Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Soren held his breath, each heartbeat painful, as he waited for a ripping sensation or maybe a brief explosion of pain and then nothing as the sniper’s bullet tore through his brain. But one second became two, and more. He was alive.
He pressed his index finger to his left ear, covering it against the sound of the people and cars around him. “We good?”
A second later Justin’s voice filled his ear. “We’re in the clear. And I gotta say from here, you look far too old to be dating my nephew.”
Soren rolled his eyes and fought the urge to hold up the middle finger toward the canal. From his survey of the area, the best sniper spot was the flat rooftop of a building across the canal from the Rijksmuseum. He had a feeling that was where Justin was watching him from after taking out the CIA sniper and replacing him.
“Speaking of…”
“Everyone has checked in. The exchanges are complete.”
That was his signal. In the most casual manner he could muster as he bubbled over with nervous and excited energy, Soren pushed to his feet and proceeded to stroll down the red brick toward the canal, his hands shoved into his pockets. He looked like a man out for an afternoon walk.
Maybe his smile was a little too wide and there was too much spring in his step, but none of the tourists around him understood how they’d perfectly played not only the CIA, but also the assassins, SVR, and MI6. That was assuming Gabriel left any of the Russians alive. They’d seemed really sketchy on that as they’d laid out their plans the previous night.
Naturally, the CIA had fallen right into their trap.
Of course they’d made copies of the hard drive.
Four copies to be exact.
They’d all headed out close to the same time, with Alexei leaving first to lead away the assassin team watching them. Kairo and Charlie had intercepted the MI6 agents. Gabriel had taken the Russians.
Each team was to put up resistance until finally “cornered,” whereupon they would reluctantly hand over the hard drive. The money was long gone, and every hard drive had the same information. Chaos was going to ensue for a bit, but Soren felt safe in believing that Bankhurst wasn’t going to be alive for much longer. Suppliers and clients didn’t like when their names were in the hands of intelligence agencies.
While all that was nice, there was one thing on his mind. Or rather, one person.
“My Angel?” he asked Justin softly as he moved away from a crowd of people.
“Already flying out of the city.”
“Good,” he sighed heavily, feeling as if a massive weight had been lifted from his chest.
“Take good care of him, Soren,” Justin admonished. Soren gave a small nod. The words were sweet, but he didn’t miss the underlying threat. If he hurt Alexei, the man had two lethal uncles who would happily come after him.
But he wasn’t worried about that. Nothing in the world could make him hurt Alexei.
No, he was more worried about what Alexei would do next. They had a plan, but would he follow it? Did he love Soren enough to take this next step, especially when they had no clear future together?
That morning in the rush and chaos, Soren had grabbed Alexei’s wrist as he was darting for the stairs. He’d looked back, eyes wide and questioning. What if that was the last time they were ever going to see each other? A thousand things had risen to mind, all the things he’d wanted to tell Alexei, but there hadn’t been enough time. There was only another second, and then he’d slip away.
Soren opened his mouth, and he’d said the only thing he could think of.
Libreria Acqua Alta.
Chapter 21
Alexei fought the urge to look at his watch for the third time and tried to focus on the tourists as they ambled by the narrow paths. Venice was at its most crowded during the summer, making nearly every place he walked a slow trudge to get through the people, but it was a good place to get lost in.
But he didn’t want to get lost. He wanted to be found.
Or at the very least, he wanted to find someone very specific.
One of the last things Soren had said to him was “Libreria Acqua Alta,” which was Italian for Bookstore of High Water. It wasn’t a stretch to discover that he was talking about a quaint bookstore in Venice by that name.
After conning the fuck out of three intelligence agencies and a hit man, they’d all agreed to go their separate ways and try not to communicate or meet for one week. During that time, they’d all watch for tails and take care of any loose strands. Naturally, he’d already heard from his uncles through their secret account, informing him that they’d made it safely to Miami, where they planned to lounge on the beach for their week of waiting.