‘Thank you.’
‘You’re doing good work here; I’ve heard a lot about your cases.’
‘They’re straight forward enough.’
‘But this isn’t now though, is it?’
‘No.’ I confessed, feeling a sense of relief being able to talk about this. It was a lot more than that damn note, it was everything. The deaths, the ambushes, the almost convenient operations designed to stop us whenever we got close. ‘Something isn’t adding up and I don’t know what it is.’
He thought for a moment, sipping his coffee before nodding. ‘I assumed as much.’
‘The Director requested your help.’ I clarified.
‘I know. You said.’
‘Right.’
His eyes stopped on mine and for a moment, there was nothing to say only we both knew that was a blatant lie. There was loads to say, a whole years’ worth of discussions, in fact.
‘I read that as a non-Sensitive.’
‘They know what I am. It’s easier this way.’
‘Is that the only reason?’
‘Yes.’
He didn’t believe me.
‘You didn’t return my calls.’
Oh God. I cast my eyes down, finding interest in the very bland culottes I decided on wearing today. They were flattering, hugged my body in all the right places but the color was dull, not even a crisp black, kind of described my mood perfectly.
‘Illarion, don’t.’
‘Just hear me out.’ He said, stopping me. ‘I know you needed to get away. I called to see how you were, if you were alright.’
‘I was fine, I am fine.’
He paused for a moment, keeping his eyes firmly focused on me.
‘It’s good to see you.’ He said softly. ‘I mean it.’
An eternal moment passed before his piercing gaze became too much, I tore my eyes away from his and looked down at the lipstick stained cup I was holding entirely too tightly in my hand.
‘I should get back. I need to run through some things.’
‘Can we do this again?’
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ I shook my head, getting up before he could say anything else that would make my heart trip over itself. ‘I’ll see you later.’
Ignoring the very persistent ache inside me, I walked away from Illarion and the pleading hum connecting us.
This was going to be harder than I thought.
Chapter Three
Ace
The next morning I’d woken to a myriad of messages in my work inbox and a very serious Matt seated at the kitchen bench. We had dinner, drank some wine and watched trashy tv until he fell asleep on my couch like he did every time we hung out. But this morning was different.
He didn’t throw lame jokes at me or tease me about my dorky sleep attire or even make fun of the way my hair refused to cooperate when I just woke up.
‘You haven’t said a word to me all morning.’
‘Sorry.’ He said softly. ‘I made coffee.’
‘Thanks.’
Taking a seat beside him, I smoothed down my shirt and took the cup.
‘Not going in today?’ He glanced at the clock and then back at me.
‘I am, but later. Belfort asked me to run through some files.’
‘Oh.’
A long silence passed between us and a heavy feeling filled the air.
‘Something you want to say to me, Matt?’
‘You never spoke about your past and now Lazarev walks in and you’re a completely different person. Doesn’t take a genius to work shit out.’
‘And what exactly are you working out?’
‘Your sudden mood change, the fact that you look like you’re seeing a damn ghost.’
‘What do want me to say?’
‘What’s the deal between the two of you?’
‘We worked together.’
‘Don’t shit me, Ace.’
My mouth gaped.
‘Were you sleeping together?’
‘That is none of your business.’ I bit down hard.
When he opened his mouth again, I stepped closer and pressed my hand to his arm reminding myself to stay calm.
‘Look, that Ace, the one that left the Agency, you don’t know what she was like, and believe me when I tell you, you don’t want to.’
‘Only I do.’ He said firmly. ‘I know you, we’ve been together through some shitty jobs and some pretty great ones, but the woman standing in front of me now, Ace, this isn’t you.’
‘You don’t know me.’ I said simply, and his jaw tensed.
‘Ace—’
‘I’m not talking about it. That’s final.’
‘Fine.’ He placed his cup down and got up, collecting his phone and wallet, stuffing them into his pocket. ‘Don’t talk to me, but don’t treat me like an idiot.’
