Page 41 of Explosive Vengeance

That left them with only this backup plan of using Fleur, who had never been a real consideration before now.

Still, Chloe hedged. “I feel like I’m dangling a lamb out there when we know there are hungry wolves around.”

“We’re out of time and options. There’s no other way to get someone on board that ship when it comes in,” Megan pointed out.

Chloe made a frustrated sound and chewed her gum faster. The two of them had been over this for more than an hour now, going back and forth over various plans, and at this point Chloe had to agree that this one had the highest chance of working. Ty and Heath had joined them a little while ago to finalize everything before they drove to Marseille for her meeting with Fleur this afternoon. “I wish I could see another way.”

Megan reached across the table to put a hand on hers, her hazel eyes sincere. “I know she’s your friend. But with everyone else’s cover blown, Dominic Dubois dead and various enemies out there on the hunt for us, she’s our only shot if we’re going to have someone there to meet the boat as usual.”

Chloe expelled a breath, hating that she was right. Posing as the rep, “Gabrielle” had been involved with the business dealings between the broker and Dominic Dubois. That was all over now. The latest chatter confirmed the broker was still sending the women to Marseille tomorrow afternoon, but the only way to verify that was to have someone board that boat and find out.

Problem was, this was way out of Fleur’s depth. “She’s a civilian. She’s got absolutely no training if something goes wrong, apart from some knife skills I showed her once.” The op seemed low risk and simple enough on the surface, but Chloe had been trained to be ready for anything. The people they were dealing with were unpredictable, and dangerous.

“All she needs to do is get on board, verify the women are there, finish the transaction as usual, then disembark and leave the rest to us,” Megan said.

Up until two nights ago, that had been Gabrielle’s responsibility. Guillaume Dubois had immediately cut ties with anyone associated with Gabrielle once his brother was killed. Fleur had an existing cover as an accountant within Dominic’s network, but it was flimsy at best. “Can Amber even build her a solid cover in such a short amount of time?”

“Yes. You’d be amazed at what my sister can do.”

The pride and certainty in Megan’s voice eased Chloe’s worry a little, but not enough. She made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. “Maybe with a good enough disguise I could do it myself.”

“It’s too risky,” Ty said beside Megan, dismissing it. “Dubois has alerted too many people about you by now, and if he found you the other night it means he’s got access to intelligence circles and facial recognition.”

“I know,” she said on a groan. “But even with the four of us posted nearby as backup, it doesn’t feel good enough. I need to make sure Fleur’s covered.” Given Chloe’s profession, making friends was next to impossible. For the past year, Fleur had been her only true friend.

“What did she say when you talked to her about it this morning?” Heath asked from the other end of the small rectangular table.

“I didn’t want to tell her much over the phone, I just set up the meeting for this afternoon. But when I do tell her everything, she’ll say yes, no matter what, because saving those women is her top priority.” While Chloe admired her friend’s determination and devotion to the cause, she wanted Fleur to understand exactly what she might face if her friend agreed to do this.

“Then we’ll keep her safe,” Heath said.

He’d said it to make her feel better, but he knew the potential dangers as well as she did. If something went sideways, none of them would be close enough to intervene in time to stop Fleur from getting hurt, save with a long-distance rifle shot from Ty, who would be acting as sniper, with Megan his spotter. “I’m going to lay everything out for her, face to face. She needs to know the whole story and all the risks before she decides.”

“And if she’s still in?” Megan asked.

“Then I’ll explain the plan, get her set up and prepare her as much as I can.”

“Okay,” Megan said. “While you meet with her, Ty and I’ll find us all a place for the night and start recon.”

“I’ll go with you to and from the meeting,” Heath said to Chloe. “Make sure no one follows you there and back.”

Her instinctive reaction was to refuse his offer. But she wasn’t doing this on her own anymore, and having Heath there to watch her back would give her one less thing to worry about. “All right.”

Ty glanced at his watch. “It’s a seven-and-a-half-hour drive to Marseille. We’d better get going.”

They packed up, sanitized the safehouse, then hit the road. “Want me to drive?” Heath asked her as they headed for their rental, while Megan and Ty took their own.

“Nope. Driving helps me think,” Chloe answered. She was an unapologetic control freak. He would just have to deal.

“You could sleep for a couple hours. You didn’t get much last night.”

Try hardly any, because on top of everything else going on, she’d been all hot and bothered by their play at the lake. The interruption about Eden had put a damper on things. Maybe it was for the best. He tempted her to throw all caution aside and enjoy the fling while she could. She couldn’t indulge in that until this op in Marseille was over.

Twenty minutes into the trip, however, her mind began to wander, distracted by the man beside her. He was impossible to ignore, especially with him so close and the unrelieved sexual tension simmering between them. She couldn’t remember ever being this into a guy. He made her want him just by being close, and if she didn’t have him soon, she might explode.

Her body remained at a constant simmer, making up her mind for her. Once they finished in Marseille, she intended to make the most of whatever time remained for them together, since he’d be leaving soon and she wasn’t sure what would happen to her. Constantly living life on the edge made it tempting to go after what she wanted, and for once, she wanted to indulge.

She wanted Heath. On top of her. Inside her. Anything to stop this unrelieved, gnawing tension.

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