Flare of Promise (AMT #4)

by Jessie Donovan

  Petra raised an eyebrow. “Then climb up and find out.”

  Millie raised her brows. “Hey, you’re not the boss of me. If anything, you should climb up.”

  Will tugged his hand free of Petra and stood between them. “I’ll do it.”

  Before either she or Petra could reply, Will reached the top of the wall and pulled himself up with ease. Damn, the man was strong and sexy. If only Petra wasn’t clearly still in love with the bloke, then Millie would probably try to lure him into bed. Her dry spell was approaching the year-mark and she wanted some release not brought on by her own hand.

  Will lowered himself back down and turned toward them. Millie snapped back to the present when he spoke up again. “There’s a ledge about twelve inches wide from the wall. However, there is a thousand or more foot drop beyond that. Provided we’re careful, twelve inches is enough space to land without trouble.”

  Millie snorted. “Says the man who probably has a price on his head by now. If they start firing guns at us, twelve inches won’t be enough if we need to jump without taking our time.”

  Petra pushed Millie aside. “Ignore her. She just likes to whine. We can do it, no problem.”

  Petra reached for the top of the wall, but before she could jump, Will had his hands on her waist and lifted. Maybe later Millie could lock the pair up in a room and let them hash out their issues. Despite all of Petra's badgering, Millie was starting to like the mercenary. If she played her cards right, she could get Petra and Will to join DEFEND.

  Yes, that would be brilliant. The look on Millie’s older brother Jaxton’s face at netting a healer and a former mercenary would be worth all of the hassle.

  Petra scaled over the wall and released her hands. The soft landing didn’t result in screaming, so Petra had to be safe. Millie approached the wall and jumped before Will could reach her. Sitting atop the stone structure, she looked down at Petra, noted the woman wasn’t in any danger, and then scanned the surroundings. The mountains dropped several thousand feet to a basin below. Falling meant death, but at least the sheer drop protected them from an attack on this side of the wall.

  Well, provided the AMT enforcers didn’t have a helicopter.

  Millie scaled down and landed with a soft thud. She pointed to her right. “This way.”

  Petra muttered, “Sometimes, I wonder if you chose the hardest path on purpose.”

  Millie shrugged. “As long as we’re quiet and don’t fall down the side of the mountain, we should be able to circle the city and reach the west side in no time. Maybe even undetected.”

  Will landed gently behind Petra. “Then can we go already? I’m not a fan of heights to begin with and only the adrenaline in my body is keeping the panic from creeping up.”

  Waving toward the basin floor, she murmured, “It’s only a one or two thousand foot drop. Calm down.”

