Chapter 12
Twelve
Ian had wanted to rush right out to the safe house, but he knew that would have been a mistake.
Emily had texted him and told him that she would pick him up to make it look like he was working on another case.
He thought they might be overthinking it, but he would rather be safe than sorry.
He knew that his friends would keep Lila safe.
He rolled his shoulders. There was an itch between his shoulder blades. He always got that feeling when something was going to blow up in his face. He knew it wasn’t that. He knew it had everything to do with Lila.
He did trust his friends, but he wanted to be there. The need to stand between Lila and the danger that seemed to be closing in on her.
There was a knock at his door, so he went to answer it.
The apartment was where he spent most of his time when he was on Oahu.
He had spent a lot of time at the house his sister had bought for their father, but it got a little crowded when his dad’s girlfriend had started staying over more and more.
He adored Mari, but he wanted to give them privacy.
The penthouse apartment gave him an amazing view of Honolulu, and the bonus was that it was only five minutes from the office.
So, anyone who got up to this level was known to him. Still, he checked the peephole and frowned. Instead of Emily, Vivian Dubois waited. What the fuck was an MI-6 agent doing in Honolulu?
He had trained the younger woman for the Elite Eight. She had only been the second woman who had ever made the team. He hadn’t seen her since he’d left the service, so the idea that she was here in Honolulu made absolutely no bloody sense.
Still, he needed to get rid of her so he could get to Lila’s side once again. Opening the door, he frowned at her.
“Vivian.”
He didn’t invite her in. They had parted on a weird note.
She was young, in her mid-twenties, and had apparently developed a crush on him.
He hadn’t seen it, but his sister had. That last night, she had made a pass at him.
With as much tact as he could muster, he had turned her down.
She was attractive, if a bit on the cold side.
Ice blue-grey eyes, short blonde hair, with a curvy body, he knew she had her pick of other agents but had requested him to train her.
“Ian.”
They stood there for a beat in uncomfortable silence.
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Obviously. “About what?”
“Can we do this in your flat?”
Last time he did that, she had thrown herself at him, then gotten upset when he turned her down.
She must have read his thoughts.
“I promise hands off. This is about job prospects.”
That caught his attention, so he stepped back and allowed her to pass. After shutting the door, he turned to face her.
“Did you leave the service?”
She nodded. “You were right when you told me some of those bastards would never accept me.”
She was an excellent shot, almost as good as he was. Vivian had actually been a damned sight better than many of the men who had been on the team. But there were a lot of misogynists in the upper ranks.
“Sorry.”
“I am too. It got to be a pain dealing with that, so I decided to leave.”
“What can I do to help?” And how could he get her out of there as soon as possible?
“I was wondering if I could use you as a reference at Dillon. I’ve put out feelers and they have a good reputation on how they treat women.”
He nodded. That was one thing he liked about Conner and Luc. Women and men were equals in their eyes.
She smiled and, yes, she was a pretty woman. She was just too...bland. He realized he had gotten attached to Lila’s snarky behavior and out of control curls…and those eyes. Vivian was the perfect English rose, but Ian realized that he preferred something not so perfect.
“I just wanted to see if you could give me a leg up with Dillon.”
“You have an interview with them?”
She nodded. “In another week. I didn’t realize you were working for them until a couple of days ago.”
There was just something off about her story. What had happened at MI-6? It could be anything, truthfully. Some of the best agents got burnt out. And being on the Elite Eight was…challenging. He had been born and raised by an operative, so he always felt he was better prepared for it than most.
“Why are you here this early? I mean, if you have an interview in a couple of weeks, it seems odd to be here this early.”
She shook her head. “You know I like the tropics. I figured it would be nice to take a week to enjoy the island. Plus, I wanted to see if I liked it. I know a lot of people think living in paradise is like a vacation, but reality can be harsh.”
He remembered Vivian complaining about winter and definitely not liking the cold rain. “I didn’t know if most MI-6 folks knew about my new work.”
Granted, there was a good chance they were keeping tabs on him. Former operatives were always sketchy to them, and for good reason. Some agents got sick of being taken for granted.
“I saw you a few days ago on the news. Something about Raquel?”
