Page 4 of Toxic Vengeance

She snorted. “That’s not happening.”

Anger punched through him, surprising him with its force. “Oh, it’s happening.” He turned right at the next light and sped through the light traffic. He wanted to get her some place safe so they could talk in private, find out what the hell was going on and who she was working for. “In the meantime, you need to explain what—”

He broke off at the sound of the door opening, gaped in astonishment as Nina/Eden dove out onto the road and rolled away from the car.

“Jesus Christ!” He hammered the brake, wrenched his gaze up to the rearview mirror as “Eden” rolled to a stop on the pavement behind him, then popped up like a seasoned stuntwoman and darted for the sidewalk.

Zack threw the car into park and jumped out to chase her. He bounded over a hedge and tore after her, his shoes pounding against the pavement. Just as he rounded the corner he caught a flash of her as she veered from the sidewalk back toward the road, then lost sight of her in the traffic waiting at the light.

Cursing under his breath, he searched frantically left and right as traffic passed by. Where the hell was she? She couldn’t have gone far.

He glanced back at his vehicle—

Just in time to see her hop into it and drive away.

Swearing, Zack whipped around and raced after her, urgency screaming through him. He couldn’t lose her. Not after all this time, not after what she’d done. But his efforts were useless. Within seconds she’d blown past him and had vanished from sight.

“You gotta beshittingme,” he muttered, pulling out his cell phone to report it, even as he knew it was a waste of time. By the time anyone located his car, she would be long gone.

Who the hell was she? Who had sent her after Terzi tonight?

Whatever the answers, there would be hell to pay for what she’d done tonight. Zack had to find her and bring her in before she got herself killed.

Chapter Two

Eden didn’t stop her rental car until she reached her destination—a mid-sized town six hours away in mainland Ukraine. She found a nondescript hotel and paid for a room in cash, interacting with the innkeeper as little as possible before hobbling up the stairs to her room.

In the bathroom she gingerly peeled her jacket and pants off, exposing the raw, scraped mess of her knees and elbows that had gotten stuck to her clothes. Jumping out of that car had been her only shot at escape. She’d rolled to minimize the brunt of the impact, but at that speed, she’d lost some skin.

She winced as she stepped under the spray of the shower and the water hit her abrasions. Blood dripped down her skin, forming pinkish rivulets as the water swirled down the drain. The pain centered her, drove away some of the numbness she’d been encased in since running into Zack Maguire seven hours ago. He’d gone by the name Zack Mitchell back when they’d first met, but she’d already known who he really was.

Of all the things that could have happened tonight, running into him in that hallway was the last thing she’d expected.

She’d only gone with him in the first place because it helped her get out of the estate faster. He was a contract officer for the CIA, and must have been there tonight on some sort of operation. Maybe involving Terzi, but maybe not, as there were plenty of other potential targets in attendance. Sticking around any longer would have been disastrous for her.

Seeing him again had shaken her to the core. She’d spent the better part of a year doing her best to forget him and move on, but that had been futile. He was even more gorgeous than she remembered, and she remembered plenty because she still thought about him every day. Wondered where he was, what he was doing. Whether he’d tried to look for her after she’d left. She wasn’t sure if it would be better or worse if he had.

Eden knew exactly when things had shifted between them. The night before the op to kill her target in St. Petersburg. She and Zack had gone to dinner together again. Up in her hotel room later, rather than moving straight to sex as they had been, he’d led her out onto the balcony instead. Gazing out at the lights of the city below them, he’d wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her in total silence, just absorbing each other’s presence. When he’d finally spoken, he’d asked her about meaningful things like her hopes and dreams while wrapping his jacket more tightly around her and angling his body to shield her from the cold breeze.

That was the moment he’d ceased being just an asset and became something far more important. Something that had made her question everything.

He was a liability to her now, and her for him. She’d risked too much by continuing their relationship for as long as she had, and had wound up almost paying the ultimate price for it when she’d left him that morning. That was all the reinforcement she’d needed to cut ties with him forever.

An empty ache filled her chest as she got out of the shower, dried off then dressed her wounds with antibiotic ointment and bandages. No one had ever gotten to her like he had. She’d never let anyone in that far before. She’d shown him parts of herself that she normally kept hidden—even if she’d lied about who and what she was. He still knew her better than anyone else ever had.

With Terzi dead, she had to go to ground. The pressure was higher than ever before. Invisible enemies were closing in, and she still hadn’t received word from her handler, though Eden had reached out again days ago asking for help. Now Zack would be searching for her too, along with whomever he answered to within the CIA.

At least with Terzi gone, it would disrupt that organization for a while. It would also disrupt the shipments of weapons and women sold off to fund more arms deals and criminal or terrorist activity all over the globe.

Dressed in shorts and a loose-fitting top to give her bandaged knees and elbows some breathing room, she carefully stretched out onto her back on the bed, every bump and bruise protesting. Using a secure phone she checked her messages.

Zero.

Worry ground in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t like Chris to go this long without responding.

She turned on the TV to see if the story about Terzi had hit the media yet. A local news station was talking about his death. It was already being reported as a murder.

She’d leave before dawn and get out of the country using a disguise and a fake ID. But this time…she was concerned. She’d never felt so isolated and alone as she did right now.

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