Kato’s face turned beet red, and it pissed Sylvie off.
“You know what, Cade, I don’t think we’re ready to be around you,” Sylvie said, turning to face the obnoxious man. “You need to leave.”
“No, it’s okay,” Kato quickly said. “He’s right. Tempura is—”
“I agreed to put it on the menu, and you have an idea with the batter, which I thought was ingenious. So no, Cade is not right. He’s no longer part of the team.” She glared at the man in question.
A smirk formed on Cade’s lips. He moved a couple of steps toward her; she backed away and bumped into Kato. “What? I can’t even give you a kiss goodbye?”
“I’ll pass on that, if you don’t mind.” Yes. She was still pissed at Cade, and it was probably not only from today. She knew it wasn’t fair, but his lack of remorse for insulting Kato rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe she was overprotective of the kid, but so what?
“Now, you’re hurting my feelings, sweetheart.” His eyes had shuttered from all emotions and his smirk had turned into a sneer.
Something was terribly wrong. She didn’t recognize this Cade. It was as if he was a snake that had shed a skin, and what she was seeing in his eyes sent a shiver through her. “You need to leave.”
“You heard her, man,” Taylor said, walking up to Cade and gripping his arm. “I’ll walk you out.”
Everything happened quickly. Taylor’s head was smashed against the countertop, and Sylvie watched in horror as he dropped to the floor.
“Cade, what the hell?”
“Sylvie, I’m leaving, but you’re coming with me.”
He lunged for her.
But after being a victim too many times, Sylvie was prepared for anything. She neatly sidestepped Cade who, because of his bulk, was too slow for her. Her hand gripped the handle of the skillet sitting on the countertop and she swung it wildly and connected with the back of Cade’s head. He cursed and sank to his knees. Kato immediately kicked him in the head.
“Saaaaam!” Sylvie screamed, grabbing her chef knife and scrambling to check on Taylor. Kato was also down on his knees beside her. She was about to tell the young man to get out of the kitchen when Sam burst into the room and immediately went after Cade, who was still dazed from the double whammy he had received from her and Kato. Cade, surprisingly, didn’t put up much of a fight and let Sam drag him to his feet with his arm twisted behind his back.
Meanwhile, Taylor groaned, regaining consciousness. “That son of a bitch.” He turned his head to glare at Cade who was smirking at them. “What’s so funny, asshole?”
“This whole little team trying to go against me.”
“Uh, excuse me, dickhead, but you’re the one with his arms behind his back,” Kato pointed out.
Out of nowhere, gunfire erupted from the back exit, followed by an explosion.
“Is Boyd out there?” Sylvie asked Sam fearfully. Boyd was Sam’s partner.
“A fucking diversion.” Sam’s face hardened in fierce lines.
“Poor Sylvie,” Cade mocked. “I’m sorry for the mess we’re making again. I think you might have to go shopping for a new insurance company.”
There was a flurry of activity and voices coming from the hallway.
“We got your man here, and if you open fire, he’s going to die,” a voice shouted. “We’re approaching the second door to the left. Any sign of hostile intent, we will kill your man and all of you.”
“Shelby, you fucker. Don’t you dare shoot!” Cade called out, but there was a smile on his face.
“Bowen! Hey, brother, glad you’re still alive,” the same voice responded.
Footsteps grew louder, and soon, four men in black commando gear appeared. They were armed to the teeth with assault rifles. Boyd was bleeding and barely conscious, propped up only by two of Cade’s crew.
“Thought we’d have to split the money by five instead of six,” a blond man, presumably Shelby, said with a smirk.
“You’re a motherfucker,” Cade shot back. “Harper, I think you can let go of me now, unless you want Boyd to bleed to death. Looks like he needs immediate medical attention. All we want is Sylvie.”
“How sure am I you’re leaving us alive anyway?” Sam asked, twisting Cade’s arm further up his back.
The muzzle of two assault rifles pointed at Sam’s head. A third one was aimed at the trio of Sylvie, Kato, and Taylor.
