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She watched him divert from the snacks to check an aisle with hardware and car parts. “You and me, you mean?”
“The human race.”
“Ah. Odds aren’t great, are they? Sometimes I wonder why we do all of this, try to save people.”
He lifted his head. “I had a dog named Henley. He was my best friend outside of my brother. I loved him almost as much.”
She smiled. “That’s why you picked that for your Rock Star code name.”
He nodded and went back to inventorying windshield wipers, towing hitches, and rubber floor mats. “The only pet I ever had.”
“You’ve never told me about your childhood.”
Her gaze felt like falling rain, seeping into all of his compartments. It made him twitchy, as though she might catch sight of his soul. He needed to shore up those damn leaks. “I figured since we were sharing stories about pets, you might like it.”
She walked over to him and kissed the side of his neck. “Thank you.”
The compartments sprang more leaks. “For what?”
“Trusting me with that.”
He faced her, swallowing down his fear. “I do trust you, you know. I don’t always show it, but I do.”
“Not sure you should. I blew this op big time.”
That wasn’t what he meant, but he hated the disappointment in her tone. “None of us had all the facts. There’s no way you could have guessed that Lydia was bait to draw Emit in. I suspect from what Beatrice seemed to be purposely leaving out, that there’s more to the story.”
She fingered a package of spark plugs. “Who’s behind all of it? And who did Beatrice and Emit turn the rescue over to? Homeland?”
If they’d risked their lives only to have Charmaine die and RING get away, he was going to need more than therapy. This mission couldn’t be for nothing. “Your guess on both fronts is as good as mine.”
She hated unsolved puzzles. “Can you imagine having a bomb strapped to your chest?”
He could, actually. “I was in the Royal Marines in India when I was captured by a group of radicals. They taped enough C4 to mine to blow up an entire building, and then demanded the U.K. release their leader, who was in a black site prison.”
She grabbed his arm. “That’s not in your file. My God, what happened?”
“They released him. Either way, I figured I was a dead man. Joke was on them, though. The fuckers’ detonator misfired.”
“They got their leader back and they still tried to blow you up?”
It was one of the only times in his life when he’d known for sure he was going to die. It had put certain things in perspective. “They wanted to make a statement.”
Wrapping her arms around him, she squeezed. “You weren’t meant to die. I needed you.”
“I didn’t think you believed in fate.” He patted her arm. “But yeah, I guess it wasn’t my time.”
“What group was it? I will personally hunt them down.”
Her vehemence made him chuckle. “Settle down, Rambo. Their leader was already dying from cancer. It’s probably the only reason the Prime Minister cut a deal for me. MI6 and SIS tracked down the whole organization and put it to them shortly afterward. It’s one of the reasons I joined the Queen’s Service.”
“I heard they recruited you.”
“Beatrice told you that much, eh?”
“One of the few facts she’s shared. We probably should call you double-O-something.”
The 00 agents, like the infamous fictional James Bond, were part of an elite squad granted permission to kill in the line of duty. They were also such a secretive group that Moe had trouble even now talking about his time with them. “Henley’s good.” He winked at her. “We don’t want to give Rory ammunition.”
