Chapter Eight

L ucas’ first-floor apartment consisted of the barest essentials. A worn-looking couch, scarred coffee table and a ratty armchair took up most of the living room. No artwork hung on the walls. There wasn’t even a TV. Inda got a glimpse of the cracked and yellowed linoleum floor in the attached kitchen and frowned. It was the kind of floor that you could scrub all day, but it still would never look clean. The place was depressing.

“How did you find out? Does your whole team know?”

Inda looked over at Lucas, and he was studying her intently. It was time for him to lay it all out on the table. “I think it’s time to come clean.”

“You first.”

The corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk. “No, Cipher . Assholes first. I want to know what you found out about my team and what you’ve already reported back to The Agency.”

His face screwed up in a frown. “What the hell is The Agency?”

“Don’t play games with me!” she snapped. Fuming, Inda stomped up to him. Suppressing the urge to punch him in his pretty face, she settled for a glare potent enough to shrivel his balls. “Tell me everything or, I swear to God, I will spread your legs and it won’t be pleasant when I cut your dick off with the knife in my boot.”

His face paled at the threat. With a shake of his head, he sat down on the edge of the couch and motioned for her to do the same. She ignored the invite and stubbornly crossed her arms instead. If he thought she was going to make this easy, he had another thing coming.

“Chadwick Carlisle hired me to keep tabs on Ex Nihilo.” His voice sounded almost weary, but she refused to show any sign of empathy. “He offered me a ridiculous amount of money to gather as much intel as I could and…”

Suddenly, he clammed up. Was he second guessing telling her? Thought he’d said too much already? Or, was he about to say something she wouldn’t want to hear? “And what?” she pressed.

“He wanted me close, so he set me up in C.C. Towers under the guise of an HR manager. Even before you walked through the door, I knew exactly who you were, and it wasn’t Leoa Cardosa. Although, I’m not sure why facial recognition cams didn’t pick you up.”

“Because my team is very, very good. Especially Banshee. Even if you did manage to hack him twice.”

Not having meant to inadvertently compliment him, Inda ignored the dimples that information conjured up on his smugly satisfied face, refocusing her attention on his blue eyes. So many secrets swirled in their icy depths and she wanted to know them all. The ones about his work for The Agency and Carlisle, as well as the undisclosed secrets locked in his heart.

Even though she mentally berated herself for wanting to get personal, she couldn’t help it. Something about this man made her want things. Dangerous things she’d never allowed herself to have before. Her past and her lifestyle were always insurmountable obstacles to a real relationship, and she’d refused to make promises of “someday” with those looming over her.

“I’m not going to lie. Hacking Zane Hawkins was a lot of fun.” She rolled her eyes. “But once he was on to me, it became significantly more challenging.”

“That’s because River came into the picture. She’s the one who kept your ass out of the network and tracked you down today.”

“Who?”

“River. She’s pretty talented too. Better than Banshee, and apparently better than you.” A smile snuck onto her face as she realized there were still secrets her team held. Hopefully the knowledge River was in the picture wasn’t the only information Cipher wasn’t privy to.

“I don’t know anything about her.”

“Good.”

“I thought there were six on your team?”

“You did? Interesting,” she responded vaguely. Her phone began to buzz and she pulled it from the side pocket in her leggings. When she saw Saint’s name flashing across the screen, she shot a text off to him: I’m fine. Call you back in a bit.

“Who was that?”

“None of your business.”

He cocked his head. “You sure want to know everything about me, but you’re not giving me anything in return.”

She shrugged a shoulder, lifting the hem of her shirt to reveal the discreetly holstered Glock. His attention automatically dipped. “She who holds the weapons asks the questions. I want to know what intel you’ve provided Carlisle and I want all ten names of the assholes on The Agency.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m working for Chadwick Carlisle. I don’t know who or what The Agency is.”

Forcing herself to count to ten, Inda searched his face for any telltale sign he was lying to her. She couldn’t find any. Not even a facial tic. “Well, let me clue you in. I may be an assassin, but Carlisle is in bed with the devil. And, since you’re on his payroll, guess what that makes you?”

