“I know your kind. You will do whatever you have to do to prevent bloodshed.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever come across my kind before.”
“Maybe not.” Swinging the gun away from the woman he was holding, he fired, hitting Gideon.
Eve screamed and ran toward the fallen operative. A second later, five more operatives burst into the room, all their weapons aimed at Dalca.
Well, this had gone to hell in a hurry. Without taking his eyes off the idiot in front of him, he growled at Xavier, “Take care of Gideon.”
“Kimmie,” Darius snapped, “come away from that man.”
Holding her hands over Gideon’s injury, her eyes wild with grief, Eve snapped, “Shut up, Darius.”
“It’s bad, Ash,” Xavier said. “We need to get him out of here.”
Without being told, Jules eased past Ash and circled behind Dalca. So focused on Ash, Dalca never noticed her until she had her gun pressed against the back of his head.
Her eyes on Ash, Jules spoke with soft menace into Dalca’s ear, “I’m the newest member of this team and have a lot to prove. Killing you would only help me.”
“That would be murder,” Dalca snarled. “You can’t do that.”
Ash gave a mea
n grin. “You just shot one of my best men. You think getting rid of a weasel like you would bother us?”
“You can’t just—”
“We can and we will.”
Jules pressed the gun harder against Dalca’s head. “Want me to shoot him here, boss?”
“Yeah. That oughta do it.”
“Wait! Wait!” Dalca screamed. “I give up.”
“Take his gun, Stone. If he even twitches, shoot him.”
Jules took the gun from the man’s hand and within seconds had him lying on the floor and zip-tied.
Ash glanced around. The rest of Dalca’s guests were huddled in a corner.
“Sean, you and Serena gather everyone in the van. Xavier, you and Eve take care of Gideon.”
Eve looked up at Ash. “But I—”
“I think your cover is blown.”
She shook her head, misery in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Ash.”
“We’ll sort it all out. Just take care of him.”
And they would have to sort it all out. What had been going as smooth as ice had turned into a shitstorm. And if they lost Gideon? Hell, he wasn’t sure the team could survive another loss. The last one had almost destroyed them.
Chapter Fifteen
They were headed back to the States hours later before Jules got the chance to talk with Ash. He had removed himself from the group, spending much of his time on his phone. For anyone else, it might look as though he were coldly removed from the drama around them, but Jules knew that wasn’t the case. He was focused on what needed to be done, but his eyes told another story. He was concerned for his injured operative and quietly furious at how the op had gone down.
Gideon had been in surgery when they’d left the hospital in Timisoara. Eve had promised to call the moment he was out. If there was anyone who felt worse than Ash about how the op had gone down, it was Eve Wells. Jules didn’t know the woman at all, but she easily recognized the signs of grief and massive guilt. She was well versed in both those emotions.