Carol’s husband, Andy, entered the room behind his wife and shut the door. Noah caught the other man’s eye and gave him a nod. They’d worked together enough that they were familiar, but they weren’t the kind of men who kept friends. Even this arrangement might be the closest Noah got.
Lillian finally released her friend. “I still can’t get over how good you look with the short hair.”
“I’m just about used to it.” Carol ran her fingers through the short fringe.
“So…Mitch said you two got married?”
“I wanted to tell you.” Carol huffed at Andy moving in to join her. The stern look was ruined by her smile.
“She can tell you all about it later.” Andy met Noah’s gaze, his face grim. “We need to do this.”
Tonight’s agenda sounded simple. They needed to mutually decide what the next course of action would be and where they were going. In reality that would take time. They needed facts, intel, a plan.
“Are Rand and Sarah coming?” Noah asked.
“No, but they’re set up if we need them.” Andy gestured at the door. “Ready?”
“I am.” Noah glanced at Lillian.
She nodded at him and slid her hand into his.
“Let’s get this over with.” Andy led the way back to the door.
“Irene and Mitch told us about the attack.” Lillian squeezed Noah’s hand. He wished he knew what she was thinking.
“Crazy, right?” Carol lagged behind her husband to walk with Lillian. “I can’t believe they pulled that off.” They piled into the elevator at the end of the hall. “Irene and Mitch, are they here?”
“They’re here right now, but they’re staying somewhere else,” Lillian replied.
She was learning to be more circumspect. Noah was proud of her. This wasn’t her world, but she was learning.
“Brandon is going to be our wild card,” he said.
Andy stared straight ahead, his voice cold. “I’ve hacked his phone and network. If he makes a call we don’t like I should know about it.”
“Anything interesting?”
“He keeps calling the girlfriend’s cell phone.”
“Oh, no…” Lillian’s shoulders fell.
That was what he was afraid of. If Brandon allowed grief to blind him to what had to be done, he was a liability, and Noah wasn’t going to let anyone put Lillian’s life in danger.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened up onto the next floor down. Several of Brandon’s team loitered in the halls. Guards? Or on hand to watch Noah and Lillian?
He took the lead, showing them into the largest suite. Someone had procured folding tables and the computer towers they’d stolen sat ready and waiting. Both Irene and Mitch were already seated on sofas, and a laptop was open on the coffee table.
“Where’s Brandon?” Noah asked.
“In here.” Brandon stepped out from another room. The dark circles under his eyes were worse and he hadn’t changed his clothes, shaved, or showered since the day they’d broken into the warehouse. Noah wasn’t certain the man had even eaten much less slept.
“Well, we’re all here. Now what?” Noah glanced at Andy then Irene. They had the newest information to share.
“We figure out plan B,” Lillian said.
Irene gestured to the seats around the coffee table. “Sit.”
Lillian lowered herself into an armchair, leaving Noah to perch on the end of the sofa with Irene and Mitch.
Andy remained standing. He braced his hands on the back of the chair opposite Lillian and looked around at the people present. Whatever they’d been working on behind the scenes, Andy was doing the heavy lifting. Noah knew how both Irene and Andy operated.
“We don’t already have a plan B?” Noah asked. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
“We did, but it isn’t viable any longer,” Lillian said.
“Correct. The best scenario for all of us was to go through legal channels. SICA has shut down that option and blacklisted us with every intel organization on the planet after the UK hit,” Irene replied.
Andy straightened, folding his arms across his chest before addressing the room. “We’ve been tracking SICA shipments for the last few months, getting inside their network, figuring out how many people they have, what their resources independent of another agency are. Up until now it’s been a lot of guesswork,” he said.
“Maybe us attacking that warehouse was a bad idea?” Noah asked. If they hadn’t, maybe they could have followed the shipments deeper into the web.
“Not necessarily. We won’t know until we crack those.” Andy nodded at the tables behind him.
“My team is ready to start working,” Brandon said.
Andy directed his attention at Noah. “I’d like to take first shot at them. I’ve worked on their tech before. I know what I’m in for.”
“My team knows what they’re doing,” Brandon snarled.
“Easy,” Noah said. “No one doubts the skill of your team. What Andy is saying is, let’s not break all our new toys at once, okay?”
“Noah’s right.” Lillian spoke in a softer, gentler tone than the rest of them. “Once we know how one works, we can divide and conquer the rest. Your people are going to be instrumental in that. We’ve got to work smarter now.”
Instead of bristling, Brandon nodded and muttered what sounded like, “Okay. Yeah.”
Irene’s brows rose and she met Noah’s gaze. Yeah, he was pretty sure everyone in the room saw that reaction, and Noah didn’t like it. Before today Brandon had been snarling for revenge. Now he was taking direction from Lillian? Noah didn’t like it.
“Let’s not waste time then. Noah?” Andy nodded at him. “Give me a hand, will you?”
“Sure.” Noah hoped Irene didn’t talk Lillian into anything stupid while he was otherwise occupied. Just because she had the magic touch with Brandon for now didn’t mean they needed to throw her in his path. Lillian was good for the team in more ways.
“Brandon, can you and Mitch go over our resources?” Irene asked.
