by Katie Reus
Jack bent down and withdrew a gun from his ankle holster. “Stay here,” he whispered in her ear.
After a quick sweep of the condo, the prickly sensation on the back of his neck was gone. A few things had been moved around, but they were alone. He found Sophie sitting on the edge of his bed, clasping the computer to her chest.
“Grab whatever you need. We’re leaving.”
“Where are we going?” she whispered.
“A motel for now.”
She opened her mouth as if she might say more, but she ended up nodding and grabbing her wallet she’d hidden in one of the dresser drawers while he packed up his computer, his cell phone, and a few extra changes of clothes.
He hoisted a backpack on his shoulder as she entered the room. She wore those ridiculous sneakers from earlier. It bothered him that Sophie didn’t have anything else to wear, but he’d fix that soon enough.
“I took the toothbrush and toothpaste if that’s okay,” Sophie whispered.
“It’s fine.” Despite the situation, he felt a smile tug at his lips as he watched her. She looked a little vulnerable, but the woman had a spine made of steel. “Stay behind me until I tell you otherwise.”
“Okay.”
Weapon in hand, he led them to the front door and opened it an inch. If a sniper was waiting, there was realistically little they could do, but one of the reasons he’d picked this place was that it was across the street from a golf course. Not many places to hide.
When he was as sure as he’d ever be they were alone, he stepped outside.
“Where’s the car?” she whispered.
There was a single line of parking spaces in front of the building, but on the off chance they’d been tracked, he hadn’t wanted their vehicle too close. “I parked at another building.”
Using the darkness to their advantage, they jogged down the street until they reached the packed parking lot.
“We’re three rows down.” He motioned for her to stay close.
As they maneuvered through a row of cars, he slowed when they reached the back of a dark van. He hadn’t heard or seen anything, but the adrenaline rush he’d gotten earlier was still pumping overtime. Being out in the open with Sophie for an extended period of time wasn’t good for his sanity. Normally he was able to gauge any surrounding danger, but with her around, his internal meter was off balance.
As he paused and listened, a dark blur came out from behind the van.
“Take cover,” he ordered Sophie, going into battle mode.
A man dressed in all black lifted a gun at Jack, but he was only two feet away. If he’d wanted to kill them, he should have waited until he had a little distance between them. Close-quarter combat was Jack’s specialty. Hell, anyone with decent training should know to take down an opponent without having to get too close.
In a quick move, Jack struck out with his arm, knocking the man’s weapon out of his hand. It clattered to the pavement noisily in the otherwise silent parking lot. The man attacked, trying to punch Jack. He grunted as he moved and left his face unprotected.
Jack slammed him in the nose, fast and hard, with his fist. A crunching sound rent the air as the stranger howled in pain. At the same time, Jack kicked the guy’s inner thigh. It was a move he’d used many times before. The body reacted instinctively and this guy didn’t know what to protect right now. When the man stumbled, blood rolling down his face, Jack gave him a swift punch to the throat and another shot to one of his shins. The guy was big, but a tiny bundle of nerves ran along the shinbone. And pain was pain, no matter a person’s size.
As their would-be attacker wheezed for air, Jack grabbed one of his arms and twisted it behind his back before slamming him face-first against the van.
“Sophie? You okay?”
“I’m fine!” She sounded as though she was a few cars over.
“Stay where you are!” He couldn’t do his job if he was worried about her, so he was glad she’d listened and hidden.
The man started to struggle, so Jack lifted his arm higher, threatening to break it. “Who sent you?” Jack knew the answer, but his first response would tell him a lot about how informative this guy would be.
“Can’t breathe . . .”
“Who?” Jack pressed harder.
“Miguel Vargas.”
Interesting. “Why do they want Sophie Moreno?”
“I don’t know.”
Jack lifted his arm a fraction of an inch higher and gave him a rapid kidney punch. The man howled in pain but couldn’t move unless he wanted to break his arm.
“Okay! She knows something or saw something, but I don’t know what. I swear! Our instructions were to take out the girl. That’s all I know.”
If Jack had been working against the Russian mob or even against men directly inside Vargas’s cartel, it would take months to garner information. If he ever did. From the easy responses, Jack guessed this guy was just hired muscle with nothing to lose. “What about the girl in Miami? Why are they going after her?”
This time the man didn’t pause. “She’s the backup plan. She’s friends with the Moreno woman and the only person they could find as leverage against her. Vargas thinks if they threaten her friend she’ll come out of hiding. I don’t know any more! They don’t pay me enough for this shit!”
“Jack?” Sophie’s scared voice jerked his head around. She was too close.
In the instant he turned, he wanted to kick his own ass for giving in to his stupid instinct and not following his training. Everything around him slowed down. The man he held turned with his entire body, using the momentum of his free elbow, and swung back at Jack’s head.
Leaning back, Jack nearly missed what could have been a crippling blow. The man came at him full force this time. Jack slammed into another car as the guy tackled him. Sophie shouted, but he tuned her out. He had to bring this man down and keep Sophie safe. That was all that mattered.
