by Cynthia Eden
“No.” Her voice was curt. “Where are we going?”
“A safe house. I’m not transferring you out of the area just yet...”
Her shoulders brushed back against the seat. “Because you’re too busy doing housecleaning at the agency?”
“Every case Ronald ever worked will have to be reviewed. Every member of his team—past and present units—will need to undergo a thorough investigation. If he sent Porter down here on an execution mission for you, then that means he could have been using other agents to do his dirty work, too. Everyone who has been working with Ronald is under suspicion.”
Celia understood exactly what was happening. “A nightmare.”
“And it’s just beginning.” Alexandra exhaled heavily. “I don’t know how deep this goes. I don’t know who in that unit is loyal to the organization or who was just a puppet on a string for Ronald. Every single person must be vetted.”
“Where do I come in?” Celia asked. Part of her was afraid to find out.
“You’re dangerous,” Alexandra said flatly.
Some days. True.
“You’re obviously a threat. Ronald thought you knew something that would incriminate either him or the shooter he’d been working with. And that fact means you’re valuable. Valuable alive.”
“So I am in protective custody,” Celia murmured. Her gaze slid toward the front of the SUV. The driver appeared to be completely focused on the road, but she knew he would be closely monitoring their conversation.
“He’s been vetted,” Alexandra said. “And because of his personal connection to the McGuires, I thought Monroe could be of assistance to me. This tangled web is closing around them, after all.”
Monroe. The name clicked for Celia. She’d recruited Monroe Blake herself. An ex-SEAL, the guy had been a perfect candidate for the Special Activities Division. Tough, fearless and with a drive that had impressed everyone in the unit, Monroe had fit right in with the team.
Monroe braked the SUV at a red light. “I know Davis,” he said, his rumbling voice carrying back to them. “He’s a good man, and when Alexandra briefed me on what was happening, I volunteered to haul butt down here to help.”
It was great that he said that, but Celia was past the point of taking anyone at their word.
“It hurts, doesn’t it?” Alexandra asked her. “When you look around and realize that everyone else could be as good a liar as you are.”
She’d been trained to lie by the agency. “Covers were a natural part of this business. Turning on your teammate wasn’t.”
The light changed and Monroe accelerated.
“The shooter needs to be brought in alive,” Alexandra said. “I’ll personally handle his interrogation. He’ll tell me just how deep this thing goes.”
“It’s not like he’s just going to offer himself up for capture,” Celia pointed out. If Alexandra thought so, she was living in a dream world.
“No, he won’t.” Alexandra paused a beat. “That’s where you’ll come in. Let’s just see how eager he really is for you to be eliminated from the picture.”
Ah, now it made sense. Celia fully understood just why she’d been whisked out of that jail cell by the most powerful woman in the CIA.
It wasn’t about being kept safe.
It was about being used as bait.
* * *
SULLIVAN WAITED UNTIL all the lights were off in the little house at the end of Juniper Drive. He kept his vehicle well hidden, and he stayed in the shadows of the old trees that lined the street. There’d been a flurry of activity in that little house before, but all was silent now.
Celia was in that house. He’d seen her go in.
She hadn’t come out.
He checked his weapon. It sure was getting ever harder to tell the good guys from the bad in this little game. He wasn’t going to take any chances. He would be getting Celia out of there. Until she was back at his side, he felt as if he couldn’t draw a deep enough breath. Fear gnawed at him. He knew both of them were in the sights of a killer.
Together, they’d be the stronger team.
He slipped toward the house. He’d studied the exterior for a while, looking for the best spot to gain entrance, and right now...he went to the side window. A quick swipe of his knife and he’d cut the screen. Would the house be wired with an alarm?
If so, then when he lifted that window, everyone inside would know he was there, but...
But he hadn’t seen any signs of an alarm. The house had been taken at short notice, so he wasn’t thinking that full precautions had been implemented, not yet.
Sucking in a deep breath, he reached for the lock on that window. Breaking it wasn’t hard, and then he just pushed that window right on up...
No alarm shrieked and his breath slid past his lips.
* * *
SHE HEARD THE creak of the old wooden floor. Celia hadn’t been asleep in that little bed; her mind had been too busy spinning. But when she heard that creak, her eyes strained to see in the darkness and she reached under the mattress, searching for the knife she’d insisted on getting before Alexandra left her.
I won’t stay unarmed.
Alexandra had slipped her the knife before she walked away. She’d also gotten rid of the cuffs, a very good thing.
There were no more creaks. Only a heavy silence, but Celia was sure someone was closing in on her. Moving closer and—
A hand pressed to her mouth. Rough, hard, strong.
She swung up with her knife.
“Baby, try not to cut anything vital.”
That rough whisper belonged to Sullivan. She stilled instantly, the knife probably far too close to his throat.
“Good, I appreciate that restraint,” he muttered.
She dropped the knife and threw her arms around him. Celia yanked Sullivan down on the bed with her as her heart galloped in her chest.
“Knew you were in here, smelled the sweet flowers as soon as I opened the window,” he rasped, his breath blowing lightly over her ear.
