by Julie Rowe
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Discover more Amara titles… Zone of Action
Honor Avenged
Dangerous Lies
Dangerous Desires
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Julie Rowe. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
10940 S Parker Rd
Suite 327
Parker, CO 80134
[email protected]
Amara is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Robin Haseltine
Cover design by Mayhem Cover Creations
Cover photography by FXQuadro/iStock
welcomia/DepositPhotos
ISBN 978-1-64937-053-2
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition September 2020
Dear Reader,
Thank you for supporting a small publisher! Entangled prides itself on bringing you the highest quality romance you’ve come to expect, and we couldn’t do it without your continued support. We love romance, and we hope this book leaves you with a smile on your face and joy in your heart.
xoxo
Liz Pelletier, Publisher
With love to my mom, Judy. You were my first reader and my first fan. I’m so proud to be your daughter.
Chapter One
Sunday, May 5, 7:05 p.m.
“I feel like we’re playing a twisted version of that board game Clue,” Ruby Toth said to her family as she examined the list of names her father had just sent to her encrypted-up-the-wazoo phone for the impossible job her parents wanted her to do. Dinner eaten and pushed aside, her parents and her brother, Nate, all sat around the dining room table in the house she and Nate rented.
They were also looking at the same list with a variety of expressions on their faces.
Her mother’s mouth was pinched with irritation, while her father’s eyes had tightened in concern. Nate would have looked bored if his fingers weren’t tapping out a complicated rhythm on the table.
“Only the murder weapons are bombs, bullets, and biological pathogens,” she continued. “And if this list is correct, everyone is a suspect.”
“That’s an oversimplification of the situation,” Nate said, frowning at her. He never was one to pass up the chance for an argument, and Ruby was in the mood to give him one. If only to vent her frustration.
“The problem with finding terrorists and or spies embedded in an organization is that they’re good at deflecting suspicion,” her mother said. She should know—her mother was an analyst for the NSA, while her dad headed up the organization. They ate suspicion for breakfast, skepticism for lunch, and distrust for dinner. “The FBI and Homeland Security have supplied some information on their people’s movements, but we don’t entirely trust it. There have been too many times the Outbreak Task Force’s movements were not only tracked but anticipated by Free America From Oppression.”
The FAFO had already killed dozens of people and tried to start more than one outbreak of a deadly disease. They’d also targeted the CDC’s Outbreak Task Force, injuring and killing people as a result.
“This list represents all the people with access to, or knowledge of, the CDC’s activities,” her mother continued. “We’re not expecting you to investigate them all, but we need you to take a closer look.”
“I’d already eliminated some of the people on this list,” she said. “Why are they back on it?”
“Because information is still getting out,” her father said as he leaned forward. “The longer it takes to uncover everyone feeding the FAFO information,” he continued, “the more likely it is that they’ll do significant damage to the country and everyone in it.”
“How do you know the FAFO is still active?”
“One of our assets in Africa let us know they have put out a call for mercenaries who might have a grudge with the United States. He doesn’t know if anyone responded, but that alone tells us they’re not only active, but planning something substantial.”
“There are always assholes out there with grudges against the United States,” Nate said. “It’s practically written into the Constitution.”
Spying might be the family business, but how would her coworkers react if they found out she was looking for a traitor among them? Especially her mentor and supervisor at her new job, Henry Lee.
Acid ate away at Ruby’s gut. “I hate this,” she muttered.
“Why?” her mother asked.
“Because I like my job. A lot.”
“Sweetheart, the only people who will be angry with you are the ones we’re trying to find.”
Ruby snorted. “Trust is a funny thing, Mother. I work with a few folks whose trust is hard to earn and impossible to repair if it’s broken.”
“Discovering a traitor in their midst would be doing them a service,” her dad said.
Ruby wanted to tear her hair out. “It’s not that cut-and-dried, Dad. Some of the people I work with were in the military, and they’ve got strong opinions about how a team is supposed to work.” Henry, in all his gruff, grumpy, gorgeous glory, was one of them. His team mentality was all for one and one for all. “My looking at them all as if they’re all guilty until proven innocent isn’t going to go over well.” If he found out he was on her list of suspects, she’d be on his shit list permanently.
“They won’t know you’re looking at them.” Her mother waved that argument away.
“They’re already hyperaware of everyone’s behavior, and we all know I’m not that good of an actress. They’ll figure it out.”
“You do get too attached to people,” her mother said with a sigh. “Empathy is a wonderful trait to have, but in moderation.”
“In moderation?” Irritation sharpened her tone. Sometimes she didn’t understand her family at all. “Like changing your diet so you eat less junk food?”
