Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

Dec brought her coffee and a couple of frozen waffles he’d toasted and served it all in bed.

The previous few hours had been a mix of sleeping and sex, yet something so much more.

She’d awakened to his hands and lips on her body, and instead of her first thought being about Jessie, it had been about him. The horrible memories had been held at bay for hours, allowing her to sleep without nightmares.

As they ate propped against the pillows, her hand snaked inside his briefs, and oops, wouldn’t you know it, she’d smeared syrup on a particular part of his anatomy.

And well, she was then indebted to lick it off.

Which set off another round of lovemaking. This one broke the bed. One of the legs cracked, and the headboard ended up splintered.

“Tessa is going to be pissed,” Meg muttered as Dec drew her into the shower.

Smiling like the satisfied and cocky male he was, he fisted his hand in her hair and eased her head back, exposing her neck so he could kiss it. “Actually, I think she’ll be pleased you finally embraced your wild child again.”

Fifteen minutes later, she marveled at the welcome ache between her legs and the new memories she had. The old ones were still there, but the new ones were fresh and made her feel alive again.

She decided to focus on them. To focus on Dec and the sounds he made when she raked her fingers and then her lips over the new tattoos he had on various parts of his body.

When they finally came back to earth, he hustled her toward the back door, tossing her jacket at her. “We’re meeting the taxi driver at the spot he picked up Tommy in twenty.”

She shoved her feet into her shoes. “That’s four kilometers from here. How are we going to get there in twenty minutes?”

“I thought we’d run. “

Her mouth dropped open. “You want me to run four kilos in twenty minutes?”

“Out of shape, recruit?”

He’d been a drill sergeant for part of his Marine career.

“I haven’t kept up with my normal exercise routine, so sue me. I had other things to handle, and I didn’t expect to be back in the field.”

He dropped one of his big arms around her shoulders and walked her toward the door. “Guess I’ll have to carry you.”

She was still griping at him when they rounded the corner of the house to find Tessa at the curb, waiting for them. The fall day was cool, but she had the windows of her car down, a techno dance beat filtering out as she motioned at them to hurry.

“I’m going to be late,” she complained, putting the car in gear before Meg even finished closing her door.

“There’s no way the taxi cab owner will willingly give us the information we need,” Dec said. Inside the tiny car, he dominated the space. “I used the app to book the exact same taxi for a ride instead. Hopefully, it’s the driver from yesterday—they typically drive the same routes—and we can question him.”

Smart. “Beauty and brains,” Meg teased, pinching his waist. “No wonder Flynn recommended you for the swans.”

Tessa watched them in the rearview as she headed for the boulevard. She caught Meg’s eye, understanding in her too-clever gaze.

Meg felt her cheeks heat. Shit. She was acting like her old self, which gave her away. The old Meg had been in love with Dec from the moment he’d challenged her on that first mission. Tessa hadn’t been with them then, but Jessie had probably told her. Jessie and Tessa, thick as thieves.

The embassy was still a disaster in the aftermath, with barricades and yards of bright police tape cordoning off the block and parking lot behind it. Tessa tsked as she got them as close as possible, not far from the bus stop. “My beautiful building.” She caught their eyes again in her mirror. “They’re looking for you, you know.”

“Who is?” Meg demanded.

“The media reported that two suspicious Americans were spotted roaming the embassy during the riots, and the Romanian police want them for questioning.” She pivoted in her seat. “They don’t have pictures of you, but they’re circulating sketches. Pretty bad ones, but you should still be careful. I’m hoping my SWAT buddy doesn’t point a finger at me.”

“And Hagar? Are they saying anything about him?” Dec asked.

She shook her head. “I thought there would be a video of him and his death squad being arrested, but there’s nothing.”

The three of them exchanged a look.

“What’s Flynn saying?” Tessa asked.

Meg’s phone had a dozen texts and missed calls from him and Del. Among them was one from Spence, letting her know he had delivered the USB to their boss. That was the only one she responded to with a thumbs-up emoji.

The taxi arrived, saving her from replying. “Thanks for the ride, Tessa.”

She and Dec bailed, Tessa calling out the open window, “Just keep me out of it, okay?”

That seemed to be the running theme when the two of them climbed into the back of the driver’s car. “Where to?” the man asked in a heavily accented English.

Meg flashed her phone, Tommy’s employment picture on the screen. “Do you remember picking up this man here yesterday?”

