Chapter 6
SIX
LANCE
I drove from New York City back home to D.C. with a sinking feeling in my gut. For two main reasons: one, I didn’t want to leave Cricket behind. Two, I stole Rossi’s phone as a contingency when we left the hotel. I’m not sure where she’s headed—she mentioned a safe house for ammo and supplies, but I don’t know where it is. Any minute, she’s going to realize that Rossi’s phone isn’t in her bag.
Maybe she’ll think I grabbed it on accident, mistaking it for my own burner. Not likely, they are very different shapes. My burner looks like a Jitter Bug phone for the elderly. Rossi had the latest iPhone. But either way, maybe not having the location on hand will deter her.
Who am I kidding?
Cricket had that location and time memorized from the moment it came through. My hope is that if something changes, she won’t be updated. I will.
I don’t know how to feel. I’m not remotely sympathetic to the man who tortured her. She should have her revenge. Hell, just thinking about what she went through, I want revenge—the gory, pain-filled kind. But Cricket’s mission is a suicide mission. And the woman I consider my second mother would be the one to order her death.
It’s so simple. PALADIN’s number one, sacred rule. No one takes a life without Vesper’s command. There’s no one on this planet I’d consider violating that rule for. Yet somehow, Cricket is willing to lay down her life for this.
Vesper is going to find out. She always does. One of her creepier qualities—Vesper seems to be omniscient when it comes to matters like this.
How do I stop this without betraying my best friend?
No, more importantly, how do I save my future wife?
By the time I pull into headquarters, I’m still undecided on what to do. I follow my routine path into the office, entering through the elevator that says, “Out of Service.” I push the obscure “up” button, then brace for a body scan. Instead of up, the elevator plummets down to the basement of the massive building and right into our underground bunker.
There are at least two more security checkpoints before I’m at the front entrance of headquarters. The FBI set this up for us with all their fancy security systems and spy gadgets. We were once their minions, until they betrayed us by kidnapping and torturing one of our own. Vesper will never forgive them. She’s fiercely loyal to her family. The FBI paid for our silence in their illicit affairs with this bunker and a whole lot of off-the-books additional funding.
It's midday, but the compound looks mostly empty, except for Vesper’s office at the end of the hall. It’s cracked ajar. I take in a deep breath as I prepare myself for what I’m about to say.
“I’m back.” I knock my knuckles lightly against her office door. My jaw drops when I see Vesper’s attire.
She looks up from the laptop in front of her. Vesper tucks her dark, shoulder-length hair behind her ears and stares at me, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a hoodie before.”
She shrugs. “I wear comfortable clothes.”
“So, we’re saying leather and pantsuits are comfortable?” I fold my arms and widen my stance. “Is this a ‘getting old’ thing? Are you trying to fit in with the cool kids?”
Vesper rolls her eyes and pulls off the hoodie, revealing a neck-high button-up blouse, suitable for a business dinner at the White House. Ha, there she is.
“It’s merchandise Eden ordered. Part of our cover.” Vesper’s cheeks briefly flush, turning a light pink. She looks embarrassed. “What do you want, Lancelot?” she snaps. “Is the job done?”
“Oh, come on. ” I fully enter the room and take a seat on the opposite side of her desk. “I’m kidding. You’re beautiful as ever, of course. Tense as fuck, but absolute cougar status. In fact, I see Callen sneaking glances here and there.” I pop my shoulders. “Are Mom and Dad finally getting together?”
Callen was forced upon us during our very brief employment under the FBI. When everything fell apart, he chose his allegiance… to us . I never thought we’d claim a former Navy SEAL turned FBI assistant director as our own, but a lot has changed over the years. We aren’t the team we used to be. And anyway, despite my constant bellyaching, Callen’s grown on me. He’s grown on all of us. Even he and grumpy Linc seem chummy these days.
“Callen is the closest thing I’ve had to a friend in a very long time. And so, absolutely not. There will be no getting together. ” She arches one brow. “Don’t shit where you eat, Lancelot.”
Too late. I wonder if this would be a good time to ask Vesper to officiate my and Cricket’s wedding…
“I could recommend some dating sites,” I digress.
Vesper narrows her eyes. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”
“Well, with your guard dog shacking up with his new lady, you’re always alone. Are you…lonely?”
“My ‘guard dog’ being Linc?”
I pump my brows at her.
Linc has always been Vesper’s favorite. I’m aware of that. I’ve been the second son my entire life. I’m used to taking the scraps of attention and affection. I’ll admit, at times, it bothers me. Maybe that’s why Cricket was always so special to me. Linc was the one who first found Cricket—her savior, so to speak. When I got to PALADIN, I thought they’d have some sort of romantic connection. But instead, she latched on to me.
I don’t know if anyone really appreciates the magnitude of that like I do.
Cricket picked me.
Even if it was just as friends, it was special. I was the one she confided in, laughed with, and got into trouble with. We built an unbreakable bond. I’ll never understand why, but I was her first choice.
Vesper folds her hands together and surveys her office, a small, soft smile making her lips curl. “I always thought Linc would take over for me if something happened. Now, that’ll never happen.”
I scrunch my face. “I think he’s fully capable of leading this team, even if he’s in love.”
Vesper breathes out, her smile widening. “It won’t happen because I don’t want that for him. I want him to have a life with Eden. It brings me great joy to think maybe you, Cricket, and Linc can have a second chance. Maybe get back the life I stole from all of you.”
“What’re you talking about? You saved all our lives.”
“At a very high cost.” There’s a tortured expression on Vesper’s face that’s all too familiar. I’m probably the nosiest of our family, but even I’ve never asked why she always looks so haunted.
