Fury and Flame | 3

4 | 0

R I L E Y

I was left alone with Kane to go over the plan for my breaking into the ONNT headquarters. As I met his dark eyes, I wasn't sure whether to be wary or pleased. I figured I'd settle for the latter.

"It will be difficult, but you've done it before," he told me, seeming not as worried as he should be.

"I don't remember any of the spying I did," I reminded him matter-of-factly. "I don't even know how."

"You go in disguised as the technician. All I need is the password. As soon as you have it, make sure to be alone in the room. That way, you won't actually have to do any technical work, you can just tell them you did."

      "What if that woman meets me—Marcella Krasowski?"

      "Have as little contact with her as possible. Convince them you won't need her presence."

      "What if I get caught? You saw what she did to Delphinium."

       "We broke the assassin out of that hellhole. We will do the same for you." His eyes bored into my own, his words hitting deeper than they should have. No one had offered to do anything like that for me before. And for him, of all people, to say it...

      I found myself looking away first. "We're all wanted. My pretty little face will be posted everywhere for each ONNT soldier to see. I won't get three feet in there before they'll jump on me."

      He said nothing, though I could tell he was thinking. I followed his gaze out the window. The room we'd rented was high enough to have a good view of the high-end restaurants and shops below. And one of them was a costume shop, advertising wigs and fake furs in the front window.

      My gaze snapped back to Kane, already knowing what he was planning. "No."

      As he tore his gaze from the window, a corner of his mouth turned up.

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      "I don't even need my memories to know this is the stupidest idea we've ever had," I grumbled as I reluctantly followed Kane's large form through the aisles.

      "You're wrong," he said, absentmindedly looking around the large space. "Once, we tortured the President of Romania for hours after his men shot Arlo."

       "Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows. Had I been a part of that?

      "I'll tell you another time." He threw a tawny brown wig at me, which I barely caught. "Try that on."

      "You've got to be joking," I said eyeing the hairpiece with disgust. "I'm going to look awful."

      He threw me an annoyed look over his shoulder. "That's the point. You can't look like yourself."

      "Fine." I flipped it over my shoulder and took the women's suit he was holding out to me. "Stop enjoying this so much."

      "I don't know what you're talking about. Here." He threw a box of cheap color-changing contacts at me.

     Catching it with one hand, I grumbled, "Thank God the others aren't here to see me in this."

     "I expected you to enjoy this—you always loved playing the part of the people you impersonated." There it was, another shred of myself that I didn't even know. And yet he did.

     "I think...I do enjoy putting on different masks and tricking people. But when you look like this," I said, gesturing to myself, "Why cover it up?" He scoffed and turned away in disbelief. "Don't pretend you haven't noticed, Shires."