“Sure.” A few moments later Brandon led the bushy-bearded Mitch out of the room.
Irene strolled past the remaining group. “The ladies and I are going upstairs. We’ve got a backlog of data to comb through.”
“Try not to have too much fun.” Carol smiled, her gaze aimed at Andy.
Noah watched Andy’s face…change. He didn’t smile, but he did seem different. Noah glanced at Lillian. He didn’t catch her eye, but he still had to wonder, was that what he looked like? Did she know what was happening to him?
“Stop staring,” Andy said.
Noah glared at the other man. “I’m not staring.”
“You know, I was worried about putting Lillian in your hands, but now I wonder if it’s you we should have been worried about.” Andy kept his attention on the back panel of the computer tower.
“Fuck you.”
“I don’t think it’s me you want to fuck.”
Noah curled his hand into a fist.
Punching Andy might feel good, but it would waste time. If Noah wanted Lillian to be safe, to be free to walk down the street without a gun trained on her, they had to do the work. Nothing else mattered anymore. The fight was personal.
…
Lillian tapped another report. The words were beginning to blur together after two hours.
Maybe what she needed was a quick break.
She darted a quick look at the other two women, still dutifully bent over their screens, neither speaking a word. Were they robots? Because Lillian was good, but even she needed a break.
Five minutes and she’d jump back in.
She powered the screen off and stretched her arms, her body protesting. She hadn’t been able to jog, do yoga, or any normal activities and she was beginning to feel it all over.
“You taking a break?” Carol asked.
Lillian groaned. “Yeah.”
“Oh, thank God.” Irene tossed down her tablet. “I
think I went cross-eyed half an hour ago.”
“You, too?” Carol chuckled.
“I thought I was the only one.” Lillian leaned her head back against the sofa and stretched.
“It’s nine. I say we make use of the bar over there and take a breather.” Irene set her things aside and got to her feet.
The rooms Secretary of State Grant had provided them with were like little apartments. And each included a generous private bar.
“Please tell me there’s something strong?” Lillian’s nerves were strung tight after days of, well, everything.
“I have so many questions.” Carol hugged the decorative pillow to her chest.
“You? What about me? You’re married. And you didn’t even tell me. No invite. No note. You were my one and only chance of getting to be a bridesmaid in this lifetime.” Lillian laid her hand across her brow.
“You still have Camie.”
“You think my sister is ever getting married to anything besides work?” Lillian lifted her head and arched a brow at Carol.
“Wine’s the best we’re going to get.” Irene brought a bottle and three glasses to their sitting area.
“Bless you.” Lillian watched Irene pop the cork.
“How is Camilla?” Carol asked.
“Slowly going crazy.” The guilt monster Lillian was usually able to keep chained up lashed out. She felt the bite of teeth and knew it would sting for days. She was to blame for her sister’s unraveling. “She’s determined to figure out who blew up the office and why. The stress of it made her black out that day and she doesn’t remember everything, which is a small blessing. Keeping all of this from her has been…hard.”
“I had no idea.” Carol placed her hand on Lillian’s ankle. “God, I’m so sorry.”
“Everyone in the office thinks it’s a product of stress, that she was going to lose it someday because of how tightly wound she is. I just… This feels like my fault, you know?”
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I’m the one who dragged you into all of this.”
“I said yes.” Lillian shrugged. “I knew when you showed up and wanted to hire me that it was bad. It was the kind of thing that would be more dangerous than any job we’d ever taken. I…don’t regret saying yes. It was the right thing to do. I just wish things were different. I wish the world was a better place.”
“Drink.” Irene handed Lillian a glass. “My advice? Make a note of anything you could have done differently that would change things, and let the rest go. That guilt? It’ll kill you, and we’ve got too much work to do. We can’t replace you.”
“It’s nice to hear that. I wondered after London…” Lillian stared into her cup and swirled the dark red wine.
“None of us want your job and we don’t have your eye for the details. You’re stuck being the ringleader.” Irene saluted Lillian with her wine.
“She’s right,” Carol chimed in. “With your history, who would make a better handler? You’re like a young Q in a James Bond story.”
Lillian chuckled at the comparison. There were times that was what she’d felt like, sending the others out to do their dangerous jobs.
“I was thinking…” Irene sat, her glass clasped between her hands. “We might be able to cover more ground if we establish a headquarters. Somewhere the three of us along with Mitch and Sarah can work. I know there’s the baby to think of, too. I think we’d free up Andy, Noah, Rand, and Brandon’s non-support people to team up and move faster.”
“I can see the value in it, but Andy and I are a team,” Carol said.
Irene’s gaze slid toward Lillian. She didn’t like the idea of being separated from Noah. He made her feel safe, but there was more to it. They had a connection.
“Maybe? I wouldn’t take the idea off the table,” Lillian said.
“Well, it was a thought,” Irene said.
Carol studied Lillian. “How is it working with Noah? He looks at you like he wants to eat you up.”
Lillian’s cheeks went hot. She bought herself a moment of time by sipping her wine.
“It’s fine. We’ve figured out a… We’re good together.” She shrugged in lieu of words to describe their complicated relationship.