Jack deflected two blows and managed to get in a few kicks, but the other man was pumped up now. After Jack struck him in the jaw, the guy already had his fist drawn back. Jack realized he’d have to kill him. Dragging out a fight wasn’t something he had time for. He hated the thought of killing someone in front of Sophie, but it had to be done.
A loud shot reverberated through the quiet night air, causing them both to freeze.
“Stop!” Jack turned at the sound of Sophie’s voice.
In trembling hands she held the gun he’d knocked away from the man earlier. Next to him the dark-haired thug lifted both his hands in the air.
Keeping his eyes trained on the man, Jack walked backward to Sophie. “Give me the gun,” he murmured when he stood directly next to her.
Wordlessly she handed it over, a slight tremor in her hands.
“On the ground. Now,” he ordered the man.
“What are you going to do to him?” Sophie’s voice shook.
Jack pulled his cell phone out of his pocket with his free hand. “Turn him over to the police.”
“What about us?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be long gone.” The Keys were the worst place for criminals to hang out. The FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshals were all stationed in Key West. Not to mention the locals. For small-town cops, they were all well trained. They worked with so many different federal agencies, they had to be.
After he made a quick call, he fastened the man’s wrists behind his back with flex cuffs from his backpack and locked him in the trunk of one of the older-model cars. The man didn’t struggle much, probably because he knew that unless the locals or feds had something on him, he’d simply be deported. And Jack wasn’t worried about him being a problem. The man would probably disappear for a while considering he’d given out information on Vargas. Either that or Vargas would kill him for failing.
Once he and Sophie were on the road, she asked, “Did I hear that guy right? Those guys are definitely going after my friend?”
“Sounds like it.” He glanced in the rearview mirro
r. This late, there shouldn’t be many people on the road. There was only one road in and out of the Keys, so if anyone was following them, he’d know.
“We need to call her.”
He agreed, but there were other things to consider. “We can contact her now, but if she’s being watched, our call might simply alert them.”
“Then why don’t you tell your boss?”
“Remember the man we heard on the phone at the condo?”
“Yeah.”
“His name is Levi Lazaro. We’re friends—or we used to be. And he works for the NSA.”
She gasped, fear rolling off her. “He works with you?”
“Yes.” Jack gritted his teeth. Or at least Jack thought he did. He couldn’t believe Levi would betray his country, but Jack had been gone for two years. A lot could change in that amount of time. Money was a powerful motivator, and while he would like to think Levi was above that, things looked bad.
“So, what, your boss knew about this?”
“No.” There was no way in hell Wesley was involved in any of this. The man had sacrificed so much for his country that nothing could sway him.
“Jack, you’re going to have to give me a little more than one-word answers. I’m not a mind reader and I’m terrified for Hannah. We’ve got to help her. Now.” Panic punctuated every word.
“Sorry. I’m running through scenarios in my head.”
“Well, please involve me. We’re in this together.”
He felt a small cracking around his chest at the way she said “we.” “Wesley is my handler. We’re all part of the same organization, and everyone who works for him knows each other. I don’t know what missions any of the team goes on unless we’re on the same mission. And if Levi was working with Vargas, I would have been informed. It would have been a joint op. As it stands . . .” He shook his head, not wanting to say the words aloud.
She frowned. “Okay, so how did they track us down? Your friend sold you out?”
“I don’t know, but it’s possible.” He didn’t tell her that Levi was the only other person who knew about Jack’s personal safe house. It would make her even less likely to trust him, and right now he needed her.
“So why can’t we call your boss?”
“If someone’s hacked the NSA or if there’s a mole in the agency, it’s possible they’re watching him too.”
“We can’t sit by and do nothing.”
“I know. I just wanted you to know our options.”
“We need to call Hannah now. Those guys left over an hour ago. They’ll be in Miami soon.”
Sophie was right. It didn’t matter what option they chose. Her friend was in danger. Jack handed his phone to her. “Call your friend. Make sure she understands the urgency of the situation, but don’t waste time explaining. She needs to leave and go somewhere no one would think to look, not even you. Tell her not to use her credit cards and to take the battery out of her phone. She should get money out of an ATM and use cash for now. She can buy a throwaway with cash tomorrow and leave a message on my phone that she’s safe.”
Sophie swallowed and took the phone from his hand. He didn’t miss the way her hands trembled as she slipped the battery into place.
Jack listened as Sophie convinced her friend to leave. To give her credit, she didn’t take no for an answer and she didn’t waste any time.
“You sure she’s going to listen?” he asked as she hung up.
“She’s my best friend and she’s not stupid.” It was hard to miss the defensive note in Sophie’s voice.
“You met her in college, right?” He needed to keep her distracted right now, and talking was the best way to do it. Plus, he wanted to know the things about her life that a file simply couldn’t tell him. He’d missed Sophie so fucking much. More than he’d realized until he’d found himself face-to-face with her, her tantalizing scent messing with his head and making him remember how great things had been between them.
She nodded, the action jerky. “Yeah.”
“And? Come on, give me more than a one-word answer.” He gave her a lopsided smile, hoping she’d let her guard down.
