by Lexi Blake
So let it. Let her go with him. He won’t really hurt her. He won’t do anything he hasn’t already done to her.
His hands fisted because that was the dark bastard inside him talking, the one every man had somewhere deep down. The one every good man managed to shut up.
If Levi put his hands on her this time, it would be assault. It would be rape, and he wasn’t going to let that happen to any human being, much less one he’d loved more than life itself at one point.
“We’re prepared to give you a briefing on the subject,” Rupert allowed. “But only Mr. Knight. I’m sorry. You no longer work for the Agency, and they’ve been a bit intransigent on this. I believe it might be Mr. Green’s influence. However, given the fact that you have helped us on numerous occasions, if Mr. Knight leaves his notes somewhere on his desk, well, despite our personality clash, I do trust him to a point. I’m sorry things have come to this. We were quite happy with the outcome of the Paris operation.”
He bet they were. And he knew what was happening. Levi had a plan and it included cutting Ezra off from Damon. Damon would stay here and that would leave Ezra alone to chase Levi down, and wouldn’t Levi love that when he had a whole crew with him.
Or he would sit his ass down in the lobby and wait for Damon. Ezra was sure there would be video of him casually sitting while Kim was taken god knew where, and Levi would make sure she saw it. It would be one more way to hurt her, to show her that her ex-husband didn’t care what happened to her. The fucker likely meant to Stockholm syndrome her.
Or he would cut her into little pieces and send them to you.
He had to do something. He couldn’t fucking sit here. He had to get out. Maybe it didn’t matter if he got mowed down by Levi’s army. Maybe that was what he’d been waiting for all these years.
“Ezra, perhaps you’ll wait for me in the lobby,” Damon said gently. “I apologize for dragging you out here. I wouldn’t have if I’d known what was going on. I’m sure Ariel will be done with her meeting soon and she can join you.”
Ariel. He’d forgotten about Ariel. Ariel, who was Kim’s closest friend in the world. Ari, who had never forgotten how to assassinate an asshole.
“This could be a while. Feel free to take the Benz.” Damon handed him the car keys. “I’ll take the Tube back. And then we’ll talk about what to do next. If you don’t mind, could you update my partners on the situation? Let Ian know I’ll call him tonight. And I’m sorry about Solo.”
Damon was telling him what to do next. Call Ian. Take the Benz and the former MI6 sharpshooter and go get his…go get Kim. Not his girl. Not anymore. But she damn straight wasn’t going to be Levi’s victim.
He remembered how to play this game. He sighed and took the keys and gave Damon what he hoped was a sad-sack smile. “Thanks. We’ll see you back at The Garden. I’ll let your wife know you might be late.”
He stood and nodded to Rupert before leaving the conference room. It took everything he had to not run. They might still be in the building. Levi had probably taken her down to the secure parking garage and prepared her for transport.
His heart was racing as he forced himself to casually walk past the reception desk and out into the hall.
He started to move toward the bank of elevators. His security badge wouldn’t get him to the secure garage. He would have to bet on which exit they would take. And he needed to get Ari.
“Hello, Ez,” a cultured British voice said. Ariel stepped up beside him, a smile on her face. “I got a text from Damon. We should go back to The Garden. I’m sure there are a lot of feelings you need to process.”
Though her tone was casual, he could hear the bite beneath it. Ariel was well aware they were still on camera and that ears might be listening.
“Yeah, though I want a beer more than a session.” The elevator doors opened, and they walked in. Luckily they were alone. “I’m shocked. I hope I can spend some time with my friends tonight.”
He hoped the rest of the team was already on it. Not that there was a whole lot of team left since the Lost Boys had gone. Owen was in Scotland with Rebecca, and Tucker and Jax had left with their families for the States. Rob would be back, but he was with his brother, Tucker, for now.
He’d come to think of those men as family, and he hated the thought that he was losing them.
Ariel’s eyes were on the floor indicator as it began the descent down to the garage. “I hope so, too. It would be good to have a family dinner, though you should know Nick’s probably going to be late. He’s on a surveillance assignment with Brody. But Walt is back at The Garden. He’s running one of his crazy experiments. You know the mad professor. He thinks he can find a solution to everything.”
Walt Bennett was a brilliant doctor who’d gotten off his original path when he came up against The Collective. He’d worked for McKay-Taggart and Knight since then, and his focus wasn’t merely on medicine. He’d learned a lot about tech over the years.
So if he was reading Ari right, Damon had texted her then she’d put a plan in motion, one that included putting Nick Markovic and Brody Carter on the streets, with Walt using all the tech he had to figure out where they were taking Kim.
“Maybe I should find some place to hole up and drink for a couple of days,” he said, knowing someone was listening. “It’s not every day you find out your ex-wife is a traitor.”
A soft gasp let him know Ariel hadn’t been told that part. Damon’s text had likely been brief and to the point. She hadn’t known how Levi had taken her.
“I find it hard to believe,” Ari said as the doors came open.
“Her name was on the list.” He would tell her as much as he could.
She bit her lip and nodded as they came up to the security station.
The guard smiled at her. He was an older man who’d probably been manning the desk for years. “Ms. Adisa, back so soon? I thought you were going to be a while.”
