The Talented Mr. Rivers

by HelenKay Dimon

  “What are you doing in Paris?” Hunter didn’t care who answered so long as one of them did.

  “Wait, how did you know we were following you?” Seth asked.

  “I worked with both of you. I know how you operate.” That actually didn’t have any relevance to the question and when they continued to stare he gave in. “Plus my phone lit up, alerting me that someone was trying to access it and wanted my attention. Figured coming into the open would draw the person out. I guess better you two than someone sent to kill me.”

  Seth smiled. “It’s cute you think those things are mutually exclusive.”

  “What are you doing in our safe house?” Fisher said in a firm voice, cutting through the bullshit as he tended to do.

  That was the one flaw in his plan. Hunter had to rely on the team and he did not like it. Before this, the scales had been tipped in the other direction. They owed him because he’d stepped in and helped when first Stacia and then Peter tried to kill Zach. This was not how Hunter had intended to call in that favor, which was why he hadn’t bothered to ask before he moved in.

  “I had an emergency.” He’d had access to the SAD team’s files thanks to Zach and the Pentasus job and knew about this safe house and two others, which meant there were even more scattered around.

  “Let me get this straight. You go underground after the explosion and then pop up in one of our places?” Fisher shook his head. “I won’t even ask how you know about it, not now, but you can tell me later.” He plowed ahead, lowering his voice likely as a concession to a group of people walking by. “And the really interesting part is you have Will Rivers with you, not that you volunteered that information.”

  Motherfucker. The timing was not right and Hunter had no intention of handing Will over to the special ops arm of the CIA. “Why is the Special Activities Division tracking me?”

  “We missed you,” Seth said.

  Fisher scoffed. “That can’t be it.”

  None of the back-and-forth between these two was helping Hunter to get answers, find food, and sneak back to check on Will. “You guys work out of London.”

  Some of the amusement left Seth’s face. “Yeah, we know, dumbass. And we’d prefer to be home but thanks to you we’ve been all over Paris.”

  Fisher scanned the area while he talked. This time he hesitated for a second before speaking up. “With a little help from your bosses at the BND.”

  Everything inside Hunter froze. He’d checked in with his superiors only long enough to say he had a lead. Then he’d dumped his phone and dropped his tracker. He knew that bucked protocol and whatever he might say to explain why wouldn’t be a good enough explanation. Sanctions were coming, but he refused to believe they were being delivered by the CIA. “Not possible. This isn’t an official assignment.”

  Fisher shrugged. “Well, it is now.”

  “By the way, the BND people in charge of you are really pissed,” Seth said as his smile slowly reappeared. “Clearly they don’t find you as lovable as we do.”

  “One more thing.” Fisher held up a finger. “We’re now your official backup on this mission. Consider us a team.”

  What the fuck? Hunter worked alone, and on this, with the personal angle he still hadn’t sorted out, he needed space. Having these guys crawl up his ass would not get the job done. They all needed to know who was running Pentasus after the explosion and how to shut it down.

  Thoughts of what he had to do kept pinging him, but he ignored them all and focused on his answer. “No.”

  Seth shook his head. “Ah, that’s sweet but the wrong answer.”

  “Your government is a little grumpy that you let any of the Rivers family get away during the explosion and then chose to stay dark rather than come in and explain.” Fisher looked like he was pretending to think and couldn’t find the word. “Your superiors mentioned espionage, or whatever the German word is for espionage.”

  “Probably still espionage,” Seth said. “But we helped to smooth things over, or at least calmed them down for now.”

  This was his nightmare. His own government was ticked off and the CIA was circling. Hunter hated every word they’d just said. “I don’t want your help.”

  Fisher looked at Seth. “He’s going to fight it right to the end.”

  Seth sighed. “Absolutely. It’s adorable.”

  Hunter touched on the one topic sure to shut the whole conversation down. “Where’s Zach?”

  Anger flashed across Fisher’s face. “Wrong question.”

  Exactly the reaction Hunter had expected. Fisher was possessive, and Hunter understood why. Zach was one of the good ones. He excelled at undercover work. Could strategize with the best of them. Hot and smart and lethal. They’d spent time together after an assignment long ago with some celebration sex, which Fisher knew, and it drove him nuts. Didn’t matter that it was before he’d met Zach. Fisher tended to wear a dark angry look most of the time and this topic just made it worse.

  But that’s not exactly why Hunter had asked, though it was fun to set Fisher off. “I don’t want to fuck him again.”

  Seth clapped a hand on Fisher’s shoulder. “It’s as if he wants you to shoot him.”

  Fisher didn’t move. Just stared for a second before responding. “He’s the one who found you. He tracked you using old contacts. He called in favors and convinced the BND not to send you to whatever the German equivalent of Siberia is.”

  Honestly. Hunter rolled his eyes. “Do you CIA guys own a map?”

  “He’s also the one who spotted you on the video.” Fisher said the words and let them sit there.

  For a second no one said anything. The sounds of the street came back into focus. People walked on the other side. A taxi idled as passengers got out a few doors down.

  Hunter almost hated to ask, but he had to. “What video?”

