At Any Cost

by Allie K. Adams

  He continued to kiss her, this time without the urgency. His hand cupped her cheek, his other hand on the small of her back. He made her feel so loved, so safe and protected. She never wanted it to end.

  And judging by his pace, he planned on this rapture going on all night, and she was totally fine with that. Slow kisses, full of emotion, flooded her mouth. She took in everything and could feel her body responding to him yet again. Her folds expanded, softened, beckoning him in. He pulled her back on the bed with him. She fell on top of him, and their noses collided.

  "Ow," he muttered.

  She giggled and kissed it. "Sorry."

  He cocked his brow. "I have something else that needs attention." His penis jerked. She licked her lips.

  "Is this one of those orders you told me I had to follow?"

  He grinned. "Absolutely."

  JT laughed and kissed him fully, anxious for round two. "Yes, mi Capitan."

  * * * *

  Dan blinked awake and looked around. His gaze fell to the lovely lady curled up next to him and it made him smile. It had been a hell of a long time since he'd looked down at something so precious. And even longer since he'd smiled about it.

  Just lying up next to her, knowing she was safe from the dangers of the world, made him smile.

  Dangers. Shit! Mercado. Dan sprang up to a sitting position. He'd gotten so carried away with loving JT he completely lost track of time. He darted his eyes to the digital clock. He had ten minutes to dress and meet Snyder.

  The approach was crucial. JT couldn't suspect a thing. "JT?"

  "Hmm?" She seemed so content, so angelic as she glanced up at him. He would have given anything to stay curled up next to this woman forever. He trembled to come to life and, despite his need to go to work, he debated whether to curl back up against her. They could make love until they were both sated, and find some other way to go after Mercado.

  Tomorrow.

  "Are you ready? Again?"

  Yes, he was. Unfortunately, duty called. "As much as I'd love to stay here with you, I have a few things I have to take care of."

  "Such as?"

  He pushed her aside. "I have to go."

  JT glanced at the clock and jerked straight up. "So go."

  That seemed easy. Too easy. "What are you up to?"

  She jumped out of bed and found her jeans. "Nothing." She zipped them up and went for covering the top half.

  "JT," he warned. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't shoo him away without a reason.

  "Seriously. I just so happen to have a date with a bubble bath and a bottle of wine."

  "You don't need your clothes for that," he pointed out after she replaced her bra and pulled her shirt over her head.

  "Go. I'll be fine. I can't relax with you here." She eyed him wickedly and winked. "For obvious reasons."

  She was up to something. But he didn't have the time to stay and speculate. Seven minutes and counting. "You really plan to stay here in the room? A bubble bath at two in the morning?"

  "Of course." She smiled. He didn't believe her for a minute. "Candles. Music. Wine. It's my idea of the perfect date. Care to join me?"

  Six minutes . Damn it. He grabbed his damp jeans and forced them on. He didn't even have time to go back into his room and search through his closets for what NASSD had sent down. Granted they sent anything at all. "I can't. Can I get a rain check?"

  JT grabbed her shoes. "Anytime."

  Five . Dan found his shirt. "How about you start the bath, and I'll join you when I get back."

  "Oh?" She spiked her brow, and Dan cursed her for being so damned observant. "Where are you going?"

  "Out."

  "Where?"

  Four . He stood and went to the door. It was damn hard to walk in wet jeans. His shirt clung to him. Dan called back. "Just out." With any luck she won't say another word until he left.

  "Good luck," she offered.

  He turned back to her. "Ditto," he said, and closed the door behind him.

  Chapter 13

  He snuck in through the back door and kept in the shadows as he crept into the back room. Snyder stood over a black bag and looked up as he entered the small supply closet. Dan lifted his chin in greeting.

  Snyder looked him up and down. "Nice outfit. Can't really sneak into Mercado's compound wearing that." He threw the Kevspa at him. Pausing, he frowned and looked at Dan's lower half. "Are you wet?"

