Page 41 of Entwined With You

“They don’t intend to sell the diamonds. They’re acquiring the Sisters for use in a prototype long-range laser weapon. They intend to use the weapon in an assault on the US and British embassies in Paris.

Grey’s eyes wide. “Lasers.” He looks around the room. “Is this some sci-fi fantasy?”

Lambert doesn’t smile. “How often fiction becomes fact.”

“Diamonds have some pretty amazing properties,” Larry says. “Remember that space laser in Diamonds Are Forever?” He looks around the room to find only blank faces. “James Bond. Come on. No one else has seen that?”

He waits another beat, then shakes his head in disappointment. “Point being, diamonds have insane thermal conductivity. That and their strength and optical properties—well, I just mean that the tech exists for cool weapons like that. What I wouldn’t give to study their prototype…”

“Thank you, Larry,” Lambert says dryly. “With luck, we’ll be able to acquire the weapon and the specs. But our first order of business is to prevent it becoming operational. Apparently it needs a diamond of a certain quality, and the Sisters are a perfect match.”

Grey nods. “So the team Agent Fox pulled together is stealing the diamonds to keep Gold and his team from stealing them for these terrorists?”

“Precisely. As Agent Fox suspected, Darrin Gold was already considering taking another run at it. She gave him a little nudge and now the operation is set. The diamonds will only be on display opening night. After that, Wolfe intends to replace them with counterfeits, though the general public won’t know that. We’ll let the heist succeed, then Sabrina will ensure that the Sisters make their way to us, while the stones Darrin’s team retains are excellent fakes.”

“And when Gold discovers their quality, he’ll assume the ones on display were a decoy,” I add. “That Wolfe chickened out and never put the real Sisters on display.”

“Our hope is this pro-active heist will keep Wolfe safe and also flush out the terrorists so that we can finally corral all the members of that network,” Lambert adds.

“Complex, but it should work,” Grey says. “But once the terrorists realize they don’t have the real diamonds, won’t they raid Wolfe’s house?”

“A possibility,” Lambert says. “Of course, the government will provide protection. I believe that director is already in communication with the CIA and FBI about that very possibility.”

Grey nods, clearly relieved.

“The plan will work,” Ramos says from my other side. “With this team, we can’t miss.”

“Speaking of teams,” I say. “I’m meeting with the heist group today at seven.”

“Excellent,” Lambert says. “And the members are?”

“Same as before for the most part. That worked out well. Jorge, obviously,” I say, pointing to Ramos. “Darrin, me, Brent Travers,” I add, calling him by the name they know him from the file. “And there’s a new girl he’s recruited. Carly Jamison. I ran her. She’s got mad skills and a dicey background. I don’t expect trouble from her, and frankly making an issue out of Brent’s choice would have raised some red flags.”

I ignore the way Lambert is looking at me. But when I meet Ramos’ eye, I can see that he’s surprised, too. Well, too bad. This is my op, and I’ll run it my way. She’s going to be assigned outside the center and away from the switch. It will be fine.

I say none of that aloud, but I do give Ramos my I know what I’m doing glare. He spreads his hands as if silently acknowledging that this is my op to run my way.

I’m afraid Lambert will be less kind, but he says nothing, either. In fact, all he does say is that Stark Security has been hired to protect the Sisters. “Don’t underestimate them.”

“I won’t,” I assure him. I’m familiar with Stark Security’s reputation. I’ve even thought that it would be an interesting place to work. Not that I’m looking to change jobs. I love working at Group Ultra. The work is exciting and fascinating. More than that, it’s important.

We’re a deep cover branch of the Sensitive Operations Command, a covert organization with oversight by the Pentagon. Only a very few SOC agents even know we exist. It’s hard, dangerous work, and I love it.

I love the purpose it gives me. Not just to make money—though the pay is nothing to sneeze at—but to know I’m using all the skills I learned on the street for good. Not to steal food or money or con my way into a place to sleep for a night, but to make the world a better place.

I love my teammates, too. Lambert’s strict but fair. And I owe him and Ramos everything.

I still don’t know why Group Ultra was watching our heist, or how they’d even gotten wind of it. But I’m glad they did. And even though I’d protested when they told me that there was a bomb—and that Brax had planted it—they still stood by me, with Ramos right there in that split-second when I’d decided not to be a fool and get the hell out of the van.

Even now, I can feel the heat of that explosion as vividly as the horror I felt knowing Brax had planted it. In those first days, I assumed that Brax realized I’d escaped. After all, surely he could see through the windshield. I feared he’d seek me out. Tell me he that loved me and had been terrified I’d died. Cry and say how relieved he was that I’d survived.

And when he did all that, I’d just spit in his face.

But I learned from another operative that the sun’s glare blocked any vision of me. Brent—well, Brax—believed I died in the explosion. Just as Group Ultra had told me he’d planned.

I’d been a wreck at first. The man I’d loved had killed me, after all. But Jorge Ramos had been my anchor. He’d been at Group Ultra for two years at that point, and I owe the ease of my transition to him.

He’d paid a hard price, though. He served prison time for the heist—something that had been part of the plan so he could continue to gain the trust of the original team members. But even when he was behind bars, we kept in touch, and I knew he would help me whenever I needed.