“Where is it, Blake?” I asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s been really fun sitting here chatting with you all, and all of this is going to be great for my story. But frankly, I’m bored. And I’ve done nothing wrong. You have no reason to detain me. I’m leaving now.” Blake stood and squared her shoulders.
“You’re gonna let nineteen embassies be bombed? You really haven’t changed; you’re still the cold-hearted bitch you’ve always been.”
“Think whatever you’d like Levi. You’ve always jumped to conclusions. It’s your biggest downfall. You make decisions based on emotion instead of facts. Nice to see that you haven’t changed either.” She stopped and turned to Mr. White. “If any of your men try and stop me, I will shoot them, agency or not. I will not be as nice as the men. I have a job to do, one that you thoroughly fucked up. Next time you think you know something, remember you don’t. I answer to one man. I have my orders, and this little stunt you just pulled might have just caused thousands of deaths.”
“You knew Al-Harazi planned on taking you,” I guessed.
“Of course, I did. Where do you think he got his intel?” She stopped and pointed at Mr. White. “He was piggybacking off of mine. I will be having a long talk with the director when I get back about who he sends in as back up. I don’t need it, I don’t want it, and this cluster fuck of crap proves that.”
“And what did you have planned once he kidnapped you? He wasn’t going to put you up in the Four Seasons. He would’ve tortured you, maybe even killed you. Then he would’ve continued on to blow up three city blocks, Blake,” I all but yelled.
“You really are dense. This isn’t my first rodeo, football star. He would’ve never made it that far,” she said, squaring her shoulders.
“You had the kill order,” Clark interjected.
If it were anyone else in front of me, I would’ve told them it was a good plan. Dangerous, but good.
“Well, that plan is shot to hell. You and the super spy squad will be on your way stateside in a few hours, and my team will take it from here,” I said.
Gone was the composed well-trained agent. Blake’s face turned a deep shade of red, and she exploded.
“The hell you will. This is my op. I will not be thrown off because some overzealous agent decided it was time to call in the men. I have everything covered. Two months I worked to get Al-Harazi to trust me. I have shown a despicable man kindness and understanding in order to get close. Do you have any idea how hard it is to agree with a man that I know killed innocent people? When I know what he is planning? Every time that man touches me I want to vomit, but I suck it up knowing that I will get the pleasure of slicing his throat before he carries out one of the largest bombings in recent history.”
I will admit, I was a little turned on by her outburst and a whole lot pissed. “You let that man touch you?” I spit out.
“That’s what you have to say? There you go again, allowing your emotions to override your common sense. What I do to get close to a mark is none of your business, and I will not sit here and listen to any more of this bullshit. I have a mission to complete. Get the fuck out of my way.”
“There is zero chance you’re doing this on your own,” Clark interjected. “You might have your orders, but I have mine. And mine are to bring you home safe and sound.”
“I’m sorry, Blake. I didn’t get confirmation that you had been briefed on the kidnapping plot,” Mr. White apologized.
Blake’s face softened when she looked at him, and that, too, pissed me off. “I know you didn’t. I wasn’t briefed because it was my intel. I get it, wires get crossed, and split-second decisions have to be made. I understand you thought you were doing the right thing. The issue I have is instead of treating me like a fellow operative you treated me like a damsel in distress. Then you sat here wasting hours playing agency games instead of recognizing I’m your equal. Now, I need to rush my timeline and pray that the convoy hasn’t left me behind. Al-Harazi might think twice about trying to take me now. I’m sure word got out that an American reporter was taken. Everyone, please, I have a chance to save this op,” Blake pleaded.
“Clark, sorry to interrupt, command called. There’s been a mission shift. Blake Porter is to be released. Mr. White,” Jasper stopped and pointed at the CIA agent in the room, “Stays with us as backup and the rest of the rainbow in the other room are to fall back and stay here.”
“Copy that,” Clark answered. “If you’re staying you need another name. There is not a chance in fuck I’m calling you Mr. White or any other spy name. If you don’t want to give me your real name, make one up. Harry, Frank, James, I don’t care. Anything is better than Mr. White.”
