Chapter 21

W ell, my annual leave isn't exactly going as planned.

Maisie listened closely as Rhys talked to this James arsehole, who still – ugh – had his arm around her waist. She wanted nothing more than to yank it aside and run across the rooftop to Rhys, but she had a charade to keep up.

Not that it was that difficult – she still didn't exactly feel top notch, after all, and whatever she'd been dosed with had left her with a killer headache. But she was feeling a hell of a lot better than she had before.

She let her head hang down to her chest, closing her eyes against the too-bright afternoon light that made her headache feel ten times worse, and slumped against James's side.

"Rhys?" she murmured plaintively. "Rhys, what's going on? Where are we?"

She thought that surely she was over-egging the pudding and that James would catch on, but apparently he didn't even notice. Maybe her acting skills had improved since that little debacle at the airport.

She'd realized what was happening in the moments before she'd lost consciousness back in the medbay, but by that time, it had been too late. The orderly – or whatever she'd actually been – had told her she was just going to take a blood sample to make sure all her readings were normal. But then she'd jabbed Maisie in the arm with… something else, that sure as hell wasn't for drawing blood.

Maisie had figured out pretty quickly that it must have been a sedative of some kind, since she'd immediately felt woozy and couldn't keep her eyes open.

What – what are you – she'd tried to ask, but her mouth wouldn't obey her.

Rhys, she'd thought, in the moments before darkness had swallowed her up. I have to tell Rhys –

But then she'd known no more.

At least, until she'd come to just enough to see James and Rhys fighting in the medbay.

She'd wanted to help, but her limbs still wouldn't obey her – and she hadn't been able to do anything before James had snatched up the syringe of green goo he was now holding to her neck.

And then, she'd decided, it was probably better to play… well, not dead , she hoped, but certainly less conscious than she really was, as James had picked her up and dragged her over the floor.

I can keep the element of surprise that way, she'd thought – right now, James had them backed into a corner, as long as he held that syringe to her neck. She knew Rhys wouldn't take any chances as long as he thought James might hurt her.

But if James doesn't know I'm awake, then he can't anticipate what I might do.

In any case, she knew she needed to eavesdrop while she recovered enough to actually do anything. The effects of the drug were wearing off pretty rapidly, but James didn't need to know that.

And she certainly didn't want to try to escape from a syringe full of what appeared to be wyvern venom before she was back at her best.

She tried not to shudder at the thought of getting injected with that stuff.

"Why did you do it?" Rhys asked. "You used to be a good guy. I know you were a good guy. You taught me everything I know. What happened?" The pain was clear in his voice, and Maisie's heart broke a little. She hadn't realized that James had been so influential in Rhys's life – she'd thought he was just a work colleague. This whole situation had just got even more complicated, if that was possible.

"I was like you, once," James said musingly, and Maisie wanted to hit him. Besides being a murderous bastard, he also just seemed to really love the sound of his own voice. Maisie had to assume that he hadn't always been like this, because there was no way she could imagine someone so pompous having the kind of mentor-like role in Rhys's life that he'd apparently held.

"I upheld the agenda of the Agency," he continued. "I put my heart and soul into it. I thought it could do no wrong. But then, I began to see it for what it was. The Agency let me down. Like they let you down."

"Huh?" Rhys said, sounding honestly confused. "How did the Agency let me down?"

"Rhys, Rhys," James said. "Can you honestly say that you've felt supported by the Agency these past few days? You put your life on the line to rescue one of their own, and how do they repay you? Suspension. Failure to take your account of the situation seriously. Kidnapping attempts on your mate. Even your own superior has given you the cold shoulder, when you need his support most."

"Robb's not like that," Rhys shot back. Maisie thought she could hear the slightest hint of doubt in his voice, but when he spoke again, it was gone. "He's doing what he needs to do – playing things by the book. If he'd been seen to be favoring me even the slightest bit during the disciplinary procedures, I'd be in even deeper shit. He's been protecting me." His voice turned harsh. "He sure as shit hasn't held a syringe full of wyvern venom to my mate's neck, so I'm inclined to take his word over yours. You'll have to try a bit harder than that."

