by Dawn Ryder
No one was looking at her. She pulled the door shut while standing in the hallway and waited.
Nothing. Just the low rumble of voices in the front room of the house. Saxon used that room when he wanted to keep her from understanding what was being said.
She ducked through the kitchen and peeked around the doorway that opened into the dining room. Thais was in the front room as well. Zoe looked at the phone sitting on the desk. Her heart was hammering as she listened to the muffled voices. The desk was only three steps from the doorway but it looked like a hundred feet.
She tightened her resolve and stepped out of her shoes. The dining room had hardwood floors. She put her foot down gingerly, bracing for a creak that would blow her cover. There was only a faint groan. She took the next step and reached for the phone.
Zoe ended up back in the kitchen, the phone cradled against her chest. Her hands shook so badly, she feared she was going to fumble the damn thing. She pushed the TALK button and heard a faint buzz telling her the line was active.
Thank God for some of her dad’s strange rules.
Like having to memorize family member phone numbers instead of relying on a cell phone to store them. She punched in her brother’s number and lifted the phone to her ear. Time was slowing down again, feeling like every second was a tiny eternity. The line made some clicking noises while she waited with bated breath for it to connect. Relief washed through her as it rang. Once. Twice.
“Zoe?” Bram shouted into the receiver. “Are you there?”
She didn’t dare answer him. She pressed one key on the number pad.
There was a short silence on the other end of the line.
“Are you injured?”
Her brother knew the code. One for yes and two for no.
She pressed a key twice.
“Put the phone down and walk away with the line open. I’m running a trace,” Bram instructed her.
She pressed a key once.
Replacing the phone was more trouble than snatching it from the desk. The meeting was still going on, but Saxon was pacing now, coming into view in the doorway before he moved out of sight. Zoe waited for him to disappear before taking the two steps back to Thais’s desk. She left the phone out of its cradle and made it back to the kitchen.
Her heart rate started slowing down as she made it back to her bedroom. She opened the door only to see Mercer appear down the hallway.
“We’re not finished. Stay in there.”
She contemplated how he’d known she’d opened the door.
Of course!
Nitwit!
There was a sensor on the door, like stores typically had. She slid her hand around the doorway, pulling the chair over to stand on so that she could see on top.
Nothing.
Well, it was there.
And linked to their cell phones. She had no doubt about it.
Obviously they’d thought she was inside the room.
Well, they’d discover their error soon enough.
* * *
Bram Magnus was watching the computer screen. He was standing, his hands flattened on the desktop as he waited for the location of Zoe’s call to pinpoint. The program was working. He leaned closer, anticipating an address.
The screen flickered and went black.
“What the fuck?”
“Sorry, Captain.”
Bram straightened slowly, his body tensing as he turned to face Servat. His comrade was wearing a pair of slacks and a polo shirt that wasn’t tucked in. Bram knew it was because he had a gun clipped to his belt.
“You’ve got some explaining to do.” Bram was holding on to his calm by a thread.
Servat sat down on the edge of a desk. “Your sister is resourceful. Got to hand it to her. Hale is going to be steamed when he hears she managed to slip a call out.”
“Who’s Hale?”
Servat held silent for a moment. Bram stared him down.
“Saxon Hale. Special assignment agent. He’s heading up the team on this project.”
“My sister called me for help,” Bram said slowly. “I plan to make sure she gets it.”
“She is getting it,” Servat abandoned his teasing tone. “She’s tucked away because someone tried to kill her. I need her to stay in the hole we’ve stuffed her in. Otherwise, a sniper is going to put a round through her clever little head. Like he’s tried to already … twice.”
Bram crossed his arms over his chest. “Zoe wouldn’t reach out to me if she felt safe. I can’t ignore her.”
“She’s got her feathers ruffled, understandably.”
Bram held up a single finger. “Explain.”
Servat’s expression became guarded. “The nature of the operation required a covert insertion of an undercover agent.”
“Um-hummm…” Bram ended up gripping the sleeve of his shirt to keep his arms crossed across his chest. What he really wanted to do was smash his fist into Servat’s jaw.
His fellow agent knew it, too.
“Not that I blame you for looking at me like that,” Servat said. “But she isn’t a baby. I’ve reviewed the intel. She liked the guy, a lot.”
“That’s my sister,” Bram growled. “Did the colonel approve this?”
Servat shrugged. “He didn’t have much choice. He’d already signed on to the operation.”
“Because I suspected Tim was trying to use my father. I had to stop that from happening. And calling it signed on is a stretch. A big one. This was going down. My choice was to be able to join you and help or sit in Afghanistan and wait for the phone to ring—”
“Doesn’t matter why,” Servat interrupted. “Your sister was the most likely avenue for getting a man in on the ground. Tim’s calling the shots.”
“She would have cooperated.”
“Except.” Servat pegged him with a hard look. “It was always a possibility that she was involved.”
“Like hell,” Bram growled.
“The intel always moved when you and your dad were deployed. The only way to clearly pinpoint Tim was to keep her in the dark and see how she responded.”
