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Undercover Accomplice
Carol Ericson


He needed someone by his side. Someone he could trust A terrorist attack is looming, and Delta Force soldier Hunter Mancini must team up with CIA Operative Sue Chandler – again – to stop it. But as disaster threatens, Sue reveals a secret even this action-hardened warrior couldn’t imagine…







He needed someone by his side.

Someone he could trust.

A terrorist attack is looming, and Delta Force soldier Hunter Mancini must team up with CIA operative Sue Chandler—again. Their mission: find and stop a radical group before it obtains and detonates a nuclear weapon. But as disaster threatens, Sue reveals a secret even this action-hardened warrior couldn’t imagine. Now with everything on the line, getting the job done is the top priority. Not that Hunter is about to forget the truths Sue has been hiding for far too long…


CAROL ERICSON is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She has an eerie fascination for true-crime stories, a love of film noir and a weakness for reality TV, all of which fuel her imagination to create her own tales of murder, mayhem and mystery. To find out more about Carol and her current projects, please visit her website at www.carolericson.com (http://www.carolericson.com), ‘where romance flirts with danger.’


Also by Carol Ericson (#u959f237b-de31-5ca2-9074-91157dc71e88)

Enemy Infiltration

Delta Force Defender

Delta Force Daddy

Delta Force Die Hard

Locked, Loaded and SEALed

Alpha Bravo SEAL

Bullseye: SEAL

Point Blank SEAL

Secured by the SEAL Bulletproof

SEAL

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


Undercover Accomplice

Carol Ericson






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


ISBN: 978-1-474-09458-0

UNDERCOVER ACCOMPLICE

© 2019 Carol Ericson

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)




Note to Readers (#u959f237b-de31-5ca2-9074-91157dc71e88)


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Contents

Cover (#u027381e1-e7e5-5b2f-9685-6c2263192e7f)

Back Cover Text (#u795bf690-e794-5958-bd8a-21eddd128328)

About the Author (#u6992c14e-9451-5675-a092-1e2ea850a254)

Booklist (#u3d712ded-867d-5e6f-9987-b622ac5c1518)

Title Page (#uf9c2b039-f99e-5537-84ca-70b9e72e214f)

Copyright (#ua2c8e393-e725-57bc-83e1-3900823415cf)

Note to Readers

Prologue (#ud828cb77-bd9d-5b3b-9a39-40c99ec99b12)

Chapter One (#u3c4ab16d-f7fe-56a1-9b8c-3820c3605a07)

Chapter Two (#u3aafa3bf-a177-5b1b-8f47-a376b81d4586)

Chapter Three (#ude1a8485-4607-5e80-bca3-81609782b70b)

Chapter Four (#ua57728d8-ea29-52a3-a2b0-4cf4f34bcd1a)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)




Prologue (#u959f237b-de31-5ca2-9074-91157dc71e88)


He ducked into the cave and swept the beam from the weak flashlight around the small space. Releasing a frosty breath, he slid down the wall of the cave into a crouch and faced the entrance, balancing his weapon on his knees.

After he’d helped Rafi and the others fight off the intruders who’d attacked their village, he took off for the hills—but not before he’d arranged another meeting with Pazir.

The last time he’d tried to meet with Pazir, it had led to the death of an army ranger, the possible death of one of his Delta Force team members and his own decision to go AWOL. He hoped for a better result this time.

A bush outside the cave rustled and he coiled his thigh muscles, getting ready to spring. His trigger finger twitched.

A harsh whisper echoed in the darkness. “Denver? Major Denver?”

He rose slowly, his jacket scraping the wall of the cave, the light from his flashlight illuminating a figure on hands and knees at the cave’s entrance. “If you have any weapons, toss them in first. If you’re not alone…you soon will be.”

Pazir sat back on his heels and tossed a small pistol onto the dirt floor. He rummaged through the clothes on his body and flicked a knife through the air. It landed point down on the ground.

“That’s all I have.” Pazir continued forward on his knees, his hands in the air. “I had nothing to do with the ambush at our previous meeting. I barely got out of there with my life.”

“The other Delta Force soldier? Asher Knight? Do you know what happened to him?”

“He survived.”

Denver almost sank to the dirt again as relief coursed through his rigid muscles. “You know that for sure?”

“I know that he and the others are challenging the story that’s out there about you.”

“They are?” Denver’s spine stiffened, and he lined it up against the cave wall again.

“Your men are loyal to you, Denver.”

“But they haven’t cleared me yet?”

“They’re getting close. My sources tell me there’s a battle raging about your guilt in the highest levels of government.”

“You have good sources, Pazir.” Denver gestured with his weapon. “Sit. What else have they told you? What do you know about those weapons at the embassy outpost in Nigeria? What do you know about the car bomb at the Syrian refugee camp?”

“Al Tariq.”

Denver cleared his throat and spit. “Too small. I know that group and there’s no way they could pull off what they’re doing.”

“They’re the front group in the region. They’re being used to do some of the grunt work. They’re being used to track you down.”

“By whom? Who’s behind this and what do they want?”

“As far as I know, it’s an international group, moles from different government agencies working together. They want weapons, and they’re close to getting their hands on a nuclear device.”

Denver swore, finally loosening the grip on his weapon. “That’s what I was afraid of, and now you’ve just confirmed it.”

“Has to be more than a rumor, Denver.”

“I wanna know who’s at the top. It’s not good enough to finger Al Tariq.”

Pazir scratched his beard and squatted across from Denver. “I know Al Tariq wasn’t responsible for kidnapping that CIA agent.”

“That female?”

“She was getting too close to the truth—just like you.”

“They released her.”

“She escaped.”

“And you think the people who kidnapped Agent Chandler are the same ones pulling the strings for Al Tariq and trying to get their hands on this nuclear device?”

“I know it, Denver. Don’t ask me how.”

“Then I need to figure out who kidnapped Chandler.”

“From here?” Pazir threw out one arm.

“I have to stay in hiding. You don’t.”

Pazir snorted. “I can’t exactly run around the globe and travel to Washington, either.”

“No, but you can get a message out for me, can’t you?”

“Yes.” Pazir reached into his pouch and pulled out a piece of flatbread. He ripped it in half and thrust one piece at Denver. “You want me to try to send a message to Agent Chandler?”

“I want you to send a message to one of my Delta Force team members. Hunter Mancini worked with Chandler on a covert mission once, and they got…close. You get a message to Mancini, and he can contact Chandler. Maybe she has some insight into who held her and what she was working on, but she’s afraid to say anything.”

“I can do that.” Pazir pulled a pencil and pad of paper from his bag. “Give me the details.”

As Denver chewed through the rough bread, he rattled off instructions to Pazir for contacting Mancini. “I don’t have to tell you not to let this fall into the wrong hands.”

“I give up nothing.”

“Shh.” Denver sidled along the wall of the cave and peered out the entrance. “We’re not alone.”

Pazir lunged for his weapon. “We’ll fight them off together.”

“You go.” Denver grabbed a handful of Pazir’s jacket. “I’ll distract them. Get that message to Mancini if it’s the last thing you do.”




Chapter One (#u959f237b-de31-5ca2-9074-91157dc71e88)


Sue slipped the burner phone from the inside pocket of her purse. She swiped a trickle of sweat from her temple as she reread the text and ducked into the last stall in the airport bathroom. Her heart fluttered in her chest just like it always did before she made a call to The Falcon.

He answered after one ring. “Seven, one, six, six, nine.”

The numbers clicked in her brain and she responded. “Ten, five, seven, two, eight.”

“Are you secure?”

The altered voice grated against her ear as she peeked through the gap between the stall door and its frame at several women washing their hands, scolding children, and wheeling their bags in and out of the bathroom, too concerned with their own lives to worry about someone reciting numbers on a cell phone.

