Page 14 of Renegade (The Santini Assassins #2)

Teddy stopped doing CPR on Cal, closed his eyes, and rose. Greystone glanced around at the bloodied kitchen and lifeless bodies before confirming the agent wanted them gone.

“Go,” she insisted. “ Now .”

He and Teddy strode out, cleared the back of the property. No one was lurking in the bushes, so they took off toward the SUV parked at the corner. The living room light of the house next door was on, and some of the neighbors were peering through their front windows.

“Faster,” Greystone said.

Keeping their heads down, they ran back to the car. Seconds later, they were driving out of the neighborhood and high-tailing it back to the airport.

“What a cluster,” Greystone bit out.

“We don’t know if we got ID’d,” Teddy said.

“We probably did by a neighbor or a camera,” Greystone said., “I think that’s the least of our problems.”

“Not if they think we killed all those people,” Teddy replied.

Teddy was right, but until they were brought in for questioning, he’d refocus his efforts on the mission. Find Sajid and Muhammad Haqazzii before May thirty-first.

The Day of Destruction loomed like a mountain they could never make it over in time. His internal clock started ticking off the seconds. Every second that passed was a second closer to death. A second closer to failure.

No way am I gonna let that happen. No fuckin’ way.

CAROLINE

At just before eight-thirty in the morning, Caroline walked into the lobby at Langley, held her ID against the scanner. The light turned green, she set her bags on the conveyer, and made her way through security. On the other side, she collected her things and headed toward the elevator.

While relieved to be back at HQ, managing a group of handlers wasn’t her first choice.

Don’t complain. It’s better than being in Karakistan .

When she’d gotten home from the club, she told Sydney how much fun she was having before Tank showed up and Greystone had bolted. They then spent way too long theorizing what was up with those two, until she crashed on the sofa after three in the morning.

In her cubicle, she logged in, and hurried to the break room. She shoved her lunch into the already crowded fridge, filled her water bottle, said hello to a few coworkers.

Back to blah normal.

As she wove her way to her desk, she thought of Grey, his rock-hard body on hers, the striations of his bulging muscles, the talented way he took care of her. A tremble of excitement skirted through her.

While checking email, she was surprised to find one from her division chief directing her to attend an eleven o’clock meeting with her.

Caroline had never been called to her chief’s office before but, rather than overthink it, she headed to the conference room for her weekly meeting with her own team.

An hour later, she was back at her desk, replying to emails. Then, she had another meeting with her immediate boss and his handlers. At two minutes ‘til eleven, she made her way to the chief’s office. The door was closed.

Knock-knock.

“Come in.”

Caroline walked in, pasted on a polite smile. “Ma’am, you wanted to see me.”

“Caroline, sit down.” Chief Maria Konya was a well-respected leader in the Counterterrorism Division. She’d started her career there years earlier, worked her way into this executive position.

“How’ve you been since returning?” Maria asked.

Caroline set her bottle of water on the floor beside her. “Good, thank you. It’s great to be back.”

“How’s the new job going? ”

“Fine, ma’am.”

Maria smiled. “It’s not the right fit, I know, but I wanted to put a buffer between your last assignment and your next one.”

Caroline scooted to the edge of the chair. “Next assignment?” Before she could filter herself, she murmured, “Please don’t send me back.”

“That was a tough assignment,” Maria agreed. “Not my first choice for you, but the terror cell was the one to watch and there’re not many who know that group like you do. I spent several years—on and off—overseas. It either breaks you or you grow a tough exterior.”

“I agree.”

“Did it break you?”

“No, it didn’t.” Caroline sipped her water.

“The assignment is based here, in the DMV.”

Though confused, Caroline perked up.

“Several months ago, a group of high-level government employees created a network enabling terrorists from the Haqazzii cell to enter the country.”

“Ohgod,” she whispered.

“You’ll be working with an elite group to bring them down.”

She stared at her division chief. “Okay.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have details. The situation is on lockdown because the higher ups want to keep a tight lid on the situation. The person running the group can brief you.”

Excitement pounded through her. She didn’t have to leave the country, and she was going to be doing something incredibly important… and potentially dangerous.

“I need your car key.”

“I’m sorry,” Caroline said. “For my vehicle?”

“Yes. You’re being driven to their location, so I’ve arranged for someone to drive your car to your home.”

“I’ll have to get it for you.”