He needed to hit something.
Bram felt like his teeth might crack from the strain he had on them.
“My sister isn’t a traitor.” His tone was clipped.
“A proven fact now,” Servat agreed. “But she’s not going to live long enough to enjoy that if we don’t keep her head down.”
“Seems to me no one’s explained the situation to her completely. Zoe isn’t stupid. She made that call because your team leader is still keeping her in the dark.”
“You’re not stupid, either,” Servat fired back smoothly. “You can see the merit of not exposing your cards until the operation is finished.”
Bram was back to grinding his teeth. He wanted to argue further, but the fact was, there was solid sense coming out of Servat’s mouth.
“If it wasn’t your sister, you wouldn’t take exception to the details.”
Bram shook out his shoulders. “It is my sister. So let’s get down to getting a net on Tim.”
Servat nodded. “That’s a request I can help you with.”
* * *
“We need to talk,” Tim informed Tyler.
“You’re taking an unnecessary risk by calling me. If anyone establishes a link between us, this operation will fail.”
“I need a boost of confidence.” Tim looked at the personal message on his computer screen. “I’m meeting the buyer tomorrow.”
“I know,” Tyler answered. “Seal the deal and bring me my cut.”
“Not until you share your plan for getting me out of the country.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. “That sounded like a threat. Are you that much of a dumb fuck? I don’t take threats.”
“It’s a healthy move for me to make,” Tim said. “I’m not going down for this. And I’m not wet behind the ears enough to tie up all the loose ends and leave you with all the evidence, w
hile the blood is on my hands. If I sell the merchandise, it won’t be hard to have me shot by your team while they were supposedly attempting to take me into custody.”
“I’ll have your exit passport and ticket waiting. No one else can get you a passport. We’ll trade the passport for an account number.”
“You’ll wait until I’m out of the county and then I’ll transfer the money,” Tim countered.
“No deal,” Tyler said. “I’ll never hear from you again.”
“If I give you the money, there is no reason for you not to flag the passport.”
“Fine,” Tyler said. “How about the hard drive? Without it, there isn’t any hard evidence.”
Tim was quiet for a moment. “Deal. But I’ve got to see the tie-up. I need to see the bodies.”
“Don’t expect me to do your wet work for you.”
“I don’t,” Tim answered. “But you’ve got Zoe locked down. I need access.”
“Let me see what I can do.”
Tyler cussed as he severed the connection.
Wuss.
But he needed him to finish the operation. Tyler opened up the file on Zoe Magnus, looking for a way to make her jump.
* * *
“How in the hell did you get a call out?”
Zoe turned around in the kitchen. Mercer was furious with her. Saxon was right behind him.
She pointed through the doorway at the phone on Thais’s desk.
Both men considered the information. She could see their minds working as Greer and Thais hovered in the background doing exactly the same thing.
Saxon finally grunted. “No one checked to see if she went into her room.”
There was a short word of profanity from Greer.
“That was a stupid move,” Mercer said.
Her eyes narrowed. “Like hell it was. I’m not going down without a fight. I’m not guilty of anything and I sure as hell won’t be sitting around while no one is doing anything about proving my family innocent. You’re damn straight I placed a call to my brother.”
She wasn’t going to apologize for it. She stared at Mercer, refusing to crumble in the face of his disapproval.
“You need to listen to me, Zoe.”
Oh no she didn’t. Zoe flipped her hand in the air and went to brush past him.
Mercer let her make it to her bedroom before he hooked her biceps and flipped her around to face him, keeping her close with his greater strength. The door slammed shut.
“Let me go!” she hissed, flattening her hands on his chest. “I am sick of you telling me what to do.”
“Too bad,” he growled. “You’re not in charge of this operation.”
She smacked his chest, slapping at him when he wouldn’t release her.
“No, I sure as shit ain’t!” she shouted at him when he held her tight against him. “And I’m sick of taking orders.” She was shaking with anger but being so close to him, all she wanted to do was let everything go and melt into his embrace.
He was just as immovable as always. Solid. Hard. In control, while she felt like the very fabric of her being was shredding. Just sharing airspace with him made her frickin’ high. “Do you think I like being reduced to calling my brother? He’s deployed. I should be able to be supportive of him. Instead I’m whining to him because my life got too complicated. You should understand. You’ve been deployed. You know what I’m talking about. As a family member, it’s my duty to support my soldiers.” She slapped his chest. “I hate you for doing that to me.”
He released her. She ended up against the wall feeling miserable. Exposed and on display.
Damned if he didn’t always reduce her to feeling weak.
She caught a momentary flash of something in his eyes that looked like compassion. Or at the least agreement. But he tightened his jaw and sent her a hard look.
“I can’t protect you if you do stupid shit like that, Zoe.”
“Stupid?”
He nodded. “Right. Stupid. You exposed your position and the rest of the team.”
“I called in reinforcements,” she argued. “You and your team are keeping me in the dark. How long did you expect me to just sit here taking it?”
One side of his mouth curved, just a tiny amount.
“This isn’t your operation.”
