by CW Browning
Damon removed her hand from his mouth, entwining his fingers with hers. He raised his other hand and slid a long finger under the edge of her shirt, lifting out the necklace hanging around her neck. A mangled lump of metal rested in his palm and he looked down into her eyes.
“I told you when you showed me this that it was a promise,” he said quietly. “A promise that I will always put your life before my own, until death do us part. Nothing changes that. I’m all in on us, Lina, and that includes the impossible times. This isn’t Peru, and I’m not leaving. We’ll face it together and, if it comes down to it, we’ll die together. But we’re doing it together. That’s what this means.”
He dropped the bullet, leaving it to hang against her shirt as he took her other hand in his, entwining their fingers.
“You have a plan, and I’ve never known your plans to fail. We have a better chance together than you do alone. Right now Harry doesn’t know I’m here. Charlie’s been feeding him misinformation. I’ve been leaving breadcrumbs all over the Ukraine, and as a result, Harry believes I’m still in Russia. He’s not expecting me. Face it, Viper, I’m your element of surprise.”
Alina shook her head.
“If he has an ounce of sense, he’ll realize that I couldn’t kill both Kasim and Tarek at the same time in two different buildings,” she told him. “Even if he believed you were in Russia before, yesterday would have convinced him otherwise.”
Damon grinned slowly.
“Which is why it’s a good thing that he received a secure message from me, sent from Kursk an hour after they were killed.”
Alina stared at him in surprise. “What?”
He shrugged.
“I set it up and had one of my contacts send it. Harry answered it. As far as he’s concerned, I’m in Russia.”
A smile of approval curved her lips. “Well done.”
“Thank you. Now, will you forget about getting rid of me? I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m not trying to get rid of you.” A mischievous gleam came into her eye. “I’m actually getting used to having you around.” She pulled one of her hands away from his and trailed her fingers across his chest teasingly. “I’m starting to see some of the benefits of having you here all night.”
Damon’s laugh was low and washed over her, filling her with warmth and comfort.
“Good, because so am I, on all counts.”
He lowered his lips to hers and Alina leaned into him. As her arms went around him and he pulled her close, there was a scraping noise above them. Damon lifted his head and they both looked up, watching as the hinged door in the skylight swung inward and Raven dropped onto his perch in the corner. The hawk considered them with his black eyes for a moment before taking a few steps to his right along the wooden perch and settling down comfortably.
“I’ll have to make arrangements for Raven,” Alina said thoughtfully, almost to herself.
Damon looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Once this is over, I won’t be coming back here,” she said, her voice quiet and even. “He followed me here, but he doesn’t belong this far north. I need to find somewhere that’s more suited to him, and then hope he’s willing to stay.”
Damon studied her for a minute. The very lack of emotion in her voice told him just how deeply she felt about the hawk.
“It’s that important to you?”
She nodded.
“He trusted me enough to follow me here, and absolutely refused to stay in the mountains in South America where he belonged. I tried. He’s my responsibility now. I can’t have him on my conscience along with John.”
Damon pulled her close and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“What about my ranch?” he asked thoughtfully after a moment. “It’s warmer there, and closer to what he’s used to. Mount Scott isn’t too far from me, at least not for him. It’s not exactly South America, but it’s better than the Northeast.”
Alina pursed her lips. “It’s a thought.”
“I know we don’t tend to look too far into the future, but my ranch is still secure. I know you’re an East coast girl, but no one knows about it, not even Charlie.”
Alina pulled away and looked up into his face.
“Hawk, are you asking me to become a redneck cowgirl?” she demanded. “Cuz it’s not happening.”
He grinned.
“I’m just pointing out the benefits of having a piece of property available to us,” he told her, rubbing his nose against hers. “I think the possibility of you becoming a redneck cowgirl is sufficiently remote enough to risk it.”
His lips covered hers and she smiled against them. His arms tightened around her as passion ignited between them and Alina felt something close to hope flutter inside her. It was a foreign sensation, and almost unrecognizable. The day she’d walked into the training facility for the Organization, she had set hope aside. Over the intervening years, thoughts of the future and hope for a different life there became more and more remote. Her reality was that the only future she had was to survive the next twenty-four hours. That had become her mission, her constant goal. Hope was a luxury Viper could not afford. Now, here was Hawk, offering a glimpse at something beyond the next twenty-four hours.
They just had to get through the next few days. Maybe then, just perhaps, they had a chance to be free.
Chapter Seventeen
Alina sipped her coffee and leaned against the railing, looking out over the backyard. The sun was already high in the sky and she had been up for over three hours. Damon had left the house an hour ago to find a clean vehicle. She looked at the driveway and Angela’s BMW, pursing her lips thoughtfully. If they had the time and the equipment, none of this would be necessary. They could find out if the GPS had been hacked and block the access. Unfortunately, they had neither.
The sliding door behind her opened, and she turned her head to watch as Michael stepped onto the deck, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. He walked over to join her at the railing, sipping his coffee.
