Page 8 of Kept By The Agents

"Are you trained in hand to hand combat?"

"No."

"Have you thrown a grenade? Shot a rocket launcher? Done anything that's going to help us in there when the shit hits the fan?" he asked. "No. Because you're not trained for this. So you'll go back to the fucking house and wait for us there." He stepped in closer, invading her space. "If you behave yourself I might let you back in to take some pictures later once we clear the space."

My dick hardened watching them warring back and forth with each other. It didn't take much to get me hard on a good day, but seeing Catalina again after all this time? All I needed was that stubborn look on her face coupled with the womanly curves she now had.

"Do you remember how to get back?" Weaver asked. "I can put a map on your phone for you."

"Seriously?" she asked. "All I have to do is take this alleyway straight back. I can't get lost."

I snorted in amusement. The woman could get lost going to her own bedroom.

She aimed a sour look at me. "I'm not the same girl you knew, Darro."

Her purposely ignoring my nickname only amused me more, which in turn pissed her off even further. I understood. We'd dropped into her life, took over the mission she'd been working on, and started giving her orders. It would irritate most people, but she was going to have to get over it. If I had my way this wasn't going to end for her. She'd be following our commands for the rest of her life.

"Get moving," Brando told her.

We watched until she faded into the darkness, then turned and approached the door. Enough time had passed for Frye and Tyler's special forces teams to get into position at the remaining two exits.

I waited as Boykov reached out and swung the door open. My rifle was tucked into my shoulder as I swept the opening, then stepped inside. The rest of the Russian unit brushed past, following their commander into the building. It opened into a hallway. Brando and Weaver moved in behind me as I fell in behind the Russians. I looked over my shoulder at Weaver. "Which way," I whispered.

When Boykov turned to look at him, Weaver motioned for him to continue forward. We crept along, our guns pointed at the ground so we weren't flagging Boykov's team with them. It was cramped quarters and I was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic. I hated small spaces. Pausing at the end of the hallway, I waited as Boykov peeked around the wall and the tension bled out of my shoulders when he gave the all clear signal.

Lowering my weapon, I looked back again. "No one's out there."

Brando frowned and pushed to the front. He lifted his rifle and moved slowly out into the wide open space of the building alongside Boykov. He was looking around the main floor while my attention was up on the second floor that acted like a balcony over this space.

Nothing moved until Frye and Tyler's team met us in the middle. I lowered my gun. "What the hell?"

"Thought there was supposed to be some huge meeting?" Gabe Tyler asked as he walked up. He and his Navy Seal Team were stationed nearby as they completed some tactical training. They'd been more than happy to help out with this. It was easy to see on their faces that they were itching for some action. "Didn't run into anyone over in the other end of the building."

"We didn't either," Weaver said. "Maybe Cat was wrong?"

Frowning, I shook my head. "I don't know. She's pretty tenacious. She would have verified everything as much as feasible. It's possible the meeting may not have been as big as she thought, but for there to just not be one…"

"You don't think her source was a part of this, do you?" Heriberto, one of Tyler's guys, asked. "Set up a trap?" His dark eyes were still scanning the floor above us.

"Fuck," I snapped. "I hope not."

"We should still clear upstairs," Frye said, then snapped his fingers. Two of his guys peeled off and went up the stairs.

"She must have been fed bad intel," Brando said as he came to stand with us. "Boykov's looking into it now." It was easy to see his mind moving a mile a minute as he looked around. He was considering all the angles and why someone would give her bad information after so long of working together. "Maybe it was a trap for her and when she didn't show, they left."

"If I was able to find her name in connection with the Raleka, others could, too," Weaver pointed out.

The sinking feeling in my gut had me swallowing hard. If that was true, and Brando's hunches usually were, then it meant the Raleka knew exactly who Cat was and had their sights set on her. It would explain the state of her apartment from a few weeks ago. Rage was starting to build. That bastard Semyon thought he could touch what was mine. It didn't matter that he didn't know who I was, or that Cat wasn't really mine anymore, he was about to learn. Once I tore his organization down around him, he'd find out that coming after Catalina was his biggest mistake.

"We should get out of here before we blow our cover," Boykov suggested as he moved toward us. "I'll keep looking into what happened here and let you know what I find."

"Thanks. If we find out anything else, we'll contact you. Let's go," Brando told us. "Frye, get your guys back down here. Appreciate the help." Tyler's team was already back outside the building, making sure no one slipped in behind us.

"What? You can't leave yet! Where is everyone?"

The female voice echoing through the space made me spin, fury radiating as I zeroed in on Catalina.

CHAPTER 5

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