Their nice, normal lives.

“Yeah.”

“You got the name of the barbershop wrong. There’s no Walid there.”

“That’s not possible.”

“You misheard the name…or they purposely fed you the wrong one because they made you.”

Sue swallowed and pressed her forehead against the cool metal door. “They didn’t.”

“Because they would’ve killed you when you were with them?”

“That’s right.” Sue yanked off a length of toilet paper from the roll and stepped in front of the toilet to make it flush automatically. “I’ve been doing this for a while. I’d know.”

“That’s what I like about you, Nightingale. You’re a pro. You’ve already proven you’ll do anything for the cause.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and sniffed. “Next move?”

“We need the correct barbershop.”

“I can’t exactly call up my contact and ask him.”

“You’ll figure it out. Like I said, you’re a pro.”

The Falcon ended the call before she could respond.

Sighing, she pushed out of the stall and washed her hands. On her way out of the bathroom, she almost bumped into her stepmother.

“Where have you been? We need to get to our gate. I can’t wait to get out of this place. I hate D.C.”

Sue dropped to her knees in front of her son, regretting that she’d spent their last precious minutes together on the phone with The Falcon—regretting so much more. She grabbed Drake’s hands and kissed the tips of his sticky fingers, inhaling the scent of cinnamon that clung to his skin. “Be a good boy for Gran on the airplane.”

Drake batted his dark eyelashes. “You go airplane, too, Mama?”

“No, cupcake. Just you and Gran this time, but I’ll visit you soon.”

Linda fluttered a tissue between the two of them. “Wipe your hands, Drake.”

“That’s not going to help, Linda. He had a cinnamon roll for breakfast. He’s going to have to wash his hands in the restroom.” Sue waved her hand behind her at the ladies’ room.

Pursing her lips, Linda snatched back the tissue. “Cinnamon rolls for breakfast? You spoil him when he’s here. I’ll get him a proper lunch once we get through security, if he still has any appetite left.”

He will unless you ruin it.

Sue managed to eke out a smile, as Drake was watching her with wide eyes. “Nothing spoils Drake’s appetite. He could eat a horse and ask for dessert.”

“We don’t eat horses, Mama.” Drake giggled and Sue pinched the end of his nose. “Give me another hug.”

Drake curled his chubby arms around her neck, and Sue pressed her tingling nose against his hair. “Love you, cupcake.”

“Love you.” Drake smacked his lips against her cheek. “Can I live here?”

“Not yet, my lovey, but soon.” Blinking the tears from her eyes, Sue straightened up and placed Drake’s hand in her stepmother’s. “Give my love to Dad.”

Linda sniffed as she yanked up the handle of her suitcase. “I don’t know why some people have children if they can’t be bothered to take care of them.”

“Linda.” Sue ducked toward her stepmother and said through clenched teeth, “I told you. This…arrangement won’t be forever, and I don’t appreciate your talking like that in front of my son.”

Linda’s pale eyes widened a fraction and she backed up. “I hope you’re not going to be landing in trouble every other month, or you’ll never have Drake with you. You were right to leave him with your sister. Children need stability. You should give up this crazy job and find yourself a husband to take care of you, a father for Drake, and settle down like your sister.”

Sue opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. She’d promised herself not to argue with Linda—besides, her stepmother had a point. As it stood now, Sue couldn’t keep her son with her and raise him properly—even if The Falcon had allowed it.

And he hadn’t.

“It won’t always be like this. I plan to transfer to another position, and then I can have him with me all the time. I’ll contact you tonight for some face-to-face with Drake. Ask Dad. He knows how to do it.”

“I know, I know. Your father knows everything.”

“Thanks, Linda. Safe travels.” Sue blew a kiss to Drake as her stepmother hustled him toward the line for security.

She waved until they got to the front of the line. Knowing her father would be stationed at the airport in South Carolina to pick them up was the only thing that allowed her to turn away and leave the airport. Drake lived with her sister, Amelia, and her family, but they were in the Bahamas and Sue hadn’t wanted Drake to go along, so she sent him to Dad and Linda.

Linda could take care of Drake’s physical needs and keep him safe, but she trusted only Dad to meet Drake’s emotional needs. Her stepmother didn’t have the capacity for that job, as Sue suspected she trash-talked her to Drake whenever she got the chance.

If Sue had one more incident like the one she’d faced in Istanbul, she had no doubt her stepmother would move against her to take Drake away from her completely and declare her an unfit mother.

Sue clenched her teeth and exited the airport. She’d just have to make sure she didn’t have any more of those close calls.

After she fed her parking receipt into the machine and the arm lifted, Sue flexed her fingers on the steering wheel of the car and glanced in her rearview mirror. With Drake’s visit over, she could finally breathe…and find out who was following her. The possibilities were endless.

She navigated out of the airport and drove straight to her office. She had to confront her supervisor, Ned Tucker, about her suspicions. She’d already been debriefed after the kidnapping. Why was the CIA still dogging her? And if it wasn’t the CIA, maybe Ned could help her figure out who it was. She hadn’t wanted to tell The Falcon about this new development.

He thought she was a pro who could handle anything. She could, but handling everything on her own all the time had gotten old. Sometimes a girl just needed a shoulder to lean on. She’d had that shoulder…once.

She rolled up to the parking gate of the office and held her badge out the window.

The security guard waved her through, and she parked her car. Slipping her badge lanyard over her head, she marched toward her office building. She’d taken the day off to drop off Drake and Linda at the airport, but she couldn’t wait any longer to get to the bottom of this mystery tail.

She punched the elevator button and almost bumped into one of her coworkers coming out.

Peter held up his hands. “Whoa, what’s the hurry?”

“Sorry, Peter.” She stepped to the side.

“Thought you were out today.”

“Half day. I need to talk to Ned.”

“I think he needs to talk to you, too.”

“Why? Was he looking for me? He knows I’m out today.”

Peter shrugged. “You might wanna turn around and go home.”

“Why?”

Peter pivoted away from her and called over his shoulder, “Take someone’s advice for once, Sue.”

If Peter thought his cryptic warning would send her home, he didn’t know her very well. She dropped her hand from holding open the elevator doors and stepped inside.

Good. If Ned wanted to talk to her, maybe he wanted to explain what the hell was going on.

The elevator deposited her onto the fifth floor, and she badged the door to the cubicles. The hum of low voices and keyboard clicks created a comforting welcome.

As she turned the corner to her row, she stumbled to a stop. A man she didn’t know was hanging on to the corner of her cube and Ned’s head bobbed above the top.

She bit the inside of her cheek and continued walking forward.

At her approach the stranger turned, and his eyes widened. “Chandler.”

She stopped at the entrance to her cubicle, her gaze darting from Ned to a woman sitting at her desk, accessing her computer.

“Wh-what’s going on here, Ned?”

Her boss ran a hand over his bald head, his forehead glistening with sweat. “I thought you were out today, Sue.”

“So, what? You figured you and a couple of strangers could get into my computer in my absence?”

The guy to her right straightened up and pulled back his shoulders. “Ms. Chandler, we’ve noticed some irregularities on your workstation.”

“Irregularities?” She shot a look at Ned, who refused to meet her gaze. “I don’t understand.”

The woman sitting in front of her computer twisted her head around, a tight smile on her face. “I found another one.”

“Another one what?” Sue stepped into her cube, hovering over the woman seated at her desk.

The man placed a hand on Sue’s arm. “Perhaps it’s best we talk in Ned’s office.”

Sue had noticed a few heads popping up from other cubicles. She lifted her own chin. She knew damn well she didn’t have any irregularities on her computer. The Falcon would make sure of that—unless these were communiqués from him.

