“Very much so. Pru ismoy dykhanie, my breath. But she got injured because of me, because of the Bratva. I’m not sure she’ll ever be able to forgive me.”
“Have you talked to her?” All eyes went to Jade.
“No.”
“Then you’re an idiot.”
Henley may have insulted the leader of the Bratva for the second time in as many minutes; however she wasn’t wrong. The only way Zak stood a chance of winning his lady was if he learned how to communicate. Being the strong, silent type only got you so far.
“Pru is having a hard time dealing with her injuries. She said being around me reminds her of what she lost.”
I looked to the heavens and prayed I wouldn’t end up swimming with the fishes for what I was about to say. “Forgive me, Zak, but Henley’s right. You’re an idiot. She’s in pain, physically and emotionally. Talk to her, feel her out. You’ll be able to tell if she’s pushing you away because she’s not interested or if it’s something else all together.”
“Fuck. I’ve been going about this all the wrong way.”
Then I added, “You should probably do something about that when you get home.”
13NEUTRALIZE
Duncan
He was late. Only ten minutes, but still. What if he figured out we’d set a trap and fled the country. If he did, we were shit out of luck. It wasn’t like we could hop a plane and drag his ass back to stand trial. There was a hefty amount of paperwork, plus a formal request had to be submitted in order to extradite an Irish national to the United States.
“Heads up, people. The party is about to get started. A silver Pathfinder just turned into the driveway.” Koen’s voice rang clearly through the small communications device I had in my ear. He was perched high up in a tree in an old hunting blind with his trusty sniper rifle. From where he was, he had a clear view into the living room where I stood. “One occupant. Male. Weasly-looking fucker with red hair.”
“Niall,” I spat. “Everyone is in position?”
“I’ve got the north,” Lanie responded.
“I’m on the east.” That was Keaton.
“West is covered,” Noah chimed in.
“The south is in my scope,” came from Koen.
Waverly was the last to check in. “And I’m in the master.”
She was the only one in the cabin with me. The rest were close and had a clear view inside. Initially, she and Keaton were both going to be inside, however it made more sense to have an agent in every direction. To minimize chaos, Koen would be calling all of the movements since he was the eyes in the sky.
“He’s out of the vehicle. Fifty feet from the door.”
This was it, the only opportunity we’d have to get a confession. Maybe the only chance we’d have to get answers to any lingering questions we had. I’d have to play my cards right though. Otherwise, he’d know we were on to him and the jig would be up.
“Showtime, Duncan.”
Two seconds later, there was a knock at the door. Right before I answered it, Waverly’s voice filled my ear. She was using her take-no-shit tone, so I paid attention.
“Keep your cool. Let him do most of the talking. He’ll dig his own hole. And for fuck’s sake, don’t be a hero. Use the code word if your spidey senses start tingling.”
“Copy that,” I whispered.
Flinging the door open, every instinct I had screamed at me to punch the lying cocksucker in the face. What I did not do was listen to them. Instead, I blanketed my expressions with cold indifference. It was more on point with the agent he knew nine years ago. Or it had been until I met Sloane.
“Good to see you again, Duncan.”
“You too, Niall. Come on in.”
I moved out of the way, letting him walk past. He wandered around, most likely looking for cameras orlistening devices. There were two of each, but he wouldn’t find either. Funny thing was, the first was the webcam and microphone on my laptop, which was sitting wide open on the small kitchen table. Sometimes the best hiding spot was the one in plain sight.