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The ride across town took longer than twenty minutes, but not by much. I figured Emerson would still be there. I was a little concerned about the fact that he was meeting someone, but there was no way I could wait outside until he was done. I had no way of knowing where he would exit, and I couldn’t chance missing him. If I had to crash the party, then so be it.
The address turned out to be an old car manufacturing factory. It seemed abandoned, but there was no way to tell for sure. There were several signs warning against trespassing, but the building itself still seemed in decent shape. I surveyed the area around it, looking for any signs of Emerson.
“So, what’s the plan now?”
I shrugged, rubbing my hands to keep them warm.Never thought I would want a coat so much in all my life.“We go in. Follow my lead and don’t say anything unless you absolutely must.”
“Julia.” He caught my hand and I turned to face him. He hesitated before giving my hand a squeeze. “Be careful. I know you think this Emerson guy will help you out, but there’s no way to be sure. I know we are stuck in this situation and don’t have a choice, but don’t do anything rash.”
Part of me warmed at his concern, but the part of me I showed to the world—the Agent Carter part—wasn’t going to be cowed by danger. I forced myself to smile and nod resolutely. No weakness allowed. “We’ll be okay. I won’t do anything stupid. Emerson will help us.”
I didn’t know that for sure. There was no way to know. Sure, we had managed not to kill each other before, but that was because we were trying to find Kit. We had argued and fought like cats and dogs, but no blood had been shed. Not that we hadn’t both threatened to do just that. I had told him next time I saw him I would arrest him. He had said next time he saw me he would shoot me. At the time, I think we had both been half-serious, but I’d had the opportunity to turn his location over to other IPF agents and I hadn’t done it. It wouldn’t have been hard for me to track him down if I had put my mind to it. But I just hadn’t wanted to.
Not everyone on the wrong side of the law was a bad person, just like not everyone on the right side of the law deserved its protection. That was just how the universe was. I had been on both sides before. Not everything was black and white. I hoped Emerson would see it that way.
But there was no guarantee, and it was quite possible I was walking Ethan to his death. I swallowed and glanced at the building behind me. “You could still leave if you wanted to. I don’t know what will happen once we go in there. I won’t ask you to come with me. You could easily buy safe passage out of here or contact your boss to get someone to fix your ship. I can manage on my own.”
Ethan pulled me towards him and wrapped his arms around me. It surprised me and I froze. I wasn’t sure what to do. He hugged me for a short moment before leaning back, resting his hands on my shoulders. His breath puffed out, and he sniffed against the cold. “I don’t want to leave, Jules. I can handle a little danger. It’s not time for us to part ways yet. This is where I’m supposed to be.”
How he could know that with such certainty was beyond me, but I knew he believed it. His face was serious and he kissed my cheek. “Don’t worry about me.”
Ethan seemed far more comfortable expressing himself physically than I was. It was the second time he had kissed my cheek. Maybe it was, in part, a Novem thing to be more physical in interacting with others, but I barely knew him. I wasn’t bothered by the kiss, necessarily, but it made me feel out of my element. Of course, I felt close to him because of what we had been through together, and yes, I thought he was attractive. Under normal circumstances, I might have wanted to get to know him better and go on a date, but these weren’t normal circumstances. I didn’t know how to react to him.
Pushing my uncertainties out of my mind, I nodded at him. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at him. “Thank you. For everything.”
“Anything I can do to help.” Ethan almost shrugged, his shoulders lifting up less than half an inch before dropping. “The universe brought us together. I’m not turning my back on you.”
My chest warmed to the point my face reddened as well. I cleared my throat and pushed the uncomfortable feeling away. “Okay then. Let’s go find Emerson.”
CHAPTER NINE
Julia
Looking around, I noticed a cut-out section of the fence surrounding the factory. I took Ethan’s hand and led him over to the hole. He pulled the wire away and I quickly ducked through it and proceeded to hold the fence for him while he slipped through. The building itself was several levels tall and made from brick. Based on the decrepit exterior, it had been around for a while. There were a couple of doors on this side of the building, but the first two we tried were locked. The one at the very end finally opened, and I peered into the darkness inside. It looked like an empty hallway.
Ethan and I exchanged glances before stepping inside. He kept right behind me, quiet and watchful. The hallway was dim and stretched out on both sides. I didn’t know which way to go, so I picked a direction at random and started walking. I pulled the gun from the small of my back and kept it ready by my side. I had no idea who Emerson was meeting, and I had no idea if they were going to be friendly or not.
I started opening doors and peeking inside, trying to get some bearings. Most seemed to be storage rooms or offices. One looked to be a break room. All of them were empty.
The hallway made a curve up ahead, and I checked it carefully before stepping around it. This hall also appeared empty. More doors revealed more empty rooms. I was starting to feel like the bartender had given us the wrong address after all. It would have made sense if he just wanted us to just leave, but I didn’t think that was the case.
A gun cocked behind us, and I froze.
“Weapons on the ground.”
Slowly, I turned around. There were three men, all pointing weapons at us. There was no other option but to comply, so I carefully set the gun on the ground and kicked it towards them. I didn’t recognize any of them from my time on theHawkwith Emerson. They looked like goons and not like Emerson’s men. I tried to draw up some patience. Ethan and I exchanged looks, but there was nothing we could do.
They patted us down thoroughly, taking all my weapons and what I guessed were all of Ethan’s weapons as well. The good news was they never bothered to check inside my shoes, so my badge remained hidden. That was something at least.
The one who appeared in charge stepped forward, waving his gun in our faces. “What are you doing here?”
I took a steadying breath before speaking, trying to come off as nonchalant and in control as possible. “We’re here for the meeting. Duh. We’re a little late.”
He frowned, as though puzzled by my words. I lifted an eyebrow and then rolled my eyes in an exaggerated manner, scoffing in the process. “What, no one told you? Of course not. The bosses never tell their people anything. Take me to your boss and Emerson.” I put as much command in my voice as possible.
