Fiona slowly, carefully slid around the bench until she was adjacent to him. The churning water made it hard to see, but she could guess where her target was just by the way he was sitting all slouched down like that.Fiona stretched out her arm until her fingers brushed Marco's stomach. The muscles under her touch jumped, but he otherwise didn't move. He wanted to be the stone man? She'd give him a helping hand.Her grip.She drifted lower until her fingers found his cock. As of yet, she hadn't touched him, not like this. Their coupling had been too fast, too urgent to allow for her exploration of his body. She wrapped her hand around him and swallowed. He wasn't even hard yet. No wonder she'd been sore.Marco didn't so much as crack an eye at her. Was this simply expected? Or was he waiting to see what she'd do? Well, she had plans.Fiona squeezed, just a little bit, and stroked, running her fingers along his length, feeling his size. He shifted his hips a bit closer. Permi
SCOTT'S GAZE SLID LEFT, then right.His car was the only one in the mall parking garage at this hour.This was bullshit.He'd been waiting for over an hour, but Lila hadn't shown. The bitch. If she didn't owe him money, he'd have been gone already. He needed that money in order to get his hands on Fiona. He had plans for her. Plans that were years in the making.The hum of an engine somewhere below signaled he wasn't alone.His luck, it was the mall rent-a-cop coming back to see if he was okay. Last time, Scott had told the guy he was waiting on a friend who worked in the mall. He doubted the lie would suffice this time.Headlights slashed across the concrete wall, and a silver sedan rounded the bend.If this wasn't Lila, he was gone.She was some sort of spook. Scott had worked with a number of companies. Espionage was big business for the right people. Wherever Good Global had found her, he hoped she was the only one of her kind.The silver sedan pulled up next to S
MARCO GLANCED AT THE bathroom door once more. Fiona could always come out to grab something she'd forgotten. He needed to take this call downstairs."Hang on," he said into the receiver.He padded down the stairs and let himself out onto the porch before holding the phone back up to his ear."Okay, go ahead." He paced around the porch to the back, where he could look out over the desert."I can't stop the data crawler without direct access to NueEnergy's system," Ghost said."Fuck...I thought you could?""I never said I could. I tried. All you told me to do was stop it. I can't.""Ghost..." Marco turned in place and stalked back across the porch."I am getting things. It's kicking back the right kind of data.""That doesn't help us with this situation." He gestured at the house, as though Ghost knew Fiona was there, nearby."I told you to think this through before we committed, and now you're having second thoughts. It's too late, Marco. I told you someone would hav
SCOTT HADN'T SLEPT SINCE his meet with Lila. He couldn't. And he was pretty sure he didn't know shit about what was going on, either.He'd been hired to do one job, get a drip leak going on the NueEnergy's servers. He knew Good Global wanted information, specifically about some new wind turbine idea that was being rolled out, but there was more to it. More he wasn't being told, and that was where he was getting screwed over.Another cup of coffee and he'd be good for at least half an hour.He took a quick walk around the one room shit-hole, then returned to his standing desk. He couldn't sleep standing, or at least that was the theory.What would have a spook like Lila completely change her strategy?Why would she want to get gear back they'd agreed could be turned off and abandoned?Because she thought someone would find it? That had to be it.Then who? And why?Brat had stopped hacking, as far as he'd been able to tell. Sure, she had higher than normal competency w
MARCO SCROLLED THROUGH HIS emails, careful to not click into them.Zain had once mentioned that he could track if a messaged had been read or not, and Marco was doing his best to keep everyone at work in the dark about what was going on. There were still several days left in his vacation, so going off-grid wasn't unheard of. Especially for him.A beat-up car turned into his driveway instead of using the cul-de-sac. It wasn't one of the family's cars, either.He picked up his coffee and took a few steps toward the door. There was a Glock in the last kitchen drawer and a rifle above the door. Fiona was still upstairs asleep.The car parked and Ghost got out, both hands up.Fuck.What the hell was he doing here?The last they'd spoken, Ghost had a plan he didn't think Marco would like, and that was all he'd say about it.Marco pulled the door open with a jerk, but closed it with a softer touch. He needed to know what was going on before Fiona did."Ghost, what the hell are
FIONA WAS...NUMB. THIS? The sort of thing happening around her now was the sort of thing she'd expected from her old life. Now, as Fiona, she shouldn't be involved in a...a...what was this? A crime? A theft?She needed to call the Marshall assigned to her case. No, this wasn't directly related, but there was a crime going on, and she was involved against her will. If it went public and people started snapping pictures things could go bad. Fast. She'd always been careful about avoiding photographs that would end up on-line. Hell, she didn't even use an avatar for her social media. Just a random stock photo silhouette of a woman that might be her. If NueEnergy was involved in something that broke laws, then her Marshall should be able to handle it. That made sense. Didn't it?She paced back and forth, along two sides of the house.How had she not seen this coming?Scott had played her. She'd known something was off, that they weren't quite right for each other, but she was so lon
