Franklin didn’t hesitate, quickly taking control, spiraling what she’d intended as a quick thank you into an inferno so hot, he would be surprised an onlooker wouldn’t see steam coming off them. In the back of his mind, the shuffling of feet and a door closing started his slow ascent out of the thick cloud of lust fogging his brain. Moving his hands to her ass, Franklin cupped the underside of her cheeks, intent on lifting her to the table at her back when Catalina Adler’s mocking voice brought him to an immediate halt.
“Fifteen fricking bedrooms in this monstrosity of a house and you’re making out in the den… or library… or… what the hell do you even call this room?” Asia groaned at the loss when he pulled back. Recovering quickly, she looked to where her younger sister stood nearby. She grinned and shook her head at Cat’s nonsense.
“It’s a parlor, a receiving room for the lady of the house, so it isn’t anything you’ll ever have to worry about, little sister mine with terrible timing.” Their laughter as the two women hugged proved the words didn’t have any real bite. Franklin always envied siblings who could joke with one another without taking the jibes seriously—his own family had been anything but.
Chapter Three
An hour later, after catching up over coffee, Asia and Cat were exploring the second and third floors, leaving Franklin and Cooper to gather the things on Vienna’s short list. Waiting until he knew the sisters were out of earshot, Franklin turned to Cooper, brow raised in question. He nor Asia had known they were coming… hell, he hadn’t even known they were in Europe.
“Catalina had a meeting in Naples.” Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why you made the side trip. Cooper shrugged his shoulders in deliberate nonchalance, but something told Franklin there was more to the story.
“In my experience, agents—even retired ones—don’t make five hundred-mile trips for no particular reason. Hell, spooks—even those claiming to be off the books—don’t do anything without a specific goal in mind. Case in point, Cameron Barnes is one of the most calculating and deliberate men I’ve ever known.” If Cooper knew Franklin and Cam were friends—the observation wasn’t criticism, merely a statement of fact. Nodding once, Cooper stepped closer before speaking.
“We’ve picked up rumors, a man matching Braun’s description made his way to a clinic in Switzerland. Before checking himself out, he killed a nurse who’d denied him pain medication on the flight from New York.” If he was indeed Carl Braun, Franklin wasn’t at all surprised he’d taken revenge for what he’d perceived as a challenge to his authority. From everything he’d heard, Braun’s short fuse and lack of respect for those who didn’t serve a purpose was nothing new. “Until I’m certain she is safe, I’ll be Cat’s shadow—whether she likes it or not. She heard her sister was here and wanted to check on her… so here we are.”
“Am I to assume she’s not thrilled to have gained a guardian angel?” Catalina had traveled the world alone for several years, working as a contract agent. Her jewelry design business was the perfect cover, and according to Cam Barnes, Catalina had been spectacularly successful until her kidnapping and torture.
“Oddly enough, she seems okay with it—for now. I think the memories of what she endured locked in that hellhole are still fresh enough to make her skittish.”
“Rightfully so.”
“I agree. None of the agencies she worked for have been able to find a reason for her abduction—at least nothing related to her covert work. The multi-agency investigation concluded, she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Franklin wasn’t surprised none of the groups Catalina worked for wanted to concede involvement. Culpability meant financial responsibility—those under the table settlements always seemed to fall on some judicial watchdog’s radar. No nation wanted their intelligence efforts splashed across the front pages of every news rag in the world, nor did they want their citizens to know how much money they spent, contracting out missions their own militaries were forbidden to see through. Becoming embroiled in the overthrow of another government was as frowned upon as it was commonplace.
“You’ve told me what they think. Now tell me your take.” Franklin leaned back against a desk large enough to have its own zip code, crossed his ankles, and watched Cooper as he considered how much to share. The other man’s reluctance wasn’t a surprise; after all, they didn’t know each other well, and neither of their professional lives bred trust. “I just want your opinion, Cooper.” If I wanted state secrets, I’d get them firsthand—I sure as hell wouldn’t have to ask you for them. Historically, gifted magicals stayed out of politics because they didn’t have the time or inclination to become involved in things that rarely mattered in the grand scheme of things. Of course, there were exceptions, but overall, it wasn’t done unless absolutely necessary.
“Jesus, I have to stop thinking like an agent. It’s exhausting being so damned paranoid all the time.”
“I understand and agree. Rest assured, your secrets are safe with me. I’ll never give you a reason to question my loyalty.” Franklin assumed Cam Barnes had already told former Special Agent Hicks the same thing since he considered Cooper the best protégé he’d ever trained. He didn’t blame him for being reluctant to answer the question, but in the end, Hicks had nothing to lose by bouncing ideas off someone with a completely fresh point of view.
Franklin saw the moment the other man decided it was safe to speak his mind; something close to relief washed through him. Even though Franklin had been making a concerted effort to stay out of his head, Cooper’s emotions were too strong to miss.
“I think it’s horse shit… their reports, I mean. I’ve worked for these agencies long enough to recognize a whitewash when I see it. They know or suspect what motivated the kidnapping; at the very least, they have the tapes the kidnappers sent with their ransom request. I haven’t been able to get my hands on those yet since I’m technically retired—not that the distinction has kept them from pulling me back for a couple off-the-books missions.”
“From what I’ve observed, the terms former and agent never belong in the same sentence. I’ve always admired the world’s intelligence agencies—they’ve obviously written the tightest employment contracts imaginable if they can reel you back in on a whim.” It was the truth; he’d seen it play out numerous times over the years. Agents tried to disappear after retirement, but it always seemed to be a ‘you can run, but you cannot hide’ scenario.
“True enough. Hell, I’ve got every contact I can think of searching for answers—some using more legitimate means than others.” Cooper’s shoulders finally seemed to relax as he gave a reluctant half chuckle. “I’m not going to lie, I don’t give a shit how they get the information, I want it… yesterday.” Franklin understood the other man’s dilemma—every instinct was screaming one thing while everyone around you was swearing something entirely different.
“For what it’s worth, I agree with you. There’s too much smoke for the situation to be completely free of flames.” Franklin didn’t know the man who kidnapped Catalina, but he knew his brother, Carl. Carl Braun was a ruthless son of a bitch, but he was damned easy to predict. You want to know what he would do in any given situation? Follow the money. Everything was always about money. Doing the right thing was of no interest to a man like Braun. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll make a few calls.” Cooper was well-connected, but Franklin’s contacts were entirely different—and far more powerful.