Chapter Three

 

 

When the door to the storage unit closed, Solo was finally able to take a deep breath. “Thank you so much for helping extract me.”

She turned to Walt, a lanky, unassuming genius of a man. She’d met him during her brief stay at The Garden a few weeks before.

Had that really only been weeks ago? It felt like she’d aged a decade in that time. It hadn’t been so long since she’d been forced to run with Beck and the others when The Garden had been raided. They’d used the secret exit that had taken them into underground London to an apartment not far from this garage of Damon’s. They’d taken this same sedate sedan and fled north to a country home.

She knew that for Tucker and his now wife Roni it had been a harrowing time, but for her it had been something different. For her it had meant spending time with Beck, having a few moments where he didn’t look at her like she was some kind of demon sent to steal his soul. For those few days, they’d relied on each other again.

“Hey, I’m happy to help. I was working on a couple of experiments. This totally livened up the day.” Walt gave her a broad smile and gestured to the woman who’d come with him. “Steph came along to make sure no one needed a stitch up. Apparently she’s way better with a suture than I am.”

Stephanie Carter was a pretty woman with shoulder-length brown hair and big, kind eyes. She was a physician, one who still worked as a GP. The Garden had a plethora of medical professionals. “Well, you’re an epidemiologist, not a general practitioner. I brought my kit. Ezra, looks like you got hit.”

He’d been grazed. She’d checked it out in the car when they’d felt safe enough to sit up. While she’d been laid out on the back seat, Beck’s big body covering hers, she’d felt safe. She’d felt like he still loved her.

It was time to wake up and face the truth.

Beck took off his shirt. “It’s already stopped bleeding. I don’t think it needs stitches. Burned like hell though. Did Brody and Nick make it back all right?”

Steph opened the bag she’d been carrying and pulled out a first aid kit. “They’re both good, and I think this was exactly what they needed. They’ve been feeling so dad-like these days. It’s good to get the old adrenaline up over something that isn’t baby related.”

Her gut knotted. She hadn’t thought about the fact that Brody and Nick had kids. “I’m sorry I dragged them into this.”

“They wouldn’t have come along if they hadn’t wanted to.” Beck hopped on the stool that sat by the table. Damon had completely replenished this way station since they’d used it all those weeks before. He’d replaced the water and food and weapons they’d taken with them while they’d hid from British intelligence.

Now she would hide from her own agency.

“Well, please let them know how much I appreciate it.” She didn’t know when she would be able to repay them. Likely never. In fact, she might not be able to pay for anything. She hadn’t even thought about it. “I need a computer. I need to figure out if he froze my accounts.”

Walt nodded. “There’s an encrypted laptop on the table. I thought you might need it. It’s set to ping around the globe a couple of times to mask its location. Feel free to use it. You can take it with you, and I’ve also included several burner phones. Expect a call from Big Tag at some point. He’s in a crabby mood, by the way. But then he usually is.”

Steph flashed a smile as she dabbed at the burn mark on Beck’s left arm. “He’s quite charming when he wants to be. Though it’s super early back in the States, so I don’t think he’s going to turn the charm on. Maybe he’ll take a nap or something.”

She seriously doubted it. The good news was she would thank him, ask him for any updates he had, and then let him off the hook. It wasn’t Big Tag’s job to save her. She’d actually burned the man a couple of times, though she hadn’t meant to. She’d done it because it was her job.

She didn’t have one of those anymore.

She stepped up to the laptop. She would be able to tell a lot about what was going on based on whether or not she could get into her accounts.

“Tell me you still keep money stashed across the globe.” Beck winced as Steph applied a topical to his burn.

“Of course.” She had accounts and then she had shadow accounts, money stored in business accounts that couldn’t be traced back to her easily. Then there was the cash she had in various safes. “I’m sure Levi knows where most of my safe houses are. I don’t suppose I could sneak back into my London flat.”

“No,” Beck said with a frown. “I assure you he has someone watching it. He probably has for a long time. I’m surprised you would suggest it.”

“My e-reader is there.” A lot of things were there, and she would have to leave them all behind. All her ID, her phone, everything in her handbag was still in Levi’s hands. God, she should have killed that fucker but she’d had to use her only bullet to scare away the driver. “I was enjoying my book. I bet that asshole will shut down my account for that, too.”

