Page 90 of Silent Heart

“Who ordered it for me?” I demanded, wincing at the bite in my own voice.

Damn, could I not learn to be more friendly? In my line of work, people skills were rarely necessary. But it was moments like this where I wished I wasn’t so tall, wasn’t so ornery.

Luckily, it didn’t faze the girl. “I did.”

Speech failed me. Not that it was a good friend to begin with.

“I’ve been watching you since you arrived. Kudos on surveying the parking lotandthe café for the last hour. You even picked out my decoy, but he’s a paid actor. I’m username AB449CF7, but you can call me Beth. A pleasure to meet you, Kolya Vlasov—or would you prefer me to call you by your military name, Wraith?”

“Password,” I demanded.

“Sure,” she chirped. This tiny woman was as obnoxiously cheerful as my brother. If they were in the same room, they would likely explode in a mess of rainbows and butterflies. “Buttery Bagels is what I would name my restaurant if I ever made one.”

“Don’t you have work to do?” I jerked my chin at the drive through line.

“I’ve covered enough of their shifts to earn the escape right now,” Beth said with a shrug. “I want a real meeting with you.”

“Is that so?” I worked my jaw back and forth. “I’m not interested.”

“I know where Ava, the student from the University of Chicago you’re looking for, is.”

That had the power to stop me in my tracks. “How did you know I was looking for her?”

“You’re not as careful with your digital footprint as you think you are. That’s something I can help you with,” the woman offered. “All I want is a long enough meeting to convince you to join forces with me.”

“And what if I’m not interested in joining forces?” I countered.

“All the more reason. If you’re thinking of retiring, we can use your intel before you hang up your gun.”

Thinking of retiring….Fuck me.That was the dream, wasn’t it?

“There’s no retirement for my kind,” I growled and moved to my truck.

“We want the traffickers to avoid Chicago, and to think twice about running their operations in the surrounding areas.Youwant a higher up named Adler dead. Rumor has it he is after you, Wraith. Want to protect your family? Want to rid the world of an evil sonofabitch? Join me.”

“How did you know this wasn’t a setup?” I growled. “I could have been working with one of the rings to take you out.”

“I did my homework on you, Kolya. You’re the real deal.” The mite looked me up and down.

This felt too good to be true.

The jolt of energy from the surprise was fast ebbing. Fighting back a yawn, I shook my head. “I don’t know—”

“Just a meeting.” Beth stepped into me.

It was her eyes. They glimmered with a fierce, unrelenting determination. She was no doubt a very pretty woman, but those eyes made her otherworldly. Perhaps she cast a spell on me and that was why I found myself saying, “I’ll meet with you.”

“Great!” She jumped, actually jumped, with excitement. “I’ll explain everything I know and lay out my plans for the Cyber Ops.”

That confirmed my theory that this wasn’t an established organization but rather was in a fledgling stage. “Okay.”

Unperturbed by my lack of excitement, she spun on her heel and was about to bound off, but stopped short. “The university student, Ava? I’ll send you the information. It will be in your inbox in ten minutes.”

I clenched my jaw, more to keep from yawning rather than because I was angry.

“I would never have kept that information to myself. No matter what answer you gave about the meeting,” Beth insisted. With that, she left.

In my truck, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes for the briefest of seconds. If I stayed awake a little longer, I could save one more soul. That was priceless.

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