by Katie Reus
“EMP burst,” Wesley muttered, knowing what Tasev had done. The terrorist had either used an EMP gun or cannon to disable the SUV’s microprocessors and everything else electronic inside it. “Everyone stay focused.”
There was a steady hum of activity among his people, but Wesley had learned to tune out the voices and noises a long time ago. Less than three minutes later the warehouse door opened again and another SUV drove out.
“Karen, stay on the first vehicle.” Because he had no doubt they’d use multiple vehicles to attempt to dissuade tracking. Tasev had stayed hidden for so many years for a reason. The man was beyond careful.
“Maxwell, track the second, Pierce the third, Welch stay on the—shit.” Vehicles zoomed out one after the other, eventually totaling fifteen. He cursed before revising his earlier orders and reassigning who tracked what vehicle while silently praying that Levi and Selene stayed alive.
Chapter 12
Night vision device (aka NVD): an optical instrument such as goggles that allows images to be perceived in relative darkness.
Selene forced her breathing to remain even and unaffected as she grappled to slow her increasing heart rate.
Steady.
Calm.
Breathe.
In the dark interior of the warehouse with a spotlight on her and Levi, she stood with her arms and legs spread as a man with a shaved head, blue eyes, and a wicked-looking scar on his neck scanned her with a metal detecting wand. Her watch and small earrings pinged but after further inspection she was allowed to keep both. She also had to deal with a pat down. Even though the man looked intimidating his search was quick and clinical. Since she knew what could happen to her on these ops she tried to compartmentalize her emotions. It was why she was on birth control. She might be trained and confident in her ability to protect herself to an extent but she couldn’t take on a small army of men by herself. Having Levi with her was the biggest relief.
Next to her, he was undergoing the same treatment, his expression almost amused as they searched him. The sight of that crooked half smile helped her relax more than anything else could have.
When two men appeared from behind two of the set-up spotlights with hoods in their hands, she prepared herself for what was to come. She’d had to do it before and it was part of the job. Being hooded could make her lose focus though and that was dangerous. A slipup of any kind could get them both killed and ruin the op, effectively cementing the deaths of countless scores of people. Something she wouldn’t let happen. She grasped on to that knowledge and forced herself to breathe through the building panic inside her.
“We stay in the same vehicle,” Levi said, the first words he’d spoken since they’d been escorted out of their ruined SUV. His focus was on the scarred man.
The blue-eyed man flicked a glance between them, pausing once before he nodded at the two others.
“I hope you at least washed the hoods,” she said casually, looking at Levi and shaking her head. “I hate it when they don’t wash them.” Saying the flippant words helped ease more of her tension. That was something she’d learned at a young age—act like a badass and it was easier to be one.
Fake it ’til you make it.
Levi’s lips quirked up, the last thing she saw before being plunged into darkness as the hood covered her face. Her breathing was amplified, the warmth of it heating up her face.
She heard a snap, and then the heat from the spotlights dissipated. Next a hard grip on her elbow led her about ten feet forward. Her heels clicked on the concrete so she focused on the sound, letting it steady her.
“Step up,” the man holding her elbow said.
On instinct, she reached out and grasped what she quickly realized was the doorframe of a vehicle. As she stepped up, she guesstimated it was an SUV by the height of the running board. Or a truck, but an SUV would make more sense for transporting them. Tasev’s men would be able to get more guards inside.
Even with the spotlights on them before, she’d been able to make out shapes that looked like vehicles but it had been difficult to gauge how many were there.
Once she was settled inside the vehicle a strong, male hand grasped hers. “I’m next to you,” Levi said.
She squeezed back, using his strength to channel her own as the engine started and they were taken to their destination. Now was not the time for her to sit back and relax.
As the SUV jerked with an abrupt start she started counting, spacing how long it would take for them to make the first turn out of the warehouse parking area. Since there was no guarantee their team with the NSA could track them the entire way she planned to mentally calculate where they went using her ears. When music started up, she gritted her teeth.
It was an obnoxious electronic beat but at least it wasn’t too loud and there weren’t any words. The energy in the vehicle was tense. Even with a hood she could sense it.
These men—four if she had to guess, two in the front and two behind her and Levi—didn’t know if they were setting up Tasev so they’d be on guard, focused, until they’d reached their destination. Everything the NSA knew about Tasev said he’d torture and kill anyone who screwed up.
Sixteen counts before they turned left. She knew Levi was doing the same thing, but she couldn’t depend on him to remember everything. They wouldn’t even be able to record the details of their drive until after they’d left the meeting, and who knew how long that would be.
It also didn’t matter that there were eyes in the sky watching them. From this moment forward, they were operating as if they were on their own. For all purposes, they might as well be because they had no way to call in backup if shit went sideways. She wanted to be confident that everything would go off without a hitch, but ops never did. Never, ever. Something always happened, whether it was the thing you prepared for to go wrong or something else. But she refused to let fear rule her. Not with so much at stake.
