“Now that everyone knows the basic plan, let’s talk strategy and undercover assignments.” Noah passed out individual assignment folders to each operative. “Our initial setup will include undercover assignments for Riley, McKenna, Justin, and Anna. Depending on what we learn and how things develop, I may involve several more of you.
“Over the next few days, we’ll get everyone into place and settled. Everyone else is on call until this is over. We’ll communicate frequently and stay—”
“Wait,” Aidan said. “Why the hell is Anna working an op? She’s not an operative.”
Though there had been a few surprised expressions when Noah had mentioned Anna, Aidan’s reaction and blunt words raised several eyebrows.
“You have a problem with the assignments, Thorne?” McCall asked.
Never one to back down, Thorne said, “Hell yeah, I do. Anna’s not trained to handle something this dangerous. She’s not—”
“Anna is right here and can speak for herself,” Anna interrupted. “I’m not going to get in the way of the big, bad LCR operatives doing their jobs. Got that, Thorne?”
As if she hadn’t spoken to him, Thorne kept his focus on McCall. “Why the hell would you put an untrained civilian on an op?”
“Anna has participated in several LCR training scenarios. She isn’t a full-fledged operative”—McCall shot Anna a quick smile—“despite my many offers for her to join our team. She is, however, a highly skilled individual who can not only defend herself and others, she’ll be there for moral support for Riley.” McCall paused, cocked his head. “That ease your mind, Thorne, or do we need to discuss this further?”
Admirably ignoring the ice-cold glare from Anna, Thorne jerked his head in a stiff nod. “Whatever you say.”
Taking him at his word, McCall went on to discuss the others’ roles. The tension eased out of the room. Justin opened his assignment folder. He read quickly, nodding with approval. He was familiar with the location. It was a good cover. Setup time would take a few days, giving him time with Riley. She kept throwing up barriers, insisting things wouldn’t work between them. He had every intention of breaking down those barriers and making sure she understood one important thing: He was here to stay.
Chapter Sixteen
“Kelly, can I see you a minute?”
Noah had waited until Riley disappeared into the elevator.
Kelly gave a frustrated look as the door closed on Riley’s pale, determined face, and then he turned back to Noah. “Yeah. What’s up?”
“Let’s go to my office.”
As soon as Kelly followed him into his office, Noah closed the door and, in an uncharacteristic move, locked it.
In silence, he went to the bar against the wall, pulled out a couple of cold waters from the fridge, and tossed one to Kelly.
The operative caught it one-handed but didn’t open it, the expression on his face wary.
Going to his desk, Noah leaned back in his chair. He was about to break a half-dozen self-imposed rules, and even as his gut churned, he saw no option.
“I talked to Riley this morning, before the briefing.”
“Yeah, she told me she was meeting with you.”
Noah leaned forward. “Let me be blunt. I know that you and Riley are involved, that you slept together last night.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but yeah, we did.”
“You’re right. Normally, I’d stay out of your personal lives. It’s not my business who you choose to sleep with.”
“Then why the hell am I here?”
“Because you need to be aware of a few things.”
The look became warier. “Like what?”
“I can name on one hand the confidences I’ve broken in my life. I’m not bragging. It’s just I get pissed off if anyone does that to me. I figure I owe them the same courtesy.”
“And you’re going to break that rule for me?”
“Hell no. I’m breaking that rule for Riley.”
“Why?”
Instead of giving a direct answer, Noah said, “Do you know why I paired the two of you as partners?”
“We work well together. Have a connection.”
“That’s one of the reasons, but a lesser one. The biggest reason is you don’t put up with bullshit.”
Kelly frowned. “That’s true, but I can’t say as I’ve seen a lot of LCR operatives put up with bullshit. We tend to get pissed off with bullshitters.”
Noah went to his feet and started pacing. He didn’t usually have trouble communicating, but in this instance, maybe because he wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing, he was having difficulty putting the right words together.
With a growl of frustration, Noah whirled around and started talking. “Eight years ago, I got a call from a minister in Marseille by the name of Francois DePaul. He and Milo Evans, the man who helped me create Last Chance Rescue, had been friends for years. Milo had just been killed, and I assumed he was calling with condolences.”
Realizing he was putting off the inevitable, Noah plunged forward. “That wasn’t the reason for his call. He had a ministry for the homeless and indigent. A young woman had been found, brought to him. She was so malnourished and unhealthy, he feared for her life.
“Usually, he would only have seen that she got medical care or tried to care for her himself. He hesitated doing the usual thing. He got the strong impression she was hiding from someone. She wouldn’t speak, but he knew she was terrified. He was concerned that if he kept her at his shelter, whoever she was afraid of would find her. So he called and asked for my help.”
Justin’s teeth were clenched as he listened to McCall. Despite his surprise and concern that the LCR leader was breaking protocol and sharing this with him, he couldn’t and wouldn’t refuse to listen. McCall wasn’t doing this for himself. Justin had never seen him look so uncomfortable or ill at ease.