She tried her main account, the one she was sure the Agency knew about.

Beck moved in behind her. He hadn’t bothered to put a shirt on. His cut chest was on display. “What’s the verdict?”

She gritted her teeth as the message came up. “This one’s frozen. I can assume most of them are.” She wanted to throw the laptop across the garage, but that wouldn’t help her. “Levi might want to do this quietly, but at least someone at the Agency knows. He couldn’t have frozen my accounts without permission.”

“Can you call the president?” Beck asked. “He put you on this mission in the first place.”

She wished it was that easy. “Yes, he did, privately. Technically the Agency doesn’t know I was working for POTUS. Realistically everyone knew, but as it’s been pointed out to me so recently, Hayes is only going to be in office for a few more months. Whatever’s going on, he won’t be around long enough to fix it.”

“He could pardon you,” Steph pointed out.

“For a crime that won’t ever be on the books?” It was the conundrum she was in. No one would acknowledge McDonald had been a problem, therefore technically there was no crime. But the Agency wouldn’t forgive or forget, and she knew there would be a whole lot of her coworkers who bought what Levi was selling. There would be a bunch of assholes who would glory in her downfall. “Look, I knew when I took the job that Hayes wouldn’t be able to get me out of trouble if I fell into it. He and Connor Sparks did as much as they could, and now I’m on my own.”

“That sucks,” Walt said.

She appreciated the fact that he didn’t try to find a way out of the situation for her. He simply stated the obvious. “It does. Do we know if Levi survived?”

She brought up a secondary account. Same message.

Behind her Beck cursed under his breath, obviously understanding the state she was in. “Please tell me he died in the accident. Also, are the police looking for us?”

Steph handed him a fresh T-shirt. “I was listening to the radio and they dispatched an ambulance. Two men were treated at the scene—one for scrapes and cuts and the other was listed as a possible concussion, but no one was taken in.”

“And the police were called away long before they should have been,” Walt added. “I think we can bet there won’t be a report. He’s cleaning up as we speak.”

She made it to the third account, got the same message, and gave up. She closed the laptop. “Well, he’s likely got access to roughly forty million now. He’ll use it to try to find me.”

Beck gingerly pulled the shirt over his head, wincing when he moved his arm. “We’ll see about that. I know some pretty good hackers. And some lawyers, if it comes to that.”

She didn’t want to pull him in any further than he already was. “It’s cool. I know some, too. I’ll see what I can do about it.”

She wasn’t going to cry. She had to suck it up because she couldn’t let Beck see how weak she felt, how much she wanted to beg him to help her, to stay with her. She needed to acknowledge that she had to face this alone.

Beck turned back to Walt. “You think it’s safe for us to be on the streets? I’d like to get to the safe house as soon as possible. How far away is it?”

“Oh, it’s a drive,” Walt replied. “I’ve programmed the route into the computer. I’ll monitor you the whole way and let you know if we need to change course. You’re going to take the Chunnel across to France and then make your way to Paris. That’s where the safe house is.”

She could handle Paris. She had a small flat there, but she wouldn’t be visiting it. Levi definitely knew about that place. She would take a couple of days and figure out where to go from there.

Then she would disappear until she could clear her name.

She turned to Beck. “Thanks for the save. I can take it from here.”

A single brow arched over his heavenly eyes. “Oh, you can take it from here? I’m supposed to hang around and wait to be arrested?”

She didn’t see that happening. Beck was far more protected than she was. Damon Knight had serious pull in Europe, and Big Tag could work miracles in the States. Neither of those men owed her anything. Beyond that, Levi had shown his true hand today. “Levi’s not coming after you.”

“He’s always looking for an excuse. Every time I’ve come up against the man in the last few years, he’s tried to kill me.”

“Killing you would cause him problems.” She wasn’t sure what Beck’s point was. It would be far better for him in the long run if he wasn’t in the middle of this war she found herself in. “I think it’s best you stay here in London and work on the problem with Damon. I’ll find a way to contact you when I land somewhere.”

Beck stared at her, his gaze predatory. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You shouldn’t be out there alone. Unless I’m mistaken. Maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way. I assumed you wanted to be rescued. Or do I find myself in the middle of a lover’s spat?”

