does Townsend have?” Sasha asked. Her enemy had escaped the authorities by killing one of his guards and knocking the other unconscious.
Her father looked down at his coffee and took a swallow before responding. “We think at least one hostage.”
It wasn’t like her old man to stall. What did he know that he wasn’t saying?
“And negotiation isn’t an option?” she asked. But she knew it wasn’t. Townsend’s mode of operation was to take the family members of influential people and use them as pawns in his deadly games.
Sasha felt a deep rage start burning inside. And clenched her fists against the feelings sweeping through her. If she gave in to the rage, she’d never be able to get the job done.
“He’ll probably try to get his hostages out of Britain,” she said. Townsend knew how HMIA worked. Hell, he’d written half of the procedures they used for this kind of thing.
Orly’s eyes had taken on a glazed look that she knew meant he was processing the information. His mind was like a computer.
“I’m going to run some information through my computer. What time are we leaving?” Orly asked.
“Ano is expecting you by six,” Mitch said.
“Meet me out front in about an hour.”
Orly left the room and Sasha faced her father. He didn’t look happy delivering that news. No matter what he thought of her marriage to Kane, her dad had always respected her husband because of his attitude toward the world and his willingness to make many sacrifices to keep it safe.
Kane gone rogue. Why? It didn’t make sense. He was a loyal agent and one of the most balanced men she’d ever met. He was cool under fire, and in the field she’d never met his match. She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her hands up and down trying to get warm. She’d made a choice and cut herself off from Kane. Was she responsible for this action?
Was this some bid for her attention? One he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist?
Why would he do it? She and Dylan were safe. His mother and two sisters were safe, Sasha had talked to her mother-in-law, Jane, two days ago. There was no one close to Kane who could be in danger. Was it Bruce Temple, Kane’s partner? She rubbed her eyes. God, what a mess.
“Orly’s gone. You can tell me everything.”
Her old man shrugged and had that stubborn look in his eyes. He wouldn’t reveal his sources to anyone. Not even his daughter. Sasha often wondered if that was why she had such a hard time trusting men.
“Do you know why Kane’s doing this?”
“I couldn’t get that intel. Ano either didn’t know or wouldn’t tell me.”
“The threat is real, Sasha. Get Kane and get the information he has—now, before it falls into the wrong hands.”
Her heart lurched and she gave up questioning her father and started planning. She calculated the time it would take to change clothes, ready the command vehicle and get to London.
She’d find Townsend and finish the job this time. She wasn’t going to let him take the life of another man she cared about.
She trusted her dad to protect Dylan. She watched the old man for a minute. His credo was, protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. “Dad, you stay here and keep Dylan safe.”
“I planned to.”
Sasha walked slowly down the hallway and back to Dylan’s room. He was sleeping quietly now, his arm wrapped around that panda of his. He looked sweet, innocent and just enough like Kane to make her heart break. Neither she nor Kane were innocent, but they’d vowed to protect the world so that more people could be. What had happened to radically change Kane?
Ano hadn’t changed in the year since Sasha had seen her boss. Ano moved into the room as if she owned it. She was a tall woman, almost six feet, and her brilliant auburn hair was pulled back in a sleek-looking ponytail. Her eyes radiated the kind of quiet intelligence that Sasha respected. Sasha and Orly had made good time in the Aston Martin that Kane had given her as a wedding present.
A.R.C. headquarters was located in the Trafalgar Square section of London. Trendy nightclubs surrounded them. Sasha couldn’t have felt more out of place if she’d tried. This was a world away from her quiet life of playing in the park with Dylan and talking to B and B owners about room security.
This was the game she’d left behind before it chewed her up anymore and spit her out. Sasha felt an odd sense of déjà vu. She’d never expected to be here again. Reconciling the conflicting emotions wasn’t easy.
“Nightshade, it’s good to see you,” Ano said. She gestured for Sasha to take a seat in one of the brocade guest chairs.
But was it good for her? Sasha wondered. She was a mother now, a wife. In the old days she’d never left the house without her gun, her GPS unit and her two-way radio. These days she never left without baby wipes, a pacifier and a plastic container of Cheerios. “Thanks, Ano. I’m not exactly happy to be here.”
“Given the circumstances, I understand.” There was compassion and a bit of doubt in Ano’s eyes.
Sasha took the compassion and ignored the doubt. She had her own trepidation about taking on this assignment. But overriding that gut reaction was the reality that she wouldn’t let anyone else go after Kane.
“Your mission is to retrieve Agent Sterling and do some recon on Townsend to identify his location.”
Her gut tightened at the thought of retrieving Kane. She still had so many questions.
“Why is Kane out there?”
“Our intel didn’t say. Only that he took the STAR list.”
Sasha inhaled sharply. That list was an extensive database that was used by all global intelligence agencies. It held the location of all the safe houses the agencies used and a list of code words. If the list were compromised, there would be no way to warn all the agents in the field until it was too late. Kane held the lives of agents all over the world in his hands. No wonder he was wanted back. “Why?”
“Townsend wants it in return for the hostages he’s holding.”
“Kane wouldn’t—”
“Forget about your husband, Nightshade. This is a rogue agent. Sterling needs to be brought in. Is it going to be you or should I send someone else?”
Ano didn’t pull her punches but then Sasha hadn’t expected her to. Sasha closed her eyes and searched inside herself. The world disappeared and she found the quiet place that she always visited before a mission.
Each time it was the same, she realized. Her doubts and fears weren’t new; she’d always questioned if she was ready to go out and face an enemy who was willing to kill her to achieve his objective. And this time she knew with utter certainty that she was the only agent who had a stake in keeping Kane alive.
“I’m the agent for this job,” she said quietly.
Ano
