our eyes and ears once we’re in. What do you say, Ethan? How about being one of the team?”
Ethan stared at him a long time, and Gabe wasn’t sure what answer the kid would give. He had a complicated brain and a whole lot of baggage.
“Do I get to have a gun?” Ethan asked.
“Why don’t we work up to that?” Gabe said. “I’m sure Jack would love to give you some lessons.”
Jack grimaced, and the others laughed as the tension was finally broken.
“Let’s get to work,” Gabe said.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Stop looking at me like that,” Grace said. “This isn’t a date. We’re hunting.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get at this point.” Gabe grabbed her hand and twined his fingers with hers. “Have I ever told you I like feeling the callous on your trigger finger? It’s a hell of a turn on.”
“I’m sure a therapist would have a field day with that.”
“We both know exactly what we are Grace. There’s never been any room for remorse in our line of work. Sympathy and compassion, yes. But not remorse. Someone’s got to do the dirty work. And only the best survive. We’re the best. I’d think it’s perfectly normal for people like us to find a certain skill set to be attractive to the opposite sex.”
“Your psychology minor is showing.”
“Wait till I get you on my couch.”
She laughed before she could help it. The sound was rusty, and a part of her wanted to feel guilty. She shouldn’t feel joy. Should she?
They strolled casually through the streets of Westminster—a couple holding hands, both armed to the teeth. It was midafternoon, and the sun was shining bright overhead, burning off the perpetual gloominess of gray clouds that kept threatening to fill the sky. There’d be more rain once the sun went down. They had one goal only for their outing—to flush out Kimball’s men and give them a message to give to their leader.
“What do you think?” Gabe asked.
“I spotted one on the roof of the building across the street. He’s probably working as part of a two- or three-man team on a rotation schedule. They could’ve rented the top floor of the entire building. It’s what I would do.”
“Did you get that, Ethan?” Gabe asked.
“Loud and clear. I’m already checking.”
They were testing out the equipment they’d use once they were in Iran. Ethan had developed a wireless listening device that used satellite technology so the listener could hear conversations thousands of miles away. The device fit entirely inside the ear, so it was completely out of sight. They could turn the device on and off with a touch of a button on the watches they all wore. Gabe was still amazed at how clear the sound quality was. It was like Ethan was in the same room with them.
“She’s right. Top floor was rented out two weeks ago by the Darwin Corporation. The day after the package from Frank Bennett arrived here.”
“Jack, my guess is that Kimball’s other team is down at the end of the round-a-bout, since we’re on a dead- end street. He’d be able to follow our tracks for longer from that end.”
“I’m already down here and have spotted them. It’s a two-man team.”
“Let one of them live. Give him the message that I want to meet with Kimball.”
“You got it, boss.”
Grace touched the tiny switch on her watch and turned off her mic. She grabbed Gabe’s hand and did the same to his.
“You might as well tell me what you’re hiding about Kimball, Gabe. You’re trying to protect me from something.”
They walked through an alley and came out on the street behind their headquarters. Gabe tugged on her hand and pulled her close.
“What makes you think I’m hiding anything about Kimball?”
“I can read you like a book. I know every expression on your face. I might not know exactly what the circumstances are, but I know when something is wrong. I’ve always known,” she said, referring to their past. “You don’t have to protect me. I can take whatever it is.”
He drew her closer until their bodies bumped together, and he took her face gently between his hands. Grace’s breath caught at the look in his eyes—a mixture of longing and want and need. And love.
“You still love me,” he said softly.
She didn’t have the power to deny him. His gaze captivated her, and her eyes fluttered closed as he brought his mouth to hers and whispered the softest kiss across her lips. He pulled back, a look of regret that he couldn’t finish what he started in his eyes, and he ran his hand affectionately down the length of her braid before releasing her completely.
“I’ll tell you about Kimball when we get back to our room. I promise.”
“Our room?” Grace asked with a raised brow.
“You don’t think you’re sleeping alone tonight, do you?”
“No, I suppose not.” Grace took her Sig from her shoulder holster and checked the clip. “You take point, and I’ll be clean up.”
“I never argue with a lady.”
They both turned their ear pieces back on and checked in with Ethan before seeing to their task. The building was modern, a gray-bricked structure of five stories that was used for various businesses but was for the most part unoccupied. Gabe made quick work of the back door lock, and they slipped inside quietly. They took the stairs instead of the elevator to the top floor, their footsteps silent on the concrete steps.
They spoke to each other with their eyes and hand signals only as they reached the door for the top floor. They knew there was a man on the roof, but they weren’t a hundred percent sure how many others they’d find. From what Jack had said about the men who attacked him, they were professional thugs, not professional killers. There was a world of difference between the two.
They went in hard and fast, Grace taking the low stance while Gabe took the high. There was no one in the long, narrow hallway. The walls were painted a stark white that was so bright it hurt the eyes, and the carpet was industrial-strength burgundy. The overhead lights were fluorescent, and the one at the far end flickered on and off.
They hurried down the hallway, guns pointed at the floor, and flanked the lone door that divided the long walkway. Gabe knocked, and they listened as feet shuffled across the room and came to a stop in front of the door. The very distinct sound of someone chambering a round in a shotgun echoed from inside the room.
Gabe didn’t wait. He fired twice through the door and once into the deadbolt and kicked it open. Grace moved in fast, stepping over the body, and a man by the window reached for his gun on the table just as she took her shot. They hurried through the room, pocketing the men’s cell phones and searching for anything else that might lead them to Kimball. There was a laptop on the couch they’d send Ethan over to collect later.
“Everybody okay over there?” Ethan asked.
“We’re good. Heading to the roof,” Gabe said.
The rest of the floor was clear, so they headed back into the hallway and to the stairwell that led to the roof. Grace opened the heavy gray door and went through quickly and quietly. She knew where the man had his equipment set up, and the door faced away from his line of sight.
He was right where she thought he’d be, looking through the scope on his camera, looking for them. There wasn’t a weapon in sight. They’d decided shots fired on a roof in the middle of London wasn’t a great idea, so Grace motioned to Gabe, and he snuck up behind the man like a bandit, snapping his neck cleanly with a twist of his hands.
“Clear,” he called out to Jack through the mic.
Gabe picked up all the surveillance equipment and left Grace with her hands free for her weapon in case they met anyone else on the way down.
