Page 143 of Her Defiant Warrior

Mateo uncrossed his arms and leaned forward in his chair. “Shit, Kostya. She’s such a straight arrow, I don’t think she would help us. Not if it means disclosing confidential information.”

Kostya leaned forward and rested his forearms on his desk. “If she’s everything you’re telling me, she’ll help us. There is no way this woman will be any kind of unwitting accomplice to an organization like the Kraken.”

“I agree with you. I just think she’ll go to the FBI. Especially after she figures out that I’ve lied to her.”

“Then it’s your job to see that she doesn’t.”

Fuck!

“Now tell me how you blew it.”

“We were on a friendly date. Everything was going well. I was in her apartment at the end of the date, and I was going to kiss her, when I remembered how Iris, Lachlan, Amber, and the rest of those kids could have been killed. I couldn’t get away from her fast enough.” Mateo shook his head. “Kostya, she looked at me like I had two heads. First, I was all into her, then I was heading for the door. I doubt she’ll take my next call.”

“What kind of excuse did you use to leave?”

Mateo sighed. “I told her I had to get a presentation written and ready to deliver first thing Monday morning. I could tell she didn’t believe me. Hell, I told my mom better lies when I was five.”

“How did you leave things?” Kostya asked. He didn’t sound mad or disgusted, just curious.

“I told her I would call her on Wednesday. I explained that I would have to gather everybody’s feedback then update the presentation, so I’d be busy until then.”

Kostya shook his head. “You really are a shit liar. We should have sent Ryker, except Amy would have had my balls for breakfast. You’re going to have to grovel.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Huh, so you’re probably not going to see her until this weekend,” Kostya said as he scratched his whiskered jaw.

“That’s only if I can do a good job groveling.”

“Call Lark. She’ll have good ideas. She’ll tell you which of my groveling attempts has been most effective.”

Mateo barked out a laugh. “Should I call Jada too?”

“Fuck, like Gideon has ever made a mistake.”

“Good point.”

“But you can help me out. I’ve got to keep as many of the team running around here as possible. Commander Nash is sharp. He notices things. However, you have a reason to not be around, and we need someone to track down a lead we have on somebody Ely Roberts was tight with when he grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. Lark wants to go, but Mateo, I just don’t have it in me to let her go again. I want to send Lark to the same island where her mother has taken Romy, but she’d have my balls for breakfast if I sent her away. So right now, when I’m not home, Gideon and Jada are over at my house with her, along with Lucy. That I feel comfortable with.”

“Makes sense to me,” Mateo nodded. “So, who’s the target?”

Kostya pushed a slim file over to him. “His name is Pepper Higgins. Here’s the basics. I’ll have Gideon or Jada send the rest in an encrypted file.”

Mateo opened up the file and glanced over it.

“Shit, Kostya, this guy seems like kind of a loser. I’m not sure the Kraken would want him. The minute his parents named him Pepper, he was bound to be a little psycho. He was kicked off the police force and hell, he was even fired as a mall cop.”

“He and Ely both did time in juvie for trying to steal a car. According to Jada, they stayed in touch, even after Ely joined the Kraken.”

“Not only was he not at the caliber of lieutenant level of the Kraken, I don’t think they would let him polish his shoes.” Mateo shook his head in disgust.

“That’s for damn sure.” Kostya chuckled. “Hell, it sounded like his own son Ivan could run circles around everybody, unless he really was injured, which I bet my bottom dollar he wasn’t. I have no idea why Frank Sykes didn’t make him one of his lieutenants.”

Mateo looked up at his boss with a half grin. “You’re an exception, Kostya. A lot of men don’t want to promote people who could be their competition. They’re too insecure. Meanwhile, you just want to build the best team possible.”

“Shit yeah. I’ve met fools like you’re describing, and Captain Hale never puts up with them long. That’s why I have hope for this new commander, Theo Nash. But still, he’s coming from Strategic Command, not Spec Ops, and it has me a little worried.”

Mateo nodded. He and the rest of the team had talked about this at length, but this was the first time he’d ever heard Kostya talk about his concerns. Strategic Command was known for being a little more prissy, whereas Spec Ops knew what it was like to be in the field making split second, life-and-death decisions.