Page 82 of Caught By Menace

“Yeah,” she said, her voice quavering. “Although, with my track record of being fucked over by the people I love, I should have seen it coming.”

It took every last bit of strength and control Menace possessed not to crumple to the ground. She had all but admitted she loved him in the same breath she called him out for betraying and abandoning her.

“I never wanted to be one of the men who let you down.” Dankirk said the one thing Menace wished he could say to her.

“I know.” She inhaled a cleansing breath and cleared her throat. She spun around and hopped onto the bed. Her determined expression grew larger on the screen until Menace realized she was nearing the video feed. The view wobbled as she punched the ceiling and tore the camera free. Her beautiful tear-stained face filled the screen. “If you want your guns, come and find me, Terror. But you better move fast. I’m probably not going to make it to nightfall.”

The satellite feed turned to static. Beside him, Pierce frantically tried to connect with the team on the ground that was supposed to be watching her. He pushed his earbud firmly into place and cupped a hand over his other ear. “What? You’re sure?”

“Pierce.” Terror spoke his fellow operative’s name in a growl.

Pierce shook his head. “She’s gone. The team rushed the room the moment they realized she was going to run, but they weren’t fast enough. She and her friend went out a window. They tracked down her ID chip in an alley. They swabbed the blood spatter on the wall for DNA but it’s obvious that it’s hers. She got a sixty-second head start on them and four and a half minutes on us.”

Menace rounded on Terror. “What’s your gut telling you now, Ter?”

“That I’m going to get back our weapons and annihilate a gunrunning gang by nightfall,” he responded matter-of-factly. “Whether she’s guilty or innocent, it makes no difference to me.”

Menace went numb with the realization that he didn’t know this man. “No difference? You dropped an innocent, unarmed woman in a dangerous place and gave her an impossible assignment.”

“Impossible? Hardly,” Terror scoffed. “You obviously don’t know your own wife, Menace. Her record and her history tell me that she’s tenacious. With enough motivation, she’ll accomplish any task.”

“Motivation?”

“You and Hallie?” He gestured to Vicious’ wife. “You’re Naya’s weaknesses. All it took was the threat of putting you in prison and having Hallie arrested and taken away from Vicious to convince Naya to use her considerable skills to our advantage.”

Hallie gasped and Menace gaped at Terror. “What the hell iswrongwith you?”

“Wrong with me?” Terror’s voice slashed like a razor. “What the hell is wrong withyou? Don’t you realize we’re at war? Every day, I have to make decisions that would make the rest of you piss your pants. Unlike you, I don’t have the luxury of rigid principles. I’m charged with protecting our people. Whatever the cost.”

Menace was reminded of something Naya once said to him. “Collateral damage.”

Terror’s hard expression faltered. “I never wanted it to go down like this, Menace. Hurting you was never something I wanted, but it was unavoidable. Naya’s ties to these people, whether she was aware of them or not, were too rich a resource not to exploit.”

Menace saw red as Terror moved to a console and picked up a radio and earpiece. As he gave instructions for grid searches, Menace tried to suck air into his deflated lungs. The viselike grip on his chest convinced him he was having a heart attack. The knowledge that he’d been so expertly played by Terror cut deep. The fear that Naya, his beautiful, stubborn Naya, might not see tomorrow made him sick.

Pierce approached him. He withdrew something and extended it to Menace. “We’ll get her back.”

Menace’s throat tightened at the sight of the Naya’s collar in the other man’s hand. He took it from Pierce, running his finger over the blue leather and silver tag. It occurred to Menace that they might be successful in rescuing her, but he would never get her back, not in the way he’d once had her. She would never forgive him.

“I know The City very well,” Pierce continued. “I have some contacts there.”

“You don’t know the people she knows,” Hallie interjected, her gentle voice so out of place in the war room. “But I do.”

Vicious turned toward her and put both hands on her shoulders. “No.”

Hallie shot him a daring look. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not risking you.”

“There’s no risk, Vicious. Just get me on the ground. I don’t have to go near the danger. I only need to talk to a handful of people.”

Vicious glanced at Menace. Sympathy flashed in his pale eyes. “Even if I wanted to let you go, Kitten, it’s impossible. You heard Orion. He’s grounded all flights.”

Orion shook his head. “I’m not about to rescind that order. If Naya wasn’t the mole on the ship, there’s still a traitorous bastard among us. Someone sent that data blast that gave awaythe position and timing of our weapon shipment. I won’t put my pilots in harm’s way.”

Hope faded within Menace. If he had to, he’d mount a one-man rescue operation, but without a ship to take him to the surface it would be impossible.

“I know this is difficult for you, Menace, but my hands are tied. If thehazardwere any smaller, I’d be willing to look the other way.”

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