“I agreed to see her and went to Marseille.” McCall cleared his throat. “I had never seen anyone more broken or damaged in my life. Not so much physically, though she was certainly in poor health. But emotionally…” He shook his head. “She was in bad shape.
That was saying a lot. McCall had probably seen the worst of the worse.
“She wouldn’t communicate. Would barely raise her head. Refused to look anyone in the eye. Touching her was out of the question. I made the mistake of touching her shoulder, and she made the most god-awful sound I’d ever heard, like a wild animal in severe pain.
“I couldn’t leave her there. I agreed with Francois. She was deathly afraid of someone. I brought her back to Paris and arranged for her to live in a small health care facility. It was a temporary arrangement at best.
“I told no one about her. I tried to visit her each week, and though she never spoke, I could tell that I was getting through to her. She didn’t smile, but her demeanor seemed to change. She grew a little more relaxed each time I saw her. She began to eat and grow stronger. She still wouldn’t communicate with me.”
McCall voice went thick. “After I married Samara, I told her about the young woman. And Mara, being Mara, wanted to meet her. We went together. I introduced the two and then walked out the door. Half an hour later, Mara came out of the room and said, ‘She’s coming home with us.’”
He smiled a little. “And that was that. She came to live with us. She still wouldn’t communicate other than with an occasional nod or a few hand gestures. Mara thought she might be mute and tried to teach her sign language. That didn’t last long. She got frustrated one day and told Mara that if it was all the same to her, she’d rather just speak.”
Justin’s heart lightened. That sounded like something Riley would do.
“After that, she made amazing progress. She managed to tell us what she remembered. She had a wealth of information on the people who raised her. I immediately started looking for them, but by then they were in the wind.
“The information on her captor was minuscule in comparison. She knew his n
ame was Dimitri. She knew how she came to be with him. And she knew how she escaped. That was it. She agreed to hypnosis, but either the information is just not inside her or she’s repressed it. The hypnosis was doing nothing other than upsetting her, so we stopped.
“One day, Mara was headed to a self-defense class and invited Riley to go with her. That day, probably more than any other day, was a revelation.”
Justin wondered if McCall realized he’d finally started referring to the “young woman” as Riley. Since the man didn’t do anything without cause, he thought it was probably a purposeful maneuver.
“Why a revelation? Had she already been trained or something?”
“No. It was clear she had no skills. In fact, I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone with less self-preservation skills.”
“Then why the revelation?”
“Because she was a natural. Once she understood what she needed to do, you only had to tell her once. It took a while to develop the killer instinct to go with her training.”
McCall went silent. Justin wondered if he was reflecting back or considering what more to reveal.
“Thing is, I never expected that she would be capable of much more. She had come so far, but I knew she was still hurting. A year and a half after she moved in with us, she told us she wanted to get her own place. Get a job.”
McCall cleared his throat. “We arranged for a new identity and background. She chose the name herself. Said Riley Ingram sounded both strong and normal.
“She moved out and got her own place. Got a job at a gym. She’d kept up her self-defense classes and started teaching them.
“One day, she came to see me and dropped a bombshell on me. Said she wanted to be an operative. Wanted to rescue others like herself. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t budge.
“Mara and I…we both worried she wouldn’t be able to handle seeing other abuse victims. That it would trigger memories. I agreed to give her the full LCR training, thinking that once she accomplished that, it would be enough. It wasn’t. She surpassed all my expectations once again.”
“You talk about her almost as if she’s your daughter.”
McCall gave a half smile. “I’ve worked hard not to show any favoritism. I have a deep admiration, and even affection, for all LCR employees. But Riley got to me.”
She’d gotten to Justin, too, and that was before he’d known what she’d endured and overcome.
“So what’s the real reason you told me all this, McCall?”
“Each time Riley’s faced with a challenge, she meets it head on and conquers it. She’s never shown the least interest in developing a romantic relationship until you.”
“You think I’m a challenge to her?”
“No. I think you could be her downfall.”
“What the hell?”
“Riley isn’t going to be one to have a lighthearted affair and move on.”
“I’d say it’s up to Riley and me to decide what kind of relationship we’re going to have. She’s an adult.”
“Contrary to popular belief, involving myself in an operative’s love life is not a common occurrence. I pair operatives together who I believe will bring out the best in each other. Falling in love is their own doing.”
McCall went silent again. Justin could tell the man was struggling. Even though he resented the interference, he couldn’t work up any anger. What Noah and Samara had done for Riley was incredible. They had saved her life, given her a new one. So hell yes, this was an uncomfortable conversation, almost a lecture, but he’d sit here and take it. And when it was over? Hell, right now all he wanted to do was find Riley and hold her, not only for the remarkable woman she had become but for the abused, neglected, and damaged young woman she’d once been.
“I asked you earlier why I partnered you and Riley. It’s true you two have a connection that causes you to work well together. That’s not the biggest reason, though. When I first hired you, I encouraged you to use the anger you have inside you. You were and probably always will be bitter about what happened to your sister.”
An understatement. Every time he thought about what she’d gone through, what she hadn’t been able to handle, his guts boiled.
