Ash stretched his long legs out in front of him. Half an hour after they left the Brotherhood, they were on the plane and speeding down the runway. Being able to land so close to the compound had been a plus.
Liam had insisted on calling Elena to ensure she was all right. It was no surprise to Ash that she was already back at the compound, assisting law enforcement in helping the victims and gathering more intel for her story. If there was one thing he had discovered about the Strykers, it was that they did not quit.
Fortunately, Liam’s injuries weren’t as bad as they’d feared. He had multiple contusions all over his body, a couple of bruised ribs, and a deep bruise on his foot. Could’ve been a whole lot worse.
Both Xavier and Jazz were tending to him. All OZ operatives had medical training up to a point. That was something Jules would need training on, but that would have to wait. For the first time in a long while, they were short-staffed. With Jazz not fully recovered, they had been running lean, though efficiently enough. But now Gideon was on medical leave for at least three months, and Liam would be out of commission for a couple of weeks.
And while Eve was not injured, she was on a much-deserved holiday.
Being down four operatives would curtail OZ’s activities significantly. With the bioweapon auction coming up soon, they would need everyone on board and as healthy as possible. Apprehending Carl Lang was one of the most important operations OZ had ever endeavored. Countless lives would be saved, and one less soulless bastard would be able to wreak havoc on the innocent.
Grabbing his burner phone, Ash checked for any new communication and cursed softly at the text from Omar. Instead of setting a date for the auction, Omar had thrown a small kink into the plan. He wanted to have another meeting. This time, a long weekend at his estate, and Humphrey was to bring a companion.
Ash considered his options. He had to go, there was no choice in that. Omar would see his refusal as an insult. The man was too important to the mission to create hard feelings at this stage.
Showing up alone might work okay. Humphrey was cold, arrogant, and didn’t give a damn what people thought of him. However, Ash had also developed Humphrey as a ladies’ man. Going stag would go against that reputation. Ash needed a female operative to accompany Humphrey.
Eve was by far OZ’s best undercover operative. She could accept a role in one minute and become that person the next. But for the first time ever, he’d noticed a brittleness in Eve’s demeanor. He figured it was from her worry over Gideon and the stress of maintaining her undercover persona for so long. Asking her to come off her leave wasn’t something he felt comfortable doing. She needed the downtime.
He had three other options, but they were questionable at best. Jazz was not good at undercover. She wore her emotions on her sleeve and couldn’t act worth a damn. Her instincts and incredible courage made up for any deficiencies in that area, but for this op, she was out, especially with her current physical limitations.
Serena would do fine. She had a varied background, including undercover work, but he didn’t want to draw her away from her present assignment. They were getting close to getting the intel they needed on Turner. The last thing he wanted was to put a halt to that investigation.
That left Jules. She had proven herself proficient in several areas already. Had come in with almost no prep and helped facilitate two successful missions. Her aptitude for undercover remained to be seen.
Ash knew he was hesitating for another reason. For the first time in years, he was having trouble holding back his attraction to her. There was something special about Jules Stone. A chemistry he hadn’t experienced with any other woman. He liked her easygoing attitude, her adaptability. She had a self-deprecating manner, but stood up for herself, showing she was a strong, self-assured person. He also liked her laughter, her quick wit. The way she—
He went to his feet. Truth was, there were altogether too many things he liked about her. None of that could matter. He had a job to do, and so did she. As long as he made certain things clear to her, they should be fine. He was no teenager in the throes of first love or lust. He knew how to play the game. Now he needed to make sure she did, too.
Glancing toward the back of the plane, where she was seated, he noted she was staring at her laptop with a frown of concentration.
“Stone.”
She jerked her head up. “Yes?”
“Need to see you.”
She clicked a few keys, closed the laptop, and stood. As she made her way to him, he tried to dispassionately see her as a woman Humphrey would be interested in having in his bed. Without a doubt, she was an attractive woman, but the wholesome, girl-next-door look would not fly. They’d need to work on that.
As she drew closer, he nodded toward a small curtained-off enclosure. Looking curious, she followed him.
“Need to talk with you about an ongoing op.”
“Okay.”
Ash gave her a condensed version, seeing no reason to go into a great deal of detail as this point. Once they were back at the operations center, he’d bring her up to speed. For now, he needed to explain the job requirements.
“I received an invitation from Omar Schrader to join him for the weekend. He’s also invited my romantic partner.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve already thrown you into the deep end of the pool, so we haven’t discussed this part of your job requirements. Going undercover as a romantic couple doesn’t happen that frequently, but it does happen on occasion.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve done undercover work. Acting as your girlfriend shouldn’t be an issue.”
“We’ll have to be affectionate with each other.”
She frowned then, and he could see she was beginning to see the issue of concern. “How affectionate?”