by Dawn Ryder
“He might just wait for it to arrive.”
Vitus shook his head. “Loosen the chain on the mule. My bet is, he’ll try to force her into bringing him the goods. Once she moves, Tyler will have to choose a course of action.”
“That’s mighty risky.”
“Whole operation is. Saxon’s ass is hanging out in the wind. One breath of a rumor on where he is and you’re going to need a mop-up team and four flags, along with a mighty good explanation to Colonel Magnus about how his daughter ended up dead while in protective custody. Since she made that call out, we’ve lost the edge. Either we move or we run a high risk of getting blindsided.”
Kagan was silent for a long moment, weighing the odds.
“I doubt your brother will agree to letting the civilian back into the line of fire.”
Vitus drew in a deep breath. “Leave that part to me.”
Kagan slowly smiled. “You’re not planning on telling him.”
Vitus shook his head. “I’m always on the level with Saxon. She’s still a target. The mission needs to proceed. His life could depend on knowing if Tyler is a rat.”
Kagan’s expression grew pensive. “In that case, good luck. I think you’re going to need it.”
“Keep an eye on Tyler.”
Kagan nodded before pushing his chair back and tossing his cup into a nearby trash can. He winked at a college student on his way out the door and disappeared into the pedestrian foot traffic. A couple of moms with strollers eyed his table. Vitus shook his frame out before leaving it to them. Conversation flowed around him. He hid his emotions behind a practiced expression.
There was nothing about life that a man should ever turn his back on.
That was a one-way ticket to hell.
He knew the ride well.
* * *
“Ready for bed?” Mercer asked from the doorway.
The question caught her off guard. But then, so did the sight of him. He was once more the confident agent, watching her from behind an unreadable expression.
“Zoe?”
“Sure.” She realized she’d been staring at him dumbfounded. “I mean, yes. I’m going to turn in.”
“Got your teeth brushed?”
She curled her lips back, because one absurd question deserved an equally ridiculous answer. Maybe it was just her. She was still reeling from their encounter. The fact was, she had no idea how to feel.
He nodded, sweeping the room before coming through the doorway.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He didn’t answer her but made his way across the room to the other side of the bed. She heard his boots hit the floor before he swung his legs up and settled in beside her.
“Excuse me?” she asked. “Did I miss something?”
He settled back against the pillows, his expression cracking momentarily and turning sensuous. “You remember the whole thing, baby, but deny it all you like. I’ll be happy to give a repeat performance. Are you saying you’ll share your body with me but not your bed?”
Her cheeks heated. She looked away as she struggled to keep a grip on her composure.
Mercer struck in that moment, capturing her wrist. She felt the cold touch of metal and heard the handcuff click. She jerked her hand away but there was another click as he secured the second one to his own wrist.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
“Dealing with you.” There was a soft whistle in the doorway. Saxon stood there, taking in the scene.
Her cheeks caught fire. Okay, so she’d accepted the fact that everyone in the house knew what she and Mercer were about when they were in the bedroom together, but that didn’t mean she was ready to have the team leader watching them in bed. Even if their clothes were still on.
Saxon dangled a set of keys before dropping them into the breast pocket of his shirt. “Sleep tight.”
“What is going on?” She pulled on their joined wrists but only ended up with Mercer’s arm across her chest. “Unlock these.”
He shook his head and settled back against the pillows. “Not a chance. I want to know exactly where you are for the next few hours.”
She sent him a scathing look. “What are you trying to prove?”
“That it’s time you started working with us.” He rolled over onto his side and pegged her with a hard look. “You threw Greer under the bus today with that phone call. He was responsible for you at the time.”
“I don’t owe him anything. Or any of you.”
“Really?” One dark eyebrow rose. “There are only the four of us. We’re all taking turns pulling duty. Someone wants you dead, Zoe. That’s why we’re off grid. Greer didn’t appreciate being shown up in front of his boss. So tonight, you’re mine and I need some sleep. Cuffing you to the headboard leaves you slim opportunity to escape.” His eyes glittered with determination. “Not on my watch.”
Guilt stabbed into her. Mercer watched her face for a moment before he settled back against the pillows and closed his eyes.
“It isn’t any easier for me, Zoe.”
His voice was so low she blinked, thinking she’d imagined the words. But he opened his eyes a crack and shot her a look that was full of uncertainty.
“Both of us have to make a choice to trust each other.”
“So when are you going to start sharing information?” she asked. “None of you would just sit around, waiting in the dark while everything you held dear was on the line.”
He reached over and clasped her hand, the cuffs shifting and making a soft clinking sound. “I’m working on it.”
He meant it. She heard the sincerity in his voice. It didn’t cut through her frustration completely, but it made a good dent. Which left her settling back and closing her eyes.
Enough for one day.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tim was nervous.
Bram knew the guy well enough to spot his habits. He tightened his grip on the binoculars he was watching his father’s longtime friend through.
That was a big point of contention.
Friend.
