Michael sat back. “Unless he made his arrangement at another time. Or it’s entirely possible they got spooked for some reason. Maybe they changed the time that they plan to meet. It might still be on. So we have to figure out a way into that mission.”
I ran my hands through my hair. “I was the problem, sir. I didn’t see Mads.”
Michael looked bored. “My understanding was that the meet happened early. Becker caught him in her scope by accident.”
“Still, sir, I should have been more vigilant. My team depends on me.”
“That they do. Is there something in particular that you’re trying to say? Because right now I see you trying to accept accountability for something we couldn’t have known. We don’t have all the pieces, and we’re missing something. So let’s backtrack, find out the last place we saw Stannis, and figure out where he went from there. And let’s get someone to wrangle us an invitation to that very private party that Mads is having. I don’t care what we have to do to get that weapon.”
“But sir, I worry that we won’t have enough details. We’re flying blind.”
Michael rubbed his jaw. “I have a source. You know they’re not always the most trustworthy, but I think I’ll get the honest truth out of him for this. I’ll find out. And Marcus?”
“Yes, Michael?”
“This isn’t like the Simone situation. We don’t know for certain if The Firm is involved.”
Michael might not believe The Firm was involved in all this, but I certainly wasn’t accepting that answer. I walked out of his office even more confident in the truth. The Firm, a rival agency, had killed my fiancée, and someone from my side was feeding them intel about missions. It was the only explanation for why they’d shown up at so many of our jobs lately. They had to have an inside track, which meant I might not be able to trust my own people.
Lyra
I learned long ago not to trust Roz’s calm voice. It usually meant that there was rage simmering somewhere inside. And you were better off getting the rage over with right away. Because simmering rage, that shit was going to go nuclear.
“Explain to me what happened.”
It didn’t matter how many times I had gone over this; she was going to make me repeat it and repeat it until she was either satisfied or I was blue in the face and dead. Whichever came faster. “I’ve told you. Comms came on. Addie let me know locations. I was on the Ferris wheel on watch. I could see everything. As Mads approached, there was a woman waiting. To most it would have looked like a date or something. They hugged and kissed. And then he handed her something silver, small. Like a credit card. Kira clocked the exchange and made the note. And then, once we found out who she was, I chased her down.”
She nodded slowly, as if all that sounded correct, but something was still very, very wrong. “But explain to me again how you lost this fight.”
So it was going to be that kind of a day. Nothing was going to satisfy her. “I said I’m sorry. But haven’t you noticed? We’ve had a series of failures lately.”
“Yes, and the common denominator seems to be you.”
“I’ve been working missions to the best of my ability. Having Tyler here isn’t exactly easy.”
It was a good thing I had long since given up on finding real understanding with her. “Don’t give me excuses. I want answers. And why the fuck was Exodus there?”
I stared at her. “We have a confirmed sighting?”
“We do. After all, Kira wasn’t the only sniper on the roof. I want to know why Exodus agents are all over my people.”
What the hell? “I don’t know. I didn’t even see them. I was on the Ferris wheel to do my job. Remember?”
“What is it your boyfriend does again?”
“Marcus? He’s a video game designer.”
“And he was with you the entire time? I just want to make sure that any mistakes of yours aren’t a reflection of him. Because he will be removed from your life if necessary.”
I wasn’t backing down though. She used that tactic on me a lot when I was still in college. Threatening to take away my favorite outfit, or threatening not to give me missions because I had failed a class. She didn’t understand that her coming down on me like that just made me work harder. I was my own worst critic. “You can count on me. I will get the job done.”
“No more mistakes Lyra. None of us can afford anymore.”
Chapter 14
Marcus
Maybe I hadn’t thought through this whole teach Lyra a few things idea. The following afternoon, we were in the gym that was next to our flat, and she was wearing these leggings that should be illegal.
They were vermillion red that seemed to make her brown skin glow, and she’d paired them with a cut off T-shirt that kept showing me oh-so-intriguing glimpses of her midriff.
My concentration was nonexistent. All my energy was directed to making my eyeballs stay on her face and not stray to her tits or her midriff. Or, fuck me to Soho and back, that arse I was itching to take a bite of.
“Like this?” she asked.
I gently encapsulated Lyra’s hand with my own, showing her how to tighten her fist and where to place her thumb for maximum impact. Her skin was so damn soft. And Christ, she smelled good.
My dick was already having a hard time remembering that this session we were having was for practical purposes. To protect her. To keep her safe.
You mean when you can’t. Or even better, when
