The Guardian

by Donna Grant

  There was a smile on her face when the elevator doors opened, and she stepped inside, moving so others could crowd on, as well. She bit back a yelp when an overweight man stepped on her toes. Eden looked down at her coffee and wished there was some extra caffeine in it. Or liquor. At this point, she just wanted to be awake during the meeting.

  The elevator stopped on every floor, others getting off a little at a time until only she and three others were left. The four of them all got off on the top floor. She smiled in greeting to the guards as she and the other occupants each carded their way through security. Then she went to her desk, put her purse in the bottom drawer, and locked it. After grabbing a pen and paper, along with her coffee, she straightened and headed to the conference room, only to have Kyle step in her way so she nearly collided with him.

  Eden pinched her lips closed instead of letting loose the string of curses she wanted to say. She didn’t particularly like Kyle. He’d never been rude or mean to her, but he was the worst gossip in the office, and that was even worse. He loved to talk about anyone and everyone, and she could only imagine what he said about her.

  “Sorry,” he said, though his smile was anything but apologetic.

  She glanced away, trying to regain her composure. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  Like her, Kyle was one of a handful of Americans that SynTech had brought over from the States because of their skills as information brokers. But there was a reason Kyle had chosen this profession—he didn’t work well with others. Which was why he used to work out of his home office. But he had particular skills in cyber-ops.

  “I know,” he said, his creepy smile never faltering.

  Eden cleared her throat. “Did you need something?”

  “You look pretty this morning.”

  “Thank you.” She tried not to sound ungrateful, but he’d told her that every morning for the past two years. He’d also attempted to ask her out on numerous occasions, and she had declined as politely and nicely as she could. He just hadn’t gotten the hint. Eden tried to walk around him. “We’re going to be late for the meeting.”

  “There’s no meeting.”

  She turned to face him. “What? Why?”

  “Check your email.”

  With her temper flaring, Eden shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “That’s why I stopped you.” With that, he turned and walked back to his desk.

  Eden glanced out the wall of windows to the beautiful city beyond. She’d worked on her own for three years, and there were times—like now—that she missed that. She didn’t have to get dressed, worry about making meetings, or getting along with coworkers. It had just been her, her computer, and the jobs that came in.

  But as she stared out at Vienna, she remembered why she had taken this job. It wasn’t just the pay, although that was certainly nice. It was the opportunity to live in Europe, so she could do all the traveling she’d always dreamed of doing. And over the past two years, she had racked up a lot of miles on the train and had seen a ton of beautiful places. There were so many more on her list, but she was getting really tired of working for someone. It paid well, and for a while, the pros outweighed the cons. However, that wasn’t the case anymore.

  Eden looked around the office with its many cubicles and corner offices. She didn’t have an office, but she didn’t have a cubicle either. Her workspace was somewhere in between. There had been a time when she’d thought that was a good thing. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  She sank into her chair and logged into her computer. The moment her email popped up, she saw the message flagged as important. Eden quickly read it. Then she reread it. She sat back, a frown in place as she looked around the office once more. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They were often given names and tasked with finding any and all information on them. It wasn’t illegal because the information was out on the internet as part of public record. It was just that most people didn’t want to spend the time or know-how to garner such data.

  That’s where information brokers came in. They were trained on how and where to look for things. Long hours were spent online, poring through websites, scanning documents, and scouring pictures. To Eden, it was like a puzzle. She had the starting piece—i.e., the name of a person, business, or organization—and it was her job to find all the bits that went along with that, no matter how tiny or inconsequential she believed them to be. They all made up a bigger picture.

  She had done a lot of data mining over the last two years. A couple of times, she had even been asked to stop what she was working on and turn to the new, emergency project. Not once had a Monday morning meeting ever been canceled for a job, though.

  As she stared at the office again, she began to feel a surge of panic. When she homed in on individuals, that feeling intensified as she watched them frantically searching the internet or going through a list, clearly not finding what they looked for. Was everyone looking for the same individual?

  Her gaze moved back to the email, and she reread the name. She rose slowly and walked down the middle of the cubicles toward the toilets while glances at her coworkers’ monitors. The same name and face in her email was on everyone’s computer. While it wasn’t unheard of for an IB company to give all the employees the same thing to search for, it was rarely done. There were too many jobs coming in, and only so many hours in a day. Teams of data miners might be pulled together for a big job, but not an entire office.

  By the time Eden reached the bathroom, she was more confused than ever. She walked to the sinks and washed her hands before drying them thoroughly. Then she returned to her desk. On the way, she looked at the corner where the CEO of SynTech had her office. Janice Ahlers stood in a white and black blouse and a black pencil skirt, her arms crossed as two men spoke to her.

  The men had their backs to Eden, unfortunately, so she couldn’t see their faces. The moment Janice’s gaze slid to her, Eden looked away and kept walking to her desk. When she sat, she immediately pulled her chair forward and opened her browser. There, she typed in the name: Maks Volkov.

