Irished (The Invincibles Book 7)

by Heather Slade

  “Follow me,” I said to Lynx when Emme disappeared down the hallway. “Coffee? No, wait. You’re a tea drinker.”

  “Neither, thanks. Water would be nice, though.”

  I led him into the conference room. “I’ll forewarn you that Emme—Dr. Charles—can be…quirky, and that’s an understatement. But she’s a brilliant analyst.” While I was on a first-name basis with her, the idea that Lynx would eventually be as well, rankled. I’d do nothing to encourage it.

  “As well as strategist.”

  I grabbed an envelope from the other side of the table and slid it in Lynx’s direction. “Beautiful too,” I mumbled, wishing I hadn’t as soon as I said it. My feelings for Emme were proprietary, given we’d worked so closely together over the past few months. I had to remind myself—again—that I was undercover and whatever I felt for her was inappropriate.

  “How close are the two of you?” he asked.

  I couldn’t help but be curious why he would want to know. The question seemed as inappropriate as my own feelings. I wondered if there was something more between them than either was letting on. I decided to press harder to gauge his reaction.

  “Not as close as I’d like, but after this mission is over, who knows?” I wasn’t surprised when that appeared to have pissed him off.

  “She hasn’t given the impression that she knows anything about Saint’s disappearance,” I said quietly when I returned with his glass of water. “Or Dr. Benjamin’s.”

  “That was evident.”

  “How so?”

  “We crossed paths at their apartment building.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Nothing specific, only that her demeanor when I mentioned knowing Niven was one of curiosity rather than concern.”

  “Serendipitous, meeting her,” I commented.

  “Or not.”

  “Have a seat.” I motioned to a chair.

  “I’ll wait for Dr. Charles. In fact, I’d prefer to meet with her alone.”

  What the fuck was this guy up to? “Why? She expects me to be in the meeting.”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of some reason you’re unable to join us.”

  “Let me know when you’d like to debrief.” I walked out of the room and headed straight to call Cope.

  “I don’t trust this guy,” I told him, giving him the rundown of what had happened so far this morning.

  “His behavior does seem odd.”

  “Maybe he’s the mole.”

  Cope was silent.

  “I especially don’t trust him with Dr. Charles.”

  “Keep close watch, and in the meantime, I’ll see if I can find more information on Edgemon.”

  “Roger that.”

  Fifteen minutes later, I found Emme and Lynx in the lobby, blood pouring from a gash in her scalp.

  “What happened?” I gasped. I looked from Emme to Lynx, whose pants appeared to be drenched.

  “A little accident. I spilled water, and then things just got…worse,” she answered, trying to get around me.

  I put my hand on her arm and led her over to a chair in the lobby. “Sit there and don’t move.” I turned to Lynx. “She has a first aid kit in her office.”

  “Yes,” he said, pointing to something Emme held in her hand.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It’s a liquid bandage. If you’d just put some on my cut, it will stop the bleeding,” she said, trying to hand it to me.

  “Is she kidding?” I asked Lynx.

  “I’m afraid she’s somewhat intransigent.”

  “Let me have a look.” I moved her hand and lifted the sopping paper towels. “It’s bleeding a lot and looks to be about five centimeters. I’m sorry, Emme, but you’re going to have to go to the emergency room.”

  “No!” she shrieked, startling me. “No hospitals.”

  When Lynx nudged me out of the way and knelt in front of her, I wanted to belt him. However, Emme’s head was bleeding profusely and needed immediate attention. If he could convince her to get medical care, I’d step aside.

  “The laceration is this long,” he said, spreading his fingers. “Your desired treatment won’t stop the bleeding. You need to see a doctor.”

  I pulled out my phone and checked the schedule for the on-campus clinic. “Medical services is closed until two,” I said. “What about Cambridge Urgent Care?”

  “I’ve another idea. Give me a moment?” said Lynx.

  We both watched as he pulled out his phone and made a call.

  “Emerson, where is building 14?” he asked a couple of minutes later.

  “Right behind that building there,” I answered for her.

  “Is it where the medical services are located?”

  “Yes, but—”

  The bastard held up his hand as if to silence me. Before I realized what was happening, he was escorting her from the building.

  “Wait. Will you be okay?” I walked over and squeezed her shoulder.

  “I’ll be with her,” Lynx snapped.

  “Right. Well, I’ll be in the office later if you need anything,” I said, although it didn’t appear either heard me.

  Hours later, I had no idea where either Lynx or Emme had gone, other than to the clinic, which was closed, when I got a call from Cope.

  “I’ve received word that before he disappeared, Saint managed a brush pass with one of our agents.”

  The term referred to one operative essentially “brushing past” another in order to hand off some kind of physical item, most often a coded message. “What did it say?”

  “First of all, he confirmed tracking Dr. Benjamin to Hong Kong. Second, and I’m quoting, ‘We don’t protect them because they are weak. We protect them because they are strong, and strong people make enemies.’”

  “He has to be referring to Dr. Charles.”

  “Or Dr. Benjamin.”

  “Doubtful, but okay. Was that the extent of it?”

