Retribution - Book 1 - Sample Only

Chapter Two

Malik likes meeting at the same hotel, same room, every time. It's a mid-level chain in a mid-sized city. Everything about the meeting is constructed so I don't have the run-in we dread. Being undercover and seeing someone from either version of our lives is one of the few things that makes people like me wake up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat, making sure there isn't a bullet lodged in our brain.

When I slip into the hotel room, the scent of stale cigarettes hits my nose. The rooms need to be renovated, but I never question Malik's desire to meet here. This is his area of expertise, not mine. He stops pacing when the door clicks shut behind me. His dark face and eyes soothe my unease.

He scans me from head to toe, assessing. "I wasn't sure you'd be able to make it."

"Your message didn't come at the best time. Carys let me take another meeting today. It was a waste of time though."

"Like the last one," he says, finishing my thought.

I shrug. "It'll come. She's giving me more and more authority."

"So that explains why you're dressed like a ninja supermodel." His smile is half-hearted. "What have you got for me?"

Twisting, I swing my black bag forward until I can dig into the pocket for the latest USB drive. It's full of whatever documents I've managed to get off devices in the office, screenshots of texts and emails, anything that might have a shred of evidence to build a case against Carys. I hold the device between my fingers, flipping it over and over.

With a sigh, I drop it into Malik's open palm. He doesn't say anything. I'm sure he knows. Carys is the kind of woman I like, and gathering information on her doesn't sit well with me. She's not a bad person, but sometimes she does bad things.

"I have some...news," Malik hesitates.

I glance up, trying to catch his attention, but he's not looking at me anymore. "Something I won't like."

"Maybe you will."

"Malik, seriously, you've been my handler for a few years." I let out a huff. "The way you started this conversation tells me I'm not going to be happy. Are they pulling me?"

"Yes." Malik sighs, his shoulders dropping. "Probably."

"I'm getting somewhere. It takes time." I've never been pulled off an assignment before, and it stings more than I expect. Time, that's what I need. She trusts me.

"It's not what you're assuming." He sits on the edge of the double bed. The white duvet cover is too pristine, too pure compared to the rest of the dingy room.

I sit next to him, and he takes my dusty brown hand in his two darker ones. My body relaxes as though it's releasing a giant breath. I've been holding myself in for weeks. Being on high alert is exhausting. Here, with him, I can be me, Kimi. Out there, I'm Kim and keeping my lies straight is like walking a tightrope. One wrong move, and I'm falling to my death.

With a side glance, I appreciate the familiarity of him, his broad shoulders, muscular biceps, and angular, open face. From the first time I arrived at a hotel room to find he replaced my previous handler, we've had an easy, steady relationship.

"For what it's worth, I asked them to keep you on this assignment. You might stay. It depends on whether you're picked or whether we can slot you in easily."

"Picked? Malik, you know I hate riddles. Out with it."

"Are you familiar with the Donaghey family?"

I frown, ticking through the operations I've been part of the last few years. "No," I admit. Something about the name is just out of my grasp. The name spins around my consciousness searching for the last time I heard it.