“Only fair,” Troy said.
He didn’t look nervous, she thought. She must be losing her edge. She nudged his forehead with the gun’s muzzle. “You see an alternative to me blowing your brains out and ruining my sheets?”
“A few. Interested?”
All her anger and fear drained out of her as she realized there was no use fighting it anymore. Call it what she will, she loved him. She really loved him. The ass.
Well, shit, she thought, opening the side table drawer. She put her gun inside and threw herself into Troy’s open arms, sprawling on his chest. “If you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears,” she said against his neck. “It’s supposed to look like another agent death, unexplained. The op is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Oh, and Barrett said you’re behind all the deaths. I’ve been vindicated. The feed was found and the shooter was on it. A glitch, she said.”
“Good news all around.” Troy kissed the top of her head. “Try to get some sleep.”
Lucy slapped his chest and reared up. “Really? That I’m still breathing is a technicality. Kill you or not, I’m dead. Do you really think I’ll sleep tonight?”
Troy pulled her back into his arms. “Try. I got this.”
Lucy snuggled into his warmth, grateful he pulled the blankets around her shoulders because she was suddenly shivering from nerves. “You got this.” She yawned and buried her face against his neck. “We’re so dead.” And she didn’t want to die. She liked the world she and Troy created in each other’s arms. She wanted more time in it, with him, even if he was the guy who’d taken her future away. That didn’t seem to matter all that much anymore, almost as if it had happened to a different person. In truth, Lucy was a different person.
Five years ago, she’d been selfish, shallow and willing to turn a blind eye to shady dealings if it got her what she wanted. Like Barrett. Lucy refused to be that woman. Not anymore.
“Sleep,” Troy said, rubbing her back. He flipped off the scrambler.
Remarkably, she slept.
* * *
The next morning, Lucy was so nervous she couldn’t eat breakfast. There was no briefing. She just handed out the individual sealed portfolios to each crew member and got them en route in the helicopter. No one was feeling chatty. Any crew worth their salt took the measure of an op by their leader’s confidence level. Lucy had none. She loved Troy and they were probably all about to die. It was a challenge to look on the bright side. Everyone was just going to have to deal with her nerves and cut her some slack.
But they weren’t. They were all staring at Troy as if he had two heads. It made her pause and wonder why.
Then her stomach dropped. Lucy realized what was happening.
“Okay.” She motioned everyone into a huddle. Her crew and Troy unbuckled and crouched next to her. “Show of hands. Who got the kill order and for who?”
All three women raised their hands and whispered, “Troy.” Each was equally horrified and scared.
Lucy turned to Troy. “If you have a plan, now would be a good time to share.”
Troy nodded. “We do the op as designed, but no one kills me.” He lifted a brow, looking at everyone. “Anyone got a better plan?”
No one said a word.
They went back to their seats, unhappy and more afraid than ever. They recognized they were between a rock and a hard place, but would wait for Lucy to figure the problem out. The sad fact was Lucy didn’t have a clue what to do, but doing nothing was a death sentence for all of them, so not an option. Her stomach burned with stress. Cat, Phil and Patrice would suffer the consequences of Lucy’s next choice.
She chose Troy. He had to live.
When the helicopter landed, Lucy unbuckled, pulled her knife from its sheath and ignored her crew’s questioning looks. She raced to the front of the copter and took the pilot out, one slice from left to right across his throat. He didn’t see it coming and was dead within seconds.
She pulled him from his seat. “Dump the body.”
Phil was the first to react, grabbing the pilot by the shoulders and dragging him to the door. Cat slid the door open and stood aside. Phil jumped out backward, pulling the body with her. When he hit the dirt, she crouched down and studied his face. “I don’t know this guy.”
Lucy hopped to the ground. They were in a wooded area. She’d spied no towns or building for miles on their way here, triggering her suspicions. “Barrett was running an op within an op. Insurance policy.”