She gave him a small smile as the tension in her shoulders loosened a fraction. “Freshman year I got stuck with this horrible roommate who talked to her boyfriend for hours every night, but after a week she got homesick and moved out. That’s when Hannah got placed with me. I was really shy and she really wasn’t, but somehow we clicked instantly. We’ve been best friends ever since. Her mom—” Sophie bit her lip and stared at her clasped hands as if she was afraid she’d said too much.
To him, it wasn’t enough. “What is it?”
“Nothing. Sorry if I’m rambling. I do that when I’m nervous.”
“You’re not rambling. What about her mom?” He could listen to Sophie talk for hours.
She shrugged. “I love her mom, but lately she’s been hounding Hannah to get married and have kids even though she has four older brothers, all of whom are single.”
“Isn’t she a nurse?”
“The head nurse of the pediatrics ward. She’s young and ambitious, but it’s not what her family wants for her. Don’t get me wrong, her mom is really great. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have probably starved in college. She bugs me about settling down too, but she’s not as hard on me.” A small smile tugged at Sophie’s lips, and it nearly undid him.
From Sophie’s file he knew she was close to Hannah Young, but it was obvious she was close to the whole family. Hell, it sounded as though she considered them her family. It had been a long time since he’d prayed, but he decided to take a chance and throw up a silent one for her friend’s safety. If her friend died, it would shred Sophie. And anything that caused her pain was unacceptable.
Sophie barely concealed a yawn as they pulled into a cheap motel on the next island closer to the mainland. “Where are we?”
“Islamorada, and this place accepts cash. Stay here while I get us a room.”
She didn’t audibly respond, but nodded instead. Her red-rimmed eyes were glassy and tired. The one-story baby blue building looked the same as it had six years ago.
Once he’d secured a room and two keys, he found Sophie dozing against the headrest of the car. When he knocked on her window, her eyes flew open in a panic until she realized it was him.
She grabbed her purse and stumbled out. Luckily they were parked two spots down from their room, so he didn’t have to move the vehicle.
After opening the door, he gave her one of the keys. “Don’t open for anyone. I’ve got my own key.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be back in five minutes.” He shut the door behind him without further explanation. Jack might not be able to do much for her, but he was going to make sure he took care of whatever needs he could.
Chapter 9
Kidnapping: the crime of unlawfully seizing and carrying away a person by force or fraud.
Sophie was too tired to argue or question him, so she simply locked the door and surveyed her surroundings. On the outside, the blue paint was chipping and a green-looking fungus covered the bottom half of the walls, but the room itself wasn’t too bad. There were two double beds, both with pink and blue floral comforters, and a table with a rotary telephone. She dropped her purse on the bed farthest from the door and stepped into the bathroom. At least they had soap and two toothbrushes. She quickly washed her face, then stripped out of her dress and wrapped one of the white towels around herself.
There was no telling when she’d have a decent change of clothes, and she wasn’t sleeping in this dress if she was going to have to wear it all day tomorrow. She left the bathroom light on, but turned off the lights in the main room.
As she slid under the crisp cotton sheet, the thin material had a cooling effect. She could practically feel the knot in the back of her neck loosen. So much had happened since that morning, it was hard to grasp that her world had turned upside down in the span of twenty-four hours. The only reas
on she was remotely able to relax now was that she’d talked to Hannah. Knowing her friend was getting out of town made dealing with everything else bearable.
She tensed at the sound of the doorknob rattling until Jack stepped in carrying a bundle of clothes. Like a laser, his gaze immediately narrowed as he fixated on the dress she’d draped over one of the chairs. Then he looked at her. Pure sex was in his eyes. It was so brief, but the look he gave her made her toes curl. He might not want to want her, but he definitely did. She didn’t know how it was possible, but his pale eyes seemed to darken as they raked over her face, all hot and hungry. For her. She actually got wet as he watched her. Her cheeks flushed and she was thankful there was no way he could tell her reaction. That hadn’t happened to her since she was seventeen going on eighteen. Only one person had ever gotten that reaction out of her. Being around Jack and those annoyingly familiar eyes brought back too many memories of Sam. Not to mention she couldn’t deny her growing attraction to the actual man in front of her. Not a memory.
Jack had such a dangerous yet sexy edge to him that it got her impossibly hot when it was the last thing she should be feeling. After that one escape attempt back at his condo, she’d been full-on prepared to try to run again. But after her boss’s shady behavior and then those men who’d stormed Jack’s place, she realized that she was a hell of lot safer with him than on her own. If she tried to leave she had no clue where she’d go. Not to mention that Hannah was supposed to be calling him and leaving a message when she got to safety. And strange as it sounded even to herself, Jack was the ultimate protector. He’d seemed so pissed that she’d been afraid of him. As if he could ever hurt her.
The gaze on his face right now was so raw she wasn’t sure what to do. Instinctively she pulled the sheet up higher, hoping he didn’t think she was trying to get him into bed. Although the thought was pretty damn appealing. So much so that the thought of dropping her cover and asking him to join her was sounding better and better. She couldn’t remember exactly how long it had been since she’d had sex—which said a lot about the state of her love life—but after the insanity of the last day she had no problem admitting she could find comfort in Jack’s arms. There was no doubt it would be a mistake, but it was one she’d make with open eyes.
