Page 62 of Covert Vengeance

Cordova wouldn’t, but Yury would be prepared for that, and forcing Cordova to move up his timeline that much gave him less time to put any plans together.

Message sent, he got on his cell phone as he strode for the bathroom and a long, hot shower. He was exhausted. Sleep continued to elude him, images of Zoya’s suffering tormenting him even in his dreams. He needed this part to be over.

He couldn’t go on like this, and Zoya deserved to rest in peace knowing he’d avenged her. It was the only thing left he could do for her. “There’s a meeting tonight. I’m sending you the location coordinates. I need you to be able to make everything in that area go dark for a short while.”

“How short?” the hacker asked.

“Fifteen, twenty minutes, tops. And I’ll also need you to set up some kind of surveillance for us. Mobile if possible. Satellite’s good. Drone’s better.” When he walked into that location in the dead of the night, he was going to take every precaution. Cordova was a smart, unpredictable bastard. Yury had to be on his game.

Next he called another contact, arranging a crew and a special delivery. The short notice cost him triple what it would have normally, but it was a small price to pay to get what he needed in time. “Eight men with military backgrounds,” he told his contact. “Tell them I’ll double their usual fee. And I’ll also need three armored vehicles along with the usual toys.”

Two hours later he got off the tube and walked the remaining two blocks to the warehouse to meet his contact. Three minutes after the appointed meeting time a delivery truck turned into the fenced-off parking lot. Yury stood at the rolling bay door while the truck reversed and stopped in front of him.

His contact got out, shook Yury’s hand. “You got everything?” Yury asked.

“It wasn’t easy. You didn’t give me much time to work with.” The man went to the back of the truck, unlocked it and shoved the rear panel upward to reveal the contents.

Yury smiled at what he saw. “That’ll work.”

****

Amber’s insides tightened with every step she and Jesse took back toward the manor house. Her body was still flushed with what he had done to her a little while ago. He was right next to her, his hand was warm around hers, yet her mind rebelled at this entire situation.

What was she doing? She needed to be focused on the upcoming op and the greater mission beyond it, not indulging in this senseless infatuation. A relationship between them would never work.

She knew better than anyone how broken she was in that department. Didn’t know the first thing about how it would even be possible. Two assassins falling for each other? Sounded like a recipe for certain disaster, and she didn’t want to be the reason he got injured or killed, and he’d always be in danger with her.

The ghosts of her previous relationship swam in her head. This was just like before, except her growing feelings for Jesse were a thousand times more intense than they’d been for her ex. And it wasn’t just Jesse’s safety on her mind. His presence threw her off balance so much he could wind up being a threat to her as well.

Except…no.

Dammit, no, this wasn’t like before. In her last relationship she’d had to hide who she was, so it was doomed to failure from the start because it had all been based on lies.

She didn’t have to do that with Jesse. He knew her. The core of her that mattered. The good and the ugly bits.

And he wanted her anyway.

At a buzzing sound he paused on the path to pull his phone out of his pocket. “It’s a message on the forum from Stanislav,” he said, looking at the screen. “He wants to meet tonight.”

Unease coiled in the pit of her belly. “When?”

“Oh-two-hundred. He’s given coordinates close to the location I named. We’ve pushed him as far as we can without blowing this. He’s not going to meet any more demands, so we’re going to have to accept his terms.” He tucked the phone away in his pocket, still holding her hand with his other.

“That doesn’t give us much time.”

“No.” He resumed walking, seeming unconcerned.

He was silent beside her as they walked up the pea gravel path through the formal gardens filled with apricot-scented roses toward the back door, but his intentions were clear in the way he gripped her fingers in his and matched his pace to hers.

She didn’t miss the symbolism of it. He walked beside her rather than try to command. Wanted to support and protect her rather than try to control her.

You’ve lost your mind. Enjoy him while you can, but that’s all. That’s all it can ever be, and you know it.

Steeling herself, she pulled her hand free of his and continued for the door, ignoring the look he shot her. It wasn’t that someone else might see them holding hands and jump to conclusions about them.

She didn’t give a shit what anyone thought. But he’d already breached her defenses more than she’d been ready for. Now she had to maintain the ones she had left if she was going to stay sharp enough to see Stanislav captured and move onto the next phase of recovering the other Valkyries.

Everyone was gathered in the parlor/living room when they arrived, gathered around the monitors she’d set up previously. Even Marcus was there, seated in a chair on the periphery, silent and watchful with one hand on the top of his cane, his piebald Anatolian Shepherd curled up at his feet.

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