Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
“We’re sure it’s this location?” Luke tucked his hands beneath his armpits, eying the property on the screen.
“The boys are an hour out. They’ll be able to confirm once there,” Owen stated, cracking his knuckles before drinking his gasoline-colored coffee. They all needed a pick-me-up after having barely slept since their arrival in Monaco. “What’re the rules of engagement?”
“Try and keep everyone alive so we can find out for sure if Ender was working with al Jawali, since the son of a bitch probably won’t ever wake,” Luke said.
“’Kay.”
He whistled a breath between his lips and peeked at Jessica on the couch, her dark-rimmed glasses on as she swiped at her iPad. “Anything from Harper?” he asked her.
“Not yet,” she replied.
“Our asses are gonna be toast,” Owen said. “Eva, Harper, and now our other crew are being brought in on this.”
“It’ll be on me.” Luke was prepared to handle whatever verbal lashing Will threw his way. He knew the guy wouldn’t fire him. Well, not as long as he came through with this mission, at least.
He took a moment to allow the idea of getting fired to sit with him, to let the ideas of a future play out without having such a classified life—all he saw was Eva. And yet, a gut-agonizing pain ripped through him at the idea of not being on his team anymore.
How could he choose between the love for his country and the love for . . .? He shook his head; he needed his thoughts to fall through the cracks of his mind so he could focus.
He vaguely heard the sound of a ringing phone as he stifled a yawn—because yawning at such a moment didn’t feel right. Of course, having sex with Eva twice earlier hadn’t been exactly the right fucking time, either. But he hadn’t been able to stop himself.
Knowing the sacrifice she’d made for the mission had nearly severed his heart. And, had he not taken her in his arms then and there, he would’ve bled all over the expensive hotel rugs.
They couldn’t be together; they both knew that. Even now that she had privileged information about his team, it didn’t change anything. He’d have to wipe any connection she had to him to keep her safe. He couldn’t risk anyone ever coming after her to get to him, could he?
Jessica snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Did you hear me?” She removed her glasses and clutched them in her palm.
“No. Did you say something?” How long had he zoned out? Christ. Eva on this mission was like a stun gun to the mind.
“Harper called. She said her handler at the CIA found out she’d been looking into Reggie’s old files. She had to tell Will, so he could cover for her since he was the one who’d pulled her from her assignment to help us.”
“How much does Will know about why we’re looking into Reggie?” he asked.
“Only as much as she does, which isn’t a lot,” she said.
“There’s only one reason Will isn’t calling to rip us a new asshole right now.” Luke’s arms tensed.
“He wants to do it in person,” Jessica said.
“What did you report out to Will in your last message?” Luke asked.
“I told him we’d tracked Malik to a location outside of Monte Carlo, and we were prepping to move in.”
“Harper doesn’t know we made contact with Malik, which means Will doesn’t know we lied to him,” Owen said.
“He’ll sure as hell figure it out when he shows up,” Jessica snapped.
“We should have time to wrap this up before his plane even lands in Nice, but I’d like to know how much time we’re working with. Find out what flight he’s on,” Luke instructed.
“Do you think we can pull off a miracle before he gets here?” Jessica asked.
“If your intel is right about the location of Malik’s family, then yeah, I think so.”
“Well, that’s good, because I’ve never been wrong,” she said, confidence blooming in her eyes once again.
Eva was still asleep, and Luke had no intention of waking her, not with his men a few minutes from infiltrating the home where Malik’s wife and daughter were hopefully being held.
“Asher says they’re five minutes out,” Owen reported.
“Let’s hope his family is alive for him to FaceTime with, and that this isn’t a trap.” Jessica’s fists bore down atop the desk as they all waited with bated breath.
“Where’s Harper? I thought she’d be here by now,” Luke asked.
“Shit.” Jessica checked the time. “She should be here by now.”
Luke looked to Liam. “Get her on the phone. Make sure she’s okay.” He strode to the window and parted the blinds, watching the sun rise above the sea.
“Her phone’s not connecting,” Liam said a minute later, and his words had Luke pivoting to face him. “I called the CIA safe house, too. No answer.”
