Page 54 of Covert Vengeance

“Same,” Georgia added.

Trinity ended the call and lowered her phone to her lap. “He’s on board. We can go ahead with what we’ve outlined on the Stanislav op. We plan it and execute it ourselves. The less he knows about the details, the happier he’ll be, and the less he’ll have to deal with on his end once it’s over.”

Kiyomi wasn’t in any condition to go hunting, but damn, she wished she could.

“What about the guys?” Megan asked, gesturing to the computer screens on the table. “What’s their involvement gonna be on this thing? I mean, former Green Beret and two military-trained assassins…”

“Stanislav’s going to show up with a team, so us having solid backup’s a good thing,” Trinity said, then looked at Amber. “What about Cordova? I’d say he’s proven himself worthy. But do you trust him enough to be brought on board for this?”

Kiyomi looked at Amber, curious as to her answer. There was definitely something brewing between those two, and Kiyomi hoped her old friend was ready for it.

Expression impassive, Amber stood and turned for the door. “I’ll go talk to him.”

****

Jesse climbed out of the back seat of the old Land Rover and hung back to talk to Bautista as Ty and Marcus headed for the small building that served as a detached garage for the classic cars Marcus had inherited along with the estate. They’d just come back from a tour of the property, and Jesse was convinced the former SAS member owned a slice of heaven.

If he got the chance one day, Jesse wanted that kind of retirement. Not nearly on as grand a scale as this, but a decent house that was paid-off, and as much acreage as he could afford surrounding it.

He liked space. Room to breathe, away from prying eyes. And after doing what he did for so long, spending his remaining years in privacy and peace and quiet sounded pretty damn awesome, and he’d been careful to sock away most of the money he’d made.

“What’s your take on Stanislav?” he said to Bautista in Spanish. He didn’t get to converse in his native tongue too often anymore and kinda liked the chance to.

“You mean in general?”

“Yeah, and on this idea of using Megan and Amber as bait.”

“Guy’s evil as fuck and twice as ruthless. As for them acting as bait?” He lifted a shoulder. “Word is he’s bent on avenging his dead girlfriend, and his ego’s big enough that the plan will probably work.”

“He still in tight with Bratva?”

“No, he’s definitely out. But he’s still got connections, and a fuckton of money to get what he wants. So if you’re asking me if he’s still as much of a threat now that he’s out of Bratva, the answer’s yes.”

“Then they’ll want him dead too, because nobody just leaves Bratva.”

“Right.” He eyed Jesse. “Unless you’re asking me something else, for a different reason?” A spark of amusement lit his deep brown eyes. “Maybe, say, a certain brunette hacker you’re concerned about?”

Oh, he was concerned, all right. But he wasn’t going to admit how into her he was when he wasn’t even sure he had any shot with her. No sense making a fool out of himself if things went nowhere. “I’ve seen her in action. She can handle herself.”

Bautista arched a dark eyebrow. “So you’re not worried?”

“It’s Stanislav. Let’s just say I have…reservations.”

“Ah. That’s different then.” His tone was dry.

Jesse changed the subject. “You’re back in Miami now, huh?”

“Been there a long while now. Got myself a signed pardon and everything.”

“Is that right? How’d you manage that?” Dude had a reputation in cartel circles that had been known to make grown men piss themselves when they learned he was hunting them.

“Some guy named Rycroft who used to work for the NSA. You’ve probably never heard of him.”

Jesse grinned. “Nope. But I gotta ask, because it’s killing me. How’d you get out of that world and start over in the civilian world?”

“Georgia,” he said, plain and simple. “She’s all the motivation I needed to leave my old life behind. We still have to watch our backs even with the pardon, but we’ve managed to make a good life for ourselves.”

Jesse nodded. “A sniper, huh?”

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