  Turning around, she walked at a brisk pace. Petra would ensure Will followed. All Millie wanted to do was catch Giovanni Sinclair and she wasn’t about to give the bastard enough time to flee.

  ~~~

  Will kept his breathing even and steady. As long as he didn’t look to his right, to the valley below, he’d be fine.

  Or, so he could try to convince himself.

  Despite his various attempts to erase his fear of heights over the years, Will had failed. Watching his brother fall out of the tree as a lad had done its damage. The fact Henry had been confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life hadn’t helped, either.

  Leyna glanced over her shoulder. “Hydrogen, helium, lithium.”

  Her words brought him out of the memory of his brother’s fall and back to the present. The corner of his mouth ticked up. “You remember our distraction game.”

  “Hydrogen, helium, lithium,” Leyna repeated.

  Aware she would keep repeating the first three elements from the periodic table until he named the next three, he stated, “Beryllium, boron, carbon.”

  Leyna continued, “Nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine.”

  As Will and Leyna continued taking turns naming the elements, he forgot about where they were and what was happening. The last time they’d played this little game, it had been from the top of the London Eye Ferris wheel. Leyna had finally convinced him to ride the blasted contraption, but there’d been a mechanical issue when they’d hit the top of the wheel. Reciting the periodic table a few times had helped pass the thirty minutes they’d been stuck there.

  He wondered if the game signaled Leyna still cared for him.

  He blinked. What the hell was he thinking? It didn’t matter if Leyna still cared for him or thought of his well-being. He would find a way to help her escape the drug lord arsehole, but that was it. After running away from Gio and the AMT research facility, Will would be a wanted man. The last thing he wanted to do was involve Leyna in all of it.

  True, she could probably handle herself. But there was more to it. Knowing her reasons for abandoning him assuaged the rational half of his mind, but his heart would never forget. Being near her was a painful reminder of what he’d once had and could never have again.

  Just as Leyna recited the final element, Millie put up a hand to stop them. After making a “stay put” signal, Millie grabbed the top of the wall and slowly pulled herself up. While she was too young and daring for his tastes, he had to admit he was impressed with the small woman’s strength. Unable to restrain himself, he leaned toward Leyna and whispered, “Between you and Millie, I almost want to believe there’s an entire army of super women fighting the evils of the world.”

  Leyna rolled her eyes. “Women can be strong without being superheroes. Most of us do it out of necessity.”

  He burned to ask another question, but Millie slowly lowered herself down and came as close as she could to them on the small ledge. “This is where we need to climb back over the wall to head west. Where exactly are we going? I need specifics.”

  Will met the woman’s eyes and debated doling out information as they went. However, that would only waste time. Still, he had one last question. “Tell me how you plan to capture Giovanni and I’ll tell you.”

  Millie smiled slowly. “I’ll be the distraction and Petra can kick his arse. He’ll never see it coming.”

  “Petra?”

  Leyna answered, “That’s my name these days.”

  Will frowned. “Not sure I like it. But regardless, Gio is probably armed and able to take care of himself.”

  Millie waved a hand in dismissal. “Probably not. He was a university lad before working for his father. He has very little self-defense training, which should make him an easy target.”

  Will shook his head. “You’re wrong. I know he carried some kind of stun gun with him. He probably has it now.”

  Millie shrugged. “Believe me, when he sees me, he’ll be too shocked to whip out the stun gun in time. Petra will have him on the ground with her knee in his back by then.”

  “What about his bodyguards?” Will asked.

  Leyna spoke up. “Do you think he could lose them, if it came to it?”

  Will scanned his memory and nodded. “Probably. He’s lost a few tails before, mostly in university. With a disguise, it could be done.”

  Leyna bobbed her head. “Right, then tell us exactly where we need to go and leave the rest to us.”

  Will scanned Leyna’s eyes, which were full of confidence. He had no reason to trust her, but he believed his former fiancée could handle the situation. He went with his intuition. “It’s just inside the tree line near the biggest house on the western side of the town. Once there, I’ll guide you. I had to memorize the route.”

  Millie scrutinized him. “Do you think that’s wise? Someone could be lying in wait to attack.”

  Leyna lightly poked Millie. “Leave him alone. He nearly took you out earlier today. Will can handle himself.”

  For some strange reason, he stood taller at Leyna’s words.

  Millie rolled her eyes. “In the future, I think we need a rule�
�no boyfriends allowed on a mission.”

  Leyna and Will responded at the same time, “We’re not—”

  Millie cut them off. “Save it. I’m not going to waste time arguing. Get yourself over the wall and follow me.” She turned toward the wall but then looked back at Will and Leyna. “And don’t waste time snogging, either. Tick, tock goes the clock.”

