by Nana Malone
The door closed with an audible click as the heavy lock re-engaged. I leaned my forehead against the door and sagged, tears welling in my eyes. Fuck, I should have just fought her. She looked like a kid, but that might be part of the game. How the hell was I going to get out of here now?
Chapter 19
Marcus
I studied the nondescript building three miles ahead through the high-powered binoculars. “That's it? Doesn't look like much.”
Addie was right by my side. “That's because it's meant to look that way. Nothing special in a pseudo-residential-industrial area. What’s really important is the network underground that you can't see.” She took the blueprints and laid them out in front of us. “This is the facility.” She pointed out the eastern corner. “This is the most secure area. We've got maps in our tablets to lead us there. The reason I say that Lyra’s probably there is it's the most defensible area.”
“And if she's not there?”
“Then we are shit out of luck. Because that's the best spot. That's where I'd put her if I was a homicidal maniac.”
I could almost laugh at that, but then I sobered. What must it be like for them, knowing that their mentor was just this side of crazy? That they’d dedicated their lives to something that had been a lie, if not from the start, then at least for the last several years. How many people had they killed following orders, and how many of those orders had been true orders?
I shook my head. “Addie, are you okay?”
She blinked at me. “I don't understand the question.”
I picked up the binoculars and began assessing where the cameras were. “I just know how close you two were.”
“Are. How close we are. And yeah, I want her back. More importantly, I want to make sure no one gets hurt. Especially Lyra, but none of us either.”
I nodded. “No one's getting hurt. Not today.”
“Well, Roz has already proven that she doesn't really give a fuck about anyone else. So I'd like to knock it dead because I have a whole vengeance scheme planned out.”
I smiled at that. “You were hurt by her too.”
“Hell yeah. She's been a mentor to all of us. It sucks.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it must.”
On the comms, Maggie and Michael were listening and doling out orders.
“Team four, you are west side. We want live capture of all agents that come flooding out of there. Team three, north side. You will go first and make way for teams one and two,” Michael said.
Maggie followed up. “Team two, when they’re in, clear a path and see if there are additional hostages. Wait for your clearance from teams four and three before you move forward.”
The adrenaline was humming under my veins. I could feel her. She was in there.
I just had to find her.
I just wanted her back safe and sound, and I would tell her that no one was going to hurt her again. That she was safe with me.
Is that even true?
It was sort of the truth.
As long as you're an agent, she will always be in danger.
I shoved that thought aside. I didn't have time for it. All I had time for was going in there and getting her back alive. We'd figure out the rest later.
In our comm units, Maggie's voice was clear. “Team one, proceed.”
Addie looked at me and nodded her head. We packed up our surveillance gear and piled in the van.
Once we were a mile out, we parked again, loaded up with weapons strapped on our backs and our hips and our legs, and we moved in.
I might not understand Addie being affiliated with The Firm as a general rule, but I had to say she was a good agent. When it came to the work, she was decisive and fast. Didn't kick up a fuss. Did what needed to be done. Just like any of our agents.
She'd been well trained. And she had that single-minded focus of someone who'd taken many orders and who knew how to fight for what was important.
When teams three and four reported that they'd taken out the cameras and dealt with the guards, we went in through the east side of the building. The power was already out on that side of the property, but we disarmed the cameras there, nonetheless. Addie was fast with the infrared, and then we padded slowly inside, ready and willing to do what we needed to do, but so far, we’d met no resistance.
When we reached the security panel, Addie set up her decryption device, and I placed my hand over it. At first it just flashed red. And then after several seconds, green. The elevator doors opened. It was well-lit, bright. I knew that it would take me to Lyra, and that was all I cared about. I glanced at Addie. “I guess I'm ready if you are.”
She grinned at me. “I was born ready.”
I groaned “Oh no, you're not going to start with the bad movie quotes, are you?”
She laughed. “What, Lyra didn't tell you? I love a cheesy movie quote. I can do this all day.”
I leaned my head back against the elevator after I checked the safety on my gun. “Something tells me this is going to be a long afternoon.”
“You can say that again.”
* * *
Lyra
Just a little further.
If I could just reach that damn panel. Just under the camera in the corner, there was an electronic panel, and I was hoping I could short it out and open the damned door. I had no weapons, which was a problem, sure. But I’d cross that bridge later. All I knew was that I couldn't stay in my cell. I had no friends in here, so best to get the hell out.
I pulled over my cot to stand on and began to slowly turn the screws and pray. I didn’t care if my fingers bled, bruised, and turned sensitive from my attempts to free myself.
I couldn't give up.
Even if Roz was on the other side of that door ready to barge in, I had to do this. So far, I'd been able to hear when someone was coming, but with the alarm blaring, it might be different.
Fortunately, I was able to loosen the first screw before I heard footsteps outside the door. I hopped down, dragging my cot back with quickness and efficiency.
Quickly, I threw myself on the bed, turning around to see the door open. With the screw between my fingers as a weapon, I pretended I was asleep. Maybe if I got the jump on someone, I'd be able to surprise them with my weapon and get out.