“Using rage to save others is something most LCR operatives can identify with, but your rage went deeper, because in the end you weren’t able to save your sister. And she couldn’t save herself.”
Justin clenched his fist. Even now, years later, the fury could engulf him. His baby sister had been kidnapped, and although she had been rescued by LCR, she had never recovered.
“Whether you want to admit it or not, some of your rage is directed at Lara for not being strong enough to overcome her trauma.”
Justin was on his feet and in McCall’s face before he realized it. “Listen, you can psychoanalyze people all day long, but you damn well leave my sister out of this.”
McCall never flinched. “And there’s your answer,” he said softly. “You’ve got a rare blend of compassion and anger. I knew you wouldn’t let Riley back down, because you saw her as a warrior from the start. But you also have a unique perspective. One that can see beyond a façade to the pain beneath.”
He needed to get the hell out of here before he either knocked McCall’s teeth down his throat or hugged him. This touchy-feely shit was more than he could handle right now.
Backing away from the man, Justin headed toward the door. “I don’t know if you’re insightful or bat-shit crazy. You know I’m grateful that you rescued Lara and what you tried to do for her later. And I’m damn grateful for what you’ve done for Riley. And for teaming me up with her. Beyond that…” He shook his head.
“I probably made a muck of what I was trying to say, Kelly, another reason I don’t like to interfere in the personal lives of my operatives. All I’m asking is that you give Riley time to deal with everything. And if you’re not serious about this new relationship, then you damn well be upfront and honest with her and then back away.”
McCall’s eyes seared him. “Because it might not be politically correct or legal to threaten an employee, but if you hurt her, Kelly, I’ll beat the ever-living shit out of you. Then I’ll turn Samara loose on you.”
“Hurting Riley is the very last thing I plan to do.”
“Our plans don’t always turn out the way we think they will.”
Justin walked out of McCall’s office. Every particle of his body told him to find Riley, hold on to her, and never let her go. He wouldn’t. Because if he did, she’d read him, see the pain he was feeling for her. She needed his strength right now, not his sympathy.
But he had to get rid of this rage. The bubbling fury that was consuming him would make him no damn good for her or this op.
Sliding his phone from his pocket, he pressed a speed-dial number. Without giving the man a chance to speak, Justin growled, “You up for a spar?”
“You looking to beat the shit out of something?”
Justin gave an abrupt, humorless laugh. “Yeah.”
“Just so happens I’m in the mood to give it right back. See you at Bruce’s in ten.”
Ending the call, Justin headed out the door. Bruce’s place was a dirty, gritty gym a few blocks away. He and Aidan had discovered it by accident one day and frequented it at least a couple of times a month. It was a great place to de-stress. Bruce had only one rule: Nobody dies.
Oddly enough, that was one of McCall’s rules, too. Too bad about that, because once they found Dimitri, Justin had every intention of breaking that rule. And one thing he could guarantee. The bastard would not die an easy death.
Chapter Seventeen
Riley couldn’t remember a time when she wanted to be alone more than she did today. Even though she’d deliberately withheld the gruesome details about what had happened to her, these people were LCR operatives. They could easily fill in the blanks.
Embarrassment was a small price to pay to finally have the opportunity to destroy the people who had tried to de
stroy her, but it was still draining. More than anything, she wanted to go back to her apartment, her sanctuary, and hide.
Too bad she had a friend who saw things differently.
“This wasn’t exactly what I had planned today.”
Anna threw her an easy grin over her shoulder. “It was either this, or make you watch me eat a triple-fudge sundae.”
Riley’s stomach roiled at the thought. Still, climbing a damn mountain hadn’t been on her agenda either. “You know, I climbed a mountain a few days ago.”
Anna wiped sweat from her face, not one bit daunted or discouraged. “Not with me you didn’t.”
No, it had been with Justin. Just the thought of him caused her heart to squeeze. The expression on his face when they’d left the meeting today hadn’t been difficult to read. He wanted to singlehandedly find both William Larson and Dimitri and kill them. That was a sentiment she shared, but she couldn’t let her anger get in the way of doing her job. Her job sustained her, made Riley Ingram who she was. If she allowed her need for vengeance to take over, then she’d lose herself all over again. They’d taken too much from her already. Damned if she’d let them destroy her a second time.
“Okay. You’ve gone from sad to dreamy-eyed to angry in the matter of a few seconds. Talk to me, Riley.”
“I had sex with Justin.”
Anna stumbled, and Riley grabbed her before she could fall down the hill. “Hell’s bells, Riley. Don’t be telling me stuff like that when I’m halfway up a freaking mountain.”
Mountain wasn’t exactly the correct term for the hiking trail, but it was steep enough to work up a nice sweat. She and Anna had hiked it a half-dozen times since she’d moved here.
Anna glanced around and, seeing nothing remotely comfortable to sit on, shrugged and plopped down in the middle of the dirt. “Okay, I’m sitting. And now I can calmly say, shut my mother’s freaking front door. Are you kidding me?”
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