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WE NEEDED TO TALK TO Lukas. There were a few things that had to be sorted out before we separated. I didn’t want to leave Clark, even though I knew I had to. Something didn’t sit right about her former fiancé, and the thought of the two of them alone together grated on me.
“Let’s go talk to Lukas,” I suggested.
“Of course,” she replied, already on board.
That was one of the things I loved about her. It seemed like we were on the same page with almost everything. She clearly wasn’t interested in Ryan romantically anymore. She might have some residual feelings for him, but she was all mine. That put some of my fears to rest. At least I didn’t have to be jealous anymore.
We left the bunk empty. Aside from the clothes on our backs, we didn’t have anything to our names. Walking back down the hall, we headed for the command center on instinct. It seemed like Lukas spent most of his time there.
We were right.
Stepping off of the elevator, we spotted him at the head of the room, in conference with a technician who was monitoring a screen. He looked up as if sensing our presence and waved us over before we even crossed the room.
“I’m glad the two of you are together,” he said unceremoniously. “We have some new intel.”
I glanced at Clark, knowing that this couldn’t be good. No matter what New Dawn was up to, each successive move they made spelled trouble for us and for the rest of the world. My window of opportunity for taking Regg out was closing. I had to act fast. This whole drama with Ryan was poorly timed, to say the least.
“This way,” Lukas said, showing us back into the conference room.
I’d seen all I wanted to of those four walls. I hoped that we wouldn’t be thrust into another official briefing. I trusted Lukas, but I wasn’t sure about George Oliver or his CIA counterparts. It didn’t seem like there was any good news to be shared in there.
“A nuclear scientist and his family are missing,” Lukas announced as soon as the door was closed.
“Who?” Clark demanded.
“Where?” I asked.
“Ezra Schach and his family, from Israel,” Lukas said. “They’ve been on the CIA’s radar for some time.”
“What does that mean for us?” Clark wondered.
“It may be nothing,” Lukas admitted. “But if New Dawn has them, it may be important. Schach is on the cutting edge of nuclear technology, and if he was pointed in the wrong direction, he could do some real damage.”
“Is there any way to confirm whether he’s involved with New Dawn?” I asked.
“That’s where you come in,” Lukas said. “We need you to find Reginald Banks ASAP. He might know whether Schach and his family have been kidnapped, and if so, where they’re being held.”
“Got it,” I agreed.
“There’s something else,” Lukas continued. He glanced at me and then at Clark, his gaze incomprehensible.
“Go on,” Clark insisted.
“It has to do with Ryan Abrams.” Lukas hesitated.
“Good,” Clark snapped. “Let’s hear it.”
Lukas walked over to the laptop and called up a file. He didn’t bother putting it on the big screen but waved us both over so that we could take a look.
“I dug into his story and found out that he’s been undercover.”
“Officially?” Clark asked.
“Yes,” Lukas confirmed. “According to this, there’s nothing suspicious about his actions.”
“If he was under official cover, why didn’t he reach out?” Clark pointed out.
Lukas shook his head, knowing how much those words hurt. “I don’t know. He’s been working with Dark Sparrow, only I didn’t know about it.”
“How could you not know?” Clark demanded.
“It’s a big organization,” Lukas attempted to explain. “He’s just one of a hundred operatives who have dual allegiance.”
“Did the CIA know?” Clark snapped.
I could only imagine the pain she was going through, realizing that not only had Ryan lied to her, but everyone else was in on the secret. I forced myself to read the information carefully, not wanting to miss anything. It said that Ryan’s death was faked to allow him to move about freely. He was instructed not to make contact with anyone in his life, but that still didn’t excuse his behavior.
“Yes,” Lukas answered. “They knew.”
Clark rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest in a blatant self-protective move. I put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at me with relief. At least she knew I would never leave her. I couldn’t imagine what was going through Ryan’s head that he wouldn’t at least give Clark a heads-up. There was something not right about the whole situation. Ryan wasn’t acting like a man in love.
“So when do we leave?” Clark wanted to know.
Lukas glanced at me, again wanting to communicate something that I couldn’t read. “Theo will be going after Reginald on his own.”
I opened my mouth. Though that had been the plan all along, I wasn’t about to shut Clark out of the deal if she wanted to come with me. She would only be an asset, and it might allow us to complete our mission quicker.
Lukas cut us both off before we could object. “Clark is needed here.”
“Is this about the tracker?” I demanded.
“What tracker?” Clark asked, her eyes lighting up with fury.
“I’ll brief you privately,” Lukas promised. “But for now, let’s just say that you have more information about New Dawn than anyone else. We need you here.”
“This mission to go get Regg,” I began, “it will be quick. Clark can be right back the next day—”
Lukas shook his head. “We can’t risk Clark falling into New Dawn’s hands.”
