Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
This was the Serbian crime boss with ties to the terrorist cell.
The moment the name had been uttered, there was probably a flurry of activity in the operations room back at my field office.
Finally, my shitty luck on ops was coming to an end. Hell, the whole mission was coming to an end. The name Castillo was new, but I had a strong suspicion who it was, and I was going to enjoy confirming it very much.
26
OLIVIA
The first week in Munich wasn’t so bad, and once I started flying co-pilot for Osterhägen’s secondary crew, I was too busy to think about Ethan. Well, too busy to spend every moment thinking about him. Osterhägen supplied me with a flat, a nice one-bedroom loft over a bakery that smelled amazing and threatened to make my clothes not fit.
I hadn’t heard a word from Ethan since he’d fled my hotel room. His radio silence had an unwanted magnifying effect on my thoughts about him. Even though he seemed able to handle himself with the Abramos, I worried.
I had avoided it long enough. One evening on my U-Bahn ride back to my loft, I called my father and told him I’d taken a new job with Osterhägen. It sounded like a promotion to be working for a huge name brand, even though I was no longer captain.
My father spent the majority of the conversation talking about Rob anyway. My older brother had just made Staff Sergeant, and my father’s pride overflowed in his words. Good for him, I thought. Rob was an aggressive pain in the ass, but he was a born leader.
After the call was over, I stared at the phone. Soon, Ethan had said. It had been eons since, and no communication. When would whatever he was doing with the Abramos be over?
Then the phone rang. Unfinished Business.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes. Everything’s fine. But I need a favor.”
I closed my eyes so I could concentrate on his voice. “What do you need?”
“I’m sending you a picture. Can you confirm this is the man Vitale met with? The one you overheard talking about shipments and containers? The picture should come through any second. It’s not great, but it’s all we’ve got right now.”
There was a chime on the phone, and I pulled it away from my ear. On the screen was a black and white shot, like surveillance. “Yes,” I said. “That looks like him.”
“Good.” There was a pause, and I swore I heard his breathing pick up. “Now I need another favor.”
“Okay, but you don’t need to ask. I’m all for helping you with—”
“Go to Shawn and Kara’s wedding.”
The train rocked, and I latched a hand onto one of the hanging straps. “What? You told me to stay away from them.”
“The Abramos aren’t interested in the Dunns anymore, and by this time tomorrow, they’ll have their hands full anyway. Trust me, it’s safe.”
My brain spun. Go to their wedding? I didn’t even know them. These were Ethan’s friends, not mine, plus Shawn was my employer. “I’m not invited.”
“I’ll call Jason and get him to give you my invitation.”
“Why?”
He sighed. “Because I can’t go. I don’t know how long it’s going to take to tie everything up here, but honestly, I wish I could. I’d like them to know that. And I was hoping you could tell me about it, next time we see each other.”
“Which is when, exactly?”
I pictured his intense gaze and shivered with anticipation. “Soon.”
It was early evening when the town car carried me and my invitation away from the city, delving into the dense forest that surrounded Munich. The phone in my matching red clutch teased me, but I resisted. Instead, my busy hands worried the edge of the invitation that would give me access to the ceremony. I wanted to know everything about Ethan, and since he was no help, I decided I would glean whatever information I could from his friends.
The town car dropped me off at a farm field that had become a parking lot of luxury automobiles. Boards, covered with black carpet, formed a path up to the security checkpoint, probably done so the ladies wearing heels wouldn’t sink into the mud. The checkpoint was staffed with four serious-looking men, all wearing suits and earpieces, and there were probably guns tucked beneath their jackets.
It was cold outside, and as I waited my turn, I pulled my long jacket tighter around my body.
My invitation was scanned, my purse checked, and then I was wanded with a handheld metal detector. The group of people in line in front of me didn’t seem to think anything of it. The brewery had been bombed and tonight’s bride kidnapped at the last major event Shawn had held.
Once I was through security, I was ushered onto an awaiting shuttle with the other guests, and it was a short ride across the grassy field toward a sprawling, wood-timbered mansion in the distance.