“Grayson,” Mr. White answered.
“Seriously? So, what, your nickname is Gray? What is wrong with you spooks?” I asked.
“Take it up with my mom. That’s the name she gave me,” he answered.
“When was the last time you had contact with Al-Harazi?” Clark asked Blake.
“I don’t know? What day is it?” she asked.
“We’ve had her twenty-two hours. Her last contact was about an hour before my team went in,” Grayson answered.
Blake had sat back down, her cunning eyes taking in the room. She was formulating a plan of escape.
“If you run, I will find you. Don’t get any ideas in that pretty little head of yours.”
“As if you would. I could walk right out the door, slam it so hard the building shook, and you’d never even bother. You’d turn your back; it’s what you're good at. It normally comes right after one of your emotional fits.”
Fuck me, the woman knew where to sucker punch.
“One tends to walk away when he learns the woman he was planning on marrying would rather take his daddy’s money than have to slum it. Don’t worry baby; there’s been no shortage of women who didn’t mind having to slum it over the years. Hope dear old dad came through on all those big promises. Tell me, did his check clear? God knows there were an awful lot of zeros at the end.”
Blake’s face paled and hurt flashed in her eyes. There was a moment of guilt thick in my gut, but the moment she masked her pain the guilt fled just as fast. She was a master of deception, especially now that she had been trained by the CIA.
She couldn’t be trusted.
Chapter Four
Blake
You would’ve thought that after all these years his words wouldn’t have hurt me. And maybe they wouldn’t have if I’d been able to stop loving him. He’d very obviously been able to. He thought I had taken Alister’s money and he turned all the love we had for each other into hate. I didn’t have that luxury. I knew the truth. I couldn’t even be angry at him for walking out on me. I should’ve hated him for not returning my calls, or not writing me back, but I couldn’t muster the courage to do it. If I stopped loving him, it was like everything I had been trying to do the last twelve years was for nothing.
Every lead I tracked down, all the money trails I followed, will have been for nothing. Well, that was not entirely true. There was a bonus in operation: bury Alister Bench. I took down the men he gave money to and the terrorist organizations he funded. Bench had funneled a million dollars to Al-Harazi through various charities. That million dollars was now going to be used to bomb three city blocks. The yin and yang. I was plotting revenge and murder yet doing good for the world in the process.
“As much as I love a good soap opera, we have a new mission to plan,” Clark said. “When is Al-Harazi planning on crossing into Oman?”
“Three hours,” I told him. “I will have just enough time if I leave now.”
“No, you won’t. Change of plans. We’ll use Grayson’s fuck up to our advantage. You and I will go to Al-Harazi and ask him for safe passage into Oman,” Levi suggested.
“No way. It won’t work. I have to go alone.”
The thought of having to spend any more time with Levi made my stomach turn, and my heart ache. I had to
concentrate on taking out my mark, not remembering every sweet thing Levi ever said to me.
“It will work. It is the perfect plan. Al-Harazi knows that you were taken. Levi can be your cover; he helped you escape, now you both need passage. Offer him money to take you across the border. If he wants you as badly as you say he does, he’ll want to help you. This way he can look at himself as your savior. He’ll think you’re grateful to him, making you easier to control,” Clark added.
“Sure, and Levi doesn’t reek of American soldier? He’s even dressed the part. Al-Harazi will smell that a mile away, and kill us both. No thanks. I’ll go in alone; that’s the plan.”
I had to admit, the idea was good and maybe if any of the other guys had offered to go, I might have considered it.
“That was the old plan, welcome to the new one. He’ll change clothes with one of the Rainbow Brites and play the part of a businessman held for ransom. It’s not like that is a far stretch in Yemen,” Clark continued.
“And the lack of beard and any bruising from the beating he would’ve taken?” I asked.
“Easy. He was taken the same time you were, twenty-four hours ago. And it wouldn’t be the first time we had to stage a fight to leave some marks.”
