At Any Cost

by Allie K. Adams

  It had to be Mercado and his new guest. Dan could rush into the room and kill them both right now, and no one would know until morning. He could then find JT and together they would haul ass out of Colombia. Mission accomplished.

  There was just one problem. Mercado was their best chance at Peck. Peck had LEON . In order to get LEON , they had to let Peck get to Mercado. So close, and yet so far away.

  Dan glanced back at Mercado's door as he made his way down to the next door. No light coming from under the door. Trying the knob, Dan stopped when it wouldn't turn. Locked. He'd bet his good eye JT was on the other side. He could feel her.

  Dan knelt down and worked the lock. It opened and he pushed his way inside, gently closing the door behind him.

  She came out of nowhere. Jumping on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck, she went for his eyes. Dan spun out of the headlock and pulled her to him, her back against his chest, his hand over her mouth. Dear God she felt so good up against him. He rested his lips against her tempting ear.

  "I only have one good eye left, Turner. And I'm going to need it to find my way back out."

  JT stiffened and struggled to spin around. Dan released his hold on her, only to have her turn around and promptly slap him across the face. Holy shit, right across the bruise she gave him last night.

  Even in the dark, he could see the fire in her eyes. "You scared the hell out of me. Are you insane? What are you doing here?" She kept her voice at a whisper.

  Dan let out a long silent sigh. This woman was going to be the death of him. Not only was he taking an incredibly stupid risk to see her, she was slowly beating him to death. "You are going to have to find a less painful way to greet me, Turner."

  She laughed nervously, then covered her mouth when it came out louder than she expected. His chest swelled at the sound. Before reason could overtake his sanity, he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her, tasting her. He loved her lips. His tongue met hers as they both fought to take control of the kiss. Cupping her face with his hands, he gave her a final nibble before reluctantly pulling back. God, he wanted to get her the hell out of here. She was too fragile for something like this.

  Who was he kidding? Fragile was not a word he'd ever use to describe JT Turner. Knowing if he didn't touch her again, hold her again, he'd never leave, Dan pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

  "You're trembling," JT pointed out.

  Was he? It took Dan a moment to realize it. Jesus Christ. He was so scared for her it actually had him shaking. But if this FUBAR of a plan didn't work, he'd have no way of finding her. Having her plant her earrings on Mercado meant losing her. If this op went any further south than it already had, it could mean losing her forever. He started to shake again.

  "There's been a change. You need to plant your earrings on Mercado."

  She stiffened and pushed out of his embrace, looked up at him. She lost her color, and the sparkle in her eyes disappeared. "But you told me to never take them off."

  "I know what I said. We need to track Mercado when he meets with Peck. We need to hear the deal."

  "You don't have any other tracers? What about all the gadgets that Gadget Master guy makes? Don't you have anything else?"

  Dan shook his head, still kicking himself for not thinking this far ahead. "I didn't grab any. I didn't think I'd need them. Sweetheart, you're earrings are our only option."

  Her eyes widened, but she didn't protest. She didn't have to. Dan read it in her eyes. The earrings were her only link to him. Without them, she was a sitting duck and she knew it. She nodded, accepting her fate. She'd be alone against Mercado and his men, and it terrified the hell out of her. But she did it without mouthing another protest.

  His admiration for her went through the roof.

  He'd never felt more for her than he did right now. Damn, if he could change places with her, he would. In a heartbeat. Just to see that fear in her eyes made him ache. "I'll be right on the other side of the fence, JT. I won't let anything happen to you."

  She held his eyes, searching them for strength. "Promise?"

  Dan didn't want to lie to her. He couldn't promise something like that, he didn't even know why he said it. But seeing her look up at him, anticipating his promise to her, he couldn't let her down. He kissed her. "I promise."

  He left her standing alone in her room. He could tell she wanted to say more to him, and Dan would have gladly stayed with her all night, but he couldn't risk it. Closing the door behind him, he started back toward the staircase.

  He'd made it to the second stair when a noise caught his attention. Mercado's door opened. Dan hurried the rest of the way up the stairs and leaned against the door to listen in on Mercado and his mistress.

