Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

Damn it . Declan stood in the middle of the embassy courtyard, swearing a blue streak. He’d had to turn over Hagar to the Romanian police, and the bastard now slumped against the concrete wall, his defiant glare fixed on Declan.

The SWAT team leader had listened to Tessa’s insistent pleas that they not turn the man loose. That he was the instigator behind the riots, but Declan knew something was going on behind the scenes. If anything, the police seemed blasé about the whole thing. Annoyed that they had to deal with the situation. Unconcerned that they had one of the most wanted terrorists in the world in their possession.

He wouldn’t be surprised if Hagar were on the loose again before morning.

Adrenaline burned through him, partly from the takedown and partly from watching Meg run out the door. Keeping one eye on Hagar, he made his way through the gathered crowd, some of them injured and being treated by emergency responders. Others still partying.

No Meg. No Tommy.

Shit.

He caught sight of Spence, who waved a hand over the heads of a mixed group of men and women dressed in suits. Embassy employees. He tugged someone with him as he skirted around them—a dark-haired woman covered in dirt and stains.

Meg.

As Declan breathed a quiet sigh of relief, she raised her hands. “I lost him.”

“ We lost him,” Spence corrected. “I was helping the hostages out of the building at the rear dock when Tommy came barreling through. I didn’t recognize him. Meg told me what happened upstairs. I can’t believe he’s in cahoots with that wanker.”

Declan couldn’t believe it himself. “Did you see which way he went?”

One of the embassy employees sought out Spence to praise him for his assistance. He assured her it was no problem and directed her toward a woman with a medical vest on who was carrying a blanket.

Once she was out of hearing, he turned back to Declan and Meg. “He went south. I thought he was heading for the Metro, but by the time I realized it was him, he was blocks away. I trailed him until he jumped into a waiting taxi.”

“Tell me you can identify it,” Declan said.

“Of course.” Spence pointed at his earbud. “You better check in. Solomon is having a cow. I’ll dig up the number of the ride company, but it’s after hours. We may not be able to get any information until morning.”

A rumble of engines cut through the night air, and a line of black vehicles rolled up, sleek and imposing. There were no markings on the sides to identify them as Romanian or American, but the group that piled out in unmarked uniforms told Declan they were military.

They cut through the crowd, the lead operative confronting the Romanian SWAT team leader. “We’re taking custody of the prisoners.”

“Who are they?” Meg asked, getting pushed by the crush of people around them trying to evade the newcomers.

“You stay here with Spence,” Declan said. “I’ll handle this.”

She wasn’t about to listen to him. Imagine that. She took hold of the back of his jacket, trailing behind him. “We can’t let Hagar get away.”

He knew that, and yet… concessions would have to be made. It was something he hated more than anything, but they were still in the same position. Hagar graced plenty of Wanted posters in countries other than the States, and although plenty were after him for his crimes, he had friends and allies and high places, including the governments of many of those countries.

By the time the two of them reached the SWAT team leader and his military counterpart, the two men were in each other’s faces arguing. Hagar and his men were being jerked up from their seats on the ground and lined up against the wall. Hagar didn’t resist, but his eyes never left Declan’s. In those cold, depthless orbs, he was letting him know it wasn’t over yet.

Tessa emerged from the front of the destroyed building, stepping over the debris and hailing them. “Time for us to go,” she called, making shooing motions with her hands.

By the time she reached them, the argument had escalated into a yelling match that was gaining the attention of all of those on the grounds. She grabbed both Declan and Meg, pushing them with the strength of someone twice her size and marching them towards Spence. “We are not supposed to be here,” she said over the crowd noise and the arguing men. “And if we don’t leave now, we may find ourselves behind bars, right along with Hagar.”

Meg started to argue, but Declan grabbed her arm, and along with Tessa, they escorted her toward the destroyed gates, Spence falling into stride with them.

Once they were clear of the commotion, Declan forced all of them into a bus stop shelter near the spot where Spence claimed to have seen Tommy disappear into the taxi. It had to be nearing midnight, and the buses had stopped running hours ago.

“We have the drive,” Declan said, watching Meg stare into the distance. He knew what she was thinking. Could tell by the way she shook out her hands and paced that she was full of pent-up energy. The adrenaline hadn’t yet worn off, and now she had a new mission—Tommy. “The red bag mission is finished. We take the USB, and we meet Pegasus at the designated spot.”

Meg’s eyes flashed with irritation. “We’re not done. Tommy’s out there, and he’s caught up in some kind of mess. If he’s working with Hagar?—”

“We don’t know that,” Declan interrupted, his voice low but firm.

“What if he’s the reason all of this happened in the first place?” Her eyes lost the snapping anger, and her voice lowered to meet his. “What if he’s after his own version of revenge for Jessie’s death?”

It was the only scenario she could spin that would make Tommy a hero. The alternatives were too painful for her to consider. “I know you want to think the best of him—I do, too—but he made a deal with Hagar to hand over the USB.”

She dropped her head into her hands. “I know. It was all too calculated. To premeditated.” She pulled out the drive and turned it over in her fingers. “What the hell is on here that would tempt Hagar enough to create a riot in order to retrieve it? He’s a showman, that’s for sure, but that little display back there”—she hitched a thumb over her shoulder toward the embassy—“isn’t his style. Too risky.”

Declan nodded. “The whole thing stinks, but right now, getting the USB to Flynn is our only priority. We’ll figure out the rest later.”