“Good morning,” he said. “How long have you been up?”
“Since before dawn,” she answered, glancing at him. “I knew once the others got up, my chance to work would be lost.”
Michael grinned.
“They’re something else,” he said. “I’m beginning to see why you prefer to be alone.”
Alina smiled faintly and turned to sit in one of the Adirondack chairs.
“I knew what I was getting myself into. So far, they haven’t disappointed.”
Michael turned to face her, leaning back against the railing. “How serious do you think the threat to Angela is?”
“Very.”
“Have you considered the possibility that she could be a red herring?” he asked slowly.
Alina looked at him for a moment, then smiled.
“You mean as a ploy to divide and conquer?”
Michael grinned. “So you have.”
“Yes, and I’m prepared for that. But I’ll be surprised if that turns out to be the case.”
“Why?”
“If Harry was going to do that, he would have done it already. I don’t think he had any intention of going after Angela again. I think he was expecting Stephanie’s death to be the prompt he needed to get me out of hiding. Unfortunately for him, Stephanie didn’t cooperate.”
“Again? When did he go after Angela before?”
Alina sipped her coffee, silent for a moment, then raised her eyes to his face.
“Trent Whitfield,” she said simply.
“I forgot about him,” Michael said, making a face. “At least, I forgot about his connection to Trasker.”
“Speaking of, have you been able to find a connection between Harry and Trasker yet?”
“No, but I’m sure there is one. If I can get Angela to stay in one place for more than five minutes today, I can get back to work.”
Alina let out a short laugh. “Good luck with that. It�
�s Sunday. This is her gym day.”
“Gym day?”
“Every Sunday morning she goes to the gym for two hours, like clockwork. So keep your eyes open. If someone’s watching her, they’ll know that.”
Michael nodded. “Roger that. Is there anything else I should know about her routine?”
“Actually, I think Sundays are her light days,” Alina said thoughtfully. “After the gym, I think she takes the rest of the day for her. So you may get lucky and she’ll stay in one spot.”
“And you?”
“Once Damon gets back, I’ve got some things to take care of. I should be back later today.”
“Where is your other half?”
Alina’s eyes flickered briefly at his not so subtle reference to their new status.
“He went to find a clean vehicle for you to use,” she said. “He should be back soon.”
Michael studied her in silence for a moment. “Are you happy?”
The look he received was hooded and non-committal.
“I’ll be happy when this is all over and I can lay Dave and John to rest.”
Michael frowned.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said. “Why the sudden rush to take the plunge?”
Alina was uncomfortably aware that Michael’s green eyes saw more than he let on. She shrugged and kept her expression neutral.
“Nothing in our life is guaranteed, especially tomorrow. This way things are simplified should something happen to one of us.”
“Simplified?”
“Let’s just say that between the two of us, we’ve accumulated substantial assets.”
Michael stared at her in disbelief.
“Are you saying this was a business arrangement?” he demanded. “Because I don’t buy it.”
“Not entirely,” she admitted. “But you asked what the rush was, and that’s it.”
Michael was silent for a long moment, then he moved to sit in the chair next to her.
“You don’t expect to make it through this, do you?” he asked softly.
Alina glanced at him, her gaze guarded.
“I’m going to do my best, but statistically my odds aren’t that great. Harry trained me. He knows exactly what I’ll do, how I’ll do it, and where I’ll come from. He knows my methods. He knows how I think. Hell, half the time I think he knows what I’m thinking before I do. If I’m realistic, the conservative estimate for rate of success probably sits around forty-five percent.”
Michael swallowed some coffee and gazed across the lawn. “It’s a chess game now.”
She nodded.
“I do have a few surprises, and a few support personnel that he won’t be expecting,” she added, sending him a small smile. “If I keep him surprised, that success rate will go up.”
“Dave would be proud of you,” Michael told her. “I hope you know that.”
Alina was silent for a long time, sipping her coffee. Dave probably would be proud of her, but he would also know at what cost this came.
“I’m sorry that you got dragged into all of this,” she finally said, turning her gaze to his. “If I had known what I know now, I never would have left that bottle of Jameson on your doorstep last summer.”
“Lina, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he told her earnestly. “You’re Dave’s kid sister, but in the past year, you’ve become my friend. You’ve brought Dave back to me in a way that no photo or memory ever could. You’re family now, and family sticks by each other.”
Alina felt her throat tighten and her mask slid into place in reaction. She turned her attention back to the trees at the bottom of the yard. A second later, she felt his fingers close around hers and she squeezed gently.
“No matter what happens, you take care of yourself, gunny,” she said, not looking at him. “Too many good men have died because of this bastard already.”
Michael nodded and was silent. A moment later, her phone vibrated against her leg and she pulled it out, glancing at the screen.
“Damon’s on his way,” she said, tucking the phone back into her pocket. “Are the others up yet?”