  “Affirmative. Do you want to relay this information to Edgemon?”

  “Roger that.” I didn’t want to tell Cope how long it had been since I knew where he and Emme were. If they didn’t surface in the next hour, I’d alert him.

  It was almost ten at night when Lynx pulled up to Emme’s building, where I’d been waiting for the last few hours. I walked over and opened the passenger door. After helping Emme out, I stuck my head back in the car. “Where have you been?”

  “Dinner, not that it’s any of your business,” he spat.

  “We need to talk.”

  “She knows who I am,” he said, motioning to where Dr. Charles waited just inside the foyer.

  “About Saint,” I spat back, slamming the door and stalking away. As livid as I was, I knew better than to let Emme see any more of my anger than she already had. Why had he divulged his identity to her? It made no sense.

  Like earlier, I called Cope and told him what Lynx had said.

  “What the fuck is he up to?”

  “My question precisely.”

  “I’ll follow up with Z about this, but, Irish, I suggest you be proactive with your own cover story before she digs any deeper. Regardless of what Lynx may have told her, stick to the story that the CIA put you in place in order to gain her as an asset.”

  “What about Saint and Benjamin?”

  “Since the CIA received the message, it makes perfect sense you would be read in on it. It also makes sense you, in turn, would read Lynx in.”

  “Roger that.”

  “I don’t need to tell you what it will mean for both of us if Dr. Charles figures out what you’re really doing undercover at MIT.”

  “Understood.”

  “You need to sell this and sell it good, Irish.”

  After ending my call with Cope, I went up to Saint’s apartment where Lynx was staying. I read him in on the brush pass but cut him off when he began asking questions. “I need to speak with Dr. Charles.” I heard him ask why as I walked out, but I ignored him, walked over
to her apartment, and knocked.

  “Can I come in?” I asked when she pulled it open.

  “Of course,” she said, waving me in. I noticed her look beyond me.

  “He’s not with me. I asked for a few minutes on my own.”

  “Okay. Can I get you anything?”

  “No. I’m here to apologize.”

  “There’s nothing to apologize for. You’re doing your job.”

  “Sometimes, the hardest part of being undercover is getting to know the people you work with and then feeling regret that the role you play in their lives isn’t real.”

  “I understand. What happens now?”

  “Nothing changes, except that you know who I really am, and that makes it harder on you. On the other hand, both Lynx and I are going to ask you to help us, and that we can be upfront about it, makes it easier for everyone.”

  “Does anyone else know who you really are?”

  “Only Dr. Baker.” The man was the head of the International Policy Program, so it had been necessary for Dr. Baker to approve us working undercover within IPP’s walls.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s happening with Saint, or is Lynx?”

  “He will.”

  “Thank you for coming over to talk to me rather than waiting until tomorrow when it might be awkward.”

  “It’s late. I should go.” She seemed accepting of what I considered a vague explanation. Giving her the chance to ask me more questions would compromise my real mission. Lynx’s mission was exactly what she believed both of ours to be—finding the British diplomat and the wayward MI6 agent that had been put on the man’s detail. I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if we ultimately learned the two missing men were double agents.

  Emme walked me to the door, but before I could walk out, she put her hand on my shoulder. When I turned, she hugged me. The relief I felt at her gesture was a reminder that I’d allowed myself to care far too much about her.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” I said, stepping out into the hallway. Instead of going back to Saint’s apartment, I waited for the elevator. The doors had just opened when Lynx brushed past me without a word.

  I was walking through the lobby when I received another call from Cope.

  “I’ve just ended calls with both Lynx and Z.”

  Archer “Z” Alexander was the head of MI6, and thus Lynx and Saint’s boss.

  “What happens next is Z’s call since it’s an MI6 agent and a British diplomat who are missing. He’s decided to bring in a third-party private intelligence firm to locate them.”

  “Which firm?”

  “They’re new. They call themselves the Invincibles Intelligence and Security Group.”

  “I heard Decker Ashford joined up with them.” The man was an enigma and a genius when it came to intelligence technology. There wasn’t a single person in the business who hadn’t heard of him.

  “He hasn’t made it official yet,” said Cope. “But if he’s brought in on this mission, it may not bode well for our investigation.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “The guy doesn’t miss much.”

  “I’ll just have to keep a low profile.”

  “I’m thinking you should play up your infatuation with Dr. Charles. That way, if you seem too attentive, that explanation would be readily accepted.”

  “Roger that,” I said, wondering which of the agents working this op Cope believed were the type to readily accept anything.

  I ended the call and went across the street and a few doors down to a bar that had outdoor seating. I wasn’t there long before I saw Lynx walk up. The man looked as bone-tired as I was.

  “You look like I feel,” I said, raising my pint to him. He waved and went in the bar’s main entrance. A few minutes later, he came out with a pint and a shot.

  “I didn’t expect to see you again tonight,” I said when he pulled out a chair and sat down.

  “Nor I, you.”

  I decided to do as Cope suggested and play up my interest in Dr. Charles. “I guess I know why you asked how close Emme and I are this morning.”

  “It isn’t what you think.”

