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Chapter 35: Mark, Riley
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Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 36: Erin
MONDAY. TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIGHT.ERIN TOOK HER LAPTOP from Riley and set it up on the tiny tray table in front of her. Her ears kept trying to pop without success as the massive air bus reached cruising altitude."Anything I can do?" he asked."No. Everything we salvaged was digital.""You want me to go through it? You could watch a movie.""Thanks, but I should do this. I mean, what if there's confidential information or details about a new site? We don't know what we're looking for.""If Mark was involved..."Erin swallowed. The possible connection to Mark had her nervous. There wasn't anyone else who operated in Erbil with the kind of equipment or manpower that had issue with her. Before, when she'd thought this was a personal attack against her, she'd understood what was going on, even if the how didn't make sense. With Mark factored in it was obvious he'd put her kidnappers up to the job.But why?She had no idea.But she had eleven hours to figure it out."
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 37: Erin
Erin's heart did a summersault. One thoughtful act and she wanted to throw herself at him.She resisted the urge and turned her attention back to her laptop. Music. That's what she needed to stay focused. Her selection was small, but it was better than the general nothing of the plane.Focus.She had work to do.Osman's email archive was exactly what she'd suspected it to be. Boring. Full of random, unnecessary work correspondence, a few newsletters, some personal mail, but nothing too out of the ordinary.It was too normal.Erin sat back in her chair and stared at the file structure.The oil business was a tricky world. It wasn't as simple as just buying the rights to some land, pumping the crude and shipping out for refining. The governments and military were involved. So were the locals and the people who'd lived off that land for generations. Nothing was as simple and clean as this email archive.What was she missing?Erin expanded the files. With thousands of mes
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 38: Mark, Erin
MONDAY, DALLAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TEXAS.MARK SAT IN THE SUV parked across from the terminal. Any moment now, Erin Lopez would arrive, and a series of events would be set into motion. Ever since Mark began doing these off-the-book jobs, he'd used others to cover up the end goal. People asked fewer questions about a freak allergic reaction resulting in death than they did when someone was killed during a mugging.With any luck, Erin's story would be neatly wrapped up in a bow.Following her kidnapping by the family members who held her responsible for the deaths of parents, siblings, and cousins, one, lone survivor would finish the job.Khalil would get the revenge he'd always wanted and Mark would have one loose end tied up. There was still the matter of that email to deal with, but Mark could handle that. There were ways.First, Erin. It always came down to her. He'd misjudged her the first time around and suffered from that mistake. Once she was out of the way, it wo
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 39: Riley
TUESDAY. SAFE HOUSE, LAS COLINAS, TEXAS.RILEY TURNED THE SUV off and glanced around the gated community. Their latest safe house was a bit too close to its neighbors for his taste, with no perimeter fence. He'd have preferred a hotel or something, but this was what Zain had lined up. He had to have his reasons.Vaughn and Nolan climbed out, stretching after still more hours sitting in uncomfortable chairs at the hospital. At least now they knew the extent of Erin's injuries. A fractured rib and deep tissue bruising wasn't fun, but it was better than being broken. The pain she'd experienced was due to knots and tension, both of which would be helped by a healthy dose of muscle relaxers."Come on." Nolan knocked on the roof. "They're supposed to have BBQ for dinner.""Right behind you," Riley said. He glanced in the rearview mirror.Erin had yet to move. That haunted look was still on her face, and he didn't know how to fix it.Nolan glanced from Riley to Erin, then shook
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 40: Riley
Riley tried the handle and found it was unlocked. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.Erin sat on a padded bench at the foot of the queen-sized bed, bent forward with her face in her hands. He shut the door behind him and crossed the room to sit next to her. The shit she'd been through this last week was the kind of stuff no one should have to deal with, and yet she'd taken it all in stride. It spoke to the strength of her character and her resolve to see this through till the end. She was more concerned about others than her own safety. He admired that about her even if he would like nothing better than to lock her in a closet for her own good."I get that this is frustrating, but we're trying to protect you and take care of Mark. It's not simple," he said."Don't you think I know that?" Erin pushed her hand through her hair and sat up slowly."Then what are you mad about?""Everything?" She blew out a breath. "I should have gone through his stuff sooner. I should ha
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 41: Erin
ERIN STOOD UNDER THE hot spray of water. She could still feel Riley's hands on her, his mouth against hers.This was becoming a habit.What the hell was she going to do about Riley? About all of this?Riley said his team was going to handle the mess she'd uncovered, but she was the one responsible for everything. Her relationship with him complicated everything. What Riley said ended with him. He didn't speak for the others or Aegis Group. That wasn't how these things worked. They were paid to do a job. That was their priority. If it came down to who to trust to do the right thing, she'd have to have faith in herself. People were dying, and she had the evidence to stop it. But at what cost? What if Mark killed her? What if something else happened?She could always take a copy of the video and send it to the police. Except the murders didn't happen in America. Someone at the Department of Defense, then? The last resort would be taking the video to the media. Exposing something l
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 42: Riley
WEDNESDAY. SAFE HOUSE, LAS COLINAS, TEXAS."RILEY?"There was a note of alarm in that voice. The kind that hooked Riley out of a deep, satisfied sleep and brought him to full wakefulness."Hm? What?" He sat up, blinking in the darkness."Where's Erin?"Riley blinked at Brenden standing in the doorway.Where was Erin?Riley twisted, but the other side of the bed was empty. She'd been right there. He placed his hand on the sheets, but they were cold."She was taking a shower..." And he'd passed out despite telling himself to wait up for her."She's not here," Brenden said. There was a note of alarm Riley hadn't often heard from the man. It fueled his desperation to find Erin, prove Brenden wrong.Riley threw back the blankets and stood, glad he'd at least gone to bed with his boxers on."She's here somewhere. Move." Riley shoved past Brenden into the hall. "Erin?"He pushed the bathroom door open.Water droplets still clung to the shower walls. The humidity h
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 43: Erin
THURSDAY. UNKNOWN, TEXAS.ERIN'S HEAD THROBBED AND her shoulders ached on top of the dull pain from her ribs. The one saving grace was that the floor was cool, giving her some respite from the heat. Her side still burned, and her toes twitched at the memory of the Taser.She kept her eyes firmly shut, sorting through the last thing she remembered.The man from the airport.He'd been waiting in the shadows outside the house. She'd stupidly walked out there and put herself in his path. He'd caught her off-guard and the Taser had robbed her of the ability to fight back at first. He'd hit her with something and after that it was fuzzy. She had fleeting memories of a car ride, being drug out by her feet, and then nothing.Had he dosed her with something?Her mouth was dry, but that didn't mean anything.What was she going to do?She took stock of her body, noting the pains and discomforts. Her ribs hurt, but that was nothing new. The back of her head was tender. The worst
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