“That’s not what your mother meant,” her dad said with a roll of his eyes.
“I can’t just shut it off.”
Her mother gave her an encouraging smile. “Compartmentalize, dear, that’s all you need to do.”
“I’m no good at that, either. Maybe I just missed out on the sneaky gene.”
“Isn’t everyone at the CDC a little paranoid by now?” Nate asked. “I don’t think you’re going to stand out.”
Ruby sighed and briefly covered her face with both hands. “That’s probably true.” She looked at her brother and parents. “The stress is so thick I need a machete to cu
t my way through it to get from the door to my desk.” She studied her family, noting the determination on their faces. “What’s the plan if I find evidence of a traitor?”
Her father leaned forward again. “You call me,” he said in his dangerous voice.
There was only one answer she could give. “Yes, sir.”
…
Monday, May 6, 9:45 a.m.
The conference room was packed with people. CDC lab tech Ruby Toth stretched up on her tiptoes in the doorway in an effort to see around or over the sea of lab coats, but it didn’t help much. At just over five feet, she was too short. And while she often used her petite size to her advantage against an opponent in the dojo, it didn’t help her to see when she was at the back of a crowd.
The bodies in front of her shifted, and the drill sergeant, or DS, as he preferred to be called, surfaced out of the crowd like a scarred, grizzled great white shark. Ruby guessed he was in his fifties, and though he’d retired from the army a couple of years ago, his graying hair was buzz-cut short. His slightly shorter than average height, five foot eight, should have made him seem less threatening than taller men. It didn’t. She wasn’t sure if it was something in his eyes or the way he held himself, but one look told you messing with him would be a big mistake.
“What’s going on?” she asked him. “It seems like everyone from the lab is here.”
“They better be,” he replied, his voice a rough rumble. He claimed it was the result of yelling at too many stupid people when he was a drill sergeant. “This meeting isn’t optional.” He took her by the arm and poked at the people in the doorway until they moved. He pointed at the far side of the space. “That piece of wall over by Henry is open.”
It was the only unoccupied spot in the entire room.
Ruby squeezed past everyone between her and her objective and managed to claim the slim strip of wall before anyone else did. Although, looking at Henry’s face, his eyes narrowed and mouth tense, maybe it had been empty for a reason.
“Am I okay here?” she whispered. “Am I in the way?”
He shook his head and met her gaze. “You’re fine.” His stare was intimidating, and it made her stomach flip and her face heat. She was glad to have the excuse of turning, giving him her back, so he wouldn’t wonder why she was blushing. Again.
Maybe it should have bothered her that he was standing only inches away, so close his arms brushed her back when he crossed them over his chest. Henry was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a danger to her. Maybe if she’d done something stupid or dangerous, he’d growl at her. He growled at other people, but he’d always treated her like she was his kid sister.
Handle with care. Watch your language. Touch her and die.
She wasn’t sure how she was going to get him to see her as anything else, but she’d tried several ways already. Because he wasn’t her older brother, and she wanted his big hands and hard body to touch her. A lot.
As a scientist, she didn’t believe in love at first sight, but lust at first sight…oh hell, yeah.
The moment she’d met Henry, she’d wanted him. At six foot two or three—she didn’t dare ask exactly—he towered over her; his shoulders were wide and heavily muscled, stretching the lab coats he wore. His brown hair was a little too long most of the time and always messy, but his mustache and beard were neatly kept. His eyes drew her, a bright blue-green that never failed to snare her gaze.
She’d tried small smiles, but he’d told her to stop daydreaming. She’d tried to find out what he did on his time off—sleep—what his favorite food was—cooked—and where in the world he wanted to travel—a tiny town called waste of money.
For a few days after that, she’d thought he didn’t like her at all and worried he’d ask for a different mentee. She’d mentioned her concerns to the drill sergeant, who’d explained Henry’s behavior was a kind of armor to keep people away. That she understood. She had armor, too—she just didn’t like using it.
She’d tried to stay purely professional and managed it…mostly.
Now, with him standing so close to her, she had to fight the urge to fan herself.
She shouldn’t be indulging in fantasies with her mentor at the CDC, since she had a job to do and it was a dangerous one. Still…he was a brooding wall of muscle she’d love to come into complete contact with. The fact his brain was just as fit as the rest of him was the cherry on top of her sundae.
DS moved to the front of the room, followed by John Dozer, who’d just left Homeland Security to work for the CDC full time. Dozer was now a member of the security team that accompanied the scientific members of the Outbreak Task Force. He worked directly with Dr. Rodrigues, the Outbreak Task Force director, and coordinated the security team’s assignments.
