Elite Metal-ARE-epub (100 page)

Working as quickly as possible, they worked their way through the stacks of hard drives and notebooks. Copying the information into their phones was fast and easy, but snapping photos of individual pages was taking too long.

“I should have brought the portable scanner,” Poppy hissed. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!”

“Shit happens. We’re getting good intel here. Just keep working.”

When the timer went off, they hurriedly rearranged all the notebooks and flash drives in the safe. With his nearly eidetic memory and her attention to detail, they were certain everything was just right.

“Grab a pillowcase.” He wiped down the keypad to remove all traces of the makeup powder. “Take his watch. Find the master closet. Take all his cufflinks and watches. It needs to look like a quick grab.”

She dashed to the bed, grabbed a pillow, ripped it free from the case and ran into the bathroom. When she returned a short time later, the pillowcase was heavy with her loot. “Got it.”

Suddenly, the very worst thing happened. One of the guards knocked at the door.

“Sir? Mr. Darby? There’s been a problem with the security system on the ground floor. It’s causing problems up here. The sensor for your balcony door went off. We need to come in and check your room.”

Poppy froze. Eyes wide, she bit her lip and looked to him for reassurance. Grabbing his knife, he put a finger to his mouth and silently hopped down from the dresser. He motioned for her to get behind him and to squeeze up tight against the wall.

Mimicking Henry’s voice, he called out, “We’re fine. There’s no need.”

“Mr. Darby, we need to check the doors and windows.”

“We’re fine. There’s no need for a security check.”

Just then, the painting slipped from the dresser and hit the floor with a loud clatter. Silver silently cursed.

The guard rattled the door. “Mr. Darby! Open the door, sir. Mr. Darby?”

“Back!” Silver warned quietly and pointed to a space behind him. “Stay back, Poppy.”

“Silver, I can help—”

The guard kicked the door hard enough to shatter the wood. Two more kicks and it flew right off its hinges. Blood pumping, Silver jumped at the first guard who came through the door. He slapped away the man’s gun and used the handle of the knife to knock him unconscious.

As he dropped the first guard to the floor, the second guard leaped at him. Heavier by at least fifty pounds, the guard’s momentum and weight knocked Silver off his feet. He hit the floor with a painful crack.
Fuck
.

Fists were flying now. He punched the guard in the face, but took a shot to the ribs that knocked the air right out of his lungs. They rolled around on the floor, trading punches and elbow jabs and growling like a couple of bears.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the other guard waking up. Suddenly Poppy was in the man’s face and spraying him with the sedative. The guard dropped like a rock. Spurred into action, she raced toward them and swung that bag of loot like a baseball bat, whacking the guard across the face. The man cried out in pain and clutched at his crunched nose. Poppy blasted the man in the face with the spray, dosing him with enough to knock him out for a good while.

Face flushed, she stood over him and held out her hand. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Silver winced as his throbbing jaw and ribs reminded him that he was going to be a bruised mess in the morning. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good.” She grasped his hand and helped him to his feet. With her hand on his chest, she studied him carefully. “Are you sure you’re okay? You took a bad hit to the temple.”

“I’ve got a hard head.”

“So I’ve heard,” she replied with a warm smile.

It would be so easy to get lost in those beautiful green eyes of hers. Shaking himself from the stupor she inspired, he said, “We have to get out of here. Like right now.”

She didn’t argue. They gathered up her things and the evidence and rushed out of the apartment. Avoiding the elevators, they used the emergency stairs. They were both breathless and panting by the time they reached the ground floor. Bursting out of a side door, they found themselves in an alley.

“Where are we?” She clung to his arm, and he hoped she never let go.

It took him a second to orient himself. “My bike is this way.”

“Wait! Your bike?” She trailed after him unhappily. “I don’t do motorcycles, remember?”

“This isn’t up for debate.”

“Silver…”

“Nope.” When they reached the parking lot, she wrinkled that dainty nose at the very idea of getting on the motorcycle. Awash in adrenaline, he smacked her bottom. “Come on, Poppy. Move that fine ass.”