  Mercado spoke first. "It is always a great pleasure to do business with you, Alejandra. I hope the four million US dollars is adequate proof that I am serious about my purchase."

  "As long as we get the heroin tomorrow."

  "Sí. And as long as I see a demonstration of the weapon."

  "Of course. But make sure the drugs are there. There are plenty of buyers out there, and most are not happy you were chosen as the successful bidder. They were all willing to pay the full amount in cash. We are taking a big risk allowing you to pay us in heroin. But Jason wants this done his way."

  "The amount of money you will receive from the shipment will more than make up for your troubles."

  "If the drugs aren't there, the deal is off. The other bidders will know you were not a serious buyer. They will not be pleased."

  "Of course. Please, do not worry. Good night, Alejandra."

  Dan's heart froze along with all of his senses. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Holy shit. He knew that voice. But it couldn't be. She was dead. Slowly, he lowered his head enough to peek down below the cover for the stairs.

  The shock of who he saw standing there talking to Mercado robbed him of whatever feeling he had left in his body. The air left his lungs. It was her.

  Raven .

  Chapter 21

  JT stood at the door, listening for Mercado to leave his room. She'd just accidentally bump into him and drop the earrings in the coat pocket of whatever ridiculous white suit he wore that day. To ensure she kept his attention long enough to find his pocket, she had the dental floss bikini back on.

  It was only seven in the morning, but JT wanted to make sure she caught him. If he planned to meet Peck sometime today, she had to get those earrings in his pocket.

  His door opened and JT turned her head. He emerged, dressed exactly as she expected him to be. Instead of turning to go down the hall past her room, he turned and went the opposite way. She bit the inside of her lip. Damn. On to Plan B. Or would this be Plan C? D? E?

  Hurrying to catch up to him as best she could in painful heels, she didn't expect him to stop. When he did, she didn't and slammed into his back. The earrings went flying out of her hands and down the hall. JT tried to grab them, twisted her ankle, and went down.

  "Miss Jessica?" He looked at her sprawled out on the floor at his feet. She accepted his hand to help her up, blowing hair out of her face and praying her humiliation didn't show in her eyes. She took her hand back and looked beyond him, at one earring directly behind him and the other clear across the hall at the top of the stairs.

  "Sorry. I was just trying to catch you."

  He spiked his brow, eyeing her slowly. "You want me?"

  Her skin crawled as this man eyed her. She swallowed and gave him her best smile to cover her disgust. "I thought more about it, and as your woman, I should be by your side."

  "I like the sound of that."

  Oh hell. Her stomach turned. As she took a step toward him, her heart started to throb in her ears. She could do this. For NASSD. For her country.

  For her Uncle Charlie.

  "For starters," she started, her voice low and sultry. Playing with the string of her bikini top, she batted her eyes at him. "We should get to know each other. I want to spen
d the day with you. Go where you go. Do what you do."

  He turned so that he faced her. With his lips pulling into a slimy grin, he brought his hands up to her bikini top. Slowly, torturously, he untied her top, his eyes never leaving her chest. He pulled the top away, exposing her breasts. They puckered as the cold air hit them. When Mercado covered them with his hands, she shivered in revulsion.

  "I see how you want me. Your body quivers to my touch." He stepped toward her and brought his lips to her neck. JT wanted to scream as he traced her collarbone with his tongue. "As my woman, your place is beside me. But only in my bed, not in my work."

  He squeezed and painfully mashed her breasts. His kisses on her neck and shoulder hurt as well. He even squeezed over her bandage. He used his teeth and aggressively bit down on her bad shoulder. She cried out in pain and surprise, and struggled to get away. It only caused him to grope her breasts with brutal strength. He dug into her shoulder, ripping her bandage off and tearing at her scab. He gnawed at her scab, chewed on her flesh, sucking on her blood like a fucking vampire. The blood slowly descended down her arm. He bit her over and over, painfully sinking his teeth into her skin. Her shoulder. Her neck. And then her breast.

  She struggled. She cried. She even screamed. The psycho was actually being literal when he said he wanted to feast on her. "Oh my God! What are you doing?"

