Lost and Found (Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #2)(120)

Levi nodded and took the gun back. “It’s okay. The safety was on, Rebecca. I wasn’t going to let him kill you, but I did want to see if he would try.”

Levi stepped back and in one easy motion lifted the gun and fired one shot into Huisman’s forehead.

A gasp went through the room as Huisman fell forward.

Becca rushed to Owen, avoiding Donnie’s big hands as she threw herself into his lap and wrapped her arms around him.

“It’s all right, love,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Rebecca,” Levi was saying. “But he was going to be a problem, and I don’t want anything to interrupt our work. This way the ties are neatly cut. Mo Chou didn’t want to lose her position with his father anyway. Sometimes side deals are far more important than the main deal. You have nothing at all to fear from me. Nothing has changed.” He glanced down at his watch. “Donnie, go and see what’s taking Mo Chou so damn long. We need to move out. Rebecca’s not going to give me any trouble.”

Donnie nodded and strode to the hallway, stepping over the body.

Becca was shaking, her mouth against his ear. “These chairs are surprisingly delicate. If you can break it, would your hands come free?”

Shit. She was likely terrified, but she wasn’t letting it hold her back. “You stay safe. You let me go, love.”

She took a deep breath and slid off his lap, standing in front of Levi Green. “I’ll do what you ask if you’ll take Owen with us. I don’t even understand why they want…” It seemed to hit her suddenly. “They want to experiment on him. They want to see if they can figure out what she did to erase his memory.”

“Yes, I believe that’s what they’ll try to do,” Levi replied evenly.

“But the only way they can do that is to study his brain,” she replied.

A single brow rose over Levi’s eyes. “Yes. Did I misjudge the situation? I thought once you figured out how he used you, you wouldn’t be so emotional about him. He set you up every bit as much as Huisman did and I don’t see you crying over him.”

He had in so many ways. He didn’t blame her if she saw it that way.

“I’ll go quietly and I’ll do all the work you want me to do if you let me keep Owen,” she offered.

Relief flooded his system because she didn’t hate him. There had to be something still between them if she was willing to fight to keep him alive. It wouldn’t work. She was going to get herself in trouble. How long would Donnie be gone? MSS would be here soon and she would be on her way to god only knew where.

She’d said the chair was delicate. If he could get his hands free…

He needed enough force to break the chair and then enough time to get on his feet or he’d be the one taking the bullet this time.

Donnie strode in, turning under the balcony. “We should move out now. I can’t find her, but there’s a strange car in the driveway. I didn’t get close enough to check it out, but I know it wasn’t here before.”

Levi frowned. “She’s got to be here. It’s a big house. It’s probably her contact.”

“Doesn’t feel right,” Donnie said.

Levi nodded, making his decision in seconds. “Then we move. I’ll take Rebecca out to the car. You prepare our friend for transfer. Looks like you get your wish, Doc.”

Oh, he was lying. Donnie’s shoulders had gone tight and he’d nodded, his face cold as ice. They couldn’t risk taking him along. He was trained. He was a variable Levi wouldn’t want to deal with.

But he would want Becca compliant, and that meant not killing him until they were out of earshot.

Of course, he could always create a little chaos and see where things fell. He didn’t have a thing to lose.

“You’ll bring him with us?” Becca asked.

“He’ll come along behind us. I’ll have my team pick him up,” Levi lied smoothly. “We’ll talk about it on the plane.”

She looked over at him and he could see the uncertainty there.

He gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “I love you, Becca. Stay safe.”

He would have said more but there was the crack of a gun going off and then blood bloomed across Donnie’s chest. It took him a second to realize what had happened.

A sniper. There was a sniper inside the house. On the balcony above them.

“Stand down, Levi. Send Dr. Walsh and Owen out right now or I take you out, too.”

That had not been the voice he’d expected to hear. For a mere second he’d thought somehow Ezra had found his way here. Or Dante and Sasha and Tucker. But they were radio silent for hours yet. Only two people knew they’d been taken.

That commanding voice had a crisp English accent and an unmistakably feminine tone.

Ariel was pissed.

Levi had Becca in his grasp, his gun lodged firmly in her side. “Dr. Adisa, I didn’t think you had it in you. And you would have taken the shot if you had it. I salute you. You’re willing to do what the boys aren’t. You play hardball, sister. How about we make a deal? I leave Owen for you and you let me head out of here with Rebecca?”

Levi had shrunk back against the wall. He’d moved them under the balcony where Ari would have no shot. Levi looked to the hallway under the balcony as though trying to decide if it was a path that wouldn’t get him killed.