“Guys, put your guns down,” Cade said sternly. “No one is going to get hurt.” He looked at Sylvie. “I have no intention of killing you. That was never the plan. I controlled the bomb that went off here. It was only meant to scare your father.”
Sylvie closed her eyes briefly. After Cade turned on her today, she’d had a sneaking suspicion he had caused the explosion. Hearing the words, though, drove the stab of betrayal deeper.
“How could you?” she whispered, her throat clogged with emotion.
Regret flickered in Cade’s eyes, but quickly disappeared. “Tell your guard dog to let me go before someone else gets hurt,” he said instead. “Some of my guys are crazy.”
“You’re crazy,” Sylvie muttered under her breath. “Let Boyd go first.”
Cade jerked his head at his men and they immediately released Boyd who fell straight into Sylvie and Taylor’s arms. Taylor helped the injured bodyguard to the floor.
“Fuck,” Sam said, letting Cade go and then raking his fingers through his hair. “I’m fucking useless. Again.”
“Uh, this time, you can blame it on Reece,” Cade said. “For a former spook, your boss was just too trusting of me.”
“You had everyone fooled,” Sylvie said, straightening up. She breathed a heavy sigh. “Let’s get this over with.”
Her ringtone sounded in her chef jacket.
She ignored it.
Cade closed the short distance between them and fished the phone from her pocket.
Recognizing the caller, he smiled.
*****
Nate experienced a feeling of déjà vu as he rode his bike up to Sylvie’s restaurant. The low key, yet unusual activity at the back of the parking lot flashed him back to the day of the bombing. How his insides seemed to be ripped from his gut and replaced with an anvil that weighed so heavily, he almost couldn’t breathe.
Travis was outside directing their crew. Someone was on a stretcher being loaded up in the back of the van. It was Boyd. Dr. Lester was supervising. She was their go-to physician/surgeon whenever anyone on their team was injured and needed medical attention that had to remain off the grid.
Even then, he knew Sylvie wasn’t in there. He was barely holding on to his shit after his brief conversation with Cade. That two-faced motherfucker. How could Nate be so blinded by that son of a bitch? He should have let Ed or Travis handle Sylvie’s security. Protocols were broken. He was too close emotionally to the principal, and it was never a good thing. He swore to protect her, and he’d lost her a second time.
Fuck.
Getting off his bike, he noted Lassiter pulling up in his SUV beside him. Nate walked toward Travis and Sam who were currently in a grim conversation.
“Do we have anything yet?” Nate asked tersely.
“Not yet, we couldn’t get them on any traffic cams and they must have switched license plates. Cade and his men must also be aware of satellite timings. They’ve disappeared.”
“Who the fuck are we dealing with?”
“Cat’s working with Porter on backgrounds of the other men. We had a clear sketch on the man Cade called Shelby.” Travis handed Nate a composite.
“I doubt it’s his real name.”
Travis scowled over Nate’s shoulder, recognizing the DEA boss.
“What do we have?” Lassiter asked gruffly.
“Anything you can share on Cade’s whereabouts?” Nate asked. “I still don’t trust you, Lassiter. For all I know, you’re in cahoots with your boy. You have more to gain than Bowen.”
Lassiter shrugged. “Fair enough. But you guys aren’t law enfor
cement. You can’t go vigilante and hunt down these guys.”
“Watch us,” Nate growled.
“Nate,” Travis warned quietly. His friend turned his attention to the DEA agent. “If there’s nothing else you can tell us, we can take it from here.”
Lassiter was about to say something else when a black Ford Explorer and a white utility van pulled up beside them.
Gabe stepped out from the SUV’s passenger side. Another guy, who looked to be six and a half feet tall and the size of a rig, rounded the black vehicle and stood beside Gabe. Nate recognized the part African American guy with Gabe as John Manning.
Lassiter took a step back, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “What’s this? You brought in the AGS? Were they the group that went after Yoshida?”
Obviously, Lassiter knew Gabe.
