The End of Tomorrow

By Sophie Starr

Twelve years ago, Evie Evans left behind a dangerous job to be a full-time mother and wife.
Suddenly widowed and left to raise her children alone, Evie hopes she’s prepared for anything the world might toss at her.
But there’s no way to prepare for what comes next.

Betrayed by her husband.
Sold by the government.
Owned by a mortal enemy.
Underestimated by everyone.

It's been one hell of a winter for Evie Evans.

Just as things start to settle into a bit of a routine, a single phone call from a particular arms dealer halts everything.
Evie's spy instincts kick into gear, putting being a parent on the back burner.
But it's not the only thing taking a backseat to the mission.
Evie's love life also takes a hit when Coop decides not to trust Servario's latest tip from the underworld and accuses her of feelings Evie isn't sure she can deny.

But when Servario's information is confirmed by an attack on a major city, the team is once again swept up in the chaos that comes with protecting the Burrow.

Only this time, the mission isn't saving the Burrow from the usual suspects.
This time it's saving the world from a young woman on the verge of creating something so deadly Evie isn't sure the Burrow should have it either.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tara Brown
• Release date: Jul 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781927866245

Book preview

Prologue

Where am I?

I woke, confused to see a strange room in a hotel.

Hey. Luce smiled from the chair in the corner.

Where are we? I blinked and rubbed my eyes. What happened? Where are we? I asked again, realizing my throat felt funny, and I couldn't seem to shake the fog in my head.

Europe, she answered like I should know where we were. You don't remember coming here? We arrived two days ago.

No. I don't remember anything. It was true, I didn't recall the trip. The last thing I remembered, we were talking about Europe; Coop and I had fought about coming. But everything else was muddled, consisting mostly of flashes, images I couldn't place.

What do you remember?

I was in— I paused and thought back to the last thing I recalled: the jet with Servario and something about a red dress.

Or was it?

Was I wearing a red dress in the memory?

Everything was a haze.

Why are we here? Did we do a job? I lifted my head, swallowing hard. Did Servario abandon me again?

Sort of. She sighed. And he said he took your memories with some drug. He said it was better for you. I didn't think it would work. He asked me to sit here until you woke. She was cavalier. Consistent for Luce. It could’ve been her middle name.

Her words filtered in slowly and did laps around my mind until they landed, firmly. Wait, he said what? Why did he take my memories? Or better yet, how? What’s better about this? I feel sick. Jesus, what did I do? My heart raced as I struggled to reach the memories that were gone and wondered what in the hell he had talked me into that I needed to forget. Oh God, did he— I flexed my butt to make sure he hadn’t conned me into that. Thankfully, it felt normal.

Did he what?

Nothing. I gave Luce a look, unsure of how I could possibly explain my avoidance of ass sex without the long conversation about giving birth. Where’s Coop? If I was safe with anyone, it was him. He never would have erased my memories, and he’d never asked to play the back nine.

We’re in Belgium. She paled a little, gazing downward. Coop’s dealing with the brothel you raided in Dubai. Same human traffickers we’ve been chasing all along. She said it weirdly, as if she was embarrassed to tell me.

What brothel? It hit me then that it wasn't so much what I'd done but rather what I'd seen. Clearly, I'd seen something Servario didn't want me to. Was it bad? Did he whore me out?

Much worse than that, Evie. Her eyes were haunted.

He took my memories on purpose? Because he made me do things? Rage began to build inside me, replacing the pity I’d felt a second ago. Oh my God. I always sort of assumed he’d keep me relatively safe. Oh my God. I had fooled myself when it came to him on a lot of things. This one left me blood lusting but too weak to fulfill my desires.

No, wait. She shook her head. No. He didn't make you do anything. You killed and went savage and saved some teenagers. I think he wanted you to forget the way you kill—it’s just better. Trust me.

Oh. I frowned at Luce and sighed in relief. You sure? I squeezed my thighs, noting the sex I had definitely had.

Yeah. He said you shouldn't remember how you kill, it’s not cool.

Huh? I leaned back again, confused but oddly grateful I had no idea what she was talking about. I had killed in a way he knew I wouldn’t want to remember? That was a bad sign but I was oddly relieved. Shit was wrong with me. How bad?

Bad. Her pale face emphasized the word bad.

Like on a scale of one to ten—one being Betty White murdering people and ten being a woman who just gave birth while killing with a machete—how savage?