“For someone who’s a terrorist and a murderer, you’re awfully judgmental.”

Her eyes widened. “I am not a terrorist!”

“Really?” he scoffed. “That’s not what I was told.”

“By who? Carlisle? Only an idiot would believe him.”

Something flashed in the depths of his eyes. Hurt? Anger? She couldn’t quite tell because it disappeared so fast.

“Think what you want, Bruja , but the most important thing in this whole fucking world is making sure my mother has the care and comfort she needs. The money Carlisle waved in front of my face was too tempting to resist when we were up in Oregon. So I said I’d help him dig up some intel on a terrorist group. I love my country, so why not? Besides, that money moved us down here, paid for her treatments and now her final care. Is Carlisle a good man? You say he isn’t, but why the hell should I believe you? He told me your team hunts down and kills people!”

His voice softened as he said, “Besides, what I chose to do isn’t about you or your team or Carlisle. All I care about is giving my mom the most pain-free and dignified final days I can. And if that means I’m in league with fucking Lucifer himself, then so be it.”

A part of her traitorous heart felt for him. But she was also seriously pissed. “You have no idea what my team does or what I’ve been through. What we’ve been through.”

“So—enlighten me.”

But, Inda shook her head. No way in hell was she going to give him any intel on her team. They were her first loyalty. And she certainly wasn’t going to spill her guts about her past. “Knowing you work for Carlisle, that you’ve been hacking into Banshee’s system, there’s no way I can trust you.”

“Well, knowing you’re part of Ex Nihilo, there’s no way I can fucking trust you, either, so I guess we’re at a stalemate.”

“Fine!” she shot back.

“Fine!”

The moment the word left his mouth, she caught a flash of something from the corner of her eye. Turning her full attention to the window, she stalked over and looked out.

“What’s wrong?” Lucas asked.

“Stay back,” she warned, her gaze scanning the area, including nearby windows and rooftops. Maybe she was imagining things, but it had almost looked like a muzzle flash. Unease swept through her body and her gut tightened as she closed the blinds. “I think we should leave.”

“Why?”

Instead of answering, she headed for the door. Lucas followed closely behind and they slipped into the hallway. The moment they reached the lobby, the window closest to them shattered and a series of muffled sounds filled the air. Inda immediately recognized it for what it was—shots from a suppressor.

“Get down!” she yelled, pulling her Glock.

◆◆◆

What the hell? Inda shouted for him to get down, but Lucas frowned, not yet comprehending what was happening. The window broke and something whizzed past his head, but it took a moment to register. Was that a bullet?

Before he could figure it out, Inda wrapped an arm around him and pulled him down with her. They hit the floor hard. Damn, for being so little, she possessed a crazy amount of strength. Then she was up, moving faster than a bolt of lightning, whipping her pistol out and pointing it out the window. Within seconds she was firing back and he still didn’t even know where the bullets were coming from, who was shooting, and which of them was the target. Heart in his throat, the large floor-to-ceiling windows exploded with spider web cracks.

“Do you have a gun?” she asked over her shoulder.

“What? No.”

She made a frustrated sound, rolled her eyes and started crawling toward the rear entrance. “C’mon!”

Before his brain could process her instructions, he was already moving swiftly behind her, and with zero hesitation. He still didn’t trust her, but he also had no intentions of hanging around and getting shot by their mystery guest. Right on her ass, they reached the door and she flung it open. They scrambled to their feet and raced outside.

Breathing hard, Lucas paused to look around. While he was trying to wrap his head around the situation, Inda was already racing across the backlot. Damn, she was fast.

She glanced over her shoulder and motioned for him to hurry up. “I swear to God, Sheridan, if you don’t keep up, I’m leaving your ass behind,” she snapped.

Even though they were in the middle of dodging bullets, he grinned. He couldn’t help but admire her sass and feistiness.

“Stow the dimples away and keep up because I’m out of bullets!” She shoved her gun back into its holster.