“When was the last time we heard from her?” Luke asked his sister.
“An hour ago when she said she was leaving to come here,” Jessica answered.
“It’s only a twenty-minute drive.” Worry climbed up into his throat. “Liam.”
Liam grabbed his Sig off the table. “On it.”
“They’re in position,” Owen said, grabbing Luke’s attention after Liam had left the room.
“It’s a go,” Luke commanded and crossed his arms as he waited—as the entire room waited—to see what the hell would happen.
He hated being behind the scenes, but he knew he couldn’t control everything, and he trusted his men to get the job done.
But still, it never felt right putting any of his people on the line if his own life wasn’t on the line right there with them.
A knock at the door sent a chill down his spine, and he hoped it was Harper, but surely Liam would’ve run into her on the way down to the lobby, which meant it was either Eva, or Knox and Asher with Malik.
“It’s me,” Eva announced.
He opened the door, and she stared at him with her big hazel eyes, so full of life and a million other things he couldn’t quite place right now.
“I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been tossing and turning for hours. Is there news?”
“Come in.” He stepped back so she could walk in, but before he closed the door, he heard the chime of the elevators. “Just in time,” he said when he saw his guys with Malik.
Dark bags were beneath Malik’s eyes, and his brow was damp with sweat. No twitch of the eyes, though—no bluffing. “Have they found my wife and daughter yet?”
“We’re hoping they’re about to,” Luke said and closed the door, still unable to look Asher and Knox in the eyes. He’d forgiven Jessica for allowing Eva to put herself in the line of fire, so why was he still so pissed at his friends?
Maybe it was because he couldn’t get the memory of them pulling him off of her out of his mind. They clearly didn’t understand what it was like to care about a woman so much.
But, he’d made sure of that with his rules, hadn’t he? He’d all but created a team of men who were only capable of meaningless relationships and one-night stands. Had he been wrong?
No, it’s to keep everyone safe . . .
A tightness in his chest had him gripping his hand over his heart. “What’s the status?”
Malik remained standing with clenched fists at his sides, overlooking Owen’s computer at the desk.
“They confirmed it’s the house, but then I lost contact. Someone opened fire, and I’m not sure if it was our guys or not.” Owen steepled his fingers beneath his chin and stared at the open call with the team.
Static. Shouts in Turkish. And more rounds pelting the air.
A voice buzzed through the pops of noise: “He’s at your nine o’clock.” And then a half-dozen bangs ripped through the line.
Luke wasn’t sure if any of Ender’s men would make it out alive, but as long as his guys did, he was fine with that.
“No sight of the hostages, but there’s a locked basement,” Eddie, from Scott & Scott Securities, announced once the bullets ceased.
“Are you all okay?” Jessica asked.
“All good on our end, boss,” Eddie said.
“Baba!” A voice shrieked out the word for father in Turkish a minute later. “Baba?”
Malik fell to his knees and covered his face at the sound of his daughter’s voice over the speaker.
“They’re okay,” Eddie said. “What do you want me to do now?”
“There’s a location I want you to take them to for today.” Luke gave him the address to the home he’d stayed at with Eva in the Poconos only last weekend—days that felt like an eternity ago.
“Can I talk to them?” Malik pushed upright, and Luke nodded the okay to Owen.
Malik stood before the computer and spoke in Turkish to his family. Luke only caught about every other word, but most of it was apologies for his brother and nephew.
Luke glanced at Eva. She swiped tears from her cheeks and regarded him with heavy-lidded eyes.
“You promise to keep my family safe? I don’t care what you do with me, but them—”
“You have my word,” Luke said, hoping to hell Will didn’t snap his word in half later that day.
“Then we go back to where we were last night. The safe is hidden there,” Malik said.
“Knox, stay with Eva,” Luke said.
“I’d like to come.” She lifted her long, wet lashes, killing him with her beautiful eyes.
“I’m sorry. I need you to stay here.” He swallowed the distance between them in two quick strides and palmed her cheek, forgetting about everyone in the room, and brushed his thumb over her warm skin. “This is almost over.”