• • •
Nathan Ortiz eased open the oversize glass-pane door of the abandoned house Levi Lazaro and Selene had left a half hour ago. Burkhart wanted him to do a sweep of the premises, but Nathan knew it was a waste of time. Burkhart did too, but they had to do their due diligence just in case Lazaro had left something behind.
Which Nathan found odd considering Burkhart had told him and the rest of the team on this Tasev op that Lazaro was doing contract work for the NSA.
It was complete and total bullshit.
For some reason Burkhart was allowing Lazaro to be on the op and if Nathan had to guess, he was telling everyone Lazaro was a contract worker to cover his ass in case things blew up in their faces.
But that didn’t explain why Burkhart would want Nathan checking up on Lazaro now. Or why the man wasn’t at one of their safe houses. Instead it appeared that he’d been basically squatting. Sure, it was a hell of a place to squat, but it didn’t make sense if Lazaro had been brought in for the op through normal channels.
Nathan hadn’t seen Lazaro in a couple of years, not since his wife had been killed. That thought turned his stomach. He didn’t know the details—almost no one at the agency did—but he’d heard the whispers that it had been bad. It had to have been for Levi to just disappear.
Maybe he’d been working for Burkhart all along, but Nathan didn’t think so. None of this made sense, but he had his orders: Look for anything Lazaro might have left behind and take it to Burkhart alone. That was it.
Nathan’s rubber-soled shoes were silent as he crossed the dusty, hardwood floor of what he guessed would be a living room if it had furniture. He didn’t worry that he was leaving footprints because there was no way in hell Lazaro would be coming back here. The home was right on the water with big open windows everywhere and no damn curtains so he didn’t need to wear night vision goggles.
Moving quickly and quietly, he paused by a pillar bathed in shadows and listened intently. Houses and other buildings that were empty had a “feel” to them. After spending years in the Marine Corps and getti
ng the best damn training out there, then being trained by the NSA, he could usually tell when a place was devoid of life.
This one was.
He still didn’t let his guard down because for all he knew Lazaro had left booby traps behind. Nathan cleared each room methodically. The only room with any sign of life was one of the bedrooms. There was a mattress and dresser with no dust on it, but there were no personal items to be found anywhere.
Not a surprise. Nathan knew this was a waste of time. Once he was positive the place was clean, he tucked his weapon back in his shoulder holster and left out the front door instead of sneaking out the back. It wasn’t as if the doors were even locked and there was no one around to see him leave.
Using the shadows as cover, he casually made his way down the silent street. He’d parked half a mile away. As he walked, he slid his earpiece in, put his battery and SIM card back into his phone, and turned it back on. For stuff like this, even small tasks that were part of a bigger op, they always went dark. He called Wesley and was surprised when Karen picked up the call.
“Ortiz, what’s your status?” she demanded.
“Heading back to base now,” he said, breaking into a jog at her uncharacteristic tense tone. Karen always kept her cool, so he knew something was wrong.
“Don’t. We’ve got a situation. There were more vehicles than we planned on at the meet and we don’t know where the team was taken.”
Shit. Not good.
“You’re going to be part of the eyes on the ground. I’m going to direct you to the vehicle nearest your location. Then you and Dax will tag team tracking them. I’m patching him in now.”
“Got it. I’ll be at my vehicle in ten seconds.” Heart racing, he picked up his pace. In any op seconds could mean a matter of life and death. And he had a bad feeling that’s exactly what hung in the balance for Selene and Lazaro.
Chapter 13
Tradecraft: the methods developed by intelligence operatives to conduct their operations.
Levi allowed himself to be guided along by a loose grip on his elbow as he and Selene walked down what he was certain was a stone driveway. Their hands hadn’t been tied, which was standard for something like this. They weren’t captives and Levi understood the need for hoods. If Tasev hadn’t gone to all this trouble, Levi would have doubted they were really about to meet the man at all.
After an hour of driving, the SUV had finally stopped and they’d been escorted out, hoods still on. The soft clicking of Selene’s stilettos let him know she was next to him—that and her peaches and cream scent. For the most part the men in the vehicle had been silent, clearly on guard for an attack.
Which had been good for him since he’d been keeping track of every turn and outside sound. Unfortunately he guessed that half of their drive had just been them going around in circles. Still, as soon as they were able, he was writing down everything and retracing their steps as best he could. Tasev had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure they didn’t know where they were, which might mean he was staying at this location.
Levi heard a door being opened. Then someone grunted, “Stairs.” After a short walk up four brick stairs that he could see beneath the bottom of his hood, they entered a room. A foyer if the gleaming wood floor he could just barely see was any indication.
With the hood on, it was hard to smell much. The interior of it was hot and moist and he couldn’t wait to tear the damn thing off, but even so he just barely scented lemons. As if someone had recently mopped or cleaned. Yes, they were in someone’s home. He doubted it was Tasev’s permanent place of residence, if the man even had one, but this could be his Miami base.
Levi had to tamp down all emotions inside him. At one time he’d been a perfect agent, a perfect actor, able to blend in anywhere. Since his wife’s death he’d turned into a rage-filled machine, ready to strike down anyone that got in his way.
Until Selene.