Her heart rate was right back up. “What did you say?”

“Maybe we should get back to The Garden.” Steph packed up her kit, a forced smile on her face.

Walt nodded, obviously feeling their bad vibes, too. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Look, when you get to Paris, a man named Rene will be waiting for you. He’s a friend of Big Tag’s. Used to be French intelligence, but Tag said he’s solid. He’s going to arrange everything. Call if you get in trouble.” Walt started for the door and stopped. “Like real actual mission trouble. Not the marital kind. I’m not good at that. Ariel is, though. I could try getting her on the phone.”

Beck smiled, a predatory expression. “We don’t need therapy. Go on, Walt. We’ll head out in thirty minutes. I don’t want to leave until I know you’re watching.”

Walt was right. This was a fight they should have in private. “I’m going to leave sooner than that. And thanks for everything, both of you. Please let Nick and Brody know how much I appreciate what they did for me today.”

Walt frowned. “What should I tell Damon? That you’re splitting up? He’s going to want to know what’s happening. I think Big Tag told Rene to expect two of you.”

“And there will be two of us,” Beck announced with arrogant finality. “Go on, Walt. I promise she’s safe. I didn’t wreck my life to turn around and let her fuck this mission up. We’ll be fine.”

She felt her fists clench. That hadn’t taken long. She should have known this was some weird impulse of Beck’s that he would regret as soon as the bullets stopped flying. She watched as Steph and Walt left, the door closing behind them with an audible click.

“You want to explain to me what this crap is about?” Beck asked, turning on her like she was some teen caught after curfew. “You almost got taken by that fucker. You want to give him another shot? Is there something I’m missing? I know you like it rough sometimes, but this is taking it too far.”

She couldn’t help it. Her hand came out and she slapped the fuck out of him. Not a punch. A punch would mean a fight. This wasn’t a fight. She open-palm slapped him because he was being small and petty. Because this was the way he treated her now. “Fuck you, Beck. And no, I do not need you. If accepting all this help means listening to you call me a whore, then I’ll make my own way.”

She started for the door. She would have to risk going to her place. In her mind she was already thinking about how to sneak in. Levi would have someone watching, but without a car or her purse or a single weapon, she didn’t see another way to go.

“Kim, stop.” Beck sighed, an exhausted sound. “Please.”

It was the please that did it. He was so rarely polite to her. She took a deep breath and turned to him. They needed to ratchet down the emotion. It was what always tripped them up. “I don’t think we can work together.”

“We certainly can’t if I continue to be a massive asshole.” He moved toward her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. You’re still a touchy subject for me.”

She nodded, unable to say a word for fear of unleashing a tidal wave. Not seconds before she’d told herself to tamp down the emotion, but here it was, threatening to overwhelm her and all he’d had to do was touch her.

“How about we agree that Levi Green is a problem for both of us and we work together to solve it,” he offered. “Kim, we’ve been going in circles for years. Maybe it’s time we find a way to move on. I know I’m tired of hating you.”

She stepped back. She couldn’t have his hands on her when he used that word. It was wrong when all she’d ever done was love him. “Ariel pointed out that it would be easier on both of us if I stopped showing up in your life.”

His gaze softened. “Would it? I didn’t see you for a couple of years and it didn’t feel any easier.”

She let a moment pass. How was it she felt even more vulnerable than she had when she was with Levi? “I know. I’ve tried to move on. I don’t seem to be able to.”

His hands moved as if he wanted to touch her, but he seemed to rethink the idea. “So maybe we should go about this another way. Maybe we should take this time and do what we didn’t do before. Talk. Try to find a way to get through this. I’m sorry I said what I did about you and Levi. It still hurts and I’m lashing out. All I know is when I thought you were in danger, I knew I couldn’t sit on my hands and let it happen. I can’t do it now either. Let me come with you. Let me help fix this.”

No. It was the only word she should say to him, and then she should turn and walk out and never look back. If she let him in, he would hurt her no matter how good his intentions were. Beck had always had a well of rage inside him that he wouldn’t deal with, wouldn’t acknowledge even existed. He hadn’t changed.

“Okay.” She hadn’t changed either. She was still helpless when it came to this man. She was still in love with him and likely always would be.

He let go of a heavy breath. “Good.” He was silent for a moment, looking her over. “Did he hurt you? Are your wrists okay?”