The driver barely glanced at the photo. “Nah.” he pressed a button on the machine connected to his dashboard. “Destination?”

“Take another look,” Dec ordered. “This is your route, right? You were here yesterday?”

Something about his tone caught the man’s attention. He peered in his rearview at them, then reluctantly inspected the picture more closely. “Maybe.”

The way Tommy had looked yesterday was a far cry from his clean-cut, smiling face in the photo. “He’s American,” she told the guy. “You picked him up after the bomb went off here. Surely, you didn’t have that many calls for this place after that.”

“All we need is to know where you dropped him off,” Dec added.

“The meter is running. Do you want to go anywhere or not?”

Dec pulled out several bills and slid them through the wire bars between the seats. “Take us to the place you took him.”

The man’s eyes grew greedy as he took in the bills, but he said, “I prefer crypto.”

“Or I could break your nose,” Del countered.

“Get out,” the man said.

Dec yanked out his phone. “Fine. Tell us what we want to know, and I’ll pay with Bitcoin.”

Frustration simmered beneath her skin. This was all part of the game, and she knew it. She’d done this dance many times with other assets and resources. But right now, staring at the remains of the embassy and thinking back to yesterday, her nerves sparked with dread all over again.

“Maybe I don’t want anything to do with this,” the driver said. “Whatever this is. You should get out.”

A greedy man with a conscience. It happened frequently when trying to bribe decent people. She could use that to her advantage. “His name is Tommy, and he’s my brother,” she said. It wasn’t a complete lie. “He’s in trouble, and I’m trying to get him out of it before he ends up dead. I know you picked him up here. I need to find him. Please.”

The driver’s gaze flicked between the cash and her face as he weighed his options. The war in his eyes told her he truly was a decent guy, but like most folks, barely paying his bills and keeping his head above water.

With a sigh, he snatched the money from Dec’s hand, crypto forgotten and not above taking a bribe. That, combined with Meg’s story, seemed to be the perfect formula. “I dropped him at the train station.”

Train station. Damn. Tommy could be hundreds of miles away by now. “Did he say where he was going?” she asked.

The man tucked the bribe into his jacket pocket. “No. He was a quiet one, moody. Just told me to drop him there, and he didn’t even give me a tip.”

Dec slid him another bill. “Take us to the station, and I’ll provide you with a day’s worth of pay—in crypto, if that’s what you want.”

The car grumbled to life, and he tapped in the destination in his machine. Now, he was all smiles and good manners. “You like music? I play you some.”

Dec nodded, slipping his phone away. “What’s your favorite?”

“Hip-hop,” the driver said, making a U-turn and heading for the boulevard. “I like rap, too. You like rap?”

“Sure,” Dec said. “Turn it up loud.”

Meg winced as the driver did so, shooting Dec a what the hell look.

He drew her close, acting like her lover, as he muttered in her ear. “Where would Tommy go?”

Technically, Dec was her lover, so it wasn’t hard to pretend she enjoyed the feel of his warm breath against her cheek. She shifted so she could speak into his ear easily as well, smiling in case their audience was watching. “Before Afghanistan, he did a six-week stint at the Berlin office. Berlin is familiar. He might go there.”

Dec ran his fingers down her neck, across her collarbone, and her breath hitched. “If he’s been stationed here, this would be more familiar, but after what happened, I assume he’s left town. You know him better than I do, though. What do you think?”

She chuckled, arching her neck slightly and raking her fingers through his hair, keeping up the pretense. “I’m not sure what to think. I need to talk to Flynn about why Tommy was stationed here in the first place.”

He grazed his lips over her exposed skin just under her ear. Her thighs clenched. “I already did,” he admitted.

She pulled back, dropping the act. “You did what?”

He put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her close again, kissing her. Teasing her lips apart with his tongue.

By the time he broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard. “We’re fired, by the way,” he murmured into her ear. “He did tell me that Tommy had been stationed here for the past six months. He put in for an open position and got it without any issue. Flynn says he’s been working at getting back in the field ever since Jessie’s death, applying for every job that came his way. Flynn made steered him here, thinking it was the best way to utilize his skills without putting too much stress on him.”

That Dec had gone behind her back and talked to Flynn annoyed her, yet, having that information might help. “And what does Flynn think now that his golden boy might be a traitor?”

“He doesn’t want to believe it any more than you or I do, but he’s pissed. He’s been Tommy’s guardian angel since all this happened, and this is how the kid repays him?” He shook his head. “He gave me quite a lecture about us going off task, but secretly, I think he’s rooting for us to find him.”

