by Lexi Blake
The key being the other half of McDonald’s notes, the ones that had the actual names of her victims. Hope McDonald had thought herself clever. She’d coded the files she’d kept with her, giving each subject a Latin name. They’d managed to match up a few of them via medical records. Robert was a subject she’d called Ex Novo. Built from nothing. She’d erased Robert entirely and built him back up to be her soldier.
Tucker rather thought he was the file titled Damnatio Memoriae. He’d looked the phrase up after they’d found the files. It referred to a practice in Roman times when an enemy would be stricken from all official records, all paintings and references to the person outlawed. It was a way to eradicate everything about a person.
Like he’d been eradicated.
It was something one would do to only the greatest of enemies. He kind of liked the idea that he’d been McDonald’s enemy.
The doors came open again and Tucker held his breath. And then let it go because Solo walked through followed by Ian and Damon, who seemed to be arguing.
It was good to know some things never changed.
“I don’t know that it’s a good idea to let the CIA agent stay here,” Damon said in his upper-crust British accent.
“Where do you want me to go? My house has been compromised.” Solo’s eyes went straight to her ex-husband. “Did Tag bring you up to speed?”
Ezra was suddenly endlessly fascinated by whatever was on his laptop screen. “I know someone breached your perimeters last night, and it sure as hell wasn’t me. Are we sure it wasn’t some guy trying to pick you up for a date? We all know you can forget your responsibilities. Maybe it was a fellow operative delivering the latest plans to fuck my life up.”
“I don’t need an operative for that. I can do it all on my own,” Solo shot back.
“Yeah, it seems to be what you’re best at.” Ezra was looking at her now, a fire in his eyes like he hadn’t expected she would fight back and he was ready. “How’s your boyfriend?”
“Levi Green is not my boyfriend.” Solo bit off every word. “He’s not my friend. He’s a man with information that can help my country. The last time I checked it was your country, too.”
“We serve our country in different ways,” Ezra replied. “Actually, I don’t serve it at all since Green got me burned. I always thought it was Green. Now I wonder.”
Solo’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t honestly believe I’m the one who got you fired. After that clusterfuck of an op in Mexico, I was the one who had to clean everything up. I worked overtime to make sure no one put a hit out on you.”
“Or you set everything up,” Ezra argued. “Isn’t that one of your plays? Set up a problem so you can solve it and then the person you solved it for will forgive you for anything because you’re so kind to have helped him?”
She pointed her ex-husband’s way. “I have never done that.”
Tag groaned. “Get a room and have hate sex and don’t come out until you either kill each other or fuck the other one out of your system. I’m too old for this shit. We don’t know who was at Solo’s last night, but I suspect whoever it was, he or she was a pro. Damon, I’m putting her up here so I can keep an eye on her. Also, so she’ll owe me.”
Solo laughed, a bitter sound. “You already owe me more than you can repay, and you put me in the room next to the kitchen. Someone was playing K-pop and burning toast at six a.m. It’s not much of a favor.”
“You do understand that if we let her in, she’ll steal the prize at the end of this,” Ezra pointed out. “It’s what CIA operatives do. It’s a class we all have to take. How to fuck over your friends 101.”
“I wasn’t fucking over anyone,” Solo said with a long sigh. “I did what I had to do. If you had killed Levi, they would have come after you and honestly, he does know things we need to know. He’s been working this a hell of a lot longer than I thought he was. He’s been involved for years.”
“And yet you didn’t see it,” Tag accused. “He was your colleague, but you didn’t figure out he was working his own angle?”
Knight snorted. “I’m going to move a bit so the lightning doesn’t strike me.”
Solo glared Tag’s way. “I have two words for you. Eli Nelson.”
Ezra snorted and covered his smile.
Tucker felt his eyes go wide. Eli Nelson had been Big Tag’s Levi Green. He’d been a Collective agent who’d also worked for the CIA. Nelson had been the reason Tag left the Agency. Ian’s wife had been the reason Nelson likely still had body parts floating around the Arabian sea.
Tag turned a nice shade of pink and then sighed. “Fair. All right, Solo, you want to prove you’re one of the good guys, what have you figured out about Green and his involvement?”
Solo’s face fell. “Not a lot. He won’t say much about it except that he wants to cut a deal. He’s been willing to talk about a lot, including the fact that several members of the Agency and other intelligence units knew what McDonald was doing before and after they closed The Ranch. We all know there was a group within the Agency that knew she was using soldiers to experiment on. He won’t give me names.”
“He might not know them,” Ezra said. “Oh, I have no doubt he knows some of them because he’s likely been working for the fuckers, but he won’t give them up. He gives them up and he loses his only safety. The people you’re working for don’t have an appetite for execution. He knows that.”
“Are we talking about the president?” Tucker remembered that much. Solo was working for President Hayes, if the rumors were true.
She looked to Ezra.
Ezra rolled his eyes. “Take her silence as a yes. We have to assume the president wants to clean house, but he needs help. He needs proof. If Levi thought it would help him, he would pass over a list of names.”
“It would help him.” Tag let his big body sink into the chair next to Ezra. “But only if it was backed up with proof. Hayes isn’t going to let Levi make up a list of names.”