“Let’s go, then.” She shook off the man’s hand and charged out of her cubicle and down the aisle to Ned’s office in the corner.

She reached Ned’s office before the two strangers, with Ned right behind her. She swung around, nearly colliding with him. “What’s going on, Ned?”

“They received an anonymous tip about you forwarding classified emails and documents to your home computer.”

“What? You know I’d never do anything like that. I’ve been in the field myself. There’s no way I’d put anyone in danger.”

“I know that, Sue.” His gaze darted over his shoulder, and then he sealed his lips as the two investigators approached.

Sue shuffled into the room as Ned sat down behind his desk. “Take a seat, Sue.”

“That’s okay. I’ll stand.” Folding her arms, she squared her shoulders against the wall.

The two investigators remained standing, too.

The woman thrust out her hand, all business. “I’m Jackie Templeman.”

Sue gripped her hand and squeezed hard, her lips twisting as Jackie blinked.

The man cleared his throat and dipped his head. “Robert Beall.”

He didn’t offer his hand and she didn’t make a move to get it. She folded her arms across her chest and asked, “What did this anonymous email say?”

Templeman shot a glance at Ned. “To check your emails.”

“You have no idea who sent it?”

“No.” Templeman shook her head. “That’s why it’s anonymous.”

Sue smirked. “Got it. So, you believe every anonymous email you receive and rush in to do an investigation?”

Templeman hugged her notebook to her chest, as if guarding state secrets. “Not everyone.”

“Oh, I see.” Sue shoved off the wall and plopped into the chair across from Ned. “Just the ones about me.”

Beall finally found his voice. “Because of your…um…the incident.”

“Funny thing about that incident.” Sue drummed her fingers on Ned’s desk. “You’d think the Agency would be kissing my…rear end, considering a leak on their part led to my kidnapping in the first place.”

“And then you escaped.” Templeman tilted her head.

“Yeah, another reason the Agency should be nominating me for a medal or something instead of combing through my computer.”

“You escaped from a group of men holding you in Istanbul.” Templeman’s delicate eyebrows formed a V over her nose.

Sue snorted. “I guess that’s hard for some people to believe, but some female agents aren’t pencil-pushing computer geeks. Some of us know how to handle ourselves.”

A smile tugged at Beall’s lips, but he wiped it out with his hand.

“Besides, I was debriefed on that incident and the case was closed. You still seem to be using it to go after me.”

“The point—” Templeman straightened her jacket “—is that we did find anomalies on your computer. Enough for us to confiscate your machine and suspend you.”

“Suspend?” Sue jumped from the chair. “Is that true, Ned?”

“Just until they can figure out everything. I think there has to be a mistake, and I told them that. We already know those emails implicating Major Rex Denver and sent to a CIA translator were fakes. I’m confident that this investigation is going to find something similar with these emails and you’ll be in the clear, Sue.”

“Suspension starting now?”

“Yes, we’ll accompany you back to your cubicle if you want to take any personal items with you.” Templeman pushed past Beall and opened the door.

“I don’t have anything there I need.” Sue smacked her hand on Ned’s desk. “Let me know when this is over, Ned.”

“Of course, Sue. Don’t worry.”

As she stepped through the door, Templeman tapped her shoulder. “Badge.”

Sue whipped the lanyard over her head and tossed it at Templeman’s chest, but it slipped through the investigator’s fingers and landed on the floor. The woman couldn’t even make a good catch. No wonder she had a hard time believing Sue had escaped her captors.

Sue strode out of the office, not looking right or left. When she stepped out onto the sidewalk, she took a deep breath of fresh air.

Maybe she sent her son away early for nothing. Maybe her senses had been on high alert because the Agency had been tracking her. Now that they’d made their move and suspended her and confiscated her computer, they’d back off.

The thought didn’t make her feel much better. The CIA didn’t trust her, and being falsely accused made her blood boil. Of course, if the Agency knew about her work with The Falcon, the accusations might not be false. She didn’t have to worry about that, though. The Falcon would have her covered.

As she waited for the elevator in the parking garage, her phone buzzed and she squinted at the text message from her friend, Dani Howard.

Dani knew she’d sent Drake back home and figured Sue needed some cheering up. Dani had no idea how much cheering up she needed.

Sue texted her friend back. I’m up for cocktails tonight.

What the hell did she have to lose at this point?






SUE SPOTTED DANI already sitting at the bar, and she squeezed between the people and the tall tables to reach her. “This the best you could do?”

Dani gave her a one-armed hug. “I just got here five minutes ago. Haven’t even ordered a drink yet.”

Hunching over the bar, Sue snapped her fingers and shouted, “Hey.”

The bartender raised his hand. “Be right with you.”

A minute later he took their order for two glasses of white wine.

Dani sighed as she flicked back her hair. “It must be your commanding presence that gets their attention. Did you see Drake off okay today?”

“I did.” Sue rolled her eyes. “Of course, I had to put up with Linda’s jabs.”

“Our mothers should have a contest to see who can outshame the single moms.” Dani picked out some pretzels from the bowl of snack mix on the bar and popped one into her mouth.

“Stepmother. At least Fiona’s dad is in the picture.”

“You say that like it’s a good thing.”

“Okay then, at least Fiona lives with you and you’re not in constant fear of losing custody of her.”

Dani folded back the corners of the napkin the bartender had tossed down when he took their order. “You know I’m planning to drive down to Savannah, and I’d be happy to drop in on Drake for you. Text me your parents’ address, and I’ll see if I can make the detour—just a familiar face from where Mom lives might make a big difference.”

“That would be great, but I don’t want to put you out.”

“Happy to do it.” Dani snatched their glasses from the bartender’s hand and handed one to Sue. “Drink.”

Sue took a big gulp of wine, but there wasn’t enough alcohol in the world right now to drown her sorrows.

“Stop beating yourself up. You’re saving the freakin’ world.” Dani tilted her head. “I suppose you can’t tell me about this hush-hush assignment of yours.”

Not only did she not have a hush-hush assignment, she didn’t have any assignment—unless she counted the one to get the name of the right barbershop.

Sue put a finger to her lips and swirled her wine in the glass. “No questions about my job.”

“Don’t even ask about my job…except for the new resident who started his rotation.” Dani winked.

“Not another doctor. You need to date outside the medical field.”

“I need to date and I may have just found the answer to our prayers.” Dani tilted her head to the side and twirled a strand of her red hair around one finger.

Sue put her glass to her lips and shifted her gaze above the rim toward a table to Dani’s right, where two men had their heads together. “Are you sure they aren’t gay?”

“Not the way they’ve been eyeing us for the past few minutes.” Dani drew back her shoulders and puffed out her ample chest. “Besides, they have a table, and we’re stuck here at the bar getting squeezed out.”

One of the men had noticed Dani’s move and he sat up, nudging his buddy.

An evening with Dani always ended in the company of men, and for once, Sue welcomed the distraction. She smiled at the eager suitors.

One of the guys raised his glass and pointed to the two empty chairs at their table.

“And score.” Dani wiggled her fingers in the air. “I get the blond unless you have a preference. I’m just thinking about cute little strawberry-blond siblings for Fiona.”

Sue’s gaze shifted to the dark-haired man as she pushed away from the bar. At least he was her type. “Go for it, Dani.”

The two men jumped from their seats and pulled out the chairs for her and Dani. She and Dani did a little dance to get Dani seated next to the blond.

He spoke first. “You two looked so uncomfortable packed in at the bar. It seemed a shame to let these two chairs go to waste.”

“Thank you. I’m Dani and this is Sue.” Dani’s southern accent always got more pronounced in front of men, and they seemed to eat it up.

Dani’s future husband pointed to himself. “I’m Mason—” and then he pointed to his companion “—and this is Jeffrey.”