“You’re sleeping with him.” Carol set her glass down with a thud.
Lillian’s gaze snapped to her friend. Was it obvious?
Irene glanced between them, brows lifted, lips parted.
“Lillian Matthews.” Carol wagged her finger. “I did not see that coming.”
“You married Andy.” Lillian threw up her hand, as though that fact defended her actions.
Carol chuckled. “I hope he’s nicer to you than he is to me or Andy.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lillian frowned.
“Noah can be difficult to work with, that’s all,” Irene said, weighing in on the conversation.
“He has his rough edges, I’ll give you that.” Lillian felt as though she’d seen all his rough places, but more than that, she’d felt his tender side, too. The one he didn’t show to anyone else.
“I’m glad to see someone’s gotten through to him.” Irene toed off her shoes and propped her feet on the ottoman in front of her armchair. “I always thought he was too alienated. You probably do him good. A man like that can’t exist on his own forever.”
“I want to hear about you.” Carol aimed her laser focus on Irene. It was funny how Carol was more at ease now, in the thick of danger, than she’d been in all the years Lillian had known her.
“Me?” Irene swirled her wine in her glass, watching the liquid as though it were the most fascinating thing.
“Something’s going on with you and I want to know what it is.” Carol sat back on the sofa.
Lillian breathed easier now the spotlight was off her. She accepted her relationship with Noah was unexpected, but she was in it, wherever it led. And not just because he’d saved her life.
“Irene…” Carol narrowed her gaze at the other woman. It was strange to think that a man as stoic as Andy had brought out Carol’s more playful side.
Irene folded her free arm across her stomach. “I have nothing I want to add to the conversation.”
Carol and Lillian shared a look. She’d noticed the change in demeanor as well. Irene was usually aloof, a bit cold, and to the point. Lillian had chalked that up to most of her interactions with the other woman being through phone and digital correspondence, but there was no denying the warmer tone in her voice tonight.
“Are you and Mitch admitting you’re together now? Or are we all pretending ignorance still?”
Lillian watched Irene jolt.
“Aha!” Carol pointed at her.
Irene straightened. “That is none of your business.”
“Well, at least we’ve all got one way of dealing with the stress of this bullshit.” Lillian downed the rest of her wine.
“You ignore each other too much. That’s what makes it obvious,” Carol said to Irene.
“I didn’t ask your opinion.” She glared at Carol then Lillian.
“Mitch isn’t that bad looking. Under the beard. Which is really strange to see on him, I might add.” Carol took their wineglasses back to the bar and rinsed them out in the small sink.
“I will not be sorry to see that homeless hipster look go.” Irene shook her head.
“Can a guy in his forties be a hipster?” Lillian asked.
“It’s not working for him, I can tell you that.” Irene joined them in finishing her glass.
“Are you in love with him?” Carol asked.
Irene stared at the coffee table, her gaze thoughtful.
Did she have to think about it?
Lillian had liked a few men, but none enough to say she loved them. She’d always thought a feeling like that would come with trumpets and some kind of spiritual knowing. If someone like Irene had to think about the answer to that question, was Lillian wrong?
“I didn’t want to like him much less love him.” Irene
eased back onto the arm of the sofa. “You don’t always get to choose who you love.”
Her smile slowly spread across her face.
“I’d drink to that if I had any left.” Carol’s smile matched Irene’s.
Lillian glanced away, the tight knot of emotions occupying the Noah-shaped hole in her chest shifting around uncomfortably.
A sharp knock was their only warning before the door opened.
Mitch in all his hairy glory stepped in.
“Hope I’m not interrupting, ladies?” He shut the door behind him.
“Yes,” Irene said.
He ignored Irene and ambled toward them.
Carol gestured at his beard. “We were just discussing your new friend there.”
“I’ve made worse fashion decisions in my day.” Mitch stroked his facial hair. “It’s itchy as hell and everyone thinks I’m homeless.”
“Is everyone done for the night?” Lillian asked.
“Andy and Noah finally got the back panel off the tower. It’s slow going.” Mitch perched on the arm of Irene’s chair, legs stretched out in front of him. “Brandon and I made an inventory of what we have here, and what he has available. His biggest hit was manpower, obviously. I talked him into taking something to help him sleep. We might get more done with him after some rest.”
“Speaking of rest.” Carol glanced at Lillian. “I think we could all use some sleep.”
Was that a hint?
Carol’s brows twitched.
That was a hint.
“I…need to go.” Lillian pushed to her feet and swayed.
The wine had hit her when she wasn’t looking.
“Oh, Lily…I think you’re tipsy.” Carol chuckled and took her by the elbow. “Night, guys.”
“Night.” Lillian waved over her shoulder.
Carol guided her out of the room.
“I am not that tipsy,” Lillian whispered.
“I know,” Carol whispered back. She looped her arm through Lillian’s.
“You want to give them time alone, don’t you?”
“And have a little time with my best friend. I’ve missed you.” Carol peered sideways at Lillian.
“I missed you, too. You know, some part of me thought this would be over by now?”
“I keep thinking if we just do this one thing it’ll be over. Instead something else happens.” Carol blew out a breath.
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