MARCO KEPT PACE NEXT to Fiona. They'd taken a walk down the drive to the county road and were now headed back. Lunch had been a silent affair. So far the only thing she'd done since Ghost arrived was to stare off into the horizon and ask to use his phone. Other than that, they were all on pins and needles waiting for her to make-up her mind."Do you mind if I check my voicemail again?" she asked."No. Here." He unlocked his phone and handed it over.She plugged in her number and pressed it to her ear.He wished she'd listen to him. Maybe if he'd been...softer, she'd take his advice. People split from jobs all the time without a backward glance. The way he saw it, she needed to get as far away as she could and damn the consequences.Fiona stopped in the middle of the dirt road, her eyes wide."What?" He didn't like the look on her face."George...he's dead." She tapped the phone screen and replayed a message from someone named Eli. The details were sparse. George was dead,
FIONA STARED STRAIGHT AHEAD, spine rigid.The last thing she wanted to do was go back to Denver, and yet...here they were. On the road again, Ghost driving ahead of them.It was the right thing to do, morally speaking, and if she weren't in danger, there would be no question about what she should do. But...she'd spent her life running and hiding that it'd become second nature, and she didn't like that either.She had to find some way to ease her mind. She trusted the US Marshalls, or had. This latest case agent left her...uneasy. He wouldn't put her in danger, would he?It was imperative that she keep the faith. Believe in the Marshalls, and stick to their plan. Business as usual.Her confidence in the Marshalls was firm where her case was concerned. They all wanted the same things. But when it came to her current case agent, she wasn't quite as certain he understood her or what was going on. Was she willing to split? Go it alone?Marco would leave her at some point. Maybe
Two months later. Ekko's Apartment, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.EKKO STARED AT THE table with the spread of food laid out.Was there enough? Did she need more? Would Coco and Paxton like it?She reached out and adjusted the tray of cheese so it was at more of an angle instead of perfectly aligned to everything else.It looked too neat."Stop." Silas took her hand and spun her toward him, capturing her against his chest with strong arms around her waist."It looks like I'm trying too hard." She smoothed her hands up and over his shoulders."Stop. It's just Paxton and Coco.""Your best friend and his fiancé, who I haven't met yet.""What?" Silas' face scrunched up. "You've talked to her dozens of times.""In the background of you and Paxton talking. That doesn't count." She pulled away from him and proceeded to turn dishes a little this way and that."You do realize Coco spends most days digging in elephant shit and stuff, right?""Silas." She scowled at him."What?" He gr
IT FELT LIKE THE weight Silas had been carrying around in his gut had now attached itself to his eyelids. He floated in darkness, no longer asleep but not yet awake. Someone had called this twilight once, though he couldn't recall who. Something wouldn't let him go back to sleep. There was something he needed to do. It was urgent.What the hell was it?That nagging question hounded him as he ever so slowly gathered his strength.He wasn't aware of time or how long it took to wrestle one eyelid open, but at long last he peered out of his darkness into...more darkness.Well that was just dandy. What the fuck?He blinked that one eye again, letting his vision adjust. He was in a room and there was a light on, it just didn't do much.Machines beeped and whirled around him.That was a sound he could never mistake and it told him the first piece of his puzzle. From there the others fell into place, one after another.He was still in the hospital.He'd been hurt.There was a fight.
EKKO CLUNG TO THE stretcher bearing Silas out to the parking lot.She hadn't realized how bad his injuries were. He was barely keeping his eyes open. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she kept pace with the two paramedics. Silas covered her hand with his as they came to a stop at the bumper of an ambulance.Paxton, Brett and Vito were sitting inside. They were worse for wear and grim, but seemed okay.All around them police were marching uninjured people they'd arrested to sit in a line next to a chain-link fence blocking the sidewalk. The night was lit up with swirling lights that made her head spin."Where's Chayan?" she asked. Her heart was tearing in two, aching for both men.A little distance away an ambulance took off, sirens blaring. She hoped it was the one with Pasley in it."Ma'am, I need to look at that wound," a paramedic said to her.She held tight to Silas' hand. "What about Chayan? Older man, little taller than me? Salt and pepper hair?"Silas had said he was fine.