She’d managed to get what was left of the zip ties off in the car. She had some red marks on her wrists. “They’re sore, but all right. He didn’t slap me around this time.”

She watched as Beck’s hands formed fists and wished she hadn’t said that. His rage was always simmering under the surface when she was around.

He seemed to let it go. “All right. We should get on the road. Can you grab some water and protein bars? I don’t know what we’ll find when we get to Paris.”

She kind of thought she did know. She’d done a lot of homework on Big Tag, and if Rene was who she thought he was, then Beck would feel right at home.

Still, she grabbed the water bottles and bars and stuffed them in the duffel Steph had provided for her. There were a couple of T-shirts and a pair of sweatpants that would likely be too short, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

This was all she had in the world. It was odd. She would have said possessions were meaningless, but now that she had no access to any of the things that brought her comfort, she missed them with all her heart.

She had one thing. She reached up and found some peace knowing her ring was still there. All these years and she still had her wedding ring. It hung low around her neck, and she always hid it under her shirt when Beck was around.

It was all she had left of her marriage.

“You ready?” Beck fitted a cap to his head and passed her another. “You might want to put your hair up. I know if I was looking for you, all that hair would be the first thing to catch my eye.”

How many nights had he tangled his fingers in her hair and gently tugged, had he told her how beautiful it was and that he never wanted her to cut it? “Yeah. I’m ready.”

He stepped in front of her and placed the cap on her head, his gorgeous eyes staring down at her. “I really am sorry I said what I did. Can you forgive me?”

Her whole soul threatened to melt. She nodded.

“Can I hug you? I want to. I want to reassure myself that you’re really okay.”

She nodded again and then she was in his arms for the first time in years.

“Promise me he didn’t get a chance to hurt you,” Beck whispered.

He sounded like he actually cared. His arms around her made her feel safer than she had in forever. “He threatened me with a bunch of stuff, but I don’t want to talk about it. I will, but not now.”

“Okay.”

They stood there for the longest time, the sound of his heartbeat the only thing she could hear.

 

* * * *

 

Ezra glanced around the club and sighed. He should have known. “It’s a BDSM club.”

Of course Big Tag would send them here. There was no sign outside the building, but he’d noted the discreet placard in the lobby. Le Collier de Velours.

French wasn’t his best language, but he was pretty sure that translated to The Velvet Collar.

Yep. It was Big Tag’s world, and everyone else just played in it.

“You’ll only be here for a few days,” Rene said as he gestured them through. “Tag is going to move you to Dallas as soon as possible. The only reason you’re here now is the fact that Tag’s got business in Europe. He’ll be here in the morning.”

“I thought Charlotte had a baby recently. He’s leaving her alone?” That didn’t sound like Big Tag. He could be a sarcastic son of a bitch, but he was a good husband and father.

A brilliant smile came over Kim’s face. “Did they find her? Is that why he’s coming?”

“Find her?” He tried not to think about how that smile warmed his whole body, and it wasn’t merely about the fact that she was still the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. When she smiled like that, the world felt right.

“Big Tag and Charlotte have been searching for a girl named Natasha Federova,” Kim explained, looking more animated than she had in hours. She’d spent the long car ride mostly silent, staring out the window even when they made the crossing under the English Channel. “The second company has been working pretty much nonstop to try to figure out who Sasha was.”

He wasn’t sure how the founding members of Miles-Dean, Weston and Murdoch would feel about being called a second team. The former members of McKay-Taggart had formed their own company specializing in missing persons. He felt his eyes widen at the implications. “They think they found Sasha’s daughter?”

“I found her. Or at least I found records of her birth. See, we always thought Sasha was probably SVR or something like it. I have some contacts who are experts and I managed to find his real name. He was a higher-up analyst who worked for SVR, but he got involved in a case that threatened to implicate some bigwigs at the Kremlin, so no one was surprised when he turned up dead. Although now we know whatever body they pulled out of the Moskva wasn’t actually his. We think someone sold him out to McDonald for cash when she was looking for men with his physical training. His real name was Oleg Federov.”

He had no idea she’d been working on finding Sasha’s daughter. “You tracked her down?”

“I only found the name,” she replied. “Adam and his team did the rest. I don’t know much about the project. I handed them the name and then got back to my own business.”