He slammed the door with a lot more force than necessary making me flinch.
Well that went better than expected.
Dropping my head into my hands, I let out a long groan and pepped myself up.
Today was going to be good, I would go in and face Illarion like a grownup, I’d have a mature conversation with him, and I’d even make sure I didn’t fry any electrical circuits with my super freak contact radar.
My palms grew sweaty with each moment that passed and when I couldn’t decide on which shade of lipstick to wear, I tossed them all back into the basket and shoved them into the vanity.
I’d have to settle for a bare lip and hope that the eye makeup would do. Staring at myself in the reflection, I shook my head.
I’d changed so much; I was a completely different person. The woman looking at me now, was not the woman Illarion knew, hell, she wasn’t even the woman I knew.
This woman wore far too much makeup, she cared far too much about what others thought.
Gathering my files and tablet, I stuffed everything into my bag and locked up. Ditching the Uber, I walked instead. It gave me a chance to calm down and catch my breath. The last thing I needed was to come across as irrational.
Changing out of my heels, I dropped them into the bag and I slipped my feet into the spare ballet flats.
Taking the scenic route, I kept my pace slow and steady, taking my time to calm my nerves and reassess what I was going to do next.
Illarion wasn’t one to give up, asking him to leave me alone all those months ago was the hardest thing he ever had to do, the turmoil inside him was relentless but so was his determination.
The building came into view and those nerves I’d be trying to calm, well they bounced right back, full force. Great.
Composing myself as much as possible, I went forth with a false sense of courage.
Coming up to the steps of the café, I spotted Aurel, chatting to an agent from foreign affairs. They seemed to be caught up in a heated discussion about baseball. I rolled my eyes and walked toward them with a smile.
‘Ace!’ Aurel called me over. ‘Roger was telling me about the Burma case.’
‘He always talks me up.’ I laughed, letting Aurel pull me into a bear hug. ‘I only decrypted the last email.’
‘And she always talks herself down, it wasn’t just an email, it was an entire file, it took our best IT guys, days to crack even half of what she’d done in a few hours.’
My face broke into a smile. It was always great being recognized for my skills, even more so, since I did it sans power. It was all good old-fashioned spy craft.
‘See. She knows she’s good. So, you’re responsible for dragging them in?’ Roger asked with a chuckle.
‘Indeed, I am,’ I laughed. ‘Director’s orders.’
‘Well we all have to keep him happy, don’t we?’
‘Always.’
Belfort was a good man, a great leader and his former experience in the field, much like Illarion’s, was an advantage to his leadership, so as much as we joked around, most people here, aside from the few with differences of opinion, held him in high regard.
<
br /> Roger glanced down at his watch. ‘Damn. Running late again. I’ll catch up with you later.’
‘See you.’
Aurel turned to me, again smiling widely.
‘You look good. Love the hair.’
‘Thanks.’ I laughed, running my fingers through the wispy ends.
‘Illarion briefed me last night, anything else you want to add?’
‘Nothing aside from the paperwork I sent through. I’ll keep you in the loop if anything else comes through.’
‘Sounds good.’ He nodded to the café. ‘Have you had coffee yet?’
‘No, actually.’ I shook my head, gesturing toward the counter. ‘I think I need like three.’
‘Rough night?’
‘Rough morning.’
‘What happened?’
‘Ah, nothing. Just had an argument with my partner.’
‘The Prince guy?’
‘Yeah. Matt Price.’ I nodded. ‘He was shitty this morning, left in a hurry.’
‘Want me to take care of him?’
Laughing, I shoved him. ‘No but thank you.’
‘You know I have people who can sweep it under the rug, make it look like an accident.’
I laughed again. ‘Yeah, yeah I know you do. But no, he gets to live another day.’
He followed with a smile and ordered us each a strong espresso. When he collected them, we stepped back outside, enjoying the sunshine.
‘If you insist.’