  “The one we have set up in that safe house of ours. The one you’re using without official permission.” Fisher suddenly seemed a lot less brooding. “See, we like to make sure people aren’t breaking into our safe houses when we’re not there.”

  Seth didn’t even try to hide his smile now. “Or having sex in them. Unless it’s one of us, of course. That would be fine. For the record, seeing you naked and climbing all over a known terrorist was not fine.”

  Hunter wasn’t a prude, but Jesus. A guy should be able to get some privacy.

  “You watched.” He didn’t ask it as a question because he knew. Seth’s and Fisher’s expressions said they knew exactly what had happened earlier against that wall.

  This time Seth smacked Hunter’s shoulder. “It was impressive how fast you got your pants off, but we did turn off the monitor after that.”

  It took all of the control Hunter had not to reach for his gun. But he did take a threatening step forward. “I’m going to kill you.”

  “Whoa.” Fisher held up a hand and stepped between them. “Bad idea, since Seth is now your contact. There’s a Pentasus task force that consists of the three of us and Zach. Trust me, Hunter, you need Seth.”

  The news pushed Hunter too far. His temper exploded. He could feel the heat storm through his body and his hands reflexively ball into fists. “Absolutely not.”

  Seth flattened his palm over his heart and winced. “That actually hurts a little.”

  “Bottom line.” Fisher talked right over the sarcasm. “Will knows what Zach looks like. What I look like. He hasn’t seen Seth and there’s no indication we have a breach regarding Seth’s cover or real name. So, he’s your only option for bringing Will in. And, for the record, we will bring him in.”

  Wrong. Hunter had already worked this out and his plan did not include anyone from the CIA. He’d made this mess and endangered his job. He didn’t need anyone else coming in and making things even worse. “My plan is to get Will to cooperate…Damn, Fisher, why are you shaking your head now?”

  “Your plan is out. Someone tried to kill Will—”

  “How do you know that?” Bu
t Hunter knew. That meant they’d been following them since at least the club.

  Seth held up his phone. The display showed a still image of the bodies littering the club floor. “We tracked you from the carnage. Also cleaned up your mess, so you’re welcome.”

  “No one asked you to.”

  Seth winced again. “So that there’s no surprise. We do have ears in the safe house, too.”

  “You might want to keep that in mind before you break out the condoms for round two.”

  Hunter was ten seconds away from banging their heads against the wall. “Shut it all off.”

  Fisher kept right on talking. “Also, we think it’s possible Peter is alive and trying to solidify power and get the business functioning again. We’re still tracking that option.”

  “Or, we have an outside player trying to make an example out of Will, show that the Rivers family is gone and there’s a new leader,” Seth said. “Either way, Will is our ticket to getting more information, which is the only reason he’s not being interrogated right now.”

  All the pieces clicked together in Hunter’s head. Fisher and his team had let him do the hard work of finding Will and now they swooped in, wanting to put Will right in the line of fire. “You mean he’s a target.”

  “I mean he’s the one we use to draw out the person thinking of taking over Pentasus—Peter or whoever that is.”

  Hunter listened to Fisher’s theory and knew it made sense. On a protocol and strategic level, sure. But Hunter still refused to believe it was the right option. “You’re going to get him killed.”

  Fisher didn’t look impressed with the response. “You should have thought about that before you started screwing him.”

  “That’s pretty funny coming from you.” Hunter couldn’t believe Fisher had said the words since he’d nearly destroyed the initial Pentasus investigation when he put Zach’s life ahead of the mission. And they all knew it. Hell, Hunter had given Fisher and Zach grief over that.

  Seth cleared his throat and dragged the attention back to him. “Which is part of the reason why I will be running this. I don’t care who you sleep with, target or not. Just don’t do something stupid like fall in love.”

  “Never going to happen.” Hunter heard the fierceness in his own voice.

  Fisher shrugged. “I said that once.”

  “You were weak.” It was a knee-jerk response but Hunter thought it fit. Screw whatever happily-ever-after thing Zach and Fisher thought they had going on. They worked in dangerous jobs. They dealt in death every day. Nothing about getting involved at any level other than for sexual release was a good idea for people like them.

  “Enough shit talking.” Seth flipped into serious leader mode in a matter of seconds. “Your job is to keep Will here and happy long enough to draw out the players in this Pentasus game. Do it however you need to, but don’t forget the cameras are running.”

  “This is the last time I’m telling you to turn them off.” Hunter refused to drop that point.

  “I watch until the sex starts, then I’ll keep to the outside cameras.” Seth shot Hunter a crooked smile. “That’s as much as I can promise because when your attention is off the job, then I’m your only protection against getting attacked from behind. Deal with it.”

  Fisher nodded. “We’ll be working on figuring out the rest, trying to find Peter, all while pointing a big arrow right to you. We just need someone to take the bait.”

  On one level it made sense. That didn’t mean Hunter liked it. “This plan is too risky.”

  “So is letting the Rivers clan back out there, kidnapping and holding auctions. I should know since they threatened to auction me,” Fisher said.

  Hunter got that, but…“I could just move Will. Give you time to work through your contacts and find Peter.”

