by Leslie North
Dangerous, that, since this was a one-time thing and she had her own job and promotion to get back to, didn’t she? Too bad that job and that promotion seemed less important these days. For years, her solitary work had sustained her, kept her alone and happy. But spending this time with Loki—working together, being together—had shown her there was a different way of doing things, a different way of being. She wasn’t sure going back to being a one-woman show would satisfy her anymore. Sure, they had their issues, and Loki was far too bossy for his own good sometimes, but she could work on that. Question was, did she want to put in the time and effort to stay?
“Right,” Loki said, breaking into her thoughts and bringing her back to the present. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Hunter, I want you to go around to the back entrances and wait. If Martin tries to run for it that way, you catch him. Cam, you do the same out front. M, you’ll come inside with me.”
“What about your disguise?” she asked, frowning. “You can’t just walk in there the way you are, Martin will recognize you from the charity ball in an instant.”
“That’s the plan, darling.” He winked again. “I’m the bait.”
“But—” She wanted to argue, but Loki held up a hand to silence her.
“No. I’m done playing games. I’m tired of always wearing a façade, not being my true self. Besides, you do it so much better than me, darling. So this time, I’m going in as myself, for better or worse. And if Martin gives us any shit, we’ll take him down. Together. Deal?”
Part of her wanted to kiss him silly, the other part of her wanted to slap him for putting himself in such a precarious position. In the end, she shook on it because what else was she going to do in front of his buddies? “Deal,” she agreed reluctantly. “But I swear if you get yourself injured, I’m going to kill you.”
“Sounds like a valid threat to me,” Cam said, snickering.
“She looks like she could kick some serious ass, Low.” Hunter grinned. “I’m on her side.”
“Thanks, guys.” M smiled. “Let’s do this thing.”
“Yep, let’s do it,” Loki agreed. Hunter disappeared down the alleyway to their right while Cam ducked around the corner to head toward the front of the building. M held tight to Loki’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He looked down at her, his green eyes warm in the cool night. “We get this done, you and I have things to discuss, darling.”
“Agreed,” she said, tugging him toward the entrance. “Come on.”
They walked inside the lobby and M’s heart plummeted to her toes. No sign of Martin anywhere. She walked up to the security desk and hoped the guy on duty would be able to see past her crazy costume. “Hey, Tony. It’s Mirabelle from 4D.”
At first the guy gave her an incredulous stare, but once she pulled off the ridiculous wig, his expression warmed. He smiled, “Miss M, don’t you look…interesting tonight.”
“Costume party,” she said, playing it off. “I came by here earlier and saw you talking to a guy. Any idea where he might’ve gone?”
“Top floor. Meeting a friend who lives there. Want me to ring them again for you?” Tony picked up his phone and started dialing, but M stopped him.
“No, no. That’s fine.” She shot Loki a look. “We’re just going up to my place now. Thanks.”
“Sure thing, Miss M. You have a good night, now.” Tony eyed her, then Loki with interest.
“Martin’s on the roof, I’d guarantee it,” M said, once they were in the privacy of the elevator. “There’s an entrance on the top floor.” She slid her feet out of the crazy shoes too, knowing she’d be able to maneuver and fight better without them. The skirt was a bit short and tight, but she’d make do. Certainly wasn’t the weirdest thing she’d ever fought in. There’d been this one time in Budapest, at a circus when…
“Who’s he meeting with?” Loki asked, frowning.
“I’m sorry?”
“The security guy said he called up to verify Martin’s ID. That means he must know someone in this building who vouched for him, right?”
“Yes.” M narrowed her gaze. “Do you think it’s his buyer? We know Martin’s the mole, but have you identified exactly who he’s selling his secrets to?”
Loki tapped his fingers against the wall. “No, not yet. Cam’s been working on it, but so far has hit a brick wall. It could be his buyer, or someone connected to them. Guess we’ll find out.”
M’s smile widened into a grin as she jimmied open the emergency phone compartment in the wall and pulled out a gun and holster, an extra magazine of ammo, and a wicked looking knife which she strapped to her thigh. “Guess we will. You weaponed up?”
He patted his matching set of Desert Eagles under his jacket. “Always.”
The elevator dinged and they stepped off, looking both ways down the long corridor before heading toward the signs pointing to the roof entrance. M pulled her gun and tossed the holster aside in the hallway, cocking the trigger and checking the safety. They flanked the door leading out onto the building’s roof, communicating through gestures until Loki gave a nod and M kicked the door open, bursting outside.
Cool concrete chilled the bottoms of her bare feet and the breeze at this height was stronger than at ground level, but as she scanned the rooftop, there was no sign of anyone there. Loki burst out behind her, doing his own check of the premises then giving her a what-the-fuck look.
She tilted her head left then inched her way that direction. Martin had to be up here. There was no other place for him to go. And if he did have a friend in the building, chances were high they’d come up here to conduct their business. It was open and, if either tried to pull something, would ensure higher rates of survival versus being cooped up at close range with a psycho like Martin. At least that would be her thinking. Loki’s too, apparently, since he’d followed her.
