“Olivia is”—Eve dropped into a chair, crossed her arms over her stomach, and began rocking back and forth—“my sister. Oh God, they have her.”
Wood splintered, and the front door crashed in. Zane and Eve both gasped and jerked that direction. And looked straight into the barrel of a SIG.
“Son of a bitch, Archer,” the man in the doorway said. “You’re in so much fucking trouble right now.”
Every muscle in Eve’s body tensed, but she was still in too much shock over what she’d just remembered to react. The man dressed in black pants, combat boots, and a black T-shirt dropped his gun to his side and glared Zane’s way. He was taller than Zane, his arms and thighs as thick as tree trunks, and every inch of his demeanor screamed military. “Ryder’s ready to blacklist you, and the Feds just issued an APB for your sorry ass.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know, Miller.” Zane strode to the door and shoved it closed. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. You didn’t have to come in all Rambo-like. You could have fucking knocked.”
Surprise flicked over Miller’s rugged face, and he straightened. “I didn’t know what kind of scene I’d find.”
He wasn’t a threat. He knew Zane. Not that that helped Eve’s queasy stomach. Memories bombarded her. Ones she’d obviously blacked out after the explosion. The image of the purple butterfly on Olivia’s ankle in the window of that cell phone. The van across the street from the café. The smug look of victory in her contact’s eyes when he’d said, “Very nice doing business with you, Ms. Wolfe.”
The explosion.
Eve groaned on a wave of pain so intense it stole her breath. She dropped her head into her hands.
“Shit, Archer. What the hell did you do to her?”
“Nothing,” Zane muttered. “I didn’t do anything to her. Eve?” Panic filled his voice. A panic she didn’t need right now. “Eve? Tell me what’s going on.”
His hands slid against her arms, and he tried to lift her out of the chair, but the pain caused her to kick out and push against him. “They killed her. Oh God, she was in the van when it exploded, and they killed her.” Tears burned the backs of her eyes and turned to fury as they slid down her throat. “And I could have gone after them, but you fucking drugged me, you asshole, and I didn’t remember until just now!”
She flailed against him, but he held her tight. Tighter than he had yesterday. “Eve, stop. Stop, goddammit!”
Rage turned a blinding red behind her eyes. She wanted to hurt him the way she hurt. Wanted to make them all pay. The muscles in her arms and legs burned from fighting. She’d given up her life for this? No. No, no, no . . .
“They didn’t find a body in that van,” Miller said from somewhere beyond Zane.
Eve stilled and looked toward the newcomer through locks of stupid blonde hair that had fallen over her face. A scar ran down the left side of his face. One she hadn’t noticed before. “Wh-what did you say?”
Miller slid the gun into his shoulder holster. “There was nothing in that van except C4 and a homemade detonator.”
“Are—are you sure?” Hope bloomed in her chest, and her fingers, curled against Zane’s bare chest, relaxed and flattened.
“Pretty damn,” Miller said, leaning back against the arm of the sofa. “Ryder’s got a contact at the FBI who’s giving us updates.”
Confused, Eve turned wide eyes up toward Archer.
“Jake Ryder’s my boss at Aegis Security.”
“Or was,” Miller huffed, crossing his massive arms over his chest. “Until you fucking quit.”
When . . . ? How . . . ? A thousand different questions swirled in Eve’s mind. “You quit your job? Why?”
“We’ll get to that later.” He loosened his grip on her arms. “After you tell us what the hell’s going on and why you think they—whoever they are—have your sister.”
Eve could barely think, let alone breathe. But if her sister hadn’t been in that van, then it meant she might still be alive.
She turned to Miller. “Give me your phone.”
“What? No way.”
“Give me your phone,” she said louder. “I need to make sure Olivia’s okay.”
“Eve.” Zane placed a hand on her arm. “Think. They could be monitoring her lines. You call her from here and they could trace it back to this location.”
Eve’s chest vibrated. He was right. But . . . She looked up at him. “I need to know she’s okay.”
Zane glanced toward Miller. Eve’s gaze followed. Several seconds passed, and then Miller sighed and said, “You so fucking owe me, Archer. Not just for this, but for the hot piece of ass I left alone in my suite to come out here and find you. I’ll text Marley and have her look into it.” He glanced toward Eve. “What’s your sister’s full name and address?”
Eve swallowed hard. “Olivia Wolfe. She’s a . . . a teacher. In Boise, Idaho.”
Eve rattled off her sister’s address and waited while Miller typed into his phone. To Zane she whispered, “Who’s Marley?”
“Just the heart and soul of Aegis Security.” When she looked over, he added, “Ryder’s right hand. She monitors and runs all the ops. She’ll be able to locate your sister, don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry” were words Eve was used to telling others, not hearing for herself. Nerves vibrating, she waited with bated breath while Miller shoved his phone back in his pocket.
“Marley’s on it,” Miller said. “She’ll call or text when she has news. Now,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest, “why don’t you start talking, little lady? What’s your sister got to do with all of this?”
Eve looked from Miller to Zane, but when her eyes landed on Zane’s familiar hazel ones, her chest squeezed even tighter. She didn’t want to tell him the truth, especially after their argument earlier when he’d accused her of seducing him to get away, but she didn’t have any choice now, and maybe . . . maybe it would be better if she finally just told him everything.
She dropped into a side chair and pressed her fingers against her aching forehead. “I work for the counterintelligence division under Assistant Deputy Director Roberts. My job is to ferret out moles within the CIA so the government can build a case against them. Three years ago, I was sent to Beirut because someone in the Agency was working with a local munitions dealer funding terrorism throughout the Middle East. Someone on our side was trading secrets for money.”
When Archer didn’t say anything, Eve swallowed and lifted her eyes to his. Doubt lingered in his gaze. Doubt and distrust. And for the first time in forever, she wished she’d chosen any other profession than this one. Because he so wasn’t going to like what she had to say next.
“You and Carter weren’t the only team stationed in Beirut, Archer, but you were the only one CI was looking at. I was sent to Beirut to take you down.”
9
Zane had to have heard her wrong. “Say that again.”
Eve blew out a long breath and dropped her hands into her lap. “You heard me right. You’d been in Beirut for six months, and the shipments had picked up considerably in that time. My bureau chief was convinced your team was responsible. Carter checked out, but you didn’t. Several large deposits had been made to your accounts, and your supervisor was already concerned about your dedication to the team. Your record up until then had been flawless, but he’d sensed something was off with you on that op, and he was nervous.”
“I . . .” Zane remembered a discussion with his supervisor about his level of dedication, just before Eve had joined his team, but his lack of enthusiasm hadn’t been because he’d been looking for alternate opportunities. It had been because he’d finally realized the life of an undercover spy wasn’t what he’d expected. At least until he’d met her.