Amber’s quick response, she’d obviously put some thought into the idea previously.

  “We don’t have the resources for something like that,” Rycroft said, his expression inscrutable.

  “Then we get the resources. We find and bring the remaining Valkyries to the manor house. Once everyone’s accounted for and safe, we create new, fully-fleshed out identities for everyone. I’m talking right down to credentials, fake backgrounds, new bank accounts and passports, the works. Then everyone gets an equal, lump payout and we scatter to new locations that nobody knows about. No one,” she emphasized, looking around the table and stopping at Rycroft.

  “And we pay for all that with what money?” he asked.

  She held his stare. “I’ll get us the money.”

  Megan bit back a smile. Her sister had serious balls. And from what Trinity had hinted at, a shitload of money saved up in an offshore account somewhere.

  “That might be tough,” Rycroft returned, “from the inside of a prison cell.”

  “Let’s put a pin in that and come back to it later,” Trinity said coolly. “Our immediate priority is to locate Hannah.”

  “Let me go after her,” Amber said again. “I can find her.”

  “No, we need you here, helping us crack the coding on your files and doing other hacks going forward,” Trinity said.

  So we can keep an eye on you. The unspoken thought was clear to everyone in the room.

  Amber shook her head, her expression defiant. “I’m her best chance at this point. I’m her only chance.”

  Trinity stared back at her, frustration burning in her eyes. “We can’t trust you. And due to reasons already discussed, none of us works alone anymore. We’re in this together, and from now on we operate as a team.”

  Amber didn’t back down. “If you want to save her, you need to give me immunity and let me go. Now.”

  “That’s not happening,” Rycroft said as his phone rang. He checked it, pushed his chair back and stood. “This meeting’s over.” He hit a button to remove the frosting on the windows and waved the guards in as he answered the call.

  Megan pushed to her feet as the guards came to get Amber, a pair of handcuffs in one man’s hand. Handcuffs wouldn’t hold her for long if she wanted to get free, but attacking the guards in this facility if she tried to escape meant the end of any chance of Rycroft trying to help Amber.

  “Wait,” Megan began.

  Amber looked over at her, her expression softening with a tiny smile. “No. It’s okay.” She put her hands behind her, submitting.

  Everything in Megan protested the cuffs going on her sister. Tyler’s hand was solid on her unhurt shoulder as Amber was marched past them, presumably down to an ultra secure cell in the bowels of the building somewhere. “I’ll go with you,” Megan blurted.

  “Bergstrom, Megan. Need a word with you both before you go,” Rycroft said.

  Near the door, Trinity, Georgia and Briar glanced back at her and Tyler. “We’ll go with her. She’ll be safe, I promise,” Trinity said, then followed Amber and the guards out of the room.

  Torn, Megan stood there gazing after her sister while Rycroft opened a file on the table and slid it over to them. “I want to thank you personally for your service on this mission,” he said to Tyler. “Your signed contract is in here, the terms of which you’ve now fulfilled.”

  Megan’s stomach plummeted as Tyler stiffened beside her. “Sir, I—” he began.

  “With Amber in our custody, your part of the mission’s now over. And per your NDA, you can’t discuss or disclose anything that happened during the term of your contract with us.”

  Rycroft nodded at the page he’d opened it to and slid a pen across the table to Tyler. “Sign at the bottom of that document and we’ll wire you the rest of your payment. Due to the current security situation we’ve taken the liberty of booking your flight back to the States. You leave first thing in the morning. The ticket’s been sent to your email.”

  The blood drained from Megan’s face. First thing in the morning? No. Not yet. Not yet.

  She hid her reaction, fought to contain the panic scraping at her insides. Tyler glanced at her, held her gaze for a long moment, waiting. For what, she didn’t know. A miracle that would give them more time together?

  She wanted him to be safe. To have a good life. He couldn’t have either with her.

  Rycroft kept watching him, waiting.

  Frustration burned in Tyler’s gaze as he stared at her.

  It was hard to breathe. “Sign it,” she told him softly.

  Hurt flashed in his eyes a split second before they chilled. After a long, tense moment he looked down at the form, his jaw tensing.

  Pain spread through her chest, expanding until she couldn’t breathe. Sign it. I can’t let you give up your life for me.

  Then he picked up the pen and signed his name in an abrupt, angry motion.

  It felt like her heart was being ripped apart.

  He tossed the pen onto the file and started for the door without looking at her. She followed behind him, numb.

  “Megan.”

  She stopped, looked over her shoulder at Rycroft as he picked up the folder. “Yes?” she managed.

  His silver gaze was full of empathy. “Are you okay?”

  She forced a nod. “Of course.”

