Page 79 of Explosive Vengeance

Heath swiped the energy drink from her before she could hand it to Chloe. “Nuh-uh. That’s contraband.”

“Ugh, he’s just no fun at all,” Chloe complained, gazing at the can like a child denied a piece of cake at their own birthday party.

“Nope,” he agreed, not bothered in the least. “And now you’re gonna sleep until I wake you up.”

“I’m not tired,” she argued, but her lids were already drooping.

“Yes you are, and you’re gonna get more and more tired over the next five minutes.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What did you give me?”

“Something to take the pain away and make you sleep.”

Megan chuckled and came over to set her arm around his back. “Oh, I like this guy.”

Chloe sent him an annoyed look. “I like him too, dammit. But when I wake up, I want a meeting about Dubois.” Her voice was slightly slurred already, the meds kicking in. Couple more minutes, and she’d be out cold, not feeling any pain. “I’m ready to end this once and for all.”

Megan nodded. “All of us are. And we’re going to get him.”

Heath was never more aware of the deadline looming before him as he was right then. What if he wasn’t there when they went after Dubois? He wanted to be there. Needed to make sure he had Chloe’s back while she put herself in harm’s way again.

She may have operated alone in the past, but not anymore. Now she had him and the others to watch over her.

****

Chloe squinted as she looked down at the pictures Amber had taken an hour earlier. “Do I look dead to you?” she asked Heath.

“Yes, and put them away, because I don’t like looking at them,” Heath ordered.

Though Rycroft and Trinity had done a damn good job at sanitizing the scene on board the ship and dealing with the local authorities on their behalf, it wasn’t perfect. People had seen what had happened. Word would have circulated by now about a small team taking the ship and freeing the women. Dubois’ eyes and ears would have reported to him immediately.

The only way to protect Chloe now was to prove to Dubois’ network that she was dead. The blood on scene would help, and Trinity had worked something out with the head pathologist at the local hospital. They had a fake death certificate in Gabrielle’s name, and now these shots of Chloe lying on a metal autopsy table, looking dead. She and Megan had done an awesome job with the makeup.

“Think Dubois will buy it?” she asked.

“Let’s hope so,” Megan replied, uploading the last of the images to send to Rycroft.

She hoped so too. Once Dubois was gone, she would be safe. Faking her death would make her as safe as she could get until then.

She didn’t want to jinx herself, but she wanted to end this and then go to England to help the team find the remaining Valkyries. Especially Eden.

And she wanted Dubois gone fast, because she wanted more time with Heath before he left for Syria. He’d taken such good care of her over the past two days, barely letting her lift a finger. She’d been annoyed and grumpy about it at first, but she had to admit, it was damn nice to have him there seeing to her needs. He’d brought her food, washed her hair and helped her shower, helped her dress and made her stay off her feet.

She wanted a relationship with him. But she wasn’t ready to say it, because none of what she wanted was possible until Dubois was gone, so she was trying not to think about it.

Megan picked up her phone when it rang. “It’s Amber. Hey,” she answered. She listened, her expression hardening. “You’re sure?” A pause. “All right. Hang on, I’m putting you on speaker so the patient can hear you.” She hit the button.

“What’ve you got?” Chloe asked.

“A possible hit on Dubois.”

Chloe caught her breath. “A location?”

“Maybe. There’s a series of high-level meetings in Milan with someone known to be tied to the Italian mob. Dubois was seen at the hotel this morning. The meetings are supposed to wrap up tomorrow. If he’s there, he’ll likely be headed back in a day or two.”

“He’ll go back to Paris,” Chloe said, adrenaline pumping through her. “He’ll want to see his family after being gone.” This bastard’s days were numbered. When he came back to France, they would be ready.

“I’ve planted the pictures of you,” Amber continued. “Only a matter of time before he sees them. You got a plan in mind? With you on the DL, we’re not taking the added risk of going after him yet.”

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