True Peril

by Veronica Forand

  “When I told you this job was for life, I was serious,” he continued. “You’re still part of this operation no matter what work you’re assigned, paperwork or otherwise. You agreed to that. Don’t make this harder on yourself, and don’t force me to push you so far underground you’ll need to import oxygen to survive.”

  Although it sounded like a pretty heavy threat, Simon wouldn’t harm Eve physically. Psychologically, he’d already shot several rounds through her.

  She tapped her fingers on the table, her hand way too close to the knife Simon put out to slice the bread. She then scooped up a few spoonfuls of stew. Would she accept Dane’s role now that she understood part of his background? Maybe, but she still appeared disappointed in losing the ability to do field work.

  She remained silent the rest of the meal, her eyes on her plate. No one bothered her. She needed time. The shell-shocked look of someone who had been sucker-punched remained while they were having coffee and port in the living room—the look of a person who had been betrayed.

  …

  Eve had betrayed them all. Sending information on an undercover MI6 operative to people who could shut down Simon’s operation forever. He was a good guy, someone helping to eliminate arms given to the wrong groups. How could she have been so stupid? She’d always felt deep down that Simon and Cassie worked with a higher set of morals than some of the people she’d dealt with in international aid groups, where politics and funding were so intertwined that people came and went based on government policy changes.

  She needed to leave before they realized what an ass she was. Before Simon came through on his threats. As she headed up to her room, Dane approached. If he continued to treat her with pity, she was going to go mad.

  “Why don’t you leave Simon and Cassie’s house tonight. Come back to my room.”

  A sweet invitation, but he’d gotten everything he wanted, and she was just fired from a job she didn’t even know she’d had. And with her past actions, the entire business could fail because her own misjudgment.

  “I just want to be alone right now, if that’s okay.”

  “You’re mad about being removed from the assignment, aren’t you?”

  Not at all. She was mad about destroying the operation. “I’d trained pretty hard. I thought I’d earned the right to go.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close into his chest. “I’m not sure if shooting in Simon’s backyard qualifies you for such a task, but you’re enormously useful to both Simon and me. You’d be an asset to the team. Cassie has other work to do for MI6 besides helping Simon.”

  “She’s part of it all?” She pictured the computer hacker brainiac who Simon trusted not only with his life, but with the life of his son or daughter. “Of course she is.”

  Something felt off, this change in dynamics between them. He was essentially her boss now. And didn’t that suck. Somehow, being his equal seemed better. “I need some time to get used to your jump from sales to this.”

  Dane nodded. “This is sales with more adrenaline involved.” He kissed her forehead, but she didn’t allow him near her lips. Once connected, she might have followed him straight back to the bed and breakfast.

  She helped Cassie with the dishes and then slipped out the back door and strode a few miles down the dark dusty roads to figure out how to help the people she’d hurt.

  …

  Dane’s wife had grit. Simon had known it the minute he’d threatened her at the hotel and she’d stood her ground. And now he waited for her to return from her walk before testing that mettle again.

  Cassie waddled into the room. The woman took his breath away, the way she’d twisted her hair up and secured it with a pen. Her clothing of choice for the evening included black yoga pants and a turquoise jog bra that revealed every one of her sexy curves.

  “Coming to bed?”

  “Not yet, Angel. I need to have a few words with Eve.”

  Cassie rubbed her stomach, their child’s home for only a few more weeks. “Be gentle. She’s had a rough afternoon. Every one of her beliefs has been twisted around, from our real business objectives to Dane’s connection to us.”

  “She’s not an invalid, and she certainly wouldn’t want me mollycoddling her, either. She needs someone to yank her into reality so she can continue to be effective.”

  “Perhaps you should have Dane speak with her.”

  “Dane isn’t fully mine yet. He’s still on the wire as to whether he wants to spend the next twenty years with a target on his head. We’ll talk after we finish the Bulgarian swap.”

  “Take your time. I’m pretty tired.” She did seem tired tonight, her blue eyes lacking their normal intensity.

  “I won’t be long.”

  When he entered the kitchen, Eve was pouring herself some orange juice.

  “Nice walk?” He approached his prey with a calm he’d developed over his years in service to the Crown.

  “It helped clear my mind.”

  Simon sat at the table and stretched out his legs. Would she talk without any prompting? Doubtful.

  This would be easier with some vodka, but he didn’t want to risk her leaving the kitchen while he went to pour himself some. “Eve, you’ve showed a lot of potential for this field, despite being more or less bribed into the position.”

  “Blackmailed, actually.” She sat at the table next to him.

  “And yet you did your job as well as anyone I’d hire in a more ordinary manner.”

  She shrugged. “I liked the idea of being involved in something dangerous. How stupid does that sound?”

  “Normal. Most of my men work for me for the same reason. They like the rush. There’s no altruistic reasoning behind them putting their lives on the line. In fact, my men have no idea why I make the decisions I do, except to line their pockets with money.”

  “I have to admit, however, my conscience sits better knowing you’re on the good side.”

