Page 74 of The Team

“He could have me discharged?—”

“Like fuck he can,” Jay said, not exactly quietly. Everyone turned to Jay at his outburst, but Rhett could only smile. “You’re not in the PLA anymore. You’re not a Sea Dragon. You’re Milvus. You can love whoever you damn well want.”

“Unless Zihao does know,” Azrael whispered, “and he initiated your girlfriend’s kidnapping.”

“Zihao?” Rhett asked her.

She shrugged. “It makes sense. Keeps it quiet, saves his reputation and his position in Milvus.”

Rhett could see how that might make sense, but he didn’t buy it.

Chen shook his head. “No.”

Yin looked torn. “I don’t think so. Zihao is a good man. He would expose me and ruinmycareer, then claim the truth is the only thing our country upholds.”

Chen nodded his agreement, and Rhett sighed. “Yunho said Zihao was clean.” Then looked at Chen and Yin, not even remotely sorry. “I had to ask.”

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” Yin mumbled. He looked tired as hell but also relieved now, as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Okay, Yin, how much sleep have you had in the last four days?”

He dismissed Rhett’s question, but Chen answered for him. “He no sleep. Maybe two hours a night.”

Jesus.

Rhett shook his head. “Yin, you need to sleep before we land. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. Because when we’re in your country, we will need you at your best, okay?”

His eyes went wide and glanced to where Zihao and King had gone. “They will find information on Jun-mei. Where she is. Captain, I need to know. I must wait to hear, to know where they took her, how she is, if she is okay.”

Rhett softened. It was difficult to be a tough leader when one of his team was clearly hurting, and the truth was, Yin wouldn’t likely be able to sleep until he heard something. “As soon as we hear something. Then you sleep.”

King came back out, slow on his cane, perhaps to give the team a moment to pause their conversation.

Zihao was behind him, and he appeared mollified. Rhett had to wonder what King had said to him.

Or what information they’d found.

King gave Yin the briefest of smiles and Rhett had to hope that it wasn’t bad news.

Yet.

“We have some information,” King said. “David Ridgeworth, the man who followed Ouston and Lin last night, has been questioned and made a statement. He was under the impression his surveillance work, if we can call it that, was on the record. He claims Frankston ordered him to follow and report back. He has had no contact with Frankston since.”

“He was a decoy,” Jay said.

“We think so,” King said. “To keep you busy while he was leaving the country? To ensure you’d ditch the car, that you wouldn’t go back to your apartment? We don’t know. But we are having your place swept for bugs as we speak.”

Jay sighed. “Fucking hell. Everyone gets to listen to us fuck, but no one has sent me the audio yet? I’m so disappointed.”

Sid, Az, and Coyote chuckled. Echo snorted, Chen was kind of horrified, but Yin half-smiled. Rhett sighed. He ignored Jay, looked at King instead. “Please continue.”

“It also appears Frankston has been sending information to some friends of his,” King said.

“Who?”

“Whoever pays the most. He sent incorrect information to us; he withheld critical information relayed by Yixing pertinent to our mission in Tehran. We believe Yixing realised and went to Depraz. As soon as Gordian and Askarov were taken out of the equation, Frankston shut everything down and prepared to flee the country.”

“That fucking traitor,” Rhett seethed.