The Phoenix Agency_Fatal Desires

by Nicole Morgan

  Text copyright ©2017 by the Author.

  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Desiree Holt. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original The Phoenix Agency remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Desiree Holt, or their affiliates or licensors.

  For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds

  Fatal Desires

  G.E.A. Files

  (Genetically Engineered Assets)

  Kindle Worlds: Phoenix Agency

  By Nicole Morgan

  EROTIC PARANORMAL ROMANCE

  Table of Contents

  PROLOGUE

  Chapter ONE

  Chapter TWO

  Chapter THREE

  Chapter FOUR

  Chapter FIVE

  Chapter SIX

  PRESSURE POINT

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Fatal Desires

  G.E.A. Files

  (Genetically Engineered Assets)

  Marcus ‘Marc’ Knight is a former Force Recon Marine who served his country for fifteen years until a career ending back injury forced him to return to civilian life. Bored and looking for something to fill his life, his former Marine brother Dan Romero enlists his services with the Phoenix Agency when a new case comes their way that requires special skills. Skills that Marcus possesses.

  When Lily Frazier disappears from the home she shares with her sister, Lena, she turns to the Phoenix Agency to help bring her home from the terrorists that she is sure has kidnapped her. There’s only one catch though, Lily isn’t like ordinary women. Both she and her sister possess a gift that makes them the target of not just terrorists, but their very own government.

  As Marcus works with Lena to track down her sister the two grow closer. With multiple agencies tracking the very woman he’s supposed to rescue he finds himself faced with trying to protect Lena while also trying to save Lily.

  The Phoenix Agency Kindle World

  They served their country in every branch of the military – Army Delta Force, SEALs, Air Force, Marines. We are pilots, snipers, medics – whatever the job calls for. And now as private citizens they serve in other capacities, as private contractors training security for defense contractors, as black ops eradicating drug dealers, as trained operatives ferreting out traitors. With the women in their lives who each have a unique psychic ability, they are a force to be reckoned with. Risen from the ashes of war, they continue to fight for those in need. They are Phoenix.

  Prologue

  May 2015, an underground testing facility… Somewhere just outside Area 51 in Nevada

  Lily Frazier opened her eyes and her sight darted across the room to the men staring at her from behind the glass.

  The beeping sound from the device attached to her began to sound alarms. Her brain activity was shooting into overdrive. Her palms became sweaty and she felt nausea hit her with rolling waves of abdominal pain which made her want to scream out in agony.

  The two men in lab coats behind the two-way mirror assumed that she couldn’t see them. She’d never let them believe otherwise either. It was bad enough they used her for what they knew she was capable of. She had no intention of alerting them to any other gifts she had.

  One of the lab techs came in the room where she sat restrained to the chair. He was nodding his head and talking into a blue tooth headpiece that the men in charge were on the other end of, as they gave instructions on how to poke and prod her for the next experiment.

  She hated them.

  She hated this.

  Though she was looking at the stocky bald man who came in to check the electrodes which were affixed to her forehead, she was actually homing in on images of her sister.

  She knew that Lena was in the room across the hall. Her body hooked up much like her own was, with horrible men performing experiments on her as well.

  Every day the two of them searched for an escape from their world. But even with their special abilities, neither of them could find a way.

  At least not yet.

  ****

  Lena shook as she tried to move the object sitting before her. Her body was exhausted. She had a headache and felt like she was about to throw up.

  Despite her physical ailments, the two men in charge of her cared little. They would wear her down until she had no energy and spent the rest of the evening writhing in pain. It didn’t matter to them how hard these experiments were on her physically. They were concerned only with the results they wanted her to provide.

  She couldn’t count the number of days that she was sure it would be her last. Both she and her sister had been going through these experiments almost daily for as long as she could remember.

  They had no life.

  They had no purpose.

  They merely existed.

  ****

  Lily squirmed in her chair as the tech tried to adjust the leather straps holding down her wrists. She was exhausted and beyond miserable. But she’d be damned if she was going to make things any easier for them.

  “Damn it! Would you just sit still already?”

  Nate, as his name tag stated, had been a part of the team conducting experiments on her for the past five years. There were others before him. Some didn’t last very long, but Nate seemed to be in it for the long haul. No matter how difficult she made it for him, he still came back each and every time, doing nothing to help her or show any signs of humanity.

  A loud explosion shook her free from her attention on Nate. An alarm sounded overhead. And the two men who stood behind the one-way mirror began panicking after they looked at a monitor.

  She closed her eyes tightly. Trying to concentrate on what image they were seeing on their screen. But fatigue always weakened that part of her gift and she couldn’t see a thing.

  Gunfire echoed in the distance as Nate hurried to the doorway. He had just been about to close it when the long barrel of an assault rifle pressed against his forehead and stopped him in his tracks.

