The King, page 26
"Why are you so good to me?"
"Haven't you figured that out yet? You matter to me. You are everything—.” He cut himself off and dragged in a deep breath. “When I thought I might lose you in the Winston Isles, I was mad. Really fucking pissed off. The idea of losing you… I couldn't. I just... “ His breath hitched again. “I couldn't."
“You didn't," I said, shaking my head
"So, what do you say?"
“You're on. And I’ll warn you… I really do hate to lose at cards."
His chuckle was low as he left me in the bathroom. “Saffron Abott, you act like I’ve never met you before.”
29
Lachlan
The buzzing on the nightstand woke me out of a deep stupor. But this time, I didn't wake alone. I had Saff in my arms. The buzzing continued, and I couldn't make it stop. I frowned. When I checked the clock it was two o'clock in the morning. What the fuck?
Saff stirred. "What is it?"
"Someone's calling."
She was up immediately, throwing off the covers and reaching to grab her clothes. "Answer. You're being called in."
"What? I thought I was off."
“If you're being called in. We’re in trouble." She grabbed her phone, but no one was calling her. "Okay, maybe it's just you."
“It's two in the fucking morning. They’ll go away."
She grabbed my phone out of my hand and peered at it. “Yeah, Rogues Division. Answer it or they will send someone for you."
I growled when I thought of who they might send for me. "The result will not be the same as the last time."
“I promise you it will. You have to answer. Let's go."
I couldn’t believe I wasn’t even getting the whole night with her. “Fucking hell.”
“If you're being called, it means something."
"But why aren't you being called then?"
“I don't know." But even as she spoke, her phone also buzzed, and she answered on speaker right away. "What is it Gabe?"
“You need to come in. When you get here, come to my office."
“Is that an order?"
He sighed. "Saff, my office. Thirty minutes."
She hung up with him. "We have to go."
I was slow to move, but she was already dressed and shoving my clothes at me. “You can shower on campus before you go out on mission."
“You think it's a mission?"
"Look at the protocol. One-five means mission. I didn't get a one-five. Gabe is calling me in personally, which means I’m likely on coms."
"This is bullshit. If I’m going, you should be going. You're my training officer."
“I don't have any control over that. Move."
Once I saw the urgency with which she was moving, my head started to clear. “I want more time with you."
"We'll get more time later. Time to go."
That was what I admired about her. Her single-minded focus. We were going in. That was that.
This is her whole world. Are you ready to compete with that?
I frowned at that thought. This wasn't Saff's whole world. She had lots of other things.
Are you sure about that?
I didn't want to think about it.
Thirty minutes later, we were hustling through Rogues Division. I was called into the briefing room, but Saff headed for Gabe's office. "Are you okay?" I asked.
“I guess so. We'll find out what’s going on.”
I didn't want to let her go. “Be careful, okay?"
"Same goes for you."
As she walked away, my heart squeezed at the idea that I might not see her again.
Saffron
I parted ways with Lock and headed to my brother's office. He was pacing when I walked in. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Thanks to your little stunt earlier we have a fucking problem."
“I swear to God, if you called me in here to give me bullshit, you can fuck right off. It’s two in the morning, Gabe. Neither one of us has time for bullshit right now."
"When will you understand that Oversight doesn’t give a fuck whether you die or not. They want you in the goddamned field. I got the chewing out of a lifetime because I was protecting you."
I was not here for the fuckery today. "No, Gabe, you were trying to look good. You don't care about me."
"Why do you think I’ve been doing this? I'm trying to keep you bloody alive, goddamn it. Just because you don't have the good sense to run away from this place."
“Gabe, has it ever occurred to you that you never once asked me what I wanted? You never asked me how I feel. You presumed to know. Even Mum and Dad weren't this bad. Yes, Rogues Division is my legacy, but you just assumed control of everything, and now it's blowing up in your face. What's the mission?"
His hands were shaking as he ran them through his hair. “We aren’t waiting for the awards show in LA. You're going back in the field with Lachlan now. Graciella is in New York. Oversight wants you to make the approach there."
“Maybe next time deliver the message without any of the additional bullshit.”
He sighed. “For the love of God, I was wrong, okay? You have to understand, you are my responsibility. And if I lose you, I’ll have failed. And every time I turn around, there you are trying to do something to put yourself into more danger."
“It's not your call. You're my brother, and I love you, but it's not your call. Every time you make a decision for me, you're taking away my agency, and that sucks."
"Well, you got your wish. You are a full-fledged field agent, effective immediately.”
My heart stopped and something clogged my throat, making breathing impossible. “What?”
“If I had my way, you would never see the field."
“You recognize that makes me leery, right? Because the only way to hold your job is to have field experience."
“You think I’m keeping you out of the field because of job security?"
"What am I supposed to think?"
He shook his head, his shoulders hunching as if he was tired. “If that's what you really think of me… Maybe I deserve that."
“Is my team briefing right now?"