How hard had that been? Kim liked a good mystery, liked to pull on a thread and follow it to the end. It had been her downfall many times, but it looked like she’d known when to hand over this mission to the right team. “That’s great. But why is Tag coming here? Shouldn’t he send someone to check up on her?”

Rene held up his hands. “I don’t know why Tag does what he does, but he will be here tomorrow morning and he’s going to want an update on what’s happening. I’ve already gotten in touch with some of my old colleagues and you should know the Agency has briefed French intelligence. They’ve put the word out about you. You’re to be brought in at all costs. Ms. Solomon, that is. You’re considered disposable, Mr. Fain.”

Of course he was. He was sure Levi would be thrilled if the Agency brought him home in a body bag. “What do you know about Levi’s position at the Agency?”

Rene shrugged. “Nothing except he’s obviously got the ear of someone important. It’s why I have to do something I normally wouldn’t do. Could you follow me?”

The smile on her face fled. “If it’s dangerous for us to be here, I’ll find someplace else to go. I know what happened the last time one of Big Tag’s friends helped out.”

Rene’s face went grim. “Peter. Yes. He was a good man, but this situation is different. Unless one of you two plans on murdering me. I’m not worried about this Mr. Green showing up to shoot me. I’m worried about what happens when he shows up at this club looking for you. I need for him to not find you here and look elsewhere. There’s a reason Big Tag chose this location. He knows sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight.”

“I hope that’s a euphemism because I was planning to hide in some place hideyer,” Kim said with a frown.

He was concerned, too. “I assure you, Levi’s got a full dossier on Big Tag. You’ve got connections to Damon, too. He’ll know all about those. He will absolutely show up here, or he’ll send someone to watch the place. There’s no question of that. Maybe we should hit the road.”

“And go where?” Rene asked. “Neither of you has alternate identification. Truly good ID takes more than half a day to construct. I know it’s easy to move around Europe, but you still need ID.”

“We’ll stay in the Schengen Area.” They were in France, a part of twenty-six countries known as the Schengen Area. They were a loose alliance that didn’t require passports to move across borders.

“Even in the Schengen countries you’ll need some kind of identification, and you’ll definitely need money,” Rene pointed out.

“I can get money.” Kim’s hand clutched the duffel she carried. “I need some time to move things into place.”

He should have known Kim would have a plan. He did, too. “I can access some funds. After the Agency burned me, I made arrangements. But he’s right about the ID. Can you get it for us?”

“I’ve already got a friend working on your cover. We should have it in a few days, but we need some time to get a handle on what’s going on.” Rene moved deeper into the club. It was different from any of the clubs he’d been to. This was pure Moulin Rouge decadence done up with tons of red and gold. “We think we can move you out of here in a week or so. We have to ensure Mr. Green is occupied in other ways. He will no doubt send someone to check here. When he finds nothing, he’ll move on. Big Tag intends to open the doors to Sanctum and welcome the Agency inside. I think he’s looking forward to whatever Agency hack shows up. He’s planning an all anal play night for them.”

Kim snorted but her eyes were wide as she looked around the place. “That should be interesting. So we hide out in the back room until Levi’s satisfied we’re not here?”

“Oh, I have a much better hiding place than some back room,” Rene said. “This building has been standing for three hundred years. It’s been in my family for the last hundred. Like many older buildings in Europe, it has its secrets.”

He stopped in front of a wall and moved his hand over the wainscoting.

Beck heard a click but saw nothing. “I don’t get it.”

Rene gestured to his left. “The door is three panels down. From what we can tell, the rooms were first used to move around noble families hiding from the mob during the revolution. My great-grandfather was a talented architect. He made some improvements to the secret rooms during the occupation. Originally the latching mechanism was attached to the door, and it would come open even if someone accidently tripped it. Now you have to unlock the mechanism in one place and then push in the door to get it to open. It was how he kept our Jewish neighbors safe from the Nazis.”

Rene walked to another panel and pressed it in, the door revealing itself.

They would be stuck in there together for days. Days alone with her. Days where they had nothing to do.

What the hell was he going to do? How was he going to keep his hands off her?

Should he even try? Fate seemed to be pressing him to finally work things out with her so they could be done.

