Eden nodded, totally on board. “Then it’ll be just a matter of putting me in Heaver’s path, and monitoring their communications?”
“Exactly. And the money. I’m interested to see what the fee is for a return customer. I’ll say I’ll pay extra for you if it’s a tight turnaround. You’ll go to Birmingham tonight. Heaver will start tracking you at the address I send. Once Tarasov green lights the kidnapping, we’ll know the date and place, and then we can coordinate your part with the other two teams and plan the joint op as a whole.”
Kiyomi came over to them, Marcus right behind her. Still with the disapproving look on his face, but standing near enough to hear exactly what was said. “What else have you got on Tarasov’s location?” Kiyomi asked.
Amber pulled up the exterior shot of his place on her laptop. “I’ve got the blueprints and specs on the kind of security system he’s got.” Everything popped up on screen a second later.
Kiyomi studied it, and Marcus moved in closer. Karas left his side to poke her nose at Eden. She stroked the top of the dog’s soft head as she watched and listened to the conversation.
“He’ll have a safe room of some sort in the basement,” Kiyomi said. “How much security does he normally have with him?”
“Enough,” Trinity answered. “He’s cagey, rarely leaves his place. Electronic security for sure on the exterior and interior, and from what we can tell, he’s usually got between one and three bodyguards around him at all times. Maybe even while he’s inside.”
Kiyomi nodded, appearing totally unfazed by the news. She’d dealt with many men like him over the years, alone. This time she would have trained teammates with her. “Who’s my backup?”
“Marcus and Chloe,” Trin answered. “That work?” she asked them.
Kiyomi murmured an affirmative, and Marcus gave a curt nod, none too happy, but accepting that this was happening and determined to help protect his wife.
“I heard my name.” Chloe stepped up between Marcus and Kiyomi and put her arms around them both, either oblivious of the tension between the couple, or ignoring it. “Hey, teammates.” She peered up at the schematic for Tarasov’s place. “Oooh, the prime asshole.” She looked at Trinity expectantly. “What do I get to do?”
Trinity’s mouth quirked. “I’m almost afraid to say it, but you’ll need to create a diversion.”
Chloe let go of Marcus and yanked her fist in toward her hip. “Yes.”
“A small one,” Marcus added with a warning look.
Chloe didn’t so much as glance at him, too busy staring at the blueprint, her excitement palpable. “What’s this building here?” She pointed to a shorter building across the street and down two doors.
“Used to be an old bakery before it was converted into a garage,” Trinity said.
Her face lit up. “So it’s vacant?”
“Except for some of Tarasov’s car collection, yes.”
“Perfect.” She chewed on her gum, didn’t look up when Heath appeared behind her.
“Uh oh. I’m well acquainted with that look,” he muttered, and perused the images. “Hoping this goes without saying, firecracker, but you cannot blow up a building in the middle of an occupied neighborhood.”
She shot him an insulted look and went back to studying. “I wouldn’t blow up an entire building. Although that would be cool,” she mused to herself.
Eden shared an amused look with Zack, glad their part of this mission was simpler and wouldn’t involve any explosives. Explosions drew attention. She wanted hers to be a surprise attack. Quick, clean, and most of all, unexpected.
“Hey, can you mix me up some custom sedatives, and maybe some sodium thiopental?” Kiyomi asked her.
Eden raised her eyebrows. “You want truth serum? I thought you were doing a hit.” When Kiyomi had said she wanted Tarasov, everyone assumed she’d meant he wouldn’t survive to go to jail.
Kiyomi shot a glance at Marcus, who was watching her closely, then looked at Eden again. “I want to find out what he knows first. He’s former Bratva. He won’t talk, even under torture. But I bet you could mix something to loosen his tongue at least a little.”
Oh, she absolutely could. “All I need are the chemicals.”
Kiyomi nodded. “Gimme a list, and I’ll get them for you.” She glanced at Marcus again, her expression veiled. “We’d better see about dinner.”
Chloe’s face lit up, all her attention on Kiyomi and Marcus as they turned away. “Dinner? Good, because I’m starving.” She trailed after them, following them out of the room and presumably toward the kitchen.
“Is it just me, or is Chloe totally clueless as to what’s going on with those two?” Zack mused.
“At least the mention of dinner took her mind off blowing stuff up for a little while.”
He looked at her, gray eyes brimming with amusement. “Your friends are weird.”
“Yeah.” Eden looped her arm around his waist and shook her head, a fond smile curving her mouth. “God, I’ve missed all my badass babes.”
Chapter Nine
Marcus strode for the kitchen after Kiyomi, the tap of his cane mixing with the click of Karas’s nails on the old flagstones. Chloe was right behind him, chattering away like a magpie, and Heath behind her.
“What are we having? A roast? You make the best roast beef I’ve ever had. I’ve tried a couple in the States since we got back, and they’re not even half as good. If you are making one, can you do Yorkshire puddings like you did on Bonfire Night? Maybe an extra pan or two this time. Heath stole two of mine that night, and I still haven’t forgiven him for it.”
“You mean I was forced to nab two from your plate before they were all gone, because you’d already eaten three and the pans were empty before they got to me,” Heath said.
“Lies,” Chloe argued.
Marcus pulled in a deep breath and kept walking, praying for patience. God, what he wouldn’t give for an hour of privacy and peace and quiet in his own home right now. He liked everyone well enough, but having the whole group together under his roof while working up to a mission he already hated was a lot to take.
Being furious with his wife wasn’t helping his mood any either.
He stared after her as she entered the kitchen. What was she thinking, wanting to be the one to target Tarasov?
The few times he’d tried to start a conversation with her in private, she’d refused to talk about it and walked out of the room. Leaving him to simmer in his own angry juices and pushing his frustration level to the breaking point.
Anxiety had become a constant grinding in the pit of his stomach these past few days, his fear for her a living thing inside him. A fear that had nothing to do with his belief in her abilities, and everything to do with the level of danger she would be facing once again.
They’d all been through so much already. Too much, especially Kiyomi. He’d naively thought that kind of danger was done.
With the Architect’s death, Kiyomi’s past, that old life full of danger and violence and death was supposed to be over now. Forever. Yet here he was, forced to once again watch the woman who held his beating heart in her hands put her life at risk—and for revenge.