She stepped around an air conditioning unit, gun at the ready, thinking maybe Martin and his buyer were hiding behind them, but found nothing. She’d just taken another step when the sound of a trigger being cocked sounded behind her.
“Don’t move,” Martin said, his usual American accent faltering, letting a hint of Russian through. “I will blow your fucking head off. Put your weapon on the ground. Slowly. The knife too.”
M’s breath caught in her chest, her heart pounding against her ribcage, while her mind stilled. Okay. She’d been here before, been trapped with no visible means of escape and still managed to somehow get out of her predicament. Think. Just think. Stay calm. Her years of training served her well as she glanced around the area while doing as he asked. If she moved fast enough, she might be able to stab him in the thigh with the knife and scramble to freedom. But if she wasn’t quick enough, she’d be dead. She could turn and fire herself, but then Martin would shoot too and they’d both be injured, if not killed.
Possibilities were dwindling when she heard another voice, the same deep strong timbre that made her toes curl in bed and soothed her restless soul like a balm. Loki. He chuckled. “Jesus, Martin. You really are pathetic. Did you really think you could get away with this?”
Todd Martin kept his gun and his attention focused on M. “I already have, asshole. You’re too late. My buyer’s gone. The information will be leaked and more American pig soldiers will die because of it.” He spit on the rooftop for emphasis. “Serves them right.”
M caught Loki’s gaze and held, trying to buy time. “What about your double life, the career you’ve built in music?”
“You think I give a shit about any of that?” Martin cackled like the crazy bastard he was. “I don’t give two fucks about any of that. It was all a means to an end. This end.” With that, he took off running for the edge of the building. Would’ve made it too, but Loki was faster, snagging him by the back of his shirt and stopping him cold. Still, Martin strained, teetering over the side of the building.
“Suicide is too good for you. You’ll be standing trial for your crimes. As will your buyer.” Loki pointed do
wn at the alley below with his free hand. M walked over to look herself and spotted Hunter holding a struggling man up against the brick wall of the building. “You’re both going to jail for a long, long time, asshole.”
M frowned, squinting at the guy in the alley. “Hey, isn’t that your arms dealer client?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Loki hauled Martin back onto the roof, then punched him hard in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Martin crumpled at their feet and Loki gave him a disparaging glare. “I suspected something wasn’t right with the guy early on, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. Now I know.”
“What about your business though?” M asked, ripping strips of material from the hem of her already short skirt to tie up Martin’s wrists and ankles. It left her in little more than a T-Shirt, but she didn’t care. She’d stop by her apartment on the way down and grab some jeans. Shoes would be good too, given that her toes were numb with cold now. “Weren’t you counting on his fees to cover your expenses for another year?”
“We were,” Loki said, dragging Martin’s lifeless body by one arm toward the door. “But we’ll figure something else out. We always do. But at least you’ll get your promotion, right?”
“Yeah, right,” M said, not feeling nearly as ecstatic as she’d expected to wrap up this mission. She’d get her promotion, sure, but she’d lose Loki and he’d lose his business in the process. Hardly seemed like a winning solution at all.
There has to be another way, she thought as she collected her weapons then followed Loki back inside the building. She didn’t know what yet, but she’d think of it.
13
Loki sat around the offices of Norse Security a week later, staring at the pile of bills he couldn’t pay and the empty appointment book on his desk. He’d basically sacrificed everything to give M her promotion and damn if he could make himself regret it.
Martin and the arms dealer client had been taken swiftly into federal custody once M and Loki had brought them in and both were now sitting behind bars awaiting their arraignment hearings. The press and paparazzi had had a field day with squeaky clean Todd Martin’s hidden life and his and his family’s traitorous ties to the KGB. If anything, the notoriety had made him more famous now than he’d ever been during his pop music days. Loki was sure his high-dollar lawyers would find a way to spin it to make the media machine work in Martin’s favor down the road, probably get him a tell-all book deal and maybe even a cable network movie deal.
As for Cam and Hunter, they were sticking with Loki for now, even though he’d encouraged them to find themselves steady work where they could. Cam had told him he’d received several offers from tech companies wanting to hire him for cybersecurity positions and some Hollywood production company wanted to hire Hunter to play bodyguard for their celebrities under contract, but neither man had made any firm commitments.
And Loki? Well, for now, he was content to sit here in his quiet space and just be for once. He’d spent so many years pretending to be someone else that it was nice to relax into his own being for a change.
He was just starting to doze off when the phone on his desk rang, the shrill sound jarring him from his near-slumber. Loki sat forward and frowned at the caller ID. It was his mysterious backer, a guy he’d known only as Steele. Steele had contacted Loki right out of the SEALs, had claimed to be a patriot looking for a cause to champion. When Loki had proposed his idea for Norse Security—a team of vets using their brains and brawn to fight crime and corruption—Steele had been all over that. He’d put up all the funds needed to start Norse Security and keep it running for six months, but preferred to be a silent partner, giving Loki and the guys basically free rein.
Until now. Now, it looked like their time was up.
