Page 34 of A Touch of Treachery
I nodded.“That’s about right.Bryce came up through the ranks with me, Graham, and Trevor Donnelly, although I didn’t work with him as much as I did with Graham and Trevor.”
“What happened?”Charlotte asked.
I raked a hand through my hair, trying to slough off the memories flickering through my mind.“Bryce and I were on a mission in Malta.We’d been assigned to eliminate a guy named Ellis, a paramortal terrorist who bombed an art museum and swiped a fortune in jewels to further fund his activities.We tracked Ellis to a rented villa and infiltrated it.We must have tripped an alarm, because Ellis figured out we were there and took a hostage, a private chef he’d hired to cook his meals.He was using the woman as a human shield when Bryce and I cornered him in the kitchen.I was standing down, trying to reason with Ellis, but Bryce didn’t follow my lead.”
“What happened?”Charlotte asked.
“Bryce fired a shot with no warning.He put a bullet through the hostage’s neck to get her out of the way.The hostage dropped, and then Bryce dropped Ellis with another shot.”
Charlotte blanched.“And the hostage?”
It took me a moment to unclench my jaw.“She died too.”
Charlotte blanched again, disgust and anger crinkling her face.“Bryce killed an innocent woman?”
My head jerked in a short, sharp nod.“Yes.Like it wasnothing.”
Even now, all these years later, I could still hear the sharpcrackof Bryce’s shot and the woman’s muffled scream of pain, along with the heavythumpof her body hitting the floor.I could still smell the coppery tang of her blood and feel the hot, sticky liquid gushing over my hands as I tried and failed to keep her from bleeding out ...
I blinked, forcing myself to focus on Charlotte.“Bryce said it was no big loss.That the woman was taking Ellis’s money, so that made her just as dirty as he was.I lost it.I threw myself at Bryce and started punching him.He tried to fight back, but even with his enduro magic, I was still faster, stronger, and angrier.I got Bryce down on the floor.Broke his nose, broke his jaw, split his lips.”
Charlotte eyed me.“You gave Bryce the scar through his left eyebrow and on his cheek.”
I gave a short, sharp nod.“Yes.I was still punching him when the Section support team arrived.I would have killed Bryce if the other agents hadn’t dragged me off him.”
Once again, the coppery scent of blood flooded my nose, and thethwack-thwack-thwacksof my fists slamming into Bryce’s face banged in my ears like a drum, punctuated by his pain-filled groans.That long-ago rage bubbled up and sizzled through my veins like an acidic poison corrupting every part of me it touched.
Charlotte stepped closer and threaded her arm through mine.Once again, I drew in one breath after another, just drinking in the blue of her.Slowly, my rage faded away, although the ugly memories remained, like pictures stuck on the wall of my mind.
“Bryce filed a complaint against me, but the General pulled some strings and had it dismissed.After that, Bryce and I went on a few more missions together, but he hated me, and I hated him.On our last mission, some weapons and cash went missing.”
“Do you think Bryce stole them?”
“I don’t know.No one could ever prove anything, but Bryce was forced to resign from Section a few weeks later.”
Another bitter laugh burst from my lips.“First Bryce Finkley and then Trevor Donnelly.Two cleaners I worked with for years.Bryce killed an innocent hostage, and Trevor set me up to be murdered multiple times.I’m really shitty at picking friends, aren’t I?”
Charlotte shook her head.“Bryce shooting the hostage wasn’t your fault.Hemade that choice, not you, Desmond.”
“I know that, but I still feel responsible.Just like I do for Graham’s death.”I let out a tense breath.“AndImade the choice to attack Bryce.I also broke Section’s rules of engagement, and that’s entirely on me.”
We both fell silent, and we reached Charlotte’s apartment building a few minutes later.She stopped under a streetlight, the glow bringing out the warm highlights in her auburn hair.
I cupped her cheeks in my hands and stroked my thumbs over her smooth, silky skin.“I’m sorry you had such a terrible day.And I’m especially sorry my father is such an overbearing jackass.”
She covered my hands with her own.“Right back at you, Dundee.Although sadly, I think overbearing jackasses are the norm in the spy world.”
I smiled a little at her joke, then leaned down and kissed her.Charlotte’s lips were chilled from our walk, as were mine, but the heat of her body washed over my own, and I sank into her welcoming warmth.
Right now, for this moment, there was no Section 47, no overbearing father, no mysterious new nemesis.Just Charlotte and me and the way we felt about each other.
I tilted my head and pulled her closer, and her tongue darted out to stroke against mine.Charlotte tasted like the cake she’d eaten, rich chocolate and bright strawberry.I relished the heady mix of flavors, along with her scent, which always reminded me of sugar and limes swirled together.On Charlotte, it was the perfect sweet-tart perfume.
Then again, just about everything about Charlotte was perfect, from the way her body molded against mine to her soft gasps to the bright crackle of her aura, which was sparking with the same desire zinging through my own body.
A minute later, we broke apart, both of us breathing hard.
“You should come inside,” she whispered, digging her fingers into my coat.“We haven’t properly broken in some of my new furniture yet.”