  "It's a long story." Dan quickly changed into the spandex. It felt slightly more comfortable than the wet clothing, but comfort didn't matter. A one piece, Kevlar and spandex woven together in a nice, bullet-resistant package NASSD dubbed Kevspa, it had kept several agents breathing when they shouldn't have been. It didn't hide shit on a man or a woman, but it did its job.

  "I'll bet it's very entertaining."

  "Not really."

  "Right." Apparently Snyder knew not to push him. Wish he could say the same about a certain sexy agent upstairs. "Do you have the schematics for the compound?"

  Dan held them up. "Do you have the arsenal?"

  Snyder grinned. "What kind of NASSD agent would I be if I didn't have connections?" He moved a giant burlap sack and opened a door in the floor. Dan watched as he pulled weapon after weapon out. Sigs. Brownings. Grenades. Semis. Autos. The man didn't disappoint.

  "Only take what we'll need."

  Snyder stopped pulling weapons out of the hole and looked up at him, puzzled. He had over a dozen various sized guns in his arms. "I am."

  "We have to be stealthy and make a quick escape. Carrying an extra fifty pounds in is not going to help us."

  "Hmm. You're right." He put a single 9mm back. "There."

  Dan rolled his eyes, grinned. "Let's do this."

  Half an hour later they stopped Snyder's matchbox-sized car on the side of the road leading to the compound. "This is the end of the road. Mercado has got eyes from about a mile up the road to the other side of his compound."

  Now they walk. From the schematics, they were about five miles from the compound. Dan went for the door, grateful he only had about ten extra pounds of metal hanging off him. Unlike Snyder, who looked like Rambo, headband and all. The Kevspa they both wore didn't weigh more than a gnat, which is why NASSD chose to outfit their agents in it. Snyder looked like he had an extra fifty pounds of ammo alone, let alone the plethora of guns he had hanging off him.

  Snyder reached under the dash and yanked hard, producing a loud pop. He then turned the wheel and headed straight into the thick jungle.

  "Uh, Snyder? Where are we going?"

  "Getting closer. You think I want to walk five miles with all this extra weight?"

  Dan looked at him.

  Snyder grinned wide. "Mercado's eyes only stay on the road. He thinks the jungle is too hard to navigate, and Americans were too stupid to find their way out if they ever tried. The guy is a real arrogant prick. I can't wait to put a fucking bullet into his—"

  "Snyder," Dan cut him off, motioning at the jungle as it assaulted the car, its viney fingers trying to capture them in its death grip.

  "Anyway, as soon as his men mentioned that, I made a few modifications to my ride in preparation." He didn't skip a beat as he moved back to the original topic. "Four-wheel drive with Detroit Lockers. Four-twenty-seven gear ratio. Three hundred horses under the hood. Bulletproof windows and doors. Great gas mileage."

  The man drove through the jungle like a madman. Exactly the way Dan would have done it if he had the wheel. Giant green leaves smacked the windows and sides of the car as it seemed to gyrate down the path. Snyder kept impressive control over the vehicle.

  "So how did you get suckered into this mission? Piss HQ off or something?" Snyder swerved to avoid a large vine.

  "To be honest," Dan answered, "I'm not really sure. Turner got into some heavy shit and now has some chip on her shoulder to prove she can do a job. I'm here to make sure she does. How about you?"

  "I went after Donovan's wife. He's a little pissed
about that. I knew my next assignment was going to be shit."

  Dan grinned, shook his head.

  "In my defense," he added, "I didn't know she was his wife. Have you seen her?"

  "No."

  "She's a total biscuit. She'd give Turner a run for her money in the Miss Oh-My-God-You're-Hot contest."

  Donovan had a hot wife? How in the hell did he do that? He was in his mid-forties, had a dumpy behind-the-desk physique, and had started to bald. He wasn't that attractive even in his prime. So how did he nail a wife like Snyder described?

  "Donovan wasn't that great looking of a guy, if I remember," Snyder stated and swerved again.

  "He's not."

  "Maybe he's well equipped?"

  Dan closed his eyes and prayed this conversation would find an abrupt end. Snyder whipped the wheel and slid the car to a stop. Thank God.

  He looked at his watch. "I've got ten minutes to Three."

  Dan adjusted his watch to read the same. "You ready?"

