Charlotte was thrown back in her seat, sudden G-forces pinning her into the soft leather.
The men outside waved at the plane, their mouths moving. Sunlight glinted off weapons.
Would they fire at the jet?
Charlotte held her breath and prayed, the nose of the plane tipping skyward. A moment later, they were airborne.
Finally able to sit forward again, she stared down at the black blobs of the men growing smaller. How had they found her?
Her stomach heaved like a tsunami that had nothing to do with flying. She eased back and closed her eyes. There were no other trackers on her, no way for MI6 to have followed her.
Which meant someone had told them where she was going to be.
There were only four people who’d known.
Shinedown, Megadeth, the woman Miles had spoken to on the phone, Beatrice…
And Miles.
As an operative, Charlotte knew there were no friendly intelligence services. CIA officers learned the same thing. “Friendly” foreign intelligence services might be useful for joint operations, but they weren’t to be fully trusted. The more you relied on someone else during an operation, the more likely the operation would get blown.
Trust no one had long been her mantra. Still was.
So which one of them betrayed me?
Six hours later
M ILES E XITED T HE onboard bathroom to find Charlotte waiting for him.
“Who told them?” she asked. Her eyes were wide, her fingers shaking as she played with her hair. “Who told MI6 I would be at the airport this morning? Shinedown? Megadeth? The woman on the phone?”
They’d avoided Miles’ original route, heading into Canada and refueling in Newfoundland. Over the North Atlantic, on their way to Ireland, he’d finally broken down for a pee break. “How do you know those men back in California were MI6?”
“They were.” She chewed on a nail. Her hair glimmered under the cabin lights. She must have fallen asleep in her chair; one side of her hair was matted down. “Trust me.”
“I thought one of them looked familiar. I was too busy getting us out of there to care.”
“One of them looked familiar?”
“Andy Hardy.”
“Hardy? You know him?”
“Do you?”
“Yeah.” She ran a hand over her face. “He’s the best tracker MI6 has.”
“Trust me, Charlotte, no one in my organization would sell you out.”
“How else did MI6 know I was going to be there?”
He’d been wondering the same.
No one had been waiting for them at the private airstrip in Newfoundland, but then, if the snitch was Jax—Megadeth—he hadn’t had a chance to call anyone since Miles had been seated two feet from him during the entire trip so far.
But he knew it wasn’t Jax or Colt.
The one person who had political as well as personal contacts all over the world and might know who to call at MI6 was…
No. Couldn’t be. Beatrice would never betray him.
Would she?
He didn’t want to believe it—that she could undermine him and put Charlotte at risk—but she hadn’t wanted him to take this job. She’d been adamant that it could destroy his career and he’d end up in a foreign prison. In looking out for him, had she betrayed Charlotte?
No matter what, if someone inside Shadow Force gave Charlotte up to MI6, they’d betrayed him too. “I don’t know how MI6 found you, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Will they be waiting for me when we land?”
Her tone was accusing. As if she might actually suspect he was in on it. It pissed him off. “Well, if they are, it won’t be because I told them. I jammed the plane’s GPS transmitter so we can’t be tracked and we aren’t sharing our change of flight plans with anyone. My boss has called multiple times trying to contact us and I’ve ignored her. For you,” he added.
He brushed by her, felt her hand grip his bicep, stopping him.
“What?” he said without looking at her.
“I wasn’t accusing you of anything.” She released her grip. “I was simply asking a question because my life depends on it. You
The men outside waved at the plane, their mouths moving. Sunlight glinted off weapons.
Would they fire at the jet?
Charlotte held her breath and prayed, the nose of the plane tipping skyward. A moment later, they were airborne.
Finally able to sit forward again, she stared down at the black blobs of the men growing smaller. How had they found her?
Her stomach heaved like a tsunami that had nothing to do with flying. She eased back and closed her eyes. There were no other trackers on her, no way for MI6 to have followed her.
Which meant someone had told them where she was going to be.
There were only four people who’d known.
Shinedown, Megadeth, the woman Miles had spoken to on the phone, Beatrice…
And Miles.
As an operative, Charlotte knew there were no friendly intelligence services. CIA officers learned the same thing. “Friendly” foreign intelligence services might be useful for joint operations, but they weren’t to be fully trusted. The more you relied on someone else during an operation, the more likely the operation would get blown.
Trust no one had long been her mantra. Still was.
So which one of them betrayed me?
Six hours later
M ILES E XITED T HE onboard bathroom to find Charlotte waiting for him.
“Who told them?” she asked. Her eyes were wide, her fingers shaking as she played with her hair. “Who told MI6 I would be at the airport this morning? Shinedown? Megadeth? The woman on the phone?”
They’d avoided Miles’ original route, heading into Canada and refueling in Newfoundland. Over the North Atlantic, on their way to Ireland, he’d finally broken down for a pee break. “How do you know those men back in California were MI6?”
“They were.” She chewed on a nail. Her hair glimmered under the cabin lights. She must have fallen asleep in her chair; one side of her hair was matted down. “Trust me.”
“I thought one of them looked familiar. I was too busy getting us out of there to care.”
“One of them looked familiar?”
“Andy Hardy.”
“Hardy? You know him?”
“Do you?”
“Yeah.” She ran a hand over her face. “He’s the best tracker MI6 has.”
“Trust me, Charlotte, no one in my organization would sell you out.”
“How else did MI6 know I was going to be there?”
He’d been wondering the same.
No one had been waiting for them at the private airstrip in Newfoundland, but then, if the snitch was Jax—Megadeth—he hadn’t had a chance to call anyone since Miles had been seated two feet from him during the entire trip so far.
But he knew it wasn’t Jax or Colt.
The one person who had political as well as personal contacts all over the world and might know who to call at MI6 was…
No. Couldn’t be. Beatrice would never betray him.
Would she?
He didn’t want to believe it—that she could undermine him and put Charlotte at risk—but she hadn’t wanted him to take this job. She’d been adamant that it could destroy his career and he’d end up in a foreign prison. In looking out for him, had she betrayed Charlotte?
No matter what, if someone inside Shadow Force gave Charlotte up to MI6, they’d betrayed him too. “I don’t know how MI6 found you, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Will they be waiting for me when we land?”
Her tone was accusing. As if she might actually suspect he was in on it. It pissed him off. “Well, if they are, it won’t be because I told them. I jammed the plane’s GPS transmitter so we can’t be tracked and we aren’t sharing our change of flight plans with anyone. My boss has called multiple times trying to contact us and I’ve ignored her. For you,” he added.
He brushed by her, felt her hand grip his bicep, stopping him.
“What?” he said without looking at her.
“I wasn’t accusing you of anything.” She released her grip. “I was simply asking a question because my life depends on it. You
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