scanned the space before turning on the lights.
This didn’t bode well. She hit the intercom switch and informed Orly that the intruder had been neutralized and that the sergeant major was in the house.
“Who says I’ve been neutralized?” her dad asked.
She gave her dad a wry glance. Her father had more gray in his hair now, but otherwise he still was the toughest-looking man she’d ever seen. “I do.”
He shrugged and said in that smart-ass way of his, “I’d call it a stalemate. You weren’t exactly kicking my butt.”
She didn’t want to discuss her own failings. Taking her time getting back into shape since giving birth to Dylan had made sense. Motherhood was her chief focus now.
But the old man was right. She’d been slow and sloppy tonight; if anyone other than her dad had broken in she’d have been in big trouble.
Instead of dwelling on that, she said, “Why are you here?”
“You need to come out of retirement.”
“We’ve been over this before. I’m a wife and mother now.” Even though Kane had argued that she was too young to retire, Sasha had stood firm. She was also not sure she could keep everything balanced. Being a mom was tougher than she’d thought it would be.
“Kane needs you.”
Blood rushed in her ears and she had to sit down. Kane hadn’t really needed her. That’s one of the reasons he’d left. “What do you mean?”
No matter how she felt about her relationship, she wasn’t ready to give up on it. Though things were strained between the two of them, neither of them had left.
“Townsend has surfaced again and he’s up to his old tricks with HMIA.”
“I’m sure Kane will catch Townsend. He’s one of Her Majesty’s best men.”
“Not anymore.”
“Dad, stop talking in circles. What are you trying to say?”
“Hold up a sec then I’ll tell you.”
Pulling a small wandlike device from his back pocket, her father made a slow sweep of the room. She rolled her eyes as she watched him work. Sasha and Orly swept for bugs routinely. Her father took paranoia to new extremes. There were no bugs in her house as of three days ago.
She took no chances with the safety of this house, especially now that Kane had moved back to London. Security was one of the things she knew how to provide and she’d made their little house into a fortress to protect Dylan.
She boiled water for coffee and scooped some grounds into her French press. Orly entered the room as her father neared the third wall. He didn’t glance up from his task. Orly turned around one of the ladder-back chairs at the table and sat down.
“What’s he looking for?” Orly asked as Sasha set a cup of coffee in front of him.
“Bugs.”
Orly raised one eyebrow at her. Sasha shrugged. Orly had met her dad before in the States and had even visited his remote home in the mountains of Georgia, so watching her father in action wasn’t really shocking. “Sergeant Major, don’t you trust me to protect your daughter and grandson? This is what I do.”
“I don’t really trust anyone,” he said, focusing on the phone.
She’d never talk about her past life on the phone. In fact, she had few friends from the old days. Still, it begged the question as to why her dad thought someone was listening in on her conversations. She had a sinking feeling in her gut that had saved her ass many times in the old days. That feeling that said everything was about to break around her.
“Do you really believe that someone is fishing around for information?” Orly said.
Her dad nodded.
Sasha shivered and checked the baby monitor affixed to the kitchen counter. What was going on?
Dylan was safely tucked away in his crib. She wanted to go to the security room and ramp up all their alarms. Let her dad sweep the entire house.
“It’s not Sasha’s secrets I’m worried about,” her father said.
She started running scenarios in her head. But before she went off half-cocked, she looked at the man who’d brought this to her door. “Maybe you’d better tell me why you’re here, Dad.”
The dainty china mug looked like a toy in his big hands. It reminded her of the tea parties she’d had as a little girl. Her father hadn’t wanted her to grow up with too much male influence. So he’d encouraged Sasha to have tea parties and wear pink, a color she’d never really liked. Still, she’d admired her dad for trying to give her a rounded upbringing without having her mom in the picture.
He gave her a stern look. And her stomach sank. “Kane has gone rogue. He’s taken the STAR list and is out in the open. I talked to Ano at American Renegade Company and she’s reinstated you as an agent for the duration of this mission.”
The STAR list contained the codenames and current locations of every known operative. Not just for HMIA, but for many of the intelligence agencies around the world.
Sasha felt a cold chill down her back. Why would Kane go rogue? The last six months had been tense, which was why he’d left her and moved back to London. But this was extreme for him. He was one of the most secure and well balanced people she knew.
Ano aka Alpha Number One was the head of American Renegade Company. Sasha didn’t know all the details, but Ano and the sergeant major had some sort of ongoing relationship. They couldn’t live together and yet living apart wasn’t what they wanted either.
She pushed away from the table and paced to the window. Her dad had worked for Renegade Company for years. Renegade wasn’t just a cute catchphrase they used. They were a group of renegades that no other law-enforcement group would have. “If I don’t accept this assignment, someone else will, right?”
She heard his chair scrape against the tile floor as he stood. In the window she saw him come up behind her. He didn’t put his arm around her, but stood just behind her. “Ano wants it to be you. HMIA doesn’t want you anywhere near this because of potential conflict of interest.”
She pivoted to face him. Conflict of interest didn’t even come close. Good God, she didn’t want to get between Kane and his target. “Why does Ano want me? She knows I’ve gone against the Company before. I’ve been out there like Kane.”
Her dad lifted his hand toward her shoulder, but he dropped it before he touched her. She’d alienated him as well. That last mission had almost killed her, not physically but emotionally. Her soul was empty except for Dylan, and all the men in her life had felt the chill.
“That’s why, Sasha. You came back and she thinks you can talk Kane into it. If you can’t, they’re going to sanction him.”
She hadn’t exactly made it all the way back and they both knew it. Relieved that her father didn’t call her on it, she said, “Tell me the details.”
“Ano
