Dangerous Connections (Aegis Group Book 9)

by Sidney Bristol

  “And that’s a wrap.” The journalist on Ekko’s left turned toward her.

  His gaze dipped to her chest. Normally she only wore tops that came up to her collarbone for this reason. She ground her teeth together, hating the need to put up with this.

  Now, where was that bodyguard of hers? Was it too much to ask that the man stop watching her for thirty seconds?

  The journalist leaned toward her, his messy blond hair falling forward over his brow. “You doing anything after this? Want to grab a drink?”

  She considered the offer for a moment.

  Ever since she’d woken up that morning she’d tried to slip away from Silas. The man might as well be glued to her. Was there any chance she could use this offer of a drink to lose her bodyguard?

  No, Silas would plant himself one stool over and glare at anyone who came near her.

  Ekko hated how much she liked having Silas close to her. He had the scary guy glare down and he just seemed so capable. There was no way a DSS agent could get close to her with him watching. On the other hand, she couldn’t exactly sneak around with him always on her tail and she had things to do.

  The journalist leaned in closer. “What do you say?”

  She caught sight of Silas. His head was turned as he spoke to one of the hotel security guards.

  This might be her only shot.

  “Sorry, can’t. Almost time to stream for my regulars.” She wiggled her fingers and hopped off the tall chair.

  Ekko darted between people, aiming for the thickest knots to slip around. Her scalp tingled and she held her breath as the red Exit sign drew her forward.

  Had he seen her? Was he following?

  She glanced over her shoulder, taking in the familiar faces she’d been traveling with for the last five days.

  Silas was nowhere to be seen.

  Ekko darted out a narrow door into a hall. Across from her the kitchens sat empty and dark, save for the red sign beckoning her onward. Except she couldn’t run out wearing her branded streaming gear. She’d stick out, and if anyone was trying to get to her, she’d make an easy target.

  She tiptoed into the kitchen, peering around for something she could wear.

  A few pegs were mounted on the wall in one corner. There were three jackets, a few hats and other odds and ends.

  It would have to do.

  She picked the bulkiest coat then slid a knit hat over hear head. With luck she’d be hard to pick out as female much less identify herself so long as she kept her hair covered.

  Satisfied with her makeshift disguise she headed toward the real exit. She placed her hand on the door and spared one last glance behind her at the hall.

  No Silas.

  Every now and then she got lucky. Real lucky.

  That luck wouldn’t hold if she kept standing here waiting for Silas to come find her.

  She ducked out of the door and pushed it shut behind her. No need to leave a trail.

  Her heart beat a little faster. The cool evening air seeped into her. The aroma of onions followed her and she wasn’t sure if it was the jacket or the hat. She licked her lips and glanced around. Despite telling herself she didn’t need Silas she felt exposed without her shadow. Logically it didn’t make sense that someone would be watching her. This exit wasn’t planned, she’d just taken the first opportunity that came her way to get out. That knowledge did nothing for the itch between her shoulder blades.

  “The faster I get this done the faster I’ll be back inside,” she muttered to herself.

  She plunged her hands into the coat pockets, hunched her shoulders and headed toward the main street.

  The initial plan she’d made for today had been amended the moment Silas became a factor. She couldn’t exactly pick up forged documents with a bodyguard trailing along behind her. If she’d hired him, it would be one thing, but she couldn’t risk Silas telling anyone what she was doing. At least not until it was done. One whisper to the wrong person and—

  No.

  She couldn’t think about that.

  It wasn’t going to happen.

  Ekko paused at the corner, peering up and down the street.

  There was plenty of foot traffic. She’d blend right in.

  Here goes...

  Ekko turned and began walking with the flow of people to the corner light.

  It was a pity she wasn’t going to get to see much of the city or the country on this trip. She knew it wasn’t safe and a part of her hated that fact. Just because her family had made it out of Dauria didn’t mean they were truly free. They never would be. Not until there was a complete regime change. Not until everyone was free. And there was a good chance that wouldn’t happen during her lifetime.

  Her spine straightened and she felt her resolve click into place.

  Growing up she’d been aware of the mark on their lives, but she’d lived in blissful ignorance up until the day her brother was executed. That was when she woke up to the reality of this world.

  Freedom wasn’t really free and there were always strings.

  The walk light flashed. She stepped off the curb and headed toward the park that stretched along the road. Brick and wrought iron formed a fence around the lush greenery. She’d requested her room specifically so she could study the park from her fifth-floor window. In her mind she knew the best route in and out. Just to be safe she went up the eastern side to an entrance.

  The park was well-tended. The lawns looked more like a plush carpet than grass. There were topiaries trimmed into fanciful animals. Lights lit the main paths and more were strung up in trees.

  Crowded and well-lit.

  That was about as safe as Ekko was going to get.

  At the center of the park was a fountain. Around that were two street cafes, some shops and a carousel. She’d only seen pictures and a short video someone had posted online, but it had been enough so she could move with confidence toward the drop site.

