Chapter One
Her instincts had served her well over the years. In fact, they were the main reason she was still alive today. And right now, they were screaming at her that this might signal more danger was on the way.
Amber leaned back in her office chair, drumming her fingers on the armrests as she stared at her custom laptop. Lady Ada was so much more to her than just a computer.
The machine was a part of her. A near perfect creation that Amber had nurtured and kept improving from the moment she’d received the individual components and begun the building process from scratch several years ago.
Lady Ada was also never wrong. And right now she was telling Amber they had a serious problem brewing.
Amber shoved the rolling chair back on the rug, stood and strode from her highly secure office into the downstairs hallway of the two-story house she shared with her husband. Large picture windows at the back of the house overlooked the lush green lawn and the acres of Montana pastureland beyond it, anchored in the distance by the majestic, jagged peaks of the Rockies.
Beneath her bare feet, the rhythmic thump of bass and drums vibrated up through the floor long before she reached the door to the basement. The dark, gritty beat of an old Depeche Mode song hit her when she pulled it open and jogged down the staircase into what they’d made into their home gym.
At the bottom, she paused. Jesse stood in the middle of the mat-covered floor, facing away from her as he went to town on the heavy bag suspended from the ceiling. Sweat glistened on his golden-toned skin and dampened his short, dark brown hair, highlighting every bunch and ripple of muscle across his back and shoulders with each punch he threw.
Watching him here was a reminder that like her, he was deadly. That he had been trained to kill with his bare hands in addition to a variety of weapons, and that until recently he’d made his living as a hired killer.
Now those same skilled, deadly hands protected her. Supported her. Made her tingle and shiver all over when they caressed her.
He was her partner. Her lover. The only man who had won her respect, trust and heart.
A wave of desire rolled over her as she watched him deliver a rapid combo of powerful blows to the bag, the sheer, masculine power of him momentarily taking her breath away.
He knew she was watching. Would have known the moment she opened the door at the top of the stairs, or maybe even before that, even with the music up loud enough to vibrate the floor. Because Jesse’s awareness was as finely honed as hers.
Reminding herself why she’d come down here, she pushed those thoughts firmly away and stepped forward. He met her gaze in the mirrors on the opposite wall and stopped, wiping a forearm across his sweaty forehead as he turned to face her, his pecs and abs flexing with each rapid breath.
She hit a button on the wall to kill the music, and suddenly Jesse’s elevated breathing was the only sound in the silent room. “Need you to come look at something.”
He held her stare as he removed his boxing gloves. Assessing her. “Something wrong?”
“Maybe.”
Unwrapping his hands and wrists, he snagged a towel from a bench and prowled toward her, all sexy male grace and power. If she hadn’t been so worried about the current situation, she would have dragged him off to the shower in the next room to enjoy running her soapy hands all over that chiseled body, and then following them with her mouth.
Instead, she turned and jogged back up to the main floor and headed straight into her office. Lady Ada was continuing her latest scan as Amber sat back down in the chair to review what was showing on screen.
Jesse moved in behind her, quiet as a stalking panther and splayed a big, tanned hand on the desk to the left of her keyboard. He leaned in over her shoulder with the towel now draped around his neck, filling her nose with a mix of spice, sweat, and something all him that made her want to rub her face against his neck.
“What am I looking at?” he asked in that deep, dark voice that could easily distract her if she let it.
“It’s something I’ve been monitoring for a while now.” She’d always kept tabs on her remaining Valkyrie sisters, and still did in case of this exact situation, to ensure they all stayed safe. God knew they’d all been through more than enough shit already.
“It started shortly after Kiyomi and Marcus’s wedding,” she added. This past Christmas Eve, to be exact. Already seven months ago now. “Lady Ada picked up the first hint of trouble on one of her routine scans and there’ve been a few other hints since then, but I’ve noticed a marked uptick in unusual activity over the past few weeks.”
She closed one screen and brought up another, turning her head to watch Jesse’s reaction.
His dark eyebrows pulled together instantly as he scanned the intel, his expression hardening. “All your names are listed.”
“I know.” All eight Valkyries identified by name—or at least the names they’d been known by while they were still involved with the Program. That was worrisome in itself. No one should have access to that information anymore.
“Someone’s been watching all of us,” she continued. “Possibly trying to locate us, I’m still not sure. And I can’t say for sure yet whether whoever is behind this poses a real threat or not. But as you can see from the number of hits Lady Ada has come back with, this person seems to be most interested in one of us in particular.”
Staring at the data, Jesse raised his free hand and absently rubbed at his chin, the scar on the right side visible through the dark stubble. “Yeah, shit. Any idea why?”
“No. And before you ask, no, I haven’t alerted the others, because I don’t want to cause undue concern while everyone is trying to move on and find their footing.” Trying to forge actual lives for themselves after decades of being government pawns and having to constantly look over their shoulders every time they ventured out of their homes.
They’d more than earned that right. All of them had. Just as they’d all earned the money they’d taken back in the fall during the joint op to end the Architect.
Now she was worried that this new development might threaten all of that. Everything they’d fought for—their futures.
Their freedom.
She expelled a long breath and looked up at Jesse, thinking of all they’d been through and how far they’d come together. Initially he’d been sent to hunt her down. Now he would protect and defend her with his last breath.
She would never take that for granted. Or his insight. She valued his opinion on security matters. “What do you think?” She was wired to be paranoid. She and the others had been trained to be suspicious of everything and everyone, and to notice the smallest detail, no matter how insignificant it seemed.
More than that, aside even from her computer know-how and skills as an assassin, first and foremost she’d been trained not to trust anyone. Ever. To never let anyone in. As a result, she’d been alone most of her life, with no one to turn to or rely on.
Her sister and Jesse had changed all of that forever, along with her other Valkyrie sisters. Now she couldn’t imagine her life without them. That was why she was determined to stay on top of this emerging evidence, and head off any threat before it surfaced.
Jesse straightened, face somber as their eyes met. “Better call her and let her know what’s up.”