“Yes. Blake is on his laptop in the dining room and Stephanie was in the kitchen when I came out.”
“Good.” She stood up and turned toward the door. “Time to lay down some ground rules.”
Michael got up and followed her, his lips twisting in amusement.
“Oh, this should be interesting.”
“Good morning.” Stephanie greeted Alina from her seat at the bar as she walked into the kitchen. “You look like you’ve been up a while.”
“I have.” Alina rinsed her coffee mug in the sink and set it on the counter. “How did you sleep?”
Stephanie shrugged and sipped her coffee.
“Better than I expected,” she said. “I thought Angela was going to keep waking me up, but she didn’t.”
Alina glanced around. “Is she up yet?”
“She’s in the shower.”
Alina turned to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water.
“Good. I want to talk to you before she comes down.” She took the cap off the bottle and drank, then walked over to the bar. “She already knows too much, but I want to keep it to a minimum. There’s no need for her to be more freaked out than she already is.”
“Agreed.”
Alina glanced over to the dining table where Michael and Blake were at opposite ends, both on their laptops.
“Michael, she’ll try to get information out of you,” she warned. “Be prepared.”
He glanced up with a quick grin. “Don’t worry, I’ll be ready. She won’t get much out of me.”
Alina sipped her water, returning her gaze to Stephanie.
“How’s the head?”
“The headache comes and goes,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll be fine. Where’s Damon?”
“He went to get a car. He’s on his way back now.”
Stephanie raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t suppose you want to share your secret on where you guys get all these cars from?” she asked.
Alina smiled faintly and was silent.
“I didn’t think so. Well, if you won’t tell me that, why don’t you tell me about when the hell you got married?”
Michael and Blake looked up from their respective computers and Alina was suddenly very aware of three sets of eyes staring at her intently. She raised the water bottle to her lips, taking a sip calmly.
“About a month ago,” she finally said, lowering the bottle, “in the middle of the Ebola fiasco. We went to DC and saw a judge he knows.”
Stephanie stared at her.
“And you didn’t tell me?” she demanded. “Why? Hell, Lina, I’m your best friend! I’ve known you all your life!”
Alina considered her for a moment, then sighed.
“I know. I’m sorry. But it’s really not that big of a deal.”
Stephanie’s mouth dropped open.
“Not that big of a deal?!” she exclaimed in disbelief. “You got married!”
“Maybe she’s been married before,” Blake suggested, an unholy gleam in his eyes. “Maybe she really is a Black Widow.”
Alina glanced at him, her lips pulling at the corners.
“If I am, you can be assured that none of the bodies will ever be found.”
“Will you be serious?” Stephanie pushed her empty mug aside and glared at Alina. “How is getting hitched not a big deal? And don’t give me any crap about it just being a piece of paper. I know you better than that. You would never take vows lightly.”
The look on Stephanie’s face made Alina inwardly cringe. She was right. She did know her too well, and knew that she would never get married on a whim, even if it was the perfect business arrangement. But Alina wasn’t ready to admit to anything right now, not to herself and especially not in front of Michael and Blake. Her emotions were still too new for her to even understand, let alone verbalize.
“It’s complicated.”
<
br /> She fell back on the vague answer that she knew drove Stephanie crazy, and she wasn’t disappointed. Stephanie let out a sound that was a cross between a snort and a snarl.
“I hate it when you say that!” she cried, throwing her hands up. “Everything with you is complicated. Well, guess what? Marriage isn’t complicated. At least, not at first. You fall in love and you decide to spend the rest of your lives together. See? Not complicated.”
Alina looked at her for a moment, then her lips twisted humorlessly.
“Everything’s always so simple and black and white for you,” she told her. “I don’t live in black and white. I live in gray, and that’s where my marriage is.”
Stephanie frowned, staring at her hard. “Do you love him?”
Alina waved a hand impatiently and turned to move around the bar.
“I can tolerate him better than most,” she said, heading for the sliding doors.
Stephanie swiveled on her stool as the security system alerted them to a breach in the perimeter.
“Oh well, that’s a good reason to tie the knot,” she said sarcastically, glancing up at the plasma above the fireplace. “Is that him?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you walk away from me, Lina Maschik!” Stephanie got up and followed her to the door, reaching out to grab her arm. “If you don’t love him, why the hell did you marry him, for God’s sake?!”
Alina glanced down at the hand on her arm and Stephanie released her quickly.
“I told you,” she said softly, “it’s complicated.”
With that, she opened the door and stepped out onto the deck, closing it firmly behind her.
Stephanie swung around to look at Blake and Michael.
“Can you believe this?” she demanded, her voice rising an octave. “What the hell is going on?”
Blake shrugged.
“How are we supposed to know?” he asked, going back to his screen. “We know just as much as you do.”
Stephanie made a face at his bent head and looked at Michael. A frown had pulled his eyebrows together and his eyes met hers. He shook his head.