  Every dozen or so yards she glanced over her shoulder, but no one stuck out to her and she didn’t see Silas.

  The man was going to be unbearable when she returned to the hotel. Chances were he knew she was gone already.

  Invisible fingers trailed across her shoulder. She shivered and hugged the coat around her tighter. After this she’d very likely welcome Silas’ constant shadowing.

  Ekko finally reached the center of the park. Ideally this would have been done on a Friday or Saturday night so there were lots of people there. She’d take the fifty or so couples and groups milling around enjoying the cool evening.

  She scanned the area.

  Her package should be left in a potted topiary to one side of the café cart.

  There.

  In movies, the dashing spy was always confident. She was just a normal girl in an extraordinary circumstance. There wasn’t inherently anything dangerous in what she was about to do. Simply picking up a package left for her by an acquaintance. What she intended to do with that package, however, could be called criminal or heroic depending on the perspective.

  Ekko swallowed down her nerves and skirted the fountain headed toward the cart with its topiary decorations.

  There was no way for Ekko to avoid being on the Daurian Special Service’s radar. The covert department monitored everything said about the country and the movements of the former nationals. It was the DSS who’d pulled strings and forced her parents to change professions once they’d escaped. The DSS had even tried to get Ekko’s gaming streams shut down, but thankfully her platforms didn’t rely on the support of Daurian allies, namely China and Russia. In that regard she was lucky. Many who’d fled hadn’t been as lucky, and like her parents had to completely restart their lives.

  All of which meant that being in Mongolia was a risk.

  Mongolia was technically neutral territory, but if anyone believed that they were ignorant of the realities of the world. Much of Dauria shared history with Mongolia, right down to the root of their language. Daurian was just a more cultivated dial
ect of the old Mongolian language. She expected DSS operatives to be here, which meant that if she were deemed enough of a threat an execution order could very likely be handed down for her. Of course it would look like an accident. Dauria couldn’t go around executing people whenever they liked unless it was behind the protective barrier of the country’s border.

  Someone—a woman from the sound of it—shouted something. Ekko froze, feeling as though a spotlight were shining on her. She didn’t understand the words, but that was a tone she knew well. Fear. Panic.

  Ekko lengthened her stride and focused on the planter.

  Five feet.

  People were staring in the woman’s direction now.

  Three feet.

  A man was shouting something.

  What was going on?

  Ekko spied the brown envelope partially covered with soil.

  She went to a knee, pretending to tie her shoe.

  The people standing at the café cart took a few steps toward the noise, their eyes wide.

  Ekko had a bad feeling about this.

  She grabbed the envelope out from the planter and shoved it in her pocket. It was time for her to get back to the relative safety of the hotel.

  It took everything in her to pause and stare toward the noise like everyone else. She had to be just one of the crowed. Nothing more or less. An average person out in the evening who had a shoe to tie.

  A group of people clustered behind a group of large bushes.

  “What’s going on? Will you ask them what’s going on?” an American woman demanded of the man whose arm she clutched.

  “Someone died,” the man said with a frown. “Someone was killed? I’m not sure.”

  Ekko swallowed. Once more those fingers trailed over her shoulders.

  Someone was dead in the park across from her hotel.

  What were the chances? This close to Dauria? Could someone outside their small circle know?

  She wasn’t going to wait around to find out.

  Ekko abandoned her plan of heading straight for the hotel. While she wanted to bolt and make a run for it, wasn’t that what bad guys lurking in the shadows would expect? If there were any. She didn’t know for certain.

  Her hands shook in her pockets as she turned away from the hotel.

  There was a path that would take her to the west park exit and from there she could cross the street and make her way to the side entrance of the hotel.

  It was a solid plan. She wasn’t panicking. She couldn’t afford to.

  A couple dozen yards from the fountain she realized her mistake. The noise was drawing everyone in the park south. Away from where she was going. It was silent here. Peaceful even, if she weren’t jumping at shadows.

  Her feet crunched on the gravel.

  Was it her imagination or did the lights seem dimmer?

  The hedges and trees nearly blocked out the city, making her feel alone in this big, scary world.

  Gravel crunched behind her.

  The sound was so sudden she whirled and watched a man step out from between the hedges. He was tall, with wide shoulders and wore dark clothing with a baseball cap pulled low on face. It was the knife in his hand that made her heart stop beating.

  She didn’t freeze and she didn’t panic.

  Ekko pivoted and threw herself forward. She’d always been a good sprinter and speed was on her side. Or it was before arms wrapped around her and lifted her off her feet.

  “You should have kept quiet, little bird,” the man holding her said in Daurian.

  Her blood went cold and she stared at the man walking toward her with the knife.

  After everything she’d said, all the plans she’d made, this was how it would end?

  2.

  Wednesday. Park, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

  Silas was going to strangle this girl. At least in his mind. He’d never lay a hand on her, asset or no. She was on his last goddamn nerve though.

  What the hell was she doing sneaking out like this?

