Page 41 of The Player

“Yeah,” Sawyer said with a nod. “He’ll be delivered to a facility that’s a little less concerned about what interrogation techniques are used. We’ll get what we need out of him.”

Seth climbed out of the SUV, moving around to the back. He opened the rear door, revealing the carefully arranged crates and blankets. Together, he and Sawyer worked quickly, lifting the unconscious Valente out of the vehicle and onto a waiting gurney. The cartel leader’s head lolled to the side, his body completely limp as the tranquilizer continued to do its work.

“Take care of him,” Seth said, his voice carrying a warning note. “We’ve gone through too much to lose him now.”

Sawyer gave a tight nod. “Don’t worry, Seth. He’s in good hands.”

With Valente secured, Sawyer turned and began wheeling the gurney toward the small plane waiting on the tarmac. Seth watched him go, his mind already shifting to the next task. He needed to ditch the SUV and get back to Paris. From there, he could catch a flight back to London and regroup with Hope and the others.

He drove the SUV a short distance away from the airstrip, pulling off onto a small, deserted road. The vehicle had served its purpose, but it couldn’t be traced back to him. He parked the SUV under a stand of trees, making sure it was well hidden from the road. After wiping down the interior to remove any traces of his presence, Seth stepped out, leaving the keys in the ignition.

He walked away without a backward glance, his steps quick and purposeful. The city wasn’t far, and he would be able to catch a cab to the train station and then make his way to the Paris airport. His mind was already racing with thoughts of the debriefing that would come, the intel they would extract from Valente, and the next steps in dismantling the Obsidian Cartel.

But amid the professional detachment, there was one thought that kept pushing its way to the forefront: Hope. He had promised her he would return, and now that the immediate danger had passed, he felt the pull to get back to her as quickly as possible.

By the time he reached the airport and boarded a flight back to London, the sky was beginning to lighten with the first hints of dawn. Seth settled into his seat, the exhaustion of the night’s events finally catching up with him. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the seat as the plane took off, carrying him back across the Channel.

The op wasn’t over, but for the first time in what felt like days, Seth allowed himself to relax, if only for a moment. They had done what they set out to do—Valente was in Cerberus’s hands, and the Obsidian Cartel had taken a major hit. But as the plane flew through the clouds, Seth’s thoughts were already on the next steps, on the challenges still ahead.

And on the woman who waited for him in London.

CHAPTER 18

HOPE

Hope sat in the cramped seat of the helicopter, her thoughts a chaotic whirlwind as the rotors sliced through the air, carrying them across the English Channel. The drone of the engine was loud in her ears, but it couldn’t drown out the storm of emotions swirling within her. She had been through countless missions, faced danger head-on without flinching, but this was different. This was Seth.

The woman they had rescued—an American journalist who had been through hell at the hands of Nero Valente—was slumped in the seat across from Hope, her face pale and drawn. Nigel was beside her, speaking in low, comforting tones, but the woman seemed only half-aware of what was happening around her. Her ordeal had clearly left her traumatized, and Hope’s heart ached for her, even as her mind remained fixated on Seth.

Seth, who had taken it upon himself to capture Valente, had made a split-second decision to jump from the helicopter and go after the cartel leader alone. Seth, who was now out there somewhere, alone in the night, with a dangerous man, and God knew how many enemies were at his back.

Hope clenched her fists in her lap, her knuckles turning white. She knew Seth was one of the best operatives Cerberus had, that he was more than capable of handling himself in any situation. But that knowledge did little to quell the rising tide of worry and anger in her chest. The rational part of her mind kept insisting that he would be fine, that he would complete the mission and come back to her, but the shadows of her past wouldn’t let her rest. She had lost people before—people she cared about, people she loved—and the fear of losing Seth was almost paralyzing.

She forced herself to focus on the present, to push the fear down and keep her head clear. They were headed to a safe house outside of Monaco, a place where the woman would be tended to, where they could regroup and figure out their next steps. Nigel had assured her that they would wait for word from Seth, that he would contact them as soon as he was able, but that assurance had done little to ease the knot of anxiety in Hope’s gut.

The helicopter touched down at a small, private airfield, the lights of the runway casting unusual patterns across the tarmac. Hope barely registered the change in environment as she followed Nigel and the others to a waiting SUV. The drive to the safe house was short, the roads winding through the hills above Monaco, the city lights twinkling in the distance like a sea of stars. The safe house itself was a large, secluded villa, its stone walls and high gates offering the kind of security they needed in a situation like this.

The woman, whose name they had learned was Irene Foster, was taken inside by the team’s medic, her condition too fragile to be left unattended. Hope wanted to follow, to offer some kind of comfort, but her own turmoil kept her rooted to the spot. She stood in the courtyard, staring out at the darkened landscape, the warm Mediterranean breeze doing little to soothe her frayed nerves.

Nigel came up beside her, his expression one of concern and understanding. “Seth is a skilled operative, Hope. He knows what he’s doing.”

Hope swallowed hard, nodding even though she didn’t feel the reassurance she so desperately needed. “I know he is, Nigel. But… what if something goes wrong? What if he doesn’t come back?”

Nigel placed a hand on her shoulder, his grip firm but gentle. “He’ll come back. Seth always finds a way. But right now, we need to focus on the task at hand. We have to be ready for when he contacts us, and we need to keep Irene safe.”

Hope nodded again, forcing herself to push the panic aside and think clearly. There was work to be done, and she couldn’t afford to let her emotions get in the way. She took a deep breath, centering herself, before turning to follow Nigel inside.

The interior of the villa was cool and dimly lit, the high ceilings and stone walls giving the space a feeling of both luxury and security. Irene had been taken to one of the guest rooms, where the medic was tending to her wounds and administering something to help her sleep. Hope lingered in the hallway, her thoughts still on Seth even as she forced herself to focus on the mission.

As she waited, Nigel reappeared, his expression grim. “I’ve just spoken with Cerberus,” he said. “It seems our evacuation orders were compromised internally.”

Hope’s heart skipped a beat. “Compromised? How?”

“Someone leaked our plans,” Nigel replied, his voice tight with frustration. “We have a new analyst working to figure out who was responsible. In the meantime, we need to keep our guard up. Whoever it was might try something else.”

Hope felt a cold shiver run down her spine. The thought that someone within Cerberus could have betrayed them was almost too much to bear. She had always trusted the organization, trusted the people she worked with, but now that trust felt fragile, like it could shatter at any moment.

“Do we have any leads?” she asked, her voice low.

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