“You’re being extradited to Switzerland. An Interpol agent has arrived to take custody and transfer.”
A door swung open, revealing a small holding room and a man seated behind the table. Fletcher shot me a dirty look. “Bloody hell, Ethan. What are you doing?”
There was no response to give because I didn’t have a damn clue myself.
Paperwork was filled out, bagged evidence submitted to Fletcher, including my SIG, phone, and the ‘prescription eyedrops’ I always carried which contained enough tranquilizer to put down a horse.
Once we were seated in the Interpol agent’s car, he removed my handcuffs and handed everything back to me. “Just so you’re aware,” he said, “my orders are to drop you at this location.”
He flashed the screen of his phone, displaying the address of the Munich field office.
“I need to go to the hospital first.”
His head turned slowly toward me, his expression skeptical. “Are you ill?”
“My cover’s blown. By now, both the CIA and Vitale know Olivia’s still alive. The only thing left to do is turn her over to my handler and get her safe.”
The Brit put the car in gear and pulled out into traffic. “That’s a pity. I rather liked her.”
“Yeah,” I said, bitter. “Me, too.”
Much more than I cared to admit to him.
But this was the best option for her. She’d come too far and survived too much. I’d put her safety above my own personal desires. The man inside me always lost, and I needed to get over it. Get used to it.
When I called him, Daniel answered immediately. “How the hell did you allow yourself to get taken into custody?”
I ignored that. “What the fuck’s going on? Did we move on the Abramos or not?”
“The order’s dragging Stateside. You know how they can be at Center Ops.”
Holy fucking hell.The Abramos were still operating like normal. “You’re telling me nothing’s happened?”
“Oh, it’s going to happen, now that you’ve gone and fucked up their timetable. Imagine my surprise getting a call from the Abramos’ former pilot, when you told me Giovanni took out the entire flight crew.”
There were no other options but the truth. “I faked her death to get her out and put her with the Dunns to lay low.”
“Are you insane? Why the fuck did you do that?”
“Because . . . shit, I got involved.”
Fletcher threw a glance my way, but there wasn’t judgment in my friend’s eyes.
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” Daniel snapped, “and that I’m just hearing itnow.”
He paused, probably expecting an apology, but I wasn’t going to give him one. The Agency had never offered me one, not even with all the shit they’d put me through.
My handler sighed. “Your cover’s blown. It was the last thing we heard on the device in Vitale’s office before it stopped broadcasting. You should have laid low until the op was completely finished.”
“Oh, this is my fault?” Rage nearly slammed my fist into the dashboard. “You released me. It was supposed to be done! And if I hadn’t fucking been there, what about the Dunns? They’d be dead, Daniel. Fucking dead, all because the company decided todrag its goddamn feet!”
“Calm down.” His tone changed immediately to a reassuring one.
He must have sensed how close I was to the edge, andknew the last thing the Agency needed was for me to make an even bigger mess.
“We didn’t know about the kill order on the Dunns, but the company’s going to handle it. Be patient. Come in for a debrief, and we’ll get it sorted out.”
My swelling anger made it hard to see straight. I struggled to get a grip on my emotions and focus on what had to be done. “Fine,” I spat out. “But I’ve got a stop I need to make first.”
