Page 25 of Secret Weapon

“How many of us are left?”

“No more than four.”

“You, me, Vik… Who else?”

“Maybe Ilya.”

Ana pulled a face, which summed up my feelings about Ilya as well.

“What happened to—”

“Can we just stop talking about this?”

Because if she asked about Rad, all those old wounds would open up, and they’d taken years to close.I still saw him in my dreams.That dumb, goofy smile he wore when we were alone, the last kiss he’d blown me, the shadow of him slipping into the home that was to become his tomb at the end.For me, that moment had been the beginning.The beginning of the rest of my life.

Except now I’d come full circle.Here I was with Nastya, wondering what fresh hell I’d be plunged into next.

The antiseptic stung, but I’d had plenty of practice at hiding pain because pain was weakness and weakness was a death sentence.And the stick-on stitches fixed me up faster than a needle and thread or superglue.The awkward silence that followed?Less comfortable.When Emmy’s phone buzzed, I felt a momentary flicker of relief, but I should have known it would be short lived.

“Oh, for crying out loud.”

“What happened?”Ana asked.

“Nate and Carmen got bored on vacation.”

“What’s new?”

“A week ago, Carmen swore she’d spotted Reed Dorrington in a restaurant, but Nate thought she was mistaken.Long story short, they need a plane to bring Dorrington back.”

Okay, I’d bite.“Who’s Reed Dorrington?”

And who were Nate and Carmen?

“He’s a particularly nasty little shit who had a fondness for raping coeds while he was in college.Daddy’s money helped to get him out of a couple of jams, but eventually, the inevitable happened and he killed a girl.Of course he got bail, and of course he skipped, and since Cuba declined to extradite, he’s been living it up in Varadero for the past three years.”

“And this Nate and Carmen—they’re friends of yours?They’ll bring him back?”

“Exactly.Which means we’re stuck here until tomorrow unless we want to fly commercial.”

“You have your own plane?”

Emmy held up two fingers.“But one’s undergoing scheduled maintenance.”First-world problems.My heart bled.“Guess we’d better see if we can get our rooms at the Peninsula back.Ana, are you done there?”

Hell, no.She wasn’t leaving.“Luca told you to stay here.”

“Aw, it’s so sweet that you listen to cops.”

“He’s also a friend.”

Ana choked on a laugh.“You’refriendswith a cop?”

“We have a mutually beneficial relationship.”

Emmy’s turn to snort.And wince again.Didn’t she learn the first time?

“You’refuckinga cop?”

Normally, I’d have tempered my reaction, but today, I was feeling more like my old self than I had in years.So I burst out laughing too.

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