Patrice looked between Troy and Lucy. “She knew you wouldn’t kill Troy. That’s why we were all tasked. Maybe the pilot was supposed to clean the loose ends up.”
Troy nudged the pilot’s body with his boot. “What gave you the heads-up?”
Lucy scanned the horizon. “There was no op other than killing you. We all had your kill order, so flying out here was a ruse.”
Troy frowned. “And?”
Lucy shrugged. “I saw him meet with Barrett after I left her last night. Look at the flash grenade attached to his gear. What’s the best way to kill a crew without dying yourself?”
Patrice kicked the pilot’s boot. “Coward had us strapped in, helpless. He was waiting for us to kill Troy and strap in for departure. Then boom. The bastard.”
“He was under orders,” Troy said. “Don’t take it personally.”
“Are we supposed to feel bad he’s dead?” Patrice said.
“No,” he said. “He was recruited after killing three kids he kept stashed in his basement.”
Patrice recoiled, shaken. “Damn.” She kicked the pilot’s boot again.
Cat looked scared. “Now what?”
Lucy kept scanning the surrounding woods but saw nothing. She was antsy, thinking if Barrett wanted Troy dead this much, odds were she’d planted shooters in the area. “Let’s get back in the air.”
“I’ll fly,” Cat said.
Phil scoffed. “I don’t think so.”
“I need the practice.”
“Not with me in the bird. Practice when I’m on the ground. I’m flying.” They all hurried into the helicopter.
“Cat, you need to call it in.” Troy buckled in the back while Phil jumped into the pilot’s seat.
She cawed with disgust. “Lucy, this is disgusting. His blood is all over the controls.”
“Don’t be gross, Phil.” Cat frowned and immediately dismissed her concerns. “What do you mean, Troy, call it in?” She shook her head. “What exactly am I calling in?”
“We need to buy time,” Lucy said. “Call in that Troy and the pilot are dead.”
“And if they ask for details?”
Troy shook his head. “They’ll know better than to ask. We’re just buying time. Nothing we say will be believed until Barrett has eyes on my body.”
Lucy sat next to him and buckled in. “Let’s go, Phil. Enough with the cleaning.”
“I have to see the buttons and screens, Lucy. Not everyone can fly by the seat of their pants like you.”
Lucy banked her impatience. “Do I need to fly this bird?” She eyeballed the copilot chair, as Phil answered her by turning the rotors on.
Two hours later, they were stuffing Troy in a black body bag. It brought the fresh memories of Raven back like a hammer to the forehead. Once again, Lucy was covered in blood—this time the pilot’s—but the sense memories were overwhelming. It was as if she were watching Troy die as he lay on the gurney.
The medics would open the door in minutes, and Lucy felt she should tell Troy something before they did. This might be the last time they saw each other. No one knew what would happen once those copter doors opened. The reality was she wanted to tell him she loved him. But, damn, she couldn’t with witnesses. What if he humored her? She was afraid.
Cat and Patrice hovered, unaware that Lucy would kill for privacy.
Troy, being Troy, the man who read her mind, seemed to understand and winked at her. He didn’t seem to have a pressing need to bare his soul, so she clamped down on her girly behavio
r and settled for memorizing his face, just in case she’d missed something in the last five years.
“Zip it up.” He closed his eyes and looked as if he were about to take a well-earned rest. She couldn’t do it.
“Cat, you do it.”
Cat zipped the bag closed and then they buckled in, preparing for the copter’s touchdown. She could tell the women suspected Lucy loved Troy and felt bad for her for it. I’ve become a thing to pity. Did not see this coming.
Phil touched the bird down, the door screeched open and everything happened fast. The driver of the transport truck pulled the gurney out of the copter and had them on their way in moments. It took fifteen minutes before they passed through the facility gates. Medics opened the transport truck, unzipped the bag enough to verify it was Troy, and gave the thumbs-up to some unseen person in the distance. Lucy tried to see who it was, but the crowds of agents, maintenance people and medics made it impossible to know for sure.
