Chapter 1
Brooke
I adjustedmy scarf higher around my neck. It was one of my favorites—light silk painted in bright pink and red abstract flowers. It was a fashion statement, so no one ever asked me to take it off, and no one ever saw what was underneath.
“You good?” Percival asked as his hand landed on the front door of Reynolds Recoveries.
WasI good?
Six years of silence from the man I’d thought I had a future with. Five since I’d drunk-dialed him and left the most humiliating voicemail of my life. And not even one week since my team had received a report that he was inside the Mnemis data center, using an alias and trying to steal the Greek Fire research.
“I’m fine.” Except I wasn’t. I’d thought I could handle seeing him again—especially if he were a traitor—but I’d been so wrong. “Let’s get it over with.”
“We won’t be in here long.” Percival’s tone was gentler than usual. He’d been with us when the shit hit the fan. “You’ve got this.”
You are Brooke fucking McAllister. You did your PhD while hunting for chemical weapons in Syria. You volunteered for Iraq. You can handle seeing your fucking ex.
I straightened my shoulders and stepped through the door, forcing confidence into each step. “I know.”
The reception area was warm and inviting. A petite woman greeted us, checked our IDs, and led us through the open workspace. Reynolds Recoveries resembled any legitimate business from the outside—rows of desks, friendly chatter, people typing at their computers.
It was the perfect front for their covert operations.
The receptionist led us toward a glass-walled conference room where eight members of their team were gathered. She pushed the door open, and the conversation inside stopped. “The representatives from Pendragon.”
“Thank you for coming.” A stunning woman with white-blond hair stood, offering a firm handshake and the sort of fake smile intelligence operatives cultivated. “I’m Evelyn Reynolds.”
As Percival and I moved into the room, the world compressed around me. My body registered Rav’s presence, sending a swarm of butterflies swirling around my stomach. Six years hadn’t changed his magnetic pull.
“You’ve met Will, Brie, and Rav at Mnemis,” Evelyn continued, gesturing to the others. “This is Scarlett, our operations lead; Malcolm, investigations; Drew, intelligence analyst; Ashley, software support; and Jayce, infiltration expert.”
I nodded to each in turn. Once she finished, I took over. “I’m Brooke McAllister, biochemical weapons analyst with Pendragon Security.”
“And I’m Damian Percy, security specialist,” said my teammate.
“But everyone still calls you Percival?” Rav’s deep voice burrowed inside me, threatening to push memories to the surface.
“That they do.” He took a seat, leaving the one across from Rav empty. “Can’t seem to escape it.”
Scarlett glanced at Evelyn, then at me. “A biochemical weapons expert and a security specialist?”
Evelyn sat at the head of the conference table. “They’ll be taking point on the Fenix threat moving forward.”
“Fenix isn’t our primary target.” Percival had clearly noticed the tight lips and folded arms around the table and was playing the diplomat. The Reynolds team was not impressed with us taking over.
“Anyone with access to the Greek Fire formula is.” I took my seat and pulled out my laptop as I spoke.Don’t look at Rav.
Brie shuddered almost imperceptibly. She’d been through hell only days ago—a hell it would take her time to heal from. “I thought you said the formula was incomplete?”
“It was.” But incomplete enough? Had I left too much inside that was accurate? “But even incomplete research into this compound is too dangerous.”
Brie frowned. She was the one who’d bypassed the security protocols my team had put in place and transferred the formula out of the facility. As far as she’d known, she was simply saving her own life from a madman.
The truth was far darker.
I continued, “The U.S. government ensured pieces of the research were available on a server inside Mnemis as bait for anyone who knew about it or had a portion of it already completed. Our team has been chasing down hackers trying to grab the data remotely for three years. They’d get in, the data looked close enough to what they needed, and then they’d wastetime troubleshooting the download, allowing us to take them into custody.”
“Until The Fenix Group infiltrated our team, and Lark carried out his suicide mission,” Percival said, and Brie’s gaze slid toward her lap. “Since it appears you’ve been tangling with them for some time, we’re here for whatever details you can provide to help us track them down.”
