Flare of Promise (AMT #4) Read online

  She blinked. “What?”

  Will shrugged a shoulder. “You seem keen to go back to a life of danger and questionable morals. The old Leyna I knew never would’ve enjoyed it. I think there’s a bigger reason behind it.”

  “The clock is ticking, Will. I need to know if you agree to disappear or not.”

  As he studied the toned woman with long hair and a hard expression, a shadow of his old feelings flared. He might never trust Leyna with his heart ever again, but her current life would probably end up killing her. “I survived you dying once and I’m not about to do it again.”

  Leyna frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “If you want me to run away with your friend and share my knowledge, then I want you to stay near me until I feel I can trust these friends of yours.”

  “Will, I can’t—”

  “Either that, or I go back to my work. If you truly want to make up for putting me through hell two years ago, then this is what I want.”

  Leyna remained silent for about ten seconds before saying, “Fine. But I’m only going to warn you once—if you stay near me, you might become a target. My brother is still wanted by the drug lord I mentioned earlier, who is even more influential and powerful than two years ago. My brother and I managed to get away from his claws, but not on good terms. There's a bounty on our heads and any person looking to cash out on it won’t blink twice at killing an extra person or two who stands in the way. I just want to make that very clear.”

  He studied her a second before replying, “What I don’t get is you seem capable of reaching out to friends to try and save me. Why can’t you do the same for this drug lord problem?”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “You know what, I’m tired of your secrets. Start making sense or I put on my clothes and return to the AMT facility.”

  Leyna growled. “He has powerful friends, okay? I have yet to meet anyone with resources who is also clever enough to outsmart him, let alone have the desire to help a lowly for-hire hand like myself.”

  Will wondered who this mysterious arsehole might be. Not that it was his concern. Leyna had made her choice years ago. “Maybe someday you’ll be brave enough to try.”

  In the next instant, Leyna had Will pinned to the bed with an arm across his throat. “Listen, William. I didn’t ask for you to try to fix my life. My only concern is getting your ass out of here and to somewhere safe. I’m not going to ask again, so what’s your answer? Are you staying or going?”

  It was difficult to concentrate with Leyna straddling his chest. The warmth of her skin and her womanly scent made him want to flip her over and fuck her all over again.

  Then she pressed firmer against his throat, making it difficult to breathe. He snapped out of it. His reply was strained as he said, “If you accompany me, then I’ll go.”

  Leyna leaned down and her hot breath tickled his cheek. “Good. I’m going to let you up and you’re going to get dressed. After that, we need to lose your tail and flee.”

  He nodded and Leyna released his throat. After a quick cough, he met her gaze again. “I’m assuming you have a plan?”

  Leyna scurried from the bed to where her clothes lay on the floor. “Of course I do.” She fished something out of a small pocket in her pants and clicked it. Then she spoke again. “Give the diversion in five minutes. Plan A is a go.”

  Will heard his mobile phone chirp with some kind of message. Reaching for his trousers, he took out his phone and touched the screen. There was a text and a voicemail.

  He quickly opened the text message from Gio and read it: Break-in. Subjects stolen. Meet at designated location. No contact.

  “Fuck,” he muttered.

  Leyna walked toward him. “What happened?”

  He put up a hand and dialed his voicemail. He and Gio had earlier agreed to use both a text message and a voicemail to confirm identity if something went wrong. After the standard voicemail welcome, it was Gio’s voice that came on the line. “There’s been a break-in and it’s chaos inside. I’ll tell you more when I see you. More information to follow.”

  The message ended and he met Leyna’s gaze. “Just how good are you at sneaking out of tight security?”

  She frowned. “Why? What aren’t you telling me?”

  Considering Will had agreed to flee, he may as well tell Leyna the truth. “Someone most likely created a diversion, broke into the AMT research facility, and stole my test subjects.”

