Page 34 of Explosive Vengeance

After weighing the pros and cons of allowing others into her private operation, she’d finally made the decision to let the others assist her. She’d spent the morning and most of the afternoon with Megan, reconnecting and talking about the upcoming shipment Chloe was going to intercept while Ty and Heath had hung out. After that the four of them had met for a couple of hours going over logistics, and Chloe had consented to include the rest of the team back in the UK: Amber, Kiyomi and Trinity. Two other former Valkyries named Georgia and Briar were involved too, but stateside working on gathering intel.

It wasn’t easy for Chloe to bring outsiders into her personal life, but Megan had been like a sister to her while they’d roomed together. She trusted her old friend, so if Megan vouched for the other women, that was good enough for Chloe. And if Megan thought Ty and Heath were up for this, then they were. They’d both been SOF, with all the training, skill set and security clearances that came with the territory. They were solid operators. It was just strange for Chloe to be working with them on an op.

“It was only the one woman,” she answered. “Dominic had pilfered her from his most recent shipment of women from North Africa two months ago. He kept her locked up like a slave in his bedroom for his personal use.”

The dark face Heath pulled made her like him even more. “What a fucking piece of shit.”

“Yes, he was. I’m glad he’s dead.”

“And his brother? Is he the same?”

“No. Guillaume’s almost worse, because he’s slicker. A monster hiding behind a polished, civilized mask. Most of his businesses are legitimate in the banking and real estate worlds, and he hides everything else. The most disturbing thing to me is that he has young daughters. All accounts say he reveres them and his wife, and yet he’s fine with buying and selling women on the black market if they turn enough of a profit to make it worth his while.”

“After the things I’ve seen overseas, it doesn’t surprise me,” he said in disgust.

“Me neither.” Nothing would surprise her anymore.

Heath drove toward the lake, following Ty and Megan’s rental car to the restaurant a few kilometers out of town. “This is it,” he said as he parked out front of the Bavarian-style white plaster building decorated with brown wood. The wooden railings and shutters had little hearts cut out of them. Flower boxes bursting with fall colors of yellow, orange and crimson lined each window, giving the place a warm, charming feel.

“Great, I’m starving. Haven’t had a good schnitzel in forever.” She hopped out of the car and waited for Megan on the curb. Inside, the restaurant was dimly lit and full. She’d reserved a table for them earlier under a fake surname.

The hostess showed them to a table for four in the back. Chloe rounded the edge of it, intending to take one of the seats against the wall with Megan, but stopped when Heath went to do the same on the other side. After an awkward pause he grinned, pulled out the chair and offered it to her.

“Thanks,” she murmured as she dropped into it. She always felt better with her back to the wall. They’d been trained to always be on the lookout for danger wherever they went. It was second nature for her to choose a position with some protection and the best sightlines wherever she went, but she supposed it was for Heath and Ty too.

She ordered a beer, and they spent the time waiting for their meals telling stories—Megan and her about funny things they’d encountered in training, nothing sensitive that would give them away if anyone overheard. Ty and Heath told funny stories about some of the jobs they’d worked together as security contractors.

Dinner was a golden brown, pan-fried chicken schnitzel smothered in hollandaise and topped with asparagus and crabmeat, served with roasted potatoes, veggies and braised red cabbage. Chloe wasted no time in digging in.

“This is the bomb,” she moaned around a mouthful of schnitzel a minute later. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Perfection.

“And you should know,” Megan said with a laugh.

Chloe grinned around her mouthful. She hadn’t enjoyed herself so much in months, since that time she’d coaxed Fleur out of her comfort zone and taken her to a racy male strip joint in Paris one night for the hell of it. She’d had to get Fleur drunk to make it happen, and the results had been highly entertaining—not to mention shocking for the shy social worker.

“We working more tonight?” Ty said as he scooped up a bite of bratwurst.

“No,” Chloe said, looking at Heath. “There’s nothing more we can do today.” Besides, she wanted to let her hair down a little now that she was relatively safe and had backup if she needed it. It was rare that she got to be herself around anyone, and never with a man. She wanted to spend some time alone with Heath and see how things went, find out just how hot the spark between them could burn.

She had the feeling they would be hot as white phosphorus together.

They each had another drink, then Chloe ordered herself a slice of black forest cake, because it was criminal not to. Afterward, Heath insisted on paying the whole bill and refused to listen to anyone’s arguments.

“Let me get it,” Ty insisted. “I owe you big time for everything.”

“Nah, forget it.”

“You can’t afford to buy dinner, I know what you get paid,” Ty joked.

“You’re on the hook next time then,” Heath said, and pulled out his wallet.

Chloe was about to stop him, not wanting anyone to be able to trace them through his credit card transaction, but he pulled out some Swiss francs instead. Then she felt dumb for thinking it. Of course he would know to pay in cash and not by credit.

After paying he waited for her by the table as she stood, then followed the others to the front door. She liked the feeling of having him at her back, and his nearness heightened her awareness of him. “Feel like going for a walk?” she asked him.

He gave her a sidelong glance that heated her insides, the dark stubble on his face making him twice as rugged and contrasting with the incredible blue of his eyes. “Sure.”

It was cool outside but mostly clear, and their jackets would be warm enough. “Let’s head along the lake.”

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