Ty Bergstrom thought he’d been prepared to see her again. But the shock that ran through him told him otherwise. And judging by the surprise on her face, the sight of him was just as jarring for her.
He stood his ground, enjoying the disbelief in her hazel eyes. Those eyes were exactly the same as he remembered, intense and intelligent, framed by dark lashes.
The rest of her looked good too. Even better than the intriguing twenty-one-year-old he remembered. Her chestnut-brown hair was long now, falling past her shoulders in thick waves. Even though she’d filled out some too since he’d last seen her, her appearance still made her seem intensely feminine. Harmless.
He knew firsthand exactly how deceptive that last bit was. And from what he’d learned over the past week, the people she’d targeted over the years had no doubt learned that too late, and the hard way.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her posture rigid. Defensive.
He didn’t blame her. They hadn’t met under the most ideal circumstances all those years ago. And back then he hadn’t understood what was really happening. “I was asked to help out an old acquaintance.”
She studied him, mistrust clear in her eyes as her gaze bored into him. “An acquaintance? I barely knew you, and it’s been over twelve years.”
He inclined his head. She’d been twenty-one and he’d been a cocky twenty-five-year-old Army Ranger who thought he was The Shit. Looking back, the old him should have been embarrassed by all that he hadn’t known. “I know.” But he’d never forgotten her. Because forgetting someone like her was impossible, even when he hadn’t known what she was.
A weapon. A deadly, secret weapon trained by the government, housed in a deceptively harmless-looking package.
“Meg. Come sit down and listen to what they ‘ave to say,” their host said in his northern English accent from behind the massive mahogany desk in a room that like the rest of this place, looked like it had come straight out of Downton Abbey. Marcus Laidlaw, combat wounded SAS veteran in his mid-forties, now lord of the manor. Ty wasn’t sure how the guy fit into all this yet, but he was going to find out.
Megan eyed Ty for another long moment, then spun around and marched back into the study where she sat in the chair closest to Marcus and opposite Trinity. Ty followed her movements with a trained eye, no longer fooled by her misleading appearance. She still moved in that confident, purposeful way that had captured his attention all those years ago, though her matured curves gave her gait a slight sway that made it even sexier.
Of all the women he’d trained over the course of those fateful seven months, she was the one who stood out. Her quickness and determination. Her restless energy. Her complete lack of complaint when circumstances went from bad to shitty.
He’d been so impressed with her ability to compartmentalize and make the best of things. Then he’d gotten a taste of what she was truly capable of, and been blown away.
There were no more chairs left, so Ty leaned a shoulder against a bookcase stuffed with old, leather-bound volumes and waited, holding Megan’s borderline-hostile stare.
“My team was looking for someone we could bring in from the inside,” Trinity began, speaking to Megan. “One of them remembered Tyler and he remembered you, so we checked him out and vetted him thoroughly. He’s well qualified for this mission—”
“What mission?” Megan demanded, staring at him.
“We’ll get to that,” Trinity answered calmly. “Tyler was Special Forces until his honorable discharge several years ago, and he’s been a security contractor since. The head of our taskforce knows him personally and agreed we should bring him in.”
Megan looked at her. “Who’s that?”
“Alex Rycroft.”
Megan stared at her for several seconds, and though her expression and body language gave nothing away, Ty sensed she recognized the name. Though it would have surprised him if she hadn’t. Alex Rycroft had served in SF for the first part of his career before becoming one of the NSA’s most celebrated agents. A nod from him amounted to the stamp of approval throughout the U.S. intelligence services, and Ty was honored to have it.
“When you met Tyler as a SERE instructor, he was filling in on a temporary basis before his unit rotated overseas to Afghanistan. Circumstances being what they were, he was completely unaware of the Valkyrie Program, or that you were a part of it,” Trinity explained.
Megan glanced over at him again, skepticism clear in her gaze.
“It’s true,” he said, for what it was worth. Though his word probably didn’t mean much to her. He hadn’t even heard of the Valkyrie Program, and he certainly hadn’t known it entailed taking orphaned girls and turning them into the most lethal female assassins walking the planet. “I’d never heard of the program until the whole story about Balducci broke in the media a few years ago.”
She met his stare for a long moment before focusing back on Trinity. “So, what’s this mission you’re talking about, and what’s his role?”
“Like I said, he’s your partner.”
Megan shook her head. “We work alone. Always. You know that.”
“Not this time.”
