by Dawn Ryder
Carl hadn’t forgiven Saxon Hale and his team for making sure Damascus ended up with the man she loved. Nor had the presidential hopeful forgotten that Miranda had pulled the trigger inside her late husband’s sealed office to protect her daughter.
Yes, someone was going to try and kill her. Carl wasn’t wise enough to leave it alone. Thais knew his type too well.
The conflict was written in blood. Thais knew the side she was on and she didn’t regret it. Her Shadow Ops badge was the most precious thing she owned.
Because it had restored her soul.
The elevator reached its destination, interrupting her thoughts. The guard renewed his grip on her bicep and pulled her out into another passageway. They traveled up to the ground floor. Even inside a climate-controlled facility, there was a chill that lingered when you were below the surface of the earth.
Thais felt the change in the air as the man pulled her through another doorway and into a back corridor. Pipes and large control boxes now ran along the walls. There was a marked path down the center of it where the infrequent foot travel had disturbed the dust.
“So … going to make it look like I was trying to escape?” she asked. “Is that the plan?”
The guy’s eyes narrowed again, his fingers tightening on her upper arm. She might have made a fuss, tried to knock the handcuffs against one of the metal pipes that housed electrical wires. One good impact would vibrate along the length of the metal.
“No answer, huh?” She decided to continue on with trying to get her escort to start bragging. Her gender was mistaken for weakness, and more than one assassin had seen it as permission to voice their plans out loud because they assumed she wouldn’t put up much of a fight.
She’d enjoyed schooling them on just how adept she was at defending herself.
The guard stopped at another panel, pressing his palm to its surface. The laser light crossed over his hand but there was no chirp. This time there was a warning sound, one that gained a grunt from her escort. He turned his palm up and looked at the surface of it. He licked the tip of his index finger on his left hand and eased it along the edge of his right palm.
“Just once more…,” he muttered under his breath before pressing his hand into position on the scanner. The red light flashed and then the chirp of approval gained a nod from him. He looked back at her, his eyes glittering with victory. “I shouldn’t have grasped your arm. Almost screwed us both.”
He went through the door, leaving her to follow. Thais crossed into the small space as her escort reached behind her to unlock the handcuffs. The door closed behind them and sealed.
“Don’t step on him,” her escort muttered. “He’s already having a rough day.”
They were in a small access closet, facing a ladder that had dust clinging to its surface. Pushed off to one side was a guard in his undershirt and shorts. He was hunched over, his right hand on top of his folded legs, a slight shine left from the process of lifting his print.
“No, I’m not going to kill you.” Her escort had ripped off his mask. “The job is to get you out of here.”
He pointed up. Thais briefly thought about asking who was paying for her escape, but the answer wasn’t as important as making it a reality. Her mental discipline broke down like an eggshell as she caught the hint of freedom.
She’d sort it out later. Besides, it would be easier to defend herself on the roof if the guy was there to kill her and make it look like a failed escape attempt.
Pick your battles …
A good Shadow Ops agent always prioritized. She gripped the ladder rung and started to climb. Below her, she heard her unexpected assistant locking the handcuffs around the wrist of the unconscious guard and securing him to the ladder.
She climbed two stories, popping out on the roof. Stashed behind one of the air-conditioning vents, another uniform was waiting for her. She didn’t hesitate to strip and step into it as her companion joined her on the roof. The sun was setting, flashing across them as it sunk low on the horizon. It was the perfect time of day, when bright light messed with the cameras.
“Mask,” her companion said, handing her the garment. “We’re going to walk right out the front gate.”
Sometimes bold was the way to go.
She followed to a set of stairs, descending with a quick pace. On the ground, they encountered foot traffic but their face masks didn’t cause any alarm. Quite the opposite, really. People looked away from them the moment they realized they had the masks on. Proving it wasn’t uncommon.
And that the masked were better unseen.
Thais understood that mind-set. Knowing the wrong things was deadly. Shadow Ops worked cases where they found the bodies of those who had been unfortunate enough to see things the darker elements didn’t want witnessed.
Every now and then though, her team managed to cheat the scum of the earth out of what they were very willing to kill for.
She liked that feeling.
Loved it.
Lived on it.
Thais felt it welling up inside her as they neared the street. A dark car eased off the curb and headed toward them. It was in motion before she’d even closed the door all the way.
Not that she was quibbling.
It was smooth and executed perfectly. The driver pulled into traffic, moving into the flow without calling attention to himself.
Seamless execution.
That’s what her section leader, Kagan, would call it.
She called it a relief, even if she wasn’t going to voice her feelings out loud. Keeping her personal self separated from events was key. She was a Shadow Ops agent, and the men in the car were also putting their lives at risk for the same calling she had.
There was no reason to start babbling.
Instead, Thais enjoyed watching the blocks slip by as the driver took them through the evening flow of traffic. Now, she could let the memories of the last two days slip into the back of her mind, knowing that she’d come out alive.
