PAXTON SHOULD HAVE already been gone, but he couldn't exactly show up at the airport covered in blood and expect to be allowed to board a plane. No matter how much his mind screamed at him to go, to get out of there before Coco returned, he couldn't just leave his things there.She wasn't going to understand any of this. Part of his head screamed at him to stop, slow down, think it all through. But his gut knew better. What he'd done today had been easy, except for the part where he feared Coco might have been injured or dead.Coco was fine. She was alive. The cops and Silas would watch out for her.Paxton, on the other hand, needed to go home.The guys would be here for another week. He'd have the house to himself for seven whole days. He couldn't remember the last time he spent that much time alone. It would be good for him.So why was he moving so slowly? And where the hell were the rest of his dirty clothes?Something jostled the front door.He froze, listening for the sligh

Volume 9: Dangerous SecretsSILAS HERRERA WAS NEVER doing anyone another favor for as long as he lived.Hell, he should have learned his lesson after the last favor he'd done for his best friend had them tromping through hip high savanna grass hunting people that liked to shoot at other people.This time he was learning that lesson. This was a mistake he would not repeat. Ever.No. More. Favors.He scrubbed a hand over his face. At least this job was simply tedious. There were small things to be thankful for. No one shot at them. He got to stay in nice hotels. Nothing exploded. His meals had been decent. There hadn't been any deaths. Though he was about ready for a change of pace. If he had to watch one more emergency make-up situation, he might just stab his own eyes out.He glanced at his watch again. If his asset waited much longer, he'd have to insist she hold tight while he scouted the route to the meeting room again.Did he dare tell her to get her ass in gear?Not in t

SILAS WAS GOING TO strangle this girl. At least in his mind. He'd never lay a hand on her, asset or no. She was on his last goddamn nerve though.What the hell was she doing sneaking out like this?At first he'd hung back, baffled by her coat theft and curious enough to see where this went. Now he was starting to hear alarm bells in his head the farther west she went.Fewer people.Some dead guy near the fountain.That kneeling routine she'd done at the café.What the hell was she up to?He peered around the hedges, cursing the lack of people. He'd had to drop back farther to avoid being seen. So far she hadn't noticed him. Turning his jacket inside out and grabbing a baseball cap had been enough change for her to not realize it was him. But now there wasn't a way for him to stay close to her.Silas didn't like this one bit. He should have marched up to her as soon as she left the hotel and demanded answers.A man stepped out from between the hedges halfway between them.Ekko

EKKO BARELY MADE IT to the armchair in her room before her legs gave out on her. She caught herself and lowered herself onto the cushion. She drew her legs up tight against her chest and turned her head toward the window. This far up she couldn't see directly down, but the flashing lights of emergency responders created a colorful display across her ceiling.A man was dead.She didn't know for certain if the person who'd left the envelope for her was the one who'd died, but she also didn't believe in coincidence.Who was that person? Did they know what they'd died for?She'd always known this plan was dangerous. Her parents and others had warned her that the things she said on camera could make her a target. It was widely known that DSS executioners sometimes killed people who spoke out. Part of the reason she'd made sure to plant her in front of any camera willing to film her was to protect herself.Knowing it was dangerous and experiencing it were two very different things.Ekk

PASLEY STARED AT THE bridge and the drama unfolding there. In truth, there was nothing abnormal about what was going on. Any vehicle that crossed into Dauria had to be gone over and all the occupant's passports and documents checked. Typically visitors also had their luggage examined, but the United Nations team wouldn't have to go through that until they'd reached the military check-point, and even then Pasley figured the check would be done without the UN team's knowledge.Pasley had been listening to everything their superiors had said about this process for the last year. He wasn't sure how it had begun or why, but it was a hotly contested matter among their hierarchy.Truth be told, Pasley wasn't entirely sure what the United Nations even was. According to the news, the UN was a governing body slowly corrupting the rest of the world by enforcing immoral laws on other, less morally sound nations. If Pasley wasn't DSS, if he didn't spend time outside Dauria, he might believe that