“Yes." With a huff, he added, “You may hate me right now, you may be pissed the fuck off. I don't really care. But you fucking stay alive in the field, do you hear me? Because if you do not, I will revive you and kill you myself."
I could see pain in his face. He was trying to protect me. He’d just gone about it the entirely wrong way. I was finally getting my wish. I was going in the field. And I was getting this much closer to getting vengeance for my family.
I reached the door, and he stopped me. "Will you ever forgive me?"
30
Saffron
A day later, Gabe’s last question still rattled in my mind. Could I forgive him? I didn’t really know. And the not knowing was distracting me from the mission at hand. I dragged myself out of my reverie to focus.
“Are you sure this is the play you want to make?“
I frowned at Lock. “Yes, it makes sense because you have media interests in New York, and the Caldwell is the place to see and be seen if you’re in the city. It’s also private and discreet.”
He nodded as he stared up at the meticulously maintained prewar exterior. “Okay. It’s your call.“
And it was my call, wasn’t it? No matter what happened on the mission, it was all my responsibility. And I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that.
The Caldwell was an upscale, boutique hotel on the Upper East Side. They were known for their exemplary bar and their discretion, which made it a haven for actors and musicians, and it had become Hollywood’s quiet spot on the East Coast.
My mission brief had us going in as a couple yet again since there was always a chance Graciella might believe that we were running into each other given Lock’s status and hers.
“Do we have eyes on her?” I asked into my comm unit. Instead of Saint this time, we had Rookie. Just as well. He was excellent with tech.
His voice was low but clear. “We have her on the terrace. Be aware of your exits. There are two on the way up there. We don’t want her vanishing on us. You are clear to make your approach."
This should be simple. Easy. Deliberately walk in front of the bar. Act as in love as ever with my husband and make sure she saw us. Immediately, Lachlan wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Fingers getting dangerously close to my breast.
“Would you behave?”
“I’m just getting us in the right frame of mind. Playing the part.”
Sure enough our bait worked. "Saffron? Lock? Is that you?"
We both slowed and glanced around, and sure enough, there was Graciella, looking beautiful, stunning, and completely unbothered. I forced my eyes wide. "Oh my God, Graciella, how are you?"
"Me? Sweetheart, where have you been?" She stood and sauntered over, arms outstretched. “I thought something had happened to you. What are you doing in New York?"
When she hugged me, I placed the tiny tracker on the back lip of her belt. She wouldn’t notice it until she undressed. She seemed genuine, and I was fond of her. But she kept strange bedfellows, so it was better to keep an eye on her.
That was the thing about being a field agent; you learned to never trust anything at face value.
Lock said, “Gracie, it's good to see you. Apologies that we had to leave the Winston Isles in a bit of a hurry."
"What happened? I mean, I saw Saffron for lunch, then she went to the bathroom and just vanished."
Lock continued squeezing me tight into his side. “I am sorry for all the dramatics. I had a business thing come up unexpectedly. It couldn't really be helped, so we had to go in quite the hurry."
“You couldn't even say goodbye? I was concerned, and Massimo was quite cross. He thinks you two deliberately didn't say goodbye."
"Like I said, it couldn't be helped." Lock gave a shrug as an apology.
On the surface she seemed to buy it. “In that case, let me buy you a drink.”
Very intentionally, Lock shook his head. "No, we're just trying to have a quiet night."
"Ah, you two lovebirds. Please, it will be an insult. Massimo will want to know what you two are doing in New York." When she said Massimo’s name, she gave me a pointed look.
Lock said, “I’ve been working for two weeks solid. If I didn’t take her out there would be hell to pay. After this, we’ll continue our honeymoon.”
Graciella made googly eyes at us. “I swear, you two are the cutest. You have to hurry and procreate. I love children."
I smiled and coughed. “I think we can wait on that."
"Oh, don't wait too long. You won't be able to chase them around.”
She showed us to her table. There were several bottles of champagne and food laid out. “I’ve been here for a minute. I have some friends who are just in the washroom.”
I stood straighter at that. Friends?
“I insist you join me."
"Then join you we shall," Lock said.
Once our glasses were poured and we were settled in, I felt on edge, and Lock’s hand pressed my lower back trying to rub soothing circles on my skin. I was waiting for Webster to show up. But he didn’t come.
After about five minutes, Graciella‘s phone buzzed and she looked at it. She rolled her eyes dramatically and excused herself. “If you’ll just pardon me for one moment. I’ll be right back. You keep on enjoying your drinks.”
Before she even stood, my instincts told me she was up to no good. I watched her closely as she headed toward the loo, and then Lock and I were on our feet. Him to the first exit, me to the other.
In our comm units, Saint was monitoring her movements. “It might be a false alarm. From the looks of it, she is actually going into the loo. But watch the exits anyway.“
After five minutes with no sign of her from either of us, I headed into the loo just to be sure. And it was empty. Fuck!
I ran out pressing my comm unit. “She’s gone. Where the hell did she go?”