* * *
Saxon Hale picked up his cell phone the moment it rang. His section leader, Kagan, didn’t waste any time in getting to the point of the call, either.
“Where is Sinclair?” Kagan’s low, crusty tone came over the connection.
Saxon shot his brother a look. “I don’t know.”
There was a moment of silence. “Sure about that?” Kagan pressed. “Because someone broke her out of Homeland. A task not exactly suited to the average citizen.”
Saxon experienced a surge of enjoyment that he was very careful to keep off his face.
“I’ve been on protection detail all day,” Saxon answered.
Saxon knew he wasn’t fooling Kagan. Not by a long shot. His section leader had never assigned him or Vitus to watching Miranda. But it was a damned good alibi because the rest of Miranda’s security detail had been tripping over him and Vitus.
Kagan let out a barely audible grunt. “Let me know if she checks in with either of you.”
The call ended, leaving Saxon sharing a long look with his brother. It wasn’t the first time they’d engaged in choices that left them standing on thin ice. He’d be a liar if Saxon said he didn’t foresee it not being the last time, either. Even if his wife would have something to say about him taking risks.
But Ginger knew who he was.
“Boss wants us to tag him in if Sinclair contacts us,” Saxon muttered for the sake of the other agents lingering in the hallways of the private clinic they had Miranda moved to for her recovery.
“Copy that,” Vitus replied without moving.
The security detail assigned to Miranda was watching. Those men might be on the level, but Saxon knew the way Carl Davis played. Even if none of the men working with Miranda sold out, they still might be worked over for information without realizing it.
So he and Vitus remained in place. Vitus’s family connection was enough to make their story plausible.
Saxon just hoped Dunn really did know what the fuck he was
doing. Because the shit was going to hit the fan.
And it was going to be a case of them or us. Saxon knew it, so did Vitus. Saxon sure as hell hoped Dunn did, too.
* * *
“We’re cleared for lift-off as soon as you’re on board.”
The driver was the one who spoke. After so long in solitary, the sound of a human voice hit her hard. She felt his words as much as heard them, but at least her training kicked in, too, allowing her to keep her jaw tight as she looked out the window of the vehicle. The driver made a turn when the traffic light changed, driving onto a private entrance to a small airfield. He lowered his window and used a keycard to open the gate.
The plane was sitting in a hangar. The huge doors in front of it opened, lending validation to the driver’s words about them being ready to take off. The stairs were down but the blocks used to brace the wheels were pulled out of the way.
“Right,” Thais responded. She had her hand on the door handle, opening it as the car slid to a smooth stop just a couple of paces from the lowered stairs. It was textbook perfect, as well as being street savvy. She’d cross to the plane inside the hangar, where satellites couldn’t get a good shot of her face.
A seamless departure from the grid.
“Thanks,” she muttered as she departed the vehicle and moved toward the stairs. The driver didn’t respond, just pulled away. He parked the car at the back of the hangar, got out, and walked toward a manhole cover that was open. He slipped inside, along with the man who had helped her escape, both of them disappearing from sight as another man pushed the manhole cover into place.
The engines on the plane began to increase their speed. Thais gripped the handrails and focused on climbing the steep stairs. She ducked beneath the opening in the body as the copilot reached behind her to pull the steps up and secure the door. He was back through the cockpit door and buckling up without a single glance her way.
They were a good team.
Perhaps a Shadow Ops team, but Thais doubted it. Kagan was under a spotlight at the moment.
Thais sat down in one of the leather seats and buckled her seat belt. True to the driver’s word, the plane was already pushing forward. The light changed as they came out of the hangar and headed toward the runway. The engines filled the air with noise as the pilot paused for a moment before pushing those engines into full thrust and heading down the runway. She felt the vibration as the plane started to lift away from the surface of the earth, the thrust from the engines making the wings support the weight of the aircraft. She felt the pressure pushing her into the seat as they gained altitude.
Fatigue was trying to sack her. Thais blinked a few times before giving into it. Kagan had a lot of resources. His connections made him a very good section leader. From the exterior of the plane, there had been nothing to hint at who was responsible for her extraction.
Honestly, it didn’t matter.
She’d face whatever new threat came her way, even if the hardest part of the next few days was going to have to be doing nothing while her teammates found the real hitman and the evidence trail to clear her name.
She frowned but allowed her eyes to close. Whatever she would face, she’d do better with some sleep.
* * *
“You’re not going to find anything that way.” Dare Servant entered the room and looked at Saxon Hale’s computer screen. “Dunn has his planes flying all the time, just to make it easier for him to disappear. Must cost him a stinking fortune.”
Saxon grunted. The list of flight plans for Dunn’s three private plans was up on his computer screen. Three planes, all departing out of airports in the area, all heading different directions.
“If he’s smart,” Vitus said, from where he was shifting through security camera footage from street cameras in the area of the prison Thais had been in, “Dunn will have gone underground with Thais, not put himself in a plane with her when she has no idea he’s the one who broke her out.”