“I think I knew him.” Tucker said the words, careful not to concentrate too hard about Green. “In my head I can see myself meeting him, but I think it was before.”
“Or he worked with McDonald,” Knight said. “We’ve been piecing together a timeline. I can place him in Europe shortly before McDonald fled. The question is what made her leave.”
“Kronberg got scared,” Robert replied. “According to the interviews we did in Munich, something happened that made Kronberg shut her project down. They wiped everything clean in the course of a night. Now we know they kept notes on her research and copies of their donors, but they aren’t held on their campus. At least according to what Solo told us about the files we found.”
“The main thing I found on those files was the information that led me to Veronica,” Solo explained.
That tidbit had Tucker’s attention. “Why was Roni even on their radar?”
Robert leaned forward. “Yes, I’m interested in that, too. She doesn’t fit their profile.”
“I don’t know, but they were watching her,” she said. “I know Veronica and her mother thought they were hiding, but Kronberg knew exactly where she was. There was surveillance footage. Probably from an in-house PI. I think they’re the ones who were crawling around my place last night.”
“They were smart enough to stay away from your cameras,” Tag said. “I’m worried we’re dealing with more than an investigator. That’s why I think we should either bring Solo in or ship her back to the States. Tell me something. Did you pay Green back for slapping the shit out of you in Munich?”
Ezra’s head came up. “He did what?”
Oh, Tag was such a bastard. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was sure Solo had wanted that part left out of the official report. Ezra hadn’t been in the room when Solo had confronted Levi after giving herself up to his mercenaries to buy them all some time. She’d spouted some sarcasm Levi’s way and Levi had reacted poorly. He’d slapped her hard enough to make her head snap back. It had been the
first time Tucker had understood how evil the man could be. Apparently, Robert had told Tag everything that had happened. Tag was making sure Ezra knew and letting Solo see exactly how he would react. He was meddling. Unfortunately, Tucker approved. “Yeah, that was rough. I couldn’t believe he smacked you like that. You were completely helpless.”
“He did what?” Ezra’s voice was low but there was no mistaking the menace there.
“Oh, he smacked the hell out of her.” Robert threw in with them. “Just bitch slapped her hard. I was surprised you didn’t notice the handprint on the side of her face that night.”
“I’m betting she tried to keep it from him,” Tag said.
“He fucking hit you? Physically?” Ezra turned to his ex-wife.
“Well, I had said something about him having a tiny dick at the time,” Solo mentioned.
Tag’s head shook and he sat back.
Ezra chuckled but there wasn’t a hint of humor to it. He stood and picked up his laptop. “Well, you would know all about that. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll grab a cup of coffee and go down to help Jax. I would like a report of anything discussed here today. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
Solo looked up. “Beck…”
He walked out without looking back.
“I lob you an easy one and not only do you swing and miss, you kind of throw the bat in his face,” Taggart said.
“Which is precisely why you should stay out of it, you meddling old man,” Knight said under his breath.
“I didn’t…” Solo groaned. “Levi wasn’t my lover. He was my drunk mistake. How long do I pay for this?” She shook her head. “Nope. I’m not going there right now. Tucker, you said you remember meeting Levi, and Damon’s intelligence places him in France before McDonald left for Argentina. Didn’t you find out that you took a trip to Paris around that time?”
“I don’t know. That’s what Arthur Dwyer said.” Arthur had been a colleague at Kronberg.
Robert shook his head. “No. He said he saw you at the airport. He didn’t see you in Paris.”
“But he saw me get on a plane with Veronica.”
“This should be easy to clear up,” Knight said, getting up and heading for the door. He opened it briefly. “Please let Ms. Croft in when she gets here,” he said to the receptionist before coming back to his seat. “We’ve got other things to talk about. I’m hearing rumors that MI6 was upset that you’re not sharing intel, Solo.”
“I don’t have intel to share,” she replied. “Look, I know you all think I have this sacred document, but it wasn’t in the files the boys found when they raided Kronberg.”
“The files you stole,” Tag pointed out.
Solo threw her hands up in obvious surrender. “The files I stole because I’m the worst person on the face of the earth.” She started to push her chair back. “It’s obvious I can’t make any headway. Consider Veronica a gift. I’ll leave you all be.”
Tag sighed and leaned toward her. “Hey, I’m sorry. It pissed me off, but I do understand what you did. Ezra would have killed that son of a bitch and then he would be in a world of hurt because the Agency wouldn’t have looked the other way. I’m worried that we’re going to find some Agency names on that list.”
Solo nodded and sat back. “I am, too. I’m worried that Levi’s set up a system that protects him and fucks Beck over if anything happens to him.”
“He told you that?” Damon asked.
“Not in so many words,” Solo said. “The insane thing is I really have tortured him. I think the bastard likes it.”
“Give me five minutes with him,” Tag offered.
“You would be surprised what he can take and not talk,” Solo said. “And how reasonable he can sound. He’s probably making a deal even as we speak. Anyway, you want to know what was on the intel we got from Kronberg. What I got was years of financial records and some sketchy business practices. I’ve got proof that Kronberg knew their erectile disfunction meds could cause testicular cancer, but other than giving that to a reporter, I don’t see how it helps us here.”
