The Defender

by Donna Grant

  Lev didn’t leave until she continued walking. He exited the marina, looking for signs of anyone. The problem was that several people milled about. Any of them could be a Saint.

  “Stop,” he ordered himself.

  If he continued thinking like that, he wouldn’t be able to complete his part of the plan. Lev cleared his throat and adjusted in his seat.

  Once clear of the marina, he headed east, staying as close to the coast as he could. He went four miles and was about to pull over to hide the car when something told him to keep going. It was another six miles before he found the derelict building.

  He pulled up to it and quickly looked around. That’s when he found the roll-up door in the back. He hastily returned to the car and drove it to the rear of the building. From there, he made his way inside and used the chains to roll up the door.

  Lev strained against the rusted chain that obviously hadn’t been used in years. When he finally got it to move half a foot, the sound was so loud, he was surprised that someone didn’t come running to investigate.

  If he thought moving it once would then make it easier, he was dead wrong. He wasted more time getting the door lifted inch by inch than he wanted. Finally, he had it raised enough that he could drive the car in.

  Except when he did, he scraped the roof, but he didn’t stop. He pulled through and shut off the engine, grabbing his pack and the map. Then he shut the rolling door, which proved an easier feat than opening it.

  From there, he slung on his backpack and began jogging to the coast. He found several vehicles in a parking lot. After a look around to see if anyone was near, he started peeking into windows to see if someone had forgotten their phone.

  Just when he didn’t think he’d get lucky, he found one. The cell phone was on the floorboard. He’d nearly missed it, in fact. He found a good-sized rock and busted the window to unlock the door.

  He wrapped his hand around the rose gold glitter case and stuffed it into his pack. Then he raised his gaze to the boats nearby. All he could do now was hope that he hadn’t taken too much time hiding the car so he’d missed Reyna.

  There was a little money left, but not enough to buy himself a way across the sea to Norway. He found a pier that jutted out into the sea and walked to the end of it.

  The sun was rising in the east, but his gaze was pointed west. He hadn’t asked Reyna what type of boat she had. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. He knew nothing about them. It wasn’t as if he came in contact with many, even with working Sergei’s business on the docks. The vessels they dealt with were cargo ships.

  The minutes ticked by. Five. Ten. Twenty.

  Thirty.

  Lev was thinking about ways he could get across the sea when he spotted a boat with black detailing coming to a stop. His heart skipped a beat when he spotted Reyna’s caramel- colored locks flying in the wind as she came to the railing.

  She smiled and waved. Lev lifted his hand and was about to jump into the water to swim to her when she ducked back inside. To his surprise, she pulled the boat up alongside the dock.

  “Hurry,” she shouted over the engine.

  He heard the boat scrape something as he jumped the three feet separating them. His hands gripped the railing as he got his footing and pulled himself over. All the while, Reyna reversed and then took them farther out to sea.

  Once he was on the boat, he made his way into the helm and stood beside her until they were in open waters. Then she turned to him.

  Lev dropped his pack and pulled her into his arms.

  14

  Kiev

  The click of Lorraine’s heels on the floor beat in time with her racing heart. It wasn’t odd to get called into her superior’s office.

  But this time, she knew it wasn’t for a new assignment or praise for a job well done. This was about her complete failure to capture Lev or Reyna.

  Lorraine approached Lester’s door. His assistant looked up from his computer screen, but there was no welcoming smile in his eyes. Still, she nodded her head in greeting. She didn’t know his name and didn’t bother learning it. Lester went through assistants quicker than any other person in his station.

  “He’s ready,” the assistant stated before returning to his work.

  Lorraine squared her shoulders and went to the office door. She rapped twice on it before she heard Lester’s booming voice telling her to enter. She walked in and closed the door behind her as she met her boss’s gaze.

  Lester Barros had the lined, weathered face of someone who had spent countless hours in the sun. His years moving around the Middle East from one desert to another had taken a toll on him physically.

  But she didn’t know anyone tougher, even though he walked with a slight limp from an IED explosion.

  “You sent for me, sir?” she said.

  Lester tossed down the pen he’d been using and pushed back his chair. He said nothing as he stood and walked to the windows overlooking the city. With his hands clasped behind his back, he let out a sigh.

  She noted the neat stack of files on his desktop, one folder opened. Lorraine took a slight step forward to get a better look, but she still couldn’t make it out. And she knew better than to push her luck.

  Lester had removed his suit jacket, and it now hung on a hook near the door. But his tie was still cinched tightly around his neck, which meant he wasn’t too stressed yet. He was tall and thin, with a head of thick, salt-and-pepper hair that held just a hint of a wave to it. Lester wore it combed back, but there was always a section over his left eye that curled onto his forehead.

  She’d learned six years ago when they had a drink together that he’d come to the Saints via the Secret Service after several tours as a Marine Force Recon. Anyone stupid enough to underestimate him soon realized their mistake.

  He might be at a desk now, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t as sharp as he had been when he had her job.

  “What happened?”

  Lorraine mentally steadied herself. She’d known this question was coming. “I’ve been asking myself that since I learned that Reyna Harris might very well be a double agent.”