  At first he’d hung back, baffled by her coat theft and curious enough to see where this went. Now he was starting to hear alarm bells in his head the farther west she went.

  Fewer people.

  Some dead guy near the fountain.

  That kneeling routine she’d done at the café.

  What the hell was she up to?

  He peered around the hedges, cursing the lack of people. He’d had to drop back farther to avoid being seen. So far she hadn’t noticed him. Turning his jacket inside out and grabbing a baseball cap had been enough change for her to not realize it was him. But now there wasn’t a way for him to stay close to her.

  Silas didn’t like this one bit. He should have marched up to her as soon as she left the hotel and demanded answers.

  A man stepped out from between the hedges halfway between them.

  Ekko spun around. Even at this distance Silas could see the whites of her eyes with how wide they were.

  The lights glinted off the knife blade the man carried.

  Silas wished he could use his gun, but there wasn’t enough room and he wouldn’t risk hitting her.

  A second man stepped out from the hedges and scooped Ekko up off her feet.

  This was getting out of hand. He had to do something.

  Silas didn’t have options. He had to act now.

  He sprinted forward.

  Ekko began struggling. Her muted cries covered the sounds of his feet churning up the gravel as he barreled toward the man with the knife.

  Silas’ target began walking toward Ekko.

  Silas was nearly on the knife guy before the man realized they weren’t alone. It was too late for him. Silas ran full tilt into the guy, driving his fist into the side of his skull. He put all his frustration from the last few days into that blow. Even the jarring sensation in his shoulder felt damn good. The man sprawled on the ground, the knife flying from his grasp, as Silas sailed past him, his focus on Ekko and the second threat.

  Suddenly Ekko dropped to her knees, straight out of the man’s grasp. She kicked out, yelling as she struck. The man grabbing for her grunted, but otherwise wasn’t moved by the kick.

  Silas side-stepped the man and brought his knee up, catching the man off-guard and off balance.

  Ekko made a sound like a squealing scream and skittered back away from them.

  “It’s me, damn it.” Silas grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet. “Come on.”

  His top priority was her safety. That was it. He was fairly confident he could take on two men, but what if there were more of them?

  No, he had to get Ekko back to the hotel.

  He hauled her to her feet then dove through the bushes, forcing a path through the hedges. Twigs tugged at his hair and clothes, but they broke free on the other side just fine.

  “Come on,” he urged.

  Ekko had a death grip on him now.

  He took off, angling south and west, toward the noise but not directly to it. Crowds would help them now.

  “This way,” Ekko said and threw herself west.

  Did he trust her?

  She’d seemed like she knew where she as going.

  Fighting with her would take more time, so he gave in and let her lead.

  They sprinted through the grass. Silas spared a glance over his shoulder.

  A single figure stood among the shadows watching them flee, but did not pursue.

  “Easy,” Silas said and tugged Ekko to a slower pace.

  He didn’t want to run headlong into a trap or expend energy when they might need it.

  “No,” she wailed and practically dragged him forward.

  “Stay close to me.” He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her close to his side.

  Ekko kept glancing around, her now free hair whipping this way and that.

  “Just stay with me,” he said.

  Was it his imagination or was she trembling?

  He couldn’t blame her. Being grabbed
and held like she had that had to be scary, and she hadn’t known she wasn’t alone.

  Silas wasn’t letting her out of his sight.

  “They’re out there. Oh, my God. They’re out there.” Ekko glanced over her shoulder. One of her hands had his coat fisted.

  “We know that.”

  What had she been thinking to run out here on her own? And for what purpose? What had she been doing?

  Clearly this wasn’t the safest area. Not with someone getting stabbed to death.

  What were the chances Ekko’s trip out was connected to someone who’d been stabbed to death? Or was he trying to see connections where there weren’t any?

  This could just be a crime of opportunity. Pretty woman out on her own...

  He glanced down at the top of Ekko’s head.

  His boss had sent him here for a reason. Andrea especially had looked concerned during the briefing.

  Silas didn’t want these events to be connected. The trip had been quiet thus far. There was nothing in the last five days to make him think anyone would be making an attempt at her life. But perhaps it was only now an issue because of their proximity to Dauria?

  He wanted answers.

  By the time they got to the southern part of the park police had begun pushing onlookers back. Flashing lights filled the street between the park and the hotel.

  Instead of rushing for the main doors, Ekko tugged him east, down the sidewalk to the light.

  “Not the front doors,” she mumbled.

  Silas hadn’t intended to use the main entrance, but he wanted to know why it had occurred to Ekko to be so cautious.

  There would be time for answers later. He’d make sure of that.

  He guided her through the thickest knots of people and brushed by cops when possible. At every opportunity he checked behind them, searching for a sign they were being followed or anyone was watching them. If the goal was to kill Ekko all they had to do was see her through a scope.

  The idea made the back of his neck itch at the same moment they broke free of the people.

  The side entrance to the hotel beckoned them. The bright lights cast an inviting halo around the doors.