“I want to talk to Levi Green.” He knew Green had the answers.
Solo seemed to consider it. “We would have to go back to the States. I would like to get him in a room with Tucker and see if he slips up. And Robert. He seemed to know a whole lot about Robert’s situation.”
“I would definitely like to know if he has any information about my family,” Robert said quietly. “I’ve had my mind on other things, but I’m getting to the point where I need to know if what Emily said was true.”
Emily Seeger had explained that Robert had a mother and a brother, both of whom had died. Levi Green had dangled the tempting possibility that they were alive and he knew where they were. Someone had done a damn fine job of wiping them off the face of the earth.
Like they’d done with him. Damnatio Memoriae.
It was hard to believe someone hated him so much.
The door came open and his world seemed to come to life. Roni walked in wearing jeans and a green sweater that brought out the gold in her eyes.
He immediately moved to hold a chair out for her. “Hey, good morning. Did you sleep okay?”
She seemed almost startled to see him there. “No. I slept terribly, but I’m fine. I want to get this done so we can all move on.”
He did too. Oh, he was absolutely certain she meant move on from him, but it wasn’t going to go that way. “Sit down and we can all talk. Can I get you some coffee?”
She stared for a moment and then seemed to find her voice. “Sure. I could use some coffee. My mom is with Vi. Is that okay or do you need to talk to her, too? Mom didn’t work at Kronberg. She came over to Germany when my sister died and then we realized we were in danger, so she stayed.”
Oh, he had so many questions about that. He hadn’t been given the dossier on her yet because he was too fragile to read or some shit. “Sit. I’ll take care of you. Now what happened to your sister? I’m assuming this wasn’t a natural death.”
He moved to the small buffet that the London crew always set out when they were having a planned conference. Theresa—who had been known to listen to some K-pop and usually had toast first thing in the morning—set out coffee, tea, and pastries for the morning meetings and tea and sandwiches for the afternoon ones. He poured her a cup of coffee and added a bit of cream and two sugars. She liked it sweet. She would want the cream cheese Danish.
“She was murdered,” Roni said.
“According to the reports it was a fire,” Taggart argued. “She was working late at her office in the bottom of a very old building and there was a gas leak. The resulting fire killed three people, including Katherine Croft. She was a freelance journalist who specialized in investigative reporting. She particularly liked to catch corporations misbehaving.”
His stomach turned at the thought of what that must have been like for Roni. She’d been alone and pregnant at the time and mourning.
Had she mourned him? Or merely hated him?
“I don’t believe for a second that it was an accident, Mr. Taggart,” she said as he placed the cup and plate in front of her.
“And why is that?” Ian asked.
“Because an hour after my sister’s building blew up, I received a message that if I ever talked about what I knew, they would do the same thing to me.”
Tucker’s knees went weak and he forced himself to sit.
Bad had just gotten worse.
* * * *
The coffee was exactly how she liked it. Not too much cream. Probably way too much sugar. And she would have fought over the Danish.
You like it sweet because you’re sweet, sweetheart.
She’d laughed at his goofiness and then sobered quickly because they’d been walking to Kronberg when he’d said the words to her and she hadn’t been allowed to do what she’d wanted to. She’d wanted to kiss him before they split up for the day, before she spent long hours trying to ignore that something was wron
g with the company she worked for.
She remembered that she’d been surprised he knew how she liked her coffee and that she was always disappointed because all the cheese Danishes would be gone by the time the interns got a turn at breakfast.
Could he really remember her though McDonald had done her best to wipe clean every semblance of his life? Why would she be the one thing that came through?
Unless he was doing exactly what her mother accused him of. Lying. Pretending. Covering his own ass.
She didn’t want to believe it, but she rather thought that was her hormones talking and not her brain. Because he was still the most beautiful man she’d ever seen and she’d sat up all night remembering how he could make her feel.
Beloved. Desired. Sexy as hell. Wanted.
Alone. Empty. Hollow.
“That isn’t in my notes,” Taggart said with a frown as though the worst thing that could happen was for his notes to be wrong. “I never heard you were sent some kind of warning.”
Or perhaps the man was simply used to the world obeying him. According to Solo he was kind of the boss of everything here.
“I didn’t realize you had notes,” she replied before sipping her coffee. Tucker had taken the seat next to her and she didn’t miss the look that had crossed his face when she’d talked about the message she’d received. He’d gone pale and for a moment she worried he was going to have another fainting spell.
But he’d sat down beside her and his hand had come up on the table almost as though he would cover her hand.
She’d moved slightly away from him and he’d sat back.
“Ian always has notes. He’s always prepared,” Tucker explained. “He doesn’t often get caught off guard.”
“Oh, I can think of a couple of times I’ve been caught off guard and it cost us all.” Tag turned to Solo. “I take it you knew all about this development.”
“Only because I’ve already interviewed the Crofts,” Solo replied. “I told you I’d found out a couple of incidents I thought we needed to investigate. The pieces of this particular puzzle don’t seem to fit, but I think we need to look at them all again. We’ve missed something.”
