At Any Cost

by Allie K. Adams

  Walker's beady little eyes lit up. "It does?" He cleared his throat. "I mean, of course it does. No one wants to go at this alone. Let me help you."

  "Wow. Do you really mean it?" Dan couldn't bring himself to raise his voice over anything more than the monotone he'd been using for the past four hours.

  Walker took a seat across from Dan, his lips curled into a wide grin. The poor guy actually thought he'd had a breakthrough. Dan kept his comments to himself and turned up his charm another notch. "Because, you know, keeping all of this bottled up has been really tough."

  Walker's grin widened even more, taking up the entire lower half of his face. Poor sod. "Please tell me about it."

  "What do you want to know?"

  He leaned forward. "Let's start with LEON ."

  Dan leaned in, keeping his voice low so that Walker would have to do the same in order to hear him. "You want to know about LEON ?"

  "Yes," Walker whispered, not doing a very good job at containing himself. He looked ready to wet his pants.

  "You really want to know?" Dan leaned closer.

  "Yes."

  "Okay," Dan started, barely audible. He shifted his eyes back and forth, giving off the appearance he was about to let Walker in on a huge secret and wanted to make sure no one else had their ears too close. He motioned him closer. "Can I trust you?"

  "Absolutely."

  "Do you know..." Dan paused, taking a perverse pleasure in watching this guy squirm as he waited for Dan to finish.

  "Go on." Walker's breath grew light and short. If he continued breathing like that, he'd pass out. Dan decided to put him out of his misery.

  "The Muffin Man?"

  Walker lost his smile. "The Muffin Man?"

  "The Muffin Man. The one who lives on Blueberry Lane."

  That disgusted curl was back on Walker's face as he sat back. "Very funny, Agent Weber."

  Dan leaned back in his chair. "I thought so."

  "Are you going to yank my chain all day?"

  "I'd rather get out of here. You aren't going to be able to hang this on me. Donovan called me back in. LEON had already been stolen when I got his call. Check with him."

  "Well, what about—"

  "Come on, Texas Ranger. Do you really need to stall for more time?"

  Walker swallowed, a guilty look washing into his eyes. "Let's get back to LEON . You put your team at The Edgewater in the hopes Agent Turner would show up there with the disc, right? How did you know she'd show?"

  "I've already told you. I had a hunch."

  "Uh huh. Well, I don't believe in hunches."

  "That's your problem."

  Walker studied him, and Dan made sure to keep eye contact with him. "Do you know where LEON is?"

  "How many times are we going to do this dance, buddy? Just let me out of this room. I'm sure you gave him enough time. He won't break her."

  He stopped. "Come again?"

  "You were brought in to stall for time so Donovan could try and break Turner. HQ knows I had nothing to do with LEON being stolen. You're asking me the same questions over and over, knowing I won't answer them. But what I will tell you is this; if you don't let me out of this room in the next thirty seconds, I will show you first hand why they call me a loose cannon. Now make like a good little interrogator and use whatever part of your boney ass works as the key and let me go."

  Walker swallowed and backed away from the table. Without a word, he backed up until he stood against the door. A quick knock on the window and the door opened. Only then did he turn around. "We're done."

  "Can he go?" One of the Gigantor Twins asked.

  Walker looked back over his shoulder. Dan continued to glare at him. When Dan shifted in his chair, Walker nodded and scurried away.

  Definitely needed to grow a set if he was ever going to make it as an interrogator, let alone in NASSD. Stevens showed more balls than that guy, which didn't say much for Walker.

  Gigantor Number One nodded at Dan. "Come on."

  Dan stood and walked to the door. He made sure he knew where Gigantor Number Two was at all times as he kept his eyes on Number One. As Dan walked between them, Gigantor Number One held out his hand. Dan glanced down at it. The appendage looked big enough to crush a boulder.

  "I just want to thank you," he said, explaining the reason why his hand was out for Dan. "I've wanted to say something like that to that prick all morning." Dan shook his hand.

  And wouldn't let it go. "Can I have my hand back?"

  He did. "You're Dan Weber, aren't you? The Dan Weber?"

  Dan didn't know of any other Dan Weber in NASSD. "In the flesh."

