SILAS' HEART THROBBED IN his throat. He caught sight of Chayan ahead of them down a continuation of the subterranean hall through a group of people.Who was the other victim? Was there someone else?Was Ekko okay?He shoved the last whisper of fear aside."What's happening?" Brett demanded."On three," Paxton said in a steady tone.Neither actually counted out loud. They'd worked together for so long that Silas could feel the count under his skin.One...Silas picked his target. The man on the right holding back.Two.Paxton would obviously focus on the left side.Three...Silas fired in unison with Paxton, but it was Silas who moved first. He darted forward. The remaining two men hovering over the downed man whirled, but Silas was already on them."Fucking, fuck, fuck, fuck," Brett growled over the headset.The man on the right struck out before Silas could fire.It was that guy. Iggy or whatever his name was. From the park.Silas' right arm smacked against the wall. H
EKKO PACED THE LENGTH of the bar, back and forth, her eyes locked on a shirtless Silas leaning against the kitchen counter.He'd gone and gotten himself hurt.The idiot man.Silas' face scrunched up."What are you doing?" She braced her hands on the bar.Paxton glanced at her. "Making the stitches tight.""Do you have to?" She gestured at Silas. "Look at his face.""He's a wimp," Paxton said."I'm a wimp?" Silas snorted though his voice was strained. "Should I tell her about that one time I had to..."Paxton's scowl silenced Silas. "We agreed we were never talking about that."Silas merely grinned and winked at her.How was he so cavalier about this?She should go to him. She should help.Except she was banned from the kitchen for trying to help.Ekko wrapped her arms around herself and forced herself to watch.She'd woken up alone, fuzzy headed and with nothing but a two sentence note informing her about where everyone had gone.That had been hours ago. She'd been read
SILAS RESISTED THE URGE to follow Ekko down the hall. She was just going to the bathroom. They were leaving in minutes. She'd be fine. Still, he couldn't silence this urge that told him to go to her. Stay with her just in case someone else tried to snatch her from him.God, he was pathetic.His mind rejected that thought no sooner than it had formed.This thing with her, this partnership, it wasn't pathetic. It was special. He just didn't know what to do about it."How do the stitches feel?" Paxton leaned on the counter across from him and twisted the top off a water bottle.Silas glanced back at his best friend and partner. "Fine. You do good work, nerd."Paxton studied Silas. It was a calculating look, parsing Silas down to his parts and weighing him. In the very beginning when they'd met, Silas hadn't liked that look. It had made him uneasy, which had driven him to poke at the then silent kid. That poking had turned into an initial dislike, but they'd gotten over it. Even that
IGNEY STARED AT THE returning men.None of them would meet his gaze."Well?" he snapped. "Someone answer me.""They don't speak your language." Li came to stand next to Igney. He spoke to the three men in Mandarin, dismissing them before focusing on Igney. "What are you doing?" Igney couldn't help but glare."Yelling at them won't change reality.""How fucking hard is it to do your job?" Igney sneered.Li just stared at Igney. "You'll want to speak to your superiors.""Not yet. I need answers.""You mistake me. You'll want to speak to them now. They're waiting." Li gestured through the door to the desk where he'd been.Igney had heard the phone ring.Shit.Had Li already informed Igney's superiors about everything? Pasley's defection? The escape?Igney dragged his hand over his hair. He'd hoped for time to put together something-anything that might keep his ass out of the fire. As Pasley's partner, Igney would be responsible for this. He should have seen the signs. He sho
EKKO SLID ONTO THE stool next to Silas. It was so close to him their arms brushed as he moved. She should do the polite thing and scoot away, but she couldn't make herself.When she'd woken up alone, without him anywhere, she'd panicked. At least she had once her head to clear enough for her to feel anything. Then when she'd seen him covered in blood...She wanted to be near him. To assure herself he was okay, that he was alive.Despite not having done much during the day beyond wait, worry and ride around in a car, she was worn out. They'd moved to another location. According to Brett this place was better than the last, something about it being an MI6 safe house rather than the CIA crash pad. Whatever the difference was, it didn't matter to her. They were safe and dinner was on the table.Silas nudged her with his elbow. "Eat up.""Oh, yeah." She picked at the lasagna without much interest. Her stomach was too tied in knots to be all that hungry.Chayan was asleep, courtesy of
SILAS TRIED TO NOT count the minutes.How long before it would be appropriate for him to follow her to bed?Brett hadn't asked about sleeping arrangements upon arriving at their new crash pad. The others had assumed Silas would sleep with Ekko. They weren't wrong, but were they right?"Stare any harder and you'll strain yourself," Paxton mumbled.Silas glared at his friend. It really was only fair. How much shit had Silas dished out to Paxton the last few months?Yeah, Silas had made himself a target and he didn't even care.Maybe he shouldn't have left things with Ekko as he had?Paxton had assumed things. Things Silas wasn't certain about. And now Ekko was thinking.What if she decided all of this was too much?The only thing that made this job abnormal was the lack of communication in the beginning. The rest of it? Running from people shooting at them, rescuing people, being in danger, that was normal. And it wasn't something every woman could handle.Had Ekko figured all
EKKO CLUNG TIGHT TO Silas' hand as they left the terminal. She'd learned last time that just because they got to their destination didn't mean all was well. It wasn't until Chayan had cleared customs that she relaxed even a little bit.There were still many hurdles.First, it was almost six. The United Nations was no doubt closed for the day, which meant it would be tomorrow before they could even attempt to talk to someone. Ekko had no idea what was going on with the investigative team in Dauria, much less the protests. She hadn't heard from any of her contacts in days, and even before that things had been scarce. God, she wanted to know if they were okay. She needed information, but more than that, they needed to be somewhere safe."Stay close, everyone," Silas said as they headed for the doors.Before they reached the entry, the doors parted and Brett strode in."Ride's here. Let's go," he said.There was an energy ushering them forward. It made Ekko nervous while Silas and th
SILAS LAY ON HIS side. He'd managed to get the bag half off his head so he could see something of their surroundings. Not that he got much of an impression for where they were going from the cityscape he could see. If they were going to get away, he needed to know where they'd be going to.It took real effort to keep his eyes up and not look at the slumped forms of Ekko and Chayan across from him. From what he could tell she was out cold. Not so much as a whimper came out of her and she wasn't the kind of woman to curl up and do nothing. Chayan was very much awake. He half sat, his body huddled around her though his hands were bound. That surprised Silas. Given how the man had all but crumpled the last few days he hadn't expected Chayan to get protective. Then again, Chayan had lost everyone that mattered to him. All that was left was Ekko.Silas pushed thoughts about those two out of his mind. He couldn't do either of them any good right now. The best thing was to watch and listen.
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