They ran to the edge of the property, past a couple of dumpsters. The moment they hit the alley, a man came racing around the corner, and Inda cursed.

“Get down!” She shoved Lucas so hard, he fell sideways, hitting his shoulder against the dumpster. He wanted to help, but he didn’t have a weapon. But maybe he didn’t need a gun. Not that he knew how to accurately shoot one, anyway. His gaze quickly searched the area, looking for something to use, and landed on a steel pole sticking out the top of the trash bin.

Lucas fished the pole out and turned just in time to see Inda lift her fisted hands. The right one held a knife. Meanwhile, the man approaching had a gun. Was she fucking insane?

The guy, totally focused on her, appeared amused, and Lucas knew with certainty the asshole had already made the fatal mistake of underestimating her.

“What’re you gonna do with that, little girl?”

“Shove it up your ass,” she threatened. If the situation weren’t so serious, Lucas would have applauded her brazen courage. He watched in disbelief as she fearlessly lunged forward while simultaneously snapping her knee up and landing a kick in the man’s groin. He shouted in pain and she spun, kicking the gun from his hand.

Holy shit. He’d known from his research she was a Krav Maga expert, but seeing her in action took it to a whole other level. A massive amount of awe and respect filled him, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away as she landed two quick jabs to the guy’s chest.

Help her, a little voice yelled. Don’t just stand here gawking like an awestruck fool.

Awestruck or lovestruck? that same little annoying voice asked.

Ignoring it, Lucas called out, “Inda!”

When she glanced over at him, he tossed the metal pole and she caught it with one hand, quickly sheathing her knife with the other. Spinning the pole like it was second nature, looking like some kind of ancient martial arts master, she slashed and stabbed, hitting the man repeatedly until he doubled over. After several strikes to his shoulders and back, he dropped to the ground with a groan. Meanwhile, Lucas ran over and grabbed the attacker’s gun.

Moving up beside her, he handed the pistol over. “Thanks,” she said, dropping the pole. It hit the ground with a clatter just as a car came screeching around the corner. “Go! That way!”

Inda took off, cutting through a yard, and Lucas kept up right beside her. She was heading directly toward the water and he wasn’t exactly in the mood for a swim in the bay. But, she seemed to know where she was going, so he shut up and followed.

They reached the waterfront and she paused, searching the area.

“Now what?” Lucas asked, breathing hard.

“Now we steal a boat,” she announced, zeroing in on the dock.

“Oh, for chrissakes. Who are you? Lara Croft?”

She choked on a laugh. “Just try and keep up, okay?”

They raced out onto the dock and she quickly surveyed the situation. “There,” she whispered, surreptitiously stalking toward a guy who’d just pulled into a nearby slip. “Can you drive a boat?”

Lucas snorted. “Of course.”

Technically, he’d never driven a boat, but how hard could it be?

Inda swung the gun they’d taken from the other bad guy toward the man and ordered him out of the boat. Eyes wide, he obeyed without any protest, and they both jumped into the speed boat. At the same time, the car following them squealed to a stop and two armed men jumped out.

“Gun it!” Inda yelled from the back of the boat as she lifted the pistol.

While she fired off several shots, Lucas looked down at the boat controls, located the throttle and shoved it forward. Turning the wheel, he hoped to God he could in fact drive a boat and this getaway wasn’t about to turn into a Weekend at Bernie’s fiasco.

When they lurched forward, Inda slammed into the cross section of the stern and pinned him with a glare over her shoulder. “Sorry!” he called and tossed her a sloppy salute. He just had to get his bearings, maybe figure out what some of these buttons did.

With a huff, she turned her attention back to their pursuers, firing off round after round as the armed men approached the end of the dock.

The boat picked up speed, and just when he thought they were in the clear, Inda yelled at him to drive faster. Fuck. A quick glance over his shoulder and he saw they were being chased. Increasing their speed to its absolute limit, Lucas turned them toward the Golden Gate Bridge as Inda fired off more shots.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he licked sea salt spray off his lips. No doubt about it. Shit was about to get messy.