One Swiss transaction was called the “Howler Monkey.” The transaction was between George Tyler and Alice Newman. Two completely fictional names Dane had always used for hotel rooms when he wanted privacy. Only Simon knew those names. Which meant Simon had planted the information. Howler Monkey had been Dane’s nickname for a really horny banker in Switzerland. She’d give him access to information, and he’d make her howl when he caught up with her at night. Again, the only person that would know that was Simon.
“I guess you don’t need me. Use Eve to get your information.”
“You happen to be trained, knowledgeable, and currently free for a new assignment. Go and join her in London. See if she can help you gain access into Dunn’s world. We’ll start analyzing this information.”
“Leave Eve out of this, and I’ll see what I can find out.”
“For now.”
…
Eve stressed over the information she’d mailed for days. Did the CIA get the envelope? And if they did, would SWAT-type teams overrun the Dunn Compound, and would they hurt Cassie?
She had so much regret about her action, and yet she knew it was the only thing she could do. The chance to stop such a huge player in conflict-building around the world would never come again. She had the chance, and she took it. No regrets, except a few regarding her employer and his wife.
Early in the morning, Simon had asked her to make an inventory of several of his past transactions, along with the collateral used and the location of the assets now. It had taken her a few hours, but the effort was worth it. She’d begun a second notebook to hand over to the authorities as well. There was no way in hell she’d try to keep the information on her computer. Cassie was like a superhero when it came to computers. Eve refused to leave a trail that could be instantly downloaded from a mainframe and used against her.
Someone knocked on her door. She slipped the notebook in a drawer.
“Come in.”
The last person she’d expected walked through the door, looking amazing in jeans and a leather jacket.
“Busy?” Dane asked.
“Not anymore.” She walked over to him.
“Damn, I missed you.” He lowered his head to kiss her.
His hands held onto her waist, and his kiss deepened until their tongues twisted around each other in a hungry quest for satisfaction. The panic from her actions of the past few days calmed in the strength of his arms. At least he could hold her demons at bay for a little while, until this whole operation imploded by her own hands.
The kiss slowed until they rested mouth to mouth, breath to breath.
“Did you finish your secret deal?” Her lips brushed over his as she spoke.
The response was another kiss, more taking than giving. When he pulled back for air, he left her with a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.
“It sort of finished without me. The buyers found a more willing seller.” His voice lowered, and a dark cloud tinged the edges of his words.
“A more willing seller? I thought you’d do anything for a sale.”
“Apparently not enough. It worked out for the best. I earned a little time off for poor behavior.”
“Lucky you.”
“I was wondering if you wanted to head even farther into the countryside with me, away from Simon and work. You’ve been working hard. You deserve some time off, too.” He tightened his hold on her, as though he’d never let her go. Would he? Their time together had been so brief and yet their attraction so deep.
She shook her head. “Not possible. I’m trying to convince Simon to take me on that weapons swap. So far, he thinks I’m too green, but Cassie made me travel documents, so maybe I’m breaking him down.”
And if she saw an arms deal at close range, she could give the government even more evidence against Simon.
Dane stepped back, and his expression fell from a loving gaze to a paternal glare. Her insides weighed down with the heavy disapproval coming from the person she most wanted to impress.
“Don’t stare at me like that. I can handle this job. I need the chance to prove myself.”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand you. First you want to save the world, and now you want to destroy it?”
“It’s not like that. Simon only deals with the good guys. You told me that yourself.” Although from her research, he sold to anyone with enough cash.
“You’re not making any sense. You can’t have it both ways, Eve. You’re either in the game, or stopping it.”
…
Dane focused on his targets at Simon’s shooting range, a large snowy area cut into a hillside and wrapped with barriers to keep idiots from roaming through. All afternoon, Eve’s quest to throw herself into the middle of something she knew nothing about screwed with his ability to concentrate. On top of that, Greg had contacted him several times to push him to connect with Simon.
All he wanted was Eve out of the line of fire, and if that meant him returning to the danger zone, so be it. He could take her place on this one transaction while making the CIA happy. It was his only alternative besides kidnaping her and sending her to a safe place for her own good.
Quality ear protection made it possible to carry on a conversation, and Dane needed to speak with Simon away from Eve’s hearing so he could find out where he stood.
The second he mentioned his interest in replacing her, Simon accepted his offer. No hesitation, no worry about Eve.
“A perfect solution. I’m glad you offered. I would never have used her anyway. You’re much more qualified than your wife. I prefer ex-military, or in your case, ex-field operatives.”
“So Eve was never going to be sent to the field?”
“Not a chance. I only use qualified operatives. She’s not qualified, although I must say, she’s damn close.”
Not a chance? Son of a bitch. Why the hell didn’t he see it from the start? “Does she know you used her to get to me?”
“No, she’s too busy stealing my secrets.”
“Operation Howler Monkey. That’s unique.”
“Good, the notebook arrived at the CIA. I was hoping they’d have a few weeks to play with it. One of the bank accounts I gave to her is the Prime Minister’s. That should go down well with Homeland Security.”
Simon continued to shoot crappy as he explained the details of the trade. “Bulgaria. Teodor is always a pleasure to work with. We’ll be in and out in a few hours.”