She smelled like flowers? No way, she probably smelled like a jail cell. She was even still wearing her prison gray! Alexandra had promised to bring her new clothes come morning, but—
The lights flashed on.
She blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness.
“Get the hell away from her,” a hard male voice snarled.
Sullivan tensed against her. “I’m guessing there was an alarm set to go off when I opened that window, after all.” But he didn’t sound particularly concerned. Very slowly, he eased away from her. “Must’ve been a silent alarm.”
“Drop your weapon.” That was Monroe barking the orders, because he was the guard who’d been left to make sure she stayed alive.
And didn’t escape. Not until Alexandra came up with a full plan, anyway. A plan to use me.
“The thing is,” Sullivan drawled, “I’d rather not be unarmed.”
Monroe glared at him. “Look, fellow, this isn’t a debate, it’s—”
A man came up behind Monroe, moving fast, a dark shadow that rushed into the room. Monroe sensed the threat too late and whirled.
But a heavy fist drove into his jaw and Monroe fell back, slamming into the floor. Before he could lurch to his feet, Sullivan had his gun aimed at the guy’s head.
“Sullivan, stop!” Celia leaped toward them. “You don’t need another enemy!”
Monroe wiped away the blood that dripped from his mouth. “I recognize that hook...” His gaze slid toward the man who’d sneaked up behind him. “It’s been a long time, Davis.”
Her gaze swung between them.
Davis gave Monroe a grim smile.
“You know this joker, Davis?” Sullivan demanded. He didn’t lower his gun. And he still looked enraged.
“His name’s Monroe,” Davis offered. “And he saved my hide a time or two.”
“And you saved mine.” Monroe slanted a glance Sullivan’s way. “Sure didn’t expect you to find her so fast.�
�
“I never lost her.” Finally, his weapon lowered. “And you need to do a better job of checking for tails. I’m not the only one who could have followed you back to this place.”
Monroe flushed. “I did check for tails. You’re just...good.” That admission was grudging.
“Right. I’m good. So good that I’m about to walk right out that door with Celia.” Sullivan caught her hand in his and threaded their fingers. “Come on, baby, let’s go.”
He stepped forward.
And Monroe moved into their path. “Sorry.” He rubbed his jaw. “But that can’t happen.”
“The hell it can’t. You aren’t keeping Celia here! You don’t get to hold her against her will!” Sullivan blasted. “You don’t—”
“He’s not,” Celia said quietly, cutting through his words.
Sullivan’s head whipped toward her. “What?”
“I’m not here against my will. I’m here because I wanted to be.”
The poor guy still looked confused.
“Monroe is an agent with the Special Activities Division. He’s working for a woman named Alexandra Sanchez. For all intents and purposes, she is SAD now.” She pushed back her hair. “She’s the one who got me out of the police station, and she’s the one tracking the shooter.”
Davis swore.
Right. So Davis had obviously figured out where this was going, and, based on the darkening of Sullivan’s face, he knew, too.
“The shooter wants me dead,” Celia said. “So I’m going to be the bait to draw him out.”
It was odd. She’d never seen Sullivan’s eyes go quite that glacial before. Fury was supposed to be hot and burning, but his—his gaze was ice cold.
“Out,” Sullivan growled.
Her eyebrows rose.
“Davis...take your buddy Monroe and get out,” Sullivan ordered, his voice far too quiet. “My wife and I need to have a little chat.”
She flinched. Wife. That one word got beneath her skin.
“Uh, wife?” Davis seemed to focus on that word, too. “I mean, I know it’s been a busy twenty-four hours and all, but did I miss something? Celia said you were divorced—”
“She’s my wife.” His hand tightened on hers. “She’s mine, and I want to talk to her, alone, right now.”
“You aren’t going to change my mind,” Celia said.
He didn’t reply.
But Monroe and Davis headed for the door. She glared at them. Just because Sullivan said jump, it didn’t mean everyone had to leap so high. He was just a man. An angry, coldly enraged man.
The door closed behind Davis and Monroe. Jeez, so much for Monroe being her protection. Way to abandon me in the face of danger!
But they were gone, and she was suddenly alone with a very different Sullivan. She’d never seen him quite this way before, and for an instant, she hesitated.
Chapter Ten
“No,” Sullivan said instantly. “That can’t happen. It can’t.”
“I—”
He pulled her closer to him. “You can’t be afraid of me.” But he was seeing the fear in her eyes as she gazed up at him. “Anything but that. I will never hurt you.”
Her breath whispered out.
She was wearing a gray prison uniform. Her hair was pushed away from her face and her eyes—those big blue wonderful eyes—drifted slowly over his face.
“How well do we know each other?” Celia asked him.
“No one knows me better,” he said flatly. “Not my brothers. Not my sister. You know me, inside and out. I haven’t hidden my dark spots from you. You’re the only one who has ever seen me just as I am.” And that was why he couldn’t bear her fear. He needed Celia to accept all of him.
Just as he would accept all of her.
“Then you should know,” she said, “that I have to do this.”
“There’s no need for you to be put at risk!”
