Page 5 of Deadly Alliance

Suddenly all this seemed very real. A mixture of nerves and excitement flitted through her belly, this was it, her first real mission. They were trusting her to make a difference and she wouldn’t let them down, any of them.

* * *

A seaof faces looked up as her and Zack walked into the conference room. It looked like a convention for the deadly and sexy. Jesus, not a person in the room was ugly, far from it they were all gorgeous. The conference room was a large space even though it had a massively long table in the middle, and clusters of couches on the side with a coffee table in the middle. The drinks fridge was next to an elaborate coffee machine at the back behind Zack’s seat. Her eyes went to Lucy who gave her a reassuring smile, and it calmed her as a tiny woman with short red hair stepped forward.

“Zack, good to see you again.”

“You too, Bea,” he said as they shook hands.

The woman turned to her and the look she gave her was friendly, but Emme could see she was analysing everything. “You must be Emme, it’s nice to meet you. Lucy speaks very highly of you.”

A blush crossed Emme’s face as she tried to stifle a grin at the compliment. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too.”

Beatrice walked over to her team who were standing by the couches in the corner talking to Lucy, Jace, and Zin. Emme’s eyes went from Zin to the man who stood beside him and then back again. The need to rub her eyes overtook her. The other man and Zin could be doppelgangers. To say they looked alike was the understatement of the century. They could be twins, they even stood the same. A snort of laughter came from beside her and she saw a stunningly beautiful woman with a laptop under her arm laughing.

“They’re like the Olsen twins, right?” The woman grinned as she looked at them.

Emme shook her head and grinned back. “Yeah, it’s uncanny.”

“I don’t get it, we look nothing alike, and fuck that Olsen twins shit,” the other man said with a frown.

“Seriously, Lance, are you blind?” the woman asked.

“Can we cut the shit and get on with this?” demanded a tall man that had been standing at the back. His gaze cut through the room. He was around thirty-five, with short brown hair that curled over his collar and had a square cut jaw. His sexy blue eyes locked with hers and she felt as if he was looking for something as he studied her with an intensity that sent a shiver through her as she let him look. Whatever it was he was looking for, he didn’t find it and with a glare he dismissed her.

Anger burrowed under her skin. She knew that look, he thought she couldn’t do it, that because she smiled and liked people, she couldn’t be a warrior. That was okay, she was used to sexist jerks, had been brought up by one and it was not him she had to impress. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to see the douchebag again.

“Of course, let’s get introductions done and then we can discuss the plan,” Zack said as everyone followed him to the conference table and took a seat. Zack, as always, sat at the top and Beatrice took a seat to his left.

The door slammed open and Will came rushing in. “Sorry I’m late,” he said with a strawberry lace hanging out of his mouth. He sat in his usual seat and looked around the room. She liked the new, shorter hair style on him, and was that another new tattoo on his neck? The man was like a walking canvas, covered from legs to neck in tattoos.

“Well, if it isn’t the second-best hacker in the world,” he said with a sneer.

“Ha, you started writing your own routines, grunge boy?” the woman with the laptop asked.

Will glared and the man sitting beside her glared at Will before Will let out a loud laugh. “Good to see you, Dogberry,”

“You too, Boy Scout.” She smiled and Emme felt her head spinning at the about-turn.

“Right, let’s go around the room. Will Granger my computer expert. Lucy needs no introduction. Sly or Jace, as Lucy calls him is Ex-SAS and one of the best ghosts I know. Zin also needs no introduction, and lastly, we have Emme. She is one of our newest recruits and is already showing more promise than I’ve ever seen in a young operative. She has been training with Lucy and Daniel and we believe she is perfect for this job,” Zack finished.

Wow did they really think that? She looked at Lucy who nodded.

“On my side, we have Dee, who is our computer expert and now that we know they are acquainted, will work together on this with Will. Then we have Owen who is a former Navy SEAL, his brother Lance who was until recently a serving SEAL, and myself. Last, but not least, is Shane. He joined us a year ago and is also a former SEAL and lead strategist for his team.”

Everyone nodded and exchanged pleasantries, as she tried not to stare at the moody man sitting across from her. He might be an excellent strategist, but he was still a moody asshole.

“Brilliant. Now, Bea and I have discussed this privately but wanted to talk about it when we had you all together as a team. We believe the best way to catch this killer is a good old-fashioned undercover mission. I have put a full briefing together on everything we know about this case in the packets in front of you. I have spoken with Emme and I’m sure it has not escaped your notice that she fits the profile of the victims. This is not something I would normally do, but Bea has assured me that she will be undercover with one of her top people and if she says it, I believe her.”

Emme smiled over at Dee, wondering if she could pull off the whole lesbian thing, and then wondered if perhaps it was Lance she’d be working with as he seemed like a good guy.

“Yes I have, and Emme will have back-up twenty-four-seven from Shane who will be posing as her lover for this mission.”

Wait, what?Emme felt the smile freeze as she met Shane’s furious face, to find he was staring daggers at her. Well, at least they agreed on something.