What if the real solution had always been to spend one last night together?

He shook the thought off as he followed her up the narrow stairs lit by a single flickering bulb.

“Sorry about the lighting. Like I said, the building is old.” Rene moved up behind him. “But you’ll find everything works in the apartments. There are three rooms. There is a living area and a rudimentary kitchen. We connected it to the water and electricity lines forty years ago. I’ve stocked the refrigerator and the pantry. There’s a small bathroom and one bed. There is a security system as well. There are security cameras in the lobby, and several around the outside of the building. There is one in the dungeon, but it only protects the door to these rooms. You’ll be able to see anyone coming up.”

He sincerely hoped there was a comfortable couch. He doubted they would find some massive king-sized bed where they could put up a wall of pillows and find a way to share.

He was going to sleep close to Kim and there wouldn’t be anyone there to keep him from giving in to the urge to climb in beside her, to rest his head on her breast and listen to her heartbeat again.

The stairs were narrow and winding, and he had the best view of her backside.

Fuck, he should be thinking about how to get out of the conundrum they found themselves in and all he could think about was how gorgeous that ass was, how good it felt to cup her cheeks and hold her tight against him.

He was in trouble.

“I’ve made sure you’ve got Internet access with a secure connection,” Rene continued. “You’ll need it to investigate. If you need to call anyone, use the communications protocols on the laptop. They were developed by one of Tag’s hackers, and I’ve found it’s impossible to track it down. You also have access to the CCTV cameras I talked about. You can monitor them all from this system. I’m going to leave you here and get back downstairs so I can open the club for the evening. We don’t want anything to look unusual.”

“How many people know about these rooms?” He followed Kim inside the small apartment. Yes, they were going to be in very close quarters.

“Myself and my wife and a few trusted friends,” Rene replied. “Tag knows about it, obviously, and Charlotte. They stayed here once before her unfortunate death.”

Charlotte’s death hadn’t been real, and he needed to start thinking about that option for Kim if they couldn’t find a way to prove her innocence. The Agency wouldn’t treat her like they’d treated him. They would come after her. He looked around the little room. “Seems so vanilla for Tag.”

A mysterious smile crossed Rene’s face. “There’s always the club downstairs. You should understand the dungeon has no windows. If, say, after the building is secured, you want to come down and use the amenities, feel free. Simply clean up after yourself and make sure you’re back in the safe room before dawn. There’s a light by the door to the safe room. When it’s lit that means the security system is activated and you’re alone here. Use the secure line if you need anything. Good night.”

Rene closed the door behind him and he was left with the one woman in the world he shouldn’t be alone with, the one woman in the world who could wreck him. And there was a whole dungeon down there they could play in.

No. He wasn’t going there. Not even if she wanted to. Which she wouldn’t because Kim wasn’t into the lifestyle. She was vanilla.

Except hadn’t she always been open to anything he wanted to try? Hadn’t she been the one to push him to keep things sexy between the two of them?

She set her duffel down on the bistro table and moved to the small pantry. “Are you hungry? I can probably put something together. Oh, thank god we’re in France.” She pulled out a bottle of wine. “It’s a Pinot. I know you prefer beer.”

“I’ll drink anything right now.” He shouldn’t, but if there had been a bottle of Scotch, he might have sucked it down like water. “It’s been a day. You know we’re going to have to talk about it.”

He’d given her time, but they would have to go over what Levi had done to her, what he’d said. He knew that fucker, and Levi liked to talk, so he had likely discussed his plans with her.

“Talk about what?” She opened a drawer and came back with a corkscrew. “I mean we probably have a lot to talk about. It’s been ten years, after all.”

“We’ve talked since the divorce.” It might have been one of their problems.

“We’ve argued. You’ve yelled and I reacted. That’s not a discussion.”

“Well, I didn’t think there was anything to discuss after you got my brother killed.”

She stopped, going still as though she needed a moment to absorb the blow.

His anger was his greatest flaw. He knew, but he couldn’t quite tamp it down. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

“But you still believe it. That’s good to know. We were halfway civil in England. I almost hoped you’d forgiven me.”

His jaw actually clenched to keep the words in. How could he forgive her?

Her eyes came up. “You might as well say it. You know you want to. You’ll feel better if you get it off your chest.”

