Fast Lane said, “Max, next to me. Pit next to him.”
Max froze and took a breath. “Why?”
“Don’t question me, sailor. Sit your ass down.”
He looked at Pitbull, and 2-Stroke was more than aware that it was a silent communication that some shit was going to hit the fan.
“When I deliver the information I’m going to share with you, you will not react. You will listen and remain calm and collected. Is that clear?”
They all nodded. He started talking, and when Fast Lane mentioned Max’s sister Anna, the big man jerked only briefly, but remained in his seat. Everyone tensed up, but when Max set his hands on the table and relaxed his fists, the energy evened out.
“Everyone has to be on board with this. Do you all agree to cover for Dodger and Anna?”
Everyone agreed.
“We’ll need a replacement, but I can handle that.”
Fast Lane turned to Max. “I know how hard this is going to be for you. I get it. But we have to act like everything is copesetic. I have no doubt the CIA is aware Anna is your sister. You go to her, contact her, you’ll be leading them right to Anna and Dodger, and in a situation neither may be able to get out of. No one outside of our team can be trusted with this information unless we have no other choice. I will make that decision. And no one is going lone wolf, either. Are we on the same wavelength, Max?”
“I had no idea she was CIA. None. My little sister, a covert operative? Why didn’t she tell me?” There was more hurt than anger in his voice. 2-Stroke knew why. Max would have gone off the deep end back then. But now, he was hanging from a thin thread but keeping it together.
“He said he would protect Anna with his life,” Fast Lane said.
“He said that? He said he would protect her with his life?” Max asked.
“Word for word.”
“Then I trust him to keep my baby sister safe.”
The fact that he trusted Dodger so strongly with his sister’s life made 2-Stroke wonder if maybe he could confide his own secrets to the team without judgment.
5
Anna stood in her bedroom, her bag packed with everything she needed to run. She bit her lip, hesitation making her stomach churn. It would hurt him when he found her gone, but it was for the best. He would go back to his job and she would… She closed her eyes. She had contacts, her wits, and her ability to disguise herself. But finding out who burned her was going to be difficult without talking to people at the agency.
Her mind shifted through scenarios and speculations, trying to assemble facts from assumptions. Getting out of the country was smart. She had to leave behind her passports. The agency knew all her aliases. When she got out of this mess, she was going to amend her when-the-shit-hits-the-fan plan. Getting out of Prague was going to be next to impossible.
And then what? Hide? That made her grind her teeth. There were too many unanswered questions and much too much at stake to just disappear somewhere.
Someone was planning something big, bigger than the satellite takedown. Her intuition told her that she needed to stay in this game and go at this situation hard. She could do that with the kind of backup Dodger would give her, but could she put him at risk like that?
She wasn’t sure if she was waffling because her argument was sound that she could do it more effectively with him or because she wanted him. That was enough to make her hyperventilate.
Then the whole decision slipped through her fingers. She heard the front door. She stuffed the bag under the bed and walked out.
Dodger stood in the foyer, holding a large bag.
“How did it go?”
“Perfect. He agreed to put me on emergency leave.” He walked to the couch and dumped out a load of clothes and other stuff along with one large and one small plain blue bag.
She bit her lip. “Are you sure about this?”
“One hundred percent.” He started to pull tags off the stuff.
“It might keep the Navy at bay for now, but if you’re caught with me—”
“We won’t get caught.” He paused and turned to look at her. With a smile, he said, “Believe me. We won’t.”
She raised a brow. “Artful Dodger?”
“Now you’re catching on.” He placed travel-sized toiletries into the small bag, then rolled