  "You bet your ass I am." Snyder grabbed his arsenal and jumped out of the rig. Dan followed on his heels. "As long as you stay lower than the tops of the bushes, you'll be invisible." They both crouched down and started weaving a path toward the compound.

  Dan stayed behind him, careful to step where he stepped. He could see the top of the fence surrounding the compound. Rolls of razor wire capped the fence, with a single wire running through the center.

  Electrified razor wire. Interesting concept. Not only would the trespasser have the hell cut out of him if he tried to climb the fence, but if he made contact with that wire, he'd have ten-thousand volts surge through him before he knew what happened. More than likely, the electricity wouldn't be the thing that killed him. The way his body would convulse from being electrocuted while still atop the razors would efficiently mutilate the poor bastard, killing him nice and slow, and rendering him well beyond identifiable.

  "Here." Dan handed Snyder the earpiece. Once they both had them in and tested, Dan gave him a nod. "Switching on."

  "Copy," Snyder replied, barely above a whisper. The mics were strong enough to pick up a leaf as it fell from a tree two hundred yards away.

  "Once we get past this fence, no audibles."

  "No shit," Snyder retorted.

  Go south , Dan ordered wordlessly. NASSD required all field agents to learn their sign language. Snyder nodded and disappeared through the leaves. Dan looked up at the fence, wondering how in the hell he was going to break in. He couldn't cut into it because it was probably alarmed. And he sure as hell wasn't about to climb it.

  Which left one option. Going under. Damn, he hated to dig. His dad used to make him dig holes when he got into trouble as a kid, which was almost a daily occurrence. Character building, he'd called it.

  Blister building was more like it. Dan grabbed the makeshift shovel off his belt and got started. It didn't take him long, having perfected the technique by the time he was fourteen. He tossed the shovel aside and slid under the fence.

  He stayed flat on the ground until he knew his head wouldn't get blown off if he stood. The place seemed dark and deserted.

  Easing himself to one knee, he grabbed his .45 in one hand and his eleven-inch buck knife in the other. He'd rather slice throats than shoot, so not to give his position away. He stayed against the fence, completely hidden due to the darkness of the compound.

  Jesus. This was too easy. No lights? No guards? Mercado put a hell of a lot of faith in his wired fence. Dan smiled wryly. The asshole won't even see him coming.

  A noise behind him caught his attention. He froze in the darkness, feeling fairly confident the black spandex outfit he had on kept him completely hidden.

  Two guards walked into view. It was dark, but Dan could just make out their silhouettes. One big guy. One small guy. "Give me a cigarette," the small one ordered in Spanish.

  The big one answered back, "I thought you said you quit."

  "That was before Mr. Mercado had us taking hourly tours of the fence after dark. Why tonight? We've never had to before."

  "As long as he keeps paying me, I don't care what we do."

  Dan needed more light to get the jump on them. Snyder didn't have any NVGs, and without them, they were at the mercy of the light of the moon. And it was a cloudy night.

  "Tell me again why he doesn't want the lights on? He installed them and has never turned them on," the small one asked.

  "Doesn't want to draw attention. Satellite imaging would pick them up. He says it looks like the middle of the jungle."

  "That's because we are in the middle of the jungle. Give me a light." The small one fired off a match. It gave Dan enough light to see. He jumped out from behind them and smiled.

  "How's it going, assholes?" Dan asked them in Spanish.

  They both stood there and stared, completely stunned someone had actually broken in to the compound. Dan took his knife and sliced the bigger one's throat. He collapsed at Dan's feet.

  The small one grabbed the radio off his belt and took a breath. "I don't think so." Dan grabbed it out of his hands and gave him a lethal stab to the kidney. The man collapsed next to his buddy.

  "Smoking can kill you," Dan rasped. He grabbed their bodies and dragged them behind some bushes. Removing both their weapons and radios, he stayed in a crouched position and hurried off.

  Their conversation was very helpful. Dan had an hour to get in and kill Mercado, and get the hell back out before the guards started their next tour. Hopefully no one missed the two he'd already taken out.

