by Amy McKinley
“You know there are cameras down here. I’m assuming there is no sound?”
“What do you take me for? An amateur?” He chuckled. “They were disabled before I even set foot on the first stair. Running on a loop, of course.”
She nodded. Not all the cameras though. “You were saying something about why I was needed in this equation?”
“Originally, it was to be Ilya who took the fall. But that didn’t work out, now did it?”
She shrugged. There was no reason to let him know she was involved in that. Rich knew, but she didn’t think Henry did. She would find out if Rich leaked the information and if he was another she would have to take care of when she was free.
“Well, we needed the sound weapon to turn up. There was no reason to keep it, not after we’d already taken pictures of the inner workings. We will be able to duplicate it shortly. The purpose it serves is far greater. You pretty much served yourself up on a platter when you were arrested. So trusting. You accepted that key I gave you on the plane with hardly a question. You should have known better.”
“Clearly.” It was what she needed. “So you planted the weapon in the locked box at the train station? The one the key that you gave me opened?”
“That’s right. Just before I stopped in the warehouse where you happened to be. Imagine my surprise.”
She smirked. “He’s dead.”
“I gathered. After what I briefly witnessed of you cleaning house of our men, your father was supposed to kill you. I had to give him those orders. You’d obviously gone rogue.”
“And now? You’ll remain in position? The Academy will reap the benefits? I’m to rot in prison?”
He took a few steps back and out of reach. “Oh no, my dear. You’re too dangerous to leave alive.” From behind his back, he pulled a gun.
It has to be the sound weapon. Hannah dropped her hands from the bars and backed away until her back slammed into the rear wall. Her cell wasn’t deep enough. Her heart pounded against her ribs.
As Henry’s arm straightened and his finger slipped over the trigger, a shot rang out. Henry jerked and cried out, and blood splattered from his wrist. The gun he’d held clattered to the ground.
Jack, Connor, and Mike came into view. A grin stretched across her mouth at the same time as Henry’s face flushed a thunderous red.
“You okay, babe?” Jack winked.
Relief washed over her, and her knees went weak. “Absolutely.” They’d let her keep the earbuds, but at such close range, she wondered whether she would have been safe in the wake of the sound wave.
“Seems the sound weapon went missing.” Mike bent and picked it up, grinning. “Oh look, here it is. See you in a little while, Hannah.”
She returned his grin as her body hummed with the thrill of the way things had turned out. Henry continued to sputter about what hell the boys would catch. No one paid him any attention. She had one more thing to say to him. “Henry.”
She waited until he turned toward her.
“You of all people should know there is always a possibility of someone listening, watching.”
While she had his full focus, she unpinned the camera from her shirt and handed it to Jack through the bars. The expression on Henry’s face was worth the hours she’d had to endure in the dreary holding cell.
Connor winked at her before he grabbed Henry and ushered him out. Jack stepped close and plucked the pin from her fingers. “So you trust me, huh?” Mischief danced in his eyes.
Happiness burst inside her. “I guess I do.” A loud click bounced off the walls, and her door slid open. She stepped through, and he clasped her hand in his. Finally, her trust hadn’t been misplaced. Together, they walked out of the CIA’s hidden prison and back to the surface. Her nerves fell away.
With her hand in Jack’s, all was right in her world. For the first time in a very long time, she was content. Her sister used to be her home. Now, she’d found one in Jack.
Epilogue
Hannah
7 months later
A warm breeze carrying the intoxicating scent of spring flowers teased Hannah’s hair. The soon-to-be-three-story building she and Jack were building in Maine was partially framed. Her hand curled around a two-by-four at the end of a roughed-in wall.
How things had changed. Nine years ago, hell, even seven months ago, she wouldn’t have imagined her life turning out as it had. Revenge had consumed her for so very long. Parts of her wouldn’t fully let it go. The Academy and the spies the organization produced were on her radar. If the US government needed her help, she was bound to aid them in taking down the Russian sleeper agents. The list she and Jack had recovered had been a very useful negotiation tool. With it, they’d bargained with the head of the CIA for her life.
The dismal track record of her prior years had finally broken. Out of the ashes of her past, she’d been gifted a new life.
Long before, she’d had a family and a country, but then the very same country became foreign and lost to her as she assumed the role of a spy in America. With Jack, she’d finally shed her pseudo residency for a real one. America was her home, and with Jack by her side, it was an exceptional one.
A hint of sadness overshadowed her happiness. It was to be expected. Her sister was never far from her thoughts. And she knew if she decided to have children someday, she would mourn all her sister had given up that she somehow gained. I miss you, Elsa.
