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Not far away, Carlisle was following another hostess. Inda snaked around tables and chatting diners, keeping a close eye on him as he was led to a corner table in the back of the restaurant. The location was much more private and quiet, which would make it easier to hear what they said, but also meant she needed a solid reason to even approach the table. Carlisle sat down and Inda quickly scanned the space for the perfect props and purpose.
As a plan came into focus, Lucas’ voice crackled in her comms. “The Santiagos just pulled in and are getting out of their car.”
Shit.“Roger,” she responded quietly. Time to move.
Grabbing a white linen napkin from an empty table, Inda placed it over her arm and the hand holding the bug, then sidled past a hostess station and grabbed a bottle of ice water. She walked right up to Carlisle’s table and filled his glass with one hand while her other one disappeared beneath the table and placed the mic underneath.
“Your server will be right with you,” she said pleasantly. He didn’t even glance up at her, just grunted in response.That’s right, asshole, it’s all about you.
Quickly turning away, she put the water and napkin back and disappeared out of sight, walking around the corner that led to the restrooms. She pulled her phone out, pretending to be texting as she casually leaned against the wall and hit her comms.
“Mic is in place. Sound check.”
“I’ve got room tone,” Lucas reported. “Good job, now get out of there.”
“Roger.”
She lingered a moment longer, though, tilting her head and looking across the dining room as the hostess led Marcus and Selma Santiago toward Carlisle’s table.Damn.It would be so easy to take all three of them down at once. They’d fall like dominoes.
Stick to the plan,she told herself. With a final glare in their direction, she walked out the rear exit and jogged across the parking lot, hopping back into the car with Lucas.
“What’d I miss?” she asked.
“Nothing yet.” The bug connected to his phone was on speaker so they could both hear the conversation. “But, I have a feeling things are about to get good. Selma is starting to sound annoyed.”
Inda leaned closer to Lucas’ phone, which sat mounted in a cradle between them. She’d take any excuse to get closer to him, especially so she could breathe in his crisp pine scent.
“I want to know who took out Orlov,” the woman hissed, her voice loud and clear through the tiny speaker.
“It had to have been Ex Nihilo,” a man who Inda pegged as Carlisle responded.
Inda exchanged a look with Lucas.Guess again.
“They were at Orlov’s home in Boston,” she confirmed. “Dammit, how are we supposed to get our hands on the Novichok now?”
“Maybe we should forget about it,” a different male said—Marcus, Selma’s cuckold of a husband. The team knew Selma and Cross Mills were having an affair. Zane and River had witnessed it firsthand.
“Selma wears the pants,” Inda informed Lucas. “In The Agency and her marriage. She’s having an affair with Cross Mills, too.”
“Damn,” Lucas commented.
“No,” Selma argued. “It’s a perfect way to eliminate enemies. The chemical weapon makes the victim’s death look like a heart attack.”
“The Cardinal works, too,” he responded.
Inda perked up. They’d heard a reference to the Cardinal before but had no idea what it meant.
“The Cardinal charges half a million dollars for a hit, Marcus,” she responded tartly.
Oh, shit.Now they knew the Cardinal was a hitman.
“We don’t need the Cardinal. We can take care of them another way,” Carlisle stated confidently.
“How?” Marcus asked. “They’re obviously much more capable and dangerous than anyone gave them credit for. They took out the Mercier twins, for God’s sake. Who else are we going to send in to get the job done? You?”
“How about we send you?” Carlisle snapped back.
“Sounds like there’s trouble in paradise,” Inda murmured, and Lucas nodded.