She paused, pursing her lips. What’s Betty White killing with?

A gun, just a regular death.

You were full machete, covered in the blood of childbirth. She lifted her hands like we were putting this to bed. Worst ever.

Yikes. There were things I didn't need to remember, I could admit that. But I had a bad feeling some of the things I did need were gone with the rubble. Can you give me the Cliff Notes version of what you know, maybe clean up the savage killing a little?

Yeah. Luce began the story with the jet ride I had a slight recollection of.

The story took turns I didn't expect, but in the end I decided the headache and confusion were worth not knowing what in the hell had happened. I hated human trafficking more than any single thing in the world. And when my job involved children and human trafficking, I wasn't sane. I was something else. We all knew it.

There was no way I wanted to sit and think about it all. I was tired in a way I didn't understand, but all I could do was hope Servario had protected me and chosen to wipe my memory because of horrors I had seen and not horrors I had experienced. I had to trust him. It was an icky feeling.

What do we do now? I couldn't find anything in my head. I didn't even entirely remember why we had come to Europe.

We go home to Canada and let Coop and Jack clean this mess up.

Okay, I conceded, wishing I could have more than just the slightest of hints as to what all the job was. It felt too much like a Servario game to me.

Chapter 1

Home again

The waiting room seemed to be closing in on me, but I remained perfectly still. Canadian medical was by far superior to ours, but their wait times were insane. I hadn’t been able to get in to see our family doctor when we returned from Europe, so the health unit had become my only option.

Luce gave me a side-glance from her magazine. Stop fidgeting. You look like a junkie.

Suck it, Luce. You didn't possibly entertain all the gentlemen at the finger-in-the-ass club. I motioned both hands like I was double-fisting cocks. She wrinkled her nose, making me realize I was talking with my hands again. I lowered them, awkwardly, having never actually done the double-fisting gesture before. The horror on her face matched the feelings inside me. I don't like not knowing what happened to my vagina.

I’m sure it didn't involve making porn.

You don't know.

We both know you are fine. Would you stop. She rolled her eyes.

No! I spoke sharply. Servario isn’t all about safety. He’s all about instant gratification. I could kill him for this. I might have done things, Luce, things I don’t normally do. He has a way of convincing— I paused and shuddered. Anyway, I know I woke up feeling like maybe I’d had sex. Servario sex. A dozen showers and the reassuring look my mom gave me hadn’t helped. I couldn’t feel clean. It was like there were fingerprints or bugs all over me. I was going to kill him, slowly.

Oh my God. Luce lifted her hand in a show of defeat. Fine, be insane. When the nurse tells you you’re fine I’m going to tell you I told you so. FYI!

Having Luce join me for my STD testing hadn’t turned out to be as comforting as I’d imagined. In my head it had been her holding my hand and us laughing nervously and her reassuring me. Not rolling her eyes and flipping the magazine pages like she was annoyed. Granted, I was being a baby but there was something she didn't understand: I had never been nervous getting these done before. I had always known who my partners were. They consisted of one person: James, a man I believed to be monogamous. Now I had to worry about him and Servario and Coop, and all the people they had slept with. It was vexing to say the least.

Didn't you have to get this done when you had kids?

Yeah. I cringed. But I was faithful to one person. I never imagined I would actually get anything.

She cocked an eyebrow. Your one person was James. You’re lucky you don't have HIV. He is hep-seedy.

Was.

Is. Luce scoffed. I am not counting that man as dead yet. Hell no. I have seen the horror movies, and that mutha always lives and comes back, just when you think it’s safe. Hell no. I’m ready for his ass.

Good call. I bit my lip and thought about it all for a moment. She had scars in places from his attempt to kill her in Rome. I didn't blame her one bit. Ya know, I never worried about sex with him because he always wore a condom with me. He had lasting problems.

Oh. She wrinkled her nose. That's why he always wore condoms?

Yeah.

Gross and lame. She looked back at the magazine. He was shit in bed with or without the condom anyway.

Yeah. Tapping my finger against the chair, I tried to avoid the awkwardness of the fact that we’d both slept with my ex-husband. He was indeed.

It's really no wonder you and Servario have more sex than is normal for anyone to have with an arms dealer. You have a decade of bad sex to make up for.

Yup. I nodded again, not wanting to touch on it.

Coop and Jack get back tonight. Luce glanced my way.

Her words made me realize I had a tremendous amount of guilt over Dubai, regardless of remembering nothing. There was no denying I’d had sex. I could tell.