  I shook my head. “I said I’d like our relationship to change once the mission was over. You decided not to wait.”

  “We’ve met once before.”

  His tone explained a great deal; I didn’t need to ask any further questions about their “personal” relationship.

  “Have you come to any decisions about who to use for Saint and Dr. Benjamin’s extraction?” I asked as though I didn’t already know.

  “Yes. A private firm.”

  “Who’s heading it up?”

  “Decker Ashford and Cortez DeLéon.”

  “Rile?”

  “Yes.”

  Rile DeLéon had a long career as an MI6 agent as well as ties to both the British and Spanish monarchies. “I heard they started a new group. Some bullshit name like the Invincibles or something.”

  He laughed. “That is correct.”

  “What’s the plan?” I asked just as his cell rang.

  “This is Decker now.” His call was brief, and when it ended, he told me the Invincibles team would be arriving in the morning.

  I took another drink of my beer. “About Emme—”

  “She was seeing Saint.”

  I hadn’t seen that coming. “No shit?”

  Lynx didn’t respond.

  “How much does she know?” I asked.

  “Only that there was a brush pass, but not the details of it.”

  I drained the rest of the beer from my glass and set it on the table. “Early start tomorrow,” I said, tossing some money on the table and hopping the fence to leave.

  Lynx called a meeting for zero eight hundred the next morning, oddly at Emme’s apartment rather than at Saint’s.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked when she responded to my knock at her door. “Sorry,” she added when she saw I brought her coffee and bagels from her favorite place. I looked around when she invited me in; I was obviously the first to arrive.

  “Lynx is on his way over, too,” I said, just now noticing she was clad in only a robe. She must’ve realized it at the exact moment I did since she scurried down the hall.

  “Give me a minute. Make yourself at home,” she hollered behind her.

  While I waited for her to change, Decker Ashford arrived.

  “Hello. Who are you?” Emme said to him a few minutes later when she came back into the kitchen.

  “I’m Decker Ashford, ma’am,” he said, stepping forward to shake her hand.

  “Emerson Charles,” she responded, looking at me although I had no idea why. “I’m sorry, I know you told me your name, but why are you in my apartment?”

  Evidently, she hadn’t been briefed on this meeting or that it was taking place here. Damn Lynx. “Decker is part of a team we’re working with to locate Saint and Dr. Benjamin,” I told her at the same time there was another knock at her door.

  “Would you like to get that?” she snapped.

  “Uh, sure.”

  When I opened the door, Lynx walked in.

  “I would offer you gentlemen something; however, I was unaware a meeting was taking place in my home this morning.” Emme glared at me as she said it, only pissing me off more at Lynx.

  “You didn’t make Dr. Charles aware of the meeting?” I finally asked, getting tired of Emme taking her anger out on me.

  “I called, but it went straight to voicemail,” he said to her.

  “Are we expecting anyone else?” she asked.

  “No, and let’s take this over to Saint’s apartment,” Lynx suggested before I had the chance to.

  “I’m curious why you didn’t meet there in the first place.”

  I looked at Lynx, expecting him to answer, but he didn’t. I motioned Decker to the door, expecting Lynx to follow. He didn’t do that either.

  Several minutes later, he and Emme walked into Saint’s apartment
together. I watched as he introduced her to the other men in the room from the Invincibles: Rile, Miles “Grinder” Stone, and Lynx’s younger brother, Keon “Edge” Edgemon. Both Grinder and Edge had formerly been employed by the MI5 side of SIS, aka Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service, which was akin to the US Department of Homeland Security.

  “Are we ready to get down to business?” asked Decker once the introductions concluded.

  I took the lead. “Emme, as you’re aware, the CIA and MI6 have been working jointly undercover at IPP the last few months.”

  She appeared to be listening but walked over to the window, keeping her back to us.

  I continued. “These gentlemen were asked to come on board after the CIA received word of a brush pass between one of our agents and Saint.” I took a step closer to her. “They’re with a private security and intelligence firm who will be leading the mission from this point on.”

  Emme tapped her lips with her fingertip. “What was the mission?”

  “To locate Saint and Dr. Benjamin,” I answered.

  “That isn’t what I asked. I said, ‘What was the mission?’ Not what is the mission.”

  I looked at Lynx, who shook his head. If I didn’t believe we were close to uncovering information that might give us our first real lead about the mole who was feeding the Chinese information about agents who in turn were dying, I’d walk out.

  “Maybe we should consider working from a remote field office rather than at MIT,” I suggested, given Saint’s odd message.

  “A remote location? Where? Or is that another question you’re refusing to answer?”

  Refusing to answer? What the fuck was that all about? “The Boston CIA field office.”

  She looked between Lynx and me. “Gentlemen, until you are prepared to be completely honest with me, there’s nothing further for us to discuss.”

  I stepped closer. “Emme, you’re a target.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “What do you think it means?” Hadn’t Lynx covered any of this with her?

  “Are you saying you believe I’m in danger?”

  I really wished we didn’t have an audience. “I’m sorry, but I do, Emme. Now you understand why I’m suggesting we work from the field office.”