But I didn’t like it. They were assessing my relationship with Lyra.
So, it’s a relationship?
Fuck. This wasn’t a big deal. I liked her. She was fun. I could do this, have a personal life and work too. It was the first time I’d even considered that. Ever. So I’d make it work. And I’d warn her ahead of time. But how? What to say? I needed to check myself. As much as I wanted her, there could be no falling in love here.
You keep telling yourself that you can control that.
I did control that, because not falling in love with her was the thing that was going to save her life.
Or you could stop seeing her completely.
Absolutely not. I’d been pushed into this. I hadn’t wanted it. But now that I had her, no one was taking her away from me. I’d figure out a solution because I wasn’t giving her up. And Command was just going to have to get with the program.
Chapter 16
Lyra
“Lyra, don’t make me tell you twice. Retrieval of the girl is your first directive. And I repeat, we’re not to terminate the target. We want him alive. Do you understand me?”
I sighed as I triple-checked my weapons. “I hear you. Don’t kill him. Yup. Take him to the black site. I understand.”
“You’re to deliver him to me yourself, Lyra.”
I sighed. “Yes, ma’am. Jesus, I heard you. I’m not going to go off book. It’s not like I’m in wet work.”
James, our wet work specialist on the assignment, muttered under his breath, “You wish.”
I could hear the exasperation in Roz’s voice over the comms. “God, you’re always so obstinate.”
“You know, you coached me. So I feel like you had a hand in this.”
With a sigh, she added, “Could you try to be, you know, less obstinate?”
“And what would be the fun in that?”
When I was ready, I rolled out of the van, gave Addie the peace-out sign, and then closed the door behind me.
We found the compound where the auction was to take place, and while it looked like a beautiful secluded mansion, I knew it had more security than a military stronghold.
My avenue to enter was the maintenance entrance at the side. Security was focused on what was coming out, not what was going in. According to our schematics, this entrance would wind through the gardens and lead me to the servants’ quarters. From there, along the east side, was the laundry delivery area. All I had to do was follow the corridors leading into the main house.
The place had been built in the 50s when people still wanted their servants out of the way.
It had been remodeled, according to the blueprints that we had, but not much had been changed.
On the comms, Addie’s voice was clear. “Comm check.”
I adjusted my earpiece. “I hear you loud and clear, Addie. I am here at the north entrance.”
Tyler’s voice was low. “Roger. I’m watching your six, Lyra.”
“What? That’s a first.” The words slipped past my lips of their own volition. I knew it was immature, but he was here, on my turf, messing with my controlled world.
Roz’s voice cut through sharply. “Take your grievances offline. Right now, we have work to do.”
I winced. She was clearly tense about this mission. I was too, but she wasn’t acting like herself. I’d talk to her about it later.
At the side entrance, I scowled when I spotted a padlock that hadn’t been there two days ago when I’d scouted. “Houston, we have a slight problem. I’m going to improvise though.”
“What’s wrong?” Roz asked, her voice filled with apprehension.
“There’s a padlock on the side door now. A good one.”
The litany of curses spewing from Roz’s mouth was unusual. “For fuck’s sake.”
“It’s okay. I have this.”
On my hip, I had a retractable grappling hook. I stood back ten feet and shot it over the edge of the wall, as close to the hedges as I could manage. If I could use the hedges as cover and climb over, I’d be in.
“Okay, Addie, hit the lights.”
Thanks to the excessive heat in LA county, Addie had been giving the area rolling blackouts all day in order to mask my entrance that evening. All of the lights in a five-mile radius went out.
With a running leap toward the wall, I hooked in and started to climb.
It wasn’t excessively high. Just ten feet. But it felt like a mountain. Every step I took, I cursed at whoever had put a padlock on that door. When I got to the top, I jumped down, concealed by the mass of overgrown hedges.
I unhooked the grappling hook, retracted it, then hooked it back at my belt before sliding around to a window. A quick check told me no one was inside nearby, so I took out my glass cutter and made a hole large enough for me to climb through without a sound.
Addie’s voice was low and steady. “Okay, a minute and thirty seconds until guard swap.”
Okay, I could do this. I just had to move quickly and quietly. Each guard had a twelve-hour shift, and each shift included three station rotations. We’d come during mid-shift while they switched stations. They’d be less alert. At least, that was the plan.
With the glass cut, I pulled it down, then set it at the base of the building, my feet sinking a little on the wet grass. The sprinklers must have been run recently. Or maybe they had been going off when we cut the power.
With a deep breath, I hoisted myself up the wall, and through the hole I’d cut in the window. “Okay. I’m in the structure. Which door do I take from here?”
“Second on the left.”
I glanced around and saw what I was looking for, and I moved with quiet precision.
“I’m in.”
Addie acknowledged. “Excellent. You have a minute left.”
Okay, a minute. I could do this. I could absolutely,