Damn, that was annoying. He didn’t realize he had been picked up by the news cameras. Former spies and news didn’t work together.
“Yeah, that was a pain in the ass assignment.”
“It was luck that I noticed you that night.
“Well, I’ll talk to Luc about you.”
He would definitely talk to his boss about her, but not before he checked out her story from MI-6.
Relief softened her features.
“Thanks. I was worried about what happened your last night on the job would make you hesitant, but I assure you that crush is definitely over.”
Embarrassment and disgust filled her voice and he laughed. “Good to know. Well, not to be rude, but I have work to do.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks again, Ian.”
He opened his door to reveal Emily Daniels with her hand up to knock on the door.
“Oh. Look at you waiting for me, Mix.”
He rolled his eyes and stepped back so that Vivian could leave.
“Oh, hello there,” Emily said, suspicion coloring her voice. Most people wouldn’t hear it, but he did. Emily was rarely guarded with people she trusted, but anyone new would have to prove themselves.
“Vivian Dubois, meet another Dillon operative, Emily Daniels. Vivian is an old friend from MI-6. She’s got an interview with Dillon next week.”
Emily’s expression cleared. “Nice to meet you.”
Vivian smiled at her, that same warm smile he remembered. She was a good agent because of that sweet look. Men especially looked at her and thought there was no way she was dangerous. They would be wrong.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Vivian said. “I’ll let you two get to work, then.”
She slipped between them and walked to the elevator. Emily stepped into his apartment and said nothing until he closed the door.
“Tsk, tsk, Mix, entertaining another woman.”
“First, there was no entertaining. Second, why would that matter?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Dude, if you don’t think Lila slash Sam would be upset, then you aren’t paying attention.” She turned back around to look out at his view again. “How did she find you?”
“She’s a former MI-6 agent. I’m sure she could figure it out.” He grabbed his phone. “I take it we’re heading to the safe house.”
“Yes, but I want to stop by Dillon first.”
“Why?”
“I want to make sure we aren’t being followed.”
He nodded as she joined him by the door.
“I have a bad feeling about this situation,” Emily said.
He glanced at Emily. A lot of people saw the big blue eyes and soft skin and thought that she was just another pretty face. They would be wrong. She had a world class mind, one that could sometimes see connections other people missed. “Why?”
She shrugged. “Not sure, but I feel like we’re stumbling around in the dark reaching for things we don’t know about. Not a good place to start.”
“True, but we don’t always get to choose which way to go.”
“That’s bleak, Mix. Real bleak.”
He motioned for her to step out first before he followed, then locked his door.
“How is your bestie, by the way? Jenner said her concussion was pretty bad.”
His stomach knotted. If he could convince her to disappear then he would, but he knew if he did that, she would slip away.
“Yeah, well, it didn’t slow her down any.”
The lift opened and they both stepped on. Neither of them said much until they were out of his building and in the company car.
“Did she really try to escape?”
“She isn’t a prisoner,” he bit out as his hand tightened on the steering wheel.
There was a long uncomfortable beat of silence. “Ooookay. Maybe dial back that before we go out there.”
He glanced at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Usually, you’re the epitome of cool. Like nothing ruffles your very British feathers. Like even with that maniac on your last job, you never really lost your temper. Me, I would have knocked her upside the head on the first day.”
“That’s why you weren’t assigned.”
She ignored that comment. “Anyway, just calm your temper before we get out to the safe house.”
“I’ve got in under control.”
But even to his own ears it sounded like a lie. In less than forty-eight hours, his entire world had been turned upside down, and worse, he didn’t know if he was annoyed with the change…or if it was exactly what he needed.
After about an hour, Lila sat down. The Dillon folks were thorough; she would give them that. Her head pounded, her throat ached, and she wanted to know when Ian was going to get there.
“There is one thing that bothers me about this most recent attack,” Miko said.
Lila studied the woman. Yeah, she got why she was brought in now. She had said little during the recitation. When the others kept interrupting her with questions, she had sat back.
“Just one?”
She nodded. “It’s different than the others.”
“She was attacked. Maybe once they got close to her, they just wanted to eliminate her,” El said.
“Nice,” Lila said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.