“You’re damn right about that.” She stepped toward him, pointing at him. “And I’m through being bait, or whatever other pathetic label your team leader wants to put on me. I called my brother and he’s going to kick some ass and take some names but you can bet on one thing, Mercer, I am finished rolling over for you.”
“Good.”
His response surprised her. Mercer caught her against him while she was trying to process what he meant.
“I might have been sent after you, Zoe, but I enjoyed the hell out of you not rolling over for me.”
She hissed at him and tried to push him away. “Yeah, you told me how much you liked me.”
He held her, pushing her back until the wall was behind her. He cupped her nape and settled his lips next to her ear.
“But did you hear me, Zoe? I was telling you that I couldn’t resist you. I still can’t.”
She shivered.
She just couldn’t help it.
“And I’m just as fucking stubborn as you are, baby.”
She jerked at the endearment. He massaged her nape in response. She tried to shut out how good it felt, biting into her lower lip to fend off the sensation. His tone was the one she remembered from their moments together. The passionate ones, where nothing else mattered but getting closer to him.
Mercer chuckled at her. He pulled his head back so they were face-to-face but kept his body pressed to hers. “Doesn’t work … does it, baby? Trying to warn yourself against the pull between us.”
“No,” she said miserably, realizing there was no point in playing stupid. His cock was rock-hard, letting her know that he wasn’t unmoved. “Just go away. I don’t want to be your … sex partner.”
“Yes you do.” His tone was full of promise, the type that made her blood warm and her clit pulse. “You want me to push you, like no one else has ever pushed you before.”
Her heart ached. “I mean it, Mercer. I can’t do this anymore.”
She was pathetic. A broken heap at his feet, just as she’d feared she’d end up. Her pride was nothing but a distant memory.
“I can’t do any more of it. Bram can protect me.”
“He’s been on the team since the beginning.”
Her blood chilled. “Step back, Mercer. I need to think.”
He let out a clipped word of profanity but backed off. “Guess I can’t blame you for wanting an explanation for that.”
“Bram knew you were going to try and … seduce me?” she asked bluntly.
Mercer shook his head. “This was always a sting operation, Zoe. Intel was moving from his side, and his commanding officer brought him.”
“Bram knew your team was coming after my house?”
Mercer shook his head. “He knew we’d be watching the house.”
Shock held her silent for a long moment. “I’m going to kick his ass when I see him.”
The side of Mercer’s mouth curled upward again.
“Well, that won’t be anytime soon.” His mouth was back in a firm line. “You’ll have to trust me.”
She was shaking her head. He reached out and cupped the side of her face. The connection was electric, jolting her all the way to her toes. She would have pulled away from a harder hold but he was cradling her face, giving her the support she so desperately needed.
“How?” She really shouldn’t have asked. The question completed her fall to his feet.
His expression tightened. “By accepting what is.” He slid his hand along her cheek, slowly sending a ripple of awareness across her skin.
So slow.
So intense.
He was closing the distance between them. Shutting out the rest of the world with his body
.
It was bliss.
And everything she craved.
“No one chooses how they meet, Zoe.” He’d claimed her nape and angled her head up so their gazes fused. “Don’t throw away the baby with the bathwater. I wanted to hate you. Was pissed at myself after that first night.”
“You were…” The memory of him showing up with her cell phone replayed across her memory.
“But we still ended up on your kitchen counter because I just couldn’t help myself.”
She set her teeth into her lower lip. “You might just be really good at undercover work.”
His lips thinned. “So what’s my story now, Zoe?”
“I … don’t know…” She pushed against his chest. “But I could figure it out if you’d just … back off for a second.”
“I think I like you just like this.” He leaned closer so that his breath teased her lips. A tiny sound escaped her. A needy sound. A breathless one.
“Yeah, I really like you like this … baby.”
He muttered the last word against her lips, capturing her protest as he kissed her. She might have found the mental strength to resist a hard invasion of her mouth but this was a coaxing, the motion of enticement, sending a shiver down to her toes and curling them. It was extreme, which made her greedy for more. She craved him. Hungered for the intensity they produced together. It couldn’t just be sex.
Because she’d had sex before.
This was something else.
There was a roaring in her ears as her heart accelerated. Her skin became hypersensitive, the need to rip her clothing away an absolute necessity.
Mercer helped her with that craving. Leaving off kissing her, he yanked her T-shirt over her head, but he twisted it around her wrists and pinned them to the wall. She was stretched out for him, and he slid his dark gaze along her torso.
“I know what I’m asking for, Zoe.” He found the front closure to her bra and flicked it open. The elastic band of the garment contracted, pulling the soft cups away from her breasts until they popped free. “I get that you’re uncertain.”
Her belly was twisting with it, and she’d be a liar if she didn’t admit that the idea excited her. He was kissing one breast, planting soft, delicate compressions from his lips against the tender globe as her nipple contracted. It was a slow torment, one that her heightened senses made sure she felt every microsecond of. By the time he captured her nipple, she was twisting, seeking his erection. Her clit was throbbing incessantly, the need to climax already needling her.
