“Why not? Lily, he likes you. You like him. That’s a good thing.”
Lily looked up. “Since when is getting involved emotionally a good thing when it comes to people like me?”
So that was her problem. Amber finished her cookie, eyeing her friend thoughtfully. “Lily, sometimes the future isn’t so bleak, you know? You don’t have to see yourself as a career criminal for the rest of your life.”
“Right. I don’t go around making illegal art bids and not have a reputation among certain people. And oh yeah, involvement with shady people who run guns, make fake passports, and are basically mercenaries looks so good on my résumé.”
Amber went over to Lily and pulled her by the arms. “Look, I’ve known you for four years and we’re friends, aren’t we? You never did tell me why you chose this lifestyle. You’re beautiful, know enough about art to tell me something about your background, and yet you’re running around with people who are using you to make money. Why?” She gestured with her chin toward the boxes and containers. “I know it has something to do with the girls, but you make it very personal, Lily. You’ve never told me the reason.”
Lily’s eyes met hers for a long time, as if she were considering whether to tell Amber the truth or half of it. “Why are you a contract agent for the CIA?” she asked quietly. “You hate them.”
“I don’thatethem, hate them. I just know they are users.” Amber released Lily’s arms. “They see me as an asset because I provide them with information they need for their analyses and political games. I see them as a way to help these girls out of this hellhole. I met some of the luckier ones in the States, runaways who had stories to tell and no one who truly cared, and I wanted to make a difference. Throwing money at organizations didn’t seem to help. I know this, I was part of one and all they did was hold fund-raisers and play with numbers to get more funding as the kids became hopelessly lost in the system. So I opted for an unconventional way. You know this. I’ve already told you the story of my life.”
“You have a big heart, Amber,” Lily said quietly. “Don’t your parents miss you?”
“They were missionaries. They know I’m just continuing their job, only in my way. Besides, they’re happily retired now with their own little café in Florida.” Amber missed them, actually. She hadn’t called home for a while now. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want, Lily. I know some of it is too painful for you.”
Amber was, after all, a contract agent. Backgrounds were made up all the time. She had chosen to tell Lily the truth a couple of years ago, when they had become closer friends. Their partnership had started very slowly, when it became obvious Amber needed help. She couldn’t run a CIA frontandtravel around the region moving girls in and out of hideouts.
“Do you remember how we met?” Lily asked.
Lily Noretski had appeared on a prayer, when Amber had accompanied a businessman to an illegal art auction out of curiosity. After they were introduced, she had dropped by The Last Resort a few times when she was in town. Amber liked her. Lily was eclectic, well traveled, funny as hell, and totally fearless when it came to handling weapons and dangerous situations. Amber had seen it herself one night when they were accosted by some thugs who had thought they had found some candidates for theirkafenas.
Together, she and Lily had beaten the crap out of the men. Amber still smiled at that particularly satisfying memory. That had been the beginning of their getting to know each other.
“Let’s see, wasn’t it fighting over some man?” Amber laughed at Lily’s frown.
“Bitch. That’s why we get along so well. Always joking. I guess it’s time to tell you a bit about me.”
Through the years, Amber had discovered that Lily didn’t seem to have anyone. Nor did she want to talk about her own past. It still intrigued Amber how her friend could possibly end up being an expert in the highly secretive world of illegal art. Who trained her about art? And how did she get started? And how did one go about bidding for black market art? Lily was mum about the methods, but obviously her cut was high, since she gave Amber a lot of the cash to pay for information and hideout places.
“I lost a sister this way.” Lily tapped one of the boxes with a foot. “She was kidnapped. My parents didn’t really care, since we didn’t have enough money to support six kids anyway. No one cared, and I was really angry at them. So one day I ran away with a gunrunner who became my boyfriend. He taught me how to use weapons and take care of myself. In fact, he taught me about networking with different groups. I was his…asset, if you know what I mean.”
Amber kept her expression bland. She knew Lily was revealing a lot more between the lines.
“Then I met a businessman who dealt in art, who told me I could be his asset. And he had better clothes, so I left my boyfriend for him.” Lily shrugged. “On to bigger, better crimes. End of story. Sorry you asked?”
“No. Glad. I see now why you get so passionate about the girls.”
“Yes. I hate those bastards that lure and kidnap them,” Lily said fiercely. “And I’ll save as many girls as I can, however long I can.”
“I’m sorry about your sister,” Amber said softly.
“We were very close. I couldn’t save her, but I’ll save the others,” Lily said, then picked up a box. “Ready to load these babies in? We really should get going.”
“Okay. Hey…”
“What?” Lily paused at the back door.
“Brad would understand, you know.”
There was a flash of emotion in Lily’s eyes before her face shuttered. “Would he? And what kind of asset would I be to a career bureaucrat?” she asked before walking out the door.
Amber sighed. Good point. In terms of assets anyway. She picked up a couple of containers and headed after her friend.
They had three safe houses, two in town and one just outside. The girls were moved to the last one just before their long ride out of Macedonia. They were good hiding places. Dilaver would never guess that his missing girls were actually driven into Velesta, the very place to which they were headed.
Now there were a different group of girls—those who had been taken from the raids. They were in worse condition than the ones Lily and her mercenaries had saved while being transported, sometimes needing extreme medical attention.
