Page 30 of Redeeming Meg

“Stone gave you the order to protect me at all costs?”

Michael Stone walked on water in Declan’s book. He would go to hell and back for the man. “The one and only.”

“Following me back down to the second floor and helping me figure out what happened to the USB isn’t defying him, though. You’d actually be following his orders, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re asking me to walk a fine line. We both know that pursuing the USB will put you in imminent danger.”

“I’m a black swan. Every mission puts me in imminent danger.”

That truth couldn’t be disputed. Nor could the fact that every mission went sideways, no matter how well-prepped they were.

Flynn had thrown them into this disaster without any warning. While he trusted them to figure things out on the fly to solve their own troublesome situations, ordering them to bail seemed like a copout. Was he trying to cover his ass, which wascaught in a sling between the president—who’d demanded he activate their tiny, damaged division—and a no-win situation?

Declan gravitated to no-win situations. They made his pulse quicken and his blood heat.

Meg was one of them. A no-win relationship that he was bound and determined to turn around.

Win-win.

That was his goal.

At that moment, the director’s voice startled them both. “What are you still doing there?” Flynn demanded through their comms. “The Romanian police have called in their SWAT team. Do not get caught. Evacuate now!”

Meg lifted her brows a fraction in question. Declan sighed and gave a nod. “I follow you,” he said softly.

Meg’s grin broadened. She made some static noises in her throat, totally unbelievable. “Sorry, you’re breaking up, sir. What was”—more fake static—“…can’t…hear…” Static. “…you…”

She removed the earbud, sliding it into her pocket.

Everything in his past came down to this moment. Was he really about to throw it all away? Because sure as shit, if he did this, he would never work for the CIA again. He’d be blacklisted. Hell, he’d probably end up in a black site prison, and no one would ever hear from him again.

The thrill of it charged the blood in his veins. That, and the open invitation on Meg’s face.Follow me into hell.

Stone would have to move over.

He removed his comm, hearing the distant sound of Flynn’s voice yelling at them, and turned it off. “If you want my help, let me take the lead,” he challenged.

Her grin faded. “Blackmail? Seriously?”

“Seriously,sunshine.” He tweaked the end of her nose again, which he knew she hated as much as Spence’s too-cheerful British slang. “Do we have a deal?”

If steam could’ve come out of her ears, it would have. Her lips pressed into an irritated, straight line, and she stepped away from the door, hands on her hips again. “Fine. What’s our next move, oh great and wise Declan Reid?”

ELEVEN

The grin Dec shot her made her blood boil, but she couldn’t help the racing of her heart at the sight of it. She’d missed that wicked look. The one that suggested he was about to lead her into something dangerous and heroic.

“Every embassy has a communications director who handles tech support. Regardless of what Anderson said, if we can find our tech in the group downstairs, we can get access to that information before Hagar.”

It was a reasonable plan of action, but Hagar and Anderson were already three steps ahead of them. There might not be enough time to get to the gymnasium, find the person they needed, and do what had to be done. “Remember Sarajevo?” Meg asked.

“Which time?”

“The four bomb special.”

The grin left his face, and she was sorry about that. “What about it?”

“We need to do the same thing here.”

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