Page 33 of Covert Vengeance

When Marcus was seated behind his desk, his left leg stretched out on an ottoman, she began the meeting. “Here’s what we know. The contract on Amber was definitely initiated by Yury Stanislav. Miguel was good enough to tell us what he knows about him. Based on that, Jesse’s input and our own research, we can safely say that Stanislav won’t stop until he gets Amber. Obviously we’re not going to let that happen, but until this immediate threat is dealt with, we’ll all have to up our security measures.”

“Where is he now?” Jesse asked. He’d alerted the base when they’d landed at Landstuhl. As crazy as Stanislav was, he wasn’t nuts enough to try to enter restricted airspace to attempt an attack there. No, he was way smarter and more cunning than that.

“He left that same airfield in Syria about thirty minutes behind you, that’s all we know so far. We’re in the process of tracking where his flight landed, but by now he’s probably found the last leg of your flight was bound for England, so for the moment let’s assume he’s in the UK somewhere.”

“What about the others?” Amber asked, drawing Jesse’s attention. She had to be tired. She’d been through a lot over the past few days—weeks—yet it only showed in the shadows beneath her eyes. Her inner strength impressed him. “I’ve been off the grid and busy with finding Hannah, so I haven’t had time to work on anything else. Have you ID’d any other surviving Valkyries we can still bring in?”

“Possibly a few, yes. Our mission is still to recover them and bring them here, then transition everyone into our own WITSEC-style program,” Trinity said to everyone. Then to Amber, “You and I’ll need to get working on that immediately to get everything ready while we try to locate the remaining operatives.”

Amber gave a vague nod, and even from across the room Jesse could practically hear the wheels turning in that busy mind. “I’ll start tomorrow, but I’ll be leaving before first light.”

Megan looked at her sharply. “No way.”

Amber met her sister’s gaze, her expression set. “I’m not staying here with the rest of you while there’s a target on my back. If Stanislav is in England, it’s only a matter of time before he finds me. If I stay here, I might as well paint a big bull’s-eye on the roof so he can take usallout.”

“Well, I’m not letting you leave again, so how’s that?” Megan fired back.

“I can’t stay and you know it.” Theyou can’t make mein her tone was clear.

“The manor is secure,” Marcus said quietly in his northern English accent, drawing everyone’s attention. “As long as everyone follows certain procedures, this will be as safe a place as any for the time being.”

“I agree,” Trinity said, then looked at Amber. “There’s strength in numbers. If we all work together we’re practically unstoppable.” She gestured around her. “Everyone in this room knows the risks and yet, here we are. We’re all equipped to handle this, and our best shot at getting rid of Stanislav is to bring him out in the open first.”

Amber gave a tight smile. “You mean I get to be the bait.”

“Yes.”

Jesse didn’t like the idea. Hell, he hated it. But if anyone could survive acting as bait in something so dangerous, it was Amber. And she was absolutely their best hope of drawing Stanislav out of the shadows.

Like it or not, it made sense, and they couldn’t afford to sit around in hiding. Each day that passed increased the likelihood that any remaining Valkyries out there would be hunted down. This team had to be proactive and eliminate Stanislav if they were going to be able to carry on with rescuing others.

Jesse swept an assessing gaze over Amber, stopping at her face. Whether this plan went forward or not, he would do everything in his power to keep her safe. He wasn’t going to lie, this was more than just a job now. He admired her. Respected her and her ability.

He also wanted her with an intensity he’d never experienced before.

The redacted file he’d been given on her told him a limited amount about her personal life. As far as he could tell, she didn’t have much of one, and any romantic relationships she’d been involved in were brief, nothing serious or long-lasting.

He’d been the same way, but for the first time, he wanted more than just physical. More than he’d ever wanted from a woman before. And he wanted it with Amber.

He’d never had so much in common with a woman. Had never imagined meeting one who could hope to understand him on the deepest level.

But Amber could. And now that he’d gotten involved in this, he wasn’t letting her walk away.

****

It wouldn’t be the first time she’d offered herself up as bait to kill a target. But then Amber had never offered herself up like a sacrificial lamb to the likes of Yury Stanislav, either.

“I have to go check on Kiyomi,” she said, meeting Cordova’s stare as she turned for the door. He was like a magnet, silently drawing her to him whenever they were in the room together. If he stayed, something would have to be done about that. In the meantime, she needed to keep her distance whenever possible.

She could feel him watching her as she left the room and headed for the stairs. It was as if he could somehow read her mind and knew she wanted him.

It had been a long time since she’d been with anyone. More than a year at this point, and that had only been for one night. She wasn’t built for relationships. None of them were. The one time she’d tried, it hadn’t ended well. All she could offer Cordova was a night or two, no more.

That was her rule.

She couldn’t do what she did, live the way she did, and get emotionally involved with someone. Megan was the only exception she was willing to make, and while Amber had initially planned to slip out of the house before the sun came up, she could see the merit of the bait plan.

Since she was integral to that plan being able to happen, she couldn’t leave yet. So she hoped Cordova would be the one leaving, sooner rather than later, because she couldn’t afford any distractions. And something told her that if he stayed longer than a day or two, she would become more than distracted. Maybe attached. Maybe even worse.

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