Hostile Ground (The Arsenal #7) - Cara Carnes Page 0,11
guard.” The man spat blood in Addy’s direction. “I took out the guard and loaded them into the truck.”
“Find out where the women are inside the house,” Zoey said. “Never mind. It won’t matter. We’ll get them out.”
“Z,” Jesse said.
“We aren’t ignoring this,” the woman argued.
“Let’s get Addy out, then we’ll address it,” Jesse said.
“We need to get them out before Lavrov acts on this intel. You know I’m right.”
The man sighed into the com. “Get Marshall’s team on it. They’re closest to the location. We’ll establish a perimeter and surveille until we have Addy secure.”
Addy doubted Kristof would take the news well once his minions arrived at the address and didn’t find the women, but she’d deal with him.
“Send his head to the one he stole from and his heart to Gavriil. Burn the rest.” Kristof donned his blazer. “If your stupidity started a war, I’m going to kill everyone in your family. Slowly.”
“No. Please.” The man pulled at his restraints. “I’ll make restitution.”
“Your death is the restitution.” Kristof turned and headed toward the car. When Addy remained with the man, he looked over his shoulder. “Come, Iriana. We are done here.”
Right. She pulled off the gloves and tossed them onto the tray. Sourness coated her stomach as she forced herself to walk to the car and ignore the man screaming. Begging for his life. His family’s.
Would Kristof kill the man’s family?
No. Addy wanted to believe that was a line he wouldn’t cross, but she didn’t know him. She’d once thought she did, though. Long, long ago when both their worlds had just upended.
“We will drop Iriana off first.”
“I stay with you until this is over,” Addy said. “I insist.”
“You cannot protect me when you are asleep on your feet,” he commented as he grasped her face and ran his thumb across her lips. “Perhaps I should take you to my home. It is closer. I like the idea of you in my bed.”
No way in hell she was getting anywhere near Lavrov’s home. She glared at him when he chuckled as if sensing the direction her exhausted brain was taking. She needed rest, but she needed to know what Lavrov’s next move was more.
The com had gone silent when she left the warehouse. Though she knew her team was likely following her home, had Zoey and Jesse really dispatched a team to the address the man had offered? If so, she couldn’t leave his side until this was done.
If he sent men to the address and The Arsenal had already taken them…
“Let him drop you off,” Zoey said. “You shouldn’t be with him if he shows up at that address.”
Where else would she be? She’d handle the fallout easier than anyone.
His jaw flinched. “Don’t press this.” He whispered the order in her ear, the one with the com. “Stand down and let me deal with this, Hummingbird. Only I can stop a war from breaking out. You’ll have to trust me on this one.”
Addy didn’t reply. He wasn’t speaking to her. He was talking to Zoey via the com. Ivan was glaring at her in the rearview mirror. How much of the conversation had he heard? Iriana wouldn’t argue with Kristof’s orders.
“It’ll take a few days, but I will handle this. Too much scrutiny will create problems neither of us can afford,” Kristof whispered in her ear.
“He’s right,” Jesse said. “If he can get them back without a ripple, we need to let him.”
“Back to whoever had them! Not free!” Zoey argued.
“That’s not an option,” Addy whispered. “You know better than that.”
“Three days,” Kristof said. “Give me three days.”
“My team will keep them under surveillance,” Marshall said. “Zoey, get to work on identifying who Gavriil is. We’ve learned a lot about Lavrov’s network the past couple of weeks. The more we learn, the better.”
She nodded, holding eye contact with Kristof. They’d talk later, whenever he worked privacy into his busy routine. So far he’d done well in that regard. Addy peered out of the vehicle and remained silent as the tension eased.
The Arsenal was constructing a massive amount of data on Kristof’s network—one he’d opened up to them because of the biochemical weapons. All for Stacia.
The man wasn’t an idiot. Kristof had surely known Marshall Mason and his five brothers would take the opportunity to gather everything they needed to take him down whenever The Arsenal was done playing his games.
So why take the risk?
Who the hell was Stacia? Why did Addy want to know so damn bad?