She returned her pass and gave the man a smile that could charm the most ill-tempered of men. “It was a quick meeting, and I have to get my friend back home. He’s had a bit of bad news. I was wondering if you could tell me the best exit to take. I heard there’s a VIP group going out of the high-security lot, and I would prefer to avoid getting caught in that traffic. You know how the Americans can be.”
It was such a good play since some of his Agency coworkers had made scenes over the years, and it made them all look like assholes. Nothing could connect people like having to deal with assholes.
“I would go west if you’re heading back to Chelsea, my dear,” the guard said with a fond smile. “Though you should be good, if you get my meaning.”
Then they were already on the road.
She reached out and shook the man’s hand. “Excellent. Thank you, George. I’ll be back in a few days, I suspect. Please send my love to your wife.”
He wanted to hurry her along, but she was playing this perfectly. She’d gotten the guard to admit that Levi’s group was already gone, and they’d left through the southernmost exit that would block traffic to the east. Now they knew what road they would most likely be on, and they could watch the traffic cameras.
The guard buzzed them through and they were in the parking garage, Ariel’s heels echoing with each step she took.
“I need to get my bag from the boot,” Ariel said with that placid expression on her face.
He’d been completely unaware she’d put a bag in the trunk of the sleek Mercedes, but he opened it for her anyway. She reached in and came back with what appeared to be a gym bag.
“You drive, please.” Ari slammed the trunk door down and moved to the passenger side. “I’m not good in traffic.”
He’d spent a lot of time in London and knew how to drive in the city. He wanted to be the one with his hands free, but if one of them was going to take a shot, she was the better choice.
Like Kim was better. Kim had killer instincts and always knew when something was going down. Only once had she…he wasn’t
going there. He needed to focus on getting her back. Then he could let his rage take over. Anything was better than this complete sense of hopelessness he felt at the thought of never seeing her again.
He slid into the driver’s side, and the minute he closed the door he was finally able to breathe. “I want you to take that asshole out if you can.”
He wanted to be the one to do it, but he wouldn’t argue at this point. He wanted to know Levi fucking Green was dead.
Ariel clicked her seat belt in place and opened the bag as Ezra backed the car out of the space. “Play it cool until we get to the street. They’ve still got cameras on us for a couple of blocks. What the bloody hell happened? I saw Kim not twenty minutes ago and she was fine.”
“Levi Green happened.” He drove in a careful manner, well aware they had one more guard to get through.
Ariel reached over and activated the touch screen on the dashboard. It seemed Damon had some extras on this vehicle because the touchscreen didn’t merely bring up the car’s systems. It connected to a video call. Walt’s face came up on the screen. “Walter, we’re about to leave the building. What have you got for us?”
Walt was a lanky American in his mid-thirties. He was staring at another screen, his face illuminated by the greenish light. “I’m in the CCTV around the building. I don’t dare hack MI6. Do we have any idea what kind of vehicle I’m looking for? He’s Agency, right? They usually like their nondescript black SUVs. I’ve got several of them coming out at the right time.”
“Only pay attention to the southernmost high-security exit,” he instructed as he approached the checkpoint. “And he’ll be in a limo.”
Walter snorted. “Sure he will be. Oh, wait. Are you serious? Shit. I’ve got a limo that would have come in the right direction stopped at a light right now. You need to take a left when you get to the street. It looks like they’re heading out of the city.”
The guard stepped up but waved them through when he saw Ariel.
The minute they hit the sunshine, Ari pulled a semiautomatic out of the bag. “Damon keeps a go-bag in this car. They’ll head to a private airfield. Walt, I need you to figure out where they’re going and get Nick and Brody there as fast as possible.”
“Will do,” Walt said. “I’ll come back as soon as I know anything.”
The screen went dead.
Ezra turned onto the road and sped up.
He had to catch them. He had to get her back. What he would do with her then, he had no idea.
Chapter Two
Solo sat back in the ridiculously over-the-top limo. Only Levi Green would bring a stretch limo to pick up a so-called traitor. She tried the door but naturally it was locked. Child locks worked. She could get through a lot of tech, but she couldn’t take apart the door and get that lock to pop up.
Sometimes simpler was better.
She glanced down at her hands in her lap. One of the guards had zip tied them together in the elevator. She could have told them she wasn’t foolish enough to try to get away in the building, but that was a lie. If she’d seen any chance to run, she would have taken it. She’d barely managed to force herself to walk out of the conference room. She’d wanted to fight, but sometimes it was better to be patient. Especially when surrounded by a whole lot of people with guns.
The door came open and the devil himself slid onto the seat beside her.
Levi had taken off his jacket and laid it across the seat in front of him. The limo was top of the line and had space for at least six people, but Levi had made sure it was only the two of them. “Hello, Solo. We didn’t get a real chance to talk, but don’t worry. We’ve got all the time in the world now. Champagne? I believe this is your favorite.”
He reached over and opened the small fridge.
Dear god, was he going to try to make this into a date? “Have you lost your damn mind? You know I had nothing to do with Hope McDonald.”