  “The ones with latent abilities?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shit.” Leyna turned back to her clothes, tossed the rest on and laid her purse strap across her body. She spoke to whoever was listening in. “Did you hear that?” A pause before Leyna added, “Let’s go with Plan C.” Another pause and Leyna’s growled. “I don’t care if I’ll owe you another favor. Just do it.” With a sigh, she turned toward Will. “If we have any chance at escaping, we need to leave now. Follow my lead and don’t speak unless I signal it’s okay.”

  Will tugged on his trousers and slipped on his shoes. “I’ll follow, but if someone attacks, I’m not going to run.”

  Leyna scowled at him. “I don’t have time to watch your ass and fight on my own.”

  He rushed Leyna. She stepped out of the way, but he swung out his leg and swept her foot. As she hopped back to regain her balance, he growled, “Stop trying to protect me. If I need your help, I’ll ask for it. I probably have more hand-to-hand combat training than you could even dream of. I wasn’t about to allow anyone to perceive me as a weakness a second time.”

  “A second time?” she echoed.

  He pushed the memory to the back of his mind and kept his face neutral. “Isn’t the clock ticking?”

  She shook her head. “Right. Then stand by and wait for the signal.”

  He opened his mouth to ask what signal when something exploded next door and the room shook. “What the hell was that?”

  Leyna smiled. “Not scared of a little bomb, are you?”

  Before he could answer, Leyna rushed to the door and opened it a few inches. He heard the sound of rushing feet and screaming. Looking over her shoulder, she stated, “Showtime.”

  Then she squealed like a young girl and dashed down the hall. Cursing, Will picked up his shirt and followed her.

  Chapter Five

  As Petra rushed down the hallway and pretended to be afraid of the exploding bomb, she stole a glance over her shoulder. Will was only a few feet behind her.

  Satisfied he could keep up, she focused on getting out of the building and past the man watching Will, if he was even still around.

  Weaving her way through the throng of half-dressed men and women, Petra kept replaying the scene of Will rushing her and nearly knocking her off-balance. Begrudgingly, she admitted to herself that his actions had turned her on a little. She appreciated skill and Will clearly had some.

  Maybe when things calmed down, they could spar with no holds barred.

  Stop it, Petra. There was no future for her and Will. She might have to stick around until he agreed to stay with Millie and her people, but after that, she was gone.

  Yet Will’s words about taking charge and finding a way to rid herself of Sean Reilly kept echoing in her head. If she were a trusting person, she might ask Millie if any of her contacts could help.

  Too bad Petra trusted people with her life about as far as she could throw them.

  Reaching the lobby, Petra swept the room with her eyes for anyone who looked calm or who was heading against the crowds. That was something a bodyguard would do. But everyone was rushing out of the building, even the staff. If they were lucky, they’d lost the man following Will earlier, on their escape from the restaurant.

  Still, she wasn’t about to take any chances. Petra moved away from the worst of the rushing crowd and Will maneuvered his way next to her. She whispered, “Follow my lead.”

  She faintly heard a, “I’m already bloody
doing that,” from Will’s direction, but she was already heading toward the thickest part of the fleeing clientele. Ducking down, she clung to a woman and pretended to sob. The upright woman would shield Petra’s face from anyone studying the crush of people fleeing the hotel.

  Will came in next to her and stooped down. Instead of sobbing, he kept saying, “Help me, please.”

  Her former lover played quite the convincing coward.

  With no time to think about where he’d picked up that trick over the last two years, Petra kept up her act. Eventually, they were outside and she heard Millie’s whisper in her ear. “At the end of the street, turn left. I’ll wait behind the second set of bin bags on the left side.”

  Not wanting to break her cover, Petra kept up her cries and continued to cling to the woman. When they finally reached the end of the street, she took Will’s hand and tugged him away from the crowd. While a few people were heading down this street, it was emptier than the main thoroughfare.

  Since she and Millie had been headquartering their operations in this part of town, the dirty, dilapidated buildings didn’t faze her. After all, she and Millie had already challenged and defeated the small-time gang in the neighborhood. No one would mess with her unless they were much bigger fish, such as an AMT enforcer squad.

