IGNEY FOLLOWED THE MAN down the cramped hall. Their driver had only introduced himself as Li, a name Igney doubted was real.The hall was ancient. Bricks were missing in places with the holes sealed in with more concrete or plaster. It was barely wide enough to walk without his shoulders brushing. Pasley must have to walk almost sideways.Just where were they going?Igney bit his tongue to keep from asking more questions. It was obvious after the initial greeting that these two men weren't going to divulge details. Igney wasn't even sure why the two Chinese men were the ones to pick them up at the airport. There was a whole contingent of DSS in the city. Why hadn't they come?One thing Igney did know about the men who'd picked them up from the airport was that they were killers. It was the way they moved, how they looked at a person. Igney knew both had killed before.The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Or maybe it just seemed that way because of the tight confines.There were tw

SILAS' HEART THROBBED IN his throat. He caught sight of Chayan ahead of them down a continuation of the subterranean hall through a group of people.Who was the other victim? Was there someone else?Was Ekko okay?He shoved the last whisper of fear aside."What's happening?" Brett demanded."On three," Paxton said in a steady tone.Neither actually counted out loud. They'd worked together for so long that Silas could feel the count under his skin.One...Silas picked his target. The man on the right holding back.Two.Paxton would obviously focus on the left side.Three...Silas fired in unison with Paxton, but it was Silas who moved first. He darted forward. The remaining two men hovering over the downed man whirled, but Silas was already on them."Fucking, fuck, fuck, fuck," Brett growled over the headset.The man on the right struck out before Silas could fire.It was that guy. Iggy or whatever his name was. From the park.Silas' right arm smacked against the wall. H

SILAS RESISTED THE URGE to follow Ekko down the hall. She was just going to the bathroom. They were leaving in minutes. She'd be fine. Still, he couldn't silence this urge that told him to go to her. Stay with her just in case someone else tried to snatch her from him.God, he was pathetic.His mind rejected that thought no sooner than it had formed.This thing with her, this partnership, it wasn't pathetic. It was special. He just didn't know what to do about it."How do the stitches feel?" Paxton leaned on the counter across from him and twisted the top off a water bottle.Silas glanced back at his best friend and partner. "Fine. You do good work, nerd."Paxton studied Silas. It was a calculating look, parsing Silas down to his parts and weighing him. In the very beginning when they'd met, Silas hadn't liked that look. It had made him uneasy, which had driven him to poke at the then silent kid. That poking had turned into an initial dislike, but they'd gotten over it. Even that

EKKO SLID ONTO THE stool next to Silas. It was so close to him their arms brushed as he moved. She should do the polite thing and scoot away, but she couldn't make herself.When she'd woken up alone, without him anywhere, she'd panicked. At least she had once her head to clear enough for her to feel anything. Then when she'd seen him covered in blood...She wanted to be near him. To assure herself he was okay, that he was alive.Despite not having done much during the day beyond wait, worry and ride around in a car, she was worn out. They'd moved to another location. According to Brett this place was better than the last, something about it being an MI6 safe house rather than the CIA crash pad. Whatever the difference was, it didn't matter to her. They were safe and dinner was on the table.Silas nudged her with his elbow. "Eat up.""Oh, yeah." She picked at the lasagna without much interest. Her stomach was too tied in knots to be all that hungry.Chayan was asleep, courtesy of

EKKO CLUNG TIGHT TO Silas' hand as they left the terminal. She'd learned last time that just because they got to their destination didn't mean all was well. It wasn't until Chayan had cleared customs that she relaxed even a little bit.There were still many hurdles.First, it was almost six. The United Nations was no doubt closed for the day, which meant it would be tomorrow before they could even attempt to talk to someone. Ekko had no idea what was going on with the investigative team in Dauria, much less the protests. She hadn't heard from any of her contacts in days, and even before that things had been scarce. God, she wanted to know if they were okay. She needed information, but more than that, they needed to be somewhere safe."Stay close, everyone," Silas said as they headed for the doors.Before they reached the entry, the doors parted and Brett strode in."Ride's here. Let's go," he said.There was an energy ushering them forward. It made Ekko nervous while Silas and th