Hey all, how is it June already? This year is flying. And everything is so rushed right now. Getting ready to leave next week for our yearly retreat out East. I spend time with Jess Jarman and her awesome family then we both head up to the UP to meet up with the other ladies. Then Jess and I are road-tripping back to my place for more fun.
Add in to that my oldest is trying to buy a car on my way out next week—I’ll be dropping him off in Kelowna if all goes well—my youngest is graduating at the end of the month and I’m trying to get ready to leave and do a few last minute renovations…
That is all a prelude to—this is going to be insanely short. Just a quick bit with Ethan Vale, aka Phoenix from my Wayward Souls series. You can read the last bit here (and I had to change his last name from Adams to Vale, so don’t get confused)…or just jump right in. Sorry, it will be sort of in the middle of things and I don’t even know if this will be in the final book or not. I’m working on Crow’s novel, so… not even sure if Phoenix is next, lol.
“Changed your mind, Lieutenant Vale?”
Ethan sat in the back of the SUV, staring at the old brick warehouse. Half the windows were broken, the remaining glass smeared with dust and grime. A chipped green door stood out against the dull gray, an antique knocker like a rusty lesion against the paint.
Uneasy prickled his skin as he stepped out of the vehicle, staring at the guy across the top of the roof. Fuck, he didn’t even know the asshole’s name, not that it mattered. Ethan had been around CIA-types enough to know that anything the man told him was an illusion. A fabrication spun to entice Ethan in before trapping him.
Man’s version of a spider. And Ethan’s damn spider sense was going through the roof.
“This is it?”
The guy smiled, all smug. “Were you expecting something else?”
“Not being condemned would have been nice. Or are you waiting until I go in before you blow the charges? Bet it wouldn’t take much to have the whole damn thing collapse in on itself.”
“Someone’s been watching a few too many spy movies.”
“Or maybe, just the right amount. What was your name, again?”
“You haven’t asked.”
“Because I already know. Smith, right? Agent Smith.”
“But it’s spelled with a ‘y’. S-M-Y-T-H.”
“That makes it so much more realistic. Where’s Anna?”
“Safe. But you’re jumping the gun. You want Captain Cartwright, and I want the best sniper I can find. If that’s still you, and still the deal you want to swing, you’ll go inside.”
“And if I don’t?”
Smyth shrugged. “You’re not the only man on my list, Vale. I just happened to have your motivation at my fingertips. But there are others. There’re always others. And everyone has a price. Eventually, I’ll find someone willing to play.”
“But if it’s not me, Anna’s dead, right? For real, this time?”
“That’s the problem with motivation, Lieutenant Vale. It tends to be very specific with limited uses.”
Ethan studied the guy, but if he was lying, he was damn good at. Though, that was basically his job, so it shouldn’t be surprising. Still…
It didn’t matter whether Ethan believed Smyth. If he thought he was being set up. If this was some elaborate ploy to trap him—maybe use him to get to someone else. Or maybe he had intel they thought they could get.
He snorted. Cold day in hell before he’d break. And since he was on medical leave pending a decision if he was even fit to go back…
None of that mattered because, in the end, he had to decide if he could risk not going inside. Failing Anna. Because if there was even a glimmer of hope that she was alive—that he could save her…
Decision made. Never really was any other way it could go down. He’d do anything for her. Anything to save her.
Ethan walked over to the door, glancing back at Smyth. “I’ll play. Just remember—if you’re lying to me. If Anna isn’t still alive. If I can’t get her back—you’re dead. And that’s a promise you can bank on.”
He turned, grabbed the handle then knocked.
That’s it for me. See, fairly shot and definitely just sort of a moment out of time. But… hey I wrote. Now, please visit my partner in crime this week and see what she created…
OMG!! I love this! I can’t wait until I can read the whole book.