“I’m nothing but grateful for you.” Leaning forward, I reach across the desk and pat her arm, which is cool to the touch. Now I feel like an ass for teasing about the hoodie.
She smiles. “I’m nothing but grateful for you, too.” Vesper pats my hand. “Now, where’s Cricket?”
“She stayed behind.” I lean back, shifting my eyes down to my lap.
“Is she okay?”
“The job was messy, but it got done.”
“Then why did she stay behind?” Vesper asks, her tone growing cool.
Normally, I’m a good liar, but not when Vesper is looking at me like this. It’s almost like she’s prepared for me to drum up some bullshit. I decide to deflect. “Cricket being Cricket. But hey, I got some interesting intel while I was at LaRoe.”
“Being?”
“What do you know about the Accardis?”
Vesper leans back in her executive chair. It wheezes as she crosses her legs. “What do you know about the Accardis?”
“I thought we were there to turn Conti and Colombo against Rossi and his men. I figured we were crowd control in preventing that alliance. But I met another hitwoman. Her name is Kezia Silver—goes by Sylvie. Ever heard of her?”
Vesper turns down her lips. “No.”
“She told me she was the one to convince Rossi to form the alliance, and that it was only to coax the Accardis out of hiding. She apparently has a vendetta against Luca Accardi.”
Vesper’s jaw tenses at the mention of his name. “As much as I’d love to put a bullet through Luca’s fat head”—she exhales—“he must stay alive. The Accardis are a necessary evil.”
“Why?”
“Because PALADIN is sworn to protect them. I need to make a call to Leonardo. They aren’t to leave Italy without alerting me.”
“ Vesper,” I gasp. “Do you… Do you have any idea… Do you know who Luca is and what he did to—”
“Cricket? Yes. He was punished severely for that. I assure you.”
“Punishment isn’t enough,” I growl out. “He hit her… raped her…killed her family right in front of her eyes. How could you be in allegiance with such a vile piece of shit? Cricket will be crushed when she finds out.”
“You are not to tell her.” Vesper’s eyes widen. “Not a damn word. She’s not ready.”
Great, more lies. More opportunities for me to choose sides. Fuck.
Vesper continues, “When I was your age, I used to think the world was filled with monsters and heroes.”
“And now?” I ask.
“It’s far more complicated than that.” She lifts her eyes. “We’re all monsters. Just some with more convenient causes than others. I don’t condone Luca’s behavior. He hurt my daughter, before she was my daughter. Cricket became mine because of him. But our allegiance with the Accardis originated while Cricket was still in diapers.”
“ Our allegiance?”
“The U.S. government. In locked files, buried very deep in the White House, there are rumors about a doomsday group that is still operating at large. There is an organization we nicknamed Aeon.”
“What do they call themselves?”
“Technically, they are nameless. They go by symbols for secrecy. But we had to refer to them as something. Four presidents ago, our commander in chief set up Project Aeon. He was determined to infiltrate and demolish the group.”
“Why would he set up a project based on rumors?” I ask.
Vesper pinches the bridge of her nose and exhales heavily. “By now, you should know, Lancelot. Every single fucking rumor that circulates around the White House isn’t just true—it’s usually peril.”
I never liked Vesper’s involvement with the government. I suppose it’s the only thing that regulates us in a way. Maybe I don’t like that. I trust Vesper’s head and heart far more than I do any official legislation. Why can’t that be enough?
“So, what is Aeon?”
“Whatever you need it to be—a cult, terrorist organization, a ruthless re-embodiment of the Illuminati. It doesn’t matter what they are, just that they are incredibly powerful. Aeon exists to fulfill a harebrained prophecy of a self-induced extinction of mankind. They live to cause chaos and discord. They pick corrupt men and pay to put them in leadership, design alliances between evil world powers, and their specialty is instigating war. They are like roaches—lurking in shadows, near impossible to catch. We have only one source—an undercover member of Aeon brave enough to betray them.”
Now, the puzzle piece clicks into place. “Leonardo?”
Vesper nods. “Leonardo is greedy and evil. But because of him, countless world leaders still have their heads. World War III has yet to come to fruition, and the United Nations stays united . They don’t tell him everything, but he shares what he can. In exchange—”
“Amnesty,” I finish.
“And protection,” Vesper adds. “If Aeon found out what Leonardo has shared, they’d cut him up piece by piece in front of his family, shortly before lighting them all on fire. Women and children alike.”
My eyes pop open. “That was an oddly gruesome analogy.”
“Not an analogy. A ritual,” Vesper says with a bitter undertone. “It’s happened before.”
My heart thuds, panic overcoming me as a new realization comes over me. “Wait, what would happen if Luca was murdered? What would Leonardo do?”
“By Aeon?”
I shake my head. “No…by PALADIN.”
Vesper is very quick to understand what I’m implying. She rises, slamming her fist on the table. “ Where is Cricket?” she hisses.
I close my eyes, unable to keep them open as I oust the woman I love. I made a promise that I’d keep my mouth shut. But Cricket’s life is bigger than my promises. I pull out Rossi’s phone from my pocket, sliding it across the desk to Vesper. Maybe this was always my intention…going to Vesper for help. Why else would I have brought this phone in with me?
“Luca’s flight lands this evening in New York City. Cricket’s planning to ambush him.”
“She knows the rules and the consequences. She wouldn’t,” Vesper whispers. But there is worry in her eyes.
“Vesper,” I say quietly. “You didn’t hear how she was speaking. I think she might. I can’t… I’m only telling you this to spare her. Please. ”
Vesper grabs Rossi’s phone off the desk and heads toward the door. “Let’s go. Now. ”
“What are we going to do?” I rise, then trail closely behind her.
Vesper looks over her shoulder and meets me with a glacial stare. “Whatever it fucking takes to save my daughter.”