You need to end things with Coop. He’s way too into you, and you’re way too hung up on Servario. It’s kinda sick to watch.

I didn't answer her. The idea of breaking things off permanently hurt. Coop wouldn't be able to transfer away from me so we would be stuck together, back to our awkward attraction. And he made me feel safe. It was selfish and I knew it and I hated myself for it, but I didn't want it to end.

I pinned it in my mind to reevaluate later.

A woman in a short red dress walked into the waiting room and sat across from me. Something about her was familiar but I couldn't recall what.

Obviously, she was a hooker. I portrayed a hooker a lot, and we both had brown hair. Beyond that I didn't know why seeing her was picking at me.

She was pretty, but her teeth were obviously decayed from drugs and she had a pick wound similar to the one the female Burrow agent Elise had.

It dawned on me after a moment that the hooker’s red dress reminded me of the dress on the plane with Servario.

I had worn a red dress.

Had something happened to cast Servario in a bad light so he’d made me forget it? A red dress like a hooker and no memories was a bad thing.

Angela Marshall? The nurse came into the room and spoke softly. Luce nudged me. That's you, Angela.

I jumped up, nervous and hating the distracted feeling I had. I’m Angela. I followed the smiling nurse to the back hallway.

She didn't speak until we were in the room, and even then, it was detached and devoid of emotion, Hello, Angela. I am Sarah, one of the health nurses here. I understand you need a physical and an STI test.

No. I cocked an eyebrow. STD.

She offered the most patronizing smile I had ever received. STI is what they are labeled now.

I wanted to stab her in the eye but I shrugged. Whatever they’re called, I need a test.

She sat back, folding her arms. Have you changed partners?

No, my husband cheated on me with a bunch of other women, and I need to be sure he didn't give me something.

Oh. Her jaw dropped and suddenly she was a completely different woman. Oh my God, I am so sorry. Of course, we’ll make certain you’re healthy. She shook her head. I get this a lot I’m afraid.

I can imagine.

Let’s just do the blood work first. It’s the easy part. She got up and brought back the kit to take my blood. Are you from here?

No, Washington. My husband and I came here for his job.

Wow. She lifted her gaze as she washed my arm and gently stuck the needle in. So he moved you here, away from your friends and family, and then had a series of affairs?

I nodded.

That's disgusting.

It is. I shuddered as she clamped on the vile and began filling.

Will you go back?

No. My kids like it here. I shrugged. I don't mind it either. I’ve got some friends, and Canadians are such nice people.

I suppose. She filled the last vile she needed, pulled the needle from my arm, and placed a small round Band-Aid over the spot. She gestured to the bed. Slip the gown on and lie back on the bed, covering yourself with the sheet, and I will be right back. She got up and left the room.

Never had I had a more gentle blood-taking experience. The Pap would be the same. I had won her over with my sob story. She was going to warm that dirty duckbill before she lodged it in me. That really was the part of the story that mattered where Pap smears were concerned. Especially when you had a crooked cervix, and every time was like the doctor trying to fish the last pickle from the jar.

When she came back in, she offered a pleasant nod. Ready?

I winced but gave her a look of accepting my fate. Yup. It was a lie.

No one liked having a Pap, but I had seen the same doctor for fifteen years. We had a rapport and a friendship that involved him telling me about the White Sox and me pretending to really care about the games and stats.

My cervix is crooked, I offered uneasily, realizing she was akin to a new lover, minus the scotch and sexual tension.

They all are. She positioned herself and began the awkward part of placing my feet in the stirrups. Could you just slide forward a bit more? I shifted down the sheet, dragging it with me and unintentionally lifting my dress. Always a bit awkward, eh? Like doing it in high school, you’re both a bit nervous and neither of you has a real clue how it’s meant to feel.

And apparently, she was going to talk about sex while touching my vagina.

Not something my other doctor would have ever done.

We both laughed but my heart wasn’t in it. It was a pity laugh. Self-pity.

I am going to touch you now. She leaned in, making me grateful I had washed three times before we came but instantly feeling dirty the moment she went in for the kill. Being spread open under a bright light while someone wore mining gear was one thing, but having them lean in and really pry as they dug about was another. And everything looks good. I’m adding the speculum now. She was clearly as excited about this part as I was.

The slightly warmed metal touched me, making me tighten. Just relax, she murmured.

