Page 26 of Assassin's Game
For now.
I pulled the Humvee up to the rear entrance of the bat cave, turned in my seat, and met Mikaela’s piercing green gaze. “Drop your weapons in the vehicle,” I said, glancing at the holsters visible on each of them. “They’ll be returned when you leave.”
Short of a pat down, which would probably go over like a cattle prod to the nuts, there was no way to ensure Mikaela’s team was free of weapons. We could only reduce the risk. The six of us might be matched in strength, but we knew we were facing a tight mercenary team with excellent skills—our few foreign contacts had given us prime examples. So when Mikaela’s face appeared in front of the security camera, I hadn’t been surprised. We’d let them come to us. Meeting them on our own turf gave us only a slight advantage, but we’d need any advantage we could get this time.
We had one more—if they weren’t working for X willingly, he likely hadn’t shared our secret with them any more than he’d shared their existence with us. They might know something wasn’t on the up-and-up, but not what, exactly. They’d underestimate us just like they’d underestimated me the first time, and we could use that.
“And if we don’t?” the redhead asked.
I put the truck in reverse, looked back over my shoulder, and shrugged. “Then a trip back to the gate won’t take long.” They were locked into the rear remotely; short of a bomb in their tightly confined space—not a good idea—there’d be no escape before I had them well away from the mansion. And my family.
Silently they began to unstrap their weapons. I grabbed the keys from the Humvee and stepped out, Diesel following closely. Three scowling faces stared down at me as I opened the rear doors, sweeping my hand out in invitation. “Welcome to our home.”
The word choice was deliberate. A reminder that this wasn’t a military base.
Without responding, all three stepped out. I closed the doors and led the way inside, Diesel at my heels, the heat of Mikaela’s stare—okay, probably three stares, but hers was most important—searing my back. A sense of unreality swept through me as I watched her walk into the bat cave.
Remi and Levi waited inside. I moved directly to flank my oldest brother, noting with amusement that Mikaela and her teammates mirrored our positions exactly.
“Brothers,” I said, “may I introduce Montgomery Wolfe”—I pointed to the dark-haired man on Mikaela’s left, then the redhead on the other side—“Rhys Bryant, and Mikaela Nixon.”
The trio showed no reaction to my knowledge, but they did wince when I said Mikaela’s name. “Just Nix,” she snapped.
Call her Nix? From my research I knew it had been her father’s call sign in the military, so I could understand the connection, but I wouldn’t use it, not when her real name fit her perfectly. And not when it irritated her for me to use it. “I’ll stick with Mikaela, thanks.”
Montgomery growled under his breath. I smirked, keeping my eyes on my woman. That’s how she felt to me. Every woman I’d slept with, sex had been my goal—that and nothing else. This woman, this drive went so much deeper than that. So deep it scared me to think about it.
And fear wasn’t a good look in the middle of a showdown, so I’d stick with cocky. Plus, the way the green of her eyes darkened to forest when she got pissed fascinated me.
Levi crossed his arms, the bulge of them showing off that he was just as strong as the two men facing us. The swirl of tatts filling every inch of skin said he wasn’t afraid of pain. “Former Delta Force,” he said, eyeing Rhys and Montgomery. “Serving honorably your entire military careers, according to all records, until five years ago.” His gaze snapped to Mikaela. “When you went AWOL just before your arrest for the murder of your commanding officer, Jay Nixon.”
Mikaela’s lips tightened, but she didn’t shoot out a denial. She didn’t need to—that expression told me what I needed to know, and the knot in my gut softened the slightest bit. Whatever the story was, they weren’t guilty.
When Levi gave a slight nod, I knew he’d seen it too.
“You disappeared without a trace, officially, right around the time Nixon’s daughters also disappeared,” he continued. “Makes sense your team would’ve stuck to Europe and the Middle East given how hard it would be to stay hidden here in the US.”
Mikaela lifted a brow. “How do you know we weren’t here and simply undetectable?”
“Because if you’d been in the US,” I pointed out, “we’d have heard of you.”
“Doubtful,” Rhys said. “Unlike you, we know how to keep a low profile.”
I outright grinned. “Is that right?” They’d had a good look at the Atlanta social pages, then. But if they knew anything about the Assassin, I’d eat Diesel’s dog food. “You think you know who we are? Mikaela?”
Remi’s grunt on the other side of Levi was amused.
Mikaela’s eyes narrowed at her name, but she took her time responding. I could feel her taking our measure, weighing the odds. Whatever she saw, she finally spoke. “You look like three rich boys playing at being tough, but you hacked highly classified military records no one on the outside should have access to. When I mentioned X at the restaurant, you knew who I was talking about,” she said, gaze fully trained on me now. Meeting her eyes was like getting zapped with a live wire. “You have to be working for X.”
She didn’t believe that, no matter what she said. If she did, they’d have come in guns blazing. “Don’t kid yourself, darlin’.” I deliberately drawled the endearment just to get under her creamy skin. “There’s no playing about it. I don’t need X’s help—or anyone else’s—getting into records. I could hack ‘highly classified’ in my sleep.”
And practically had.
She crossed her arms beneath her breasts, and I tried not to notice how they plumped beneath her T-shirt. “Then what are you after? And why?”
“Thewhyisn’t up for discussion,” Levi finally answered. Remi and I stepped closer to him, giving our silent support. “But I suspect thewhatis the same thing you’re after.”
Silence ticked between us for a long moment before she spoke. “This seems like a heavily one-sided deal. You know things about our history, things that could be used against us. And yet we know nothing about you, really.”
