“Yeah, though I want a beer more than a session.” The elevator doors opened, and they walked in. Luckily they were alone. “I’m shocked. I hope I can spend some time with my friends tonight.”
He hoped the rest of the team was already on it. Not that there was a whole lot of team left since the Lost Boys had gone. Owen was in Scotland with Rebecca, and Tucker and Jax had left with their families for the States. Rob would be back, but he was with his brother, Tucker, for now.
He’d come to think of those men as family, and he hated the thought that he was losing them.
Ariel’s eyes were on the floor indicator as it began the descent down to the garage. “I hope so, too. It would be good to have a family dinner, though you should know Nick’s probably going to be late. He’s on a surveillance assignment with Brody. But Walt is back at The Garden. He’s running one of his crazy experiments. You know the mad professor. He thinks he can find a solution to everything.”
Walt Bennett was a brilliant doctor who’d gotten off his original path when he came up against The Collective. He’d worked for McKay-Taggart and Knight since then, and his focus wasn’t merely on medicine. He’d learned a lot about tech over the years.
So if he was reading Ari right, Damon had texted her then she’d put a plan in motion, one that included putting Nick Markovic and Brody Carter on the streets, with Walt using all the tech he had to figure out where they were taking Kim.
“Maybe I should find some place to hole up and drink for a couple of days,” he said, knowing someone was listening. “It’s not every day you find out your ex-wife is a traitor.”
A soft gasp let him know Ariel hadn’t been told that part. Damon’s text had likely been brief and to the point. She hadn’t known how Levi had taken her.
“I find it hard to believe,” Ari said as the doors came open.
“Her name was on the list.” He would tell her as much as he could.
She bit her lip and nodded as they came up to the security station.
The guard smiled at her. He was an older man who’d probably been manning the desk for years. “Ms. Adisa, back so soon? I thought you were going to be a while.”
She returned her pass and gave the man a smile that could charm the most ill-tempered of men. “It was a quick meeting, and I have to get my friend back home. He’s had a bit of bad news. I was wondering if you could tell me the best exit to take. I heard there’s a VIP group going out of the high-security lot, and I would prefer to avoid getting caught in that traffic. You know how the Americans can be.”
It was such a good play since some of his Agency coworkers had made scenes over the years, and it made them all look like assholes. Nothing could connect people like having to deal with assholes.
“I would go west if you’re heading back to Chelsea, my dear,” the guard said with a fond smile. “Though you should be good, if you get my meaning.”
Then they were already on the road.
She reached out and shook the man’s hand. “Excellent. Thank you, George. I’ll be back in a few days, I suspect. Please send my love to your wife.”
He wanted to hurry her along, but she was playing this perfectly. She’d gotten the guard to admit that Levi’s group was already gone, and they’d left through the southernmost exit that would block traffic to the east. Now they knew what road they would most likely be on, and they could watch the traffic cameras.
The guard buzzed them through and they were in the parking garage, Ariel’s heels echoing with each step she took.
“I need to get my bag from the boot,” Ariel said with that placid expression on her face.
He’d been completely unaware she’d put a bag in the trunk of the sleek Mercedes, but he opened it for her anyway. She reached in and came back with what appeared to be a gym bag.
“You drive, please.” Ari slammed the trunk door down and moved to the passenger side. “I’m not good in traffic.”
He’d spent a lot of time in London and knew how to drive in the city. He wanted to be the one with his hands free, but if one of them was going to take a shot, she was the better choice.
Like Kim was better. Kim had killer instincts and always knew when something was going down. Only once had she…he wasn’t going there. He needed to focus on getting her back. Then he could let his rage take over. Anything was better than this complete sense of hopelessness he felt at the thought of never seeing her again.
He slid into the driver’s side, and the minute he closed the door he was finally able to breathe. “I want you to take that asshole out if you can.”
He wanted to be the one to do it, but he wouldn’t argue at this point. He wanted to know Levi fucking Green was dead.
Ariel clicked her seat belt in place and opened the bag as Ezra backed the car out of the space. “Play it cool until we get to the street. They’ve still got cameras on us for a couple of blocks. What the bloody hell happened? I saw Kim not twenty minutes ago and she was fine.”
“Levi Green happened.” He drove in a careful manner, well aware they had one more guard to get through.
Ariel reached over and activated the touch screen on the dashboard. It seemed Damon had some extras on this vehicle because the touchscreen didn’t merely bring up the car’s systems. It connected to a video call. Walt’s
