Page 15 of Redeeming Meg

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He shouldn’t have touched her. She was like a skittish colt, and he’d pushed her too far too fast.

But damn, he hadn’t been able to help himself. On the bike, feeling her tucked against him, his arm around her waist, he’d nearly lost control. She smelled of vanilla and cinnamon, with just a hint of some flower he couldn’t name. The end of her ponytail had kept brushing across his face, and he’d wanted to bury his nose against her neck, the soft skin there vulnerable and on display to him.

After months of being cut off from her, it had overwhelmed his senses. With only a few layers of material between his dick and her ass, it had been all he could do to keep his phone straight enough for the flashlight to help guide them.

If she’d felt his hardness, she hadn’t let on. She hadn’t acted affected at all, in fact. She’d remained tense and on alert—as she should have given the circumstances.

But that’s exactly what had tipped him off—she was too tense, too rigid. She wasn’t about to admit that she felt anything for him other than loathing.

Maybe he was a fool to believe otherwise.

As they entered the former embassy, nothing but the shell of what it had once been, he forced himself to refocus his thoughts on the task at hand. He couldn’t allow the past to matter right now. If they were to succeed, all of them had to be hyperaware.

The empty building was more like a three-story home, and the ghosts of its former employees seemed to hover in the corners. The storms sweeping through the city had lightened only slightly, rivulets of water tracking down the windows.

As they slipped from room to room, dust motes danced in the beams of their phone lights. Whatever security system had been in place was no longer active, but Del and Flynn were once more able to speak to them through their comms.

“Loch Ness, this is Swan One,” Meg said, hailing their boss. “We are on approach to the target. Over.”

“Swan One, this is Loch Ness,” Del responded. “We read you loud and clear and have you in our sites. Over.”

“Swan Two, what is your entry plan?” Flynn asked. He wasn’t much for radio etiquette.

Tessa responded before Declan could answer. “Through the tunnel between the former embassy and the new one.” When the three of them looked at her, she cringed. “Sorry, this is Black Swan…um, Four, I guess? Hey, commander.”

Meg looked away. Black Swan Four had been Jessie’s designation.

Flynn growled. “Architect, you are to stand down.”

Tessa straightened. “You’re kidding, right? I’m your ace in the hole.”

“You no longer work for me. You cannot be part of this mission, as Swan One knows full well.”

There was a message there. Maybe even a threat. Meg didn’t seem to care.

Arguing was wasting time. Declan tapped his mike. “This is Swan Two. Entry will be through the tunnel connecting bothembassies. Swan One and I will use it to access the target and locate the red bag. Three and The Architect will remain in positions outside. Over.”

“Exit plan?” Flynn asked, ignoring his mention of Tessa being involved.

He didn’t have one. He had several. Always did. Which their boss knew. He was simply checking off the boxes on his mission list. “Exit plan one, retrace our steps. Exit plan two, use an available ground floor escape route. Exit plan three, rooftop evac.”

“That would require a helicopter, or have you developed wings and can fly?”

“Pegasus has been activated, has it not? Over.”

Meg narrowed her eyes. She’d believed they’d be on their own once they’d secured the USB.

Flynn chuckled. “On the off chance you do not need a daring rooftop rescue, they’ll be stationed three clicks south. Loch Ness will provide the coordinates. You have until sixteen hundred hours to meet up with them. If you blow that window, you’ll have to find your own ride home.”

He set the timer on his watch. “Roger that.”

“Do we still have eyes inside the embassy?” Spence asked.

Del responded. “Hit and miss. Cables have been damaged. At least one server has been destroyed, possibly on purpose by the staff to avoid intel falling into enemy hands. Most sections of the compound have no active security cameras as this point, but we have satellite imagery. The Chief of Mission left yesterday, but there are employees stranded inside.”

Could be better, could be worse.

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