"Your loyalty is touching," James sneered, and Maisie felt his arm tighten around her ever so slightly. She hoped he didn't have an itchy syringe finger! She liked not being pumped full of wyvern venom! "I suppose it's the folly of youth. You can brush these things off now, but once you've been around a bit longer, you see patterns emerging."

"Oh, yeah?" Rhys retorted. "And what kinds of patterns are those?"

"Bureaucracy," James said. "Pointless tribunals and hearings and rules . I know you, Rhys. You're like me. You're a wildcard, with a mind of your own. Doesn't it wear you down sometimes, having to do what others tell you to do? Especially when they rake you over the coals for doing the right thing."

Maisie risked opening her eyes slightly against the sunlight – thankfully, her headache had mostly receded into the background by this point – and chanced a look at Rhys.

She could see that there was a part of him that was feeling conflicted about this, and she thought she could understand. Although she hadn't known him long, she did know that he was, as James had put it, a wildcard. That he would love to just go his own way, and to hell with the consequences. He'd even flown her around the Whitsundays as a griffin, which, she was pretty sure, would not fly with his superiors. So to speak.

But she also knew that he was a good guy. That he understood the need for regulations, as much as they pissed him off. That he knew that shifter powers – and, she was starting to suspect, shifter tempers – needed to be kept under control, even more than when regular humans were involved. And regular humans definitely needed to be kept in line!

Rhys's eyes darted toward her face for a moment, catching her gaze – and, to his credit, he didn't appear to react at all.

But Maisie knew he'd noticed. Noticed that she was, in fact, awake and aware, and putting on an act. While she still didn't quite fully understand this bond that they shared, she knew that they had shared a moment of understanding.

I'm ready when you are, she thought, her spirits soaring. If they worked together, maybe they could get out of this situation in one piece.

"'Raking me over the coals,' as you put it, was the right thing," Rhys said smoothly. "The incident needed to be investigated. I'm not exactly thrilled about it, but it had to be done."

"They let you down," James said, his voice unctuous, and Maisie barely kept from sighing in exasperation.

"No," Rhys said firmly. " You did."

Maisie could feel James's startlement, his arm around her waist loosening slightly, the hand with the syringe moving away from her throat.

Yes, she thought gleefully in Rhys's direction. Keep it up.

She didn't know why James was so surprised by the fact that Rhys was disappointed in him for, oh, taking his mate hostage with a deadly weapon , but she was willing to take it. The ego on the guy had to be huge, if he thought his argument was so compelling that Rhys would go against everything he believed in once he heard it.

"All I have done is look out for you," James hissed. "Do you really think all of your bad behavior over the years just magically went unnoticed? Sure, you got disciplined a few times, but there were plenty of instances where I stepped in and made sure no one realized what had happened, or got your punishment reduced."

Rhys seemed genuinely surprised by this, looking taken aback. "Well, even if that's true – and I'm not saying I believe you, by the way – why did you do it?"

"Why?" James asked. "I believed in you, Rhys. I knew that you had what it took to be something special. At first I was taken in by the idea of having you move up in the Agency, but once I realized that both of our talents would be wasted there, I started making moves to bring you over to Hargreaves instead."

" Hargreaves? " Maisie could hear the horror in Rhys's voice. "You work for Hargreaves? You wanted me to work for Hargreaves?"

"I do, yes," James replied. "I didn't at first. But I came to appreciate their… efficiency . No long, drawn-out, airy-fairy disciplinary procedures. Just good old-fashioned success or failure. And if you fail, you're out. So everyone is motivated."

Maisie could only imagine what Rhys was feeling right now. To know that his mentor worked for a bunch of murderous psychopaths – and thought that Rhys would be a perfect fit with said murderous psychopaths – had to be a lot to take in.

To be honest, she was feeling mostly recovered, and ready to make a break for it – but she wanted to get as much information from this slimy bastard as possible. She hung there limply, her eyelids only open far enough to allow her to keep an eye on the situation, trying her best to appear like a semi-conscious victim of medical malpractice instead of somebody who was just itching to punch James in the balls.

"So, it was you who sent those Hargreaves goons after me right after the hearing," Rhys said. "The guys who shot me with the wyvern venom."

Brent , Maisie thought suddenly. Brent was with them.

Brent is with Hargreaves? No. Surely not. He'd do a lot of bad things, but not that.

… I hope.

