Leo (Vigilance #3) - Silvia Violet Page 0,64

into the phone conversation Niall was having as he paced the length of the space.

Suddenly, he stopped moving. I knew immediately something was wrong. He lowered his voice, and I strained to hear him.

“He’s where?… Fuck… All right… We’re on our way… I can’t leave him… I know. See you there.” Niall turned to me as he shoved his phone into his pocket. “Come on, we’ve got to go.”

“Where?”

“Swain’s house.”

“Wait. You’re taking me?”

“I’ll explain in the car. I can’t leave you here, not with… Just come on.”

I raced out of the house after him. I barely had the car door closed before he took off.

28

Leo

Giorgio and I left our SUV on the service road that ran along the back edge of Swain’s property. The whole drive there, I tried unsuccessfully to stop thinking of Ezra. I wished I’d insisted on talking to him before I’d left. He deserved an explanation about what was happening from me. I also wanted to make sure he knew I’d come for him as soon as it was over.

“Let it go and focus,” Giorgio said.

“I’m good.”

“Are you? Because we can’t fuck this up.” We closed the car doors and began to move into the trees.

“I’m not going to fuck this up. I want Swain dead. He came for Ezra.”

Giorgio raised his hands in a surrender posture. “I get that, but you’re thinking too hard.”

I hated that he was right. I was better at this than that. I needed this mission complete so I could get back to Ezra.”

I took a deep breath and pushed everything away, finding that place in my mind where I had to go when a mission reached the critical point. I felt the armor of my CIA-agent personality settling over me and nodded to Giorgio. “I’m ready.”

“Then let’s do this.”

We moved silently toward the house. Once it came into view, Giorgio used a scope to scan the area. “Nothing. Any word from X?”

I checked my phone and shook my head. We were supposed to wait for X’s word that Emilio had hacked the security system. I called him but got no response. “Something’s off.”

Giorgio nodded. “We need to go in. We can’t back down now.”

I agreed. “Let’s break in through the sliding door.” I pointed toward the back deck. “I’ll head straight for the master suite. You search the downstairs.”

We started across the lawn toward the house, moving quickly, then something hit my shoulder, knocking me back.

Giorgio turned, then he fell too. I saw a dart sticking out of his back. Fuck.

I reach for my shoulder, but I was already losing coordination. I grabbed the dart and yanked it out, but it was too late. The world went dark around the edges. I told my legs to move, but I wasn’t getting off the ground. A second later, the world went black.

29

Ezra

“What happened?” I asked after Niall turned onto the road.

“Emilio showed up at X’s house.”

“Emilio is…”

“Our computer guy.”

“Wait. He knows who X is?”

“Apparently, but that’s not important. What matters is that his identity is compromised, and he’s been sent misinformation. X can’t get ahold of Leo or Giorgio. Swain knew they were coming.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to remember how to breathe. Was Leo alive? Would I see him again? “What are we going to do?”

“X and some others are on the way to help. We’re going to find Leo and Giorgio, and we’re going to kill Swain.” Niall’s voice remained calm and steady, but I could tell he was shaken.

“Do you think they…”

“They’re alive, and they’re going to be fine.”

I knew he was trying to convince himself. “What can I do to help?”

“You can stay behind me and make sure you don’t get hurt. If you do, Leo will kill me.”

“Could he?” Niall was smaller, but I had no doubt he was more dangerous than he appeared.

“He would sure as hell try.”

I massaged my forehead, trying to make a worsening headache recede. “I hate this.”

“You and me both.”

“How do you handle the stress of operations like this?” I couldn’t imagine doing what Niall did all the time.

“You focus on what you have to do and put one foot in front of the other until it’s done. Afterwards, you can fall apart.”

“So you aren’t stoic all the time?”

“Hell no. If Leo told you that, he was bullshitting you.”

“No. I’ve seen him… I mean, I knew that.”

“If he let you see that he’s not always strong and in charge, then he cares about you a lot.”

“But he said—” I