Forged Risk

by Sidney Bristol

  With that said, Evan strode away from Tucker toward the kitchen.

  “WE HAVE VISUAL CONFIRMATION,” Caleb said into the radios. “We are a go in five.”

  The drone had finally caught a clear image of a woman matching the description of their target. Tall, curvy, brown hair and eyes. She was a looker, alright.

  With any luck Caleb and the others would wrap this up, deliver her by noon and be back at headquarters by nightfall. Maybe this job wasn’t as annoying as he’d expected it to be. A quick in and out would be good on their record. A few other jobs had turned into lengthy affairs, not to mention the injuries.

  Caleb brought his mind back to the task at hand.

  They’d talked through the approach. Between their people and the men already in position they had a small army. The first step would be neutralizing the look-out. Then they’d cut the power. From there it was a matter of covering all the exits and pinning the targets down.

  For the life of him, Caleb couldn’t understand why these people had picked this location. There was one door leading out of the flat. There were two staircases and an elevator besides the fire escape. With the number of people Caleb had, this was going to be a breeze.

  At least it would be over with fast.

  His watch beeped.

  He pressed the button on his radio. “Five minutes are up, everyone get into position.”

  FELECIA LAY IN BED staring at the ceiling. She didn’t think she’d get back to sleep and she didn’t relish the idea of sitting up with Tucker. He was the one person who hadn’t been overtly friendly with her. Part of her wished Evan would come back to her room, but she doubted he would. Besides, he needed some rest and she needed to not get too attached to Evan.

  He was unexpected. Everything about him wasn’t as it should be which only made her like him more. He was a kind man. She suspected that wasn’t a quality unique to her, that this was who he was deep down, under all the soldier’s veneer. He was simply a good man.

  And then there was the knowing. She’d felt it, a certainty that he was important to her somehow.

  She needed to stay far away from him, and yet she knew she couldn’t. For good or bad, they were bound together for the moment.

  Felecia rolled to her side and stared toward the big windows looking out on the city.

  If Evan stayed near her, he’d get hurt or killed. Those were the facts and the longer she spent around him the more she didn’t want that to happen.

  Maybe it was time to think about leaving, going on her own, the knowing be damned. Eventually these people had to let their guard down. In a moment of confusion or lax security she’d slip out and leave them.

  It was for the best.

  Her heart ached at the idea of leaving Evan, but her head knew it was the right decision. She’d also lose her protective detail, making her more vulnerable on her own, but it couldn’t be helped. These people saw her as a tool, and they would use her. In their shoes that was what she would do.

  Felecia blew out a breath and closed her eyes.

  She wished her life had been different. She wished she’d been different. Normal even. Boring would be better.

  Her favorite shows were never the thrilling action shows or the crime dramas her father preferred. No, Felecia liked shows about normal people. It gave her a small window into what it might be like had she been born different. Of course if that happened she’d have never met Evan.

  She sighed and pressed her hand to her heart. This was infatuation. A handsome man had spirited her away from her evil father. It was natural to have strong feelings, she just wished there was less justification in her head.

  Sleep was not happening.

  Felecia pushed up and glanced around the sparsely furnished room lit only by the bedside lamp. What the hell was she going to do for the next few hours? She swung her legs out of the bed and grabbed her bra. As she was fastening it around herself the lights flickered.

  That was new.

  The lamp went out and didn’t come back on again.

  For a moment complete and utter stillness enveloped her. The hair on the back of her neck rose and goose flesh broke out along her arms.

  She quickly donned her bra and smoothed her shirt back down.

  The bedroom door burst open. She jumped and staggered back staring at Evan.

  His eyes were wide and he was panting. In one hand he had a gun, in the other some sort of vest, a lot like the protective Kevlar thing he wore.

  “Put this on,” he ordered, thrusting the smaller vest at her.

  “What’s happening?”

  “Do we know how many yet?” Evan asked, but she didn’t think he was talking to her. “Have we heard from Kelsey?”

  When she didn’t move he strode across the room to her, holstered his weapon and slid the vest over her head. She quickly fit her arms through the holes. Right now she wouldn’t put it past him to secure her arms to her side if she didn’t move fast enough.

  It was happening.

  Her mouth went dry.

  Her father’s men were here to take her back.

  “Evan?” Her voice trembled.

  He reached up and touched his ear. It was then she realized he was wearing some sort of communication unit that was barely visible.

  “There are men outside. More than we expected. They’ve cut the power. We don’t know what happened to Kelsey. Come on.”

  “Where are we going? What’s happening?”

  He pulled her along after him into the hall. “Logan wants you in the windowless room.”

  Where the flat had been silent just half an hour before, now Harper and Jamie darted down the hall, rifles slung over their shoulders.

  “Evan?”

  “It’s going to be okay,” he said over his shoulder to her as he led her into the big, open room.

  “I counted two dozen before the power went out.” Tucker glanced up from the monitors at them.

  Evan muttered curses and let go of her, going to a knee next to a crate. There were more guns, bullets and other things.

  Felecia licked her lips. “I can shoot.”

  He glanced up at her.

  “I don’t want them to take me,” she said.