  “She was fully vetted.”

  “I’m aware, but there’s no denying something isn’t right with her.”

  “She’s done an exceptional job. Every mission she’s sent on, she completes quickly, cleanly, and effortlessly.”

  Lorraine hated that Lester kept his back to her. That wasn’t a good sign. It meant that he was still undecided as to what to do with her. She needed to turn his mind to her way of thinking. And this was her only opportunity.

  “Reyna came under suspicion when I saw her and Lev Ivanski driving away together.”

  Lester’s shoulders raised as he took a deep breath. “I, too, saw the footage. She had him at gunpoint.”

  “True. However, when I went to get Ivanski from her, she wasn’t at her flat.”

  Lester turned on his heel and faced her before leaning his hips back against the window. “Why didn’t you wait for her to bring him to you?” Before Lorraine could respond, he continued. “Because you wanted credit for the capture of Ivanski. I’m sure you hoped you could have a few hours with him to learn about the Loughmans before having to turn Lev over to me.”

  “You’ve never questioned my methods before.”

  “Your drive to be the best has made you many enemies. You’ve remained at your post because I fought to keep you there.”

  Lorraine was taken aback by the news. “What?” she murmured.

  Lester lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “There was no need to tell you. I put my neck on the line for you, but you’ve never let me down before.”

  “I pinged Reyna’s phone. She was supposed to be at her flat,” Lorraine stated, knowing she was running out of time. “It’s because I knew she was up to something that I was able to get a trace on her when I called. She’d taken Lev out of the city.”

  He lifted a bushy brow. “How many times have you done that?”

  She
opened her mouth to respond but found no words.

  “Exactly,” he said. “Many, many times. Reyna had Lev. We need him to get info on the Loughmans. Instead, she must have figured out that you were questioning her loyalties and ran.”

  “They’re working together now.”

  He snorted. “Your actions might have effectively turned one of our best—possibly the best—operatives away from us.”

  “I don’t believe she was ever ours. She came into this building and went down to archives.”

  Fury contorted Lester’s face as he pushed away from the window and stalked to her. “How do you know this?”

  It took all of Lorraine’s will not to back up a step. She’d seen that look come over his face once in the past—right before he slit an enemy’s throat.

  Lorraine swallowed, the sound loud to her ears. “I followed her movements for a few days. Her coming here was the only thing out of the ordinary.”

  “Did you ever think she was sent for?”

  “Was she?”

  “I’m the one asking the questions,” Lester said in a low, deadly voice that brooked no argument.

  Lorraine glanced at the floor. “I wasn’t thinking about the possibility that she’d been sent for. Not when I saw that she’d gone into the archives, and the feed was corrupted so I couldn’t see what she did.”

  “When you weren’t able to capture Reyna or Lev, you then decided to ignore all common sense and contact the elders to see if one of them would talk to you.”

  “It was a bold move, I agree, but it was ne—”

  “If you want to be standing when you leave this office, you’ll shut your mouth right now.”

  She’d never heard such a cold tone from him before. Lorraine suppressed the shiver that ran through her as she realized she had managed to take her one ally and sever that bond.

  Lester glared at her, disappointment and anger tightening his visage. “I would expect something so impertinent from a new recruit, but not you.”

  “I’ve given my loyalty and my life to the Saints. I’m simply trying to ensure that nothing can hurt us.”

  “You’ve not given your life. Yet,” Lester threatened. He pivoted and returned to his desk. After sinking into his chair, he rested his forearms on the wooden surface.

  Lorraine raised her chin defiantly. “If I must give my life, I’ll gladly do it. I’ve done nothing but serve. I may have overstepped bounds—”

  “May?” Lester asked with raised brows.

  “I overstepped bounds,” she corrected, only a tinge of irritation coming through in her voice. “But I did it to help this organization.”

  Lester snorted and shook his head. “Reyna has been on your team for five years. You’ve always had great things to say about her, even when you were jealous of how well she did. Why would you question her now?”

  “She’s never lied to me before.”

  Lester held Lorraine’s gaze for a long minute before he leaned back. “As you well know, operatives are trained to lie. It’s what they do.”

  “I never lied to you. I expect the same from those on my team.”

  He nodded and tapped a finger on the desk. “That one lie had you digging into her life?”

  “Yes. I know the reach and strength of the Saints. One person couldn’t do us harm, but I don’t want to be the one responsible for that individual. Reyna was vetted, yes, but she was under my watch. It falls to me.”

  “And me,” Lester added with a sigh. “I spoke with the elders. None of them requested Reyna.”

  Lorraine bit her tongue to keep from smiling. Lester wouldn’t approve of her showing any type of victory now. “Does that mean I can go after her?”

  “Yes. Wait,” Lester said when she started to leave. “The elders want her and Lev alive and brought back here.”

  Some of Lorraine’s excitement dulled. She’d been dreaming of taking Reyna out ever since she realized that she was a double agent. “I’ll do my best.”