  "Oh, man." He grabbed Dan's hand and pumped it again. Hard. "I read about the way you took out that guerilla camp in Cuba. And those tangos in Cairo. And Budapest. You're a legend. I can't believe I'm even talking to you."

  Dan pulled his hand back before the giant ripped it off. "You seem to know a lot about my career."

  "Are you kidding? You're practically required reading."

  Dan's spine went rigid. That's verbatim what JT had said. He looked up at the big boy. "Required? For what?"

  "Gahanna, man. Fresh off the farm. At least that's what they call us newbies." He motioned over toward Gigantor Number Two. He nodded in agreement.

  More rookies?

  That explains why JT said what she'd said. She wasn't trying to seek him out. Gahanna had them reading his career file, studying him, which he didn't know whether he cared for or not.

  "Hey, I hear Turner is knee deep in shit. I always figured she'd be the one to go down. Did you have to take her down?"

  Dan stopped, mid stride. "You know her?" Just the fact this guy knew of JT's existence made him suspicious. He was huge, probably six feet six inches, a good two hundred fifty pounds. Bald head. Huge arms. Crooked nose. His gargantuan partner was a mirror image of him, crooked nose and all.

  "Turner showed up at Gahanna when we were about half way through boot. She was a sweet piece of ass to look at, but we all knew not to get too close." He pointed at the kink in his nose. "I heard she cracked and disappeared. Too bad. What a waste of a seriously fine ass."

  Dan wanted to straighten the guy's nose for talking about JT like that, but knew JT already had a shot at it for the same reason. Good for you, Turner. The woman definitely knew how to defend herself.

  Dan rubbed his sore jaw. He knew the feeling.

  "I don't know how deep she is in all this," Dan answered honestly.

  "You should have seen her in Gahanna. She found a way to screw up every mission. It got to the point no one wanted to partner with her, even given how damn hot she is."

  He knew all too well how she could screw up a mission. "I've got to run."

  "Stay cool, Dan Weber. And if you need anything, you call us. I'm Rich Neely and this here is my little brother Ron."

  Little brother? If anything, the guy's arms were bigger than his brother's. "You got it." A quick escape before the mammoth of a man started talking again, and Dan found the room they held JT in. He tried the door. It opened.

  And there she was.

  She stood and turned when he opened the door, and the world suspended as their eyes met. He kept his feet cemented to the doorway, even though he wanted to march over there and take her into his arms, taste the sweetness of her lips again. From the look in those fiery eyes, she was fighting the same battle.

  Having her standing there, looking at him like that, made the last few hours melt away. She looked like she must feel, but she was okay. He sensed her unease and took a step toward her. JT shook her head slightly, shifted her eyes toward the mirrored wall. He got the message and stopped. Damn. He wanted her so bad he almost forgot they were being watched by men behind the giant mirror.

  They weren't stupid. HQ couldn't know there was anything between them. Which there wasn't. So it didn't matter.

  Right?

  Riiight.

  "Close the door behind you, Weber." Donovan's digitalized voice echoed
. Dan’s gaze traced the room. The room hadn't changed much. They hadn't even given it a fresh coat of paint. Too bad. The vomit from the drugged out snitch still stained the left corner of the room. The place still smelled slightly from it, and that was over five years ago.

  He closed the door. "Cut out the spy shit, Donovan. I know it's you." Turning, he looked directly into the mirror. He knew the exact spot Donovan would be sitting, having sat there himself on numerous occasions.

  "Christ, Weber. Can't a guy have any fun?" Donovan replied, his voice no longer digitalized. A light flickered on behind the mirror, revealing Donovan sitting in front of the equipment. He flashed a crooked grin.

  "Not at my expense. Now get your ass out of there. Let's brief." Dan purposely kept his eyes away from JT, knowing if he looked at her he'd want to reach out and touch her, hold her. He'd want to kiss her, to taste her, to know she was okay.

  "Dan?" JT asked in a small voice. The sound blasted into his heart. Before he could stop himself, he turned to her. Those eyes, that hair. His mouth started to water. He looked away again, fighting the urge to pull her to him and fiercely protect her.