  Evan pulled the handgun from his holster and offered it to her.

  She wrapped her hands around the grip and hefted it a bit to get a feel for the weight. It had been a long time since she shot a gun. She hadn’t offered that information to him.

  “Change of plan.” Logan strode into the room, his gaze swinging toward them. “We need to get her out of here. There’s too many. Tucker, with me to the main entrance. Jamie, when we tell you to go, get her out of here, understand?”

  “Yes, sir.” Those two words sounded dragged from him.

  Tucker dashed past them, armed to the teeth. Logan whirled and followed.

  Felecia stared after them, breathing as if she’d just run a marathon.

  Evan cupped her face in his hands. “Look at me.”

  She had to turn her head a bit to convince her eyes to obey.

  “Nothing is going to happen to you, understand? I won’t let them take you.” He spoke with ferocity, and she knew Evan meant to die for her.

  “No.” She clutched his hand. “I’m not worth it. Let them have me. You could follow us back. Find me again.”

  A loud bang shook the floor boards under their feet.

  “They’re on the landing,” he said.

  “It’s not too late.”

  He stared into her eyes and said, “I’m not letting them have you.”

  She loved and hated him in that moment. This wasn’t about his mission or job or whatever this was. The other men were following orders. But Evan? He was speaking from the heart. She could feel it.

  Felecia wanted to cry or scream, anything that might make this stubborn man change his mind.

  Evan glanced over his shoulder and tilted his head, as if he were listening. But she supposed he was listening to the other men.

>   He grabbed her hand, dragging her to the narrow hall on the other side of the room. “Come on. They’re only targeting the main door.”

  They wound through the flat and its odd layout. Just outside the office with the exterior door Harper and Jamie crouched behind an overturned table, one looking into the room while the other was turned toward the entry and the sounds of gunfire ripping through the walls.

  “Come on,” Evan roared at the two men.

  Jamie and Harper moved as one, flowing more than walking around the table and into the office. Evan held back, partially standing in front of her like some sort of human shield.

  The office was a mess. The heavy desk had been rotated and now sat a few feet from the door, as if they might use it for a ram or something.

  Harper yanked something off his belt then the object began to hiss.

  Some kind of bomb? Grenade?

  Jamie yanked open the door. Both men tossed hissing objects into the hall before slamming the door shut. A blast shook the walls. She gripped Evan with her empty hand.

  A few staccato blasts of gunfire sounded from the far side of the hall, but whoever was right outside wasn’t responding.

  Jamie threw open the door while Harper shoved the old desk through the opening. Once it was free of the door, Jamie shoved it over. Both men hunched behind the old furniture, raised their weapons and fired into the rolling mist like smoke drifting toward them.

  “This is it.” Evan glanced at her. “Come on, stay close to me.”

  “But—wait.” What about the others?

  10.

  Tuesday. Safe House. St. Petersburg, Russia.

  Evan kept a tight hold on Felecia as they crossed the hall and made for the stairs close on Harper’s heels. Jamie was staying behind, laying down fire while Logan and Tucker repositioned themselves.

  The flash grenades had given the other men the edge they needed to even the numbers a little. There’d been maybe ten men out there, which meant there were around fourteen between them and the ground floor. And that was just an estimate. Tucker had sharp eyes, but no one was that good.

  Tucker, Logan and Jamie talked over each other, coordinating their efforts on the eastern stair. The men in the hall must have come up the western stair which would account for why there wasn’t anyone here.

  Harper gestured for them to slow their descent. Evan grabbed Felecia’s wrist and pulled her to a stop on a landing and tugged her down into a crouch.

  “What about the others?” she whispered.

  He tapped his comm, muting his mic. “They’re fine.”

  “We should go back for them.”

  “No.” Evan’s orders were to get her clear of this place, which were in alignment with his personal wishes, too. He wasn’t about to go back for the others, not when they had the situation under control.

  “But—”

  “No,” he said with more force. “We’re clearing this stair for an escape. They push back the other men, then follow us. We all get out. Understand?”

  “Oh,” she said softly. “I was just worried...”

  That softened him. She wasn’t at all what Zora thought. Felecia was good despite all the bad she’d been born into. It was her nature, not the way she’d been nurtured. Oh, he didn’t doubt she was capable of doing questionable things, but that was out of necessity. Anyone could do evil if they were forced into it.

  Shots rang out below.

  “We’ve got company,” Harper yelled.

  “Stay here,” Evan ordered and whirled, taking the stairs two at a time.

  Harper was crouched on another landing, rifle up, leaning around the corner taking nearly blind shots at whoever was below. Evan dropped to his belly and crawled forward until he could point his rifle over the edge.

  A bullet pinged off the wrought-iron railing.

  “Shit,” Evan muttered.

  One person could keep them pinned here while others crept closer.

  This wasn’t good.

  Could they cut across the building to the other stair? Had Logan and the others forced the men on that side down this far?

  More gunfire erupted below them and men cried out. Some in pain.

  What the hell?

  Evan didn’t spare a thought to question it. He rose onto his elbows, aimed and fired. Some shots struck true, others glanced off protective armor, or the target moved. Some dropped to the ground a split second before he hit them.