Tim was a traitor.
Servat strolled up to the meeting place that Tim had changed three times in the last hour. This time, it was a jogging trail that stretched for twenty long miles along a flood-control channel. Servat lifted one of his feet and started retying his shoe. Bram switched from the binoculars to a camera with a telephoto lens on it. He started recording video as Servat offered Tim a small flash drive. Tim tucked it into his pocket as he pulled out a water bottle and unscrewed the cap. Tim got up and walked away. Servat collected the flash drive he’d left on the bench before jogging off in the opposite direction.
Bram itched to drag Tim off the trail.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
At least not yet.
* * *
“You win.”
Zoe looked up, but Mercer was hiding behind sunglasses. If that wasn’t suspicious enough he tossed her cell phone onto the bed next to her. She had to scoop it up fast before Harley got ahold of it. The parrot squawked at her. Mercer held out his arm. Harley stepped up without hesitation.
“I don’t get it,” Zoe said as she stared at the cell phone. What had always been such a part of her life was now revealed in a new light.
Privilege. An everyday right that she’d taken for granted.
Mercer put Harley in his cage and checked the door lock twice before he turned back to face her.
“We want cooperation. You need to feel like a member of the team.”
“All right. Makes sense.”
He’d crossed his arms over his chest “Does it, Zoe?”
Her pride started to rear its head. She fought to contain it, craving information more than the need to blow off steam. She swallowed her temper.
“Explain.” It was only a single word, but it was better than taking a dig at him.
“Explain what?”
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and faced
him. Sensation rippled down her skin. She really sort of hated the reaction but the bed held too many fresh memories to ignore.
“What … you want me to do.” She held the cell phone up. “I don’t understand the rules. Explain them.”
“The intel is set to be exchanged. It will be a hard hand turnover. We need that transaction to happen while you are in custody.”
Understanding dawned instantly. “Got it.”
“So … keep your head down.”
“Why give this back to me?” she asked. “Sounds to me like you don’t want me to use it.”
“That’s right. Maybe I’m giving you what you say you want, to see if you start whining about something else instead of accepting the facts.” He grunted. “Maybe I’m just tired of sleeping handcuffed to you.” He turned around and disappeared down the hallway.
Maybe that was a smoke screen.
At least, she had the feeling it was.
Part of her really hated admitting how much she didn’t know about his world, and deep down inside she was sorry she didn’t know him better.
She really wanted to.
Focus.
Yeah, focus. I’m heading for a crash-and-burn sort of letdown when he walks away from me. Untamed won’t settle into being a house pet well.
All of her own frustration suddenly felt rash. The operation was going to end and when it did, Mercer would ride out of her life.
Maybe she should remember what Roni liked to say and spend a little more time living in the moment. She had a funny feeling that she was going to be hearing those sage words of advice for a long time to come.
* * *
Saxon was waiting for him when Mercer made it back into the living room. His team leader watched him from behind a set expression. It was one Mercer had seen countless times, but today it was pissing him off.
“You don’t like it,” Saxon said.
“She doesn’t know how to navigate the pitfalls of a situation like this,” Mercer responded. “I’d be unhappy about setting any innocent up—”
“Bull,” Saxon cut him off softly. “You’re personally involved.”
“Even if that’s true, it doesn’t change the facts.”
Saxon stared at him for a long moment. It was the closest thing Mercer was going to get to an agreement from him. Mercer cursed before staring at his computer screen again. The cold words sat there like salt in his wounds.
He flipped back around to face Saxon. “I am definitely personally involved.”
It was a declaration. One that made Saxon’s face darken.
“And it’s done, so live with the fact that I am not happy about giving Zoe enough slack to get herself back into harm’s way. I’m going to be hovering.”
And that was all there was to it.
* * *
“How’s the view?” Kagan asked.
Vitus was grateful to be talking on a cell phone because it afforded him the luxury of scowling. Not exactly a professional way to deal with someone of Kagan’s rank and security clearance.
“I’ll take that silence as confirmation of your enjoyment of being back in the saddle.”
“Love it,” Vitus confirmed. “Home sweet home. In a civilian foxhole.”
He was stretched out on a thin mattress in the back of a battered pickup truck with a clamshell camper top on it. He’d knocked his head against the top of it too many times to count as he shifted around in the confined space. The place was seedy to say the least, doubly so because circumstances afforded him only a brief, twenty-minute escape once a day, when he moved the truck to avoid suspicion or notice from the locals. The rest of the time, he was stuck watching the house Saxon was holed up in. But it did beat a foxhole in hostile territory.
“The mule is being given back her cell phone,” Kagan informed him. “I’ll be shaking the tree in another day, so stay sharp.”
“Glad to hear it,” Vitus said. “This situation stinks bad. Something’s not right.”
It was Vitus’s turn to listen to a long silence on the other end of the phone. That chilled his blood. Kagan had a good head on his shoulders and a nose for shadow operations. If he was smelling a stink, there was a dead body coming their way. Maybe more than one.