  An image of earlier, of when he’d had Leyna naked and in front of him, flashed into his mind. Clearing his throat, he was about to dismiss Millie’s claims but the bloody woman had already scaled the wall.

  Not giving Leyna a chance to refuse, he took her by the waist and lifted her up. Unlike before, he took advantage of the view and admired the toned muscles of her arse. Back in the hotel, he hadn’t the time to memorize the new planes and valleys of her body. And for some reason, he was curious to do so.

  All too soon, Leyna was over the wall and out of sight. Her absence helped to regain his wits and focus on the end goal of getting to Giovanni.

  It wasn’t as if he and Leyna had a future anyway.

  Will followed the two women and pulled himself up.

  He quickly jumped to the other side. The second his feet touched the ground, Millie and Leyna hurried off in the direction of the large, two-story house in the distance, and he followed.

  The silence and lack of Leyna’s hand in his gave him time to think. He might’ve agreed to go with Millie and tell all, but he didn’t know Millie’s boss or what her people would do with the information. A back-up plan was in order, just in case the woman’s boss turned out to be no better than a crazy drug lord or power-hungry politician like James Sinclair.

  No matter what others might think, Will had some morals left.

  Then there was the problem of Leyna. If he stayed around the woman too much longer, he might start doing something daft, such as forgiving her for breaking his heart and possibly giving her a second chance.

  Which he didn’t want.

  Mostly.

  What the hell? Frowning, Will picked up his pace.

  Chapter Six

  Millie increased her pace as they drew nearer the large, two-story house at the western end of town. She shouldn’t care so much about seeing Giovanni again, but not only had her pride been stung, the man was a walking contradiction. Kiarra Melini—her brother’s girlfriend and Gio’s first-born sister—kept telling stories over the phone of the young lad who’d taken in stray animals and nursed them back to health. How Gio had morphed from that boy to the lackey of James Sinclair was beyond her.

  Sure, nabbing Gio would win Millie bonus points with her boss, her brother, and Kiarra, but she would keep him tied up until he answered her questions. Otherwise, she might go mad from the ‘what if’ questions floating inside her mind.

  Reaching the perimeter of the giant house belonging to the town’s mayor—bribed heavily by the AMT research facility to look the other way—Millie put up a hand and Petra and Will stopped just behind her. Scanning the area and listening intently, she didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. No doubt, the mayor had security inside the compound. However, earlier research had shown there weren’t any security cameras due to the AMT Oversight Committee’s mandate, which worked to their advantage.

  It was still a daft place to have a secret meeting since getting in and out would be difficult for the untrained. And no matter what Will Evans said, Gio wasn’t trained for an assignment like this one.

  Rather than worry about what could happen, Millie moved to Will’s side and whispered into his ear, “Once we’re inside the tree line, we should be safe and I’ll allow you to lead. For now, I need to know which direction to go.”

  Will pointed to a spot southwest of the house. With a nod, Millie signaled for Petra to watch their backs before Millie weaved her way toward the spot, careful to stay out of sight.

  When they were nearly to the tree line, she heard a small branch break.

  One second passed, and then another, but she didn’t hear another sound. Maybe it had been a wild animal.

  Taking out the stun gun she’d purchased from a contact in China, Millie inched slowly toward the trees. Everything remained quiet until they were all about five feet inside and shielded from view. A large crash sounded from deeper in the forest. Moving through the trees as quickly as she could without giving away her position, Millie readied her gun. When she approached a small clearing deep in the forest, she halted and blinked.

  Neena Chatterjee stood over an unconscious Giovanni Sinclair, her foot on his arse and a grin on her face. Neena waved. “Hello, Millie. Right on time.”

  Millie surveyed the area but didn’t sense any other threats. With a sigh, she pocketed the stun gun. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

  Neena prodded Gio’s arse with her shoe. “Because I need to keep you on your toes.” Petra and Will finally emerged from the trees. Neena waved at them. “It’s nice to meet you two in person.” She growled and made cat claw motions with her hands. “Although you are much more stunning in person, Leyna Grunwald.”

  Petra aka Leyna frowned and looked at Millie. “Who the hell is that?”

  Millie motioned toward the petite, copper-skinned woman with wild, curly black hair. “May I introduce my boss, Neena Chatterjee.”

  Neena skipped toward them. When she stopped, she took out a baggie and opened it. “Trail mix? I brought my super-secret blend with me today.”

  Leaving Petra and Will to fend for themselves, Millie approached Giovanni.

  Unconscious, the man looked almost peaceful. There was no hardness to his jaw or tension in his forehead. Of course, with his eyes closed, she couldn’t see the intelligence or cunning in his gaze. For some odd reason, she wanted to slap his face and wake him up so she could.

  But Millie resisted. Her next job was getting Gio out of China. Only then would she have the chance to interrogate the man and get some answers.