The plan was for the crew to scatter. Lucy hurried after the gurney, ignoring the questions, the horrified looks. She was overwhelmingly relieved no one pulled a gun and dropped her where she stood. Barrett must want to make sure Troy was dead before giving that order, or she’d be choking on blood right now. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Phil and Cat go one way and Patrice another. If she were them, she’d grab a bottle of liquor, some chocolate and find a good-looking maintenance stooge to while away what might be the last hours of their lives.
Choose someone safe, she thought. Someone not trained to kill. Someone not like Troy. Because emotions sucked. They made you do stupid things, get involved in plans that led to dying. No, she wouldn’t recommend her crew get involved with men like Troy.
The gurney was wheeled onto an elevator that opened onto the morgue floor. It was large enough to hold the gurney, three medics and Lucy. She kept her back to the elevator wall, against the doors that would open directly into the morgue. If the medics questioned why she was following the gurney, they didn’t say anything or even send her interested looks.
One medic did frown at her. “We were told there would be two bodies. The pilot’s body is missing.”
Lucy nodded. “Above your pay grade.”
He shrugged, intimidated, as Lucy had intended. When the elevator door opened, Lucy stepped out and scanned the room. There were three more medics inside. That made six. They stared at Lucy and the gurney.
An older medic—the lead coroner—stepped forward, frowning at her. “Is that really Troy?”
Lucy lifted a brow. “Unzip the bag.”
He hesitated. The other medics stepped back, giving him room. Lucy scanned the ceiling. She saw three security cameras zooming in on the bag. She positioned herself against the wall to the left that was covered top to bottom with body refrigerators and gauged this was the one spot in the room where she was free from surveillance for the moment.
The older medic looked at Troy as if he were mourning him, and as much as Lucy hated to ruin the moment, they were out of time. She shot out the three security cameras and then pulled out her secondary gun, aiming both at the medics. “Over here, boys. Choose your box.”
Horrified, the medics stared at her, and Lucy almost felt bad for them. Almost. She nodded toward the wall of refrigerators behind her. “Inside. I promise to release you before you turn into Popsicles.”
“Young lady,” the older medic said. He was indignant. “Is this really necessary?”
“It’s that or she shoots you dead.” Troy sat up. “She’s trying to be nice.”
The older medic stepped back, clutching his heart. “I knew it. You’re too smart to let that harridan beat you.”
Lucy waved her gun toward the refrigerators. “I won’t say it again. Choose or I will.”
One of the younger medics scowled at her. “Well, at least turn the temperature in the fridges up. We’ll get hypothermia.” He lay on one of the refrigerator cabinet trays.
“And have alarms set off, bringing agents and questions?” Lucy shook her head, pushing the tray into the refrigerator. “Sorry. No deal.” She locked him inside and then went down the line until all of the medics were secure. Troy had the older medic tied to a chair. When Lucy silently asked why, Troy shrugged. She’d be lying if she said she was happy today was the day he’d decided to find a heart. Lucy needed Troy cold, sharp. Their lives were on the line.
He nodded toward the elevator they’d just exited. The older medic said, “Take my private elevator. Put on white coats and keep your backs to the camera. They won’t think to look closely at who you are, and if they do, all they’ll see are the white coats.”
Lucy smiled at the man and grabbed a white lab coat off the wall. “Thanks.” Maybe nice had its payout after all.
Troy nodded and put a lab coat on. “I’ll get someone down here to untie you soon.”
The older medic nodded. “I know you’re trying to protect me.”
“Yeah,” Lucy said. “He’s a regular Saint Francis.”
The older man chuckled. “I like her, Troy. You should keep her.”
“Doing my best.” Troy winked at Lucy. That’s when she knew her world had turned upside down. Who was this man?
Chapter Fifteen
“I had no idea you had such a fan club,” she said.
“Don’t knock it. They’re going to keep us alive today.” He stepped into the elevator and waited for Lucy to follow him.
They? Well, shit, Lucy thought. More secrets.
