Page 42 of Explosive Vengeance

“Any new updates on the search for Eden?” he asked as they neared the French border.

With everything else going on, they hadn’t talked about the other Valkyrie. “Not yet. Amber and the rest of the team are working on it.” Chloe had been up half the night going over her previous interactions with the suspected Valkyrie with Amber and Megan. Another Valkyrie named Kiyomi was staying at the UK headquarters with Amber, and had been trained with Eden for a while. They needed to locate Eden and figure out if she was the same person Chloe had been dealing with off and on these past few months.

“Do you guys all know each other? Or know of each other?” Heath asked.

“No. The program was really strict, and apparently there were different phases. The people in charge were careful to keep us moving around, disrupting attachments and never knowing what the other trainees were doing. We were all trained to operate alone.”

“So this team scenario is all new to you.”

“I knowhowto work with a team. Just haven’t done it before.” So far, it wasn’t as awful as she’d imagined. She trusted Megan, liked Ty, and was more attached to Heath than was wise.

She stopped to fill the car up about an hour out of Marseille. While Heath filled the tank, she went into the service station bathroom and changed into a disguise. Chin-length black wig, colored contacts, some simple stage makeup to change her features a little, and nondescript clothes that would help her blend in anywhere.

When she came back to the car Heath stopped in the act of hanging up the gas pump and stared at her.

“Done?” she asked, liking the way his gaze tracked over her body as she walked toward him with a little extra sway in her hips.

“Yeah.” He didn’t hide that he liked what he saw.

“Here, you drive this time,” she said, tossing him the keys.

He caught them just before they hit his chest, a grin lighting his features, making him twice as hot and impossible to tear her eyes off him. “Hey, thanks.”

“Sure.” Allowing him to drive this last stretch gave her time to get ready for the coming meeting and memorize their surroundings as they entered town.

Once they were back on the highway, he glanced over at her as she checked something on her phone. “What’s next for you after this? Will you go to the UK and help the others?”

“Not sure. Depends on what happens with Dubois.” She had to take him out first before she even thought about what came next for her.

They arrived in Marseille right on schedule. She had Heath drive around a bit so she could get a visual of the main areas she was interested in.

Chloe made sure she was at the meeting point early, a small pub a few blocks from the waterfront. The briny scent of the salt air filled her nose, the cries of gulls swirling in the air as she walked down the cobbled street to her destination with Heath somewhere behind her, close enough to keep watch but not so close it looked like they were together. It was strange but nice to know he was watching over her.

She chose a seat at the back of the pub in a spot that afforded her the best visual lines to the entrance and exit points, ordered a glass of wine, and waited.

“She’s on her way in,” Heath said through Chloe’s earpiece soon afterward. “No tail. You’re clear.”

Chloe didn’t respond, watching the door. A minute before the meeting was supposed to start, a woman in a trench coat and black hat walked in. Fleur, wearing a brown, shoulder-length wig to cover her bright auburn hair. She scanned the pub, an expression of relief crossing her face when Chloe waved at her.

Chloe stood and embraced her in a big hug, subtly watching the door. “It’s so good to see you,” she said in French, then put her mouth close to Fleur’s ear and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Do you think anyone followed you?”

“Good to see you too,” she responded, then whispered, “and no.”

Chloe glanced around one more time before sitting. Three tables were occupied across the room, but no one was paying any attention to them except the server, and everyone was too far away to overhear them anyway.

Fleur ordered herself a pot of tea and some lunch. She frowned at Chloe when the waiter left. “You should have ordered something. Iknowyou haven’t eaten yet, and how many times do I have to tell you—energy drinks arenotfood.”

“I’ll have a few bites of yours.” Making sure they still weren’t being watched, Chloe got right to it. In a low voice she outlined everything she had gone over with Megan and the others, careful to keep her voice barely above a whisper when she talked about sensitive things.

Fleur listened in silence until she finished, taking it all in. What Fleur would need to do. Where Chloe and the others would be. And what the potential risks were.

Chloe studied her friend, looking for signs of worry or stress. “Do you understand? This could be a trap.”

Fleur looked calm as ever. “My cover’s safe, and solid. I can do this.”

The steel in her friend’s voice made Chloe’s whole chest ache. Fleur was going to see this through, no matter what. It filled Chloe with a fierce pride—and a whisper of fear. “Are you sure?” She was only going to ask once. “You won’t have comms with us. Even an earpiece is too risky if they scan you.”

Fleur gave an emphatic nod. “I’m sure.”

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