“Promises, promises.”
The corner of Simon’s mouth lifted, but Dane focused on the targets to escape his fear of turning back into the monster he’d tried hard to suppress.
“Nice shooting, O’Brien.” Simon was clearly enjoying their new relationship. “Hopefully, you can hold it together in a live situation.”
“If they’re anything like you, I’ll be all right.”
Dane had always been the better shooter. Simon, for all his bravado, sucked with targets. Some practice, however, would benefit him. After years in an office, with only minimal time doing anything more active than writing down orders for UAVs, he needed to perfect his former skill set and gain confidence in even the most mundane tasks assigned to him. No mistakes. He took thirteen shots and landed twelve bull’s-eyes. Damn it all. The one that missed nabbed the center, but didn’t fall within the lines. Not good enough if he’d be walking into hostile territory.
He looked over at Simon’s paper targets. Three direct hits, the rest off by a sliver. Although shooting wasn’t one of Simon’s talents, his abilities with intimidation, organization, and intelligence more than made up for it. Simon reloaded and fired again. His grip was off.
“Shoot a few more times.” He moved to Simon’s right side to watch how he gripped his gun in sustained fire. “Move the finger of your weak hand higher to touch under the trigger.”
“Fuck you.” Simon shot a few more times. He’d adjusted his grip as Dane had told him. His accuracy improved.
“How’s Eve with a gun?” Dane needed to
ask, because he’d never seen her shoot.
“Better than me. Not quite as accurate as you.”
“Maybe we can all come out here tomorrow.”
“You sound as though you want her in the field. From my perspective, she’s a desk jockey.”
“I don’t want her in danger, but she mentioned she’s excited about going to Bulgaria.” Did she ever stand a chance at going?
They both pulled off their ear protection.
“Not happening. She’s not qualified. You’re in. She’s out.” Simon dropped the empty magazine into the palm of his hand.
Dane agreed, but telling that to Eve wouldn’t be easy. “I wouldn’t be too sure of you keeping her in an office. She’s an adrenaline junkie, the same as the rest of your team, only with better legs.”
“Now that I have you, she’s extraneous.”
“You brought her in for me.”
“That’s what makes you a better operative. Seeing the big picture.”
“Is she free to leave?”
“I have no use for her now that you’re here. She can go whenever she wants.”
Dane, however, selfish bastard that he was, didn’t want her to disappear from his life. “If I help you out here, you need to come clean to her. She said she’s getting a handle on your business practices. She could be useful.”
“She doesn’t know squat about my business, but if she earns my trust, I’m more than interested in keeping her around. She has an amazing head for business and was fairly accurate with the profit-loss calculations I threw at her. In fact, some of her investment ideas have already been implemented.”
“She wants to help the world. If we tell her she’s really on the good side, she’ll be completely dedicated to the team. I know it.”
“But if she can’t be trusted, I don’t want someone walking away from me with the ability to take to me down. Right now, she’s not a threat.”
“Help me out here. If I take the next assignment, you need to keep her. I won’t have her finding some other insane position with a group that doesn’t have your morals, as questionable as they are at times, or your ability to get her out of a jam in one piece.” Dane reloaded his magazine and put it back in the Glock.
“There’s no if. You’re already committed. As I recall, you have no other employment offers.”
“I’m sure someone else will hire me, with my skills.”
“Not if I tell them not to.” He finished packing everything into his duffel bag and headed to his Range Rover. “And from what I hear, the CIA wants you to infiltrate my organization. So you’ll serve two beasts at once. Me and them. It’ll be fun.”
“Asshole.” Dane followed.
“I’ve been called worse.” Simon could be the most stubborn individual on the planet at times.
There was silence on the way back to the house.
Dane tried to figure out a way to tell Eve about Simon’s decision, but what could he say? By the way, I really work for the CIA, and Simon only hired you to get to me.
He couldn’t do it. Better to leave it to Simon. No matter what Dane said, Eve would feel betrayed, even though he’d had no idea what Simon’s intentions were until after she’d been recruited. What a farce. On a good note, she could twist her morals back to a more comfortable level.
When they walked into the house, Cassie was sitting at the kitchen table in a long blue cotton dress that clung to her stomach, and a loose wool cardigan. Eve sat next to her with a cup of tea and a wisp of a smile. She was beautiful. And within the next ten minutes, Simon would wrench that happiness from her.
“How did you do?” Eve asked both men.
“Dane’s a better shot than anyone I know, save Henry,” Simon answered.
“Henry, your friend from the gallery? An earl or something?”
“That’s him. He was a sniper with British Special Forces, but Dane might have him beat.”
Dane opened the refrigerator and grabbed two beers. “It’s called concentration and depth of character.”
Simon took one of the beers and headed to the stove to check on a steaming pot of something. “Let’s see how calm you are with five men pointing their guns at your head and firing automatic rounds.”
“Was that your problem? I don’t recall anyone out there with us,” Dane said.
“Sod off.”
Eve laughed. “I’ll take you on, Mr. O’Brien.”
“Deal, Mrs. O’Brien. Winner picks the future career plans of the loser.”