Now he had her to worry about as well as the safety of countless civilians. Fuck him, why did he have to even care about a bunch of people? Strangers who meant nothing to him?
Because he’d once taken an oath to defend his country against any threat, foreign or domestic. No matter what had happened, that meant something to him. He could still help the NSA and get his revenge at the same time. He could find out if Tasev was guilty, then make him wish he’d never been born. A quick death for Tasev would be too easy.
No way in hell would that happen. The man would suffer for a long time before he took his last breath. That part of Levi had changed and he knew it. He’d never relished death or suffering before. Then he’d lost everything that mattered.
But . . . he had other people to think about now. Selene was counting on him to keep his shit together and do this job.
Selene.
All he had to do was think her name and it brought him back to the here and now. Fuck everything else, he wouldn’t let her down.
When his hood was suddenly yanked off, he blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the light as he took in his surroundings. Selene was next to him, her hood removed as well. Her expression was a mask, completely cool and unreadable. Good. Seeing her like this made it clear why Wesley valued her as an agent.
He’d been right; they were in a foyer. A very nice one with polished floors, real wood if he had to guess, and a couple of Monets on the wall. Probably real too. So Tasev liked a certain lifestyle. But what drew all his focus were the seven armed men. Two stood in front of him and Selene while four others were spread out. One was at the bottom of a set of stairs, he felt two men behind them even though they hadn’t spoken, and two were on either side giving them about ten yards of space.
It seemed like overkill but Selene’s reputation was fierce as The Wolf. She’d been right at the party when she’d told Levi that he shouldn’t have had the info on The Wolf’s alias, but he’d needed something for an op and his wife had given it to him off the books. Even though he knew that Selene was trained and part of her cover ID was based in truth, the only way to truly know how a person operated in the field was to work with them firsthand.
As they were scanned again with metal detecting wands—which was overkill—the man scanning up one of Selene’s legs said something vile in Russian about what he’d like to do to her.
Levi made a growling sound low in his throat, knowing he sounded like a fucking animal and not caring. The man’s gaze snapped up to him and whatever he saw there made him freeze for a moment before he resumed his scan, this time moving quickly and professionally.
Once they were done, the man with the scar on his neck stepped around from where he’d been hovering behind them. “Time to meet the boss,” he said in a voice with a faint accent that might have been Russian, but maybe something else. From the way he walked it was clear the man was trained.
As they strode down multiple hallways, all littered with armed guards, Levi realized Tasev wanted them to see firsthand how much protection he had. It was a psychological thing. The show of force made sense, but Levi ignored that as he drank everything else in.
The handles and locks of the interior doors all looked good, but they weren’t high-end from a security standpoint, just expensive and decorative. As they turned down a dead-end hallway he spotted only two doors. The farthest one was metal—reinforced if he had to guess. Otherwise, why have one? There was a guard standing next to it. The door was out of place among the shiny teak floors and matching polished wood trim. And there was a biometric scanner next to the door. Oh yeah, Levi was getting in there eventually.
The other door was wood and when the scarred man knocked on it, Levi could hear the solidness of it. This one was reinforced too.
A moment later a man wearing a black T-shirt and black fatigues opened the door. His gaze scanned over the scarred man in front of them, then Levi and Selene, with his gaze lingering on Selene a little too long for Levi’s comfort. He kept his expression impassive though.
In Russian, the scarred man told the man in fa
tigues that Levi and Selene were clean of weapons and bugs. The man in fatigues nodded once, then uttered something about Selene looking like a good fuck.
It was stupid of them to speak in front of them like this, even in another language. From behind the door, a commanding male voice ordered for them to enter.
Selene and Levi trailed after the scarred man as the other one stepped back. The door shut behind them with a click.
Levi scanned the well-lit room, taking everything in with a sweep. Masculine furniture, thick heavy draperies covering huge windows, wood floors, three armed men—and Tasev sitting behind a big desk like he thought he was a fucking king.
Tasev’s dark gaze was assessing as he looked at Selene and Levi. His dark-brown hair was closely cropped to his head and his eyes were intense. Nothing about his gaze was sexual though, as he watched Selene. Just assessing.
And it was definitely Tasev. Though the photos they had of him were older and grainy, Levi didn’t doubt the identity of the man before them.
A rush of anger flooded his veins at the sight of Tasev. The man deserved to die for all his crimes whether or not he’d ordered Meghan killed, but Levi ordered all those thoughts back into the darkest part of his mind. He needed his game face on now.
“So you are The Wolf,” Tasev said quietly, his gaze pinned to Selene’s.
She stood there in a semi-relaxed state and nodded.
“Should I call you Selene or The Wolf?” His voice was softer than Levi had expected.
“Selene.”
“It is likely not even your real name though, yes?”
Selene just shrugged, the action subtly shifting the deep V of her jacket and drawing attention to her body. It was a subtle movement and the oldest trick in the book, but Tasev’s gaze flicked down to her cleavage for a fraction of a moment. Seconds counted in this business and it was clear she’d use anything in her arsenal to come out on top. In was then that Levi realized why Wesley had chosen her for this job. She was very good.