Left For Dead (The Guarded Secrets Series Book 3) (10 page)

I made it to the top, and extended my legs across the hall to hold me up while extending my arms. I was flush between both walls as the unsuspecting guard passed beneath me. If he had looked up he would have seen the panic in my eyes, the fear of him discovering me, and the slight hope he wouldn’t. He passed by and went down the stairs without bothering to look at the camera.

I must have mistimed the guards.

I let out a sigh of relief before the realization came to me that soon someone else would come up to look at the camera. I had to move. I slowly lowered my feet, feeling the pain in my core as I held myself in the air before pulling the gloves off the wall and lightly falling to the ground. I didn’t waste a second as I raced up the stairs. Katya said there wasn’t a camera here, but there were listening devices. I’d have to be careful how much noise I made. Thankfully that wasn’t an issue for me, but I’d have watch my mouth to keep from revealing my presence in case someone was listening.

I walked down the hall to Natasha’s door and waited. I could hear light footsteps and a gentle voice talking on the other side. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t another person in there. Thankfully, Volodya believed that if anyone came in they would be seen on the first two floors, so I didn’t have to worry about wasting a little time here. I took Katya’s note from my pocket and before I could think through my action, I knocked and slipped the note under her door.

I repeated the motion I had done with the guard and pushed my body between the separating walls. I barely managed to make it, but I held it as a blonde girl opened the door and looked down the hall to see who was there. She shrugged before glancing down to see the note. I watched in silence as she picked it up and began to read it. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a small smile curving onto her features. She once again glanced down the hallway, this time with excitement, as if looking for someone she wanted to see. When she found no one, she clutched the note to her chest and shut the door as she reentered her room.

A smile of my own curved onto my lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here and back to your sister in no time,” I promised, mostly to myself since Natasha couldn’t hear me. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

Chapter 17

“How did she look?” Katya questioned the second I stepped through the door. “Is she safe and well?” 

I suppressed a groan and the overwhelming urge to ask why she didn’t care about my safety. I risked my life to pass a note to Natasha instead of just bringing her back, and then walked all the way back. Well, most of the way. I had run into a familiar face about halfway from Gorod to the hideout, an agent from CIRA who went by the code name Seeker. I hadn’t seen him since we got the mission for Volodya, he had left with Demon and I originally and was meant to stay behind until the mission was over.

“Would you like a ride, my lady?” a voice had called to me through the blistering wind. If I hadn’t known him, and known he wouldn’t have hurt me, I would have taken my chances in the cold. If I had learned anything in this job, it was that people were rarely nice unless it somehow benefitted them.

“No thanks,” I said as I turned to see who was behind the wheel. I was shocked to see Seeker. His hair needed to be cut, it was falling into his eyes, making him seem about four years younger, possibly a college guy trying to pick up a girl. The way his green eyes sparkled with enjoyment, or maybe it was his usual playful manner, screamed charisma and trouble all at once.

“Are you sure?” he questioned with a lopsided smile. “I had a friend call in that you may want a ride and I’d be happy to give such a pretty girl a ride back to town.” He winked, enjoying himself as he joked around with me.

I smiled back at him as a gust of cold wind ripped through the layers I had on. I didn’t need any more convincing. “You know what? I would love a ride.” I got in his car, relieved to find the heater going. I let my chills slowly subside as my body relaxed in the warmth of the vehicle.

“Glad to see you again, Night Stripe,” Seeker stated after the door was shut. “I was hoping Sharp Shooter wouldn’t waste a lot of time after you got out of here. I just didn’t know he’d be sending you back.”

“I volunteered to come back.”

“That’s dangerous,” he said, not with ridicule or to mock me, but with understanding. “You left an impression on Nikolai. He’s been asking for you around town, which thankfully has made my job a little easier. He’s very willing to discuss you, and that’s allowed me an in with him. I’ve gathered information and sent it back to Sharp Shooter. I know where they’re going, who they’re planning to target, and how they’ll do it. This should wrap up with a bow right at the top.”