This was not going as planned. Clark had an answer to every question I threw out. And if I asked one of the other men to accompany me it would tip my hand and show more than I wanted them to see. I wanted Levi to believe I was just as unaffected as he was; that having him standing in front of me wasn’t giving me butterflies in my belly and flashbacks of my youth. I was a trained killer, a professional, not some silly school girl with a crush.
“Two is one, and one is none. You know it’s better to have backup with you,” Levi said. I think that was the first time he had spoken to me like I was a person and not scum on the bottom of his shoe.
They were right. My original plan was shot to shit, and I’d need some explanation as to how I’d escaped so quickly.
“What do I need to know about your cover?” I asked.
“Nothing. You don’t know me. I’ll make the rest up on the fly. If we run into trouble and we need to abort just ask me ‘Do you have family back home?’ If one of us asks that we’ll know it’s time to bug out.”
“Okay.”
“Jasper and Lenox will go ahead of us to Muscat. Grayson and I will be behind you,” Clark explained.
There was no point in continuing to argue; he was coming with me. I needed to pull my shit together and get my head back on the op instead of staring at Levi. Even in his tactical gear, I could make out how much bigger and broader he’d grown since I’d last seen him. I wanted to study him, ask him questions, hear his voice, see his smile, but none of that was going to happen. He hated me, and I had a mission to complete.
“Grayson, change clothes with me. You’re the closest to my size.” Levi didn’t wait for Grayson’s answer before he walked out the door leaving me in the room alone with Clark.
“So, you’re the one?” he asked.
“The one what?” I wasn’t entirely sure what he was asking.
“The one that got away.”
What the hell did he say? The one that got away? More like the one that was tossed out on her ass like yesterday’s trash.
“I don’t know what he’s told you about me but I’m not what he says I am,” I tried to explain.
“He hasn’t told me a damn thing.”
“Then why would you say that?” I asked.
“There is only one thing that can gut a man and crush his soul. A woman,” Clark declared.
“He doesn’t look crushed to me.”
And he didn’t. He looked strong and capable, like he was comfortable in his role being a soldier. I always knew he’d fit in and do well. I was proud of him. He had followed his dream and done exactly what he’d set out to do. He turned down every scholarship that was offered to him, and he followed his heart.
“Looks can be deceiving. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, and I don’t much care. I do know on this op I’m in charge. Today, for the duration, I’m the one man you answer to, and Levi is in charge of you in the field.”
White hot rage coursed through my veins. The arrogance of this prick. For eight long years, I’ve been putting up with a double standard being a woman. I was sick as shit of always having to prove my worth.
Without thinking, I was over the table, and my right hand found his blade in the sheath on his left hip. A split second later the tip of the cool metal was pressed against his throat.
“Looks can be deceiving. You underestimate my skill and my usefulness. I will not be treated like a delicate flower that needs protecting. I have just as much experience in the field as you do.”
I looked to the doorway, both Levi and Grayson staring at me with either appreciation in their eyes, or they thought I’d lost my shit. Either way, I didn’t care.
“Glad to hear it,” Clark said and smiled. He took advantage of my hesitation, knocking the knife out of my hand and twisting me around. “Now tell me, Blake. Would you like an open slap or a closed fist?” he chuckled.
Well damn, this was the part of the job I hated the most. Being hit. But it was necessary. For us to pull off that I’d been taken and held hostage, I had to have marks too.
“I’ll take a fist. I hate being slapped like a bitch,” I answered.
“Noted.” Clark let go of me, and I turned to face him. “I’ll pull it as much as I can, just enough to leave a mark. Turn your face a little; I don’t want to break your cheek.”
“I’m fine. I told you, I’ve been in the field a long time. I’ve taken a hit a time or two, and they were not pulling their punches.”
I turned my head and braced myself for the pain. There was a loud crack and pain radiated from the side of my face followed by a growl from across the room.
“That will never happen again,” Levi roared.
My hand flew to the side of my face, and I sucked in air. Holy shit that hurt, and it took me a moment to be able to speak. When I finally could, I turned to Levi. “Oh, come on, the sight of a little punch to the face bothers you? For a big bad commando, you sure are squeamish,” I taunted, trying to break the tension in the room. I didn’t want to begin to process why Levi was so mad.