  “Let me put it this way, Lorraine. If either Lev or Reyna is killed, don’t come back. Make it clear to your team that they are to be detained only. And,” he continued, “no torture. Lev’s and Reyna’s questioning will be handled by the elders.”

  As long as Lorraine had been with the Saints, she’d never heard of the elders doing such a thing. “Of course.”

  “Understand that if either of them is killed, tortured, or questioned, you’ll be the next one hunted. As will everyone on your team.”

  She nodded. “I understand completely.”

  “Good. Don’t let me down.”

  “I won’t.”

  Lorraine left Lester’s office with her mind already planning how to get Reyna and Lev. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t realize that someone was in the elevator with her until she heard Anatoli’s voice.

  “You scraped by on this one,” he stated. “By the skin of your teeth.”

  She decided it was best to ignore him. Engaging him would only make her angry, and she was in too good of a mood to let anyone—especially him—dampen it.

  “You underestimated them once. Don’t do it again,” Lester cautioned.

  She didn’t heed her own advice as she turned her head to look at him. “Have you forgotten how good I am? I can handle this.”

  “Everyone comes up against their match eventually, Lori. This could be yours.”

  There was no teasing in his blue eyes, only concern. His voice held a note of worry that Lorraine hadn’t heard since they were lovers. It brought her up short. Were Lev and Reyna her match? No, that wasn’t possible. It would take someone like Lester, someone who had been through it all and came out stronger, cleverer, to best her.

  “Reyna knows we’re closing in. She knows our strategies, so she knows what we’re capable of,” Lorraine said. “As for Lev, he’s too stupid to realize what he’s landed in. But he’s about to. I’ve never failed on a mission before. I won’t do it now.”

  “Let me come with you.”

  She barked in laughter as the elevator chimed when it reached her floor. Lorraine stepped out of the car and said, “I don’t need you to do my job. I never did.”

  Anatoli put his hand on the door to stop it from closing. “How about someone you trust watching your back?”

  “You?” she asked and shook her head. “No, thanks.”

  He moved out of the elevator, and the doors closed behind him. “You’re going to need all the help you can get.”

  “I’ve got a great team. Go back to yours,” Lorraine told him and walked to her office.

  There, she looked at a map of Poland and the surrounding countries pulled up on a giant screen. She used her hands to turn, zoom, and maneuver the image to look at it from all angles.

  “You’re going to the sea,” she murmured. Lorraine leaned over and punched a button on her desk phone to ring her assistant. “Get men ready. I want twenty of them stationed along the Kattegat strait.”

  Lorraine smiled as she realized how easy it would be to grab Lev and Reyna.

  15

  Reyna didn’t think anything could fell Lev Ivanski. But one look at the greenish tint of his skin said otherwise.

  “You didn’t tell me you got seasick,” she admonished.

  He shrugged. “It wouldn’t have done any good.”

  “We’ll only be on the water for about six hours. Better than weeks at sea.” She winced when he groaned and clutched his stomach. “Keep your eyes on the horizon.”

  “I can do that.”

  She hurriedly went for the stash of ginger she always kept with her. “Chew this,” she ordered as she handed him two tablets.

  “Gum?” he asked with a frown. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It’s ginger, which is a natural herb for calming nausea and motion sickness.”

  He took them and began to chew.

  “I know we need to keep hidden, but fresh air does wonders. Open the window there and keep your face beside it,” Reyna told Lev as s
he once more took the wheel to navigate.

  Ten minutes later, she glanced Lev’s way to find his color returning.

  “This gum is amazing,” he said.

  She chuckled. “I always keep some with me. You never know when you might get an upset stomach. Always calms mine when it happens.”

  “I just might survive the sea.”

  They shared a grin.

  At least she could smile now. For a bit, she’d been worried that she wouldn’t find Lev. Since she hadn’t known how long it would take him to hide the car and find a phone, she had driven slower than she wanted. But she was glad that she had. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have seen him.

  “I think I can make that call now that my stomach is settled.” He bent to grab the phone from his pack and dialed.

  Reyna kept her attention on the water, but she was already thinking about how they could get to the States if Mia couldn’t fly down to get them. To have anyone leave the US put their lives in danger.

  “Hang up,” she told him.

  His dark brows snapped together as his blue eyes fastened on her. “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “The Saints are already going after your friends. We shouldn’t separate them. Besides, we’re pretty resilient. We’ll find our way home.”

  “Reyna,” he began. But his attention shifted, and he said into the phone, “Callie, it’s Lev.”

  Reyna could hear a voice, but she couldn’t make out the words. Lev’s gaze lowered to the floor, and she looked back out the window. The sunrise was spectacular. Yellow, orange, and red streaked the sky in a magnificent display.

  “Hey,” Lev said as he came up beside her. “Say hello to Callie.”

  Reyna looked down to see that he had put the cell phone on speaker. With no other choice, Reyna said, “Hi, Callie.”

  “Hey. It’s nice to get to talk to you,” Callie said.

  Reyna smiled when she heard the Texas twang.

  “Callie is the one who deep dives on others,” Lev explained.

  In other words, Lev was telling her that Callie had given her background a thorough search. Probably as thorough as the Saints had.