Page 26 of Beautiful Vengeance

Marcus stared after her, feeling like she’d just knocked the breath out of him. It took every bit of willpower he possessed not to go after her, drag her back inside and press her up against the door so he could kiss her again, this time with full body contact.

He expelled a hard breath. As much as he wanted her, it was probably never going to happen. His job was to protect her, not get her into his bed.

There were faceless, lethal enemies out there wanting to see her and the others dead. Marcus was prepared to do whatever was necessary to keep Kiyomi safe.

Even if it meant letting her go.

****

The whir of saws and screwdrivers echoed in the vast space of the warehouse as Janelle walked through the building site. Everything was finally coming together, after dumping more funds into the project and motivating the project manager to get it moving. In another few weeks, this place would be ready.

Shortly after that, the first test subjects would arrive. And if everything went according to plan, the woman who had inspired this entire project would be back where she belonged at last.

“Janelle. I didn’t realize you were coming in.”

She put on a smile for the project manager as he approached. “I like to keep on top of things.”

His eyes gleamed with unmistakable interest, hoping for the repeat performance he wasn’t going to get. Even though she was in her late-fifties, she still had it, and looked far younger than her age. “Yes, you do.”

Fucking him hadn’t been a complete chore, but it had done the job in motivating him to get things with the facility back on schedule. And he was so clueless about what was going on here, she didn’t even have to kill him when this was done. “Everything’s going smoothly, I trust?”

“Perfect.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Her cell rang. The caller was in the UK, where she’d had a team combing through newspapers and other data, trying to locate any of the missing Valkyries. “Excuse me.” Moving a discreet distance away so the PM couldn’t overhear, she answered.

“I think we might have found something,” the female voice said. One of her operatives.

“Oh?” Up on the second floor they were installing the sound-proofing material inside the test rooms. None of the crew had any idea what they were for. Everyone thought this was going to be a medical research lab, looking for cures for cancer, MS and ALS.

That wasn’t even close to the truth, but it suited her purpose.

“We’ve been following up dozens of new leads. None of them have panned out yet, but this one caught our interest. A story out of a town here in the Cotswolds.”

Janelle’s attention sharpened. Every potential lead they’d followed had resulted in a dead end. “I’m listening.”

“I’ve sent you the link, but basically three teenagers were caught doing stupid shit on Bonfire Night. That’s—”

“I know what it is. And?”

“It involves a disabled veteran. There are no names mentioned, but the description of the event was interesting. The boys claim someone jumped out of a tree and attacked them, using flashbangs to stun them, then took them all down singlehandedly, stripped them and left them tied to a tree for an hour or two. One of them specifically used the word ‘ninja.’ Other reports from locals say it couldn’t be the veteran, and two of the boys said the person who attacked them was slightly built.”

“So it could have been a woman.” Perhaps even a Valkyrie.

“Yes.”

Janelle smiled. Men always underestimated them. Teenage boys would be no different. “Anything else?”

“A police report was filed by a guy named Marcus Laidlaw, a disabled vet. I checked a map of the area and there’s a large property called Laidlaw Hall. Matches the address listed. Locals say he’s sort of a hermit, keeps to himself mostly, but there’ve been cars coming and going from there recently. He’s got no family, no close friends that anyone knows of.”

“It could be their base,” she finished, intrigued by the idea. “What’s the name of the town?”

“Stow-on-the-Wold. Heart of the Cotswolds, thirty minute drive from Cheltenham.”

Where members of the missing Valkyrie team had last been spotted nine days earlier. Her pulse picked up. The timing and location fit. This could be it. “Start doing some recon.”

“Already working on it. Got a team ready to pose as city workers fixing a water line in the area.”

“Good. Keep me informed.” She ended the call and read the article, the scientific part of her fascinated by the prospect of Valkyries teaming up and living in a secluded location.

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