“Are you crazy?” She glared and rubbed her backside. “I am
not
getting on that thing.”

“I’m in a romantic mood so I’m going to let that golden opportunity to tease you pass.”

She rolled her eyes. “I was right. You are incorrigible.”

“I looked that up in the dictionary. Turns out it’s not a synonym for sexy after all.”

Her pouty mouth twitched with a smile. “Silver, you really are the most wonderfully frustrating man I’ve ever met.”

Sliding his arm around her waist, he touched his forehead to hers. “And you really are the most infuriatingly perfect woman I’ve ever met.”

“If you kiss me right now, this moment might go down as the most romantic of my life.”

“Far be it from me to ever deny you anything, Poppy.” Grinning like a fool, he leaned in to claim her lush mouth.

But just as their lips touched, tires squealed as a cargo van and two SUVs raced onto the parking lot. Reacting on instinct, he grabbed Poppy by the arm and shoved her behind him. He pulled his weapon, ready to fire, but the door of the cargo van swung open revealing two men dressed all in black. One of them popped off a shot. A sharp dart slammed into his neck, piercing his skin with its stinging poison. He ripped it out but it was too late. Already his heartbeat was slowing and the world was spinning.

“Silver? No! No!” Poppy held onto him, guiding his slack body to the ground. “Silver!”

Chapter Five

Feeling as if he had been clobbered by a hammer, Silver groaned loudly and cupped his face. He tried to open his eyes but the bright lights overhead felt like damned ice picks driving into his brain. Shielding his face with his arm, he sat up slowly and tried not to dry heave.

Mouth dry and stomach swirling, he blinked and tried that looking thing again. Squinting, he glanced at his surroundings. He was in someone’s office. The ultra-modern furniture and the neat and tidy shelves gave him the first couple of clues, but the vase of tulips and roses sealed it.

Poppy
.

He shoved off the couch he had been left on and staggered to the door. Touching his face to the cold metal, he inhaled deep breaths and hoped the nausea would stop soon. He needed something to eat and a big fucking glass of water.

But first he had to find Poppy.

He opened the door and instantly heard the sound of raised voices. Two men and a woman were shouting at each other.

Not just a woman.
Poppy.

Enraged that some asshole was shouting at his girl, Silver stormed off in the direction of the voices. He ended up outside a slightly ajar door.

“What were you thinking, Poppy? Do you have any idea what you risked? What if Warbucks hadn’t been able to reach us? Huh? You could have been killed!”

Holy shit!
Silver’s brain buzzed with recognition of the familiar, gruff voice.
Steele
.

“Why the hell were you even with
him
, Poppy? That little shit is a thief. He turned his back on us and ran off to join the bad guys.”
Chrome
.

“He made mistakes,” Poppy agreed, “but he’s redeemed himself.”

Chrome laughed harshly. “There aren’t enough good deeds in the world to redeem that bastard.”

“You can cut the asshole act right now,” Poppy snapped. Her use of profanity seemed to shock the men into silence because not a single peep was heard. “You have no idea what he’s done for the team. Warbucks and I secretly brought him onboard almost a year ago. Where do you think all the recon comes from, boys? Who do you think cleans up the messes that are left behind? He’s out there,
alone
, risking his life for the team. He’s been shot and stabbed and beaten for a team that doesn’t want him.”

Silver winced at the ugly truth. He couldn’t blame the guys for hating his guts. He had turned his back on them first. He had poured a trail of gasoline right across that bridge and tossed a lit match on it.

“He’s been through hell,” Poppy insisted. “Yes, he screwed up royally. He did bad things, and he’s been punished for them. But he’s also done good things. He’s earned forgiveness.”

“A year, Poppy?” Steele asked with obvious consternation. “You’ve had that poor bastard out there on his own for a year?”

For a moment there it almost sounded as if Steele was pissed on his behalf.

“We should have been told,” Chrome ground out angrily. “We should have been informed that he was working for the team. You should have told us that he was trying to earn back our trust.”

“I wanted to,” she said, “but Warbucks—”

“You know,” Chrome cut in, “I’m getting a little tired of Warbucks yanking our strings. I think it’s time for the boss man to get his ass down here and face us.”