I let out a laugh as I connected the dots. “Oh, so you’re picking me up in hopes someone sees us together and Nikolai comes looking for you for information.

Seeker smiled, letting the small dimple on his cheek to show. “Well, that’s a bonus,” he said honestly, letting out a short laugh that eased the remaining tension I had left over from invading Katya’s home. “But I was serious when I said a friend asked me to pick you up. I wasn’t going to say no, anyone walking around out here is dumb.”

I ignored the playful quip he had given me. “What friend sent you? Was it Spit Fire?”

“No, I haven’t heard from her,” Seeker said, letting his voice drop slightly. If I hadn’t known that he trained her when she first entered the agency, I would have assumed there was something more from the concern in his voice. “She’s keeping her updates sporadic in case someone figures out what she’s doing. I’m keeping track of her as best as I can, but I’m sure she’s doing just fine.”

“Then who sent you?” I asked curiously. “Did Demon send you to watch after me? I told him I could handle myself just fine.”

Once again Seeker let out a laugh. “I have no doubt that you can and will handle yourself perfectly, Night Stripe. I have faith in whoever Sharp Shooter sends to complete a mission with me. If he didn’t trust you he wouldn’t have chosen you to come in the first place. I learned a long time ago to trust his judgment, even when I didn’t agree with it.” His words sank into me. I rarely agreed with Sharp Shooter, but Seeker was right. Sharp Shooter knew what to do, and I trusted him no matter what. He had earned that respect from everyone in the agency, not only for his service, but his choices. “But to answer your question, Renegade sent me.”

Bile raised in my throat at the same time anger took over my body. “Did he think I needed
help
again? Should I be thankful that you didn’t show up until later?”

Seeker took a calming breath, sensing my anger, before placing his hand lightly on my knee. He took another breath, and I took one with him, as I had done with Rum so many times before. The anger subsided, and allowed the car to return to a more neutral state.

“Before you get angry again,” Seeker stated tentatively, “Renegade has full belief in your abilities. He said nothing about you being unable to handle yourself. He worried you’d freeze in the cold because you’re so stubborn. I was in the area anyway, so I thought I would at least make sure you didn’t end up with frostbite.”

I let out an uneasy laugh and tried to relax as we neared the hideout. Seeker pulled up a few feet away. I thanked him for the ride and got out, but before I could shut the door, he spoke again.

“Don’t be so hard on Renegade. He did what he thought was right, and while he made mistakes, who hasn’t? I can recall a few you made, which included sending a cartel member straight back to your team. Demon and Whip Lash weren’t pleased with it, but forgave you. Learn from them. Forgiving is hard, but I’m not asking you to forget it happened. Just learn from it and forgive him. I know if he had a chance he wouldn’t do it again.” Seeker smiled at me, leaning over to take the door from me. “You mean a lot to him. Stop chewing him out and stop beating yourself up. You’ll do just fine. I have a feeling about it.” He shut the door, making sure he had the last word before he drove off.

The conversation still weighed heavily on my mind as Katya tried to talk to me. I was having a hard time focusing on her, trying to figure out if Seeker said those things truthfully or because Renegade asked him to.

“Night Stripe,” Katya called in desperation. “How is she? Is something wrong?” Her voice cracked, the emotion riding high through her words and body language. She had taken my lack of response as bad news.

The pang of guilt allowed me to focus on Katya. It was better than on a conversation I couldn’t question Renegade about until later. “She looked fine. She seemed excited when she read the note. What did you tell her?”

Katya offered a shy smile, glancing over her shoulder to see if Demon was listening. He seemed to be distracted as he got up from the sofa and rushed to answer the phone Sharp Shooter had given us. That didn’t seem like good news. Once Demon was gone, Katya spoke up. “Natasha and I haven’t always gotten along. We are eight years apart, going through different points in our lives, but we make it work. We may not spend a lot of time together, but we would do anything to protect each other. That’s why I had to come with you. I had to be here for her so she would know that I hadn’t left her behind. So when she was younger we had a phrase with our mother, it’s lost a little in translation—‘Maybe and somehow won’t make any good.’”