  Her pleas seemed to excite him. "Sí. Cry for me, my passion. I shall make you beg for me to stop."

  She did want him to stop. Now. Her hands were shaking as she grabbed handfuls of hair and jerked his head back, exposing her neck to him. He looked at her and flashed the most frighteningly evil smirk JT had ever seen. And in his teeth, she saw blood.

  Her blood.

  "The taste of your blood is thrilling. I can taste your want for me. I shall have you now."

  "The hell you will." JT brought her knee up and shoved his balls so far up inside he squeaked as he fell to the floor. "You sick bastard. I'm outta here."

  JT didn't waste any time. She ran back to her room and kicked off the shoes, threw on the most modest piece of clothing she could find—a stretchy dress that almost made it to her knee—and hauled ass out of there. Mercado was still on the floor, squeaking out something in Spanish. She didn't wait around for the translation. Grabbing one of the earrings since Mercado had collapsed on the other, she raced down the stairs and out the front door.

  And right into the arms of Jason Peck.

  "Hello, Miss Turner. I expected to see you here. I hope you brought your new partner with you."

  JT took a breath to scream for Dan. Peck seized the opportunity to shove a nasty tasting rag into her mouth. She tried to scream but could only gag at the acidity and dryness. Fighting for consciousness, fighting for her life, she doubled up her fists to strike. Her body refused to respond. She collapsed, and the earring out of her open fist, and fell to the ground.

  * * * *

  "Shit." Dan threw down the tracker, ripped out his earpiece. He jumped to his feet and shoved whatever weapons he could find into his belt. Christ Almighty. Peck wasn't supposed to come to the house. That was never figured into the plan.

  "Time to move, boys." Dan grabbed a few hand grenades and shoved them into his ankle pockets. "Peck decided to crash the party."

  "That's who that was?" Snyder asked, grabbing an equal amount of weapons and shoving them wherever he could.

  "Peck is here?" Donovan asked.

  "And so is your wife." Dan knew, the minute he recognized Raven, he'd found Donovan's wife. The perfect mole. Everyone thought she was dead, including Dan. And she was right here, sleeping with Donovan and milking him of all NASSD's top secret information. She, in turn, told Peck, who acted on it. No wonder Peck always seemed to be a step ahead. He knew NASSD's next move, thanks to Donovan and the little woman.

  "She is?"

  "I'll deal with her," Dan ground out. It was the least he could do. He'd rip out her heart and hand it back to her. "I have a debt to repay," he commented bitterly and stepped out of the hole. He covered his scar with his hand. It ached.

  "Holy shit," Donovan breathed. "You saw her."

  "Yep."

  "Holy shit," Donovan repeated. "Are you sure? You didn't see someone who looked like her? I mean are you sure?"

  Dan narrowed his eyes at Donovan. Why was he sweating again? He hadn't started sweating until Dan mentioned his...

  Wife.

  No. Oh Jesus. No. "What did you do, Donovan?"

  Donovan paled.

  "What the hell did you do!" Dan roared and grabbed Donovan by the shirt collar, pulled him up. "Are you in with Peck? Mercado? Who? What is your primary objective, you son-of-a-bitch!"

  "I—I 'm not—"

  The fact Donovan couldn't come up with anything only solidified Dan's suspicions. He led them into a trap when he sent them to Colombia.

  Without hesitation, Dan pulled his .45 and cocked it as he pushed it against Donovan's temple. He'd be damned if he was going to let him get away with this.

  "Weber!" Snyder tried to break between them. "Stop. You can't kill him. You'll go down, man. Back off. Back. Off."

  Dan's eyes never left Donovan's. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put a fucking bullet in your head."

  Donovan started to shake. "Because we're friends."

  Dan lifted his pistol and brought it down, knocking Donovan out cold. "Wrong answer, asshole. We were friends." After watching Donovan fall to the ground in a crumpled mass of what used to be a man, Dan knelt down, tied and gagged him. He'd deal with him later. There were too many unanswered questions. And with Donovan's bum leg, he wouldn't get too far in the jungle before Dan found him.