Loki reached out and pushed the answer button, leaving the call on speaker phone in the otherwise silent offices. “Good afternoon, Steele.”
“Well done, Loki,” Steele said, his smooth tone belying no accent or distinguishing markers at all. It was kind of uncanny, like speaking with a robot. Loki sat back and clasped his hands on his stomach as his backer continued. “I have to say I was very impressed with your handling of the arms dealer case. All the loose ends neatly tied up in a bow.”
“Except for the fact that the client double-crossed me. Did you know that he was the buyer for Martin’s secrets when you sent him to me?”
“No,” Steele said, a slight hint of humor in his voice now. “No idea, though he was a tricky character. Suppose he’d have to be in his business. I had faith you’d figure it out in the end. And you did.”
“Nice to know you had faith in me.” Loki shook his head. “That makes exactly one of us.”
“You’re a smart man and more than a bit tricky yourself,” Steele said. “Made you perfect for this job.”
“Too bad it’ll be our last. I was counting on that arms dealer’s cash to fund our budget once your money runs out.” Loki twiddled his thumbs, ignoring the stab of hurt in his chest. Truth was he was going to miss this place terribly. Norse Security had become like home to him, with Cam and Hunter being the closest thing to brothers he’d ever had. And sure, their missions hadn’t always turned out quite as expected—with the wrecked government car and Hunter’s sex ring operation going awry. But still, they’d done good work and met good people. Everly, Cam’s wife, was the best. And Alexandra, Hunter’s fiancée, was a sweetheart too. And M…
Well, M had her promotion and should be on the way to living the life of her dreams, jetting off to new and exciting feats of espionage around the world. He’d miss her too, more than he cared to admit. But he’d let her go as planned and bless her journey, because it was the right thing to do.
He just wished doing the right thing didn’t make his heart ache so badly.
It was his own fault, really. He’d gone and fallen for the last girl on earth he should want. And damn if it was a beautiful disaster from start to finish.
“I hate to break this to you, Loki,” Steele said, forcing him back to the present. “But this is only the end if you want it to be.”
“Excuse me?” Loki straightened, frowning.
“I’ve been thinking things over and while the company hasn’t exactly turned the profit I wanted, I can still see a purpose in keeping it going. With certain conditions.”
His pulse quickened. This was good. Very good. “What conditions are those?”
The sound of a door opening and closing, followed by the sound of footsteps, had Loki glancing toward his office door. Soon, Cam and Hunter stood there, looking exceedingly proud of themselves.
“Uh, Steele, hang on a second please,” Loki said, hitting the hold button before waving the guys inside. “What’s going on? I gave you both the day off.”
“We’ve got something to tell you,” Cam said, grinning.
“Yeah, we think you’ll like this, Low.” Hunter flopped down into the chair in front of Loki’s desk while Cam took the other one. “We think we found a way to save Norse Security.”
“Seriously?” Loki blinked at them, surprised. “How?”
“Well, you know that Everly’s been working on the Aeon since we brought it back here, right?”
Loki nodded. Everly was probably the best mechanic on the East coast, maybe the country.
“She finished it, in between breastfeeding the baby and working on stuff at her dad’s shop on the side. When all this shit went down with your mission, I started asking around to see if we might be able to sell it for cash to put into the business.”
“And?” Loki asked, glancing over at the flashing red light on his phone.
“And I found a buyer.” Cam practically beamed with eagerness. “You’ll never guess who it is.”
“I’ve got Steele on the other line guys,” Loki said. “I don’t really have time to guess.”
“The federal government. They want to buy it back from me and Everly, along with the souped-up tech I’ve installed on the car. It’s way better than the original prot
otype and they’re willing to pay us big bucks to get it.”
“How big?” Loki frowned.
“One and a half million big. That’s gotta be enough to at least cover a year’s worth of expenses here, right?” Cam asked.
A million and a half was good. Loki sat back, doing the calculations in his head. That would last them about a year, with overhead and expenses and any unforeseen costs of doing business in their world. But it wouldn’t leave them much of a cushion after that and it wasn’t like there would be more cash coming in from that corner. Once the car and its tech was sold, that was it. Plus, they’d be spending months recruiting new clients, outputting cash without a lot of new revenue coming in.
The phone on the desk beeped and Loki held up a finger to his lips to tell the guys to keep quiet. He took Steele off hold. “Sorry about that, sir. You were saying you might keep the business running, with conditions?”
“Yes.” The sound of rustling paperwork issued through the phone line from Steele’s end. “I have other connections who require a certain…set of skills. And discretion. I could throw their business your way, as long as you and the others would be willing to be…flexible…with your ethics.”
Loki stared at the guys’ faces as that word “flexible” sank in. They were all used to obeying orders they didn’t always agree with while in the military. It was how you got the job done. But once they were out, they’d all taken an oath to never compromise their ideals for the sake of efficiency again. Of course, at the time they’d vowed that, they hadn’t been threatened with bankruptcy either. He wouldn’t fault Cam or Hunter for changing course now. They both had other responsibilities—wives, kids, fiancées—and all Loki had was himself to worry about these days.