As the footsteps slowly approached, I forced myself to take a deep breath. The intent in situations like this was to use the element of surprise, otherwise it could get you hurt. That meant you didn't get to escape.
So I was loosey-goosey. My plan was to get out of there, and whoever this was approaching me wasn't going to make it through the night.
I could feel the movement, the body heat. A hand brushing over me, drawing closer. And I waited, biding my time. As soon as there was contact, I rolled and lunged up, sending my fist straight for the jugular, but the move was deflected. I swept my legs out and around, hitting them just at the knee, and there was a grunt.
And then a familiar voice said, “Lyra, it's us. Stand down.”
Addie?
I didn't stop though. Even though Addie's voice was crystal clear, like I was talking to her in the office, I still lunged my whole body despite my lack of strength and the earlier drugs still making their way through my system. Fists up, I was ready to jam that screw into a temple. But an arm went up, blocking me easily and then wrapped around my shoulders, attacking me back to front.
I wiggled. “Let me go.”
“No. It’s me. You're safe. You are always safe in my arms, Lyra. I would never hurt you.”
And then I froze. Marcus. He'd come for me.
I wanted to believe. I wanted to trust that it was his voice. My gaze flew to the side, and I wanted to believe that it was Addie I saw. But what if it was a trick? What if I was still drugged? What if this was some kind of fiction? Oh, God.
And then the Addie imposter whipped up her balaclava, and I could see her blond curls swept back in a ponytail. “See? It's me.”
Suddenly, all the fight seeped ou
t of my bones, and I was jelly. Melting.
Marcus held me up. “I’ve got you. You're okay. Nothing's going to happen to you.”
“You came for me.”
He leaned down and kissed the shell of my ear softly. “Hell yes, we did.”
I turned in his arms and slid my hands up to his face, my fingertips tracing along as I slid his balaclava partway off. “Oh, God, it's you.”
He nodded slowly, and I could see his lopsided smile. “Yeah, I told you. No matter what, I’ll always come for you.”
Another wave of relief made my knees buckle again. “Oh, God, I'm so happy to see you.”
“You're okay?” Marcus's hands did a quick check over me. It was perfunctory. Tactical. Meant to assess if I had any injuries, but that didn't stop the heat from trailing over me.
When I gasped as he searched my ribs, his gaze met mine, and he smirked.
Arsehole.
“We'll have time for that later, he said with a chuckle.
“Yeah. Now, someone hand me a fucking gun.”
Addie grinned as she unstrapped several magazines and a gun from her back. “Are your hands okay to shoot?”
“Just fine. And I have some people that I would like to pay back, please.”
Addie consulted a tablet of some sort. “Okay, let's go.”
“Dare I ask where we got this fancy equipment?”
Marcus grinned. “There are some perks of being with me and my guys. My whole team is here. All to bring you home.”
Home. That was a funny word. I had no idea what that even meant to me now. The woman who trained me, turned me into an agent, for so many years she'd been my home, my anchor point, my safe space. But as it turned out, there was nothing safe about her. She'd been the wolf in sheep’s clothing all along, and I hadn't known.
“I don't care where we're going, just get me the fuck out of here.”
He grinned. “Roger that.” Then he sobered and cursed under his breath. “I couldn’t figure out why you didn't activate the GPS until we had to take that long elevator ride to find you.”
“When I first got here, I would have, but I was drugged and not thinking clearly. Then I woke up and realized this place was subterranean, and there was no signal so I couldn’t activate the GPS. But let's go. Get me out of here. We'll talk about it when we're out.”
“Good.” Marcus handed me a comm unit and I slipped it in my ear.
Knowing he wouldn’t have been left out of this mission, I said, “Rhodes, are you there somewhere?”
There was almost a happy tone in Rhodes's voice. “Ah, the lady of the hour. You're done lazing about? Ready to get some bad guys?”
“Bro, you know I've already killed dozens.”
He chuckled. “You wish. You should catch up, Lyra.”
“I intend to.”
I barely knew Rhodes. We'd been fighting together for what, a few days? A week? But already, he felt familiar. Kind of like family.
Be careful how easily you use that family term.
We made a left at the end of the hallway and passed where I'd last seen Natasha. I wanted to stop. Go and get her. Tell her there was a way out.
And then I remembered she'd shoved me back in the room. So maybe it was best to leave her on her own.
We made it up and down another set of hallways. All the while, Addie was consulting the map. Finally, we made a left. “Okay, we're coming to the place where we need to be more careful. It's the fastest way out, so we’ll just—”
“Well, well, well... if it isn't two of my protégés and what I can only assume is an Exodus agent. I should probably mention you two are fired, right?”
I slowly turned. “Oh, don't worry about it Roz, we quit.”
Her grin was easy as she had two agents of her own flagging her. “There is no quitting. Now, why don't you all be a dear and follow us.”
I shook my head. “If you want me to come with you, you're going to have to make me.”
She laughed. “Oh, honey, that can be arranged.”
“You want to take me on, Roz? See if you're as good as you think you are, or if you trained me to be as good?”
“Lyra, you'll only hurt yourself. You know I just wanted to look after you.”
“Bullshit.”