Lock and I had a shorthand between us now I didn’t even need to tell him to start a standard grid search. If she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, chances were we’d been made before we even walked in there. The likelihood that Webster hadn’t told her about me was slim, but it had been worth a shot. Unfortunately, our only lead had pulled a Houdini.
She’d played us. And now we had nowhere to go. We were dead in the water.
That inner voice started to pick at me.
Of course you failed. Did you really think you were going to be the one to pull this off? Gabe was right.
I shook it off. There was no time for that bullshit. I had an asset to find.
Saffron
I had made a mistake. I should’ve listened when Gabe insisted we just snatch her up and secure her in a safe house until she agreed to cooperate. I thought working our angle would be better for us.
I was wrong.
I ran down the east corridor, making sure to double-check my map. There was no street exit there, so she would have had to backtrack. Saint was checking hotel security cameras. So where the hell had she gone?
“Saint, come in.“
“I’ve got you loud and clear, Heir."
I startled. Being in the field meant people were going to use my call sign. I wasn’t sure I’d thought about that, but it was a problem for another day. “Got anything on the cameras?“
“I’ve got nothing. There are a couple of blind spots. She could’ve gone down the service elevator, or hell, even into a guest room. I have no idea.”
I ground my teeth. “King, what about you?"
“Nothing yet. Let’s just run the pattern.”
Yes, that was protocol, but something was eating at me. Something was not right. I double-checked my exit, heading down to her floor again. “I’m headed to her room. I’ll just double-check that we didn’t somehow miss it.”
“Copy,” was Lock’s response.
“Rookie, can you get me into room 604?"
“Hold please.”
Ten seconds later, the lock flashed green and I pushed the door open.
I saw nothing of importance. I didn't even know what I was looking for, just following protocol. I’d lost my asset, so I had to assess the environment, assess where I’d gone wrong, and make notes for next time.
Yes, but you are also sulking.
Okay, fine, I was sulking. I had messed up. Gabe had tried to give me advice, but I had been so convinced I knew what to do. Fuck.
Empty. Damn it. There was nothing in there. Nothing that said anything about her. I had trusted her, and instead of me building the asset, she was playing me.
And like a fool, I fell for it.
Asset development 101: Don't become their asset.
I was a fool.
You can focus on being a fool or focus on fixing it. Now, think.
If I were her and I was being watched, what would I do? What were the possible scenarios? Then it came to me. We hadn't tapped her phones, so she'd likely gotten a call out. A call could be traced.
I mentioned the idea to Rookie, but he was already checking, so what else? What had I missed? She’d made us think she was buying our act, which meant she was already wise to us.
But why even call out our names unless she knew exactly who I really was and had been watching us.
She’d known that we had eyes on her, which meant everything had to happen quickly and quietly without us noticing. God knew, she had some help, but she wasn't with anyone in New York as far as we knew.
Unless...
She wasn't alone. That meant either we'd had bad intel again or she was with someone who could vanish or who didn't exist. I quickly searched the room looking for signs that I was right.
We’d wanted her to lead us to Webster, thinking that he wouldn’t be with her, especially not after what happened in the Winston Isles. But what if he was?
Jesus.
Oh fuck, he'd been here with her all along. We’d been expecting her to lead us to him, and he had been here right under our noses.
I started dialing Lock, but before I could get a call through, a hand clamped over my mouth. “You always were too smart for your own good."
31
Lachlan
Saff should have been back already. Searching Gracie’s room should’ve taken no time at all. It was clear she was in the wind. Except how the hell had she gotten past us with no help?
“Hey, Rookie, give me a location on Saff.”
His voice was concerned when he said, “I keeping pinging her, but her comm unit isn’t on.”
Fucking hell. I ran toward room 604. When I shoved the door open, my heart stopped.
The room was in complete disarray, and there had clearly been a struggle. The desk lamp was knocked over, papers were strewn around the room, and there was a shoe print on the wall. Saff had fought someone, and now she was gone. Something had happened to her.
Fuck, she'd been taken.
I wasted no time. I quickly searched the room in case she was just down. And as I ran back to our working suite, I was already on the phone with Tabs.
“Why are you calling me, Lock?”
"We have a problem. Saff's gone. And I don't think she's gone by choice."
To her credit, Tabatha didn't ask a lot of questions. “Fuck. All right, we launch Babylon protocol."
"What? We're not fucking leaving her."
“You need to familiarize yourself with all the protocols. Babylon protocol is when your teammate is captured. Get to a safe house. If she’s conscious, she’ll activate her secondary tracker."
"That’s bullshit. I can’t leave her."
“Listen to me. She knows what happens, and she knows what to do."
“I shouldn't have left her. I fucking knew it."
“We will get her back. But if you're going to be in the field, you have to learn the way we do things. Don't forget, preserve the mission at all cost. If the mission cannot be preserved, we return, regroup, and analyze. Now focus, so you can go get Saff when we locate her."
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