There is a long silence, then, “I go away for a short assignment, and everything we agreed to goes to hell.”
“This has nothing to do with that. And our old boss approved it,” I add, referring to Colonel Seagrave at the SOC. “If you and I supposedly meet for the first time through the firm, then everything gets easier.”
Winston Noble, aka Winston Starr, was one of the first recruits to Stark Security based on his stellar track record as a West Texas sheriff and other skills that the good folks in Texas don’t know about. As it stands, Winston and I supposedly have only crossed paths since my sister got in tight with the SSA. But once I join, we can build on that past, creating a new friendship to mask the old one.
Because the truth is, there’s more on his record than what the SSA knows. But I know. For that matter, we both know a lot about each other. And that knowledge ties us to each other. Secrets are their own kind of bond, after all. And they come with their own brand of responsibility.
“Fine,” he says. “Good plan. I’ll see you at the office.”
“Tonight,” I press. “Please. You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, but I need to bounce this off someone, and that someone can’t be our old boss. Are you in town?”
“Got back home an hour ago. I planned to work out and then go to sleep.”
“It’s not even ten.”
“Some of us aren’t vampires. And Leah and I have to meet an informant before dawn tomorrow.”
Leah’s his current partner at the SSA. “You can get your beauty rest later. Come on, man. I need to talk.”
“Fine. Forty-five minutes at the drop site. You’re not there on the nose, I’m going home.”
“I’ll be there,” I say, then hang up. That’s barely enough time to change and get there, but I’ll manage.
I change into a tight leather skirt with a slit to my hip that’s there as much for walking as for the fuck-me factor. Then I put on a pink sparkly halter that ties behind my neck and back, leaving most of me visible, but providing a surprising amount of support. I pin my ponytail up and slip on a wig. Long and dark, so that the strands brush my shoulders.
Finally, I put in a pair of hoop earrings, some plastic bangles, and a pair of teetering-tall pumps. I grab my keys, totter to the car, then get my ass to the drop site. I park in one of the overnight spaces a block away, then walk to the battered newspaper machine that’s probably older than I am.
On the dot, I see Winston’s vintage Ford pickup turn the corner. He pauses, and I lean into the already open window.
“Wanna fuck?” I ask, smacking some fruity gum I’d popped into my mouth for show.
“Get in the damn car.”
I do, and he pulls away.
“I swear, if anybody I know sees me supposedly picking up a hooker…”
“Like that’s the worst thing you have to worry about.”
He turns to glare at me, that friendly, man-of-the-people face going cold.
I raise my hands in apology. “Sorry. Gallows humor.”
“You know, Emma. You are actually one of my favorite people. Which just goes to show you how fucked up I am.”
“Funny man.”
We drive in silence while he circles a few blocks, then pulls into a dark corner of the Ralph’s grocery store parking lot. I start to say something about how if he’s concerned about being noticed, maybe driving Old Blue isn’t the best idea, but wisely keep my mouth shut.
“You called this meeting,” he says as he kills the engine. “Talk.”
“I need advice.”
“So you said.”
“I killed Cane.”
He leans back, his eyes wide with both surprise and congratulations. “I didn’t know that was even in the works.”
“It happened fast. I got some intel on his location. You were gone, so I had to finagle different back up.”
“Not Eliza.”
“Are you insane? No.” Eliza has no part in my work. I’ve spent my whole life protecting her from that, and the only time she’s come close—when I’d gone on the run and she’d tried to find me—both she and Quince almost got killed.
“Who?”
“Quince,” I admit, and he groans.
“Water under the bridge,” I say, “and not the current problem.”
“You need to clean this up, right? In case you get caught. And now you want me to go with you to Seagrave and argue your case for a retroactive kill order.”
I shake my head. “No. It was sanctioned. Cane’s been laundering money for a bunch of folks that the intelligence community has had its eye on. So in exchange for me getting that information to them, Seagrave cleared it. I don’t think local authorities would ever trace the kill back to me—or to Quince. But even if they do, we’re covered.”
“Then why are we sitting here?”
“The Serpent,” I say. “I’ve got a bead on him.”
“Morgan’s right hand man?” Winston leans back, looking as shocked and impressed as I was when Antonio told me his story. Only Winston doesn’t have to hide his reaction like I did.
I nod. “Turns out a guy named Antonio Sanchez is after him, too. And he’s tagged me to be his partner on the mission.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
I give him the rundown, leaving out no details.
He shakes his head in awe. “Only you would tell Damien Stark to fuck off and wear a bikini.”
“That’s not exactly what I said.” I grimace. Because, of course, that’s pretty close.
“So it’s a good thing Antonio pushed. You wouldn’t have known who his ultimate target was otherwise.”
“If this is a lesson not to lose my temper and storm off before knowing all the facts, I don’t need it. Lesson learned.”
“What do you need?”
“I told you. Advice. I’m going in. I’ll have access to The Serpent’s location through the informant just like Antonio will. And as soon as we leave the island, I’m going to go take the son-of-a-bitch out. I thought Cane was the last. I’d assumed the Serpent had been killed at the same time Morgan was, or at the very least went so deep I’d never find him. Apparently, I was wrong. I want you to help me convince Seagrave to give me authorization for the kill.”
Winston shakes his head. “You can’t kill him, Em. You know that. He has too much intel locked away in that head of his.”
“That’s why I need you to help me make my case. The guy’s too dangerous. He needs to be taken out.”
“Won’t happen, and you know it. It’s personal to you, and I get that. But the SOC—hell, every covert organization on the planet—is going to want him alive.”
“Then they all have a problem, because Antonio wants him dead. And he’s the frontrunner in the chase.”
“They’re going to want you to feed them the information when he finds out where The Serpent is.”
“Screw that. This guy did a hell of a lot more than work for Morgan. He’s bumped up against my life more than once, and he’s not exactly on your favorite person list either. I want him dead, not in a cage. And certainly not being turned and used.”