His eyes widened. It was that same incredulous look she’d seen on her dad’s face far too many times.
“We’re getting your tushie down to the basement.” His voice brooked no argument.
“But—”
“It’s a half-baked plan and you know it.”
She grabbed Asher’s arm. “You don’t understand, the best part of the plan is the ‘some such shit.’ I’m really good at flying by the seat of my pants. I really will figure something out. It’ll be good, and I’ll get those men into the office and hold them there.”
She whipped out the gun from the back of her skirt and held it up in front of his face to show him.
“Jesus. Put that away. What the fuck, Eden? Where did you get that?”
“Leland gave it to me. Trust me, I know how to use it. Don’t be a pussy, the safety’s on.”
He was going to kill Kane. Why in the hell did they not have a file on this woman? He was flying blind with just her resume and hot-looking picture. There was a hell of a lot more under the surface, and he hated not knowing what he was dealing with. But there was definitely something more than just a translator, and it was time for Kane to start digging.
“Put the gun away, Eden. You’re right, we could use another set of hands. How well can you shoot?”
“My brother Pete is one of the owners of Force-Tactical out of Vegas. He’s taught me a few things.”
Ah-ha. That explained a lot right there. Pete York was an amputee who had taken early retirement from the Green Berets and started a firearms, martial arts and combat training center run entirely by disabled vets. If Eden had been trained by her brother, she was good as gold.
“I still need you to get—” he started as patiently as he could.
“My tushie down to the basement. Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first few times.”
She was giving in, he could hear it in her voice. It was time to press his advantage.
“Look, Eden, I like the idea of brainstorming, but let’s not do the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants part. You don’t know what the rest of my team has planned. You don’t know if all three of those guys are bad guys. There are too many variables.”
Intelligent green eyes twinkled up at him. “But look, gun.” She held up the pistol again and grinned when he winced.
“And it’s called a some-such-shit plan. It’ll work,” she cajoled.
“You are so trying to play me. It’s not going to work. Did it ever work with Pete?”
“Sure, when I was five or ten. However, it stopped working with my dad and brothers as soon as I was dating age. Downstairs, right?”
“Damn right. I want you where I can see you.”
“Fine,” she huffed. “But if you don’t have a good plan, I’m going for it. Remember. Gun.” She went to reach for it again.
He held up his hands. “Stop already. Remember. SEAL.”
She rolled her eyes and started down the stairs two at a time. That was in a pencil skirt that showed off a very nice ass. Before she could reach for the handle of the basement door, he stopped her.
“Now what?”
“We proceed with caution.”
“Maduro’s men are outside,” she started to protest. Then she gasped. “Damn, you’re right. I’m an idiot.” She pulled the damn gun from the small of her back. Holy hell, she was a hundred times worse than Cullen’s sisters. He was so screwed.
“Me first,” he demanded.
“Agreed.” At last, a little bit of sense. He raised his eyebrow in a question.
“You have body armor. But I have your back,” she assured him.
He quietly opened the door. The lights were dim.
“The lights were always low,” she answered his unasked question. “The lights are on in the back office where Leland and Suzanne are.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
He made his way across the hall, between the offices and what he assumed was the walled-off vault. He didn’t hear a sound behind him. He turned and saw that Eden was holding her shoes and walking in her stocking-covered feet.
Asher heard a man talking.
“I told you not to talk. Just write down what you want to tell me.” The man was clearly agitated.
Asher relaxed. That had to be Leland talking to Suzanne Azua. Still, he wasn’t taking any chances. He checked every office on his way down the hall, ensuring they were empty. Eden kept her post at each of the doors, covering him. Yep, she had definitely trained with her brother.
“No, I’m not sure what Eden is going to do, but I trust her instincts,” Leland was saying.
Eden sauntered into the office in front of Asher. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Leland. I appreciate it.”
Leland did a double-take when he saw Asher following her into the office.
“I have to admit, I’m pretty damn glad to see you with our girl,” Leland grinned at Asher. “She was hellbent on doing something to help, but I like the idea of her being somewhere safe better.”
“Me too,” Suzanne rasped.
“Oh, one way or another, I’m going to help. This is just a pitstop while Asher explains his plan. Or should I say, as he develops his plan.”
Asher went over to the woman who was trying to sit up in the chair. Even with the blue blood-stained scarf wrapped around her neck, she looked regal. He could see where Cynthia got her good
