Page 8 of Secret Weapon

“Six, but we shared a room for three years in the beginning.It’s her.”

Ana didn’t have to add “trust me.”We both knew that was a given.And was it really so far-fetched?Ana had escaped to America, and she’d played at being a waitress and a secretary before we teamed up.Was it possible that Darla—Darya, whatever—genuinely liked crafts?That was the part of this story that I found hardest to believe.What was the point of cutting things out and sticking them into scrapbooks?I just didn’t get it.

“Okay, let’s assume you’re right and Nine’s decided to swap her Glock for a glue gun.What are we going to do about it?”

“Nothing.We’re going to do nothing.You need to get Bradley and I’ll get the car and then we can all get the hell out of here.”

“You don’t want to speak to her?For old time’s sake?”

“No!”

“Okaaaay.Maybe she wouldn’t even recognise you.”

“She would.Darya has a freakish memory, especially when it comes to faces.She only needs to see somebody once and she’ll never forget them.And at breakfast, Bradley said the craft shop has been open for two years.When did we take out Zacharov?Just over two years ago.If Darya’s been here in Baldwin’s Shore for any longer, she might not know he died.She’s hiding; she has to be.And if she sees me coming, she’s going to shoot first and then run.I know that because if our positions were reversed, it’s exactly what I’d do.This is a battle we don’t need to fight.She’s made her bed—let her lie in it.”

I was hella curious, but logically, I knew Ana was right.Let sleeping dogs lie.Why wake Cerberus if we didn’t have to?And to be fair, Darla-Darya was probably pretty cosy in her bed with seventeen throw pillows and a crocheted comforter.

“I’ll get Bradley.”

Or not.The scream that cut through the air sent a chill up my spine that had me reaching for my gun.Ana mirrored me.

Animal or human?If I had to put money on it, I’d say the latter, and it hadn’t been a playful scream or a hey-you-surprised-me scream.Was somebody in trouble?

I lifted my chin towards the forest two hundred yards away, and Ana gave a weighty sigh.But then she nodded.We’d spent our whole lives training so that in situations like this one, we didn’t have to turn away.

And once again, we headed into the unknown together.

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