“You think you’re funny Blake. Fuck you.” Levi stormed out of the room, and a moment later there was a loud bang, then another. It sounded like Levi was punching a wall.
Clark sighed. “One of those idiots better get him under control before he breaks his knuckles. You still think he doesn’t look crushed? Levi is the coolest operator I have, the most calculating and precise. That man in there has lost his ever-loving mind.”
I remained quiet. I didn’t know what to say. I had a mission to complete, and I didn’t have time to deal with Levi’s temper tantrum. Even if I did, he wouldn’t talk to me. He had refused to speak to me for twelve years. A few minutes later the sickening sound of a fist hitting flesh could be heard from the other room. Someone was working him over pretty good.
Levi would need more marks than me. Male prisoners were treated worse than the women. I could get away with a single mark on my face. Levi couldn’t.
When he finally reentered the room, I had to force myself to stay planted. I wanted to run to him and tend to his bloodied face. He looked horrible.
“If you broke my nose, Jasper, I’m gonna kick your ass when we get home,” Levi grumbled before he turned to me. “You ready?” he asked.
“Yeah. Grayson, is there any of my equipment left or did you clean it all?” I asked.
“Everything has been scrubbed,” he said.
Asshole. He at least had the decency to look sorry.
“Burn it before you go. I’d take it out myself, but I don’t have time. At least give me back my cell. I don’t know if I’ll be allowed to keep it, but I’d like to try. It’s clean, so if I have to toss it, it won’t be a problem.
Grayson pulled my phone out
of his pocket, along with my press credentials and passport and handed them to me.
“We’ll ditch the car and huff it the last three miles back to the village right before the security checkpoint,” I told the men. “My next check-in is in twenty-four hours with evac instructions. I assume you will handle that call to the DNI. If we get separated, my rally point is a small dock behind the British embassy, but let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point.”
“The director has been alerted to the new play. Levi, you stay on Blake. We will track your movements using your chip. I hate that we won’t have comms. Be safe, and I’ll catch you on the flip side.” Clark gave Levi a fist bump and turned to me. “Remember you’re not alone; use your backup if you need it.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Everyone in the room treated me like I was wet behind the ears.
“Copy that.” I turned to Levi. “Let’s roll.”
I hoped I sounded stronger than I felt. My hands were shaking as I shoved my belongings into the pocket of my pants and clipped the knife, the only weapon I would have until it was taken from me again, inside of the waistband.
Levi and I slipped out the back door and found a car to hotwire. Fifty kilometers was too far to walk; as guilty as I felt for stealing a car, it was necessary. Naturally, Levi slipped into the driver’s seat even though I knew the area better.
“Where to?” he asked.
“I can drive, you know?” I sassed.
“Yeah, that’s great. Where to?”
This was going to be a long couple of days. If Al-Harazi didn’t kill me on the spot, having to be up close and personal with Levi would.
Chapter Five
Levi
I hated to admit it, but Blake was sexy as hell when she jumped over the table and pulled Clark's knife on him. I knew it was a test. Clark enjoyed putting someone new through the paces; however, that test was out of necessity, to see if Blake was competent. I was actually impressed she was able to pull Clark’s blade as quickly as she did. Twelve years had definitely changed her. The old Blake could cut a person down to size using her impressive vocabulary, not jump a table. The old Blake closed her eyes during horror movies and thought that The Bourne Supremacy was too violent. The new Blake seemed to have gotten a handle on her disgust of blood. She took Clark’s hit like a pro, barely flinching when his fist made contact with her face. What the hell had she been up to over the years? The sight of Clark hitting her, no matter how necessary it was, made me see red. I knew he’d pulled the punch; he didn’t want to hurt her any more than I wanted to see it. However, it didn’t make a damn bit of difference to me. I still wanted to kick his ass for touching her.
Finally Free_Levi_A Black Ops Romance Page 3
