Page 7 of Kept By The Agents

"No. I might be if some asshole hadn't grabbed me." She shot me a dark look. "All I know is that's where Denis went."

"And you were going to follow him," Brando said, shoving his cell phone into his pocket. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was? You could have gotten yourself killed."

She'd changed. Sure, she'd always been an outgoing girl, even a bit of a daredevil, but I wouldn't have ever thought she'd go this far. She shouldn't even be over here. The fact that these men sold women into slavery seemed like it would be enough to have her keeping her distance. Obviously I misjudged her. I was almost as pissed at Alyona as I was Cat, for dragging her into this. I understood that she was desperate, but Jesus, this was insane.

Before Cat could snap back at him, shadows crept up the alleyway toward us. Her eyes widened in the dark and I clapped a hand over her mouth, just in case. "They're with us."

She nodded, her sounds of agreement muffled under my palm. She jerked away from me when I released her. "Keep your hands to yourself, Darro."

"Suave," I told her.

Her eyes rolled. "I can't believe you still use that nickname."

"You gave it to me." I walked away from her, toward where my guys were speaking with the teams that Brando had called in. Let her make of my statement what she wanted. In reality, I'd never been able to get rid of a single thing she'd given me. Leaving her had nearly destroyed me, but I had to go. I hadn't bothered to explain because I knew she'd never understand. This was the Universe's way of giving me a second chance.

Absentmindedly, I listened as a plan was formed, but I was thinking of her. Now that she'd been brought back into my life and circumstances had changed, would she be willing to try again?

I frowned and shook my head. It wasn't likely. Even if she could find it within herself to forgive me, I'd changed so much. If she accepted a relationship with me, she'd have to accept my brothers as well. I hadn't been like this when I was younger, but as time went on and Brando, Weaver, and I grew closer, I knew it was the only way forward.

We shared our women now. And if we kept one permanently, she'd have to be okay with that arrangement. Plenty were, but I didn't know if Cat was that kind of woman. Besides, the others had a say as to whether they wanted Cat, as well. It was a huge clusterfuck, but I knew deep down I would never love another woman like I did Catalina. So I would try. Time would tell if the other three in this situation would accept it for what it was, or if I'd have to make a huge decision.

Could I choose between the men who were like my brothers now and the woman I would always love? I certainly didn't want to.

A hand landed on my shoulder and I looked over at Brando. He looked worried. I knew it was for me. He'd noticed the shift in me once I'd found out Cat was here. He'd been watching me closely for weeks while we arranged this operation, making sure I didn't do something stupid, like come over here to get her before we were prepared.

"You ready?"

"Always," I replied.

"You could stay and watch over her."

"As much as I want to, we need all hands on deck in there. We're just going to have to trust that she'll listen and go back to the house."

His chuckle was low and gritty. "What are the odds of that happening?"

Sighing, I shrugged. "Not great, but what can we do? Does Frye's team have someone they can spare to escort her back?"

"No, Geller had to take the first flight home. One of his sons got hurt and is in the hospital." His mouth thinned out into a grim line. "The Russian Feds are shorthanded, too. And though they're running this op, they're grateful our government sent over some of our special forces teams to assist. The Raleka is a huge organization and they have a deep foothold in Moscow."

"Shit. Geller's kid going to be okay?"

"I don't know. There weren't a lot of details. That's why they sent him back. I'm more worried about Catalina at this point," Brando said, frowning over at her.

"She'll be fine. She's smart as fuck and ballsy," I told him. "She knows how important this is."

"I noticed all that. Also noticed how you-"

"Nope. We're not doing this right now," I said, cutting him off. Walking away from him, I ignored his laughter. I stopped next to Weaver. "Anything?"

He looked up at me, frustration etched into his face. "Not enough time to tell. All I got were the exits and a basic layout of the place."

"It'll have to do," Brando said as he walked up to us, "Boykov just gave the order. We're heading in, now." Brando had no problem letting Boykov and his team take the lead. We were only here to assist. Gathering intel was what we did best. Brando looked over at Cat and stuck a finger in her face. "Go back to the house. That's an order."

Her brows drew together as a mutinous expression crossed her face. "I should get to go in, too. I found the place after all."

"Do you know how to shoot a gun?" he asked.

"Kind of."

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