He patted his matching set of Desert Eagles under his jacket. “Always.”
The elevator dinged and they stepped off, looking both ways down the long corridor before heading toward the signs pointing to the roof entrance. M pulled her gun and tossed the holster aside in the hallway, cocking the trigger and checking the safety. They flanked the door leading out onto the building’s roof, communicating through gestures until Loki gave a nod and M kicked the door open, bursting outside.
Cool concrete chilled the bottoms of her bare feet and the breeze at this height was stronger than at ground level, but as she scanned the rooftop, there was no sign of anyone there. Loki burst out behind her, doing his own check of the premises then giving her a what-the-fuck look.
She tilted her head left then inched her way that direction. Martin had to be up here. There was no other place for him to go. And if he did have a friend in the building, chances were high they’d come up here to conduct their business. It was open and, if either tried to pull something, would ensure higher rates of survival versus being cooped up at close range with a psycho like Martin. At least that would be her thinking. Loki’s too, apparently, since he’d followed her.
She stepped around an air conditioning unit, gun at the ready, thinking maybe Martin and his buyer were hiding behind them, but found nothing. She’d just taken another step when the sound of a trigger being cocked sounded behind her.
“Don’t move,” Martin said, his usual American accent faltering, letting a hint of Russian through. “I will blow your fucking head off. Put your weapon on the ground. Slowly. The knife too.”
M’s breath caught in her chest, her heart pounding against her ribcage, while her mind stilled. Okay. She’d been here before, been trapped with no visible means of escape and still managed to somehow get out of her predicament. Think. Just think. Stay calm. Her years of training served her well as she glanced around the area while doing as he asked. If she moved fast enough, she might be able to stab him in the thigh with the knife and scramble to freedom. But if she wasn’t quick enough, she’d be dead. She could turn and fire herself, but then Martin would shoot too and they’d both be injured, if not killed.
Possibilities were dwindling when she heard another voice, the same deep strong timbre that made her toes curl in bed and soothed her restless soul like a balm. Loki. He chuckled. “Jesus, Martin. You really are pathetic. Did you really think you could get away with this?”
Todd Martin kept his gun and his attention focused on M. “I already have, asshole. You’re too late. My buyer’s gone. The information will be leaked and more American pig soldiers will die because of it.” He spit on the rooftop for emphasis. “Serves them right.”
M caught Loki’s gaze and held, trying to buy time. “What about your double life, the career you’ve built in music?”
“You think I give a shit about any of that?” Martin cackled like the crazy bastard he was. “I don’t give two fucks about any of that. It was all a means to an end. This end.” With that, he took off running for the edge of the building. Would’ve made it too, but Loki was faster, snagging him by the back of his shirt and stopping him cold. Still, Martin strained, teetering over the side of the building.
“Suicide is too good for you. You’ll be standing trial for your crimes. As will your buyer.” Loki pointed do
wn at the alley below with his free hand. M walked over to look herself and spotted Hunter holding a struggling man up against the brick wall of the building. “You’re both going to jail for a long, long time, asshole.”
M frowned, squinting at the guy in the alley. “Hey, isn’t that your arms dealer client?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Loki hauled Martin back onto the roof, then punched him hard in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Martin crumpled at their feet and Loki gave him a disparaging glare. “I suspected something wasn’t right with the guy early on, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. Now I know.”
“What about your business though?” M asked, ripping strips of material from the hem of her already short skirt to tie up Martin’s wrists and ankles. It left her in little more than a T-Shirt, but she didn’t care. She’d stop by her apartment on the way down and grab some jeans. Shoes would be good too, given that her toes were numb with cold now. “Weren’t you counting on his fees to cover your expenses for another year?”
“We were,” Loki said, dragging Martin’s lifeless body by one arm toward the door. “But we’ll figure something else out. We always do. But at least you’ll get your promotion, right?”
“Yeah, right,” M said, not feeling nearly as ecstatic as she’d expected to wrap up this mission. She’d get her promotion, sure, but she’d lose Loki and he’d lose his business in the process. Hardly seemed like a winning solution at all.
There has to be another way, she thought as she collected her weapons then followed Loki back inside the building. She didn’t know what yet, but she’d think of it.
13
Loki sat around the offices of Norse Security a week later, staring at the pile of bills he couldn’t pay and the empty appointment book on his desk. He’d basically sacrificed everything to give M her promotion and damn if he could make himself regret it.
Martin and the arms dealer client had been taken swiftly into federal custody once M and Loki had brought them in and both were now sitting behind bars awaiting their arraignment hearings. The press and paparazzi had had a field day with squeaky clean Todd Martin’s hidden life and his and his family’s traitorous ties to the KGB. If anything, the notoriety had made him more famous now than he’d ever been during his pop music days. Loki was sure his high-dollar lawyers would find a way to spin it to make the media machine work in Martin’s favor down the road, probably get him a tell-all book deal and maybe even a cable network movie deal.
As for Cam and Hunter, they were sticking with Loki for now, even though he’d encouraged them to find themselves steady work where they could. Cam had told him he’d received several offers from tech companies wanting to hire him for cybersecurity positions and some Hollywood production company wanted to hire Hunter to play bodyguard for their celebrities under contract, but neither man had made any firm commitments.
And Loki? Well, for now, he was content to sit here in his quiet space and just be for once. He’d spent so many years pretending to be someone else that it was nice to relax into his own being for a change.
He was just starting to doze off when the phone on his desk rang, the shrill sound jarring him from his near-slumber. Loki sat forward and frowned at the caller ID. It was his mysterious backer, a guy he’d known only as Steele. Steele had contacted Loki right out of the SEALs, had claimed to be a patriot looking for a cause to champion. When Loki had proposed his idea for Norse Security—a team of vets using their brains and brawn to fight crime and corruption—Steele had been all over that. He’d put up all the funds needed to start Norse Security and keep it running for six months, but preferred to be a silent partner, giving Loki and the guys basically free rein.
Until now. Now, it looked like their time was up.
Loki reached out and pushed the answer button, leaving the call on speaker phone in the otherwise silent offices. “Good afternoon, Steele.”
“Well done, Loki,” Steele said, his smooth tone belying no accent or distinguishing markers at all. It was kind of uncanny, like speaking with a robot. Loki sat back and clasped his hands on his stomach as his backer continued. “I have to say I was very impressed with your handling of the arms dealer case. All the loose ends neatly tied up in a bow.”
“Except for the fact that the client double-crossed me. Did you know that he was the buyer for Martin’s secrets when you sent him to me?”
“No,” Steele said, a slight hint of humor in his voice now. “No idea, though he was a tricky character. Suppose he’d have to be in his business. I had faith you’d figure it out in the end. And you did.”