Gabe locked eyes with Nate. “We have information.” He then looked pointedly at the DEA agent—his meaning clear. He wasn’t saying anything else in the presence of Lassiter.
“Listen, Sullivan,” Lassiter snarled, his face flushing red at the implication that he was the odd man out. “You may be working with the high and mighty Viktor Baran, but your organization cannot operate within the homeland without government supervision.”
“You sure about that?” Gabe snorted. “If you knew Baran at all, supervision is not in his vocabulary. Once we take over a mission, we get carte blanche. Check your sources, Lassiter.”
“Well, I’m not going to stand by and let you take down one of my men without giving him due process.”
“Fuck due process,” Travis said. “He admitted to setting the bomb off at the restaurant the first time.”
“HE WHAT?” Nate yelled. This was the first he had heard of this. “Fuck this. You’re wasting our time, Lassiter. Get the fuck out of here and let us handle this. We will try”—he gritted through his teeth—“to bring Bowen back in one piece.”
“No dice. DEA is in on this—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Gabe said in exasperation. He turned to the big guy with him. “Manning?”
“With pleasure.” Manning yanked something from the thigh pocket of his cargos. His other massive arm locked around Lassiter’s neck in a strangle hold at the same time he plunged a needle into the side of his neck.
“What the fuck?” Lassiter was no slouch, but he was no match for the AGS’s equivalent of the Incredible Hulk.
Lassiter struggled a bit more, but the tranquilizer rapidly took effect. Manning easily hefted the unconscious DEA agent on his shoulder and marched to the white van.
Nate wasn’t new to AGS’s methods, but this disconcerted him. Still, he couldn’t help grinning. “You boys do realize you all just tranq’d a federal agent?”
Gabe shrugged, the corner of his lips hitching in a smile. “What can I say? Baran’s rubbing off on me.”
“Heaven help us,” Travis muttered. “We’ll deal with blowback later. We need to get your woman back.”
Nate couldn’t agree more.
Dr. Lester walked past the male huddle toward the white van, presumably to check on Lassiter. “You boys are so much trouble,” she groused.
*****
For the most part, she was treated well. As long as she did as she was told, walked toward where she was told, she didn’t get yanked around too much. Cade handled her as gently as possible, but when he wasn’t close to her, that Shelby guy was a bit rougher. Sylvie didn’t like the look in that man’s eyes, which were ice cold blue and emotionless. His hair was so blond it was almost white. It was long and tied back in a ponytail. He was tall, but then again, Sylvie was always tiny when compared to most men. His bulky build though made him look shorter. Right now, this scary dude was babysitting her. She didn’t know where the other guys were.
She’d been hooded before they led her into the car. It was taken off when they got into some kind of loft apartment. The buildings around the window didn’t look familiar, but they’d been traveling for half an hour. At least she knew they were still in the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C. area.
“So,” Sylvie said, “what’s your story?”
Shelby glanced sharply at her, before his lips twisted derisively. “You don’t need to pretend you’re interested in me, you know. All we want is your father to hand over his biochemist and you’ll be free.”
“Really? Now that Cade’s been pegged, he won’t try and use me to get away to wherever rats hide when their cover is blown?”
“Harsh,” Shelby chuckled. “You have to understand. This is business. Nothing personal. I think Cade actually likes you. Said you actually cared about your employees.”
“Too bad he didn’t like me enough—” Sylvie took a deep breath“—not to sell me out to the sharks.”
“Like I said.” Shelby turned his back on her and strode to the kitchen. “It’s nothing personal. Care for a drink?”
Before Sylvie could answer, a side door opened. She didn’t know this loft joined to a separate one.
“We’re on in five minutes,” Cade said, entering the room.
“Five minutes to what?” Sylvie asked.
“Video conference with your father. Our man is already situated in Osaka waiting for the hand off if it occurs.”
“How can my father be sure you’ll let me go unharmed?”
“After he agrees, we’ll call Reece and have him pick you up somewhere. Someone will be transmitting the feed to your father.”
“Okay, this doesn’t make sense.” Her brows drew together. “If you return me to Nate, then my father can renege on the deal?”