  She made one of those sounds. Dan groaned inwardly, but would not look at her. "Unless you want Turner to sit on my lap, I'd suggest you bring in a few more chairs."

  "Get it yourself. I can barely carry the one for me."

  Dan growled. He walked back out of the room and into the interrogation room. Donovan passed him in the door and attempted another smile. Dan wanted to take his bottom lip and pull it up over his head for this little stunt. They lost their window to go after Peck. He could be anywhere by now.

  Donovan shuffled around him. Dan grabbed a chair and hurried past him back to the other room. He gave a sideways glance in JT's direction. Damn if she wasn't looking right back at him.

  The idea of her sitting on his lap appealed to him. He mentally punched the image out of his head. It worked.

  Sort of.

  "You okay?" he mouthed.

  She nodded. He offered her a slight smile for reassurance. Her cheeks immediately turned a lovely shade of crimson. Dan's smile widened.

  Donovan ungracefully dragged his chair in. "Thanks for offering to carry my chair, you heartless ass. People used to show respect to the crippled."

  "Not when it's self-induced."

  Donovan glared at Dan before turning his attention to JT. "Now that I see you up close, I get why we hired you." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. They were too preoccupied with tracing every inch of JT's frame. Very slowly. He smiled appreciatively. The son-of-a-bitch even nodded.

  Wasn't he a recent newlywed? Dan wanted to knock a tooth out of the lazy-eyed gawker's mouth. Instead, he glared until Donovan caught his look and quickly retracted his. He'd never seen Donovan act like this. He didn't like it. And he sure as hell knew JT didn't appreciate it.

  Donovan then caught Dan's eyes and lifted his brow. Dan gave him the finger behind JT's back. Donovan grinned knowingly.

  "I guess you pass," Donovan stated after everyone took a seat. Dan made sure his chair was next to JT's. He tried to convince himself it was simply because they were both under scrutiny for their actions over the last twenty-four hours. It had nothing to do with the fact he couldn't keep his eyes off her. He wanted to reach out and touch her so bad he had to shove his hands in his pockets to stop himself.

  This was nuts. Dan shouldn't have this much interest in a fellow agent. Even if this fellow agent wasn't a fellow at all. She was still an agent. That made her off-limits.

  Great. He got it. Someone just needed to tell the rest of him, because the rest of him didn't seem to care what he thought. It obviously wanted her.

  "I did?" JT asked.

  "Not you," Donovan corrected and nodded toward Dan. "Him."

  "I didn't realize I was being tested."

  Donovan eyed Dan. "The hell you didn't. Why do you think we kept you in with Walker for so long?"

  "To stall for time. You wanted to see if you could break Turner." He moved his gaze to her face. "She doesn't look broken to me." He quickly looked away when she captured his eyes with hers. Damn, the pull he felt just from the simple contact almost sent him over backwards. His cock quivered restlessly.

  He didn't like it. Didn't like not having complete control over his emotions, his body. When it came to JT, he seemed to be losing more and more control by the minute. Swell.

  Donovan's laughter broke Dan's train of thought. "I don't know what you said to Walker, but you sure scared the shit out of him."

  "You talked to him?" Hell, Dan had just made it to the room. How did Walker get to Donovan so fast? But then again, Gigantor Number One stopped him for a few minutes. Definitely enough time for the little weasel to run to Donovan.

  "Are you kidding? The man practically sprinted into the room after talking with you." Donovan laughed. "I knew you'd set him straight. The little prick's cockiness was starting to wear thin on me. A few hours in a holding room with Dan Weber and he's ready to go back to his desk job in personnel."

  "How did he get into HQ?" Dan asked.

  "His dad is some hotshot. And he wants to expedite Junior's career path. Nice, huh?"

  "Swell. You want to tell me why you were stalling for time? And wasting mine?"

  "Don't start with me, Weber. You know I'm on your side. But there are a few things we need to clear up. You know, set the record straight."

  "Such as?"

  "You're a good man, a great agent. That's why I could hardly believe you blew that op. I'm not even going to pretend I understand why you did it."