‘I really do.’ I nudged him, ‘Come on, we can sit by the fountain, it’s cooler.’
‘Lead on.’ He nodded. ‘So, you spend a lot of time with Prince?’
‘Price.’ I eyed him. ‘And yes, he’s my partner.’
‘He stays over?’
‘He does.’
‘Interesting.’ He mused.
‘Any reason you’re asking?’
‘Nope.’
I walked us around the corner and we both sat, killing the last fifteen minutes before the meeting started, before I had to reign in my emotions and act like a normal person.
‘You okay?’
‘Yeah.’ I said softly, keeping me eyes on the small cup in my hand.
‘I can’t imagine how hard it is seeing each other again.’
‘It’s a challenge, that’s for sure.’
‘Anything I can do?’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘But thank you.’
For a moment neither of us spoke but the weight settling down around us was hard to ignore. It practically became a third entity.
‘How is he?’ I asked, glancing over at him. ‘Really?’
‘He misses you.’
Turning my gaze away I flinched, what else was I expecting.
When I remained silent, he reached over and squeezed my arm drawing my eyes to him.
‘He talks about you a lot. Other times he doesn’t talk at all.’
I didn’t know what to say, Aurel understood, thankfully.
‘Look, I don’t know everything, Illarion keeps to himself, you know how private he can be. But I know what drove you away. Christ, Ace, you’ve been through more than anyone can imagine.’
‘It was never going to work.’ I admitted. So much for keeping myself composed today. ‘Not with who I’d become and everything I’d done. A part of me died when I killed Troy, that’s the truth.’
Aurel sat in silence, he didn’t say another word as he wrapped one arm around my shoulder and pulled me against him.
Closing my eyes, I breathed in deeply.
‘It’s been so hard.’ I murmured.
‘I know,’ he said softly. ‘But it’s going to be okay.’
‘How? I came here to try and forget, God, it’s all I see, all the time.’
‘You’ve been torturing yourself.’
‘I deserve nothing less.’
‘You have to stop this.’ He said firmly. ‘You—’
‘Killed him. I did that.’
Aurel dropped his gaze.
‘We should go.’ I got up. ‘The meeting is about to start.’
***
As we neared the board room, my heart started to splutter, and that annoying sensation of butterflies quickly turned into angry bats.
The doors slid open, the glass clearing—inside Belfort and Illarion were already talking, as Peyton, Riley and Matt filed in when Aurel and I neared.
‘Ah, Agent Arcos, good to finally meet you.’
‘Likewise, Director.’ He shook his hand. ‘Heard a lot about your operations.’
Everyone took their seats and Belfort took the head of the table.
‘I understand Agent Hart has informed you both that we’re in need of your expertise.’
Illarion nodded. ‘We’re to help, however we can.’
‘We truly appreciate it, Director Lazarev—I’ve put together a mission brief with an outline for the operation today.’
‘As we’re refraining from making contact with the suspects, we’re running a surveillance op only.’ Riley explained, taking over from Belfort.
Illarion and Aurel skimmed through the brief and when both agreed with the parameters, Belfort nodded to Riley to continue.
‘Since we’re working with a bigger team we get to cover more ground.’ Riley said, nodding to three separate entry points. ‘Lazarev and Peyton you’re in the honeymoon suite, Price and Hart will team up with Arcos as investors and I’ll take the entrance as the valet.’
Peyton shot me a look with a very subtle smirk which made my insides twist in nasty jealousy. Illarion didn’t catch a thing and instead, he looked down at the file with a neutral expression like he was reading a wine list.
Matt looked between us and then shot me a look I couldn’t quite decipher. Guess he didn’t like our little dynamic being interrupted, Aurel however, looked at me with a grin which I quickly returned. I missed working with him.
‘The task is this,’ Riley began. ‘Lazarev and Peyton will check in as newlyweds. You’re going to lock in to the surveillance which Peyton is in charge of, Lazerev, you’re on the coms with the rest of the team, keep everyone in check and in view. You’re taking the lead on the ground.’