They all said their hellos and launched into the inane small talk that characterized meet-ups in bars. Sue had no intention of winding up with Jeffrey or anyone else at the end of the evening and tried to keep her alcohol consumption to a minimum.

She failed.

Mason, or maybe it was Jeffrey, ordered a bottle of wine for the table, and then another. Although Sue continuously sipped from her glass, the liquid never dropped below the halfway point, and by the time she staggered to the ladies’ room on her second trip, she realized the men had been topping off her wine.

She’d have to put a lid on that glass when she got back to the table.

As she wended her way through the crowded bar, she stumbled to a stop when she saw Jeffrey alone at the table. She clutched her small purse to her chest and took the last few steps on unsteady legs. “Where are Mason and Dani?”

“They left—together.” Jeffrey lifted one shoulder.

Sue sank into the chair, snatching her phone from the side pocket on her purse. “Whose idea was that?”

“I think it was mutual.” Jeffrey held up his hands. “Don’t worry. I know we didn’t hit it off like they did, and I have no expectations.”

She scowled at him over the top of her phone. “I hope not.”

Dani picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Sue, did Jeffrey tell you I left with Mason?”

“He did. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Dani giggled and sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you there with Jeffrey.”

“That’s okay. As long as you’re all right. Do you have an address where you’re going?”

“The Hay-Adams.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

Dani ended the call on another giggle and Sue shoved her phone back into her purse.

Jeffrey raised one eyebrow. “Your friend okay? Mason’s a good guy.”

“He’d better be.” Sue raised her phone and snapped a picture of Jeffrey. “Just in case.”

A spark of anger lit Jeffrey’s eyes for a second, or maybe she’d imagined it. Then he tucked some bills beneath his empty glass. “Can I at least see you home?”

She shook her head and then clutched the edge of the table as a wave of dizziness engulfed her brain. She took a sip of water. “I’m fine, thanks.”

“Really? You don’t look fine. The booze was flowing as fast as the conversation tonight. You look…woozy.”

Woozy? Someone had stuffed a big cotton ball in her head to keep her brain from banging around. After the day she’d had, she’d wanted to let loose, tie one on. Now she had to face the consequences.

“I didn’t drive. I can just hop on the Metro, one stop.” She staggered to her feet and grabbed the back of her chair. She’d be paying for her overindulgence tomorrow morning for sure.

Jeffrey jumped from his chair. “Are you positive I can’t help you? I can walk you to the station or call you a taxi or rideshare car.”

She narrowed her eyes and peered at him through a fog. Why was he so insistent? Why didn’t he just leave her alone?

She raised her hand and leveled a finger at him. “Stay right where you are.”

Jeffrey cocked his head and a lock of his brown hair slipped free from the gel and made a comma on his wrinkled brow.

Had she made sense? She tried to form another word with her thick tongue, but she couldn’t get it to cooperate.

She resorted to sign language, raising her middle finger. Would he get the picture now? “Whatever.” He plopped back into his chair. “Just be careful.”

She swung to the side, banging her hip on the corner of the table, jostling all the empties. Putting her head down, she made a beeline for the door.

Once outside, she gulped in breaths of the cold air but couldn’t seem to revive herself. Walking should help. She put one foot in front of the other and weaved down the sidewalk. Oncoming pedestrians gave her a wide berth, and a few made jokes.

Oh, God. Was she a joke? A drunk joke? She placed a hand flat against the side of a building and closed her eyes.

She hadn’t been this drunk since college days, and she didn’t intend to make the same stupid mistakes she’d made back then.

She shoved a hand into the pocket of her leather moto jacket and fumbled for her phone. Jeffrey had been right about one thing—she should call a taxi.

After she pulled the phone from her jacket, it slipped from her hand and bounced twice on the sidewalk before landing in the gutter.

She dropped to a crouch and stuck her hand over the curb to feel for the phone. The effort proved too much for her and she fell over onto her side.

Good thing her son couldn’t see her now, passed out like a wino in the gutter.

She flexed her fingers toward her phone but lead weights had been attached to their tips—and her eyelids. DC Metro would pick her up and she’d lose her job for sure.

“Sue? Sue? You’re coming with me now.”

An arm curled around her shoulders and pulled her upright. Jeffrey. He’d followed her out to finish what he’d started.

She arched her back, but her gelatinous spine sabotaged the act and she collapsed against Jeffrey’s chest.

He had her.

“It’s all right. I’m taking you to my hotel.”

Her lips parted and she uttered a protest, but just like everything in her life lately, the situation had already spiraled out of her control.

Her mind screamed resistance, but her body had already succumbed.






SUE STRETCHED HER limbs and rubbed her eyes, the silky, soft sheets falling from her shoulders. Then the memories from the night before tumbled through her mind in a kaleidoscope of images.

She bolted upright against the king-size bed’s headboard, yanking the sheets to her chin to cover her naked body.

Had Jeffrey raped and abandoned her at the hotel? Was his name even Jeffrey?

The bathroom door crashed open and a large man stopped cold on the threshold. “God, you look beautiful even after the night you had.”

Sue’s mouth dropped open as she took in the man at the bathroom door, towel hanging precariously low on a pair of slim hips.

The man she’d betrayed and who still haunted her dreams…and it sure as hell wasn’t Jeffrey.




Chapter Two (#u959f237b-de31-5ca2-9074-91157dc71e88)


The look on Sue’s face shifted from shock to disbelief, to horror, to pain and to a whole bunch of other stuff he couldn’t figure out. And that had been his problem with Sue Chandler all along—he’d never been able to figure her out.

Those luscious lips finally formed a word, just one. “You.”

He spread his arms wide. “In the flesh. Did you expect me to leave you in the gutter, like you left me?”

“As I recall, it was a luxury hotel.” She patted the pillow next to her. “Somewhat like this one—and all I did was check out.”

“Details, details.”

She pointed at him. “Your towel is slipping. Not interested in seeing that package—again.”

The years hadn’t softened Sue Chandler one bit. He held up one finger. “Give me a second.”

As Sue turned her tight face away, he crossed the room to his suitcase, tugged a pair of briefs from an inside pocket, dropped his towel and pulled on his underwear.

“There.” He turned toward the bed. “Decent.”

Her gaze flicked over his body, making him hot and hard, as only Sue Chandler could do with one look from her dark eyes.

The twist of her lips told him she’d noticed the effect she had on him.

“Maybe not decent enough.” He yanked open a dresser drawer and pulled out some jeans. He stepped into them, feeling less cocky under Sue’s unrelenting stare, but he had the upper hand for once.

“Now, are you going to tell me what you were doing last night stumbling along the streets of DC close to midnight?”

“I live here.” Her jaw hardened. “What are you doing here and how did you happen to find me?”

“You’re not exactly hard to find. You work for the CIA and live in DC, and I knew you weren’t on assignment, not after…”

“You know about my kidnapping?” She drew her knees to her chest beneath the sheets, clasping her arms around her legs.

“Several special forces knew about it and were actively planning your rescue.” He tilted his head to the side. “But you didn’t need rescuing.”

“Don’t go throwing any parades. The kidnappers were not that bright.” She blinked. “Is that why you’re here? Have you been following me?”

“Whoa, wait.” He tossed his towel onto the foot of the bed. “I followed you from your place to the bar last night. That’s it. I just arrived yesterday.”

She sank back against the stacked pillows. “Why’d you follow me? Are you here on official duty, or something? I’ve already been debriefed by the Agency.”

“Official duty? Really? What would a Delta Force soldier have to do with the kidnapping of a CIA agent?”

“Don’t try that ‘Who, me?’ stuff with me, Mancini. You didn’t seek me out to profess your undying love. You had three years to do that—and not a peep.”