"Oh, those idiots?" James said breezily. "No, they weren't Hargreaves at all. I was just told to deal with the situation and bring you over to Hargreaves one way or another, so I hired a bunch of idiots. Not that I went in deliberately trying to hire idiots, of course – I only found that out later. They were just shifters for hire – give them a job, and they'd do it, or so they said. Gave them some wyvern venom to threaten you with if you didn't come nicely, and they ended up damn near killing you instead." His tone softened a little, turning strangely proud. "Though, of course, you managed to defeat all of them and escape. I trained you well."

Rhys looked confused for a moment, but then his expression hardened. "You trained me shit," he spat. "I got myself out of there by drawing on my Agency training, and Maisie saved my life – and then the Agency saved it again." He paused, eyes narrowing. "So I suppose it was also your goon squad and not Hargreaves who attacked Michael's place. Since you seem to know all about him."

Behind her, Maisie felt James shrug. "Guilty. But we did try to make him an offer first. He's a very talented hacker. But apparently less corruptible than he seemed."

Unless they offered him a swimming pool full of Cheezels, perhaps, Maisie thought.

But right now, Maisie had to admit that she was relieved to find out that Brent wasn't part of Hargreaves after all – he was just an idiot for hire. Not that she cared, but the thought of having dated someone that dangerous sent a shiver of dread down her spine. Brent was a different kind of dangerous – and now, thankfully, he was also out of her life, and hopefully on the straight and narrow with Daniel.

In any case, there was a far more clear and present danger right here, holding a syringe to her throat… though it wasn't really all that close to her throat anymore. Maisie tensed ever so slightly, readying herself for action.

"The Agency ," James said disdainfully. "So you really won't be swayed away from your little organization, then? The whole world could be your oyster, if you'd just say the word."

"You're dreaming," Rhys snapped. "Are those words enough for you, mate?"

"So you won't make the sensible decision?" James said, sounding genuinely disappointed. Like Rhys would have ever said yes! "I guess your misplaced loyalty always was your biggest flaw."

"And your biggest flaw," said Rhys, "is that you like to hear yourself talk way too much."

James sputtered in rage, his hand loosening from her waist entirely, and Maisie knew a cue when she saw one. She spun around, knocking away the hand holding the syringe and delivering James a swift knee to the crotch, smiling with satisfaction as he gasped and doubled over, his eyes bulging out in a way she would have called comical, if this was a TV show and not her real actual life.

But still – James was incapacitated, and he didn't have the syringe at her neck anymore.

"Rhys!" she cried, running to him and throwing herself into his arms.

"Maisie," he murmured, pulling her close and burying his face in her hair. Despite the psychotic secret agent writhing in pain only a few meters away, she felt safe, like nothing in the world could hurt her ever again.

Rhys pulled back from her, his reluctance to do so clear in every part of his body. "Are you okay?" he asked, worriedly checking her over.

"I'm fine," she said breathlessly. "Shaken, but fine. And you?"

"Never better," he growled. "Or I will be, once I'm done with this arsehole."

He turned, and Maisie followed his gaze to where the syringe had been knocked. At the same moment, she was aware of James straightening up, swearing under his breath – and looking in the same direction.

"Shit," she muttered, as Rhys and James both launched themselves toward the syringe. Rhys had the obvious advantage of not having just been kneed in the balls, but James was closer, and the two of them reached it at the same time, both diving for it – and sending it skittering across the rooftop before it tumbled down a set of steps.

Maisie heard the distinct tinkle of breaking glass, as, presumably, the syringe of wyvern venom was smashed into a thousand pieces, spilling its deadly contents into a not-very-injectable puddle. And clearly, the other two heard it as well, because James's face turned thunderous.

"That is it ," he snarled, before his body shimmered, and he shifted into –

Oh. That's not good.

Maisie ducked behind what looked like some sort of air-conditioning unit as the – the giant fucking pig , with giant fucking tusks – barreled across the rooftop, shockingly fast for a beast of its size. Rhys barely managed to leap out of the way as it charged him, before it skidded to a stop and turned, grunting angrily.

Shit, Maisie thought. If he comes for me, I'm not going to be able to outrun him.