  As Nate walked backward slowly, the rifle remained pressed against him while a man wearing head to toe black clothing stepped inside the room.

  “Identify yourself.”

  He didn’t turn to look at Lily, but she knew that he was speaking to her.

  “Lily Frazier.” She replied.

  He kept the rifle pressed firmly against Nate’s head while he spoke into a thin device which was attached to an earpiece.

  “Affirmative. I have one of the assets. Repeat, I have one of the assets.”

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “No time for introductions, ma’am.” He used the end of his rifle to push Nate further into the room. “Undo her restraints.”

  Nate did as he had asked. Quickly unbuckling the leather that held down her ankles and wrists.

  “Get in the corner.” The man ordered Nate.

  A small puddle of yellow liquid trailed underneath the tech’s trousers as he made his way to the corner of the room.

  She wanted to laugh at him but knew this wasn’t the time. She might have been thankful for being out of her restraints. Still, she had no idea who this man wielding the weapon was, or why he referred to her as an asset.

  “Get up.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’ll explain later. Come on.”

  “No. I demand to know –.”

  Frustrated, he pulled the black mask down which covered the lower part of his face. “Look, lady, as we stand here wasting time we’ve got another team member getting your sister. So, do you want to come with her? Or do you want to waste time exc
hanging life stories?”

  “You have Lena?”

  “She’s meeting us at the rendezvous point. Now come on. Stay close behind me.”

  Every rational thought she’d ever had told her that following this man was a bad idea. She didn’t know him. She didn’t know if he was dangerous, or even worse than the men who’d been conducting experiments on her and Lena for years. She knew absolutely nothing.

  And yet, here she was, following behind this stranger, doing exactly as he ordered her because even though she couldn’t be sure, her instincts told her that this was her only chance at a normal life.

  A life that neither she or her sister thought they’d ever have.

  Chapter One

  Lena Frazier jogged up the front steps to the small ranch she lived in with her sister, Lily. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she pulled the key from the chain hanging around her neck. All she wanted was a long, hot shower and a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

  Her sister Lily often teased her for the monotonous routine she played out, day by day. She didn’t care much, though. The simplicity of the little things in life that she looked forward to, were also the same things that made the reality of their existence seem not so terrible.

  She reached for the door handle to insert the key when a rush of fear flashed before her mind. She squeezed the faded brass knob and began to turn it.

  To her surprise and horror, the handle turned with little effort. The front door, the door that they always kept locked, was now alarmingly unsecured.

  Lena steeled herself against the dread that was filling her. Then as quietly as possible, she opened the door.

  She looked inside, scanning what little bit of the front room she could without entering.

  “Lily?” She called out to her sister in a whisper, but no reply came.

  Waiting only a few seconds, she called out a second time. “Lily?”

  Again, she waited, hoping that Lily would answer.

  She pushed the door further open and a creak echoed through the sparsely furnished room. Now able to see the full view from the living room back to the kitchen, Lena realized that the trepidation was for good reason.

  The one table that sat in front of their couch was knocked over on its side. A pot from the stove was also lying on the floor. Scrambled eggs were splattered all across the linoleum, indicating to Lena that they hadn’t just been spilled. It was obvious the pan had been thrown down with force.

  As she took another step, and then another, she could view more of her surroundings. A coffee cup lay shattered by the sink. And a kitchen chair was toppled over.

  Her pulse began to race as the reality of what she was seeing caught up with her fear.

  For months they had managed to stay hidden. They had kept to their routine, never stayed in one place for too long, and made sure to wear disguises the very few times they went into town.

  It didn’t make sense.

  They were so careful, so sure that they’d taken every precaution.

  Two years had passed since they escaped.

  Two years they had been free.

  The G.E.A. shouldn’t have been able to find them.

  They shouldn’t have been able to.

  But, Lena couldn’t deny it. No matter how implausible, it was apparent that despite their best efforts, the G.E.A. had tracked them down.

  Trying to remain calm to keep herself from going into full-blown panic attack, she went to her bedroom and pulled out the card she kept in her nightstand.

  It was a simple card, black with the symbol of a Phoenix on it and a ten-digit number written below it in red.

  She dialed the number and waited for the man who gave her the card to answer.

  “Phoenix Agency. Romero speaking.”

  “Mr. Romero, it’s me. Lena Frazier. We met a couple of years ago in –.”

  Cutting her off, he quickly asked. “What’s happened?”

  “Well, I… umm…” her anxiety wasn’t going away. She was on the verge of tears, trying desperately to keep them at bay.

