Page 14 of Kept By The Agents

Sighing, I stood and pulled my own clothes on. "We've already gone over this, whatever his reasons were, we need to know where to find him. Seeing what he knows is the quickest way to find out how serious this is."

"What if you're wrong?" Cat asked. "What if we just had the wrong building or something?"

"Then I'll put you on the first plane back to the US and it'll be over." It was my turn to frown. The thought of sending her away where we couldn't keep an eye on her bothered me. It didn't seem to matter in the hypothetical scenario that she hadn't been discovered by the Raleka.

She didn't like my answer, that was clear by the look on her face, but sleeping on it must have made her more agreeable, because she finally gave us the location of where we could find Boris.

"I don't actually know where he lives," Cat confided, "but this is where we always met. I'll go with you so you don't miss him in the crowds."

"Not happening," I told her. "You're staying here." Pinning her with a glare, I ordered, "If you step one foot out of this house while we're gone, I'll burn all your shit myself." I wasn't sure what she had at the little apartment she gave us the address to, but it obviously meant enough to her that my threat had her keeping her mouth closed.

She glared at us as we prepared to head out to the farmers market she told us about. When Weaver showed her his laptop, she let out a gasp and grabbed it from him. "How-"

"He's good at what he does," Suave answered before she could finish her sentence.

"I take it that's Boris?" Weaver asked.

Wordlessly, Cat nodded, then watched as Weaver took the laptop and showed us Boris's photo. She sat down on Suave's mattress and held onto her knees as we finished getting ready. We were about to step out the door when she called out to us.

"Guys!"

I looked over my shoulder at her. There was worry written all over her face.

"Please be careful."

Giving her a nod of agreement, I walked out into the streets, preparing for whatever the day might bring.

CHAPTER 7

Weaver

"Do you think she'll stay at the safe house?" I asked, voicing the one question we were all wondering.

"She will," Suave assured us. "Now that she knows she's on the Raleka's radar, she'll lay low. For a little while anyway."

"She better," Brando muttered. His eyes were scanning the buildings as we walked toward the marketplace.

We'd dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and jackets. It wasn't the dead of winter, but there was still a chill in the air. We were doing our best to blend in with the locals as we moved along and our tactical pants and shirts would have stood out too much. Since it was early morning and the sun was shining brightly in the sky, we'd had to forgo our rifles. My pistol was in a leather shoulder holster underneath my jacket. If shit went down it wasn't the most ideal weapon, but was better than none at all.

We were hoping we wouldn't run into any trouble. This was simply an intel gathering trip. We needed to know what we were up against and if we needed to lie low with Cat, or if we could continue our mission as planned. It was going to throw a wrench in our plans if they had been alerted to her. We couldn't act as bodyguards and chase a human trafficking organization at the same time.

Boykov would be happy enough to take over and cut us out of the operation, but they needed us. They'd been chasing their own tails with this group and I wasn't about to let them fuck this up. Not when we'd managed to get closer than they ever had. Without me digging into the Raleka, the SVR was sure to lose the Raleka and all the women they'd taken. Hearing Cat's story about the three young women had made my heart clench. I had a close female friend from the academy. I couldn't imagine what I'd do if she was taken by a group like this. The fact that one family had lost both their son and their daughter from the same incident was tragic. I wanted to help in any way I could.

A soft whistle caught my attention and I glanced over at Brando. He motioned for us to split up. I took off to the right as we approached the farmers market, searching for the man who'd been helping Cat for the last couple of weeks. I was just hoping that when we found him we didn't find out that he'd been hired by the Raleka. I wasn't very trusting. One of two things was happening here. He was either holed up somewhere, hiding for his own safety, or… The second option was a lot more gruesome. Cat's fate would have been grim if Boris was working with the Raleka to track her down. Now I understood why Suave had been in such a hurry to get here. To find her.

I made it down to the end of the market and turned back around. We met up in the middle, people milling around us. "Nothing," I said as soon as I walked up to where they were waiting for me.

"Us either. It was worth a shot," Brando said. "Let's go to Cat's place, then get back to the safe house."

None of us voiced what we were all thinking. If Boris had given Cat up to the Raleka, they wouldn't have needed him any longer. The fact that Boris wasn't here, where Cat claimed he could always be found, was indicating more and more that Cat was in trouble.

We were silent, all lost in our own thoughts as we walked to the part of the city that Cat's apartment was located in. As we got closer, I tensed more. Every nerve was on alert as we approached the building.

"Anything?" Brando asked.

Suave and I shook our heads. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Not that we could tell. I wasn't sure why I was so tense. We went inside and took the stairs up to the fourth floor.

Brando used the key Cat had given him and opened the door. Pulling our weapons out from their hiding places, we quickly swept the place. It didn't take long since it was only a bedroom, bathroom, and a tiny kitchen off to the side of the living room.

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