Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“I’m wired and worried. Add jet lag to that and it’s an uncomfortable combination.”
I knew all about no sleep and jet lag. “I’m sorry I’ve put you in the middle of—”
“Please stop,” she said gently but firmly, taking quick hold of my forearm. “We both know where I was headed before you found me on the streets of Tokyo.”
I nodded. We didn’t need to rehash.
“I told you I wanted to be a pilot, and you made me a pilot, and I learned some other skills along the way.”
Like surveillance, how to blend into the scenery and be untraceable, and of course, how to incapacitate anyone in seconds. Jing was the bloodthirsty one. Arden was more about leaving people alive but either unconscious or in a whole lot of pain.
“Please don’t ever apologize to me,” she insisted. “You’re a hero. I like working for a hero.”
“No, Arden, I—”
“I’ve read your file. You know that.”
I shook my head.
“Listen, I know that if agents were compromised during a mission, the US government denied all knowledge and you were the one heading the team that saved them.”
“We didn’t always save them.”
“Because that wasn’t always your mission. Sometimes you were there to eradicate a threat. I understand the difference between search and destroy and search and rescue.”
“Sometimes the mission changed right in the middle of the op.”
“But that was your job and, of course, why in response to that you created Torus Intercession. Now you can make sure nothing changes in the middle and the good guys always win.”
“We still don’t always win.”
“But you try.” She put her hand on my chest, over my heart. “And you do your best. You always do your best. It’s why Jing, Hasana, and I would follow you to the ends of the earth if you asked.”
I nodded, too choked up to say anything.
“And running around Thailand trying not to get killed by the police,” she said with a shrug. “That’s nothing compared to that time in Malta.”
I scowled at her. “That was just a big—that was a huge overreaction on that man’s part.”
She scoffed. “Oh yeah. That warlord blowing up the boat we were on? Totally just him overreacting. Not a big deal at all.”
“He blew up the boat?”
She shook her head. “I’m seriously getting worried about your memory.”
“Go to bed,” I ordered her, sounding damn belligerent.
She stood and walked toward the hall, but then stopped and turned to face me.
“More insults?” I snapped at her.
“I just want you to know that I will stand between you and anything. I hope you know that.” Her voice was resolute, the promise clear in her inky gaze, the set of her shoulders, and her stance. She would not leave my side.
“I do,” I acknowledged. “And you know I count on both your courage and loyalty.”
She stood there deciding, thinking, and then suddenly rushed over to me. I stood in time to catch her in my arms. The hug was quick, and I let her go as soon as I felt her loosen her hold, never wanting to restrain her in any way. She was seldom, if ever, demonstrative, and with men especially, she never instigated physical contact. Only with me. And Owen. We were, as far as I knew, her only two exceptions. I really hoped she’d be able to hug Owen again soon.
Arden had gone to bed, and I was still there, on the couch. Alone, I remained wide awake. My darker side took hold again as I pondered the dangerous mission I was asking everyone to undertake.
I’d killed plenty of men and women while in the service of my country. I had no compunction over their deaths. No, it was the friends I had to bury that kept me up at night, Owen’s parents among them. I couldn’t allow Owen to be one of those ghosts. I wouldn’t.
SIX
Dr. Lens contacted me via text before breakfast, confirming my suspicions about the corpse’s identity. It was Miguel’s man, Owen’s bodyguard, Peter Barrows. Another death that someone would answer for. I called Dr. Lens and personally thanked her for her service.
“May I call on you again if I need you in the future?”
“Of course, Colonel. This case is both terrifying and thrilling in its complexities. Please do call if you need anything else. I’m taking the plane home now.”
“Safe travels, Doctor.”
“And you stay safe,” she replied kindly, and hung up.
I was on the phone with Darius moments later, catching him up.
“So now you know for certain Owen is alive.”
Or was, I thought, but didn’t voice that fear. “I can’t talk to Aaron Sutter today,” I confessed. “I can’t deliver the news to Miguel either.”
“I’ll take care of it, and I’ll be there as soon as I—”
“No,” I stressed to him. “I have everyone I need here. Really. Dante’s coming back shortly, and George Hunt showed up to watch my back.”