Welcome to the continuation of Eva and Jack’s story set in the world of The Deniable Unit series. Check out Part One and Part Two.
Jack watched in horror as Eva slipped from his grip, disappearing into the snowy abyss, the wind swallowing her screams.
“No. Eva!” He waited, straining to hear her response, any response. “Eva!” Nothing but the wind answered him. She couldn’t be dead. He refused to believe that fate could be so cruel as to finally put them together only to rip them apart.
Tears pricked his eyes as he roared into the blizzard. Anger and pain threatened to tear him apart. Harvey was to blame for all they’d suffered on this mission. From the moment his boss had told him the plan, he’d known it would end in disaster.
TWO WEEKS AGO
Jack drained the coffee from his travel mug as he leaned against one of the high columns at the base of the Deniable Unit headquarters in Dundee. For all the world, the building looked like any of the other old buildings in the city, though the upper section was a tasteful extension of stone and glass. There was no point heading into the briefing yet. And the longer he could soak up the winter sun before heading down into the vaults of DUHQ, the better.
Though, delaying wouldn’t change a damned thing. Harvey didn’t like him, and well, he didn’t much care for his boss either. But Jack was prepared to suck it up. He’d heard a rumour that Harvey was finally ready for Jack to take the lead on some mission. Before he could check his watch, a woman stepping out of a taxi caught his eye. Eva, fucking, Stone. Shite.
Eva made a beeline for the revolving door but slowed as she neared him, her mouth in a grim line. “You’ve got to be fucking joking.”
“Nice to see you, too, Eva.” He tucked his empty travel mug into his coat pocket. “You just visiting or…” He left her to fill it in, hoping that if he didn’t voice it, she wouldn’t be heading into the same meeting as him.
“The Vaults, but you knew that.” She surveyed him, and her lips did an almost imperceptible quirk. “Still bitter about the job?”
Too right he was bitter. After ten years in the field, it was his job for the taking. But Eva and her admittedly gorgeous arse swept in and took it. “Try not to fuck it up.”
“I don’t need to hear your daily affirmations, Jack.” With that, she strode toward the doors.
He watched her go, his eyes dropping to that delicious arse as she made her way inside. The woman had a knack for pissing him off and turning him on at the same time. Clenching his jaw, he followed her in.
They made their way down to the Vaults in silence as the lift shuttled them three floors below street level. It was far quieter on the Operations floor than usual, though he hadn’t been back to DUHQ in over a year and things could have changed in that time.
Eva bent for the retinal scanner, and the moment the lock disengaged, Jack bumped her out of the way. “Sorry, misjudged the gap.” Playing with fire was never one of his flaws, but with her, he couldn’t stop himself.
She huffed behind him. “Prick.” She took a seat next to Harvey Dalton, heid bitch and First in Command of the Deniable Unit.
The room was empty. That was more than unusual; it was unprecedented. “Are we early or late?”
“Right on time. Take a seat.” Harvey fired up the huge monitor on the wall across from the large mahogany table. He highlighted Valencia on the map. “We’ve got intel that there’s a Consortium agent ready to turn.” Harvey waited for the information to land.
“Is it credible intel?” Eva asked. It was a valid question.
Jack’s source was going to get his arse kicked for getting his hopes up. “Why am I here?” The answer was five-foot-two and probably just as annoying.
Harvey flashed him a dickhead grin. “You’re going in as a couple. Eva, as the ranking operator, is taking the lead, and you’ll not be bitching about it, will you?”
Jack leaned back in his chair and blew out what he hoped was a long-suffering breath. “Fine. But I’ll bitch about it as much as I want to. What’s the plan?”
Eva stifled a giggle.
“You’re heading to Valencia. Once there, observe the agent before making the approach. She’s promised files and access, but I want you to work her. Get her to gather as much intel as possible before extraction.”
That was going to be difficult. “And if she gets spooked? Refuses to do it?” It happened more than he’d like it to. Assets were notoriously flighty and had a tendency to fuck you over.
Harvey placed his hands on the table. “Eva’s calling the plays on this.”
Fuck. He was going to be lucky if he came out of this mission with his limbs intact.
Next Episode: Eva & Jack (Pt 4)
This post is my entry for Kevin’s awesome No Theme Thursday challenge, where Kevin shares some of his artwork to inspire us to create!
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!
Stay awesome,
Susan x
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