She didn’t see anyone downstairs when she went in, so she climbed the staircase.
“That was quick,” Pen said as Ava walked into the first room off the hallway and found her sitting on the bed.
“It’s late. Everyone is tired.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Where’s my stuff?”
“Aine moved it into the room she’s in. We figured you wouldn’t be staying here anyway.”
“You were incorrect in your assumption.”
—:—
“Any news?” Razor asked, walking into his kitchen and finding Gunner sitting at the counter.
“It’s a match.”
“That was quick. You’re certain?”
“Lab at Fort Roberts processed it immediately, and since they already had the info from MI6, it wasn’t long before they determined it was exact.”
Razor sat down next to Gunner and opened a beer. If his teammate wanted one, he could get it himself while he processed through the ramifications of what Gunner had just told him.
Ava’s father, who she was obviously closer to than her mother, wasn’t at all who he’d pretended to be for the last twenty-plus years. The only thing Conor McNamara had in common with Makar Petrov was neither of them had been able to operate on the right side of the law.
Razor had been in this line of work too long to think that someone like Petrov was above keeping his daughter from testifying if by doing so, in conjunction with Finnegan’s turning state’s evidence, she could bring down his organization.
And, was he arrogant enough to believe no one would find out his true identity? The possibility had to, at the very minimum, be lurking in the back of his mind.
This confirmation meant protecting Ava had escalated to an entirely different level. Not only was Razor hiding her from someone wanting to stop her from testifying, he would now have to prevent her own father from finding her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to step aside and let someone else take over this assignment?”
Razor scrunched his eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No. I’m not. You have feelings for the asset. There’s no bigger mistake to be made.”
“I’d never walk away from this.”
“Roger that.”
“I swear to God, Gunner, if you go to Doc about this, I’ll never forgive you. Mind your own goddamn business. You hear me?”
Gunner nodded with hooded eyes. “I will be talking to Doc about this assignment, Raze, but not in the way you think. The first thing I’m going to tell him is that I’m your number two. Second, you and I will craft a plan together, and take it to him and Striker.”
Hard as it was for him to consider admitting it out loud, Razor appreciated Gunner’s plan of attack. His friend was right, he had feelings for the asset, and no one knew better than Gunner how horribly wrong that could go.
“Let’s talk tomorrow when we’ve both gotten some rest. I’ll head out to Harmony now.”
“You can stay here.”
“Not a good idea if you look at the big picture.”
Their eyes met.
“You’re gonna have to get closer to her, and do it quickly, Raze.”