Megan opened her mouth to argue but Trinity didn’t give her the chance. “We’re trying to get a lead on whoever leaked the identities of the other Valkyries, and bring all of them in before our enemies find them. Once we get a lead, you’ll be sent to retrieve the target’s files and bring him or her in. For that to work, you’ll need backup, and since our hacker is intimately familiar with the Valkyries, going as a single woman just makes you more suspicious, and therefore a more likely target.”
She paused before continuing. “Rycroft trusts Tyler, and so does a close Valkyrie friend of mine. That’s good enough for me and will have to be for you as well. You’ll conduct this mission together, and pose as a couple for your cover.”
Megan sat up straighter, her eyes shooting sparks first at Trinity, then at Marcus. “You knew about this and you didn’t say anything?” she said to him.
“I only ‘eard it last night. And we’ll talk later.” They stared at one another, some kind of secret conversation going on that only they understood. It was eerie, and based on what he’d learned about Megan, Ty half-believed she could actually send telepathic messages.
“Rycroft and I asked Marcus to keep it secret,” Trinity said, drawing Megan’s attention back to her. “If he’d warned you, you would have been a flight risk. So any hostility you have should be directed at me. I’m a big girl, I can take it.”
Megan drew a deep breath and settled back into her chair, her expression grudging but calm. “I’ve got no say in this?”
“Not about the partnership.”
She turned her head to meet Ty’s stare, and this time he could see the resentment burning there. “Not sure how much you know about us, but I’m not known for playing well with others.”
“I’m aware,” he said dryly. He’d seen it when he’d been an instructor for the survival portion of what he’d assumed was a normal SERE school. She’d stolen gear right out from under his nose, twice.
And then she’d shocked the hell out of him by showing up at his solitary camp in the middle of the night a week later, battered and bruised but defiant and proud, having escaped the enemy prison camp during the escape phase. He’d later learned from the cadre that she’d broken out of the bamboo cage they’d placed her in and snuck out of camp, without anyone noticing.
It was the first time it had ever happened. Everyone had been certain one of the instructors had helped her. But nope, it had been all her.
Ty had found it fascinating at the time. Now he wanted to get to know her, see what she could do firsthand, and somehow make up for any damage he’d unwittingly aided in all those years ago. He’d thought he’d been preparing her and the other students for life behind enemy lines. In reality, he’d been complicit in something much harsher.
Megan focused on Trinity again. “How many Valkyries have been killed?”
“Four so far that we know of, but we’re not even sure who we’re looking for yet because we only have partial personnel files. I recovered some on an op two days ago from a former CIA officer involved with the program, and your information was there. It took us until last night to locate you.”
They shouldn’t have been able to find her, though. That worried her. “How were the others killed?”
“Some were executed. Others were captured and tortured first.”
Megan’s expression never changed, but her eyes chilled. “Who do you think’s behind it?”
“A hacker. An extremely skilled, elusive tracker.”
“CIA? U.S. intelligence?”
“Possibly.”
“Anything else?” Megan asked.
“That depends on you. Is there anything else you want to know?”
“Just when I’ll be dismissed from this meeting.”
Ty hid a grin, amused and intrigued by the fire in her. She might hate the idea of working with him on this, but she would do it, because the stakes were huge. The lives of the surviving Valkyries hung in the balance. Based on her background, he was pretty sure that was the only motivation she would need.
“As soon as you give me an answer on whether you’re in or out,” said Trinity.
“I’m in,” Megan answered.
Trinity nodded once. “You can go.”
Megan stood, aimed a loaded look at Marcus and turned for the door. She shot a warning glare at Ty as she swept past, leaving the scent of her fruity shampoo trailing in her wake.
The wooden door shut behind her with a thud. Not exactly a slam, but close.
For several seconds, no one moved or spoke.
“That went well, all things considered,” Marcus said.
Trinity sighed. “Well, Tyler, you’ve got your work cut out for you on this one.”
“That’s okay.” He’d faced longer odds than winning over Megan Smith, or whatever her real name was. “Should I go after her?”
“No,” Marcus said immediately. “Steer clear of ‘er for tonight. I’ll talk with ‘er once she’s cooled off. You can start trainin’ together in the mornin’.” He reached down to scratch the dog’s ears. “Karas, go find our lass, eh?”
The dog got up and trotted to the door, ears up and tail wagging.
Tyler opened the door for it and stepped into the hall. This assignment should be interesting. But even if he was wrong and it turned out to be boring as hell, it sure felt good to be doing something he believed in again.