“So do I,” Poppy said. “So do I.”

Silver suddenly lost his balance and put a hand on the closest surface to steady himself. His hand touched the door, and he nearly fell on his face when the door swung wide open.

“You’re awake!” Poppy rushed to his side. Cupping his bruised face, she smiled up at him. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” he grumbled and looked her over. “Are you okay? They didn’t rough you up when they snatched you?”

Steele laughed. “There’s not a man on the team with balls big enough to hood Poppy or put her in cuffs. Us or the ghosts.”

“Hell, I don’t know, Steele,” Chrome said with a slow smile in his direction. “We might have found one man with big enough balls.”

“Yes, well, that’s
quite
enough of that discussion,” Poppy briskly interjected. A bright blush reddened her cheeks and ears. Silver couldn’t wait to get her alone to see just how far that blush would spread when she was naked and captive under his hands.

“So,” Steele said, his tone clipped. “You’re back.”

Silver nodded. “Yeah. I’m back.” He glanced at Chrome who seemed unhappy about this new development. “If the team will have me.”

Chrome crossed the room with deliberate strides and didn’t stop until they were eye-to-eye. “You were a rotten little bastard for running like that and selling your skills to the highest bidder.”

“Yeah, I was.”

“You broke our trust. You broke the code.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I still don’t like you.”

“You know you love me,” Silver shot back, resurrecting a phrase that had driven his former team leader up the damned wall.

“Don’t push it, punk.” Chrome exhaled roughly, grabbing the back of his neck. “But I’ll vouch for you tomorrow. You’re a damn good man if Poppy vouches for you. We could use a man like you.”

Silver held out his hand. “I’ve got your backs.”

“You fucking better,” Chrome warned before gripping his hand in a firm shake. Still holding tight, he poked his finger into Silver’s chest. “And if you hurt Poppy, every man and woman on this team is going to take turns kicking your ass. We’re a family. We protect our own.”

“Understood,” Silver said.

His piece said, Chrome nodded at Poppy and left the room.

Steele took his time sauntering over. “It’s good to see you again, Silver.”

“Feels good to be back.”

“I know it does.” Steele stared at him for an unnervingly long moment. “For what it’s worth, I asked Warbucks several times to track you down and bring you back onboard. I knew you’d come around. Chrome just took a bit longer to make the same realization. He knows as well as I do that every man is redeemable.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence. I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t play for the wrong team ever again.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Steele whacked him on the back twice and squeezed his shoulder. “You should get some rest. We’ll go through the official meet and greet tomorrow.” He smiled at Poppy. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Steele.” When they were alone, she turned toward him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough,” he said. “I don’t hold any of it against them. I
was
an asshole. I was a fuck-up and a selfish son-of-a-bitch. The last ten months have been hard, but I really have learned my lesson.”

Poppy grasped his hand and gave it a squeeze. “You don’t have to play the role of lone wolf anymore. You can be part of a team again.”

“I’m pretty sure I was part of the best damned two-person team Elite Metal has ever seen.” He reached for Poppy and pulled her into an embrace. “You were fucking amazing tonight.”

“I performed satisfactorily.”

“Satisfactorily?” He pushed her back to arm’s length so he could study her face. “Poppy! You planned and executed a successful mission that had zero casualties on either side. That doesn’t happen every day.”

“Well, I guess I did all right.”

“Cut the modesty. You’ve earned the right to gloat tonight.”

“I think I’ve earned a hot shower and a warm bed.”

“I think you’ve forgotten about a promise I made to you earlier tonight.”

As if the magic spell of the warehouse sex club had been broken now that her feet were firmly on the ground at their headquarters, Poppy embraced her inner ice queen again. “I told you that this,” she gestured between them, “never happened.”

He wasn’t the least bit surprised by the wall she was trying to build between them. Truthfully, he had expected it—but he wasn’t going to accept it.

“No,” he stated firmly. “You aren’t pushing me away, Poppy. For ten months, we’ve danced around this attraction. I want to see where this thing might go.”