Chapter 10
Rav
By evening, we’d established our base of operations in the study. Drew had established our secure communications with Halifax. Zac and Emmett were on the roof terrace, watching for approaching traffic, and the rest of the team had gathered for an initial briefing.
Brooke took a seat by the window, looking out at the lights of the city.
“I’ve heard back from Noah,” Scarlett began. “He’s set up a meeting for seven o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Instead of sharing how I genuinely felt—that she was stupid and stubborn to even be here, let alone to trust that man—I let out a small growl.
She flicked her eyes in my direction, expressing her response. She knew I was right. But she was going forward anyway. “If he’s willing to risk meeting with us in person—”
“It’s a trap,” Malcolm and I said simultaneously.
Scarlett cocked her eyebrow at each of us in turn, then continued. “If he’s willing to risk meeting with us in person, that means he’s going to provide us with intel. If he were going to warn us away again, he would have called or texted.”
“Or,” I said, “he told you to stay away, and since you didn’t listen, he’s planning on nabbing you to ensure you don’t mess up his plans.”
“He said to come alone.”
Malcolm balled his fist on the table. “And even bigger absolutely not.”
“Alone is the key, though.” Scarlett leaned forward, an excited glimmer in her eye.
“Let’s assume Fenix were the ones who tipped off the police about Pendragon.
That means he knows they’re here. If he wants a meeting with me, he knows we’re here, too.
If he were planning on taking our entire team out of the equation, he would have asked to meet all of us. Not just me.”
She had a point.
Drew spoke as he typed on his laptop. “That’s all based on two assumptions. One, Fenix was behind the tip about Pendragon. And two, Noah thinks you’d actually listen and come by yourself.”
His words almost pulled a smile from me.
But Scarlett didn’t back down. No surprise. “We know he and Enzo are jockeying for the number two spot at Fenix. We know they’ve been at odds with each other.”
Drew paused his typing and gave Jayce a knowing look. “And Enzo would kill any one of us if he had the chance.”
Jayce smiled at him, no doubt remembering when Enzo had tried to kill them both, and Drew had shielded her.
Like you did for Brooke. Remember that. You tried.
But you failed, Rav.
Scarlett nodded. “He’s taking a big risk meeting us in person. This is important.”
“I’m going with you,” I said.
Scarlett’s slight smile told me she’d expected exactly this response. “That’s what I thought. And Zac will drive.”
The same team from that night two years ago—when we thought Noah had died.
Malcolm’s fist clenched tighter. “I should be the one covering you.”
“And that right there,” Scarlett said, pointing at his face and the way his jaw was flexing, “is why you’re not going. It would be too easy for Noah to bait you.”
Malcolm didn’t argue further, but from the way his nostrils flared, he clearly knew she was right.
“Speaking of morning appointments,” Brooke said, finally turning from the window, “I have an appointment at a lab in town at ten thirty.”
Scarlett considered this. “If Rav isn’t back from the meeting with Noah in time, Malcolm can accompany you.”
Before Malcolm could respond, Brooke shook her head slightly. “Actually, Percival can meet me there. If the Carabinieri are watching them, Fenix won’t bother, so I’ll still be under the radar.”
She was choosing familiar over unknown, Pendragon over Reynolds.
Malcolm’s eyes flicked between Brooke and me before settling back on Scarlett. “Whatever works operationally.”
“We’ll use comms when we talk to Noah in the morning,” I said. “Drew can coordinate from here, with Brie online from Halifax.”
The meeting wrapped up with Drew reviewing emergency signals and extraction procedures.
The meeting would take place outside a cemetery halfway between Montechiaro and the city center.
One narrow road led in and out from the small parking lot, but there were footpaths, train tracks, and it was near the water.
I still didn’t like any of it.
But I trusted Scarlett. I had to.
I headed to the terrace to relieve Zac and Emmett. And to try to convince myself not to worry about an all-out assault.
That wasn’t Fenix’s style. It wasn’t even Enzo’s style.
Enzo was Fenix’s violent arm, but his violence was personal. Rash.
Noah, on the other hand, was calculating. If the two of them found a way to get along, the world would be in trouble.
Once I was alone, I paced from the eastern edge of the terrace to the western edge, scanning the surrounding landscape. From this vantage point, I could monitor the approach road and assess potential threats.
The sound of a deep exhale below me caught my attention. I glanced over the railing to the balcony one floor below me.
Brooke.
I froze. Any noise, and she’d either hurry back inside or we’d end up in another awkward moment. Instead, I just watched her. The way the hair around her face danced in the light breeze. The way she leaned forward, taking in the view.
My heart squeezed in my chest.
Her face had played on a loop when I was in the hospital bed in Germany. I’d dreamed of her sitting at my bedside. Of healing enough to go back to Afghanistan and resume my bodyguard duties for her.
But it was her screams that filled my nightmares. I’d wake from those terrors and remember I wouldn’t be able to go back. And even if I could, she wouldn’t be there.
I forced myself to look away. I had a circuit to make on the roof. I had to watch the roads. Had to ensure she was safe.
When I was halfway across the rooftop terrace, Malcolm crested the top of the old metal stairs that rose from the second-floor terrace.
He nodded and walked toward the southern railing with me. “Do you honestly think we need to keep watch through the night?”
“I’m no more paranoid than you are.”
“But it is paranoia, isn’t it?” He stared out at the lights of the peninsula with me. “This whole situation is fucked up.”
I couldn’t argue with his assessment. “I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
“And that’s the problem, isn’t it?”
“Problem?”
“I know you’d die for her.” His fists clenched like they had at the table earlier, but this time, it was around the railing. “But I need you to understand something: She’s not just your responsibility anymore.”
“We all protect each other,” I said automatically, as though I didn’t understand what he was really saying. “That’s how teams work.”
“She’s my fiancée, Rav.” He turned, a determined set to his jaw. “Soon to be my wife. But she doesn’t trust me enough to go with her tomorrow. No, for that, she still picks you.”
“We’ve been working together for—”
He raised a hand to cut me off. “I’m sure this is coming off as a jealousy thing, but that’s not what it is. I respect you, and I trust there’s nothing else going on between you two, but for fuck’s sake, there are days I feel like there’s a third person in our relationship.”
“You know she’s right about tomorrow morning?”
He raised his fist again, letting it hang in the air between us. “This isn’t about tomorrow morning.”
“No?” What was I doing? Why was I arguing instead of defusing? “So why bring it up now?”
He looked down, breathing deliberately. He folded his arms and flexed his fingers around his biceps. “She’s never going to stop turning to you for these things. It’s a habit. And she’s such a creature of fucking habit, she won’t stop on her own.”
That was true. Scarlett liked things the way she liked them. She wanted her plans to remain under control.
“Listen, Rav…” He took one final deep breath and looked at me. “I have a feeling it’s as much a habit for you as it is for her. I don’t know what to do about this other than talk to you. Because talking to her about it hasn’t changed anything.”
Before I could come up with anything that didn’t sound like an excuse, he gave me a sharp nod and left.
What was I supposed to do with all of that?
Perimeter. Guard the perimeter. Move to the north wall.
Watch.
Protect.