But he wouldn’t. That had been their problem. He’d raged at her time and time again and it never seemed to quell his anger. He shoved down the need to rehash their old issues. Why should he bother when they had so many new issues to get through? “I would rather talk about what happened today.”

She pulled the cork and went to work finding glasses. “I’ll write up a report. I think it’s safe to say Levi is back in good with the big bosses.”

He took a long breath and forced himself to sit on the couch.

It wasn’t comfortable. It was kind of lumpy.

“Yes. I think we can safely say whatever was on the files we picked up here in Paris was enough to get them to overlook everything Levi’s done in the last couple of years.” Like work with drug dealing generals and shoot operatives who didn’t agree with him. The Agency had picked teams and it looked like everything had come up Levi’s way.

She poured two glasses of the wine. “I know what he has. The question is will the Agency admit they have it.”

“What is that?”

She put the glass in front of him, moved her duffel to the floor, and sat down across from him. “There was a ton of information about who McDonald worked with. Some real. Some placed in there for blackmail purposes, like me. But the other thing you need to understand is that Levi has the formulary for McDonald’s drug.”

He felt the hairs on his arm stand up. That drug had taken everything from the Lost Boys, and he’d prayed they’d destroyed it utterly. “Tell me it’s not the final formulary.”

“No, but I worry that’s out there somewhere.”

He happened to know otherwise. “I’m going to tell you something that I hope you don’t feel necessary to share with the Agency when you get back.”

Her eyes widened. “Get back? I don’t think my job will be waiting for me at the end of this. Once you get burned it’s very hard to rejoin, and I wouldn’t ever move up again. You know that. They offered to let you return but you walked away. I always wondered if that was more about giving me the finger than not wanting your job back.”

“It wasn’t about you.” Seeing her had been the only reason to remain at the Agency, even though he’d known how unhealthy it was to stay around her. “It was about…everything. It was about what happened in Africa. It was about what happened in Mexico. It was about my brother.”

“If it was about your brother then it was about me. You can’t separate the two of us in your head anymore.” She stared at the wall behind him, her eyes a bit glassy. She suddenly shook her head and her eyes cleared. “I won’t be going back to the Agency. I don’t know what I’ll do, but even if I managed to get rid of Levi, there will always be people there who hate me. After what happened this morning, I don’t think I can trust anyone there. So you can tell me anything. Despite our trouble, I’ve always been on your side.”

She’d worked hard to try to get his job back. He knew she was one of the reasons the Agency hadn’t come after him harder when he’d left. Big Tag had been another, but Kim had actively worked to keep him safe. He could trust her in this. “I helped Big Tag destroy the final formulary. We found it at the secondary base here in France. I came in a few hours after they freed Theo. Big Tag thought it would be good to have an Agency operative there so he would have accountability. He picked me because he knew I would do what he wanted. He knew I would help destroy that woman’s work and I would cover for him. Not even the rest of the group knew I was there until later. It’s all gone.”

“Well, the first versions of it are now in Levi’s hands, and I assure you, he means to perfect it all over again.” She sighed and took a sip. “Like I said, I’ll write it up tonight.”

“I would rather you told me. I was surprised. The fucker finally managed to shock me. When I realized something was going wrong, I thought it would be me he arrested.”

“Only because you fundamentally misunderstand what Levi wants out of this war we’re in.”

“Oh, I understand. He wants you. He wants to be able to say he took you from me.”

She laughed, though the sound held not an ounce of true amusement. “You genuinely think he’s doing this to prove he’s better than you? That’s why you were surprised?”

“He hates me.”

“No, babe. He hates me and that’s why he fucks with you. You think this war is between you and Levi and that I’m some pathetic prize one of you gets at the end, but you’re wrong. I’m not blaming you for thinking that way. I did for a long time, too. But I hate to burst your bubble. You’re incidental to this war because it would have happened whether or not you showed up.”

His first instinct was to argue with her. This was obviously something between himself and Levi. After all, he’d been shot by the fucker and left for dead, not her. But arguing wouldn’t solve anything. “Why do you think that? You know he’s hated me pretty much from the moment we met.”

“You were a prick to him, but then he was annoying and trying to show off for me,” she replied. “Though I didn’t realize it at the time.”