  Of course, there was little tying Petra to the Sichuan AMT research facility. She doubted the enforcers would waste their time on her. Will, on the other hand, was a different story. At the earliest opportunity, she needed to perform a sweep for tracking devices. For all she knew, someone had slipped one into a pocket or hid it in his shoe.

  They approached the second set of garbage bags and Petra tugged Will down to squat next to Millie. Petra didn’t waste any time and asked, “Did you see anyone follow us?”

  Millie shook her head. “No. Beyond the few scared individuals racing down this street, I haven’t seen anyone else. To be honest, I haven’t seen the big, bulky man who followed you and Will after leaving the restaurant since you two entered that dodgy hotel.”

  Petra nodded. “Good. Then we need to focus on getting Will out of here.”

  Will spoke up. “Not so fast.”

  She turned her head toward him. “Now is not the time to have regrets or back out. You’re coming with us and we need to leave as soon as possible.”

  Will raised his brows. “If we do, you’ll lose a valuable resource.”

  Petra growled out, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Will nodded to each of them. “You and this woman promise me a favor each later, and I’ll tell you.”

  Grabbing Will’s shirt, Petra leaned in close. “I’m not going to negotiate with you or waste any more time talking. We need to haul ass.”

  Millie spoke up. “What’s the resource?”

  Petra opened her mouth, but Will covered it with his hand and answered, “Does the name Giovanni Sinclair ring a bell?”

  Millie’s eyes flashed with interest. “What about him?”

  Petra bit his hand, but Will’s skin glowed a warm, faint green and he ignored her. “I’m supposed to meet him at a secret location. Agree to my favors and I’ll take you to him.”

  Petra growled at the same time as Millie bobbed her head. “Done.”

  He met Petra’s gaze again. “Well?”

  She was tempted to bite him hard enough to draw blood. But since he’d probably just heal himself, it was a waste of energy.

  Besides, as much as she wanted to leave the town, Giovanni Sinclair would be quite the catch from a professional point of view. The blackmail possibilities were endless.

  Recognizing Sinclair’s worth, Petra nodded.

  Will released her mouth. “Right, then we need to head to the west side of town.”

  “That’s on the other fucking side. Giovanni might be valuable, but he’s worth nothing if we’re all dead. The area is probably already crawling with AMT enforcers,” Petra bit out.

  Millie smiled. “Leave that to me. Gio is worth the risk.”

  Will frowned and looked to Petra. “What is she talking about?”

  Petra sighed in disgust before answering, “Gio kidnapped her, interrogated her, faked her death, and held her hostage. She can’t stop talking about him.”

  Millie stuck out her tongue. “I don’t talk about him all of the time.”

  Petra rolled her eyes. “We don’t have time to argue the point.”

  Millie drawled, “Only because you’ll lose.”

  Will placed a hand on each of the women’s shoulders. “So, do we have a deal?”

  Millie answered, “Yes. My boss will owe me big time and I can’t wait to collect. Now, come on.”

  Petra jumped in. “Not just yet. Help me check Will for tracking devices.”

  Millie grinned. “You’re inviting me to touch all of those lovely muscles?”

  Petra resisted the urge to knock Millie flat on her ass. “Just hurry up and help me.”

  Millie’s hands moved to Will’s shoulders and Petra quickly crouched down to feel his leg. Slowly running her hands up, she stopped at his pockets, which put her eye level with his crotch. Resisting the urge to look up to Will’s eyes, she inserted her hands into each of his pockets and felt around for anything unusual.

  His body heat seared through the material and into her palms. Memories of earlier, when they’d been naked in the hotel room, flashed into her mind.

  Petra clenched her teeth. Being near the man was dangerous.

  Finishing the lower half check, she ordered, “Lift your shoes.”

  After checking them, Petra stood. Millie was doing her last checks of his back and arms, squeezing and lingering longer than necessary. However, before Petra barked for the woman to finish, Millie put out her hands and said, “Ta-daa! He’s tracker free. Can we go now?”

