Game of Secrets and Shadows (Book One in the Covert Operations series)

Twenty-Two

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Daniel stood beside me, staring out the window of the flimsy little cabin that we'd inhabited for the night. It was a few miles away from the Bavarian Alps, nestled in the middle of a clearing in the woods. It wasn't much, but Giulia assured us that it was safe before sending us on our way, stocked with food and weapons. She'd even given us her car since there was no other way to get to the Alps aside from driving from where we were.

I was sure that she thought we were suicidal, she'd mentioned it several times, but I couldn't see another way out of this predicament. If I went after my brother as things stood right now, I would be facing death. If we succeeded in this mission to break Jack Briar out of Scorpion's prison, then Scorpion wouldn't kill me even if they did manage to catch me. I would be needed for leverage, at the very least, for Jack Briar's cooperation.

"Yes," I answered. "It's the only way."

"I know," he murmured back. He didn't look at me. His eyes were trained out the window, staring into the bright afternoon. The forest surrounding our clearing was snowy despite the summer months. We were high up in the mountain range and the cool air had definitely taken us far away from warm temperatures we'd been receiving thus far.

We'd left Zermatt in the morning after getting a couple of hours of sleep in the hotel. The drive had taken us over eight hours, though it would have been less if he hadn't stopped for breaks.

"I just can't help but think that Giulia was right. Maybe we are insane for attempting this."

"We'll be okay," I assured him. "Besides, Max and the others will be here in a few hours. They'll be able to help."

It had been a tough decision to call Max. On the one hand, I wanted nothing more than to leave him and Lia and Tasha far away from my mess of a life. But on the other I knew that this would be a near-impossible feat—even with their help. Going in alone, with only Daniel for a backup, was definitely something that would get us both killed.

Max and Tasha would be arriving with Daniel's parents and a few of the MI6 agents that were trusted by the Grimes' to not turn Jack Briar in the second he was free in a few hours' time. We'd sent them the coordinates of the cabin and I'd made it explicitly clear that if they weren't here and ready to move by nightfall, we were going without them. Lia and her mother were staying behind with Brent, making sure that he was stable and cared for.

"You're right," Daniel said. He glanced down at me now, a wry smile on his face but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Those were troubled and dark.

I placed my hand on his arms. "It's going to be fine, Daniel. It's going to off without a hitch and then we'll be able to go get Wes before they even begin to suspect that we're coming. We pull this off and we're one step closer to him."

That was as close to the truth as I could manage. In reality, I'd begun to think of other possibilities, things that could happen as a result of us breaking Jack out of Scorpion's grasp. It would have to be a quick mission and a stealthy one. If they found out that Jack was missing before we could get to my brother, then it was possible that Scorpion would take their anger out on him. That's why we weren't just planning on breaking out Jack—we were planning on breaking out as many prisoners as we could.

At the very least, it would cause confusion. It would take some of the pressure off of us to get to Wes and, considering we weren't sure where they were keeping him until we were supposed to meet, we needed all the time we could get.  

"I just hope he's okay," he murmured as he turned to face me head on. His sea green eyes flashed at me. My hand dropped from his arm. "I can't imagine how scared he must be. You said that you have a contingency in case something happens to us, right? You have people that will get him out."