He’d met Kim when she was in training. She and Levi had been members of the same class. They’d been in a seminar that Ezra hadn’t intended to teach. He’d only been working for a few years longer than their training class. “He didn’t understand geopolitics the way he thought he did. He was a showoff, and I put him in his place. It was the incident that proved to the instructors I wasn’t cut out to be one of them.”

But he’d noticed her. He’d taken over three days of lectures on the political situations in smaller, often overlooked countries. Levi had been an ass, but he’d noticed the woman with all the blonde hair and the smile like sunshine. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her and when he’d found out she frequented a bar in Foggy Bottom, he’d found himself hanging out there more and more. It had been before he’d gone into the field, when he’d been an analyst.

“See, he’s always wanted to get back at me for that,” he replied. “You don’t understand the male psyche. I wounded his pride that day.”

“And I wounded it when I wouldn’t love him back.”

He felt his spine straighten. He didn’t want to hear about what she’d done with Levi before she’d met him. Sometimes he thought half their fights had been about that fucker. If she needed to believe she was the center of the universe, then he was going to let her. “There’s no point in discussing ancient history.”

She sat back. “Of course there isn’t. I’m going to pull up the laptop. I’ll stay on the couch tonight.”

“I can handle the couch.”

She stood up and grabbed the sleek computer and brought it back to the table. “I’m going to check my messages. I want to see if he called.”

“By he, you mean Levi?” She wanted to know if he’d left her a damn message? “You so desperate to hear his voice?”

She didn’t look up at him, merely stared at the screen. “The door is that way, Beck. You should feel free to use it.” She sighed and looked up at him. “If you won’t talk about the past with me, could you at least not accuse me of things you don’t understand? That man has ruined my life in numerous ways. You don’t want to hear about it? I get it, but you can keep your mouth shut about things you don’t understand.”

But he did understand. Didn’t he? Levi had always been a touchy subject. “I told you he was trouble.”

“Of course you did. Look, you were always right about everything and I was always wrong. We have to be here for a couple of days and then you don’t have to see me ever again. I promise. I’ll go my way and you’ll go yours and I’ll respect your wishes and stay far, far away from anywhere you might be.”

He hated the fact that she wouldn’t look at him. “I didn’t say I was always right.”

“You don’t have to. It’s implied in pretty much everything you do.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, we weren’t supposed to talk about ancient history.”

He was about to reply that he really wanted to know what she meant, but a frown crossed her face. “What is it?”

“It’s a message from him. He didn’t even use a burner. He wanted his name to come up.”

“Play it.” He wanted to hear it. He needed to hear that fucker’s voice. His gut twisted because he’d accused her of the same thing, though he’d put an awful spin on it.

She touched a button and a beep came over the line.

“Hello, Solo.” Levi’s voice sounded smooth over the computer’s speakers. “I’m going to assume it was Ezra who saved you today. It won’t work. I’ll find you and then I’ll deal with him. If you want him to live, you’ll turn yourself in. Make no mistake, I’m in charge now. I have control of your case, and when I bring you in I’ll have complete control of you. The fact that you’ll be in my charge is a foregone conclusion. How I bring you in now is up to you. I played nice, Solo. I won’t next time. Next time we meet I’ll show you my other side. The truth is the dark side of me loves you every bit as much as the light side. The dark side simply wants to hurt you more. I look forward to unleashing that part of myself. And tell Beck that he might have saved you briefly, but you’ll be in my bed before the end of the week. Just like you were the first time.”

Rage rose inside him hard and fast, and before he knew what he was doing, the glass in his hand exploded.

He heard a gasp and looked up at Kim. There was a drop of blood on her cheek. That speck of red was the only color on her face because her skin had gone a pasty white. She looked down at his hand and stood.

“I’ll get the first aid kit. Don’t move. You’ll spread the glass around if you move.” Her every word was dull and rote.

He’d cut her. He hadn’t meant to, but wasn’t that what they did when they were together? They were volcanic, and even when they started with the best of intentions, one of them ended up hurt.

He looked down at the red wine he’d spilled all over the table and his clothes. It looked like blood.

How much would he spill before they got out of this situation?

How much would he give? How much of hers would he take?

When she came back into the room, he was silent and allowed her to clean up the mess he’d made. He wondered if there was any way they got out of this whole.