Her smile was bittersweet, those dimples almost painful to see. “We don’t have this man’s face. Not his name. He’s got a cover firmly in place, one he has hidden behind for years. But he’s come after me. He thinks I know something—he must believe I uncovered something that can expose him when I was digging for you.” She gave a little shrug. “As long as he believes that, then we have an advantage. He has to keep coming for me, and when he does, we can be ready for him.”
“Celia—”
“He’s a ghost now. One that has haunted you and your family for far too long. I’m going to stop him.”
He absorbed that. “I don’t want to change you.”
Her lips parted.
“Because I happen to think you’re pretty damn perfect just as you are.”
The fear was gone from her eyes. He couldn’t decipher the emotion that had replaced it.
“I’m not about forcing you to hide, because you’re right, that’s not you.” He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “But I will be at your side. You’re not being the bait when it’s my family at the center of this mess. He wants me dead, too. That bomb was in my car. You and me, Celia. Together. We’ll go after him together or not at all.”
Her gaze fell to her hand, cradled so close to his lips. “I always feel...warmth when you touch me.”
He felt a whole lot more than just warmth when he touched her.
“Sometimes I wouldn’t even realize I was cold, and then you’d be there.” Her lashes lifted. “I like it when you’re near. I like it when you touch me.”
His brother was right outside that door. The other guy—Monroe—was no doubt trying to eavesdrop and figure out what move Sullivan would be making next.
And the move he wanted to make? Getting Celia into the bed that waited just a few feet away.
Not here.
“We’re leaving,” he said as he cleared his throat. “Your new guard can come with us. Davis backs him up, and if you think he’s on our side...” He let those words trail away.
“I don’t have any reason to doubt him. Or Alexandra.”
That wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but Davis had seemed sure of the fellow.
“The guard can come with us. Only him, no one else.” Because he wasn’t ready to put his trust in Alexandra. “The ranch is a hell of a lot safer than this place. I’ll take you there, and then we’re not going to be bait.” He gave her a grim smile. “We’re going to be the hunters.”
* * *
ALEXANDRA SANCHEZ RODE the elevator up to her suite. It had truly been one hell of a day. This scandal was going to nearly destroy the Special Activities Division. Ronald Worth had certainly made a mess of things.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. She’d used a special card to access this floor, and she clutched that key card now as she headed into the hallway. The lush carpeting swallowed her footsteps.
At least Celia James was settled for the night. Monroe would keep a close watch on her. He was a good man, and one of the newer recruits. More important, he was a man she knew personally. She’d been involved in Monroe’s life for years. She could vouch for him, and she knew that Monroe would not let her down.
The hallway was dead silent. At this hour of the night, most folks were already asleep. She wanted to crash herself, but there was too much work to do before she could fall into bed.
Too much.
Retirement was starting to look pretty good to her.
Alexandra opened the door to her suite. She hurried inside.
She’d taken five steps before she realized she wasn’t alone.
He’d been as still as a statue, so she hadn’t even noticed him. Or maybe—maybe it had just been far too long since she was actually in the field. She’d lost her killer instinct.
Before she could flee back into the hallway, he managed to grab her. His arm locked around her neck and he yanked her up against his body, holding her tightly.
“You are so easy to predict,” he said, his voice rough and his breath blowing against her ear. “Ronald told me
that you always believed in doing things first-class. Once I realized you’d been called in, it took me no time to figure out which hotel you’d be in.” He laughed. “And a little bribe to the desk clerk got me your suite number.”
He was cutting off her air supply. She kicked back, but he moved, easily avoiding her defensive maneuver. She tried to slam back with her elbow, but he just laughed again.
“Oh, now, come on, you can do better than that. Or have you gotten soft...sitting behind that big fancy desk for all those years?”
She wasn’t soft. She twisted hard and managed to break free of him.
But he kept her purse. And her weapon.
In a flash, he had that weapon pointed right at her.
He smiled. “You don’t usually remember the ones who do the dirty work, do you? I spent a lifetime doing that dirty work...so much time. That blood will never come off my hands.”
“You haven’t worked for me,” Alexandra said definitely. Though there was something very familiar about him. Her gaze swept over him and lingered on his eyes.
Her heart beat even faster.
He just shrugged. “These days, I’m really more of a free agent.”
She inched back. She could grab the nearby lamp and use it as a weapon.
“I know you talked to Celia. I know you took Celia from the police station. Because, see, when I slipped in to finish her off, she was gone.” He sounded angry. Maybe she could use that anger against him. “Just what did she say to you?”
He thinks Celia knows who he is. She’d let him keep believing that. “Celia stayed with Ronald until he died.” She gave him her own grim smile. “You know how it is when death is so near. People always want to unburden their souls.” He wasn’t supposed to be here. She wasn’t the bait. Celia was. Only...
He couldn’t find Celia, so he came after me.
She should have stayed at that little safe house with Celia and Monroe.
“He confessed?” the man demanded.
Alexandra hesitated. He’d come here without a mask. He’d stepped right into the light to show his face to her. She knew what that meant.
He doesn’t intend to let me leave this room alive.
But she wasn’t going down without a fight.