  “Don’t go making me a saint, dear God. I’m not good or evil. I like to think of myself as benefiting my country, although occasionally even Great Britain and I are at odds. Then I play the game more to my liking.”

  She took another sip of her orange juice and remained silent.

  “When I told you that you’d be employed for a long, long time, I wasn’t kidding. But now your knowledge of my operation makes you a liability, especially with this damned relationship you have with my number two.”

  “Number two?”

  “Dane. He was always my target for the South American operation. I admit you were too convenient, but it worked out. He’s here now.”

  “I don’t understand why he insisted he wanted nothing to do with this, and now is working by your side.”

  “To protect you. I never thought he’d fall so hard for someone, but you’re pretty special. I can see the attraction.”

  “You conned Dane into the job?”

  “I persuaded him. It’ll work out. If I insert him into the game once, he’ll take to it as though he’s been there all along. I’m certain of it.”

  “I can’t figure you out.”

  “No need. You work for me, and I’ll never betray you, at least not in a way that would bring harm to you, and that’s all you need to know. On the other hand, I need to know if I can trust you.”

  She swallowed down the orange juice as though she was on the verge of choking. “I wish you had told me the true nature of the job sooner. I would have done things differently. But I’m not sure I want to spend the rest of my life making money transfers and travel plans for you. I prefer being on the front line.”

  “The front line in this business is not the same as the relative safety of being an aid worker. And although you have more training than I initially thought, you’re still not as qualified as my men, who have been in actual combat situations.”

  “Tell that to the two men who tried to rape me in Columbia.”

  “Touché.” She did have some abilities he might be ab
le to exploit at some point, but not right now.

  She stood. “I’d better go to bed. Long day tomorrow. I think I have to make an airline reservation and file a few things.”

  “I’ll find you something a little more interesting than that. Before you go, I found this in your room. Yours?” He tossed her notebook on the table.

  The color from her face drained to a near dead hue. No words came out of her mouth to confirm or deny.

  “I’m going to ask this once, and you need to tell me the truth. Why did you send the information I trusted you with to the CIA?” He tried to look intimidating, but Eve’s eyes focused on her drink, and her overall appearance was like a puppy about to be kicked.

  “I wanted to stop your operation, and they were the only people who would have an interest in the information. I was trying to stop children from being armed. Why couldn’t you tell me what the real purpose of this organization was?”

  “Cassie was almost murdered by someone who knew my secrets. Someone inside MI6. I don’t tell people what I do for a reason. You have two choices. You remain here with only minimal duties until you gain back the trust lost by your daft actions, or you leave and I never see or hear from you again. And if I ever hear of you discussing my business to anyone outside of the four of us, I will hunt you down and shut you up permanently. To hell with Dane’s connection to you. You have twenty-four hours to decide.”

  She nodded and then marched up the stairs to her room. She had only one choice to make, and Simon would bet the farm she’d choose correctly.

  …

  The next evening, Simon stood at the head of the dining room table and surveyed Cassie, Dane, and Eve. Eve had decided to remain, but wanted the chance to earn a promotion. She’d have to prove herself over and over and over again to get there, but it could be done. Her abilities were strong, and the attraction between Dane and Eve was now as clear as the vodka in his glass.

  All four were going over documents related to the logistics of the transfer for Teodor. Overall, it would be an easy entry for Dane back into this world. The buyer, a small group in Palestine, needed a small stash of weapons, specifically, a few cases of the M-2 .50 caliber machine gun. Teodor just happened to have a warehouse full of them.

  Simon needed to profit from this deal and keep his reputation healthy as a dealer where deals were successful. Win-win.

  The group at his dining room table was the largest number of people he’d ever worked with who knew his ultimate objective to help the British government. Before Cassie, Simon had worked with one partner, Nicola. She’d infiltrated group after group and provided MI6 enough information to shut down many of those operations. They’d been a good team. After she’d died, he’d wanted to quit. His new team, however, would change the game. They all had strengths that could make them more influential than Simon had ever imagined. Cassie’s computer skills were unbeatable. Eve continually added value and insight to his largest deals. Her input would save lives and make them boatloads of money. Dane was the wild card. He didn’t want to be there, but he stepped up, and now just needed a kick in the arse to be persuaded that he wanted this life.

  The main problem with the deal was Simon’s inability to assess the value of the painting the group wanted to use as collateral on the sale of arms.

  “What painting?” Eve asked.

  “A Renaissance painting stolen from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.”

  Eve frowned. “How will you know it’s authentic if you don’t have an appraiser?”

  “No idea. My usual appraiser is retired, and Teodor’s appraiser from the Hermitage disappeared two months ago. Normally one of us has someone on hand to confirm the value, as best as possible in the middle of a field somewhere, but right now, they could sell me a paint by numbers and I’d have no clue if it’s worthless. I’d prefer cash from them to make the swap easier, but money in and out of Palestine is watched closer than uranium.”

  Eve tapped a pencil against the table, and was becoming increasingly annoying until she stopped to draft a diagram in the notebook in front of her. “What if payment came in the form of luxury cars?”

