Page 19 of To Catch A Rogue

"Aye, we've met," Blade replied. "Bastard tried to steal me wife."

"I was trying to rescue her," Barrons pointed out. "She'd fallen in with a group of ruffians in the East End who were eminently unsuitable for her."

The pair of them grinned at each other.

"Wasn't expecting you on this mission," Barrons added.

"Blade has decided to join us." Gemma didn't sound happy about it. "Now we all know each other, you may consider this your briefing." Gemma leaned both hands flat on the table. "We're due to arrive in Saint Petersburg in six days. Lord Barrons is our excuse to enter Russia. He's accepted a diplomatic invitation on behalf of the queen to attend the tsarina's celebrations. We expect Lord Balfour will be in attendance. So Barrons is going to—"

"Swan around, looking pretty," Barrons mused.

"And keep Balfour's attention," she added.

"Will do my best."

"The Crimson Court is a merciless place, and the only protection we have is diplomatic immunity. Balfour knows who we all are, and the second we arrive he's going to knowwhywe're there. The tsarina's celebrations continue for ten days, so we've got ten days to work out where Balfour is keeping Malloryn, break in, pull him out, and escape Russia. And we're going to have to do it all in plain sight while charming a bunch of aristocrats who all want to rip our throats out."

"Sounds like fun," Charlie said.

"Sounds insane," Byrnes said gruffly. He hadn't wanted to risk Ingrid on such a mission, though he'd finally capitulated.

"Oh, it gets better. According to Obsidian, Balfour has files on all of us," Gemma continued. "Obsidian, Byrnes, Ingrid, and I are considered high target and dangerous. Every move we make is going to be watched by a dozen eyes. Which means Obsidian and I are going to be keeping Lord Barrons company in charming the court and taunting Balfour, while Byrnes and Ingrid are going to act as decoys. The pair of you are going to be making certain 'information-gathering' forays. Be careful and watch your backs, but your mission is primarily to draw attention."

"Don't know how Byrnes is going to cope with that," Kincaid snickered. "Being as subtle as he is."

"Bite this," Byrnes said, his teeth sinking into his knuckles.

"Ava and Kincaid are on communications. Kincaid, if Charlie needs you in the field, you're to attend him, and Ava is available to analyze any information we might find.

"Which leaves us with the rest of you." Gemma turned toward him. "Charlie's a little bit of an unknown according to Obsidian, and an expert at going about undetected, which is why I've tasked him with putting together a small team. He's chosen Herbert, Lark, and now Blade. Charlie, you and Lark will be putting in an appearance at the celebrations but you're my attendant, nothing else. Whatever you do, try not to draw attention."

"Who? Me?" He flashed her a smile.

"Yes, you."

"Cheer up, sugarplum," Kincaid said, ruffling his hair. "I'm sure you'll be able to create plenty of mayhem when Gemma lets you off the leash."

Gemma continued. "The first thing we need to do is locate where Balfour is keeping Malloryn. Then we need to extract him...."

"And then?" Byrnes asked.

"We kill Balfour," Gemma said simply.

"Murder, most excellent." Byrnes rubbed his hands together. "Please tell me I'm on the Kill Balfour team."

"You may have to wait in line," Obsidian said coldly.

Everyone looked at the former assassin.

Balfour had ordered Obsidian's memories stripped from him and then implanted him with a neural regulating device that forced him to obey certain orders. When he and Gemma fell in love, Balfour had ordered the device activated.

Obsidian had shot Gemma through the chest, almost killing her, and hadn't even been able to remember why.

"It's personal," Obsidian said.

"All yours," Byrnes said, tilting his head at his fellowdhampir. "But I'm happy to hold him down for you."

Which, coming from Byrnes, was almost like welcoming him to the family.