  Fisher wasn’t having it. “It’s better to stay where we have some control and the surveillance already set up.”

  “Except for when you start the good stuff,” Seth added.

  “Fuck you.”

  Seth laughed. “That’s your department. I’m not the one getting all the action.”

  “Is that a problem?” Fisher asked Hunter.

  Hunter didn’t even understand the question. “You’re asking me if having sex is a problem?”

  “Forget that.” Fisher shook his head. “We’re telling you to keep your head in the game. He can’t be more important than this assignment.”

  “I’m technically not on an assignment.” Hunter wasn’t sure how many times he had to say that before someone listened.

  Fisher glanced at Seth before turning back to Hunter. “See, that’s the kind of comment that causes concern.”

  “Fine.” Hunter pushed them both aside and stepped out onto the main street. “You two figure out who Gatt is. Sounds like he was connected to Stacia somehow and might still be lurking around.”

  Seth looked at Fisher. “Now he thinks he’s giving orders.”

  Hunter didn’t see any other reason to team up. “We’re done here.”

  “Just remember we’re watching,” Seth said.

  Hunter took off walking, but did make sure to give them the finger as he left.

  Chapter 7

  Will wasn’t really the type to sit when someone told him to. He’d figured out early that in his family the way to stay alive was to keep moving. Not show fear or express any emotions—ever. He was starting to wonder if he needed to deal with Hunter the same way.

  He’d been gone for more than twenty minutes. Long enough for Will to shower, rummage around through the few drawers in the place, then change his clothes. Longer than Will had expected. When the man panicked and ran, he really ran.

  Will’s patience had grown thin. He’d kept hidden just fine without a bodyguard, official or otherwise. And having one that screwed with his head was not a good idea.

  Now that he knew Hunter was alive, he could go. Technically, there was no reason to tie themselves together in any way, especially if someone really did want to kill him. Will couldn’t tolerate the idea of a stray bullet meant for him hitting Hunter by accident.

  He’d always figured his life expectancy was short. No amount of trying to break free from his family could change that. But that didn’t mean he had to increase the risk to Hunter, too.

  They’d had sex once, but something else had been growing between them for months. All that time spent together. The watching. Like it or not, Hunter mattered to him. And that meant walking away might be the best way to save Hunter and his own sanity.

  He slipped the belt out of his abandoned dress pants on the floor and put it on. Next came his wallet, which he tucked in his back pocket. That and the contents of the duffel bag accounted for most of his possessions. He had some money but most he couldn’t get to, not without trouble, since he was thought to be dead. Not without tipping off anyone who might want to find him.

  He stopped and took one last look at the studio. Glanced at the stone wall and let the memories flash through his mind. Just as he reached for the door handle he heard a beep and the lock disengaged.

  When the door opened, Hunter was standing there with keys in one hand and a bag of food in the other. His gaze traveled to the duffel bag in Will’s hand and then back to his face.

  “You better not think you’re leaving, because that’s not happening.” Without waiting for an answer, Hunter kicked the door shut behind him and walked into the kitchen area, dumping the food bag on the counter.

  It all seemed so normal, so domestic, when Will felt anything but. He needed to do something because a life of treading water and waiting for the end to come was not working anymore.

  He had no intention of running Pentasus, a business and name he’d only learned the complete details on right before the explosion. He didn’t want a piece of the other Rivers family businesses either. It was all tainted to him. It all led to trouble, the same trouble Stacia and Peter had sent him out of the country to avoid.

  They might not be—o
r have been—perfect, or even good people, but he owed them something for taking the risk to free him from becoming like them. He had no intention of squandering that gift now that he was so close to being out of all the muck for good.

  He was still sorting out the best plan for the future but changing his identity and getting somewhere well outside of London or Paris, or anywhere someone related to Pentasus might expect him to be, struck him as the right idea. Somewhere remote. No phone, limited access. He had skills. He might not be qualified for an office job but he had a head for numbers.

  He’d also figured out while he was away from home that he had some skill with construction. In college some friends built homes for charity during the summers. In avoiding time at home while Peter and Stacia fought out their differences, he hadn’t had many options for the months without school. During those times Will had followed his friends. Learned by watching. Not that he could design a house from scratch, but he’d gotten the basics down, particularly the physical labor part.

  His father would have hated that, which made the career choice all the more tempting. Hell, he’d build flower boxes if it meant not living in this choking cloud of suspicion and doubt.

  “What’s your plan here?”

  Will didn’t drop the duffel, but he knew he wasn’t going anywhere now. Not unless he planned to punch his way through Hunter, and that was never going to happen. “I don’t want to sit around and wait for the next person to take a shot at me.”

  Hunter unloaded the food. A container of something and what looked like a wrapped sandwich. “I don’t care if you sit or stand, but right now we’re going to eat.”

  He retrieved silverware and napkins. The crinkle of paper and thud of the drawer played as background noise.

  “This isn’t going to work.” Will knew from experience that staying cooped up like this wouldn’t do anything to clear his thinking. Every time his family had tried to lock him down “for his own protection” before he escaped to the United States for college, his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. He’d been hurt more than once trying to escape a locked space or jump from a high window.