“Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes.” Maren’s voice brought me out of my unfocused gazed as I went over the details of the past—hoping something would stick out as being out of place or wrong.
I focused back on Maren as she gave me a sweet smile. “Sounds good. I have one more phone call to make.”
“Okay. I’m going to go switch out the laundry and wash some of our clothes.”
Maren seemed to know I needed privacy. I dialed Sarge’s direct line and set the timer. In case anyone got through all the decryption coding, I’d cut this off at five minutes.
The line picked up. It was customary for Sarge not to say anything until we identified ourselves to him. “Bane Bradley, number five-one-three-six-zero-bravo.” All my files listed me now as the name I went by. I’d been forced to give it to them prior to leaving Black Division to be with Jasmine.
We had several identification numbers. The one I’d given said I wasn’t captured and speaking on my own free will.
“Bane.” The cold calculating tone brought back many memories of getting missions without an ounce of emotion. All Sarge cared about was getting a mission done.
I cleared my throat. “Eric Thornhill is alive. He has a team assembled and has tried to take me captive. I’ve evaded him and I’m now holed-up in a safe house until I figure out what’s going on.”
“Fuck! Are you sure?”
Opening the files I had of Eric, I pulled them into a file as I spoke. “Yes. I can upload the identifying images to the secure location. All prominent features are a match to the pic on file after his execution.”
A cold tone came over the Sarge. He didn’t like losing. “Send me the info. I’ll upload our findings at zero six hundred tomorrow morning. We should keep contact to a minimum in case we have another rat.”
“Yes, sir.” There were still three minutes until we had to disconnect.
“Do you need anything, Bane?”
I ran a hand over my smooth scalp. “No, I’ll be fine. I’ll continue to upload anything I find.”
“Okay. We’ll get this asshole taken care of.”
“Yes, sir.”
The line disconnected. Quickly, I uploaded the files. Scrubbing a hand down my face, I tried to decide what my next move was going to be.
COMING OUT OF the bedroom, Bane looked at a file with his normal frown in place. Dinner would be ready in about twenty minutes. I wasn’t sure what to make of the phone call. Bane must have called whoever he used to work with about Eric. With several screens pulled up, I knew Bane was running Eric Thornhill through some sort of facial recognition program. He’d done it on the train a few different times. So far, everything came back as a match.
I sat down on the edge of the table. “Found out anything new?”
“Not yet. I am hoping tomorrow we’ll have a breakthrough. I called Eric’s and my superior when we worked together. It’s a liability for his division also. We’ll see. Sarge had been there and saw the death. The person who’d escorted Eric to the execution chamber died nearly five years ago on a mission. For now, I think it’s best to lay low and see what Eric is going to do. As the days pass, I hope he gets sloppy like he did at the hotel.”
Bane took a breath. “What I do know is Sarge’s boss, Alex, is retiring. Sarge stated he wants this tidied up prior to him leaving Black Division. None of it makes sense. There’s something else going on. Sarge thinks so too. Eric always blamed Alex for his wife’s death. Maybe the announcement of the retirement set him off. The only thing I can think of is that I ruined his plans of revenge for who knows who else when I discovered he’d become a traitor.”
“It sounds like
nothing is or was as it seems.” Bane nodded, lost in thought. Frankie came to mind. I hoped my brother was okay. “What do you think is happening to Frankie?”
“I’m not sure. You can’t call him, Maren. No contact. He’s working for the men after us.”
Biting my lower lip, I tried to keep the tears at bay. Blood was blood and I still loved my brother. I needed to hear his voice. “But maybe we could get more information out of him. Maybe they’re hoping I’ll call. Frankie’s not trained.”
Bane cracked his neck to the side. “Maren, not right now. I’m not saying no, but there are still too many unknowns. With you, I’m not taking any unnecessary risks.”
Bane’s true look of concern caused me to relent. Frankie made his bed. Hopefully he was okay, but I knew I’d be disappearing from his life forever when this was all over. The sting of leaving him was less than I thought it would be. It still stung, but I’d made the choice freely before all this started.
I stood and Bane watched me closely as he leaned back in his roller chair with his shirt off. Moving to his lap, I straddled him and felt his hard-on press against my barely there thong through his sweats. He was commando underneath and I wanted him inside me.
“Angel, are you wanting something?” The sexiness of his voice sent a round of butterflies through my stomach as his hands caressed my thighs.
Answering him silently, I pulled off my shirt to reveal my braless state. A condom was tucked in the top band of my thong. I put the condom wrapper to my teeth and tore it. Yeah, I wanted something.