Flare of Promise (Asylums for Magical Threats #3) (2 page)

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before. What department did you work in again?”

Irritation flashed in Donna’s eyes. Good. Maybe she’d take the hint. Will had zero interest in romantic entanglements. His own freedom depended on the success of his research.

Leaning on his arm for support, Donna answered, “I’m a genetic research assistant.”

Will was careful to keep the disdain from his voice. “For the children?”

“Yes, of course.”

While Will’s work focused on adults with latent magical abilities, the Sichuan research facility had a much bigger secret. The children born inside the AMT compounds to inmates were shipped to China at a young age. A team of scientists studied them for genetic shifts because of the experiments conducted on their mothers. It was all part of the AMT Oversight Committee’s bigger goal to eradicate magic.

However, Will didn’t agree with hiding the children away from the world, especially for the innocents born without magic.

Still, he couldn’t afford to alienate the other research staff. His own boss, Giovanni Sinclair, had bigger plans that required their cooperation.

Wanting to rid himself of the woman’s company, he placed an arm around her shoulders and maneuvered them back toward the entrance. “I’ll help you inside. But after that, I really must go back to my lab.”

“I’d love to see your lab. I don’t think you’re in the same department as me and it’d be fascinating to see what you’re up to.”

He glanced down at Donna. His gut told him something was off about the woman. “What level clearance do you have?”

She answered without missing a beat, “Seven.”

The highest level was five.

Will stopped and swung the woman around until he had her shoulders pinned with one arm and his thumb at her carotid artery with the other. “Who are you and what do you want?”

The woman murmured, “I’m sorry about this,” before she elbowed him in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him.
 

Donna tried to sweep his foot to knock him off balance. Since Will had spent the last two years training against any sort of attack, he moved his leg out of the way and tightened his arm around the woman’s throat. She elbowed him again and he grunted. But there was no way she was going to win. Another few seconds of pressure against her artery and the woman would fall unconscious.
 

He couldn’t wait to find out who she was and why the hell she was lying about working at the research facility.