What she could do besides hide behind the air conditioner and hope for the best, she wasn't really sure. She hadn't really had ‘get chased across a rooftop by an enormous wild boar' on her bingo card for today, so she was feeling a little underprepared… but, well, she was pretty sure she'd already managed to win Weird Shit Bingo for the week, so it didn't really matter.

Rhys, she noticed, was doing some shimmering of his own – and, okay, that made a whole lot of sense. If she had to choose whether she wanted to be saved from a rooftop by a heroic griffin or an enraged boar, she knew which one she'd put her money on.

She edged around the unit, trying to maneuver into a position where Rhys could pick her up and fly her to safety before the boar could get to her. She knew from experience that it took the griffin a couple of seconds to properly achieve lift-off, and anything could happen in that time.

The boar hissed, feinting at the griffin with its enormous, razor-sharp tusks that looked way worse than anything Maisie thought she would find on an actual wild pig, while the griffin darted about, doing its best to avoid the attacks while swiping at the beast with its talons. She wouldn't have thought that a boar could remotely be a match for a griffin – and perhaps it wouldn't have been, if Rhys had simply been able to rise into the skies.

But no, he had to stay grounded in order to protect her – and this boar was nasty , the size of a small car and heavily muscled, and it wasn't encumbered by things like morals or fair play or trying to make sure an innocent human doesn't get tossed over the side of the building .

Rhys circled closer to where Maisie was sheltering behind the unit, his noble eagle's head never turning away from the huge boar that James had become, and she knew that they'd have to make their move. She could hear the pig's furious snorting as it built up a head of steam, readying itself to charge again – and it was off before she could move into position for Rhys to grab her and take off.

We're going to have to survive this charge. There's no time to escape.

The boar's tusks gleamed in the sunlight, horribly sharp and curved, and Maisie's stomach dropped.

Before, the boar had looked like it was trying to subdue Rhys – but this time, its murderous intent was clear in the angle of its tusks, the rage in its eyes.

It wants to kill him.

Rhys, it seemed, had had the same realization, and was trying to dart to the side – but one of his wings hit the air-conditioning unit, slowing him down, and Maisie realized in horror that he wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. He was going to get gored.

In desperation, she looked frantically around the rooftop while patting her pockets, trying to find something, anything at all that she could use to help him.

Nothing.

Unless –

It was a stupid, hopeless idea. But it was all she had.

She'd been given a visitor's pass on a long, polyester lanyard when she'd been shown into the building this morning. She hadn't given it much mind – but now, it was the only thing she had on her that could even potentially be used as a weapon.

It's not much. But it'll have to do.

Without stopping to think just how absolutely hopeless this was, she yanked her visitor's pass from around her neck and, holding the end with the pass on it, she flung the loop at the pig as it thundered past, hoping to lasso it somehow, realizing too late that the idea was even more ridiculous than she'd first thought.

Even if she somehow managed to get the lanyard around its neck, she would simply lose her grip – or, worse yet, she'd keep her grip, and end up getting dragged along and then flung over the edge of the roof by her own momentum.

Death by roof pig. Of all the ways I could've died this week, this is easily the most ridiculous… and that's saying something.

But still, she had to try. She couldn't just stand by and watch Rhys get killed by this guy, hopeless action or not.

She held on to the pass as the lanyard drifted toward the pig… completely failed to go around its neck…

And caught around one of its tusks instead.

The pass was almost jerked out of her hands by the movement of the pig, giving her some nasty rope burn – but maybe it was enough. The pull of the lanyard turned the pig's head for a moment, and it crashed into Rhys not head-on, but on an angle, its other tusk tearing into the griffin's wing instead of its midsection.

The griffin screeched in fury and pain as its delicate wing was shredded – but, Maisie had to think, that was better than being disemboweled.

" Rhys! " she cried out, relief and fear warring within her. The griffin was bleeding profusely from the wing and staggering, but the wound wasn't fatal.

She thought.

But I don't know if he'll be flying again anytime in the next few minutes.

The boar shook its head wildly, and the lanyard was ripped from her hands, still caught in the beast's tusks. After a few unsuccessful attempts to free himself, squealing and roaring, James shifted back to his human form, breathing hard, his face twisted into an ugly rage that bore no resemblance to his earlier attempts at charm. He jerked the lanyard off his face and unceremoniously tossed it over the side of the building.