  "Peck killed my partner," Dan ground out. "I had a chance to repay the favor." His eyes burned as he glared at Donovan, seeing him in a whole new light. He wasn't acting like the friend Dan had known for years. He acted, God forbid, like his superior. "I took it."

  "You let your emotions get the best of you. What the hell happened to you?"

  Dan looked away.

  "Yes, Peck killed Steve Gessler. Yes, he will get his. But I will decide when. Not you. Thanks to that little stunt, you blew your status as a trustworthy agent in HQ's eyes."

  "So I made a mistake. A huge goddamn mistake. How long are you guys going to hang that over my head?" He swung his gaze back to Donovan. "I did my part. Am I back in or what?"

  "I don't usually take agents back once they flake out."

  Flake out? "Now just a goddamn minute."

  "Hold up." Donovan brought up his hand. "Turner here seems to trust you. And at this point, we don't have many options. We are running out of time. Although, now that you have LEON , that does buy us a few."

  A few what? "Spill, Donovan. What have you got?"

  Donovan studied Dan for several seconds, contemplating whether to tell him or not. "So you want back in, huh?"

  Dan met his eyes. "I'm here, aren't I?"

  Donovan nodded, shifted his eyes over to JT. Dan stiffened and tried to remain nonchalant about the contact. "And you?"

  JT's eyes widened. She looked to Dan, then back to Donovan. "I'm in."

  Donovan leaned forward and seemed to pull sealed files right out of his ass. He threw one at each of them. "You know the drill. If you to take the op, I'll brief you."

  JT watched the sealed file drop at her feet. Dan could see her itching to reach down and open it. She caught his eye. He shook his head slightly, telling her to back off.

  "You," Donovan said to JT. "Now that Weber is here, finish your side of the story."

  "You just had us in separate rooms. Isn't it customary to keep the interrogations separate until one of us cracks?" Dan asked. "I mean, if you're trying to get us to turn on each other, that's hard to do when we're sitting next to each other." He didn't like being surprised, and Donovan wanting JT to spill her story while he sat next to her didn't make sense.

  "As you know from your previous partnership, trust is everything. If she can't spill the entire story with you sitting here, then she isn't right for this op. Hell, she isn't righ
t for this agency. Same goes for you, Weber. Trust."

  Partnership ? Trust? Dan didn't do well with either. "What are you talking about? What is it you are asking us to do?"

  Donovan's eyes sparkled. He was up to something. "Remember the rules, buddy. No engagement on the op until it's accepted. I will tell you this; as a prize, you get Miss Turner here as your new partner. Who better to pair together than two of NASSD's best?"

  Dan hated head games. He didn't play well with others, and sure as hell didn't want JT Turner as a partner. He couldn't concentrate as it was. Adding the beautiful Miss Turner into the mix and Dan might as well throw in the towel.

  "No partners," Dan stated gruffly.

  "You don't get the choice," Donovan clarified.

  "So you're saying if I want back in, I have to take her with me?" He tried to sound put out, pissed off. It didn't take much for him to reach that point. The idea of spending time with JT did intrigue him. But there was a time and place for them to take their fascination with each other to the next logical level. An op wasn't it.

  Donovan nodded. "That's what I'm saying."

  "And if I say no?"

  "There's the door."

  Dan couldn't believe this shit. They were forcing him to take JT in under his wing, baby-sit her. A mentor? Hardly. Dan wanted Peck. NASSD wanted LEON back. All in all, it was a fair trade. NASSD would get what they wanted , and so would Dan.

  There was no room in the deal for a woman. Especially a woman like JT. "I don't think so."

  Her fist came out of nowhere, connected square with his jaw, adding to the bruise she'd already given him with her foot. And another when she head-butted him. It almost knocked him out of his chair. When he recovered and looked at her, her eyes were blazing. Green, burning orbs of fire.

  "What the hell is so wrong with pairing up, Weber? You got that big of an ego that you can't share in some of the glory?" Her eyes shifted down to his crotch. "Or does your problem go deeper than that?" She met his eyes again. They were sparkling. The woman liked a good fight.

  Dan grinned inwardly. The little vixen. "The last partnership I had didn't end well."

  "So I heard. But that was then. You can't go back and relive the past, and you can't change what happened. Get over it and move on, already."