Page 35 of Every Last Breath

He stared at her, letting the question dangle, like the blade of a pendulum over her throat. She dreaded him leaving again worse than dying.

The NOC—nonofficial cover—cell phone rang again. She wanted to smash it.

“You better answer that.” He turned and grabbed his backpack.

The tattoo was still on his back. Her ink. Unaltered. A dazzling serpent swallowing its tail etched on the length of his spine in a double ouroboros infinity loop. Her birthdate, the Chinese zodiac year of the snake, hidden in the stunning mosaic of the colorful body.

Till I Die inked across his traps.

The punch of seeing it might as well have been a fist to the solar plexus, leaving her breathless.

She cleared her throat and answered the phone. “Yes.”

“Can you speak?” asked a tinny female voice.

“Is this Harper?”

“Yes. You need to know what’s happened. Blackburn and Callahan are both dead.”

Two of the biggest players in arms trafficking, two of five invited to bid at the auction. “What? How?”

Cole threw on a fresh tee from his bag, coming toward her.

“Blackburn took a bullet to the head yesterday in London,” Harper said. “Callahan went up in a car bomb in Philadelphia last night.”

Maddox stared at Cole’s injured shoulder. “Someone went after Ilya Reznikov this morning, but he’s alive.”

Cole stood close, shy of contact. Heat suffused her face and slithered down her chest, forcing her to look away from him.

“Did you get the passcode?” Harper asked.

Maddox picked up the envelope. The weight of the paper was heavy, pricey. She opened it and took out a thick card, gilded in gold.

“Fuck.” The word left her mouth in a whisper. She looked up at Cole, who wore an I told you so expression.

“What is it?” Harper asked.

“It’s not a passcode. They’re coordinates. 39°13’23.8’ N, 76°29’22.6’ W. The invitation says black tie, no weapons or a penalty will be issued. Free to bring a guest for your comfort. And the auction has been pushed up. To tonight. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up.

“We’ll be there.” He snatched the invitation and slipped it into his jacket pocket. “Wherever you’re going on this, I’m going.”

“You’ve already done more than enough.”

She couldn’t ask him to risk his life further. He’d almost been killed this morning. Endangering herself was part of her job, but this wasn’t his problem.

“I’m happy to see you’re done using me and ready to toss me aside so quickly, but since this auction is taking place in person, you’ll need a Reznikov with you.”

He was right about the latter part, but the pigheaded gleam in his eye warned her not to debate the former.

For now.

Chapter 11

Northern Virginia

8:48 a.m. EDT

Cole followed Maddox on his Ninja.