Spy Games (Tarnished Heroes #1)(27)

“Then—”

“It’s what I think someone might want us to assume she’s involved with that worries me.”

“What Mitch thinks?”

“I don’t know what Mitch thinks.” Hector gazed up at the stars. “He’s not telling us everything.”

“You think?”

“I got a hold of his file for a few minutes while he was on the phone. Made these copies.” Hector handed a few sheets of folded paper over to Rand.

“What are these?” He peered at them, but it was too dark to read.

“An assessment Mitch’s man Charlie made of Sarah’s field performance.”

“And?”

“Charlie seemed to think that Sarah could be more than a courier and advised that someone look into training her.”

“They want to recruit her for full-time. What aren’t you telling me?” Rand could hear it in his voice.

“Charlie makes reference to Mitch’s instructions to…seduce her. Get as close as he could. See if she was everything Irene claimed she was. That was almost two years ago.”

Sarah had mentioned Charlie a number of times. She’d been concerned about his safety, if he’d made contact.

“Charlie was found dead a few hours ago on a side street near his apartment in Hong Kong. The call came in while I was standing there with Mitch, or else I’m not sure that he’d have told me. He doesn’t want Sarah to know, and I agree. She seems to be made of some strong stuff, but she’s not a field agent. She’s not really built for this.”

Like Rand was. “Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

“Because…the number of people who knew about the briefcase is shrinking.”

“Sarah. Charlie. Mitch. Irene.” Rand ticked the names off on his fingers. “Who else? What committee or board is over our operations there?”

“I don’t even know that.”

“There’s at least one unknown name, and Irene is still MIA.”

“No, she’s not anymore.”

“Where is she?”

“Switzerland.”

What the hell?

“Stop here.” Hector turned to face Rand. They were at the farthest point of the pond, the fountain between them and the building. “You’re going to have to trust your gut on this. Someone is either after Sarah for what she knows, or will try to kill her, or worse. That’s why I’m telling you everything I know, so that when the time comes to trust your instincts, you’re prepared.”





Chapter Seven


“Sarah. Wake up.”

Sarah sucked in a breath and sat up. Rand knelt next to her bed, his beard gone, gaze wary. “What time is it? What’s going on?” She rubbed her eyes and tossed back the sheet.

“Four forty-five, sorry about this.”

“What’s up?” She swung her feet over the side of the mattress.

“One of our guys got visual confirmation Wei boarded a flight headed to Dulles.”

She sucked in a deep breath. Wei. God, she hoped he was wrong.

“What?” Rand frowned at her, the lines deepening.

“Nothing. I’m up. What are we doing?”

“Get your things together. Hector is sending us to the hotel a Chinese delegation is staying at. I’ll brief you in the car.”

“Why?” She gaped at him in horror.

“I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, okay?”

She watched him stride out of the room, still struggling to understand why anyone would think it a good idea to put her that close to the people who very well had the case in their custody.

Christ. Wei might be there, too.

She flopped back on the bed.

They couldn’t force her to go, could they? That was probably why it was Rand telling her they were going. Where he was concerned, her better sense didn’t prevail. It very well might put them face-to-face with one of the deadliest men on the planet.

Charlie had shown her a few images of Wei once. He’d said it was better to die than end up in that man’s hands. And here they were, on a one-way path to colliding with him.

They.

Her and Rand.

Fuck.

He was still angry with her. She could see it in the curve of his mouth, the frown. The stupid, pigheaded man.

Sarah pushed back up and to her feet. Mom’s voice chased her across the room. Just put one foot in front of the other.

She pulled her hair up into a bun and surveyed herself in the mirror. She’d left everything behind in Seoul. Her baggage would be in China. She had nothing except the dirty clothes she’d arrived wearing and now someone’s cast-offs. It wasn’t a great way to jump into something new.

Sarah met Rand in the hallway. He didn’t speak, and really, she wasn’t in the mood to talk to him, anyway. Too bad what she wanted and needed didn’t align. She kept her mouth shut for the moment, biding her time.

Instead of going back to the—what was it? Work area?—of the building, Rand guided her out through a parking garage.

“What are we doing?” she asked.

“We’re setting up for surveillance. Come on.”

“No.” She stopped in her tracks. If she was going to risk her life, she wanted answers. Rand turned and stared at her, his lips twisted up into a frustrated grimace. “Why the hell would we head toward these people?” Sarah kept her voice down, conscious of the other vehicles parked in the adjoining garage.