Game of Dust and Ashes (Book Two in the Covert Operations series)

Fourteen

Courtyard Hotel, Times Square West, Room 1226. January 30, 2021. 12:08 AM

The door leading into room 1226 in the Courtyard Hotel was slightly ajar.

I stood outside of it, listening and watching, but there were no sounds coming from inside. The crack in the door didn't give any indication that the room was inhabited.

Please Melanie.

The thought that Daniel was in the room waiting for me was enough to convince me that I needed to go inside. But I wasn't stupid. There was a good chance that I didn't know this Daniel. It could have been a setup. Just because Carmichael had told me that I wasn't Scorpion's priority, didn't mean I was safe. Not until Isadora Savalas, her Lady Death sister, and this team they'd assembled to kill me was off the table.

Before entering, I surveyed the hallway quickly. Marking the stairs and possible escape routes. Made sure that the hallway was empty as I pulled free the gun from the holster at my waist. I removed the safety, took a breath, and pushed the door open with my foot.

And ten feet away, sitting in an armchair beside the window, was Daniel.

He looked so different than when I had last been this close to him on that mountainside. Up close, no window separating us like it had earlier at the motel, he looked even more different than I had realized.

Five years ago, he'd still worn the tell-tale signs of youth – baby fat in his cheeks and a sort of gangly-ness to his limbs. That was all gone now. He was solid muscle, his face composed of hard strong lines, though half of it was obscured by a neatly-groomed dark beard. He looked pale in colouring but strong. The eyes were still the exact same hue I remembered them being.

The door swung shut as we stared at each other, banging against the frame. Daniel smiled. It wasn't a small upturn of the lips or a dark sneer but rather a blistering, bright grin. His eyes even sparkled.

I hadn't known what to expect coming here. I didn't know if he was the boy I remembered or if Lia and Max's speculations about amnesia had been true. I didn't know if he'd know me but...The man staring at me definitely did. That was recognition on his face.

"You came," he said and his voice was slightly thick. "I thought you would."

I didn't lower the gun. "Who am I to you?"

Daniel rose to his feet. He kept his hands splayed in front of his body, no sign of a weapon anywhere and there wasn't any place he could easily hide on his person. He was in jeans and a tight fitting long-sleeved tee. As if he'd wanted me to be able to see that there was no weapon on him.

"You're Melanie Briar," Daniel said calmly, like he'd anticipated the question. "We grew up together until you went away to Oakes School for Gifted Youngsters in England. I thought you were dead for years until you came back when your mom died. We went on the run together to find your brother after he was kidnapped and your father was murdered. You're my best friend."

All true facts. Yet all of it was something he could have read in a file. Sure, Daniel remembered me. But it didn't prove that he knew me. Life wasn't made up purely of facts, though. There were moments and random tidbits of information that would never be recorded anywhere. Like childhood dreams.

"When we were seven years old, you told me that you wanted to be a professional wrestler when you grew up," I said. "What was your stage name?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "You're not seriously going to make me say it, are you?"

I just stared at him, the gun unwavering in my hand.