Troy punched the button for Barrett’s floor and kept silent, because security behind the installed cameras wouldn’t recognize who they were, but they’d recognize their voices. When the doors opened, Lucy saw Janice eyeballing them, so she pulled her gun without a second thought. Troy covered the slide with his hand.
“No. We can trust Janice.” He stepped off the elevator without another word.
Odds were Janice had a gun trained on them from under that pristine desk of hers, but Lucy trusted Troy, so she allowed Janice to live.
“Where is she?” Troy shucked his lab coat and handed it to Janice. She stuffed it in one of her desk drawers and held out her hand for Lucy’s. Suspicious, but willing to let it ride, Lucy handed hers over.
“You’ve got a few minutes, maybe,” Janice said. “It’s not enough time, Troy.”
“I’ll make it enough.” He rushed into Barrett’s room.
Lucy was about to follow, but Janice stopped her, tugging on her sleeve. Lucy automatically scanned the desk for a weapon. It was somewhere.
“I know you,” Janice said. “You might not think I know you, but I do. I’ve watched you, read about you, listened in to every debrief you’ve ever done. I know you.”
The Lucy that existed a week ago would have heard these words and taken them as a threat. They would have scared her and had her losing sleep, but Lucy knew when she aligned herself with Troy she’d signed her own death warrant. No matter how the chips fell, and though fear still distorted every cell of her body she refused to be defined by it anymore. She’d live her last moments as best she could with the man she loved. If Janice was warning her off Troy, the woman didn’t know her at all.
“Is this going somewhere?” Lucy said.
Janice peeked at the elevator as if she expected the doors to open any moment. “You can trust Troy. I know you don’t want to, but you can.”
Janice was wrong. Lucy had always wanted to trust Troy, and now she did, but that was none of Janice’s business. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because somebody had to.” She released Lucy’s arm. “Go in there and help. She’ll be back soon and then I can’t help either of you.”
Lucy hustled into the office and saw Troy’s scrambler was active. He sat behind the desk and Barrett’s safe was open behind him. The contents appeared to be stacked portfolios and packets of high-denomination US bills. Troy was flipping the pages of one portfolio, looking progressively angrier as moments passed. She wanted to ask him what he’d found
but didn’t want to distract him. She’d assumed they were supposed to get in and out before being detected, to fight another day, but Troy didn’t look as if a troop of security guards would budge him.
Finally, when Lucy’s patience was gone and she was about to ask what this was about, Troy closed the folder and sat back in the chair.
“Really?” Lucy said. “That tired you need to rest here?” She stepped next to him, looking between the folder and him. “Let’s go.”
“It’s too late for that.” Troy pulled his gun from its holster and laid it on the offending folder. “I know what she did.”
“Shit.” Dread poured over Lucy like a vat of molasses, oozing into every nook and cranny of her psyche.
This was it. The endgame.
She’d come into the Agency with Troy, and she would leave it with him. Memories of her mum in her white ensemble, poised to marry, flashed in her mind. She’d never see her again, but at least her mum was free of the Agency now. Soon Lucy would be, too.
She touched Troy’s shoulder, thinking how she wished she’d embraced her feelings for him sooner. She’d been naïve. Being with Troy was the only thing that mattered, the only thing capable of making her happy in this hellhole. She couldn’t die and not let him know how she felt, so she kissed him.
“I love you,” she said. His mouth dropped open in shock, and whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Barrett’s slow, methodical clapping.
“Sorry to interrupt such a sweet moment.” Barrett stepped into the office, flanked by three armed guards, their assault rifles aimed at Lucy and Troy. “Weak. Women are so weak.” Her disgust was evident. “Troy put you in that hotel room, forced your mother to whore for the Colombian cartels, all for intel. Your life and her dignity for intel.” She grimaced. “I gave you a chance to even the score. Who knew you’d be so forgiving? It’s a strength, of sorts, I guess, to forgive the unforgivable. Never been a fan.”
The Seduction of Lucy Page 16