  ~~~

  Petra barely had time to refuse the offer of trail mix from the crazy lady before said lady moved between her and Will. Looping an arm around each of their waists, Neena pulled them closer together. For such a petite woman, Neena was strong.

  Petra’s frown deepened as she looked down at the woman. “You’re not what I expected.”

  Neena winked. “I’ll take that as the highest form of flattery.” Giving one last squeeze, Neena released them. “But you’ll get used to it. After all, you now work for me.”

  Will spoke up. “Wait a second, who the bloody hell are you, lady? I never agreed to work for anyone.”

  Neena tapped her chin. “Aw, but you’re wrong. You were working for Gio. Then you agreed to give information to Millie’s boss, which is moi. Since Gio is now my prisoner, that means you work for me.”

  Petra took a step toward Neena. “How do you know all of that? I’m pretty sure Millie didn’t have time to call you between the bomb, fleeing, and getting here. Who are you, exactly?”

  Millie rejoined their group and beat Neena to the reply. “Neena has visions of the future. I don’t understand how it works, exactly, but her track record has been 99 percent correct to date.”

  Neena tsked. “Hey now, that 1 percent isn’t my fault. The idiot ate a peanut and died from shock.” Neena looked back to Petra. “He did it on purpose, too, the rascal.”

  Millie rolled her eyes. “Only because you drove him mad first.”

  Neena waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s not my fault if he couldn’t understand brilliance.”

  Petra resisted pinching the bridge of her nose. “How about we forget the statistics and figure a plan to get the hell out of here.”

  Neena pointed deeper into the forest. “Go that way and a team will help you escape. No enemies should stop you in the next ten minutes. Oh, and this fine man here is free of bugs or anything that can track him. Yet another reason you owe me.”

  Will spoke up. “I’m not going anywhere until you give me some answers. For all we know, it could be a trap.”

&
nbsp; Neena looked to Will. “Ah, look who’s clever. But I assure you, it’s safe. Ignore my help and you won’t make it out of here alive.” She glanced between Petra and Will. “And I think you two very much want to survive this together.”

  Petra reached out to grab Neena, but the woman jumped a few steps back. Neena raised her hand. “Ta-ta for now. The next time we meet, Leyna will rise from the dead.”

  Neena turned and skipped into the forest.

  Turning toward Millie, Petra shook her head. “There’s no way in hell I can work for that woman.”

  Amusement twinkled in Millie’s eyes. “Oh, she’s not that bad. And I’d heed her warning. I tried to resist once, and later ended up with a broken leg.”

  Will muttered, “She probably broke it for you.”

  Millie looked at him. “Ah, but she doesn’t need to do that. Planting a small nugget of an idea in someone’s brain will help her years down the line. Neena definitely plays the long game.” She motioned toward the forest. “I’m going in the direction she said. You can carry Gio.”

  Petra growled. “I’m not bloody carrying him alone.”

  Will moved to the unconscious man. “I’ll do it.”

  She watched as Will squatted and maneuvered Gio’s body over his shoulder. Will stood up with ease. Petra was impressed. “You were never that strong in our old life.”

  She regretted bringing it up, but Will replied before she could dismiss it. “And you had a different name. Do you want to go through everything that’s changed or get a move on? I, personally, don’t want to loiter around. I like staying alive.”

  Millie started walking and Will followed. Petra jogged to catch up to him. “I didn’t say it to be negative. I’m actually quite impressed with your strength. It means you might not die on our way out of China.”

  Will adjusted his grip on Giovanni. “I may not like my ability, but I can heal myself. It’s going to take a lot to kill me.”