  “Someone’s down there,” Harper said.

  Kelsey.

  It had to be.

  She wasn’t dead.

  Evan fired, pushed up to his heels. He fired again and rose into a crouch. He kept shooting and creeping down the stairs, closer and closer.

  The last man flew backward, hit the wall and slid to the floor.

  “Don’t shoot,” Kelsey called out.

  Relief flooded Evan. When Tucker had said they couldn’t raise her, they’d all thought the worst.

  Kelsey staggered up the stairs holding her rifle to the side.

  “How bad is it down there?” Evan asked as he stood.

  “There’s a few on the first floor by the elevator watching the main doors. My guess is more outside.” Kelsey glanced between them. “Where are the others?”

  “Logan, Tucker and Jamie are upstairs—”

  Three fast shots rang out just over their heads.

  “Felecia!”

  Evan whirled and took the stairs two and three at a time.

  Felecia stood halfway to the next landing, her back against the wall, eyes wide and gun up. She didn’t even seem to notice them.

  Harper and Kelsey rushed past them to the top of the stairs where a man lay.

  “Hey?” Evan cupped Felecia’s face.

  Her head snapped around, her eyes anguished. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. It’s fine.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Holy shit,” Harper spat.

  Evan glanced over his shoulder.

  “It’s Caleb,” Felecia said. “I’m sorry. He was just there.”

  Evan glanced over her, ensuring she wasn’t hurt, then tugged her up the stairs.

  Caleb was the red headed SEAL, only he’d likely had another name. His face was different, his nose more prominent, brow broader and his jaw square now as opposed to pointed. Evan would have never guessed this was the same man were it not for Felecia pointing it out.

  Harper had his hands pressed to the man’s neck, a grimace on his face. Caleb kept trying to look at them all at once. His mouth moved, only muttered sound coming out, likely due to the blood pumping out of the gun wound at the man’s neck.

  It was one hell of a shot.

  Evan reached up and unmuted his comm. “Logan, Tucker, Jamie. We’ve got one of our SEALs, but he’s dying. How’s it on your end, guys?”

  As if in answer, three familiar men stepped into the hall on the other end of the building, rifles aimed at the floor. Each of them had bags slung over their shoulders.

  “There’s still men on the first floor, and more outside,” Kelsey said.

  Logan jogged toward them. “How bad is he?”

  Harper just shook his head.

  Logan went to a knee next to the man and stared into his eyes. “Take him with us.”

  “He’s not going to make it,” Harper said quietly.

  “I know that. But what does he have on him? We don’t have time to strip him, so we take him.” Logan turned and thrust a bag at Evan then Kelsey. “You’re with us now. Here. Where’s your comm?”

  Kelsey scowled at Logan. “It fell out when they attacked me.”

  “Guys?” Tucker peered out of the window at the end of the hall.

  “What?” Logan snapped.

  “They’re pulling back.”

  “What?” Logan strode to Tucker’s side and peered out.

  Evan tuned them out and turned toward Felecia. She was staring at Caleb with wide eyes.

  “Hey, don’t look at that.” He turne
d her in place.

  Her lower lip quivered. “He was mean. Cruel. Why do I feel guilty for...?”

  “Because you’re a good person.” Evan wished he could gather her in his arms and hug her, but someone had to watch the stairs.

  Just because some of them were leaving didn’t mean all of them were. Or were they? They didn’t know.

  “Kelsey, Jamie, make sure the stairs are clear,” Logan said. “The rest of us will get Caleb down. Bring the van around if you can.”

  Jamie and Kelsey bounded down the stairs, guns up, leaving Logan, Harper, Evan and Tucker to deal with Caleb and Felecia. Tucker slung his rifle over his shoulder and bent. Logan took up the other side and together they lifted Caleb while Harper continued trying his best to stem the bleeding.

  Evan squeezed Felecia’s hand and tugged her after him. “Come on.”

  He let go of her and lifted his weapon, keenly aware he was the only one who could protect them all if someone got between them and the other two.

  The stairs below their position were littered with bodies. It made for slow going as he had to move them out of the way for those carrying their captive. Eventually they made it to the ground level.

  Here it didn’t appear as though anything had happened. There was no blood, no bullet holes and no bodies.

  He checked the front of the building.

  There were no men waiting to ambush them, just the front door standing open and the lock blown out.

  “Put him down here,” Logan said.

  Evan secured the front door using a chain and a lock he found in one of the other front rooms. Nearly the entire floor had been gutted to make room for shops of different sizes. The walls just weren’t up yet.

  “Talk to me,” Logan said through the headset.

  Evan knew he wasn’t speaking to their team. He gave that interrogation a wide berth and went in search of Felecia. She was sitting near the elevators with the bags. She still clutched his gun. He was impressed that she had the presence of mind to keep her trigger finger extended along the barrel. She was better at this than he’d thought. He doubted that shot she’d taken at Caleb was all that accidental.

  Evan ensured his mic was muted before approaching Felecia. She’d held herself together and protected not just herself but all of them back there.