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Chapter Twenty-Three
About an hour after sunrise the following morning, Rafe casually walked down one of the streets off Vauxhall Bridge Road in London. People walked in both directions on the pavement, heading to work in one of the nearby local businesses. A few might even be taking the long way to work in Westminster or one of the other government buildings near the river.
Adjusting his tie, Rafe couldn’t wait to get out of the bloody suit he wore to blend in. How people put them on day after day, he had no idea. He’d rather take his chances in Afghanistan for five more years than suffer the confinement of a necktie five days a week for forty years.
When he turned a corner, Rafe’s target came into view and all thoughts of suits vanished. The newly reopened Department of Dragon Affairs headquarters was at the end of the street. A few people walked up the steps to the main entrance. If his intel was correct, two security guards would be just inside the entrance to check for weapons or explosives.
According to Evie, most of the DDA staff arrived around 8:00 a.m. to start work. It was almost ten to eight now.
He wasn’t worried about the early arrivals or the chance Tobias White had slipped inside already. As a precaution, Jane had been in the area since half past seven.
Rafe scanned the street without being obvious about it and spotted Jane wearing her blonde wig, tight skirt, and open-buttoned top. Even from across the street, Rafe could see more of his sister’s cleavage than he ever wanted to. He had a feeling Kai hadn’t approved of Jane’s kit for her undercover role, but Rafe might be able to use it to tease Jane in the future. Although, his sister might not see it as teasing since it would rile Kai up, but too bad.
Still, Tobias White went through women like most people went through socks; shove a pretty face in front of him, flirt a little, and the man would pursue her. Jane was acting as their bait.
The files on Tobias had been thin, but Arabella MacLeod had been able to round some up from places unknown on the internet. Rafe had a feeling Arabella was a pretty good hacker, but he wasn’t about to question it as long as she didn’t get caught. The files had arrived during the car ride down from Stonefire. Rafe and Jane had altered their plan slightly to better use Tobias’ weakness for women.
He only hoped it didn’t backfire as Rafe and Jane had decided against backup. The operation was
too important to risk a leak.
More than anything, he wished Nikki could be here and have his back.
Speaking of backs, his stung a little but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Just remembering Nikki making the marks as she moaned the day before brought a smile to his face. Her final words still echoed inside his mind: You’d better come back to me, Rafe Hartley, or I will find your arse and teach you a lesson.
When he finally spotted Jane again, she was sipping her coffee and strutting slowly down the pavement on the opposite side of the road, he pushed aside memories of Nikki. The mission needed his complete focus.
After a few minutes, Jane drew nearer to the DDA headquarters. When she picked up her pace, Rafe scanned for their target. A man with a similar build to the escaped hunter collided with Jane. Her coffee spilled everywhere. Pulling out a cloth handkerchief, she dabbed down his front and then close to the man’s crotch.
Yeah, it was definitely a good thing Kai was back on Stonefire.
He waited impatiently for Jane to switch on the bug and slip it into the man’s trouser pocket. The suitcase in Rafe’s hand would record the transmission, but it would be useless if Jane couldn’t get the listening device stashed somewhere that couldn’t be left behind in a closet.
When the transmitter in his ear picked up a signal, relief flooded his body. Jane’s voice in an American accent filled his ear. “Oh, I’m so, so sorry. I’m still trying to get used to the size of London and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. You really should let me pay to have it cleaned.”
A man replied in a London accent, “No worries, miss. London is a big city.” The bastard’s gaze was looking down Jane’s shirt. “But if you really want to make it up to me, you’ll let me take you out to dinner.”
So, it appeared Tobias aka Toby had put on a fake Yorkshire accent for his time with the rogue dragon hunters.
Jane placed a hand on White’s chest. “I do love your accent and wouldn’t mind hearing you talk for a few hours.”
Rafe doubted the man would want to talk, given the way Jane was caressing his chest.
For the first time in a while, he appreciated his sister’s skill at acting.
White’s voice turned husky. “Good. I can’t wait to see you in a tight little dress. I know the perfect place to go. Give me your number and I’ll text you.”
Rafe watched what he assumed was them exchanging phone numbers. Jane gave a coy smile and then parted ways.
Unfortunately, Rafe could still hear White as he murmured, “I can’t wait to undress that Yank and watch her tits bounce.”
Clenching his fingers, it took everything Rafe had not to go after White and punch him in the face. Only remembering what was at stake—his future with Nikki as well as that of Stonefire—allowed him to keep walking. He needed to rendezvous with Jane in twenty minutes. Maybe between now and then, he’d hear something that could incriminate Jonathan Christie. The sooner they got the likes of Tobias White off the street, the better.
~~~
Five hours later, Rafe was grateful he didn’t have a government job in an office.
Tobias White spent a lot of time typing on a computer, flirting with women, and attending meetings. About the only useful pieces of information Rafe had learned thus far was that the DDA had petitioned the Home Office to suspend issuing visitation passes to humans until the threat level could be better assessed.
