“My family…”
“I love you, so how could I not love Aine? I don’t know your mother, but my guess is, somewhere deep inside, she too is very lovable. As far as your father is concerned, tell me this—do you look at Quinn any differently because of her mother?”
“Of course I don’t.”
“Then don’t put that on me either. The truth is, for most of your life, he provided for you and you had no reason to doubt him. Right now, he’s a man with his back to the wall. His life is about to implode, and that means he’ll likely spend the rest of it in prison. He did this to himself.”
“Do you think he would’ve killed me?”
Razor shook his head. “I don’t.”
“He said he would.”
“Only because he knew I would choose letting him go over losing you.”
“Aine thinks he’ll come back for me. Maybe her too.”
He hated that she had to live with that fear, but until they located Petrov, it was a fear he had to live with too.
“That’s why we practically have you wrapped in bubble wrap, baby. I’m not going to lie to you and say that doesn’t worry me too. However, you have the best operatives from three different agencies looking for him in order to put an end to your fear and bring him to justice.”
Ava put her arm around his waist and squeezed. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“When do you have to leave?”
Razor closed his eyes, wishing he didn’t have to, but the truth wa
s, he should’ve left fifteen minutes ago.
“About time,” Striker said when Razor pulled up to find everyone waiting outside the cabin.
“Fuck off,” he muttered. Were they really considering asking this asshole to be part of the K19 team? Who out of the current partners actually liked him? He knew Doc didn’t.
When Razor walked up to the door, Gunner clamped his shoulder. “Easy there, big guy.”
“You can fuck off too.”
“Hell when it’s personal, ain’t it?”
He got the door open and invited the men inside. The last time he’d been here was when the Armenians took Ava. He didn’t realize how much it would affect him until just now. He felt physically ill. Maybe that’s how Gunner felt all the time. Ava was home, safe. Lena was dead. Yeah, it was hell when it was personal.
“Gentlemen,” said Doc, “take a seat so we can get started.”
Razor watched as everyone sat but him. Doc commanded the room in such a way that everyone complied with his orders, even Striker, the man that K19 essentially worked for. Even Shiver, who outranked Doc in terms of how high he’d risen in MI6, did as he said. There’d been a point he’d thought about confronting him about it, but with everything that had happened, it didn’t seem important anymore.
“Shiv,” said Doc. “Why don’t you brief the rest of us on what you know about Petrov?”
Shiver stood and opened his laptop. “From what we’ve been able to glean from MI6 sources, he’s no longer in the country. In fact, it appears he’s returned to Azerbaijan.”
“What about Ivashov?” asked Gunner.
“She’s with him—although not willingly.”
“Any theories on who shot me?” Razor asked.
Shiver nodded and turned the laptop around. “Anyone recognize this guy?”