“I hope you enjoy waiting tables then.” She tilted her head toward him wearing a cocky grin.
His confidence in his shooting was high, but he had no idea how he’d make her happy after Simon crushed her dreams during dinner.
Simon, his attention riveted on Cassie, stirred the contents of the pot, adding salt and pepper and some sort of herbs to the mix. “Did you stir it?”
Cassie stood and pulled out some bowls and spoons. “Every few minutes. It’s fine.”
“Let me help.” Eve took the bowls and set the table.
Cassie pulled steaming fresh bread from the oven while Simon transferred the soup concoction into a tureen. A perfect picture of domestic life. Would he ever have that? Did he want it? Did Eve?
When they’d settled at the table with large glasses of a limited reserve Bordeaux and bowls of steaming vegetable soup, Simon mentioned his upcoming trip to Bulgaria. Eve’s eyes brightened. Here comes the boom.
“I’m ready for this,” she said, all anticipation and optimism.
“I don’t think you are. Not yet. I’ve decided that you’re needed here more,” Simon said between spoonfuls of stew, as though she’d asked him to pass the bread. “Dane’s your replacement.”
Her jaw dropped, smashing the smile into a million pieces across the floor. “Dane? How can he replace me?”
“Up until a few weeks ago, you were nothing more than an international aid worker. And despite the fact that you’ve handled yourself like a highly skilled professional, Dane’s been in this business far longer, is more qualified, and will be more intimidating than a shapely female without a strong left hook. Respect is everything in this business, and you’d have to scare the bloody hell out of some of the most fearsome men on the planet to gain enough respect to run an operation solo.”
“I’m not intimidating?” She rose and leaned across the table toward Simon with fire blazing from her eyes.
Simon stood as well, placed his hands on the table, and used all eight inches of additional height to create a wall bearing down on her. “No. You’re not.”
Cassie tried to bring normalcy back into the room with a comment about the stew needing salt, but at this point, the hostility between Simon and Eve had boiled over into a seething froth. No one was backing down, and nothing was said by either Dane or Cassie for fear of igniting either of the hotheads’ tempers again.
Eve straightened, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at Dane. Not the slightest bit of affection graced her features. He shrugged. What else could he do? He was now on Simon’s payroll. So much for his romantic weekend.
Eve finally sat, but nothing about her showed any sign of defeat. “I don’t understand. Dane’s a salesman.”
Simon turned toward Dane and nodded. If anyone should be trusted with this information, it would be Eve. In for a penny, in for a hundred crates of 7.62x39 hollow point ammunition.
“I’m not exactly a salesman.”
There it was. The spark of distrust flickering over her face, protecting herself against someone about to let her down. Maybe he could minimize his earlier assignments and focus on the prior year or so only. She stayed silent, however, her bottom lip protruding enough to stab straight into his heart. This sucked.
“I work for the CIA. Not really cloak and dagger stuff, more of an observer who keeps track of significant deals in the defense industry. Pelican, my former employer, didn’t even know. And at this moment, they’re not impressed with my sales skills, so I think that
assignment is being terminated. My new assignment is to infiltrate Simon Dunn’s organization.”
“The CIA?” Her voice plummeted into a low murmur at the end of her sentence, and her eyes fell out of their feline position into something reminiscent of a bone-tired hound dog. “They sent you here?”
“Just last week. Apparently, they acquired some information that could take him down. I’m here investigating.”
“Investigating Simon?” She shook her head and bent forward as though she’d been struck in the gut. “And you’re saying this in front of Simon?”
Dane glanced over at Simon, who coughed, the bastard. He seemed to be enjoying the implosion of Dane’s marriage. In appreciation of Simon’s complete lack of support, Dane volleyed the hot potato over to his friend. “I worked in a more active position a long time ago and met Simon while he was new in intelligence.”
Now Eve looked completely confused, with a side of growing anger. Her focus darted between him and Simon, and her brows furrowed.
“You’re with the CIA, too?”
“I report to no one.” Simon spoke with the confidence of a man who had lied about who he was and what he did over the course of a lifetime.
Cassie cleared her throat.
“Except to my wife.” He reached out and took her hand.
Cassie left her hand in Simon’s but shook her head. “Come clean to her. She deserves to understand everything.”
Simon frowned, but continued. “Listen Eve, what we say in this room, never leaves.”
“Who would I tell?” She had a point—she didn’t know many people, and those she did know couldn’t influence anything in Simon and Dane’s world. Although she had recently become pen pals with the CIA.
Simon took a sip of wine and then spoke. “I’m not employed by anyone, but I help my country and the world stay a little safer because of some of my activities. More times than not, I keep arms from ending up with the wrong sort of groups. Occasionally, I hand them over to undesirables in order to stay in the game. My government sends me contacts of men they’d like me to do business with. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve already been betrayed by an insider at MI6 once, and it almost cost Cassie her life. Ever since, I’ve become even more protective of who knows my business. Only a handful of people at the highest levels of government know what I do. No other government can know about the true range of this operation. If Dane works with me, he’ll be informing the CIA only what we decide they need to know.
True Peril Page 15