He reached into the closet and jerked a shirt from a hanger, leaving it swinging wildly. “You’re not gonna pin that on me. I got the message loud and clear that you were moving on. Did you expect me to chase after you?”

Sue opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. Then her eyes widened and she gathered the covers around her body. “I’m naked. How did I get naked?”

“I took your clothes off—sorry.” He gestured to a pile of clothing in the corner of the room. “Yours were dirty. I didn’t think it was sanitary to put you to bed in filthy clothes.”

“How thoughtful.” She snorted. “I fell on the sidewalk. I’m sure you could’ve brushed the dirt from my slacks and left my underwear alone.”

He cleared his throat. “You vomited all over yourself when I got you to the room.”

“Oh my God.” She covered her mouth with both hands. “I don’t know what happened last night. I—I apologize.”

“Nothing I haven’t handled hundreds of times before with my buddies. I’m sure we can send your clothes to the hotel’s laundry or dry cleaning. I already cleaned off your boots and jacket.”

“I don’t know what to say. I’m embarrassed. I’m not sure what came over me. I did have a lot of wine last night, but I’ve never felt that way before.”

“I’m thinking the fact that you upchucked saved you.”

“Saved me from what?”

“Whatever was in your system.”

“You mean besides the alcohol?” She twisted a lock of dark brown hair around her finger, not looking surprised at all. “What do you know? Why are you here in DC?”

He swallowed against his dry throat. He had to concentrate, but remembering Sue naked in bed had his thoughts scrambled.

Should he pretend he was here for her instead of trying to explain the real reason? He met those dark, shimmering eyes that seemed to see into his very soul. He couldn’t lie to Sue—not that she’d believe him, anyway.

“I got a message from Major Denver.”

“Major Rex Denver? AWOL Delta Force commander?”

“You know as well as I do that he isn’t and never has been working with any terrorist organization against the US government. One of your own translators proved the emails she’d received implicating him were phony.”

“I’ve heard all the stories, but if he’s innocent, why won’t he come in? Why is he sending messages to you instead?”

“He doesn’t feel it’s safe yet. He’s already been the victim of a setup, and he doesn’t trust anyone.”

“Yeah, I understand that.” Sue bit her bottom lip. “What was the message? What are you supposed to do?”

“Contact you?”

“What? Why?”

“He believes the people who kidnapped you belong to the same group he’s trying to bring down, the same group that he believes is planning some kind of spectacular attack.”

Sue clenched the sheets in her fists. “Why does he think that?”

Hunter’s pulse jumped. Again, no surprised looks from Sue. “Something his informant told him. Why? What happened during that kidnapping? Did they ever give you any reason why they snatched you?”

“Wait.” She massaged her temple with two fingers. “I can’t take all this in right now, especially not huddled under the covers with no clothes on. I need a shower. I need breakfast. I need clothes.”

“The shower’s all yours. I can send your clothes out to the laundry right now, if you’re okay with eating room service wearing my sweats and T-shirt.” He took a step to the side and slid open the closet door. He reached in, his hand closing around the fluffy terrycloth of a hotel robe. “You can wear this into the bathroom.”

“Thanks.”

She uttered the word between clenched teeth, almost grudgingly, but he’d take it at this point. Her reception of him had been chillier than he’d expected, especially since she was the one who had ended their brief affair by leaving him in his hotel room with no note, no phone call, no explanation.

He placed the robe across her lap, dropping it quickly and jerking back. Being close to Sue again had proven to be more difficult than he’d expected when he first got Denver’s message. Undressing her last night and putting her to bed had been an exquisite torture. His hands lingering on her smooth flesh had screamed violation, so he’d made quick work of it.

“I’m going to bag your stuff and call housekeeping. I’ll put a rush on it, so your clothes will be ready by the time we finish breakfast.” He pinched the strap of her lacy bra between two fingers and held it up. “Anything need special attention or dry cleaning?”

“Everything is machine washable.” She flicked her fingers in the air. “Turn around, please.”

Not like he hadn’t already seen every inch of her beautiful body.

“Yes, ma’am.” He turned his back on her and stuffed her clothing into the hotel’s plastic bag for laundry, as she rustled behind him.

She slammed the bathroom door before he even rose from the floor with her bag of clothing dangling from his fingertips.

Blowing out a breath, he wedged a shoulder against the closet. He knew it wouldn’t be easy reconnecting with Sue after what had happened in Paris, but she couldn’t completely blame him for not contacting her, could she?

They’d met at a party of expats. He knew she was CIA, and she knew he was Delta Force on leave. They’d approached their relationship as a fling and had been enjoying each other’s company until she’d turned cold. He’d assumed at the time it was because she knew they’d have to end their Paris idyll once he got deployed, even though he’d been ready to ask her to wait for him.

Maybe it hadn’t been the wisest decision for him to get involved with someone so soon after separating from his wife, and maybe she got that vibe from him, although he hadn’t gotten around to telling her about his wife. He hadn’t wanted to open that can of worms until he’d gotten a signal from Sue that they had some kind of future. Once she’d shut that down, he’d shut down, too. He didn’t need any more women in his life who couldn’t accept his military career.

He pushed off the closet and grabbed the phone by the bed. He requested a laundry pickup and then room service, ordering eggs, bacon, the works. From what he’d seen of Sue’s body last night, she still must work out and burn calories at a ferocious rate. With Sue’s dedication to running, kickboxing and Krav Maga, he’d had no trouble imagining her escaping from a gaggle of hapless terrorists—even though others did.

He’d heard rumblings that Sue faked her kidnapping and miraculous escape but hadn’t heard about any motive. Why would she fake a kidnapping in Istanbul? Glory? Sue wasn’t like that. Didn’t need that. The woman he’d met in Paris kept her head down and got to work. No nonsense. No drama.

And that’s how she’d ended their affair.

The bathroom door swung open, and Sue poked her head into the room. “Can they do my clothes?”

“They haven’t picked up yet, but they assured me they could have them ready by noon. Is that okay?” He glanced at the clock by the tousled bed. “You don’t have to get to work?”

“I have a few days off. That’s why I was out last night with my friend.”

“When your friend left the bar with that guy, I thought maybe…” He shrugged.

“You thought I’d be leaving with someone, too?” She tucked a lock of wet hair beneath the towel wrapped around her head. “Queen of the one-night stands?”

“What we had wasn’t…”

He choked to a stop as she sliced a hand through the air. “Don’t want to discuss it.”

“Housekeeping.” The sharp rap at the door had him pivoting to answer it. He handed the bag to the woman. “I was told the clothes could be returned by noon.”

“That’s what I have on the order, sir.”

By the time he turned back to the room, Sue had grabbed what she needed from his bag and retreated to the bathroom.

He ran a hand across his mouth. He didn’t understand her anger at him. He hadn’t been the one who abruptly left Paris without a word, without even a note on the pillow.

She’d hurt him more than he’d cared to admit, but he’d chalked it up to being dumped and accepted it as a sign that he shouldn’t have gotten involved with someone so soon after Julia left.

Maybe Sue had expected him to run after her, pursue her, but he hadn’t had the energy at that time for games and he’d let her go without a fight—clearly his loss.

She emerged from the bathroom again, yanking up the waistband of a pair of gray sweats that swam on her.

“I can turn up the thermostat in the room if you just wanna wear the big T-shirt.”

“That’s all right. I don’t plan to run any marathons, or even leave the room.”

The next knock on the door brought breakfast, and Hunter added a tip and signed the check. He lifted the cover on the first plate. “Eggs, bacon, hash browns. Is that okay?”

“Toast?”

“Under this one.” He plucked a cover from a rack of toast. “Coffee?”

“Please.”

She’d exchanged her ire for a cold civility. He couldn’t decide which stung more. Over the years, he’d built up some ridiculous significance to their fling—Sue just set him straight.