My only weapon, Maisie thought hopelessly – and it wasn't even a very good one. But it had certainly served its purpose.

"You can't escape now," James snarled, advancing slowly, as Rhys struggled to stand, his wing limp and bleeding by his side. "Instead of joining me, you're going to die here and end up as a feast for my wild boar, the both of you. There won't even be bones left for them to find."

Maisie blinked. That was… dramatic. Not that she wasn't concerned, of course – scared shitless, even – but there were just all kinds of things she was hearing that she never expected to hear. Suddenly, her more challenging patients were sounding downright welcoming by comparison.

She thought that perhaps her mind was going numb with fear, filling her head with inane thoughts, because what was about to happen was just too horrific to contemplate.

What could she possibly do? But there was nothing left. Nothing.

"A shame," James continued. "I really did want to work with you. You had so much potential. But in the end, you were just too weak."

With that, he shifted once more. His body shimmered, and then, standing before them wasn't the smug man, but the enormous, terrifying wild boar, its tusks shining in the sunlight, cruel and curved and utterly deadly.

Letting out a low, furious grunt, the boar scraped its front hooves on the concrete of the roof and then began to charge again, starting at a slow trot, clearly wanting to take its time and draw things out.

Rhys, his wing dragging, was moving too – clearly to put himself between James and Maisie, regardless of the fact that the boar would gore him the way she had only just managed to prevent before.

Maisie was aware that she was screaming something – No , she supposed she was saying, but she couldn't really tell – but she was frozen in fear, unable to move.

It couldn't end like this. It couldn't .

She watched, horrified, as the griffin beat its wings, the injured one flapping awkwardly as blood poured out of the wound. It shrieked in pain – but then it rose off the ground, just a little.

You can do it, she thought desperately – it was all that she could do. I believe in you.

The griffin shrieked again – but beat its wings more strongly, more determinedly. Maisie could see that it had to be in massive pain, but it launched itself forward with a howl, meeting the charging pig head-on and picking it up in its mighty talons.

The pig bellowed as the claws bit into its flesh, transforming into its human form in a futile attempt to escape – and then thrashed in wild terror as Rhys slowly lifted him off the ground, carrying him to the edge of the building.

And then he let go of him.

The bottom dropped out of Maisie's stomach. Rhys wouldn't actually kill someone in cold blood like that – he wouldn't –

With a screech, the griffin dived out of Maisie's range of vision for a couple of truly terrifying seconds, before it reappeared, James's terrified-but-intact form in its clutches. It perched on the edge of the building and let James dangle over the edge, pinning down his hand with one talon.

Maisie watched cautiously from a safe distance, her heart slowly but surely starting to return to a normal rhythm. Rhys was battered, but alive – which was the only thing she really cared about.

"Rhys!" gasped James. "Pull me back up – it was all a test of your loyalty, I swear! And you passed! With flying colors!"

Maisie knew Rhys wouldn't buy that – and he didn't. The griffin only screeched again, its voice full of rage, and James's face grew whiter by the second.

"Rhys – Rhys – what can I say – do you want money? I can get it – I'll pave the way for you to be promoted to any position you want –"

But Maisie watched as Rhys's massive griffin's body shimmered, and then he returned to his human form – blood dripped from his back, where his wounded wing would have been if he'd still had it, and even though his talons had become hands once more, they still gripped James tightly, stopping him from falling.

"That'll do, pig," Rhys snarled into his face – just as the door leading up from the stairwell to the roof burst open behind them, and several men and women charged through it.

Fuck, Maisie thought, her heart sinking.

She wanted to scream – it wasn't fair. They'd only just won and Rhys had fought so hard.

Is it now going to get snatched away from us? We were so close…

But now, James's goons were here, and they'd probably both end up as pig feed after all, or whatever creatures these guys turned into.

She knew Rhys was too injured to fight them all off – and there were so many of them that he probably would have had a hard time of it even if he'd been in peak condition.

But I don't care, Maisie thought furiously as she burst out from behind the air conditioning unit. If they want to get to him, they'll have to go through me.

She knew she didn't stand a chance. But she couldn't do anything else.

Putting herself between Rhys and the suited men and women who'd just charged up the stairwell, she spread her arms wide.