“Stay on your post.” Kagan said. “Mercer is your inside contact. Alert him to any movement from the target.”
“Ten four.”
Kagan cut the line, leaving Vitus alone with his thoughts and the time ticking away around him. The waiting game was the worst part of his job because it could wear a man down, dulling his senses with fatigue until a perpetrator found an opening to strike through.
* * *
“You hate the plan.”
Bram glared at Servat. “Completely.”
Servat nodded. “The colonel understands your objections, but you knew this was going to be a sticky situation from the beginning.”
Bram’s temper boiled over the lid he’d jammed down on top of it. “Stop making it sound like I have any choice in this.”
“The colonel knows you didn’t,” Servat said. “We all know who started this mess and he’s still on the loose. Tim brought this to your doorstep. Consider yourself fortunate to be able to help bring him down.”
“There’s nothing fortunate about my sister being caught up in this. I expected her to be locked down and kept out of the line of fire. Pissed but safe.”
Servat sat on the edge of a desk. “A team had to be assigned that had no connections to the case. You know the reasons for that.”
“Right,” Bram grunted. “It’s the only way to one hundred percent prove my family has no involvement.”
Servat nodded. “They’re a top-notch team. Experienced. Good record.”
“They used a mole in her bed.” Bram sliced through Servat’s explanation.
Servat didn’t offer him any compassion. “A proven tactic, and it beats waterboarding.”
Bram grunted. “Fine. I get it. But she is my sister, so don’t expect me to be happy about it.”
“Professional will do.”
“I’ve been that,” Bram growled.
And it was chewing a hole in him. Sure, he understood. He also had a healthy respect for the special assignment teams. They dealt with the worst the planet had to offer and managed to hold the line fairly well considering they were up against slime who didn’t have any compunctions about killing anyone in their path. They concerned themselves with profits and power. Blood was nothing more than the grease on the wheels of the machine.
But this was Zoe.
She was innocent.
She was also a whole lot like him and their dad. If he was being honest, a large part of his concern centered on the fact that he knew she wasn’t going to sit quietly and hide.
No, she was a Magnus through and through. The plan needed her to stay put, and honestly he doubted if she would.
Which was going to ensure he had a lot of sleepless nights until the operation was complete.
* * *
It had been a while since she’d taken time to preen.
Not that she had much in the way of girlie essentials at hand.
Still, Zoe rummaged through her meager toiletry items and managed to bring her eyebrows back under control. She’d used her phone to add a little music to the moment, the single speaker like a lone candle flame in the otherwise quiet room. Even Harley fluffed up, enjoying the entertainment.
“Okay, you got me there.” Mercer was back in the doorway. He’d cocked his head to one side, his lips curving slightly as he took in the sound. “It is a little stale in this place.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not streaming it.”
He nodded before coming into the room. She still loved the way he moved. It was part prowl, part stride. A combination of brawn and control that was awe inspiring. Honestly, she could just stare at him, soaking up the primal perfection. The soft jersey of his T-shirt let the chiseled condition of his abs show through. His jeans weren’t tight. Nope. They were baggy enoug
h for him to move in, and that had a whole different sort of sexiness to it. He didn’t have to tell anyone he was a badass. All he had to do was walk into the room and you knew it, down deep in the pit of your stomach. Heat teased her, flicking to life as she felt the air between them thicken. She didn’t shy away from it this time, just let it roll through her like the burn of an expensive brandy.
The sound of the handcuffs clinking against themselves drew her attention. They were looped through his belt, swaying as he moved.
He caught her looking at the handcuffs. She expected his expression to tighten but his lips curved instead, becoming a grin that was playful, in a man-eating tiger sort of way.
He tossed the cuffs onto the bed and unclipped his gun. “Should have given you that phone back days ago. You’ve loosened up.”
She sat down on the bed and lay back against the pillows. “Think carefully about making any comments concerning stress-reduction methods.”
Mercer settled beside her. “You’re stubborn.”
She sent him a harassed look. “Because I want to take care of myself? That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
His expression became serious. “I’ll take care of you, Zoe.”
She felt each little word deep down inside that place in her heart that she’d been warning herself to keep him out of. He’d scratch it up with his powerful claws and leave her nursing the wounds when he prowled away.
“That’s a little different tone than I’ve heard before.” She dropped the cuffs onto his chest and looked across the room with her hand waiting. “Not that I’m not appreciative of the change.”
She heard the cuffs chink but it was as he sat them on the bedside table next to his gun. He captured her hand and rolled over until he was half on her.
Reaction was instant. Her belly tightened as heat flared up inside her. His gaze locked with hers, giving her an unobstructed view of desire flickering in his eyes.
“Promise me. Give me your word, Zoe.”
His tone was thick with emotion. He maintained his grip on her wrist, his fingers feeling ten times stronger than the handcuffs had. The reason was simple. The cuffs were impersonal, something she might dismiss because she owed them nothing.
