Chapter 4 #2
Now Emma knew his secret.
The way he convinced the women to play along as best they could.
It was always a balancing act, trying to say enough to offer some measure of comfort without outright telling them that he was an undercover agent for the most well-known security company in the world.
Prey had a stellar reputation, in part because the six Oswald siblings, led by the oldest, Eagle, used their billions not just to run an exemplary company but also to donate millions to charities every year, and because no one was more trusted to get the job done than Prey.
When Nathan had been approached by Falcon to join the undercover team he was putting together, it was a no-brainer. He’d already done some undercover work, but knowing he would be working for the best of the best was an offer he couldn’t say no to.
As soon as Azure hit their radar, Prey knew they were a problem that needed to be dealt with, carefully but swiftly. He’d been undercover for a little over six months now, about a third of the time Azure had been in operation, and he wasn't the only one.
Being part of an undercover team wasn't the same as when he’d been in the military.
He didn't know his colleagues and had no idea who else was undercover in Azure.
All he knew was that some of the men with him were also Prey operatives.
There was no way to figure it out without giving himself away, and he had no intention of doing that.
This was too important.
Had somehow become even more important since Emma was brought in not even twenty-four hours ago. She shouldn’t mean anything more to him than any of the other victims of Azure. Lots of them fought, some didn't. Some broke almost immediately, others held out for days, others a handful of weeks.
No one lasted indefinitely, but somehow, he felt like Emma could be the first.
That wouldn't work well for her. Azure’s clients expected perfection, and that meant having a perfectly broken and well-trained slave. Sure, some liked some fight left in them, a little spirit that made them more fun to handle, but no one wanted a wild and out-of-control slave.
“Believe me, Emma, for now, fighting means taking a step back,” he muttered as he strolled out of his bathroom and eyed his tablet. He had access to every camera feed in the complex, bringing up the one that would show her in her cell was right at his fingertips, and yet he resisted.
Getting any more attached to her than he already was wasn't just a bad idea, it was a terrible one. A possible undercover operation ending one. If his cover was blown, he’d be killed, no doubt after being viciously tortured as a warning to anyone else who dared try to bring Azure down.
Nathan couldn’t say he cared if he was killed, you didn't work undercover and expect to live a long life. Sooner or later, his luck would run out, and he’d get caught, but not here, not now, not with this case.
Not when so many lives were resting in the palm of his hand.
Not when Emma’s life was resting in the palm of his hand.
“Want to come out with us, Nathan?” Mateo called through the closed door to his apartment.
It wasn't unusual for the guys to head out to one of the local bars or clubs on Friday and Saturday nights. Not only did they like to go out, get drunk, and work off some steam, but it was also a great way to look for potential product. It was always a balancing act, abduct too many women and they drew even more attention to themselves, but not take enough and they couldn’t keep up with demand and would go under.
Perhaps the most depressing thing about this job was that even after they destroyed Azure, another trafficking ring would eventually pop up in its place.
But as depressing as it was, it was also something you had to accept to do this job.
It wasn't easy and it certainly wasn't for everyone, but Nathan had always had a savior complex and was willing to go to any lengths to save as many people as possible, even as he accepted he couldn’t save them all.
“Nah, going to hit the gym,” he called back.
He wasn't, well, he hadn't been planning on it, but it was now jumping to the top of the list. It was a rare occurrence that he went with them, but it for sure wasn't something he was doing tonight. Maybe he couldn’t do anything more for Emma than offer her vague reassurances without putting the entire operation at risk, but he wasn't leaving her completely alone and unprotected. He’d watch her back as much as he could, and hope it was enough.
“Sure, man?” Mateo called back. “Been a while since you joined us.”
That’s because he had nothing in common with any of the men except those also working undercover for Prey.
The persona he’d created for this job was serious, so no one really blinked an eye at his constant refusals.
They just delivered what they thought were cutting insults, but which in his mind were really compliments.
His job was to gather intel and reassure the women any way he could without telling them anything they could accidentally slip and let known, ending not just both their lives but countless others as Azure packed up and moved somewhere else.
That was it. Playing at being friendly wasn't necessary.
“Yeah, I'm sure. Been getting lazy lately, missing workouts, I need to stay in shape, so I'm determined to do a workout every night from here on out.” Actually, maybe that wasn't the worst plan.
He hadn't really been slipping in his workouts, he’d never do that, but he usually worked out in his apartment.
However, the gym was the closest room to the garage and the elevator that led down to the basement.
Emma would never know he was that close and that he was watching her back, but he would, and for some reason, the proximity would make him feel better.
“Loser,” Mateo muttered, no doubt loud enough for Nathan to hear, then he could also hear the other man head off.
Tossing his towel onto the bed, he hesitated, standing naked in the middle of his room, part of him wanting to hurry up and throw on some clothes, then head down to the gym, the other needing an Emma hit.
Earlier in the training room when he’d gone strolling in, attempting to contain the rage rolling inside him so that he didn't do something stupid that would get them both killed, that blazing fire in her eyes had been dwindling.
That wasn't good enough. While he didn't want her to cause herself to endure more pain, he didn't want her to completely give up. Just strategically retreat.
Unable to resist the urge to check the camera feed, Nathan stalked across his room to the bed, grabbed the tablet, and brought up the basement feed.
Seeing her was like getting a hit of a drug.
Renewed determination flooded his system. Azure would be destroyed, it was already a foregone conclusion as far as he was concerned.
Although Emma was naked, she refused to cower.
She sat in her empty cell—a cell that would remain empty until she earned the privilege of a mattress, a blanket, and a bucket to use as her toilet—with her back straight and her head held high.
No cowering for her, she was too stubborn for that.
Even though he knew there was no possible way she wasn't embarrassed sitting there with her naked body on display, it wasn’t stopping her from standing her ground.
“You're going to get yourself hurt again, blondie,” he muttered. Proud as he was to see that she was holding up, enduring this hell the best she could, he was terrified about what that meant for her.
It had been a long time since he felt fear.
Fear just had no place in this world. If you let it in, it would render you useless.
Freedom from fear came from embracing the notion that death was coming for you and could pounce at any second.
Once you no longer feared death, you no longer feared anything.
“You're making me feel fear, blondie, how are you doing that?” he asked, sweeping the pad of his finger across the screen, caressing Emma’s image.
The problem was, he knew the answer to that question.
Emma’s defiant gaze had stirred up instincts he’d long since buried.
There was no room for relationships when you constantly lived as someone other than yourself.
But Emma made him want things he shouldn’t, urged him to care in a way that wasn't safe, and stirred up sexual desires that weren't appropriate.
There was no room to make a mistake or let his guard down, and Emma put him at risk for doing both.