With a sigh, I tried to calm myself as she went in, wrestling with it. I inhaled sharply as she clicked the piece of equipment and moved until she peered up at me from between my thighs. You really do have a crooked vagina. You must have had a terrible time giving birth.

I nodded tensely.

There, got it! Next time you get one of these, tell the doctor your cervix is to the right and back a bit. She sighed and began the last of it. As she withdrew the speculum, I breathed a hearty sigh of relief. Not worth it for women to sleep around or have multiple partners. We suffer too much for that shit, eh?

Not worth it at all, I agreed. Her sentence and the discomfort in my womb sealed something for me. It was the large and brutal dose of reality I needed.

I was a mom, a daughter, a widow, and an agent. I didn't need to worry about my heart getting broken; I needed to worry about my vagina getting sick. And what I could possibly bring home from one of Servario’s weekends. There was a possibility he’d blocked my memories of Dubai because of something we did. And likely it was something I didn't want to do.

I needed to worry less about dating and sex and more about my kids and saving the world.

I needed to take men off the table, completely.

Chapter 2

A week ago

Sitting up, gasping for air, I paused and waited for the world to end.

Surely my visions were prophetic and everything around me was about to burst. My fingers clutched the sheets, pulling them back as my eyes focused and I realized I was in my room at home. I didn't need to run down the hall, wheezing through smoke and debris to find my children.

I blinked again, the sensation of being in Dubai or Helsinki fading like mist in the sun.

The many trips and lives ended in the past few months had started to blend. For each one, a drop of my soul landed in a bucket with a hollow sound, not the splash I expected. I was unsure where the pieces of me were going, but I sensed them sloughing off.

There in the dark, the holes they made were even more evident.

At the rate we were killing and destroying, there would be nothing left of me. Old Evie would be a distant memory, a fond one. The bumbling mother of two with a messy bun and stretchy pants was slowly being forgotten.

I blinked again and the remnants of the dream cleared enough for me to confirm I really was in Canada, leaving for Dubai tomorrow on a mission with CI, and the smell in the air was Coop. I turned, not seeing him in the bed but smelling him there nonetheless.

The moon in the middle of the sky cast shadows of silver light about the room. I brushed away cold sweat from my forehead before sliding off the bed and sauntering down the hall.

There was nothing casual in the middle of the night anymore. I glanced around corners and listened, paranoid of the things that lurked in those silver shadows.

Perhaps killing, running, and hiding was a habit that once formed was impossible to be rid of. Like riding a bike, only the bike was on fire and you were being chased by killer clowns.

The entire top floor of the house was bedrooms, five of them. One for me, the kids each had their own, one for my mom, and one for Fitz. The main floor was the living area with a kitchen, dining room, living room, and all the space a large family needed. The basement was where the rec room and theatre room were and also where Coop, Luce, and Jack slept. When Coop didn't end up in my bed.

In the wide windows of the living room I found him. Coop. He was sitting, wrapped in a blanket and staring at the cold night. I didn't speak. I didn't need to.

He knew I was there. His breathing changed ever so slightly.

In the light of the moon and the dark of the night he was stunning, even though the silver light made his features sharper.

I walked straight to him and nestled in, taking some of the blanket to cover my tank top and shorts.

In the silence of the room we mentally exchanged blows, still fighting about the one thing—one person—we couldn't avoid fighting about. I leaned against him, offering silent apologies and wishing he would understand my stance on the whole Servario thing. But he remained rigid and stoic, unbending on the entire affair that had never been anything more than an affair. It would never be anything but an affair.

I hate that I put you in his arms. I made you go to him. He whispered it, but it felt like he had screamed in my face. I can see how much you love him.

There were lies lingering on my tongue, ones that wished they could spare Coop from the pain of my feelings for Servario. But I didn't bother to insult his intelligence with them. I sat, silent and guilty for a moment, the weight of a million tons crushing my heart in my chest. It was made of self-loathing.

How had I been so foolish to fall for someone so toxic and distant? The answer was easy. If you met him, you understood it. Even Luce had high fived me for the entirety of it.

I asked you to do all those things and I can’t forgive either of us. He got up, leaving us. The blanket, me, and the weight.

In my heart of hearts, I knew the solution. It scared the hell out of me, but I knew what to do. Instead of doing it, I put a pin in it and got up, following him to the kitchen. I wrapped my arms around his broad body, nestling my head in the middle of his back. Did you have sex with people before we met?

Yeah. He was