Page 10

Gage gave a low whistle. “That’s a lot of money. You think he’s retaliating?” He got up, lifted the edge of one blind, but the casual motion couldn’t hide the tension in his shoulders.

“Maybe.” Kat pressed fingertips into her temples, but her headache remained. “It’s the only logical link. But I need proof. And if this is him, I need to know how deep it goes.”

Gage turned back to her. “You can’t do this alone, Kat. Every intelligence agency in the UK will be looking for you by now.”

She sagged, suddenly exhausted. “I know. That’s why I need your help. And...” She hesitated.Leonid.Gage had always been over-protective. She really couldn’t deal with his reaction right now.

“And what?” Gage prompted.

“Nothing.” Kat rubbed the abraded skin on her wrists. “I just need a few hours of sleep before I figure out my next move.”

Gage studied her for a long moment, then nodded. “Guest room’s made up. Same as always.”

She pushed herself to her feet, swaying as exhaustion swept through her.

“Kit-Kat.” His voice stopped her at the doorway. “Whatever you’re not telling me…”

Something in his tone made her turn back. Kitchen light carved half his face in shadow, a reminder of how her brother lived his life. Half in the light, half in the dark.

“I need to sleep, Gage. I can’t think straight.”

“Sure.” His clipped nod released her, and she made her way to the guest room. She lay down fully clothed, only pulling off her shoes, too tired to undress.

The pillow was soft beneath her cheek, the same guest room she’d slept in countless times before. Same pale blue walls, same watercolor of the Thames that Gage had found at some market. A sanctuary that had always felt safe.

Until now.

Early morning light sliced through a gap in the blind as her mind raced despite exhaustion. Eldridge leading the raid. Planted documents. Someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to frame her and made it personal.

She closed her aching eyes as Gillian’s words looped in her head. Love or the job.

Her mentor had been right about so many things. But by contacting Leonid, she had just done the exact opposite.

She’d contacted him before thinking, reaching for him in crisis after years of distance.

The weight of that choice pressed down. Would he even respond?

Later would bring more questions than answers, but she had to start somewhere.

She just hoped involving Leonid wasn’t the most dangerous mistake of her life.

5

Leo allowedthe rental’s engine to idle as he studied the Georgian terrace faced in honey-colored brick, each course still darkened by night rain. Barely any sleep and a straight hop from Oslo throbbed behind his eyes, but adrenaline held him steady.

Her desperate message—They’re coming for me—had carved itself into his mind during the flight, playing on an endless loop.

Kat lived here.

Outside sat a black saloon and two identical SUVs—fresh KY25 plates in sequence, twin aerials, and too-dark windscreen glass that reflected the cloudy sky.MI6 pool cars, or someone borrowing the look.

What the hell was MI6 doing on her doorstep?

The question drew heat between his shoulder blades. If they had come for Kat, he needed to know why—now.

The sense of wrongness thickened as he cut the engine and crossed the road at an easy clip, boots crunching on gravel. No curtains twitched, no early morning radio leaked through neighboring windows. Good. He breathed in the cold, rain-clean air, letting it settle his pulse.

Low, professional voices drifted from the hall and cut off the moment his knuckles met the frame.