When they both agreed, he turned to me.
‘Hart, you and Price are investors and you’re checking in to the twin bed luxury suite directly beneath Lazerev and Peyton. Arcos, you’re their boss, so you’re running the show there.’
Aurel cast me a sideways glance, grinning.
Matt nodded, taking note of the positions, locations and required equipment.
‘When you’re all in position we’ll link up coms, I’m down in the underground garage, manning the desk, that’s where I’ll hook up to the central computer.’
‘Who’s watching your back in the garage, Sir?’ Peyton asked.
‘Team effort.’
‘We’re not down there with you.’
‘No need to be.’ Illarion said. ‘We’ve got it covered.’
‘How?’ Her eyes found his and I could have sworn she was undressing him in her head.
‘We’re very quick.’ Aurel said dryly. ‘We’ll get to him in time if anything goes wrong. Plus, we’ve got a few badass tricks of our own, don’t we Hart?’
‘Only she doesn’t use any of that, so she might as well be just one of us.’ Peyton muttered.
Illarion shot her a look as did Riley, but Aurel just snapped his eyes to me in surprise.
Her eyes found Aurel’s and then she was back to staring at Illarion. God, was she put on this earth just to torture me?
‘Everyone clear on positioning?’
Unanimous nods greeted him.
As much as Aurel didn’t say anything in the meeting, I knew he’d had a butt load of questions about my choice not to use my abilities and I knew he wouldn’t let me off without an explanation.
‘Good.’ Riley swiped the screen and another set of instructions came up. ‘The man we’re waiting for is after whatever is in this safe—this safe is in an unknown location
with an unknown frequency jamming it.’
‘What do we know for certain?’ Illarion asked, holding the tablet up, looking at manufacturer’s schematics of the safe, flicking from page to page.
‘Unfortunately, not much, Director.’ Belfort said, taking over. ‘We do know that whatever is in there, is worth them breaking away from the anonymity the Collectors usually opt for. That’s why you’re here. We need this safe and we need what’s inside.’
‘The man we’re looking for is a Collector?’ Illarion asked, keeping his eyes on the tablet.
‘He is, yes.’
‘And I presume you believe that whatever is in there pertains to us?’
‘To you and to the cryptic note we found in the safe Ace and Matt uncovered.’
Illarion’s brows knotted when Belfort handed him a copy of the weird note. His eyes skimmed the text and then looked up, finding mine. I couldn’t get a read on him, but something about this seemed oddly familiar in a bad way, almost like we’d been here, running an op we weren’t comfortable with.
Turning away, I kept my eyes focused on the tablet.
Illarion didn’t like it, neither did I.
‘Have you got any leads?’ He asked firmly. ‘I’m not risking my people on a job with subpar information.’
‘Your people agreed to help.’ Belfort said narrowing his eyes.
‘Yes.’ Illarion nodded. ‘But we’re not expendable, my agents are not here to help you set traps.’
‘No one is here to set traps. I assure you.’ Belfort clarified.
‘I would hope so, because Agent Hart is still in my employment and I’m still responsible for her life, and the same goes for Agent Arcos. What are the leads?’
A heavy stillness descended, and both powerhouses eyed each other off. Belfort was protective of me, so was Riley, but Illarion had his own reasons.
The tension in the room tripled and Peyton’s eyes widened. Illarion was an immovable presence when he wanted to be. He wasn’t to be taken lightly and he sure as hell wouldn’t yield to a non-Sensitive regardless of his position in the FBI.
That kind of preordained animosity was almost normal among our people. It was always us against them, as much as the Agency and liaising partners refused to paint it that way.
‘You’re right. Odds aren’t in our favor, you’re not here to set traps for them. You’re here because you’re the only ones who can find them. That’s something we can’t do.’
Jack of Hart- Wild Card Page 3