Of course, the bigger question was why someone was targeting Will at all. His abilities were a secret, or so he thought.

~~~

Petra cursed as Millie and Will tried to disarm each other. From the look of things, Will was winning.

She could either show her face and use Will’s reaction to knock him unconscious or she’d have to chance shooting a tranquilizer dart from her current position.

Given that she was at least 400 feet from Will and Millie, only luck would guarantee the shot with the equipment she’d brought with her.

Tossing her binoculars to the side, Petra spoke so Millie could hear her through the earpiece. “I’m coming, Millie. Find a way to stay conscious a little longer.”

As she took off down the hill toward the exercise path, Petra took out her Taser. The tranquilizer would knock Will out for far too long. The last thing she needed was for his absence to be noted. Yes, she wanted to rescue him, but she also needed time to escape.

Pumping her legs as fast as she could, she drew near where Will and Millie were having their altercation. Millie had snaked an arm behind her and Petra watched as she grabbed Will’s balls and twisted.

Even as Will cried out in pain and loosened his grip, jealousy shot through Petra’s body. She had no claim on Will Evans, but she didn’t like any other woman’s hands on him.

What the hell am I thinking?
Pushing aside her jealousy, she charged at Will’s back and shouted, “Now!”

Millie released her hold and rolled off to the side. Will turned his head and met her eyes right before she shot the Taser cartridge at his back. Even as his body shook, he managed, “Leyna?”

Two seconds later, he was unconscious on the ground.

Kneeling down, Petra lightly brushed Will’s forehead. He wouldn’t be out for long. As soon as he regained consciousness, Petra would have to act as if she didn’t care about him.

Yet as she touched his warm skin, a longing she’d buried deep inside broke free. Despite all of the time that had passed and the drastic changes in her life, Petra still wanted him. More than that, a small part of her wanted to drop the persona of Petra Brandt and become Leyna Grunwald again. That life had been so much simpler.

Her eyes fell on his lips. She wanted to kiss him more than anything she’d wanted in years. Surely she had enough time to give the good-bye kiss she’d never had a chance to give.

Before she could lean down more than an inch, Millie’s hushed voice stopped her. “I know he’s attractive and all, but you’ll have to save your snogging for later.”

Millie was right. Saving Will’s life was far more important than walking down memory lane. Petra leaned away from Will and ignored the pain in her heart. After all, the distance between them only existed to protect Will. “We’re going to have to adjust the plan.”

Millie shrugged. “Fine by me. Although, if you expect me to carry him, you’re going to be in for a surprise. That man is pure muscle.”

Petra growled. “Stop admiring his body.”

Her partner studied Petra a second before motioning toward Will. “Then what do you want to do? If we take his ID card, he’ll alert the guards and they’ll probably void it.”

Petra opened one of the pockets of her cargo pants and took out a small pad of paper and a mini-pencil. “I’ll leave him a note.”

“Right, because he’s just going to go along with what you say.”

Jotting down her message, Petra murmured, “He will.”

“Why?”

She folded the note and tucked it into Will’s palm. She met Millie’s eyes. “Because at one point, he was going to marry me.”

Chapter Two

Will groaned as his brain started to work again. Someone had tased him, but the details were fuzzy.

When he finally opened his eyes, he looked around at the empty exercise path and it all came back to him. Donna was gone, as was the ghost of his Leyna.

It had to have been his imagination. He’d attended Leyna’s funeral. Sure, she’d been cremated, but his sweet Leyna never would’ve tried to fake her own death.

Yet remembering the hard eyes and weapons strapped to Leyna’s ghost made him wonder if it really had been her.
 

Not that he had time to think about it. The sun’s position told him his volunteers would be arriving shortly.

Little by little, Will forced his muscles to work again. When he reached his hands, they closed on to something firm, yet malleable. With effort, he raised his hand and saw a piece of paper tucked in his palm.

A minute later, he sat up and unfolded the note. Inside was the handwriting of a dead woman:

Meet me at the local expat restaurant this evening. Come alone and I’ll explain everything.

~Leyna

PS—Proof that I am who I say: Derwentwater, push, love.

His heart skipped a beat. Derwentwater in the Lake District was the place where Leyna had not only accidentally pushed him into the lake, it had also been where he’d said he’d loved her for the first time.

Running a hand through his hair, he scanned the surroundings. While someone could’ve researched his past or talked to his brother to find out about the events at Derwentwater in Keswick, seeing Leyna’s face was too much of a coincidence. What if she were still alive? He could be angry with her for lying later. He needed to see the woman and determine her identity.

But he couldn’t do any of that if he missed welcoming his test subjects. Will’s freedom was controlled by Giovanni Sinclair. He couldn’t risk upsetting his boss.

Slowly rising to his feet, Will tucked the note into his pocket. As he tamped down the small flicker of hope in his chest, Will schooled his face into a neutral expression. He couldn’t allow anyone to find out he’d been accosted by two women during his run. Considering the two women had chosen the only blind spot he’d noticed along the path, they had to be professionals.

The question was why did they need him? And moreover, if it truly was Leyna he’d spotted earlier, why had she waited until now to show her face?

His earlier enthusiasm about starting his new research faded. As he scanned the surrounding hills, Will knew he would constantly be thinking of the upcoming meeting at the restaurant. The trick would be in acting as if everything was normal. Not only was Giovanni observant, the head warden of the facility—Liang—was more so.
 

The only good thing was Will had ten hours to think of an excuse to visit the local restaurant. During that time, he’d also tuck away any lingering feelings he still possessed for Leyna. For all he knew, the mysterious woman wanted to use his past against him. If she thought Will was an easy target, she was in for a big surprise.

~~~

The instant Petra and Millie were inside the abandoned house they used as a base, Millie turned on Petra. “How could you keep this from me? Partners don’t keep secrets that could cost them their lives.”

Petra sighed. “Stop being overdramatic. My connection to Will had no impact on the mission. When it became relevant, I told you.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Millie raised her brows. “Too right it’s become bloody relevant. Tell me what happened or I’ll risk Larsen, Sinclair, and the lot by running away.”