Maria stood. “I’ll escort you downstairs for the handoff. ”

Maria walked around her desk. “Caroline, you were one of the best handlers we’ve had.

You’ve been hand-selected for this position because of your commitment to the Agency.

You’re smart, you’re a hard worker, and you’re an expert on the Haqazzii terror cell.

Though you’ll be on US soil, the mission is just as dangerous as if you were in Karakistan. Good luck.”

Maria shook her hand.

At her cubicle, Caroline packed up, then handed Maria her car key fob. She had more questions than answers, but she was eager to find out everything about this group and their current challenge.

In the elevator, Caroline reached for the lobby button, but Maria swiped her own photo ID card and pressed an unmarked black button.

“Basement,” Maria said.

The doors opened into an underground parking garage.

Caroline had no idea this existed because she’d always parked in the large lot surrounding the building. A black SUV waited at the curb. The driver’s side door opened and Addison exited.

Caroline did a double take.

“Good to see you, Chief Konya.” Addison shook her hand.

“We miss you, Addison.”

Addison smiled. “Thank you.”

“I’m guessing your new assignment is working out.”

“It’s great.” She smiled at Caroline. “Are you ready?”

Caroline shook the director’s hand. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Do us proud, ladies.” The division chief walked back inside, and Caroline flicked her attention to Addison.

“I have no words,” Caroline said.

“I have plenty,” Addison said. “Unfortunately, I can’t brief you, but I wouldn’t do it in the SUV anyway.”

Caroline stashed her computer bag in the back seat, rode shotgun .

“Are you ready to have your mind blown?” Addison asked.

Caroline smiled. “So ready.”

“How are you with directions?” Addison asked.

“Pretty good.”

“Commit this to memory,” Addison instructed. “Route 7 west.”

Caroline made mental notes when Addison entered a residential area and took several turns. At the end of a street, she turned onto a dirt road beyond a No Trespassing sign. After driving for a few moments, the heavily wooded area cleared, the dirt road became paved.

A large building came into view. There were no windows, no signage on the exterior. Addison drove around back, stopped in front of a large, hangar door. She tapped a button on her visor, the door rose, and Addison pulled in. Then, she tapped the visor and the door closed.

“What the hell,” Caroline murmured.

“You’ll be assigned an SUV,” Addison explained. “They’re bullet proof and part of the fleet.”

“What is this?”

“It’s our Black Site, which is also our safe house.”

With her handbag over her shoulder and her computer bag in hand, Caroline followed Addison to the entrance.

Rather than stand in front of the scanner, Addison made a call. “We’re here.” Then, Addison shot Caroline a smile. “I’m excited to be working with you again.”

“My mouth hurts,” Caroline said. “I can’t stop smiling.”

Addison laughed as a tall man with a full head of mussed, brown hair walked over. The glass door slid open and he stepped into the hangar.

Addison made the introductions. “Caroline Austin, Dakota Luck.”

She shook his hand.

“Firm handshake,” Dakota said. “Nice. ”

“Thank you, sir.”

“We’re pretty informal here. Call me Dakota. In order for you to have access to this building, I need some biometrics, but first let’s get you a vehicle.”

He fetched a key fob from one of the black SUVs, handed it to her. “Don’t get pulled over. The vehicles are untraceable to the organization, so it’ll cause suspicion.”

She tucked the fob into her handbag before he scanned her retina and got a voice sample. Once done, inside they went.

“Addison can give you a tour later,” Dakota explained. “Let’s head to my office. I’ve got your laptop?—”

“What about the one from my employer?” Caroline asked.

“Use this one while on assignment,” Dakota explained as he escorted them down the hallway and around the corner.

“I’ll be working next door.” Addison stopped in an open doorway. “Welcome to ALPHA BLACK OPS.”

Dakota stood at the doorway to the next office, gestured for Caroline to enter. Besides a desk, a few chairs, there was nothing.

She crossed the threshold.

“Nothing personal is kept here,” he explained as he sat behind the desk. “It’s for the safety of our employees and the security of what we do.”

While he set up her laptop, he continued talking.

“ALPHA is a top-secret organization that was started by two FBI agents. It was designed to go after the country’s most wanted criminals who’d escaped prison or had been convicted of a crime, got paroled, then went right back to their heinous crimes.

I’m talking serial killers, serial rapists, child molesters. ”

“Understood,” Caroline said, soaking up his words.