  Millie didn’t wait for an answer as she headed down one of the streets. Petra cursed and took Will’s hand. She tried to ignore how his large, warm hand engulfed hers. “Let’s go before she kills herself.”

  Will’s voice filled her ear. “For someone who claims to not have any friends or people to help, your female partner acts like a friend to me.”

  Glad to be in front of Will so he couldn’t see her face, Petra studied Millie’s form. The last few weeks had been both annoying and more fun than she’d ever admit out loud. Not that she trusted Millie completely. The woman had secrets, she was sure of it. “Millie owed me a favor. It’s as simple as that.”

  Will squeezed her hand and she chanced a glance over her shoulder. Yet all she was greeted with was a neutral expression. Will raised his brows. “What?”

  Shaking her head, Petra answered, “Nothing.”

  As they wound their way down one alley and then another, Petra decided she must’ve imagined Will’s reassuring squeeze, unless he was deliberately messing with her head.

  Regardless, Petra pushed all of her questions to the back of her mind. She needed to focus on making it out of Sichuan Province alive. And not only that, but also with a prisoner in tow. Giovanni Sinclair wouldn’t go down easily. His father, James Sinclair, was a power-hungry, wannabe politician who controlled the Feiru High Council and the AMT Oversight Committee with one hand tied behind his back. It was going to take all of her and Millie’s experience combined to pull this operation off.

  She only hoped Millie’s boss would reward them in the end. Petra didn’t do charitable deeds. The instant she did that, her reputation as a mercenary would be ruined and people would consider her easy pickings.

  Until Sean Reilly was out of the picture and her brother was safe, that wasn’t an option.

  Picking up her speed, she kept her eyes and ears open as they followed Millie through the streets.

  ~~~

  Millie Ward’s heart thumped double-time. Partly because she was nervous, but also because she was curious to see Giovanni again.

  True, the bastard had kept her under watch at a remote cottage in Norway for a while. But since the man had had the ch
ance to kill her instead of protecting her, Millie’s curiosity burned to know why he’d faked her death instead. Gio’s father was one powerful bastard and Millie wouldn’t put it past the arsehole to kill off his own adopted son if he found Gio had disobeyed him.

  Focus on the prize, Ward, and worry about finding answers later. If Millie didn’t make it to the west side of town, she’d lose her chance to see the reserved and powerful man. Not that she wanted to see his brown eyes flecked with gold again or his broad shoulders. Or, to find a way to break his control and see the man hidden beneath the mask.

  No matter how much she wanted to find out more about Giovanni, her curiosity was secondary to her ultimate goal of handing Gio over to Millie’s boss and resident crazy lady, Neena Chatterjee.

  For once, Millie wished the DEFEND co-founder would show up wearing a cape and offer one of her bags of trail mix. Neena was eccentric, but bloody good at getting people out of scrapes. Very few knew of Neena’s powers, but Millie was one of them—Neena’s foresight ability was helping DEFEND win the battle against the AMT Oversight Committee.

  Even so, success wasn’t guaranteed. Millie would just have to try her damnedest to escape unscathed. After all, the AMT would only be destroyed if individuals took initiative beyond Neena’s predictions. The future was uncertain, but Millie was determined to rid the world of the AMT prisons. Just remembering her brother’s screams at being touched sent a rush of anger through her body. They’d put him through a series of psychological tests, which was just a fancy way to say they’d scared the crap out of him in the name of research.

  Garrett wasn’t the only one suffering, though. The AMT system was little more than an excuse to experiment on innocents. Many more inmates remained trapped inside and needed rescuing.

  Her resolve to succeed strengthened, and Millie stopped in front of a low wall to wait for Petra and Will to catch up. She noted Petra holding Will’s hand, but didn’t comment. The teasing would come later. When they were close enough, she said, “This is the fastest way. However, there may or may not be a slight drop on the other side.”