The conference room wasn’t large, and most of the floor space was occupied by chairs and the people sitting on them.
“All right,” DS said. “Quiet down.”
The low hum of conversation around the room died.
“Take it away, dump truck,” DS said, waving at John to take his place.
The former agent rolled his eyes as a ripple of laughter went around the room, significantly lowering the tension level.
“Thanks for coming, everyone. I know you have busy schedules, but we have some news and new directives for you.”
News and directives? Ruby glanced around to see if anyone else knew what was going on, but everyone she made eye contact with looked as confused as she felt. Except for Henry. And his face looked as sour as she’d ever seen it.
So, nothing good.
“This morning a suicide bomber, posing as a package delivery person, tried to pass through the secure vehicle entry point. His delivery truck was filled with explosives and metal shrapnel. Our security people at the gate noted his agitation and managed to get him out of his truck without blowing us all to hell.”
Someone clapped, and a moment later, everyone was applauding.
Dozer just shook his head. “I’m going to remind you of this next time I get a complaint about how long security takes to do their checks.”
That calmed everyone down, but Ruby had to admit, it was more than nice to hear the good guys winning one for a change.
“Who was it?” someone asked. She glanced over to see who spoke. Dr. Gunner, and he didn’t look very impressed. “A lone wolf or cannon fodder?”
“Our driver isn’t talking.” Dozer paused. “Yet. But we’ll know more when the bomb squad lets us have a closer look at the truck.”
“Shrapnel?” Dr. Gunner asked. “That sounds like a homemade bomb, which sounds like Free America From Oppression.”
“I thought we caught all of them?” Raymond Goldings asked, his voice rising. He was pulling at the ends of his fingers like he was trying to take off a pair of gloves, only he wasn’t wearing any.
“We’ve got one in custody, but he doesn’t know much. He had a handler, but he didn’t know anyone else in the organization. Other than him, we’ve got a lot of bodies in the morgue, and I don’t think we’re going to get much out of them.” Dozer looked around the room. “The FAFO is really good at eliminating anyone they deem a threat, and that includes their own people if they’re caught.”
The room got quiet.
“So, what does today’s attempted attack mean for us?” Joy Ashiro asked. She was Dr. Gunner’s partner and girlfriend, though if you asked either one of them if they were together, you’d get a glare for an answer. Gunner had only returned to work a short time ago after being blown up and shot by the FAFO. Joy’s concern made sense.
“Every single one of us needs to be on alert. These assholes know where we work, and they want to fuck us up in the worst way. I wouldn’t put it past them to try something on someone to and from work, so we’re going to ask you to make a few changes. The first one is to your work schedule. We’re asking everyone to come in an h
our earlier tomorrow. The day after that will be something else.”
“Like what?” Raymond asked, his voice rising. “Are they planning some bioterrorism outbreak—is that why they want us out of the way?”
DS stepped up, drawing everyone’s attention. “Depends on their long-term strategy and how many resources they have available. The attack this morning may be aimed at demoralizing us or as a test of our security protocols. As we’ve discovered, they’re more persistent than a hungry two-year-old in a candy aisle.”
“But—” Raymond began.
“Rest assured,” Dozer said, cutting the other man off and studying Raymond until he dropped his gaze to the floor, “when I know more, so you will you.” He glanced around at the rest of the people in the room. “It’s obvious they want us out of the way, and they aren’t picky about how to get there.” He smiled, a fierce-friendly call to arms that fired up Ruby’s blood. “We are going to deny them that goal. To that end, the FBI and Homeland are investigating, so expect to see their agents in the building and out in the field.” He paused. “We’re also putting snipers in positions around every entry and exit point. If we get another unfriendly delivery, our people on the ground can get some distance while the snipers take out the bomber.”
Henry grunted.
Ruby turned to look at him, but he seemed unconcerned.
“Does this mean it’s open season on delivery drivers?” she asked softly.
Henry shook his head once. “Delivery people always get extra scrutiny. They can thank Hollywood for that. Almost any heist, escape, or terrorist movie ever made uses them as their go-to, easy way to get in or out of otherwise airtight security.”
“Including snipers?” she asked.
He sighed. “That is a new one.”
“It’s going to make me nervous.” Just the idea of someone aiming at her through a telescope sight made her teeth chatter.
DS stepped forward. “Watch your backs, people. These fuckers are creative, and they like things that go boom. I’ll be coming around to answer any questions you might have.”
Raymond’s hand shot up, and DS rolled his eyes. “That’s it. Back to work.” He waved at the room at large, and everyone began filing out.