He pulled out a bottle of Dom Pérignon. “Look, I didn’t even poison it. The label is still on and everything.” He proved he was well aware of how to handle the bottle. He had it opened with nothing more than a quiet pop. “And I was as surprised as everyone else to find your name and dossier on that list. There was also a detailed calendar of your movements and the jobs you did for The Collective. What happened, sweetheart? Did you lose all that money? It’s the only reason I can think of. Unless Beck made you do it. You always did have an unhealthy affection for him.”
“He was my husband,” Solo seethed. He’d been the love of her life. He’d barely looked her way. Was he sitting in his meeting believing everything they said about her? Had he already written her off? Or worse, was he satisfied that she wouldn’t cause trouble in his life anymore?
“Yes, and you saw how much those vows meant to him,” Levi said quietly as he poured a glass. “Do you want some? I promise it’s not poisoned.”
“Sure. Release my hands and I’ll take a glass.” She would punch him in the face and find a way out of this car.
Levi sighed. “You know I can’t do that because you would punch me in the face and try to kick your way out of the limo.”
At least he knew her well. “What do you think you’re going to get out of this? Because you know who I’ve been working for. Did you even run this by the director?”
He sat back as the limo stopped at the checkpoint and then moved through and out onto the street. “Of course I did. You think the president is going to save you, but he’s got other things to deal with right now. He’s on his way out. He’s got a couple of months left and he’s trying to push his agenda through before the election. After that he’s a lame duck and no one will listen to him. Do you honestly think he’s going to spend the rest of his capital on a CIA operative who worked for The Collective?”
“Now I worked directly for The Collective? Why don’t you tell me the whole story? I would love to hear this fiction you’ve crafted.”
He touched his chest with a wounded look on his face. “Moi? You hurt me with your suspicions. And there’s time enough for you to answer my questions. After all, I answered yours and you weren’t very nice to me.”
“You lied about everything, Levi. You’re the one who’s been working against Agency interests. Are you planning on paying me back?”
“Do I plan on paying you back for months of interrogation? For not trusting me? For years of refusing to see what’s standing right in front of you?” His lips tugged up. “No, sweetheart. I’m not going to torture you. We’re going to sit down and have a long talk and I’m going to get you out of this the only way I can. Make no mistake. The evidence is against you.”
“The evidence you planted.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.” He sighed as they made another turn. “I don’t understand why you have to be so stubborn. We always made sense. When you met me, you immediately liked me. You practically clung to me while we were in training.”
“I obviously have terrible taste in friends.” She’d spent those weeks wondering if she was doing the right thing and Levi had been there. They’d had a lot in common. They’d both come from extremely wealthy families, but neither had sheltered childhoods. She’d watched her parents rip through the world not caring about anything but making more cash. His father had been cold and distant. Levi had seemed sympathetic back then. “I thought we were friends.”
Sometimes she missed that Levi. Training had been rough, and he’d been someone she could talk to. Everyone else assumed she was in the program because her parents had bought her way in. The minute they realized she had a trust fund worth more than the gross national product of some small countries, they assumed she was in to be immediately promoted to a power position and dismissed her. Levi had been the only one who understood she wanted to be an operative, to do some good.
“We were friends,” he said quietly. “I am more your friend than anyone in your life. You simply can’t see it. I’ve stood by you even when you left me, even when you chose that bastard over
me, even when you turned your back on me, I was faithful.”
“Faithful?”
He shrugged slightly. “Well, not in a physical sense, of course. A man has needs. But I’ve never cared about anyone the way I do you. Who saved you when you were in trouble in Hong Kong?”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.” He’d been the last person she would have called. By then they’d already had their falling out and she’d seen Levi in a different light.
“It certainly wasn’t Beck. He didn’t care. He was far too busy tanking his own career by assassinating an asset.”
“You can’t prove that.” Beck had been assigned to deal with the leader of a small nation with resources the US had needed at the time. Unfortunately, the leader had been a brutal dictator who killed and raped his way through his nation. Beck had been the one to pull the trigger and set off a revolution that had led to the birth of a new democracy.
But it had cost Beck a lot. He’d lost his golden boy status within the Agency and he’d never gotten it back. It had been that mission that led him to McKay-Taggart and the Lost Boys.
She’d found that trying to do good in the world was complex when working for the Agency. She’d been naïve. Not that she hadn’t understood there would be shades of gray. But it was all the red that really bothered her.
“Everyone knows it was Beck,” Levi said as though they were talking about a prank or something casual. “The fact that they couldn’t prove it merely means he’s good at covering his tracks. The point is while Beck was indulging his own bourgeois sense of morality, you were in MSS hands.”
“I was on the run from MSS,” she corrected. “Don’t make it sound like you rescued me from enemy forces.”
“I did rescue you from a dank basement where you’d been hiding for weeks,” he pointed out. “I got you out and you didn’t even thank me. Nor did you thank me for saving your life in Colorado.”
She really wished she could punch him. “You’re the reason I was shot.”
He waved that off. “It wasn’t me. It was a bad hire. Civilians. We really shouldn’t work with them. Give me a Special Ops team. I love those flag huggers. Well, most of the time. Every now and then you get that one bad apple.”