“Why not?” Clark asked.
Lukas gave her a stern look, telling her that all would be revealed in time. She stomped her foot like a frustrated teenager but kept her mouth shut. I had to grin. Sometimes she was the ultimate professional, and sometimes she wore her emotions on her sleeve.
“I’ll get ready to head out,” I said, turning to Clark.
“If you don’t come back, I’ll kill you,” she muttered.
“In that case, I guess I’d better come back,” I teased. “I was considering running off to Malibu by myself.”
She pinched my arm hard. I gathered her close, not caring that Lukas was there to witness. Kissing her firmly, I made my promise through nonverbal cues. She relaxed in my grip, letting me know that she would wait for me.
“Ryan’s been assigned to a group that’s going to the Southern Hemisphere to check for New Dawn cells,” Lukas added. “So he won’t be here at the base.”
I released a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Just because Ryan was square with the higher-ups didn’t mean I trusted him. And that was one less thing to worry about when I left Clark on her own. Of course, now there was the threat of a nuclear attack, and we still didn’t know if New Dawn had tracked us here. Walking away while both Lukas and Clark were holed up in the Dark Sparrow bunker was still risky. But at least Clark wouldn’t have to face Ryan alone in the hallways.
I would have to comfort myself knowing that they were hidden underground, and that a nuclear strike wasn’t likely to reach them where they were. But knowing how effective New Dawn was, I wouldn’t put it past them to find some other way to get at Clark.
She held the key, and everyone knew it. The problem was that Dark Sparrow, the CIA, and MI6 were operating in the dark as to exactly what that meant. And that didn’t sit well. Just because Ryan was gone and the base was underground didn’t necessarily mean Clark was safe. I would just have to return as fast as I could and get whatever information Regg had to protect the people I cared about.
There was a laundry list of things I was supposed to ask the man. What had happened to the nuclear scientist and his family? Was there really a tracking device implanted in Clark, and if so, what did it mean? Was New Dawn aware of the Dark Sparrow base? What were their ultimate goals, and how could we stop them?
But the overriding question that weighed on my mind was why. Why had Regg betrayed my trust and served me up to the enemy? What was in it for him? Did our previous friendship mean so little that he was willing to sacrifice it for world domination?
I wanted to know how much he was being paid. Or if money wasn’t his motivation, what was it that allowed him to betray all of humanity? My instructions were to bring Regg back alive, but I wasn’t sure I was going to follow that bit of advice. I had too much hatred in my heart for him.
As a spy, I didn’t have very many normal relationships. My handler was supposed to be the one person I could trust, the lens through which I could view the world. Regg had betrayed not only me, but at least half a dozen other agents who’d wound up dead. I would be damned if I was going to let him get away with that.
I would capture him if that seemed simple, but if push came to shove, I was going to put him in the ground. That route was safer by far for both me and Clark, and I didn’t think that Regg deserved any less.
He had crossed the wrong couple.
“Here is the latest information on Regg’s whereabouts,” Lukas said, clicking over to another tab.
I glanced at it, memorizing the information displayed. They obviously had him under surveillance. That was comforting. At least we had a read on him, and he wasn’t in danger of going off the grid any time soon. I wouldn’t have to worry about arriving too late or losing sight of him altogether. Whoever it was who kept tabs on him was obviously doing their job.
“I’ll give you a moment,” Lukas said, ducking out of the conference room.
It was a good bet that the place was rigged with all kinds of listening devices. Though they probably wouldn’t appreciate any outside actors knowing what went on, I wouldn’t put it past Dark Sparrow to be spying on their own people. That meant no hanky-panky and no revealing of personal details. But I didn’t care. All I wanted to do was hold her for a moment and kiss her goodbye. If that scene was broadcast over social media, it wouldn’t make any difference.
Clark lowered her head to my shoulder. She was tired, and I wasn’t surprised. No amount of sleep would make up for the weight of the world. We were tasked with the impossible: stop an angry supervillain from unleashing a nuclear apocalypse, untangle the mystery of her recently resurrected ex-lover, and stay alive long enough to retire. It was a massive to-do list, and I wasn’t looking forward to getting started.
Still, we had to take the first step if we were ever going to make it to the end. I kissed her forehead, putting all my affection into the simple gesture. And then we released each other.
I saw her transform from my girlfriend into the cold-hearted assassin I’d met in the beginning. It was stunning to watch as she packed up all of her softness and hid it away. I knew she would be okay. Come hell or high water, we would both complete our tasks and find each other once again.
We walked out of the command center together, as bulletproof a couple as there had ever been. I rode the elevator alone as she stayed to talk to Lukas. The next time I saw her, everything would hopefully be resolved. I didn’t trust Dark Sparrow or MI6, but I trusted her. And together, we were going to beat this game, no matter what it took.