"You can't have him," she yelled, raising her chin defiantly. "I don't care if you are shifters, or what you turn into, he's my mate, and I won't let you near him!"

She stood, staring them down, fury boiling inside her. In that moment, she truly believed she could have taken them all on, shifters or not.

But, she realized after a moment, they weren't coming. None of them were charging her with rage in their eyes – none of them were even shifting. Instead, they were glancing at each other in mild surprise and confusion.

Well, what're you waiting for?! Maisie thought furiously. Come and try!

As she watched, however, the group slowly parted, and one man, tall and dark haired with gray temples, emerged from the back.

Robb, Maisie remembered his name was – he'd been in the room with her, James and Rhys as they'd been debriefed, and Rhys had introduced him as his direct superior.

Is he in on this too? Maisie wondered. Just how rotten is this place?

But Robb didn't seem too interested in pushing her aside, or shifting, or turning her into mincemeat to feed to a raging boar. He just cocked his head, looking past her.

"Robb?" Maisie heard Rhys's voice from behind her, and she chanced a glance in his direction. She swallowed heavily. She had to admit, Rhys wasn't exactly making the best impression right now – he was still holding a badly bleeding James over the edge of the building, his fists bloody, his face flushed with rage. "I swear, this isn't what it looks like."

"It is! It's exactly what it looks like!" James squealed. "Robb, this lunatic tried to kill me – he's corrupt as they come, look at the proof –"

Robb was silent for a long moment, before he finally cocked an eyebrow. "I know."

Maisie's heart sank, for what seemed like the tenth time that day.

Does Rhys's superior officer really think he's capable of something like this?

"I mean, I know what Rhys is saying is true," Robb said after a moment, and Maisie wondered if there was just the ghost of a smile on his face. "James, I've known what you are for years now. But you're one slippery bastard, and I never could get any proof. Until now."

Maisie's eyes widened. For a moment, she wondered if perhaps she'd passed out and was dreaming. Had Robb really just said what she thought he'd said?

He believes Rhys? And he knows that James is guilty? He's known for years?!

She could feel her jaw dropping open, relief flooding through her. Her knees wobbled, but she managed to stay upright.

"I thought you'd managed to slip away yet again when you pinned all the evidence to Aaron Merrett," Robb said coolly, fixing James with a cold, hard stare. "After all the work I'd put in to set this up, I'd failed to nail anything to you yet again. But thanks to Agent Richardson – and his mate – you seem to have given yourself away. Even if I don't really understand why ."

Maisie blinked, feeling her jaw unhinge. Robb… set all this up? He deliberately put our lives at risk to try to snare this… this James bush pig?!

She shook her head. It all seemed like too much.

"Robb? What are you talking about?" Rhys sounded just as flummoxed as she felt. She turned toward him, just in time to see a couple of the agents who'd arrived with Robb rush over to him, hauling James back from the brink and holding him firmly between them.

Maisie didn't waste a moment – she ran to Rhys's side, throwing her arms protectively around his neck. She didn't care about the blood that covered him – she only wanted him to be safe .

"What the hell do you mean, you set all this up? " she cried as she forced herself to pull back from Rhys and instead stare at Robb, fury giving her the strength to yell into a near-total stranger's face. "Do you know that Rhys almost died ?"

Robb shook his head, holding his hands up placatingly. "I didn't mean this – James bringing you up onto the rooftop and trying to kill you. In fact, I have no idea why any of that is happening at all. I meant the rest of the operation. Having agents following you. Tracking your phone. Getting you suspended in the first place. I know it wasn't pleasant , but I needed to do it to try to drive James out into the open. I knew he'd make his move if he felt you were alienated enough from the Agency to make you an offer. But it seems he was tricky enough to think a few moves ahead, and everything I planned almost didn't come off."

Robb paused, looking between them. Maisie wasn't sure if he was expecting them to thank him or what – because she was still furious right now.

He set Rhys up, and for what? A plan that almost didn't work?

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that," Robb said after a moment. "I truly am. But the only explanation I can offer is that James was the one who was responsible for your brother Hector almost being caught and tortured by Hargreaves a few years back. He was the one who sent the bogus chopper to pick him up and take him to their offices, instead of evaccing him, his mate, and the alicorn foal they were protecting to the Agency. I thought if you knew that, you'd go along with what I had planned."