He poured her a cup of coffee and nudged the cream and sugar toward her where she’d taken up a place across the table from him.

She dumped some cream into her coffee, picked up the cup and leveled a gaze at him over the rim. “Where did you sleep last night?”

His own coffee sloshed over the side of his cup. “The sofa.”

“That small thing?”

“My legs hung over the edge, but I’ve had worse.”

All the questions that must be bubbling in her brain and that one came to the surface first?

“Look, this is what happened.” He slurped a sip of coffee for fortification. “I’d followed you to the bar from your place. I watched the entrance, waiting for you to come out, and I was going to approach you then.”

“Why not sooner?”

“I told you, I’d just arrived in the afternoon, and I didn’t have your address right away. Figured you’d be at work, anyway. By the time I got around to finding your place, you were on the move. I didn’t want to interrupt your evening. I thought about leaving you a note, but…”

“You figured I might not contact you.”

“So, I followed you to the bar and waited.”

“How’d you know I was with Dani? A woman? You mentioned seeing my friend leave with a man.”

He cleared his throat. “I went into the bar.”

“You were watching me inside the bar?” She stabbed at her eggs with a fork. “Creepy.”

His lips twitched. “Sorry. I didn’t stay long. Then I waited outside and saw your friend leave.”

“Just in time to see me staggering out.”

“Scared the hell out of me.”

“Why?”

“It didn’t look…normal, and I knew you weren’t a big drinker, or at least you weren’t in Paris.” There he was, acting like some big expert on Sue Chandler.

“It didn’t feel normal.” She dropped a half-eaten piece of toast onto her plate. “If that guy I was with, Jeffrey, drugged me, what did his friend do to Dani? And why would they want to do anything to either of us?”

“Before we try to answer that second question, why don’t you give Dani a call?” He crumpled his napkin next to his plate and grabbed her phone off the charger. “I found your phone charger in your purse and took the liberty of hooking you up.”

“Thanks. Seems like you thought of everything.”

“Except that change of clothes.” He dropped the phone into her palm.

While Sue called her friend, Hunter shook out his napkin and listened. Everything sounded okay on this end. Maybe he’d been wrong about Sue being in danger.

She ended the call and tapped the edge of the phone against her chin.

“Everything okay?”

“Dani’s already home. Seems Mason was the perfect gentleman. She passed out in his hotel room, and he checked out before she woke up. He left her a note telling her to order anything she wanted from room service and to take her time. And she woke up with all her clothes on…which is more than I can say for myself.”

“Maybe Dani passed out before she had a chance to hurl all over herself.”

“Don’t remind me.” She made a face and stuck out her tongue.

“That’s good, then. Dani is safe at home with her virginity intact.”

Sue covered her lower face with her napkin and raised her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“But she’s all right.”

“She is.”

“You don’t sound relieved.”

“I am relieved, but I’m puzzled.” She swirled her coffee in the cup, staring inside as if looking for answers there. “Why did we both have such strong reactions to a couple bottles of wine? Dani knows how to get her drink on. I’ve never seen her more than a little tipsy, and I haven’t gotten sick on booze since my college years, when we’d get an older classmate in our dorm to buy us a bottle of cheap rum and we’d mix it with diet soda.”

“Now I’m feeling sick.” He dusted toast crumbs from his fingertips into his napkin. “I don’t know why you’re confused. Just because Dani wasn’t assaulted, thank God, doesn’t mean the two of you weren’t drugged.”

“For what purpose? I just told you, Mason didn’t molest Dani, and I passed out in the gutter like a common drunk.”

“And I rescued you.”

“What?” Her eyebrows created a V over her nose. “Rescued me from what?”

“I think I rescued you from Jeffrey.” He held out his hand as Sue began to rise from her chair. “Just wait. Did you think he was going to haul you out of the bar in front of witnesses? Did he suggest walking you out or to your car?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe he planned to make his move then.”

“What move?” Sue hugged herself. “Now you’re scaring me.”

“I’m not sure, Sue. Those two men, Mason and Jeffrey, or whatever their names are, zeroed in on you and Dani. They slipped you some something and Mason was charged with getting Dani away while Jeffrey was supposed to take care of you.”

“‘Take care of’? What the hell are you talking about, Mancini?”

“You were kidnapped once and you escaped. What did your captors want with you? Did you think that was going to end just because you escaped?”

This time she did jump up from her chair, and it tipped backward with a thump.

“That was Istanbul. This is DC.” She twisted her napkin in front of her.

He raised one eyebrow. “You ever hear of travel by airplane? It’s a newfangled invention.”

She fired her napkin at him. “Why are you joking? This is serious. You’re trying to tell me the people who kidnapped me in Turkey are trying to recapture me here?”

“It’s a strong possibility, especially in light of the message Denver sent me.”

She stalked to the end of the room, spun around and stalked back. “You said you arrived in DC just yesterday afternoon?”

“Yeah, why?” His heart thumped against his rib cage. He recognized that look on her face—the flared nostrils, the pursed lips, the wide eyes, as if to take in everything in front of them.

“I felt—” she rubbed her upper arms “—like I was being followed the past few weeks. That wasn’t you?”

“Nope, but it must’ve been someone. Your instincts are sharp.” He rose from the chair and stationed himself by the window.

“They usually are.” She aimed a piercing look at him from her dark eyes and he almost felt the stab in his heart.

He cleared his throat. “Then I think it’s clear what we need to do.”

“It is? And who’s this we?”

“Me and you. We need to figure out why you were snatched in the first place and what it has to do with Denver.” He rubbed his hands together, the thought of being with Sue, of working beside Sue, making his blood sing.

“I don’t think so, Mancini.”

“What? Why? Major Denver’s life might depend on it, not to mention your safety.”

“You and I working together? Spending days and nights together? Heads together?”

“Yeah.” He couldn’t stop his mouth watering at the prospect, especially when she put it like that.

“We both know that’s a prescription for disaster.”

“Why is that?” He folded his arms and braced a shoulder against the window, knowing damn well why she thought his idea stunk but wanting to hear it from her lips.

“I… We…” Her cheeks sported two red flags.

He’d never seen Sue flustered before. Could he help it if it gave him a prick of satisfaction?

A knock on the door broke the tension between them, and he silently cursed the hotel staff as Sue crawled back into bed.

The knock repeated, accompanied by a male voice. “Housekeeping. Laundry.”

Hunter stepped away from the window, his gait slow. Once Sue got her clothes and got the hell out of here, he’d never see her again. He knew how she operated.

Denver had pegged the wrong man for the job if he wanted intel out of Sue. She wouldn’t give him the time of day—even after what they’d shared three years ago.

He swung open the door. “Right on time.”

The hotel worker charged into the room with Sue’s clothes bagged and draped over his arm. As he brushed past Hunter, the plastic covering the clothing crinkled.

Hunter staggered back. “Whoa.”

Before Hunter regained his balance, the clothes slid from the man’s arm…revealing a weapon clutched in his hand.




Chapter Three (#u959f237b-de31-5ca2-9074-91157dc71e88)


Sue stared down the barrel of the .38. Her jaw tensed, along with every other muscle in her body.

Hunter made a slight move, and the man with the gun leveled it at her head. “Stay back or I’ll take the shot, and it doesn’t have to end this way. We just want to talk to her.”

“Who’s we?” Hunter’s voice came out in a growl that made the hair on the back of Sue’s neck stand on end.

“You need to get lost. You don’t want to be involved with her—trust me.” The man’s lips curled into a lopsided sneer.

Sue’s hands tightened into fists around the bed covers. She not only had to stop this guy from shooting her or abducting her; she had to stop him from outing her to Hunter.