  “Relax. Breathe.” Romero told her. “I know who you are. And I know your sister and you are in danger. That’s why I offered my card to you when I did. I wish I could say I was happy to hear from you. But, knowing you placed the call, I know something must be wrong. So, what is it? What’s happened?”

  His question sliced through her heart. “I don’t know. It’s Lily. She’s… gone.”

  “Okay, what do you mean gone? Like she went somewhere and didn’t come home? Or she’s gone as in –.”

  “Someone has taken her!” she blurted out, the sheer terror of what she was becoming to realize was hitting her square in the gut.

  “Okay,” Romero spoke softly. “Tell me what you know.”

  “Nothing. I was gone for a forty-minute run. Give or take, but probably around forty minutes. Then when I got back she was gone. And the house looks like…” she took a deep, calming breath, trying to find the right words and the courage to use them. “it looks like there’s been a struggle.”

  “Do you think it was the G.E.A.?”

  “I don’t want to. But, I’m not stupid either. My sister, Lily is just like me. She sticks to a routine. We both do. She wouldn’t have left the front door unlocked. She wouldn’t have tipped furniture over and smashed a coffee cup. There is so much wrong here, that I have no other choice but to accept it… They have her. It’s the only explanation.”

  “Alright. You know what to do. Stay hidden until I can get a team out there. You’ll need to send me your coordinates.”

  “A team? Wait, you’re not coming?”

  “I’ll be there for pick-up, but I know a guy who is exactly the right person for your type of situation. His name’s Knight. I served with him in Force Recon back in my Marine days.”

  “And… do you trust him?”

  “With my life. And you can trust him with yours.”

  Lena trusted Dan Romero. He’d helped her, and Lily escape the G.E.A. years before. He and his Phoenix Agency had saved their lives back then. She trusted Dan, and she trusted that he felt confident in this man named Knight. But, it wasn’t herself she was worried about. Lily was her concern.

  She was her sister, her only family.

  She was her other half.

  As she got instructions from Dan on what to do next, she finished the call and hung up.

  Her hands trembled as she placed the phone back down.

  She closed her eyes. Hoping that she could sense her sister’s aura. Praying that Lily would be able to send her a message telepathically, so she at least knew she was alright.

  But, no message came. No signs of her aura were felt.

  The only hope she had to hold onto was The Phoenix Agency.

  They’d rescued them once.

  She prayed they’d be able to do it again.

  Chapter Two

  Marcus Knight opened his eyes, squinting against the harsh glare of sunlight as it sliced between the curtains, rudely reminding him that the sun had risen another day and he had absolutely nowhere to go.

  This day, like so many others, would be filled with boredom and regret as he waited for the hours to tick by until another day passed.

  He laid there for a moment, trying to recall his dreams, knowing full well that he probably wouldn’t be able to. It was the same old story, just a different day.

  The alarm on his clock radio went off. The sounds of Metallica bounced against his bedroom walls. The lyrics to Enter Sandman began to echo inside his mind.

  It was a tune that didn’t just hold memories of his days in the Marines, it also was filled with a deeper level of meaning that only the brothers he served with could possibly understand.

  He reached over and slapped his hand down on the off button, wondering why he ever bothered to set it in the first place. He hadn’t needed something to wake him for the last fifteen years. His internal clock always did a better job than anything else. Being out of the Marine
s and in a civilian mode, he should’ve been taking advantage of lazy days and sleeping until noon. Though he knew that was far from being realistic.

  He groaned as he sat up in bed. Leaning forward to touch his toes and stretch his back, he cursed against the shooting pain that shot up his back. The nerves along his spine felt like they were being crushed together with a vice grip.

  Glancing over at his bedside table he glared at the bottle of prescription pain pills which reminded him that he was, for all intents and purposes, disabled.

  He swung his legs over the bed and swatted at the pill bottle. It shot across the room and fell to the floor.

  He hated those pills.

  He hated his disability.

  He hated that a bullet still lodged in his back a mere inch from his spinal cord was the reason he was no longer serving his country.

  Awake for only minutes and he could already tell his mood would be piss poor just like it was each and every day for the past six months.

  His cell phone rang, and he snapped out a greeting to the unlucky caller. “Yeah?”

  “Knight.”

  The one-word reply wasn’t a question. It came out more as a matter of fact statement. And Marcus didn’t need to ask who it was. He knew that voice just like he knew his own. Serving five years on missions with someone did that to a person.

  “Romero.”

  Dan Romero was a teammate of his back in his early days of Force Recon. No longer in the Marines, Romero, along with other special forces veterans run The Phoenix Agency. An agency that takes on cases that no one else wants to, in order to protect those who are in need and have nowhere else to turn.

  When he was still a newbie and had so much to learn, Romero had been the one to take him under his wing, making sure he developed the instincts needed in their elite branch of the U.S. Military’s Special Forces.