IGNEY PACED IN A circle, looking down each hall in turn.Where were they? Had he miscalculated? Were they willing to lose the woman so long as they got the man?His orders were clear. Get both the man and the woman.The woman was a symbol. Too many young people had taken to the streets because they listened to others like her.The man though, he knew things.Killing the woman was personal. Chasing her had cast him in a bad light. But the man was more important in the grand scheme of things."Fuck," Igney muttered. He glanced at a pair of men striding for the doors. "You. Come here."The men never glanced at him. Because they didn't understand him?He whirled to face Alban. "Where are the others?""I don't know where Delem and Michil are." He grimaced. "I haven't heard from them since we split up to search the building."That wasn't good.Igney had heard a lot of gunfire. Was it possible the other men he'd brought with him were dead?If both Chayan and Pasley escaped, leavin
EKKO'S ONE OFFENSIVE ATTEMPT was an utter failure. Her head spun and she was going to be sick.This wasn't good.She felt like a ragdoll being drug around, first by Igney then another man she didn't recognize. He spoke Daurian though which could only mean one thing.He was London DSS.Her body chilled. Was that from fear or the blows to the head? She didn't know anymore."Come find me, Pasley, or your little bird dies," Igney cackled into the radio.She tasted bile.Pasley had called her little bird back in the park.Igney cackled like a bad movie villain. The man was enjoying this. He was getting off on torturing them all.What about Silas?Pasley was with him.If Pasley told Silas, if he knew, they would come for her. Silas was determined to bring them all home and to keep her safe. But if he did, if he came to her rescue, Igney would kill them. Igney needed her and Chayan. Which meant he couldn't kill her here and now. It was an empty threat. Wasn't it? Did she dare belie
SILAS PUSHED HIS GROUP hard as they traversed the second floor. The sun had fully set, plunging them into complete darkness where there weren't windows or other lights.This building was a damn maze, and every turn they needed was blocked by too many people to fight their way through.There had to be more than the fifteen or so they'd estimated. More like thirty.This wasn't good.What about Ekko? Where had the others gone to?He'd hoped getting down here meant they would find her and Paxton, but so far all they'd found were a few bodies. At least they knew Paxton and Brett were eliminating the other side. But no one had taken the ammo or guns. Why? When resources were this precious, why not take them?Could they have gotten free? Did he dare hope?Something thumped in the darkness. Like a heavy footfall.Silas cursed himself as he skidded to a stop. He didn't see anything, but his gut screamed at him. He pivoted and threw himself at Chayan, shoving the other man aside. Silas w
THE DARKNESS FELT AS if it were swallowing her.Ekko clung to the back of Paxton's shirt like he'd directed. She couldn't shake the sensation that there were hands out there reaching for her. That Igney or one of the others were biding their time and waiting for the chance to kill her.Where was Silas? What about Chayan and the others?They'd been separated before she realized what was going on.Behind them a burst of gunfire spurred her on, shattering the silence.She knew it was Brett. Was he trading gunfire with someone? Those shots all sounded the same to her. She hoped he was safe. He was only one man and they had no idea how many were behind them."Stay close." Paxton reached back and pressed her hand to his back.Her head pounded with each and every step. It hurt so bad, but she didn't want to say anything. Her pain was minimal compared to what could happen."Will you cut that out?" Paxton yelled behind them.He side stepped and sort of skipped through a narrow gap betw
SILAS GRIT HIS TEETH to keep from telling Paxton to hurry the fuck up. It wasn't like Paxton was slow. The knife on his belt tool was small and no doubt dulled after cutting through several sets of thick, plastic restraints.Sitting like this it felt as though there was a ten pound weight sitting on his guts. He didn't know what the knife had cut, but Silas knew from the woozy feeling and blood making his jeans sticky it wasn't good. He had to get the others out of here before his clock ran out."Which way did they bring you up?" Silas asked Brett instead of chafing at how long getting free was taking.Brett stood by the door, a discarded piece of wood held as a weapon. "We came in some doors, up a stair to our right then a long walk down here. You?""Different way." Silas grimaced. "Do we retrace our path, or avoid it? How many people were with you?"Brett grimaced. They'd been hooded when they arrived. "Hard to say.""Let's assume at least the three that came in here plus one o
EKKO STARED IN SHOCK, her head spinning as the men left the room again."S-Silas?" she whispered so softly she barely heard herself.He slumped sideways groaning.Had that man-that monster-just stabbed Silas?"Man, Silas, dude, talk to us." Paxton had scooted forward, his arms extended behind him, attention on Silas."I'm fine." Silas' voice was strained. "Brett, Vito, how are you two?""Alive," Brett groaned."Vito? Man?" Silas shook his head and sat up straighter."Fine."This was it.Ekko swallowed.They'd done everything and in the end, they were outplayed.The DSS would kill them. She wasn't sure why they hadn't already, but she didn't doubt that death was the final move. All of these people, they were going to die because she'd been arrogant. She'd thought she knew what she was doing, when in fact she hadn't a clue.A sob tore out of Ekko making her already aching head pound harder."Ekko?" Silas called out. "Ekko, listen to me, this is going to be okay. Pax?"A ch