  "¿Juan? ¿Adónde?" A voice sounded over the radio.

  Dan grabbed the radio and, trying to sound as much like the big one as he could, responded in Spanish. "Stopped for a smoke." He only assumed Juan was the big one.

  "Hurry up. I-I thought I heard something." The owner of the voice had barely cleared puberty. Poor kid. He had no idea the shit he'd gotten himself into by working for Mercado.

  "On my way," Dan responded and shut off the radio. He had no idea where the scared little guard had been when he called. It didn't matter. By the time the guard realized Dan had found him, he'd be with Juan.

  Dan heard more voices and snuck toward them. Two more guards were waiting off in the distance, one visibly shaking. He kept darting his head in every direction. No doubt the little scared guard requesting Juan's help.

  He felt a sense of remorse at having to kill the kid. Maybe he'd knock him out. He'd have a good sleep, wake up with one hell of a headache. But he'd wake up.

  Shit. Was he going soft? This kid was the enemy. He may young, but he was still dangerous. Hell, he had an UZI in his hands. Though, from the way he held it, Dan doubted he knew how to use it.

  The moon provided enough light for Dan to make his move. He could do this in his sleep, so taking out the tangos in the dark should be a piece of cake.

  Before they could react, Dan was on top of them. He snapped one guy's neck and knocked the kid down. He didn't move when Dan kicked him. Dragging their bodies behind another set of bushes, Dan removed both their guns and radios.

  As he moved away, he heard a click behind him. Dan whipped around to see the kid staring up at him, a gun in his hands pointing right at Dan's chest. Where in the hell was he hiding that?

  The kid narrowed his eyes and let out a slow breath. Dan raised his hands, and in a flash threw the knife. It hit the kid in the neck and buried to the handle. He choked and fell limp.

  Dan went back to retrieve his knife. "I'm sorry," he offered, too little, too late. "I didn't want to."

  "Going soft?" A voice whispered in his ear.

  He whipped around to see Snyder smiling at him.

  "He's just a kid," Dan whispered back.

  "I know. I found three more on the other side around the same age. Apparently Mercado has been recruiting from the local high schools." He looked toward the compound. "We're almost in. Another ten minutes and we can all go home. Ready?"

  They both jumped as alarms screeched. Light
s flew on, immediately revealing both their positions. Son-of-a-bitch. "Go! Go! Go!"

  Dan didn't wait to see if Snyder had followed him or not. He found his way in. He'll find his way back out. The knife was of no use to him now and he shoved it into his belt and grabbed one of the UZIs. How in the hell did they know? Dan and Snyder were quieter than church mice. They'd taken the guards out before they could call in. It didn't make any sense.

  His answer came then, and Dan cursed through clenched teeth. Goddamn that woman. If they made it out of here alive, he was going to kill her.

  JT Turner, dressed in all black, raced toward him. She had a mask over her face, but he knew her body well enough to know who it was.

  Not again.

  She had quite a crew after her this time. She skidded to a stop the minute she realized who it was. "Dan? Where did you get the Kevspa?" He thrust an UZI into her hands. "Guns? How did you get these? I thought we were unarmed? At least I was."

  "Not now, Turner." He fired into the crowd chasing her, dropping the first layer. Good thing his hands were preoccupied. If he so much as had a free finger, he'd want to touch her, make sure she didn't have a mark on her. "Did you get him?"

  "No." JT fired and took out two more.

  "Move it." He pushed her behind him. "There's a hole under the fence dead ahead. Slide under and keep going until you see the car. Get in and get down."

  "But I can still take him!"

  "Too late, Turner. Now move." She ran off toward the fence. Dan followed, every few seconds turning and firing, taking out another layer. But they just kept coming. How many men did Mercado have protecting him?

  Dan made it to the hole and slid under. He noticed a piece of fabric with blood on it. Knowing it wasn't his, he growled. She couldn't even slide under a fence without hurting herself.

  Racing toward the car, he almost collided with Snyder as he appeared from behind some trees. They both sprinted toward the car. Snyder didn't even pause when he spotted JT Turner behind the wheel, motioning for them to hurry up.