The only person who knew about Petra’s real identity was her brother, Dominick, and for good reason. Not just because they’d both changed identities together, but also because when someone worked as a mercenary, enemies always looked for weaknesses. Former friends and lovers were at the top of the list of targets.

Yet as she studied Millie Ward, Petra didn’t think the woman would sell her information to the highest bidder. After all, Petra knew of Millie’s involvement in trying to free the first-born magic users. That information could be useful to the right people. In a way, they were at an impasse until trust developed. “It’s not overly complicated. My brother got into some trouble and needed my help. To protect Will, I faked my death and created a new persona.”

“You can act all indifferent now but I saw the way you brushed his forehead. Hell, you were about to kiss him.”

Petra kept her expression neutral. “A momentary lapse that won’t happen again, I assure you.”

“Right, and the sky is turning green.”

Petra growled. “Drop it, Millie. You know enough to complete the mission. Don’t expect any more.”

Millie continued as if Petra hadn’t spoken. “You know what I think? I suspect you go back and forth about your choice every day. But was it worth it? Finding love isn’t easy. If I did, I’d never toss it away.”

Petra debated walking away. But if Millie was to be her back-up for her meeting later on, she needed to keep the woman on her side. Petra raised her brows. “Oh, really? You have two brothers. Imagine if one of their lives depended on your help. I bet you would’ve done the same.”

“I don’t like hypotheticals. But that scientist bloke doesn’t look like the type to marry a mercenary. I have a feeling you did a hell of a lot more than fake your death to help your brother.”

Millie was right, but Petra wasn’t about to tell her. “Look, the other details of my past are irrelevant. We need to prepare for tonight. While I don’t think he will turn me in, there’s always a small chance Will’s changed as much as me and we need to be ready.”

“One last question and I’ll hold off until at least after this meeting. Deal?”

“Fine.”

Millie tilted her head. “Someone’s grumpy.” Petra opened her mouth but Millie beat her to the reply. “Why did he call you Leyna?”

Petra didn’t hesitate. “Because when I faked my death, I changed my name. It’s Self-Preservation 101. Now that your questions will cease, let’s both figure out a number of escape routes.”

Millie replied, “Why not just kidnap him? I’m sure we could find somewhere for you two to run off together. Then you’d both be safe and you could enjoy life a bit more.” Millie flicked her hand to Petra. “You’re far too tense. A little sex could go a long way toward relaxing you.”

Petra had considered going with Will, but had decided against it. “His current position is powerful. According to both of our contacts, his boss is Giovanni Sinclair. We definitely don’t need his adopted father—the uncle dearest of your brother’s girlfriend, by the way—getting wind of Will’s disappearance. Remember, he has his own strange power and James Sinclair is out to rid the world of all magic.”

“Don’t remind me,” Millie muttered before raising her voice back to normal levels. “But you want Will to disappear, remember? That’s our entire reason for being here, unless you’ve changed your plan without telling me.”

Petra shook her head. “No, the plan is to make Will disappear on his own. It’s far easier for him to blend in and create a new identity without me since I’ve made more than a few enemies over the years.”

Millie rolled her eyes. “I believe you think you’re more badass than you actually are.”

“Millie,” Petra growled.

“Fine, fine. But back to tonight. The AMT research facility usually sends out bodyguards to watch over their employees. Do you think a bodyguard will follow Will around tonight, too? Or is he stealthy enough to lose a tail? Since he hasn’t left the facility since we’ve been here, apart from his runs, I worry about unexpected surprises.”

She nodded. “He’ll probably have a guard. But that’s where you come in. You’re pretty good at fluttering your eyelashes. I’m sure you won’t mind doing that again tonight to distract them.”

Placing her hands on her hips, Millie raised her chin. “I may be gorgeous, but I have a brain, too. I never would’ve gotten this far without it.”

“Are we really going down this road again? Yes, you’re good at your job. But out of the two of us, who has the greatest chance of convincing Will to trust us?”