  Because of social media, there was generally tons of information on the internet to find. Even on the first search of just a name. Not so with this one. Eden glanced around the office once more, finally understanding everyone’s frustration.

  She took a deep breath and settled in to do what she did best—find information. She printed out the picture in the email and taped it to the side of her computer as she looked through numerous photos, searching for him. After thirty minutes, she had yet to find even one picture of Maks Volkov. Very few people could stay off social media. A few old-school individuals didn’t believe in putting every little thing of their lives out into the world, but it was rare.

  Those people made her work harder. Eden actually liked those jobs. With so many posting pictures of their food, or taking dozens of selfies, not to mention snapping shots of themselves with everyone else when they went out and then putting those on social media, it wasn’t hard to dig up information.

  But Eden loved challenges, and she had a feeling that Maks Volkov was going to be one of them.

  She didn’t lift her head again until lunch. And it was only the fact that her stomach was growling, and she had a headache from not drinking any water, that she even stopped for a break. Eden took time for a quick lunch and to stretch her legs. She made sure to have water with her when she returned to her desk. Then, she was back at it.

  Unfortunately, when the day ended, she still didn’t have more than a few instances of the name. The dates of birth were all over the place, so she couldn’t be sure if any of them belonged to her Maks.

  On the way back to her flat, she kept thinking about how she had yet to find anything on her quarry. And then something began to niggle in the back of her mind. Worry settled around her like a suffocating cloak she couldn’t get off.

  Inside her flat, she locked her door and put down her purse before taking off her coat and scarf. She began un
zipping her dress on the way to her room. The image of Maks filled her mind as she quickly changed into comfy sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and thick socks. She then stood in front of her open fridge, trying to find something to eat, but her mind was still on Maks.

  Alone in her house now, she allowed herself to think the thing she hadn’t wanted to mull over before. Was Maks a spy of some sort? That was the only explanation she could come up with for him having no digital footprint of any kind. No credit cards, no photos, no credit report, no mobile phone listing. Nothing.

  It was like Maks Volkov didn’t exist.

  But even spies couldn’t stay off the grid completely. There was something out there somewhere, and she was going to find it. Not because she wanted to expose Maks. It wasn’t her job to know why someone wanted information on him. She was going to do it because it was what she did. It was why she had been hired. And she loved a good challenge. It had been a while since work had followed her home.

  She poured a glass of wine and ordered takeout for delivery. Then she went to her sofa. Eden picked up one of the books on the shelf that hadn’t been read yet and tried to fall into the story. She wasn’t able. It was by one of her favorite authors, so it wasn’t that. She just couldn’t concentrate because her brain was still locked on Maks.

  Eden set the book down and sighed. She alternated between reading and watching TV most nights. She read fast enough that she could finish a book in a night. Tonight wasn’t going to be spent reading a book, however. She reached for the remote and scrolled through the saved series and movies on her to-watch list, but nothing looked interesting at the moment.

  A knock on the door, signaling the arrival of her food, saved her from making a decision. After handing a tip to the delivery guy and getting the food, Eden locked the door and found herself at her desk. Since she’d spent all day on the computer, she rarely turned hers on anymore. But she couldn’t stop thinking about Maks or seeing his face in her mind.

  “A very handsome man,” she said as she waited for her computer to boot up.

  She had stared at the printout of his face all day. She knew the way his blond hair was cut short on the sides and left longer on top. She knew the small scar above his left eye that cut through his brow slightly. She could even pick out the exact shade of bright blue for his eyes.

  “They’re contacts,” she said to herself.

  They had to be. No one had eyes that unnaturally bright, as if they could see straight into her soul. His stunning eyes, along with his hard jawline and full lips made him, in a word, gorgeous.

  Eden propped her feet up on the edge of her desk as she leaned back in her chair to eat. In between bites, she continued her search. She needed to know more about Maks Volkov, because the more she thought about him, the more she needed answers. It was a dangerous road she walked.

  An IB didn’t allow themselves to feel anything for those they looked into. They couldn’t. Otherwise, it could jeopardize their work. Eden had never found someone like this before. Everyone else had just been a face or a name. She didn’t know or care why someone wanted information. She got paid to find it, and that’s exactly what she did.

  But Maks…there was something about him that she couldn’t shake. She wished she knew what it was. And until she figured that out, she would have to be careful.

  4

  As Maks walked through Amsterdam, his strides were long and purposeful as he quickly covered ground. It didn’t matter if it was the CIA, the FSB, or the Saints after him. His cover had been blown. This moment had been inevitable. He’d hoped to have more time to gather intel on the Saints, but he hadn’t finished going through everything he’d accumulated over the years. There might be enough. And if there wasn’t…well, then he would do whatever he had to do to get what he needed to bring the Saints crashing down.