With his words, the man had made it clear he didn’t have the slightest idea he had a member of Delta Force looming behind him. Good. They’d use that to their advantage. She had to hope the same thought had occurred to Hunter at the same time.

In one movement, Sue yanked the covers over her body and rolled off the bed, toward her would-be kidnapper’s knees. She barreled into his legs at about the same time she heard the whiz of his gun’s silencer right over her head.

The man grunted and kneed her in the side of the face. Then she felt him go down with a thud, followed by a sickening crack. She yanked the bedspread from her head and came eye to bulging eye with the intruder as Hunter choked off his breath.

The sleeper hold worked like a charm, and the man slumped to the side, his weapon inches from his useless hand.

Panting, Sue scrambled to her feet. “Good work. I thought you’d take advantage of the situation.”

“And I’m glad you made that situation possible, even though he could’ve shot right into those bunched-up covers and hit some part of you.” Hunter crouched beside the unconscious man and thumbed up one of his eyelids.

“What now? He’s going to come to any minute.” And she didn’t want this guy talking. Sue dropped to her knees and reached across Hunter, grabbing the gun by the silencer.

The man’s lids fluttered and he coughed. His eyes widened and his body bucked.

Sue brought the butt of the gun down on the back of the man’s skull and he pitched forward again, a stream of blood spouting from his wound.

Hunter cocked his head. “That’s one way to handle it.”

“I’m the one he was aiming at. I didn’t want to take any chances.” She put two fingers against his neck. “I didn’t kill him.”

“We definitely don’t want to leave any dead bodies behind.” He pointed at the gun, dangling from her fingers. “You wanna take care of that?”

Rising to her feet, Sue kicked aside the last of the covers wrapped around her ankles and headed for the bathroom. She grabbed a hand towel from the rack and wrapped the gun in its folds.

She returned to the bedroom, placed the gun on the nightstand and knelt across from Hunter, who was rummaging through the man’s pockets. “Any luck?”

“A little cash and…this.” He held up a cell phone. Then he dropped it and tapped her cheek with his fingertip. “What happened? The side of your face is all red.”

“He bashed me in the face on his way down.” The throbbing of her cheekbone turned into a tingle under Hunter’s gentle touch. “I’ll get some ice on it. Phone.”

“I’m assuming you have no idea who this guy is or what he wanted?” Hunter’s blue eyes narrowed like a jungle cat’s.

Had the man’s words advising Hunter not to get involved with her registered with Hunter?

She shrugged. “No clue, but I’m guessing he’s connected to Jeffrey from last night or maybe the kidnapping in Istanbul or maybe even my suspension from the CIA.”

Hunter’s head jerked up from the cell phone. “You didn’t tell me you’d been suspended. Why?”

“Anonymous tips and emails. Sound familiar?”

“Same tactics used against Major Denver.” He scratched his chin with the edge of the phone. “This is getting more and more tangled.”

You have no idea, Hunter.

She nudged the inert form on the carpet with her knuckle. “How much time do you think we have?”

“That was a hard blow to the head. I think you bought us fifteen minutes at a minimum.” He jabbed his finger at the pile of clothes on the floor. “At least he brought your laundry.”

“And look how you tipped him.”

He held up one hand. “I just choked him out. You’re the one who delivered the lights-out.”

Sue ripped the plastic from her slacks and blouse and clutched them to her chest as she backed up toward the bathroom. “I’m going to get dressed, and then we need to leave. I’m not going to explain this situation to hotel security.”

“Neither is he.” Hunter made a move toward his suitcase parked by the door. “I’ll put the Do Not Disturb hanger on the doorknob to buy him some time. When he comes to, he’ll want to hightail it out of here.”

“You’re right.” She tapped her cheek. “Can you grab some ice from the machine for my face while I’m getting dressed?”

“I’m on it.”

As she stepped into her slacks, she heard the door open and close, and she eased out a sigh. Who the hell was that in the other room? Was The Falcon right? Had she been made?

She wouldn’t put those strong-arm tactics past the Agency, either, so it could be someone following up on her suspension. Her life was becoming more complex than usual—and the appearance of Hunter Mancini had just added to the mayhem. But what sweet mayhem.

Those blue eyes of his held the same hypnotic quality she hadn’t been able to resist in Paris—even though hooking up with Hunter had broken all the rules. She hadn’t given a damn then, and she didn’t give a damn right now.

She needed someone on her side. Someone she could trust. Someone she could reach out and grab—unlike The Falcon, a nameless, faceless contact spitting orders at her.

The banging of the door made her jump. She smoothed the blouse over her hips and straightened her spine. Time to get to work.

She exited the bathroom and almost ran into Hunter, dangling a bag of ice from his fingertips.

“You looking for another black eye?”

“I don’t think I’m going to get a black eye, but I can see a bruise forming on my cheek.” She took the bag from him and pressed it against her face with a shiver. “You have toiletries in the bathroom.”

“Thanks, I’ll grab them, and then we’ll get out of here.”

“Did you check his phone?”

“Password protected.” He patted the pocket of his button-up shirt. “We’ll figure it out.”

Sue stepped over their conked-out guest on the floor on the way to her boots. Perching on the edge of the bed, she pulled them on. “You have everything? Do you need to check out?”

Hunter stuffed his toiletry bag into his suitcase, along with the wrapped-up gun, and zipped it. “I’ll call the hotel later and tell them I had a change of plans. I don’t want housekeeping coming up here anytime soon, not until our friend wakes up and gets out of Dodge.”

“Do you have another place in mind?” She strode to the credenza and grabbed her purse, her own weapon stashed in the side pocket.

“Your place?”

Her head whipped around and she swallowed hard. “No.”

“From the outside, the place looks big enough for the two of us.” He drew a cross over his heart. “I promise not to undress you and put you to bed anymore—unless you need it.”

She snorted. “I’m not going to need it, and staying at my place would be a bad, bad idea. You don’t think these goons…whoever they are…know where I live?”

“Your building looks secure and we’re both armed.” He tipped his head at the man on the floor. “I think we can handle anything that comes our way.”

Hunter wouldn’t be able to handle anything in that townhouse.

“I think it would be best if you found yourself another hotel.” She hitched her purse over her shoulder. “I may even join you.”

Hunter’s blue eyes darkened. “Does this mean you’re gonna work with me to figure out if the guys who snatched you are the ones working against Denver? ’Cause you were dead-set against that before this guy came along and pulled a gun on you.”

“Exactly. He made me change my mind.”

“Maybe I should thank him—or at least make him more comfortable.” Hunter returned to the bathroom and came out swinging a hand towel.

He crouched beside the man and wrapped the cloth around his head, pressing it against his wound. Then he jerked back.

“We need to leave—now.”

“Is he coming around?” Sue lunged for the hotel door and plucked the hanger from the handle.

“His color is coming back. It shouldn’t be too much longer now.” He stepped back from the body on the floor and grasped the handle of his suitcase. “Lead the way.”

Sue held the door open for him as he wheeled his suitcase into the hallway. She eased the door closed and slipped the Do Not Disturb sign onto the handle.

When they got to the elevator, Hunter punched the button for a floor on the parking level.

“You have a car?”

“A rental. Do you have any suggestions for my next stop?”

“Is money a consideration, or no?” Her gaze flicked over his expensive suitcase, black leather jacket and faded jeans, which told her nothing except the man was still hotter than blazes.

“No.” He lifted one eyebrow toward the black hair swept back from his forehead.

“Then I’d suggest the Hay-Adams. It’s in the heart of everything, too crowded for us to stand out, too busy for us to be accosted at gunpoint in the parking lot, too expensive not to have security cameras everywhere.”

“That’s where your friend, Dani, was taken last night.”