“Oh, well, that’s his choice,” Shelby said gleefully, as if the thought excited him. “You see, sweetheart, timing is everything. Reece will be picking you up in open space, a park surrounded by tall buildings. A sniper rifle will be trained on your head. The hand off should happen within minutes. So either Reece finds you alive or dead on a park bench. That’s the scenario.”
“Sick.” Sylvie was shaking her head as she glanced up at Cade. “How can you even contemplate doing something like this? I trusted you.”
“Be careful who you trust, Sylvie,” Cade said softly. “Let that be a lesson.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” She glared at her former employee.
Cade got down on his haunches and flicked an errant strand of hair from her face. Sylvie jerked her head away, fighting against the overwhelming urge to spit on his face. “I’m talking about Nate. You need to be careful of him.”
“Don’t try to project—”
“He didn’t tell you about me.”
“He had his reasons”
“He’s former CIA, Sylvie; they’ll always keep secrets. I don’t think you’ll ever be happy with a man like that.”
“As opposed to a man like you?”
Cade chuckled. “No. I’m just as bad as Reece when it comes to secrets, as you already know. You deserve some happiness, girl.”
“Well, I was happy until you decided to blow up my restaurant and take me away from the man I love,” Sylvie sniped.
“Ah, Sylvie, soon you’ll find out that the man you love is keeping secrets from you.”
“What are you saying?” Sylvie asked. Fingers of fear gripped her heart. For days she’d felt Nate was overcompensating for something. He was so out of character, telling her he loved her every chance he got, that she couldn’t bring herself to take the words for what they meant and say it back. But she did love him. She’d always loved him.
“I see my girl has doubts.”
Sylvie bristled. “I am not your girl.”
“Okay, we’re on,” a third crewman announced and handed Cade a laptop. The third man returned to the adjoining door and closed it.
“Ready to see your father, Sylvie?” Cade asked.
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be wearing ski masks?” Sylvie retorted.
Shelby barked with laughter. “She’s funny, Bowen.” Turning mirth-filled eyes on her, he said, “We’re not terrorists, Sylvie. Besi
des, our faces will probably be on BOLO soon. We’re not keeping these faces,” Shelby said.
“This is getting more bizarre by the second,” Sylvie muttered.
“Ready, Sylvie?” Cade prompted again.
Without waiting for her acquiesce, her father’s distraught face appeared on the screen. “Sylvie! Are you all right?”
It really made no sense why people asked that question all the time when circumstances indicated the opposite. No, she wasn’t all right. She’d been kidnapped by a lunatic group who thought they could get away by simply changing their faces.
“I’m fine. They’re treating me well. By this I take it you’re making the trade?” she asked hopefully. From what she’d learned from Cade, the biochemist would be paid very well. The only problem was the ACS didn’t want to let go of their potential moneymaker. Her father came for her when he thought she was in danger. Surely that meant he cared very much.
“I trusted your man to take care of you,” her father said regretfully.
“Dad?” Her heart sank. “What . . . what do you mean?”
“I cannot let Toshiro leave our compound. He needs special care.”
“He’s autistic,” Shelby added.
“Well, can someone come with him?” Sylvie looked at Cade. “Your client will pay for his complete care, right?”
“Absolutely,” Cade replied, but the look of pity in his eyes made Sylvie more nervous. “But that’s not the point, Sylvie. Ask him why he cares more for his biochemist than his own daughter.”
Her father glared at Cade through the screen. “This is very complicated. I should have brought you back with me.”
“This is not Nate’s fault,” Sylvie argued.
“Oh, I think it is,” Cade countered.
“Why do you hate him so much?”
“I don’t hate him,” Cade said. “He thinks because of his connections, he can step all over protocol and wipe the slate clean with just one phone call to the fucking Admiral. He’s too cocky for his own good and needs to be taken down a peg.”
“You’re jealous of his success,” Sylvie whispered. “You set him up carefully, didn’t you? Made him trust you, like you had my best interests at heart.”
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