  They had governed the world for long enough. They had no right to decide who would run countries, or who lived and died. It was time they were exposed. It wasn’t going to be easy, though, and Maks knew that going against them would likely mean his life. He was prepared to give it. Especially if it meant that the world could be free. That people could actually elect officials as they were supposed to. That they could speak out against the powerful and not incur some accidental death that was anything but accidental.

  Maks made his way to Amsterdam Centraal. Once inside the train station, he headed toward the east wing and the luggage lockers. He halted in front of his number and glanced to either side of him. The attendant that was always on duty glanced his way but otherwise seemed uninterested. Maks opened the locker and reached for the black backpack inside.

  He slung it over his shoulder and walked to the train. As he passed one of the many shops, he swiped a baseball cap as he passed and put it on. He didn’t slow until he reached his platform. As he heard the train approaching, he glanced around him. No one appeared to be following him, but he wasn’t going to take that for fact.

  Just as the train was slowing at the platform, he jumped in front of it and rushed across the tracks to the opposite side where another train had just stopped, and passengers unloaded. Maks fell into step with the crowd. As he walked up the stairs, he glanced back to the other platform and saw two men looking his way and rushing back up the steps.

  When Maks reached the main floor on his side, he kept with the crowd and used the opportunity to get out of the station. The area in the front of Amsterdam Centraal was a tourist mecca, even at night. It offered boat rides, trams, and dozens of people on bikes, ringing their bells to alert unsuspecting passersby that they were in the bike lane. The city had few cars, but that didn’t deter Maks. He wound his way through the maze of streets and waterways, checking each vehicle along the canal until he found one that was unlocked. He slung his pack into the passenger seat and got inside. In minutes, he had it hotwired and pulled onto the narrow lane.

  He needed to get somewhere out of the city, a place he could take a few minutes and think. But getting out of Amsterdam was easier said than done with so many thoroughfares blocked off. He’d memorized the street map long ago, though, so he knew which intersections to avoid and where to go to get out the quickest.

  Once he was on the highway headed east toward Germany, he relaxed a little. He didn’t stop until around two in the morning, parking at a rest area. Maks turned off the ignition and grabbed his pack. He looked through the different passports he had with various names, all of which he had acquired on his own without the CIA’s, FSB’s, or the Saints’ knowledge. Years spent cultivating relationships with shady individuals had given him access to various things he knew he’d eventually need.

  He flipped through the passports but set them aside since he didn’t know where he needed to go. Blowing out a breath, he dug out a water bottle and drank the contents. Since he didn’t know who was after him, it limited his destination choices. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary the day before. Everything had begun with that text.

  Maks thought about the message. The phone was encrypted, which only meant that it was difficult for someone who didn’t know how to break through those protocols to get in. It wouldn’t stop someone who really wanted information. Honestly, there was only one set of people Maks could trust right now, but getting in touch with the Loughmans would be dangerous. But he didn’t have any other choice.

  He blew out a breath and started the car again to pull back out onto the road. He didn’t stop until the sun had come up. The small village he’d entered was perfect. He parked the car and wiped it of any prints, then he grabbed his pack and walked away. Maks found a store and bought a water bottle, some protein bars, and a disposable mobile phone, all while making sure his face couldn’t be seen on any of the security cameras.

  After he left the shop, he found an abandoned building and kicked in the door to get inside. He checked the area to make sure no one was around, then he placed a call to Texas while tearing open one of the protein bars and taking a huge bite. He chewed as the phone rang once, twice.
On the third ring, the line connected.

  “Hello?” said a female.

  Maks smiled as he recognized Callie’s voice. “I wondered if the number would still work.”

  “As long as you’re out there, it’ll always work.” Then, sounding muffled, she called, “Maks is on the line.”

  Maks cleared his throat. “I’m in a bit of a bind. Hoping you can help.”

  “Always. Switching you to speaker now,” Callie told him. “Everyone but Cullen and Mia are here. Tell us what’s going on.”

  Maks looked down at the debris at his feet. He kicked a broken piece of glass. “I don’t know, exactly. Everything seemed to be fine. I was in Amsterdam when I got a peculiar text on my encrypted phone that I didn’t think anyone knew about.”

  “Number?” Callie asked.

  Maks quickly gave her to digits.

  “You got rid of it, didn’t you?” Owen, the middle Loughman brother, asked.

  “As soon as I shook the men following me.” Maks ran his free hand down his face. “I know I’ve always been watched, but no one’s ever sent anyone after me before.”

  Wyatt grunted. The oldest brother then said, “You think it has something to do with the text?”

  “I can’t imagine what else it could be.”

  Natalie, Owen’s wife, asked, “What was the text?”

  “I was just about to ask that,” Callie said.

  Maks tightened his coat around him for warmth. “Watch yourself. That was all it said.”

  “Do you know what it means?” Wyatt asked.

  “Not a clue. More concerning is who it’s from, and how they got my number. I was able to trace it. His name was Luka Fedorov. An agent for the FSB.”