“With your brother Conrad.”She had a strong grip, held his gaze without flinching.
“So you’re the hacker that saved us on the high seas?”
“Glad you weren’t shark bait.”She hitched up the satchel and glanced at Luis.“Excuse me.”
Declan and Logan went with her, which left Stein standing beside Shep.
“You hungry?”Shep asked.
“What do you have in mind?”
He nodded toward the others.“We’ll need a debrief, and then my guess is that they’ll all huddle up in the bunker.Can I introduce you to a pig’s knuckle?”
“A what?”
Shep clapped him on the shoulder, smiled, and directed him to one of the SUVs.Steinbeck turned at the open door, searching for Phoenix.
In the middle of a conversation with London, she glanced at him and smiled.
Warmth exploded in his chest, a crazy wash of longing and desire.He stupidly lifted his hand to her.
She nodded and turned back to London.
He got in the car, Shep at the wheel.They pulled out of the airport onto a road toward town.
And just like that, it was over.He was dismissed.
No longer needed.
Stein leaned his head back against the seat, closed his eyes.
“Declan said you were his bodyguard for a while?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“And Thorne mentioned a stint with the SEALs.”
He looked over at Shep.“Yep.You?”
“I’m on an SAR team in Alaska.But I was a medic with the Tenth Mountain Division before that.”
“And now?”
“Today I’m here for London.”
“Phoenix also calls her Mystique.”
They drove through the countryside outside Luciella, along the road that traced the river.The grand palace seemed even more ominous as they drew closer.
“Yeah, that’s her Swan name.She took over leadership after her handler was...injured.”His mouth tightened around the corners.
“Injured?”
“Taken by the Bratva.Interrogated.”He shook his head.“She disappeared from the hospital in Luciella and we haven’t heard from her since.”
“You think they took her?”
“No,” he said, and glanced at Stein.“I think she’s in the wind.And the only person who might know—a guy named Roy?—”