Dare let out a low whistle. “Truth be told, I think our reclusive Scotsman might just be looking forward to the fight.”
“I might just tell Sinclair you said that,” Saxon muttered.
“As long as we clear her name,” Dare responded as his laptop flickered to life and started booting, “I don’t care how pissed she is at me.”
Vitus and Saxon nodded. They all turned toward their screens. Evidence was key to success. It was the foundation of what they did. The blinds were drawn tightly in the little town house they’d taken over as the owner of it was slipping deeper into a coma after the car accident from the day before.
It was a twist of fate Shadow Ops teams often took advantage of. Using the property to move around off the grid. In this case, Saxon and his team could take a few hours to prowl through the Internet for evidence before they needed to move on. No one would find them at the house, something they couldn’t be certain of if they used a permanent address. Shadow Ops teams worked off the grid, which meant even the Internet they used had to be under someone else’s name. They were always on the lookout for a property with an owner newly deceased or, as in this case, in a coma. Someone with no next of kin or at least no relative who had an interest in showing up at the house.
Thais had worked as hard for all of them in the past.
And today, they had her back.
* * *
Someone had covered her with a blanket.
Thais shifted, her neck aching from sleeping in the seat. Her feet were freezing from the change in air pressure and she knew she’d be even colder if the blanket wasn’t there to keep her body warm.
Still, she didn’t care to know someone felt they needed to pamper her. While there would be plenty of people who’d advise her to not sweat it, she knew from experience that respect only came when she refused to be seen as a female.
“There’s a bedroom in back.”
Thais opened her eyes wide.
“As well as two bunks you’re welcome to make use of.”
Dunn’s voice was unmistakable. She turned her head and caught sight of him where he was sitting on the sofa that ran along one side of the plane.
He was more informal than she’d ever seen him. His suit jacket was missing, along with his tie. She had a view of his skin at his throat, where the first two buttons were open on his shirt.
Decadent …
She drew in a stiff breath and started out of the chair but the seat belt held her, making her clumsy as she snapped it open.
Dunn was grinning when she stood and faced him. “I enjoy surprising you, Thais.”
Somehow, the deep timber of his voice hit her as being more personal. Maybe it was the setting or the fact that she had no avenue of escape. In short, she had a lack of control over the moment.
He knew that though.
Had planned it.
She bristled but there was something else: a sense of recognition for his skill.
“You shouldn’t,” she muttered, reaching deep for her professional persona. She never would have fallen asleep if she’d known he was there.
Never let her guard down …
“Have I misjudged this case?” she continued, taking a moment to look around the rest of the plane. “Is it really so desperate that Kagan brought in a civilian?”
Dunn’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t care for being classified as a civilian.
At least not in the tone she used to say the word. It was on purpose, however. She needed to cut through the surge of emotions flooding her. Detachment was her haven but Dunn seemed to have a knack of reaching her through the thick walls she’d surrounded herself with.
“I have more resources than you give me credit for,” Dunn responded. “Kagan was set to leave you in Homeland custody until someone tried to kill you. Your position seemed to be the one of bait.”
“It’s a proven method.” She’d never really struggled to push those words past her lips before. Logic had always helped her see the validity of the argument. There was something about the
way Dunn looked at her though, that undermined her confidence.
In short, it shone a light on her ideas that made her see how foolish they were, even if logic was there in spades.
“It’s also proven effective in getting the bait killed,” Dunn said, pinpointing his opinion. “Something I wasn’t willing to sit back and wait for.”
“It wasn’t your choice.” Thais strove to find her disinterested tone. She’d found it to be a very useful tool in the field, being the icy bitch.
Dunn offered her a slight shrug. “I made my choice.”
And she was there. An accomplishment there was no way to overlook.
Or dismiss how much you agree with him …
Dunn had an uncanny method of looking at her with his green eyes that made it seem like he was looking straight into her soul. It was a ridiculous idea and yet he seemed far too perceptive for her poise.
He shook her.
At her core.
“Is there a shower back there?” she asked, seeking an escape.
“Everything you need is there, Thais,” he answered smoothly.
Everything you need …
God, she wanted to drink that in. From the tone of his voice to the way his expression settled into one of confidence. Maybe it was smug and she’d be a whole lot better off composure-wise if she could apply that word to Dunn.
She couldn’t though.
Thais let herself into the bathroom and discovered a neat little marble-top vanity with a cosmetic case on its gleaming surface with all of her personal favorites waiting for her. A tingle went through her because she recognized sharp work when she saw it. Digging up personal information took someone with skill, and when it came to her personal information, Dunn should hand out a bonus to whichever of his men had managed to discover her preferred brand of eyeliner. Someone had been peering intently at shots of her face.
Maybe Saxon had spilled the information.
She picked up a travel-size bar of soap in sandalwood and knew without a doubt her team leader, Saxon Hale, wouldn’t have known it was her favorite. Not in a million years.