  But no, she wasn’t okay. And she was pretty sure she would never be okay again.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Frustration and disappointment rivaled for position as Ty rode down the elevator beside Megan in silence. He’d been a soldier for most of his adult life. He was used to receiving dismissals. But not from a woman he was falling in love with.

  He checked his phone on the way down. Sure enough, there was an email containing his plane ticket.

  “Is it there?” she asked.

  “Yep. Flight leaves at 08:00 hours from Heathrow.” Which meant he’d have to leave the townhouse by 05:30 at the latest.<
br />
  That left them with just over fifteen hours together. Fifteen hours to win her over and change her mind.

  They might have officially dismissed him, but that didn’t mean he was done protecting Megan on his own. Or that he was giving up and getting on that plane in the morning.

  They stared at each other as the seconds seemed to slip faster through the hourglass. “I didn’t expect it to happen so fast,” she said.

  “Me neither.” She’d told him to go. Was that really what she wanted? He didn’t buy it. She was trying to protect him. From pain and hardship. He was almost certain of it.

  The elevator stopped and the doors opened at the lobby. Trinity was standing near the reception desk with Georgia and Briar. She looked at him. “Alex says you’re leaving us.”

  “Looks that way.” He wasn’t in the mood for small talk at the moment. All he wanted was to get Megan alone so they could talk about them. He didn’t want to get on that plane in the morning. Hell, he didn’t want to leave her, period.

  Trinity stepped toward him and offered her hand. “Thanks for everything.”

  He shook it. “My pleasure.”

  Trinity switched her attention to Megan. “Amber’s safe in her cell. She asked for you.”

  Megan’s gaze sharpened. “Did she say why?”

  “Nope. But if anyone can get her to talk about what she knows about Hannah, it’s you. You up for giving it a shot?”

  Megan looked up at him, regret clear in her eyes, then back at Trinity. “Yeah. I’m good.”

  His heart sank a little. He curled a hand around the upper part of her uninjured arm. “Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone.”

  He led her to the other side of the lobby to a leather couch set near the exterior wall for some privacy. The other three Valkyries watched them for a moment, then dispersed. Except for Trinity, who leaned against the desk, apparently waiting for Megan. But she wasn’t staring at them, giving them at least the illusion of privacy.

  “I know the timing sucks, but if I can get anything useful out of her, I have to try. It might save Hannah’s life,” Megan said to him.

  “I get that. But you shouldn’t go in there alone. You still don’t really know if you can trust her.”

  “I trust her. And she’s the best shot we have at finding Hannah.”

  “You don’t know her anymore. Who’s to say she won’t try to manipulate you to get what she wants? I’ll go in with you. Or at least stand guard outside to prevent another insider attack.”

  “No. If she’s going to give me anything, it’ll only happen if it’s just her and I.” She pulled her arm free of his grasp but took his hand, her hazel eyes earnest. “I have to do this. But I’ll make it as fast as I can. Because I want to…”

  “You want to what?”

  “Have as much time with you as I can before you go.”

  She was seriously just going to sit back and watch him leave. He pushed out a frustrated breath. “What if I didn’t go?”

  Sadness filled her expression. “It might give us a few more days together. Weeks, maybe. But with you off the team now, I’ll be leaving the moment we get intel on Hannah or one of the others, and you’d have to stay behind.”

  “I’ll figure it out.” He hated being sidelined but he’d handle it if it meant being with her when she came back.

  “Ty.” She bowed her head, her hand gripping his tight. “It doesn’t matter what we want, or how much we wish things could be different. It’s never gonna happen.”

  “The hell it won’t. You don’t know that.”

  Her gaze came up to his, bright with pain she’d never let him see before. “Yes, I do. And deep down, so do you.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not giving up.”

  She let go of his hand, looking tired all of a sudden. Pale. Heartsick. “I can’t talk about this right now. I need to see my sister.”

  He folded his arms to keep from grabbing her. To keep from kissing her senseless, or shaking some sense into her. Maybe both. “Yeah, she’s your sister, but that doesn’t mean shit at this point. She’s lied and manipulated her way this far, and she’ll do or say anything to cover her own ass. You can’t trust her. Think.”

  “I am thinking,” she fired back, those gorgeous hazel eyes blazing. “You weren’t there this morning. You didn’t see what happened or what she did. She had all the time in the world to use that knife on me. She could easily have attacked me while I was fighting with him. But she didn’t. She protected me and then surrendered.”

  “She protected herself.” Ty threw up his hands. “God, I can’t believe I even have to say this, but seriously? I know you want to believe her, and I know this has all been a hell of a shock for you, but make sure your head’s on straight before you go down there.”

