He pulled out his phone again and saw Marcello had replied to the message Anda had sent.
Another team’s on the way to deal with the other potential attack. Get the fuck out of there.
Ethan’s fingers hovered over the screen.
This was it. If he asked Marcello for help with Anda, it would change everything. Marcello would know that he knew who she really was, and Marcello would find out what he’d done, and both of their covers would potentially be blown.
If he called Marcello, he’d have to give up being an agent. More likely, Marcello would force him to give it up. Everything he’d done to prove himself to Anda and his family might be for naught. Not to mention, Anda’s career as an agent would be in jeopardy, too, and she might never forgive Ethan for blowing her cover.
Yet, if he didn’t call Marcello, he might not get Anda back and he needed backup in order to save her.
Anda’s life or Anda’s career?
His family’s respect or his career?
A life without her while she lived and couldn’t forgive him for revealing her secrets, or a life without her because she was dead?
There was no doubt in his mind what the right thing to do was, especially as he watched Anda disappear down another hall in the arms of an asshole.
The time for secrets was over.
They would both deal with the fallout from his next message later but, for now, he had to help Anda, and this was the best solution he could think of, even if she did hate him for it later.
Anda’s been kidnapped. Yes, I know who Anda really is and that she works for you. She sacrificed herself, got kidnapped to protect me, and she needs help and fast.
8
Then
ANDA
One year ago…
Operation Prudence
Location: Need to Know (but definitely not Valleria)
Everything hurt.
Anda groaned as the man carrying her stumbled slightly, jostling her and her wound.
“You’d better not fucking die on me. I forbid it.”
She wanted to smile at his imperious tone. Ethan did that sometimes, making royal-esque declarations that amused her and made her want to rebel against his orders instead of follow them. She was too weak to even smile for this one.
Gunshot wounds hurt like a bitch no matter where they were. This one was in her leg, her personal doctor confirming the bullet had gone straight through. She didn’t think it had hit any major arteries, but Ethan had his ‘worried doctor’ face on, so she knew it was at least serious.
She felt the whirring wind of the quiet helicopter blades and Ethan whispering something in her ear before she passed out.
* * *
ANDA
One year ago…
VRS Amethyst, Purple-Class Command Ship
Location: En Route to Masillia, Valleria