“Exactly. Maybe we can do a little research on those two guys from last night.” She patted her purse. “I didn’t tell you I took a picture of Jeffrey.”

“A selfie of the two of you?”

Her brows snapped together. “Insurance in case he raped and murdered me.”

“Quick thinking. I didn’t get a good look at either one of them when I snuck into the bar last night for surveillance.”

“Not very good surveillance, then.” She clicked her tongue.

“I didn’t want to out myself by staring.”

The elevator dinged, and Hunter jabbed at the button to hold open the doors. “After you.”

Once he loaded his bag into his rental car and pulled out of the parking structure, she directed him to the next hotel. He maneuvered through the busy streets like a pro, and they left the car with the valet in front of the hotel.

She hovered at his elbow as he checked in, drumming her fingers on the reception desk. She’d played up her fear over returning to her own place, as there was no way in hell she could have him inside her townhouse, but she’d have to explain somehow that she felt perfectly safe returning home on her own. She couldn’t stay in this hotel with Hunter—not again.

She had very little self-control when it came to this man—and she needed her self-control.

“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts. Let us know if you need anything.” The clerk smiled as she shoved a key card toward Sue.

Sue blinked and then swept the card from the counter and pocketed it.

As Hunter wheeled his suitcase toward the elevator, she hissed into his ear, “Who the hell is Mr. Roberts? Or Mrs. Roberts, for that matter?”

“That would be us, dear.” He winked at her. “You’re not the only one who knows how to play spy. I have a whole new identity for my stay in DC. I told you that I’m not here on official duty and I don’t want my actions to be tracked.”

“You have all the credentials?” She tilted her head. “Driver’s license, credit cards?”

“I do. Mr. Roberts even has a passport.”

She held the elevator door open for him as he dragged his suitcase inside. “I feel so humbled now that I know how easy it is for anyone to fake a new ID.”

“Spare me.” He nudged her shoulder. “As if you don’t know all about that. Half the time the Agency can’t locate someone, it’s because he or she adopted a new identity.”

“Just like I’m sure Jeffrey on my phone is not really a Jeffrey.”

“He must’ve followed us back to my hotel and notified the second shift…if he was in on it.”

“I’m pretty sure that was no coincidence—passing out and then the attempted abduction this morning. They didn’t expect you to be there, that’s for sure.”

The elevator settled on their floor, and they exited. Sue got her card out when they reached the room and slid it home. She poked her head inside before widening the door for Hunter and his bag. “Just making sure nobody is here before us.”

“They were good last night, but not that good.” He wheeled his suitcase into the corner and then bounced on the edge of the king-size bed. “Plenty of room for the two of us—your side and my side.”

No time to burst his bubble now. She curled her lips into a perfunctory smile. “Should we get to work on the phone now before it’s deactivated?”

“Do you have any tricks of the trade to find out or bypass the password?” He fished the would-be kidnapper’s phone from his pocket and tossed it onto the bed beside him.

“I might have a few tricks up my sleeve.” She wedged a knee on the bed and scooped up the phone. “In the meantime, why don’t you have a look at Jeffrey’s picture just in case? We could send it in for facial recognition—if I were still in good standing with the CIA.”

“Yeah, I was counting on you having all the Agency’s resources at your disposal. Now I’ll just have to do this the sneaky way.”

She paused as she drew her phone from her purse, holding it in midair. “Are you telling me you have a contact in the CIA? Someone to do your bidding?”

“Do my bidding? I wouldn’t put it like that, but yeah, I have a little helper.”

Shaking her head, she said, “That agency has more leaks than a colander.”

She tapped her photos to bring up Jeffrey’s picture. “Give me your number and I’ll send it to you.”

“I can just look at it on your phone.” He snapped his fingers.

“It’s better if we have a copy, anyway.” She held her finger poised above her display. “Number?”

“Is this your sneaky way of getting my cell? You could just ask, you know.” He rattled off his cell number and she entered it into her phone.

Actually, it was just her sneaky way of keeping him away from her phone. She didn’t keep pictures on her cell, but she didn’t need Hunter looking at her text messages.

She tapped her screen with a flourish. “There. The picture is on its way. Now, I’ll get to work on this phone.”

She dragged a chair to the window and kicked up her feet onto the chair across from it. She powered on the stranger’s cell, which they’d turned off to avoid any tracking, but turning it back on couldn’t be helped.

“This guy your type?” Hunter held up his phone with Jeffrey’s mug on the display.

“Tall, dark and handsome?” She snorted. “You could say that.”

Hunter brought the phone up to his nose and squinted. “How tall was he?”

“Tall enough.” Sue eyed Hunter’s lanky frame stretched out on the bed, his feet hanging off the edge.

With a smile curling her lip, she hunched over the cell phone again.

Sue clicked through the phone to access a few of the backdoor methods she’d learned at the Agency for bypassing a password to get into a phone. These worked especially well for burner phones like this one—and she knew a thing or two about burner phones.

She glanced up as Hunter swung his legs off the side of the bed, hunching over his phone, his back to her. Seconds later, his cell buzzed and he murmured a few words into his phone.

He must’ve reached his secret CIA contact—one who hadn’t been suspended from the Agency. She just hoped he knew to keep her name off his lips.

A few taps later, the gunman’s phone came to life in her hand. She slid another glance toward Hunter’s back and launched the man’s text messages and recent contacts.

Hunter ended his own call and stood up, stretching his arms to the ceiling. “I’m going to grab a soda from the machine down the hall. Want something?”

“Something diet, please.” Tucking her hair behind one ear, she glanced up and pasted a smile on her lips.

When the door closed behind Hunter, Sue began transferring the data from the stranger’s phone to her own—contacts, pictures, texts and call history.

When she reached the last bit of data, Hunter charged into the room, a can of soda in each hand. “Any luck with that?”

She slumped in her chair, clutching the phone in her hand. “Not yet.”

Then she tapped the display one last time to erase everything the man had on his burner phone.




Chapter Four (#u959f237b-de31-5ca2-9074-91157dc71e88)


Hunter snapped open Sue’s can of soda and leaned over her shoulder, placing it on the table in front of her. The click of the aluminum against the wood made her jump and flush to the roots of her dark hair as she jerked her head around.

“Did I scare you?” He dropped his hand to her shoulder briefly.

“I didn’t realize you were right behind me.”

“You were too engrossed in that phone.” He opened his own soda and sank to the edge of the bed. “It’s a bummer you can’t get anything from it.”

She placed the phone facedown on the table and spun it around. “None of my tricks are working. Phones are getting more and more sophisticated now and harder to break into. I think the CIA needs to get its cyber division on this to come up with some methods to bypass the new security measures.”

“Speaking of the Agency and security measures, my contact thinks he can run Jeffrey’s picture through face recognition. If he’s on the intelligence radar, we should get a hit.”

“He?” Sue twisted the tab off her can. “Is he stationed here in DC?”

“Oh no, you don’t. I don’t give up my sources, not even to other sources.” He leveled a finger at her. “And that should give you some sense of comfort.”

She tucked one long leg beneath her. “Did you ever tell anyone about us? I mean our brief affair in Paris?”

Brief? Had their affair been brief? He’d been so lost in Sue, lost in Paris that the world had seemed light-years away, and he’d felt suspended in time. Ever since then, he’d measured everything in terms of before Sue and after Sue. And everything before seemed to be a pale imitation of what came after.

Under her penetrating dark eyes, he felt a flush creep up from his chest. “I did tell a few people—my Delta Force team. That’s all. It’s how Major Denver knew to task me with contacting you.”

“I see.” She braced one elbow on the table and buried her chin in her palm.

“Did you?” He held his breath for some reason.

“No.”

The word didn’t come out as forceful as the expression on her face. She had told someone.

“Our affair was a mistake.” She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.




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