“And what’s that mean?” I questioned.

“Draw not your bow till your arrow is fixed,” Katya stated, a proud smile beaming on her lips. It slowly faded once she realized it hadn’t helped explain her saying. “Saying maybe something will work out, or somehow it will become better won’t do you any good.”

“But if it becomes ‘this will work’ then the arrow is fixed and you’ll shoot perfectly?” I guessed.

“You’ve got it,” Katya stated. “Natasha will know what it means. She understands while she’s questioning what’s going on around her, with Mother and I gone, she needs to make a choice and my letter will convince her of the right one. Like I said, we may not have gotten along, but when it comes down to it, we stand by each other.”

I couldn’t fight the smile that curved onto my lips. “It reminds me of my family—both of them actually.”

“You have two?” Katya asked, confusion etched in her features and lacing though her words.

“My family died a few years ago. I was adopted by the man who saved my life, and I was close with their oldest son. I missed them greatly when I joined CIRA, but Renegade made it possible for me to see them again. He asked if he could take me to see them, and since then I’ve been able to visit with them sporadically. It’s not perfect, but it’s something.” The whimsical tone in my voice surprised me, but as I glanced at Katya I knew she had latched onto something else.

The coy smile playing at the edges of her lips, the gleam in her eyes. I knew she was thinking about what Renegade had done for me. She had tried to fix our problems before, and then told me he had feelings for me on the plane. I wasn’t in the mood to have this discussion with her, not so soon after Seeker had said the same thing. Was it that obvious that Renegade had feelings for me to everyone but me?

“But anyway,” I said, moving the topic back on track. “I promise to protect Natasha as if she were my sister, real family or adopted. She will be safe, I’ll make sure of it.”

Katya bowed her head as a thank you. “I hope we can do this easily. I don’t want any more problems for you than I have already caused. I know you didn’t want to bring me, but I’m glad you did. I can’t wait to see Natasha.”

“I’m glad we brought you too,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t have been able to make it through that house blind without you.”

A moment passed between us, one I hadn’t been expecting. One of understanding, acceptance, and most importantly, trust. She knew I would give my life for her and her sister, as I knew that she had done this for her family. We weren’t different; we just needed to gain an understanding.

“We need a back-up plan,” Demon said as he stepped back into the room. His footsteps were heavy with anger and fear.

A chill raced up my spine. Something was wrong. 

“What happened?” I asked, meeting him at the table as he laid down the phone forcefully on the table. As I looked over it I felt a familiar pang of uneasiness. Something was
very
wrong. “I have a bad feeling,” I announced, turning to see Demon looking at me intently. He had the same one. 

“Tell me about it.”

“I can’t describe it, but you’re right. We need a plan in case they change location.” I pulled out the maps of the compound and house from under the table and laid them out before heading to my coat, which I had left by the door on my reentry to the hideout. I produced the handwritten notes and more detailed maps I had taken from Seeker’s car when he wasn’t looking. I hope he didn’t need them any time soon.

Where did you get these?” Demon questioned as I laid them out before him. He picked them up one by one to inspect them, as if I had forged them. His features tightened, letting the confusion take over his face before his tone turned accusatory. “Did you steal these?”

“Does it really matter?” I asked, already knowing what the answer was.

“No,” he stated reluctantly. “I’ve learned to just trust you so I don’t get in the way. I don’t want to be on the wrong end of your blade again.”

I scoffed in disbelief. This was hardly the time to talk about this. “I stabbed you once, and it was by accident. Can you get over it already?”

“Yeah, when the scar disappears.” He looked at me with a glare. “So never. Just this time, let’s work together and make sure no one gets hurt.”

“Then don’t sneak up behind me again and you won’t be greeted with a knife to your thigh. It’s not my fault you went against the plan.” At least he learned his lesson. He’d never sneak up on me again, and I wouldn’t have to perform first aid in the field. A little trust goes a long way in this business, but so does the blade of a knife.