  “I need to see her. Alone.”

  A muscle jumped in his jaw as he stood there watching her. After the attack this morning he wanted to be at her side wherever she went. But his toes were already flirting with the line she’d drawn in the sand. His fiercely independent Valkyrie didn’t need him and if he didn’t respect her abilities and let her handle this, he’d lose her for sure.

  It was tearing him in two. “I won’t let you put yourself in danger like that again. Not for her.”

  Her expression closed up, telling him he’d gone too far. “Lucky for me, that’s not your call. I don’t answer to you just because we slept together.” She turned to brush past him and he had to force himself to stay still, suppressing a growl.

  He shoved out a ragged exhalation. Fuck, he’d screwed this up so damn bad. If this was the end, he didn’t want to spend the remainder of their time together fighting. “Wait.”

  She stopped, shot him a glare over her shoulder.

  “I’ll stand outside the room. At least then I’ll know there won’t be a repeat of this morning.”

  Some of the anger bled out of her expression. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine. She’s my sister.” She turned and headed for Trinity.

  Yeah. That’s what worried him.

  ****

  Trinity eyed her on the way to the elevator. “Tyler looks pissed. Everything okay with you two?”

  It made Megan squirm inside to have someone ask her something so personal. “Yeah.”

  “Okay. By the way, what Amber told you about your childhood, the recovered records and your history, it’s all true. We think she’s right about being set up, too. The files she so graciously recovered for us proved it,” she added in a dry tone.

  Megan drew in a relieved breath. “That’s good to know.”

  “Yeah. But she’s still not giving us anything on Hannah or the other missing Valkyries.” Trinity swiped a key card in the elevator’s security system and pressed the button for the second floor underground.

  Out of habit, Megan paid close attention to all the details, just in case. Location of any security cameras she noticed. Number of guards. The schedule she’d glimpsed at the reception desk showing when the next shift change happened.

  “So, Tyler’s leaving tomorrow, huh?” Trinity asked.

  Megan cut her a sidelong look. “Yeah.”

  Trinity nodded, her gaze on the electronic panel giving the floor numbers as they descended. “You okay with that?”

  “Doesn’t matter if I am or not.”

  She looked over at her. “Why doesn’t it?”

  You know why. “Because.”

  But then Megan’s gaze dropped to Trinity’s left hand, to the sparkly diamond ring on her third finger. And dammit, she wanted to know how Trinity had done it. How she’d managed to move past everything she’d been taught, everything she had been, and found a man she loved and trusted enough to spend the rest of her life with.

  “You’re engaged,” she said.

  “Mmhmm.”

  Even after this op, even though they shared so much with their training and past experience with the program, they were little more than strangers. Megan didn’t know anything personal about her, and
she wanted to. “What’s your fiancé’s name?”

  “Brody.”

  “Where did you meet him?”

  “At the end of an op. I was running for my life, actually.” She glanced down at the ring, her fingers fiddling with it. “He’s a sniper on the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team.”

  Sounded like a great story. And it made so much sense that Trinity would fall for someone with that background and level of training. “When are you getting married?”

  Trinity stilled for an instant, then went back to watching the elevator display in front of her. “We haven’t set a date yet.”

  “Oh.” Something in her tone was off. “How come?”

  One side of her mouth turned up in a sardonic smile. “Same reason you’re afraid to risk a relationship with Tyler, I guess.”

  Megan’s cheeks heated. “I’m not afraid.”

  Trinity locked her gaze on Megan’s. “We’re all afraid of falling in love. It’s our biggest battle.”

  Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. “But you did it. You love him, right?”

  She faced front again. “More than I imagined I was capable of. And in case you’re wondering, no, it never gets any easier. Risking that part of us we were trained never to reveal to anyone. Trusting that we deserve something real. But it’s worth it. So you might want to think long and hard about that before you let Tyler go.”

  “I didn’t let him go,” she muttered. “He was released from his contract and he’s off the team. Rycroft’s sending him home and I have to focus on Hannah and the others.” It hurt to even say it aloud.

  “Ah. Okay, then.”

  The elevator stopped and the doors slid open, saving Megan from making any response. But Trinity’s words echoed in her mind as they passed through a guarded security door and turned left down another hallway.

  Megan counted the guards, made note of the cameras and other security measures she could see. Her back was up. Ready for any new threat.

  “Here we are,” Trinity said, stopping at a cell door on the right. “Not as high tech as the last place was, but it’s secure enough for the time being.”

  Megan memorized the code Trinity typed in. “I’ll be out here in the hall if you need me,” she said to Megan, and stepped aside as she opened the door.