“You go, then,” Meg said, her tone now clipped. “You and Spence meet Pegasus at the rendezvous point. Tessa and I will find Tommy.”

In a show of solidarity, Tessa sidled closer to Meg, lifting her chin.

Declan glared at them, his chest tight. “Spence can take the USB. I’m not leaving you.”

“Wait just a bloody minute.” Spence’s hands fisted. “I thought we were a team. If you’re hunting Tommy, then we’re all hunting him.”

Meg shoved the USB at him and gave him a look that brooked no argument. “We are a team, but right now, we have a dual mission that requires us to use our assets wisely. Take this and meet Pegasus. On the way, if you happen to break through the encryption and figure out what’s on it, you might accidentally let it slip to me, so I have leverage with Tommy when I find him.”

Spence started to argue but closed his mouth and gave a resigned shake of his head. “Fine. But you better smack him upside the head for me when you do.” He yanked out his phone, his fingers moving rapidly over the screen. “Here’s the number for the taxi company and the car’s tag number.”

“We will find him,” Meg replied, her eyes scanning the dark streets. “Now go. Be safe.”

She wasn’t a hugger, but Spence grabbed her and held her to him, murmuring something in her ear too low for Declan to hear. She patted his back, and Tessa squeezed his arm as he turned to leave.

“I want the record to show that I’m against splitting up,” he said to Declan, even as he stepped outside the shelter.

“Noted,” Declan said. “Thanks, man.”

Spence drew a cloth bag from one of his pockets and shoved it into Declan’s hand. “These are set for a different frequency than our current comms. The four of us can stay in contact without Langley listening in.” He gave each of them a pointed look. “As soon as you can, get them up and running so I know what’s going on, understand?”

It was a rare thing for Spence to hand out orders. Meg gave him a thumbs-up. “We will.”

As she hurried away, Meg called the taxi company. The woman spoke in Romanian, and she put her on speakerphone so Tessa could communicate with her. Declan had to hand it to Meg—adding The Architect to their group had been a wise decision.

Unfortunately, Spence was right. Since it was after hours, all the clerk on the phone could do was help them set up a ride. She couldn’t offer any information about the taxi that had picked up Tommy. She suggested calling back after eight a.m. and speaking to one of the owners.

“Tell her it’s an emergency,” Meg assisted.

Apparently, the operator did speak some English.

“I cannot give out the information. You will have to call back.”

She disconnected. Meg cursed under her breath and jammed the phone into her pocket. “What now?”

“Now we wait,” Tessa said. The setback was no big deal in her eyes. “I have a place not far from here. You two could use a shower and some rest.” She waved her fingers under her nose, letting them know they smelled offensive. “The pantry is fully stocked, and the closets have clean clothes.” This time, she gave them an assessing once-over. “You can’t go around looking like that without calling attention to yourself.”

Meg looked down at her clothes and winced when she smelled her armpits. “You’re right, but…”

“No buts,” Tessa said.

Declan held in his smirk at the annoyance that tightened Meg’s face. “Funny,” he said, “sounds like you have a safe house in Bucharest. I thought you got out of the spy game.”

Tessa gave him a charming smile. “No one ever gets out of the spy game, Dec. You know that.”

Meg rolled her eyes. “I see you’ve already conveniently forgotten our conversation in the library yesterday.”

Tessa glanced at her watch. “Technically, that was two days ago.” She headed out of the shelter. “Try to keep up.”

Meg shot Declan a look that suggested she wanted to revoke Tessa’s membership in the Black Swan Division, but he just shrugged. “You’re the one that recruited her.”

She blew out a tired breath that lifted the bangs plastered to her forehead. “I don’t want to sit around twiddling my thumbs.”

“Neither do I, but she’s right. We both look like shit, and neither of us has had food or so much as a nap in twenty-four hours. We’re running on fumes, and this chase could last a while.”

Tessa was halfway down the block, not bothering to look over her shoulder to see if they were following. Meg seemed to debate with herself. “We’ve been through worse, but this?” She shook her head. “I don’t know Tommy well enough to say what he would or wouldn’t do, but I always thought I could trust him, you know?”

He saw the disheartening sadness in her eyes. She didn’t balk when he took her hand and drew her out of the bus stop shelter. The night sky was cloudy, but stars peeked out here and there. “We continue to trust him until we find proof otherwise.”

Whether it was his touch or his words, he couldn’t be sure, but she fell into step beside him, allowing her shoulder to bump his arm. She gave his hand a grateful squeeze. “We trust him until we find proof otherwise,” she confirmed.

They walked in silence, leaving the chaos of the embassy far behind.

“Remember, Bruges?” he chanced to ask her.

She glanced up at the sky and smiled as if that romantic walk in Belgium was fresh in her mind. “How could I forget?”

That mission had ended with them sharing a bed. They’d had a whole weekend to themselves and stayed in a fancy hotel, rarely donning clothes except when room service brought their meals. Three days of sex, sleep, and talking.

Planning.

Planning for a future they both knew wasn’t in the cards. A home, family, normal jobs…neither of them was cut out for that shit.

“Sometimes, I still think about it,” he murmured, linking an arm through hers and drawing her closer like a lover would do. “About those plans we made.”

Her silence stretched out as they kept Tessa in sight, but she slowed their steps as if she wanted to draw out the moment a bit longer.

Finally, she leaned her head against his shoulder. “Sometimes, Dec,” she said, barely above a whisper, “I do, too.”