Spy Games (Tarnished Heroes #1)(32)

He took the elevator to one of the upper floors and followed the signs to the suite number. The door opened before he’d even knocked.

A fresh-faced young man in a well-tailored suit stood on the other side.

“They are expecting you.” The young man bowed, lower than Wei would have expected. If Wei smelled him, would he stink of fear? Probably so.

Wei’s mind was a network of information, faces, places. An image of a young attaché sprang to mind. Li Qiang. Of course. A paper-pusher. An assistant to the delegation.

“Thank you, Qiang.” Wei stepped over the threshold and left his luggage by the door.

The delegation was spread out through the spacious suite, but everyone’s focus zeroed in on him. They all wanted what was in the briefcase. The only question was, how to access it?

“In here.” Wang Ping, the leader of the delegation, waved Wei into another room set up to be an office. Normally, they would be at the embassy, but with the current renovations and planning for the welcome party for the new Secretary of State, their business was better conducted offsite.

Wei and a handful of the other men retired to the inner office.

“What have you learned?” Ping crossed his arms over his chest.

“The briefcase is more sophisticated than it appears.” He set the silver case on the desk. “If I attempt to open it, I risk destroying the documents inside of it.”

“How do you know that?”

“I had it scanned and X-rayed before I left. There is a liquid in the case lining. My guess is trying to force it open will release it, destroying the contents.”

“Then how do we open it?”

“Intelligence has made contact with the person who sold us information. Clearly they intended to charge more for this. I have provided confirmation of our possession of the case and the initial payment should be processing shortly. We will know how to open it before much longer.”

Ping began speaking to the others, dismissing Wei’s presence. That was how he preferred it, to be on the fringes, to do his job in the shadows.





Chapter Eight


Sarah groaned and swatted at the hands shaking her. She didn’t want to wake up now. Her dream was at the best part. She’d never dreamed of a grown-up Rand before. This was new, and she totally wanted to torture herself with her sick obsession.

“Sarah, you need to wake up right now, or I’m going to touch your feet.” A warm hand wrapped around her calf, just under her knee.

She flinched, kicking her feet away from potential danger, and sat up. The light in the bathroom was on and the room was dim. She blinked, clearing the sleep out of her eyes.

It was a Western-style hotel. She was not in her closet-sized room. This was not China.

The briefcase.

Charlie.

She focused her gaze on the man perched on the side of her bed. It was the Rand from her dream. The grown-up Rand.

The real Rand.

Sarah sucked in a breath. She swung her legs off the bed, dangling her feet off the side, and gripped the edges.

“You okay?” Rand rubbed her back, the same way he had when they were kids and wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know how.

“Yeah, just give me a second.” She took another deep breath.

Her friend Charlie might be dead, and Rand was back in her life. She’d flown across the world to get the briefcase back. With Rand.

“Sarah, we don’t have a second.” His tone was soft—and demanding.

“Okay, what’s up?” She cleared her throat and smoothed her hair back. They had a job, one she couldn’t sleep through.

“The Chinese delegation arrived early. We must’ve gotten here a little after they did. Surveillance is up, but I can’t tell what they’re saying.”

“Let’s go then.”

“No, hold on.” He grabbed her wrist. “They called down to the restaurant and made a brunch reservation.”

“I can’t go down there. What if they recognize me?”

“Nothing indicates these people know who you are. They went after the case, not you. Besides, you live here, remember?”

“True.” Sarah bit her lip. It sounded reasonable coming from Rand’s lips, but then again, he was also the guy who’d told her jumping off the garage into a pool was a great idea, too.

“I can’t remember everything they say and recite it back to you. If we’re going to identify the voices and know what they’re talking about, you have to go with me. It’s built into our cover story, remember?” He slid his hand down to hold hers.

They were supposed to be a couple. She swallowed. So many teenage dreams were coming true. Because of work. Not because Rand felt anything for her. This wasn’t real. If he’d ever truly loved her, he wouldn’t have stayed away so long. He’d have come back. For Matt or her, it didn’t really make a difference.

“So, brunch?” She pulled her hand from his and tightened her ponytail.

“Hungry?”

“Starving, but…” She gestured to her sweatpants.

“I picked you up something.” He nudged a few brown delivery boxes at their feet. “Can you be ready in five, ten, minutes?”

She pushed up to her feet. “I’ll make it happen.”

“I put the bag from the camp in the bathroom,” Rand said.