Page 45 of Braxton

She wasn’t sure how much she liked the sound of that, but she nodded. Then, the crowd seemed to shift and part. Her attention moved to the two tall men stalking toward them, towing a short, scared-looking Russian chemist.

Her heart soared.

Braxton and Ryland had arrived.

Chapter Eighteen

Despite being in the most famous museum in the world, surrounded by priceless works of art, Braxton only saw Quinn. Her sweep of bright red hair immediately caught his attention and relief hit him as he and Ryland made their way closer to the trio of Quinn, Harper and Cross. Both women looked fine.

“Keep your cool,” Brax murmured, but Ryland growled in answer. Not exactly a good sign.

Once they’d reached them, Brax noticed Cross held onto Harper’s wrist, keeping her next to him.

“Let her go,” Ryland snapped. He shoved Zaitsev toward Cross and the man stumbled.

The moment Cross released Harper, she flew forward and Ryland caught her in his arms. Brax could feel the tension flowing off his friend as he quickly checked his wife over. Then Ryland’s wrath spiked to incinerating levels.

“You’re lucky to still be breathing, you piece of shit,” Ryland snarled, voice low and deadly.

Clearly, the man had made a wise decision when choosing a very public location to do the trade because Brax had a good feeling Rip would’ve torn Cross into pieces.

But Cross merely smirked, completely unaffected. “What a nice reunion. Father and son…” He turned his attention to Brax and Quinn, “Ex-husband and ex-wife.”

Shit. How much does the bastard know?Brax wondered, his focus shifting to Quinn. She gave the slightest shake of her head, and he knew her well enough to understand her message: Cross didn’t know they were working together. He hoped she was right.

“Emphasis on ‘ex’,” Quinn murmured and crossed her arms.

“A shame when a couple can’t make it work, but it happens.” Cross shrugged a shoulder.

“Yeah, you’d know all about it, huh?” Ryland poked.

Cross angled a look toward his son, his blue eyes narrowing. “Being married to a thief did tend to cause a certain amount of strain. Is your sister still carrying on your mother’s legacy?”

His dry tone grated on Braxton, and he bristled as Ryland took a step closer, his hand fisting. “Don’t you dare say a damn thing about Addie. At least she isn’t a killer.”

“Like us?” Cross asked innocently.

Ryland spun, gripping Brax’s shoulder. “I need to get the fuck outta here before I kill him with my bare hands.”

“Go. I’ll meet you outside.” Brax nudged Ryland away, and he headed out, Harper safely tucked under his arm.

“Well, as entertaining as this has been, we have things to do.” Cross turned his full attention to Braxton. “I suggest youand your team disband, Pharaoh. Go into hiding. Get on with your miserable lives. As you well know, The Agency no longer needs your services. And if you continue to cause problems, I will make sure every single significant other belonging to your teammates is hunted down. Trust me when I say Aubrey, River, Mia, Harper and that traitor Lucas will disappear without a trace.”

Brax’s stomach curled with nausea because he knew Cross wouldn’t hesitate to do it.

“And if you ever decide to find someone new…” His gaze slid over to Quinn…almost as if he knew about them. “I’ll kill her, too.”

Icy fingers of dread skated down Brax’s spine. There’s no way Cross could know they were together. Fucking impossible. But his gut clenched and soured with a terrifying premonition. An image of Quinn, her throat cut as she fell, reaching for him, her green eyes wide with shock, filled his head.

Pressing his lips together, withholding his scathing comment, his eyes clashed with Cross’ before the man walked away with Zaitsev, the chemist who knew the deadly Novichok recipe, and Quinn, the love of his life.

???

Once they were back outside of the museum, an SUV with tinted windows immediately rolled up and Quinn got inside with Cross and the Russian chemist. She searched the courtyard and surrounding area for Brax’s team, but didn’t see anyone. But she knew, without a doubt, they were cleverly concealed and watching closely as she left.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Home,” Cross responded, and Quinn frowned, not understanding what he meant.

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