She rested a hand on Dec’s shoulder, brushed her cheek against his. “We all feel responsible for him.”

He skimmed the bottom of one heavy breast with a thumb before sliding a possessive hand to her waist. His lips found that sensitive spot under her ear again, his teeth nibbling at it. “What is your honest opinion? Has he gone dark side, or is he working some elaborate plan to take revenge on Hagar?”

God, she was having trouble concentrating. She swallowed hard, the ache between her legs growing needy. “He’s making it look like the former, but I’m hoping it’s the latter.”

He already knew that, but it was all she could get out. She kissed him then, not caring about the audience or their act. It wasn’t an act anymore. Not for her.

Her second responded, and she knew from the way his lips took hers that it wasn’t an act for him anymore, either.

The rap singer ended that song and began another. She quit caring about anything but Dec and his hands, his mouth, the looks he was giving her.

His eyes simmered with need and a greediness that had nothing to do with Tommy and everything to do with getting her clothes off. He planned to ravage her again as soon as he had the chance.

She was nearly orgasmic when they reached the station, and her legs trembled as she started to exit the car. Their driver was more than happy when Dec followed through with his promise, and they exchanged the information necessary for the man to receive his payment for a day’s worth of work.

“Do you want me to wait?” he asked, almost hopeful.

“No, but thanks,” Dec said, slapping the back of the seat and quickly adjusting his pants, where a tell-tale bulge showed. “We appreciate your help.”

“Name’s Tomas.” When Meg met his eyes at the name, he nodded. It was another reason he’d helped them. “I hope you find your brother. You need more help, you text me.”

She thanked him and got out.

Inside the bustling station, they moved through the terminal, flashing Tommy’s photo to the staff and security guards. At first, she’d been worried they might be recognized from the sketches Tessa had told them about, but no one seemed to pay much attention to them.

Meg’s hope for a lead dwindled with each shake of the head, each indifferent shrug. No one had seen Tommy.

Had he even bought a ticket? Had he stopped here for some other reason?

Declan shared her frustration. “None of the clerks remember him, and if he did grab a ticket, he must have used an alias. If he didn’t buy one, where did he go? Did he grab another taxi and head off somewhere else?”

While her partner appeared perfectly composed and calm, she could hear the strain in his voice. He preferred dealing with bombs and staring down the barrels of guns. Detective work wasn’t his thing.

In all honesty, she preferred the adrenaline rush of action, as well. “If he thought someone was following him, he might have.”

Dec glanced around at the crisscrossing patterns of travelers, at the giant clock and the boards listing the incoming and outgoing trains. “We need Del or Spence to check tickets, security camera footage, and other ride services. There’s no point in taking off for Berlin unless we’re sure that’s where he went.”

“Can we play on Flynn’s guardian angel complex to allow one or both of them to help us?”

He steered her toward the nearest exit. “Guess we’re going to find out. Once we’re back at the safe house, I’ll contact Langley.”

But outside, they saw Tomas hailing them from across the street.

“What’s he still doing here?” Meg asked.

“Bankrupting me?” Declan replied.

Once they could weave through the slow-moving traffic dropping off and picking up passengers, they met him at his car. At least they’d have a way back to the safe house.

They’d have to make him drop them off a few blocks away, but it would save a long walk or another call to beg Tessa for a favor. How many did Meg owe her now? She’s lost count. “You’re still here,” she said to him. “Couldn’t get any new customers?”

He glanced around nervously, lowering his voice. “Someone wants me to bring you to an address on the south side of the city.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Dec moved a step closer to the man. “Who does?”

The driver shrugged, showing them his phone. “Unknown number.”

They read the text that was brief and gave nothing away:

Bring the Americans to the following address. A token of my appreciation will be deposited into your money account. Do not disappoint me, or your family will pay for your negligence.

It was followed with an address. That was it.

“They made the deposit already,” Tomas said, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “He didn’t need to threaten my family. Is that what your brother does? Threatens innocent people?”

“How do you know it’s from him?” Dec asked.

“Who else would it be from?”

Meg glanced at Dec. The threat didn’t sound like Tommy, but then, he wasn’t acting like himself. It wasn’t much of a lead, but it was the only one they had.

He nodded in agreement.

Always in sync. She loved that about them.

He opened the door, and she slid into the backseat.” No one’s going to hurt your family. Just drive.”