  “Cars?”

  “They sell the painting wherever they can get an appraiser and then spend their money on luxury cars. Mercedes sell well in the Middle East. The cars can ship directly from Germany to a warehouse in Bulgaria, and we’ll get them at a discount and then mark them back up for sale in Qatar and Kuwait.”

  Simon took a long draw from his bottle, considering all the hands the merchandise would have to go through. “It’ll delay our payment until we can sell the cars.”

  “Two months max. I have a few connections who can sell them with minimal paperwork.” Dane nodded toward Eve, who gave him a half smile. She must still be sore over his new role. “I’ll work with Eve tomorrow, and we could have the deal finalized by tomorrow night.”

  The two lovebirds gazed at each as though they’d solved the secret to immortality. Perhaps this could work. Simon had enough money to cover the deal if it didn’t, and this could build a stronger bond between Dane and Eve, which would ultimately benefit Simon. They would either dive into their relationship like him and Cassie, or work as he and Nicola had, with lots of sexual frustration, but an amazing capacity for getting shit done. Either way, Simon needed them both. “Fine. Work out the details and tell me everything tomorrow. Eve, if this works with minimal issues, I will promote you out of the file room permanently.”

  “Would you send me into the field?” Her eye brightened, waiting for his response. Too bad she didn’t want to run the business side of things permanently. She’d be brilliant at it, and she’d be safe.

  “I’m still hesitant about that.” Simon looked at Dane for assistance.

  “If you go into the field, I’d prefer you near me,” Dane said. “Not because you can’t take care of yourself, but I think we’d work well together.”

  “Aww. Dane’s in love.” Cassie stood up with great effort. Simon moved to her side and pressed his thumbs into the lower part of her back to relieve some of the strain of carrying their daughter.

  Cassie moaned in such a way that he’d take her right there if he could. Work, however, trumped family for a few hours. They all needed to focus, or nothing would get done. He’d have plenty of time to indulge in his wife when he kicked Dane back to the bed and breakfast in an hour or so. Cassie leaned back, tilted her head toward him, and kissed his lips. Nothing tasted as sweet as his wife. When they both came up for air, Cassie wandered to the kitchen.

  Simon caught Eve rolling her eyes at Dane across the room. Simon laughed. “You two are just jealous. Your relationship doesn’t have the passion ours has.”

  Dane shook his head. “Not jealous as much as nauseated. And I prefer keeping our passion behind closed doors.”

  “Fine. If we can work this out in the next hour, you can take your passion and get the hell out of my house so I can engage in more interesting activities.” Simon sat at the table and grabbed a pen. “I think it’s time to formalize your role with me.”

  Dane paused. “Let me try to arrange my life more before you and I become blood brothers.”

  Simon smiled. Delay would only make his position stronger.

  …

  Dane thought of Eve too much while he traveled to the new operation without her. Would she remain in London? Did she want to work for Dane in addition to Simon? Did she want a relationship? Did he?

  He shook his head to put his focus back on the job at hand, a transaction where Simon would introduce Dane to his supplier from the Ukraine. Teodor had been a player in this game for a long time. Dane remembered watching him years before as he successfully stole a billion dollars of former Soviet arms out of a warehouse near Cherkasy.

  Simon’s European team was down by two men, so Simon had tried to recruit his friend Henry to assist them on the trip. A former sniper for the Special Boat Service, his assistance would have been perfect. His wife, however, had flown to Paris for some art thing
, and Henry was stuck watching their son because of some agreement to have at least one parent in the country at all times. Yet another reason Dane didn’t want kids.

  Simon scrambled to find someone else. Tim Brown, a relatively new recruit to Simon’s force, was the only possibility. He could remain in a protected position in a concealed blind on the side of the house and would have to take a shot only if things didn’t go as planned. Hopefully, he could do the job. Dane wasn’t in the mood to start his new career with a firefight.

  Dane and Simon traveled to a French farmhouse Simon had bought through a few straw purchases six months before. After this transaction, he might have to sell it again. Too bad. It was beautiful. Martin, one of Simon’s most trusted team leaders, was already at the farmhouse with Tim and two other members of his team for backup. A van followed Dane’s car to receive the cases of rifles.

  An hour later, a brown Maybach arrived and two men emerged, one heavy set and the other a wiry guy with a severely scarred face. They were followed by an armed escort. They all stopped at the midpoint between the two cars.

  Simon waved them over. “I’d like to introduce my new colleague, Dane O’Brien.”

  The larger guy introduced himself as Teodor.

  “Nice to meet you, Dane, although I prefer Eve, Simon’s other assistant.” His mouth lifted into a lecherous smile that Dane wanted to punch off his face.

  Simon stepped forward, probably to block Dane’s proximity to the asshole. “Regrettably, she needed to handle something else for me this week. Dane is more than competent. In fact, you may be seeing more of him in the future.”

  “Interesting.” Teodor waved the wiry guy over. “Let me introduce Jarek. He handles my logistics. I wouldn’t be where I am without him.”