  God help him when he did.

  "Let's go." Jumping out of their hole, Dan hurried toward the compound, his mind spinning with the realization that Donovan really was the mole all along. He wanted to grab him by his balls and force him to confess whatever he was hiding. Dan knew him well enough to know when the man was hiding something. That deep foreboding crept back into Dan's veins. He'd always trusted Donovan, he never had any reason not to.

  Son-of-a-bitch. Why didn't he see this coming?

  He knew why. JT Turner. By bringing her into the equation, Donovan had successfully kept Dan distracted enough to not see the bullshit writing on the wall.

  Damn if his control hadn't been tested at every turn on this mission. Control he never knew he had. He wanted to string Donovan up. He wanted to break every bone in Mercado's body for touching JT. He wanted to rip Raven's heart out with his bare hands. And he wanted payback with Peck. Mano a mano.

  Want in one hand, duty in the other. See which one stops a raging psychotic's threat against the world.

  "Uh, Weber?" Snyder broke into Dan's thoughts. " Do you want to fill me in on what just happened back there?"

  "Donovan's wife is Mercado's mystery guest, Alejandra. She's also the same woman who tried to cut out my heart two years ago. Literally."

  Snyder cursed.

  "This way. We need to stay hidden." Dan turned off their beaten path. With Donovan as their mole, no doubt he'd already given Mercado their location. They needed to break their routine and come in under complete cover.

  After this was over, he'd have a little one on one chat with Ron Donovan. Once Dan had his say, he'd turn what was left of the bastard over to NASSD. He'd stand trial and probably spend the rest of his pathetic life behind bars. But Dan gets him first.

  "So this chick tried to kill you?"

  He took out his buck knife to slice through the thick foliage. "That's right."

  "And Donovan went and married her?" Snyder started to cut at the leaves and vines with his own knife.

  "No. It was all part of the set up. He was never married."

  "Huh. And yet he just about blew a gasket when he caught me trying to pick her up."

  "That's because you saw her, saw them together. You're a witness, Snyder. You can finger them. You're a liability now."

  "Ah shit
. If it isn't one thing, it's another." Snyder muttered something that sounded remarkably like a prayer. Dan recognized it, having said quite a few since arriving in Colombia. "He sent me down here—"

  "With the intention you'd never return," Dan finished when Snyder couldn't bring himself to say the rest.

  Dan gave Snyder a crash course on the latest and greatest plan. Find JT and get her out of there. Destroy LEON . Kill Mercado. Kill Peck. Kill Raven. Get out without getting killed themselves. Easy.

  Riiight .

  Dan accepted an earpiece from Snyder, slipped it into his ear. "We'll get them, Snyder. There's no other option."

  Snyder nodded, but the look in his eyes didn't convince Dan he believed him.

  "Once we're inside, no talking. No coughing, no sneezing. Nothing. You are invisible." Dan turned his earpiece on.

  "I know the drill."

  "Switching on." Dan adjusted his earpiece. Snyder pressed his twice to acknowledge. Dan nodded. "Loud and clear."

  They slipped into the compound for the first time in the daylight. Their dark outfits wouldn't give them a bit a cover with the sun shining brightly overhead. The Kevspa they both wore under their clothes would hopefully slow down any unwelcome bullets. Dan nodded and they broke off, Snyder off to one side and Dan to the other.

  Two clicks. Snyder was in position. Dan snuck around to the front, carefully staying hidden behind the enormous pillars. He gave his clicks, giving Snyder the go ahead to move in.

  He waited for Snyder as he rounded the front of the compound. And waited.

  And waited.

  Dan's muscles went rigid. Something was wrong. It shouldn't take Snyder this long to get into his second position. Dan debated going back for him. He couldn't. If something happened to Snyder, he would have heard it through the earpiece. The mics were strong enough to pick up on a person's thoughts.

  Two clicks. There they were. About time. Dan was about to move into his second position when he heard three more clicks. He stopped, hid back behind the pillar. On instinct, he moved away from his first position and hid behind a nearby bush.