25. Eva
EVA
With only my backpack slung across my shoulders, I made my way out of the airport, making sure to keep my head covered as I went.
I had plenty of cash on hand to make it around without drawing too much attention to myself.
I’d lived on the run for years. Those old instincts hadn’t left me even after all this time.
“Keep moving,” Lock said through comms. “Take the second taxi.”
“You know, I’m well aware how to get around on my own. I’ve done this before.”
“Cash would hand me my ass if I let anything happen to you.”
I scoffed at that. “You know, for someone who claims to know me well, you sure have forgotten who I am.”
“I know damn well who you are and that you’re very capable. But we’re getting Cash back. I can feel it. And I will not bring him home only to have his wife mutilated.”
I rolled my eyes and waved down the second cab, getting inside.
After giving directions, I sat back and enjoyed the ride as I kept a watchful gaze on my surroundings.
There was a car following, and I knew it wasn’t Lock.
He wasn’t going to be in sight, but that was okay. This was what he had planned for.
“They’re following.”
I rolled my eyes, having already figured that out for myself. “That’s sort of the point.”
“What’s that?” the driver asked.
“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
As the streets flew by, I clocked three different vehicles following me.
I hadn’t counted on so many Shadow agents following me, but it made sense.
They assumed I was going to see Cash, which was precisely the point.
But even if I took them out, that still left way too many of them out there hunting us.
The cab pulled over in front of a dilapidated building where I was meeting Lock and Eli.
After handing over the money, I made a show of checking both ways before making my way up the stairs of the old building.
I slipped inside and walked upstairs, keeping my steps measured.
The moment I heard the door open behind me, I knew I had them.
I rushed up the stairs and into the old apartment, slamming the door behind me, but as expected, the door burst open, knocking me on my ass. I let out a yelp as my bad shoulder protested. Even though I’d had surgery years ago to fix it, I still had moments where pain flared.
The man who walked through the door was as sinister as they came. As he stalked toward me, his black shoes glimmered with a fresh coat of polish, and his suit shifted ever so slightly with every step he took. I scrambled back a step or two on my elbows, letting fear take over my features.
The man seemed to get pleasure out of terrorizing people, and while I didn’t understand that aspect, I definitely understood what it felt like to be on the other end of the fury of a man like this. They were all the same, all out to use their intimidation to get their way.
“Please…” I begged as he hovered over me. He knelt down, one foot on either side of my body as he pulled a gun from the small of his back.
“Where is he?” the man asked, his voice nothing more than a calm rumble.
My breathing hitched in my chest as I looked around wildly. “I—I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
His hand snaked out, grasping my hair tightly, and he yanked me toward him. “Your husband. I know you came to meet him. So, be a good girl and tell me where he is if you want to live.”
“Why would I do that? You’ll kill me.”
His grip tightened as he pulled me closer. “I guess you’ll never know,” he hissed. “But I can promise you that if you don’t tell me, I will make this very, very painful for you.”
Tears sparkled in my eyes, making it impossible to see him clearly. Damn, this was the best performance of my life. I really should have gone into theater. Fox would be so proud of me right now.
“Please…I don’t know why you’re doing this!”
“Because your husband broke his word.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I screamed, earning me a backhand to the face. “I swear! He hasn’t been home in over a year. I haven’t heard from him!”
“Is that why you took the first flight over here? Why you’re trying to hide why you came all the way to London? He needs help, and you came to find him. Where would he go?”
I whimpered as he tore hair from my head. That bastard was going to pay for taking his anger out on me. “I…I don’t know. I thought if I came here, he would find me.”
“And?”
“And what? I don’t know! I just…he’s not guilty! He couldn’t have done what they’re saying he did!”
“So, you’ve had no contact with him?”
I shook my head wildly, watching the calculation in his eyes. He had no idea where Cash was. But he did want him dead.
“Then I’m afraid you’ve outlived your usefulness.”
He racked the gun, but I was faster. Sliding my knife from the hidden thigh holster, I slammed the knife up into his gut, taking him by surprise.
When he shifted to look at where my knife was planted, I used the opportunity to grab another knife with my left hand.
Only this time, I slammed it up and into his back, hitting his kidneys.
As he started to tip over, and blood dribbled from his mouth, I shoved him off me and jumped to my feet. “A very convincing performance, if I do say so myself.” I ripped the knife from his gut and wiped it on his clothes, then holstered it. “If you’ll excuse me, I just need the other knife.”
I rolled his hefty weight and jerked the knife from his back, ignoring his grunt of pain. He wouldn’t last too much longer. I kicked his gun away, then pulled my hair out of my face, tying it up just as Lock walked in.
“Jesus, I’m never going to get used to seeing that.”
I snorted in amusement. “Like you’ve never walked in on a dead body before.”
“I have, but seeing you do it…” He shook his head. “We’ve got the other two. Did you get anything from him?”
I shook my head. “They don’t know where Cash is. They thought I would lead them directly to him. Just as we thought.”
Lock sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face as Eli walked in. “Nice,” he grinned.
“Alright, it seems everyone has a tail, so that should help us take them out, but we’ve got another issue. I got a call from Rae. OPS was attacked.”
My blood ran cold at his words. “Is everyone okay?”
“The silo is fucked, but it seems everyone’s okay. However, one of Zoe’s producers showed up for a live-action movie. Our secret is out. Everyone knows about the silo now.”
“It was bound to happen,” I sighed. “I’m surprised we’ve lasted this long.”
“Reed Security showed up. Thankfully, Rae had the forethought to call in a few favors as we left. They finished off the team that went after OPS after our ladies took most of them out.”
“Wait, where was Dash? And Max?”
Eli grinned. “Well, Dash got in the fight, but Max didn’t even know what the fuck was going on until they shot his whiskey. As you can imagine, he was pretty pissed.”
“So, where does that leave us?”
“With no one watching, I’d say, give it a day to be sure no one else is following us. Then we can make our move.”
I didn’t like the idea of waiting, but he was right. If we left too soon and someone else was watching, we’d only lead them right to Cash. So, as much as I wanted to see my husband, we had to give it more time.”
“Fine. I hope you got me a nice hotel room.”
The smile on his face creeped me out, and it was only then that I realized why he was so happy about it.
“You didn’t.”
“I didn’t. Fox did.”