"Maybe I would have, if I'd known about it, " Rhys growled out, and Maisie could see the anger blazing in his eyes.

Robb seemed unperturbed. "Yes. And I'm sorry I had to keep it from you. But I couldn't risk it – you've seen how cunning James is, and how well he covers his tracks. How many people within the Agency he already managed to turn, or to use as pawns to discard and pin the blame on to exonerate himself." He frowned. "In fact, I'm a little curious as to what led to this little showdown. It's not James's usual style at all."

Beside her, Maisie could still feel how tense Rhys was – but then he let out a long, slow sigh.

"He fucked up," Rhys said after a moment. "Maybe he was relieved he'd managed to pin everything on Aaron, and had seemed to have gotten away with it. He told me he knew my source for the info on Aaron – but I never told him that, and my source would never be so careless as to leave any trace of himself on those files. So when James said his name, I knew he had to be the one behind it all. I guess he realized what he'd done a few moments later, and he shifted and attacked me in the lift. I guess he knew I'd figured it out too, and that I was on my way to let someone else know. It was his only choice – he had to attack before I could leave."

"And everyone would have thought you were on leave with your mate when they couldn't contact you for a while," Robb mused. His eyes turned to Maisie. "I suppose you know by now the orderly who took you to the medbay was also one of his operatives."

"Yeah, no shit," Maisie said, shaking her head. "I figured it out when she pumped me full of sedative and almost stuck me with a syringe full of wyvern venom."

"Yes, well, she's also been taken into custody now," Robb said. "She swears she really was only going to give you a checkup, until James gave her the order via headset that she was to kill you instead. I suppose that must have come after he realized he'd given himself away to Rhys."

Maisie licked her lips. She was still basically incandescent with rage, but she could think clearly enough to see that all of this made sense.

And, she had to admit, she did kind of believe Robb when he'd said he hadn't planned for James to bring them up onto the roof and almost kill them. That, it seemed, had been very much spur of the moment.

"So… how did you know we were up here, then?" she asked.

Robb raised an eyebrow. "The half-destroyed lift, unconscious orderly, and all the blood was, I admit, a very difficult trail of clues to follow, but we managed."

Oh that is it, Maisie thought furiously. You do not get to be sarcastic at me under these circumstances!

"Now listen here, you sanctimonious piece of shi—"

She felt Rhys's hand on her arm, pulling her back as she began to surge forward.

"No, I get it," Rhys said, cutting her off mid-swear. "But you're going to have to give me some time to process this, boss."

Despite the fact he'd prevented her from cussing out his boss, Maisie could hear the steel in Rhys's voice. He clearly expected to be paid back for all the trouble Robb had put him to.

And, perhaps to his credit, Robb didn't hesitate.

"Of course," he said. "You can take all the leave you need – I'll gladly sign off on it not only for you, but your whole team. Trent and Euan especially played their part in this. Hector being out of the country and Callan on assignment was just a coincidence, but it worked out well. But believe me – the whole team will be rewarded for this. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to nail James's hide to the wall."

Rhys nodded, still clearly unhappy, but looking at least a little more satisfied. Maisie supposed that being instrumental in bringing down a traitor would at least add a little something positive to his day… but she knew that the sting of betrayal would take a long time to fade.

Rhys strode up to where James was being held and stared him in the eyes. James, for his part, stared back for a few seconds, before breaking first and looking away.

"Hey, Robb," Rhys said, still staring at James. "Do you think we could take this pig and turn it into sausages for a Bunnings fundraiser barbecue?"

"No, Rhys," Robb said with a completely expressionless face, while James looked aghast. "It is against Agency policy to turn agents into sausages for fundraising purposes, no matter how worthy the cause may be. Or how delicious the sausages may taste."

"That's a shame," Rhys muttered, continuing to stare at a squirming James.

This is getting a little too dark!

"Okay, that's enough," Maisie declared. "As exciting as this has been, I'd really, really like to go home now. Or just anywhere that's not here."

"Of course," Robb said instantly. "The both of you are free to go. Wherever that may be."

Unable to help herself, Maisie let out a sigh of relief so deep and long that she felt completely deflated by it.

"Come on," Rhys whispered in her ear, his strong arm coming up to wrap around her shoulder. "Let's go home."