Katherine Garbera - Night Life

“Do you really believe that someone is fishing around for information?” Orly said.

Her dad nodded.

Sasha shivered and checked the baby monitor affixed to the kitchen counter. What was going on?

Dylan was safely tucked away in his crib. She wanted to go to the security room and ramp up all their alarms. Let her dad sweep the entire house.

“It’s not Sasha’s secrets I’m worried about,” her father said.

She started running scenarios in her head. But before she went off half-cocked, she looked at the man who’d brought this to her door. “Maybe you’d better tell me why you’re here, Dad.”

The dainty china mug looked like a toy in his big hands. It reminded her of the tea parties she’d had as a little girl. Her father hadn’t wanted her to grow up with too much male influence. So he’d encouraged Sasha to have tea parties and wear pink, a color she’d never really liked. Still, she’d admired her dad for trying to give her a rounded upbringing without having her mom in the picture.

He gave her a stern look. And her stomach sank. “Kane has gone rogue. He’s taken the STAR list and is out in the open. I talked to Ano at American Renegade Company and she’s reinstated you as an agent for the duration of this mission.”

The STAR list contained the codenames and current locations of every known operative. Not just for HMIA, but for many of the intelligence agencies around the world.

Sasha felt a cold chill down her back. Why would Kane go rogue? The last six months had been tense, which was why he’d left her and moved back to London. But this was extreme for him. He was one of the most secure and well balanced people she knew.

Ano aka Alpha Number One was the head of American Renegade Company. Sasha didn’t know all the details, but Ano and the sergeant major had some sort of ongoing relationship. They couldn’t live together and yet living apart wasn’t what they wanted either.

She pushed away from the table and paced to the window. Her dad had worked for Renegade Company for years. Renegade wasn’t just a cute catchphrase they used. They were a group of renegades that no other law-enforcement group would have. “If I don’t accept this assignment, someone else will, right?”

She heard his chair scrape against the tile floor as he stood. In the window she saw him come up behind her. He didn’t put his arm around her, but stood just behind her. “Ano wants it to be you. HMIA doesn’t want you anywhere near this because of potential conflict of interest.”

She pivoted to face him. Conflict of interest didn’t even come close. Good God, she didn’t want to get between Kane and his target. “Why does Ano want me? She knows I’ve gone against the Company before. I’ve been out there like Kane.”

Her dad lifted his hand toward her shoulder, but he dropped it before he touched her. She’d alienated him as well. That last mission had almost killed her, not physically but emotionally. Her soul was empty except for Dylan, and all the men in her life had felt the chill.

“That’s why, Sasha. You came back and she thinks you can talk Kane into it. If you can’t, they’re going to sanction him.”

She hadn’t exactly made it all the way back and they both knew it. Relieved that her father didn’t call her on it, she said, “Tell me the details.”

“Ano will brief you. All I know is that Townsend is in London and that Kane is stalking him.”

“What does Townsend have?” Sasha asked. Her enemy had escaped the authorities by killing one of his guards and knocking the other unconscious.

Her father looked down at his coffee and took a swallow before responding. “We think at least one hostage.”

It wasn’t like her old man to stall. What did he know that he wasn’t saying?

“And negotiation isn’t an option?” she asked. But she knew it wasn’t. Townsend’s mode of operation was to take the family members of influential people and use them as pawns in his deadly games.

Sasha felt a deep rage start burning inside. And clenched her fists against the feelings sweeping through her. If she gave in to the rage, she’d never be able to get the job done.

“He’ll probably try to get his hostages out of Britain,” she said. Townsend knew how HMIA worked. Hell, he’d written half of the procedures they used for this kind of thing.

Orly’s eyes had taken on a glazed look that she knew meant he was processing the information. His mind was like a computer.

“I’m going to run some information through my computer. What time are we leaving?” Orly asked.

“Ano is expecting you by six,” Mitch said.

“Meet me out front in about an hour.”

Orly left the room and Sasha faced her father. He didn’t look happy delivering that news. No matter what he thought of her marriage to Kane, her dad had always respected her husband because of his attitude toward the world and his willingness to make many sacrifices to keep it safe.

Kane gone rogue. Why? It didn’t make sense. He was a loyal agent and one of the most balanced men she’d ever met. He was cool under fire, and in the field she’d never met his match. She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her hands up and down trying to get warm. She’d made a choice and cut herself off from Kane. Was she responsible for this action?

Was this some bid for her attention? One he knew she wouldn’t be able to resist?

Why would he do it? She and Dylan were safe. His mother and two sisters were safe, Sasha had talked to her mother-in-law, Jane, two days ago. There was no one close to Kane who could be in danger. Was it Bruce Temple, Kane’s partner? She rubbed her eyes. God, what a mess.

“Orly’s gone. You can tell me everything.”

Her old man shrugged and had that stubborn look in his eyes. He wouldn’t reveal his sources to anyone. Not even his daughter. Sasha often wondered if that was why she had such a hard time trusting men.

“Do you know why Kane’s doing this?”

“I couldn’t get that intel. Ano either didn’t know or wouldn’t tell me.”

“The threat is real, Sasha. Get Kane and get the information he has—now, before it falls into the wrong hands.”

Her heart lurched and she gave up questioning her father and started planning. She calculated the time it would take to change clothes, ready the command vehicle and get to London.

She’d find Townsend and finish the job this time. She wasn’t going to let him take the life of another man she cared about.

She trusted her dad to protect Dylan. She watched the old man for a minute. His credo was, protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. “Dad, you stay here and keep Dylan safe.”

“I planned to.”

Sasha walked slowly down the hallway and back to Dylan’s room. He was sleeping quietly now, his arm wrapped around that panda of his. He looked sweet, innocent and just enough like Kane to make her heart break. Neither she nor Kane were innocent, but they’d vowed to protect the world so that more people could be. What had happened to radically change Kane?

Ano hadn’t changed in the year since Sasha had seen her boss. Ano moved into the room as if she owned it. She was a tall woman, almost six feet, and her brilliant auburn hair was pulled back in a sleek-looking ponytail. Her eyes radiated the kind of quiet intelligence that Sasha respected. Sasha and Orly had made good time in the Aston Martin that Kane had given her as a wedding present.

A.R.C. headquarters was located in the Trafalgar Square section of London. Trendy nightclubs surrounded them. Sasha couldn’t have felt more out of place if she’d tried. This was a world away from her quiet life of playing in the park with Dylan and talking to B and B owners about room security.