Her sister would have loved this life, and she should have had the same opportunity. Well, Elsa would have wanted the happily-ever-after portion of her existence, even if she would have preferred to sit out the missions.
It was hard to believe that nine years before Elsa gave her a gift, knowledge of the list. In the end, that piece of information had bought her freedom. And Jack. He was integral in implementing the terms of the negotiation, and he provided another avenue of meaningful employment for her. After Henry had been hauled away, she and Jack had sat down with Rich and the head of the CIA and worked out a deal. At the time, the flash drive was still in their possession, and Jack refused to give it over until an amicable agreement was reached.
She leaned her head against the beam and smiled. It was sweet. Since she’d met Jack, she understood the obsession her sister had with the opposite sex. Before Jack, she’d never experienced that intense spark that ignited every time Elsa met a boy she liked, but it was there in full force with him. It’d flared to life the very moment she’d laid eyes on him.
She had everything she could have ever imagined. Neither the CIA nor the Pentagon would reinstate her as an employee, but they did grant her citizenship. She was free to work with the Gray Ghost Security team so long as she pursued the sleeper agents on the list. That had been their one stipulation.
She had no problem with that. After all, they’d taken everything she had held dear in Russia. There would be no way she would allow harm to come to those she loved ever again.
With a slow blink, she pulled herself fully into the present and to the nonprofit she and Jack were starting in Maine to help homeless youth. She’d fallen in love with how he gave back, and she wanted to do the same. Together, they would make a difference. For her, it started where she stood. The construction was coming along nicely.
She pushed away from the wall and stepped forward when two muscular arms slid around her waist and pulled her back against a solid chest. She smiled at the familiar feel.
Jack asked as he nuzzled her neck with soft kisses, “Do you know how much I love you?”
She turned in his arms and tilted her head to meet his smiling eyes. “Yes.” A thrill danced along her skin, raising the small hairs along her arms. She’d put her trust in him in a last-ditch effort. Besides Elsa, she’d found there wasn’t anyone she could rely on. Elsa’s boyfriend, her father, Henry… They’d all stabbed her in the back.
“I love you.” More than words could ever convey. With a finger, she traced the angular line of his jaw. “If I had met you when I was young an
d lost, I would have fallen under your spell just as hard. I love you, Jack.” And if there had been a shelter like what Jack had created when he was young or like the one they were building… If she’d known Jack, she truly believed she and Elsa would have had a viable option other than the Academy.
Trust was a gamble, and she’d given hers to the wrong people too many times. But she’d placed her faith in Jack, rolled the dice, and finally come out a winner.
With Jack, she’d found a home.
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Acknowledgments
Writing a book is a pretty fantastic journey and I’m so grateful to all those who supported me on this journey.
With heartfelt thanks to my amazing critique partners and fellow authors, Emily Albright, Kristin Kisska, and Victoria Van Tiem for providing insight, candor, and camaraderie from the first draft to final edit.
A special thanks to Taylor Anhalt for helping to make this novel shine with her grammar skills, editing, and willingness to jump in despite her hectic schedule.
To Kate B. and Kristina B., two wonderful editors at Red Adept Editing, who did a fantastic job and made this story so much better. To T.E. Black for chatting at all hours and creating so many wonderful things for me, from Facebook banners, to formatting, and of course, this gorgeous cover.
To Maryellen Newton and Maria Vickers, amazing beta readers who provided incredible feedback. Maryellen, I’m so grateful for your unwavering friendship and our weekly Panera coffee chats.
Thank you Michael Pagan for letting me bounce ideas with you. Your insight and patience made this story that much richer.
Big thanks to Itsy Bitsy Book Bits Promotions for going above and beyond. To all the readers, bloggers, and reviewers who went out of their way to help and support this release—you’re all so very generous and kind. Your support and encouragement continues to inspire me.
And last, but in no way least, to my husband, two daughters, and two sons, for supporting and believing in me while I follow my dreams. For their patience and understanding when the house is messy and general chaos reigns. I can’t imagine life without them.
About the Author
Amy McKinley is the author of the Five Fates Series and Gray Ghost Novels. Her romance books have strong heroines, sexy alphas, and just the right amount of heat, danger, and always an HEA. She lives in Illinois with her husband, two daughters, two sons, and three mischievous cats.
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You can find her at www.amymckinley.com
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Also by Amy McKinley
Gray Ghost Novels
Moments That Define Us
Broken Circle
Eye of the Storm
Beneath the Surface
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The Five Fates Series
Hidden
Taken