I raised my gun and fired. Just close enough for the bullet to whizz by her ear, singeing off a part of her hair.
Her eyes went wide. “How dare you?”
“Don’t worry, I'm a believer in preserving human life. Besides, it’s my understanding that there are some very important people at Exodus who want to talk to you. So why don't you come with us instead, and we'll see how this plays out.”
Her two flanking guards came forward, and she shook her head. “Oh no, she's mine. I think it's time I teach this bitch a lesson.”
“Oh, this should be interesting. Because something tells me this was how my mother felt. Wasn't she better than you?”
That was it. The words needed to tip her into crazy town.
She lunged at me. I knew from her training that when you fought angrily, you fought stupidly. And when you fought stupidly, your opponent wins. I was hoping that was going to work to my advantage.
Chapter 20
Lyra
I could almost feel Marcus’s disapproval. “Lyra, we don't have time for this.”
On the contrary, I thought we did have time for it. After all, if Roz was occupied with us, her teams would be floundering without their leader, and that was a good thing. Exodus could sweep them all up.
“Lyra, stop this nonsense, and we won't kill your friends.”
Addie stepped by my side. “I know how this is supposed to go. You two duke it out mano a mano to see who's best, the student or the teacher. And we're supposed to stand here and watch. But I'm bored.”
Her motions were so swift that even I didn’t see her intentions until the last second when she shot one of Roz’s hulking bodyguards. Headshot. Clean kill. Zero remorse. Marcus already had his gun out and aimed it at bodyguard number two’s temple. The two of them were astonishing.
“Mate, you don’t want to try me today. You’ve had my woman for three days, and I’m not inclined to let you live. But on account of wanting to look like a good guy for her, I don’t want to shoot you in cold blood. So I’m going to need you to put out your arms all civilized while I cuff you. Or,” he jangled his gun, “we take door number one. Your choice really.”
Addie turned to me. “Can you get to killing her already? I’m cold and hungry and I want a hot bath and to convince Rhodes I’m hotter than his fiancée, so speed this up, will you?”
I stared at Roz for a long pause. “You had everything. Power, success, but you wanted, what? More? To run with terrorists? Is this how you saw yourself, scurrying like a rat in the sewer?”
“You don’t know anything about it. Your sight is so narrow.”
“Only you understand. Is that it? Well, it’s a good thing you like deep dark holes because you're never going to see the light of day again.”
Her brows lifted. “You don’t want to see if you can best me?”
I shrugged. “I already have.”
Roz’s brows lifted. “Hardly, love. You had to be rescued.”
“Maybe. But I had real family that came for me. This is what it feels like. Not someone controlling me.”
“I knew what was best for you.”
“You keep saying that. But let’s see, you’ve killed my parents, you tried to kill me, you tried to control my career and every aspect of my life. But in the end, I reject everything about you, you are not my mother and never will be.”
Her eyes flared before she snapped and lunged for me. I sidestepped easily, letting my hand slide up the arm she was reaching to punch me with. Then I very deliberately stepped into her space, ensuring my hips would be past hers.
With my leg, I swept hers, and Roz tumbled down. I stood over her, watching. “All this because you couldn’t control me. Because I have better influences.
You wanted me dead.”
“Because you saw the fucking file. If you hadn’t seen it, everything would be business as usual.”
I didn’t help her out. “There is no coming back from a hit squad, Roz. No explanation makes it at all okay.” And because I needed to know, I asked, “The car bomb… Did you at least do it yourself?”
She glowered up at me. “It was supposed to be just your mother. He wasn’t supposed to be there. She was the intended target.”
I waited for the rage as I stared down at her. It didn’t come, but that didn't stop me from punching her with a tight, straight jab.
Marcus pulled me back before I could do much more. Addie was there with the zip ties.
I struggled in his hold. “Relax, love. I have you.”
And he did. Even as the halls were suddenly flooded with both Exodus and Firm agents, he wrapped his arms around me and kept it all out with his broad shoulders.
“I have you. You’re okay.”
Meeting his gaze, I smiled. “Now that you’re here, I am. I love you.”
His smile was easy. “I know. You were just taking your sweet time to say it.”
“Were you always this impossible?”
“I was. Now, let’s get you home.”
“That sounds like a fantastic idea.”
Chapter 21
Lyra
“Oh my God, yes, right there. Right there. Marcus, oh my God.”
Marcus was in his favorite spot. Planted right between my legs, torturing me relentlessly with his tongue and his fingers.
As his thumb stroked over my clit, he glanced up with a wicked smile. “Love, you don't think that we survived all this mess for me not to celebrate, do you?”
I laughed. “But somehow this is always your favorite position.”
“Ah, yes, you've caught me. It's where I go when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I just want you to say my name over and over and over again. It's my default.”
“Yes, it’s your default. Now if you don't mind, could you maybe, just possibly, let me come?”
He laughed. “Nope. Not yet.”
And then he carried on for at least another twenty minutes while orgasm after orgasm crashed into me, and I begged, pleaded with him, to let me take a breath. A water break. We’d barely slept all night, and he'd woken me up like he was on a mission.