Page 33 of Craved

He’s vile. Evil. As twisted as he ever was. Only now he’s a hell of a lot more powerful.

And Maxim is working side-by-side with him. But is Maxim a good guy ... or is he truly loyal to the man who is my father?

Chapter Sixteen

Maxim dodged the early afternoon traffic as he hurried to the coffee shop three blocks from the Squire. That was the standard protocol when any member of Killion’s security team needed to report a potential breach, and Zane Parker had just requested a meet.

He stepped into the shop, breathing in the scent of coffee and pastries as he scanned the room. No customers except for the one familiar face in the back booth.

Zane might be a member of Killion’s security team and a rising star as far as Killion was concerned, but Maxim personally didn’t care for the man. As a general rule, he didn’t care for anyone who pretended to serve one leader while really serving the other. Ironic, since he’d spent most of his own life doing undercover work. But then again, it all depended on where the loyalty lay.

As of right now, that was an open question with Zane.

“Tell me,” he said, sliding into the booth across from the man.

“The girl. The bitch in Interrogation A.”

Maxim leaned back, careful to show no emotion. “What about her?”

“She works for Stark Security.”

Of everything that Zane could have said, that was the last thing Maxim expected.

Over the course of the last year, Maxim had learned that Zane had been affiliated with the world-renowned private agency. He’d assumed that Zane had, in fact, been assigned to infiltrate Killion Lambert’s operation.

Maxim also knew that the paycheck Zane drew from Killion had increased over time. And over those same months, Maxim had assumed that Zane’s loyalty had shifted.

Today, Zane had confirmed that.

The bastard was now one hundred percent Killion’s man.

Now, it was Cami who was the question mark.

“Cami Green,” Maxim said, forcing a knife-edge into his voice. “You’re telling me that bitch is with Stark Security?”

“Covert ops,” Zane confirmed.

“And you know this how? Have you worked with her before?”

Zane shook his head, then pulled out his phone. “Stark Security agents are tied into an emergency response network. She must have activated a beacon, because I just got pinged.”

He turned his phone so that Maxim could see the map display. Sure enough, there was a beacon signal…and it was coming from her holding cell.

“You informed Stark Security?”

Zane tilted his head. “Who pays you better? Killion or MI6?”

Maxim nodded in acknowledgement and disgust. But he kept the latter off his face. “Good work, Parker,” he said. “We’re done here. And keep this between us. Killion has enough on his plate with D-Day approaching.”

Zane nodded, then slid from the booth. Maxim stayed behind, sipping his coffee and contemplating his next move. He now knew with certainty where Zane’s loyalties lay.

He’d thought he understood Cami’s. Now, however, he wasn’t so sure. After leaving a twenty on the table and putting in his headphones, he left the coffee shop and started strolling the neighborhood, taking care to ensure he wasn’t followed. When he was certain he was alone, he placed a call, then grinned when the familiar voice answered.

“Maxim Wilder,” Quincy Radcliffe said. “It’s been a long time. You still working retail in Manhattan?” It was a coded question, meant to ask if Maxim was still working as a double agent for MI6.

“Same old, same old,” Maxim said. “I had some free time. Thought we’d catch up.” And that was code to confirm that the call was end-to-end encrypted. Not that he’d take chances, but the more precautions, the better.

“Love to,” Quincy said, as Maxim took another look around. Just to be sure he wasn’t overheard.