by Laurie Roma
“Son of a bitch,” Adrian exclaimed. “How the hell did he get into our network again?”
Jason’s mouth tightened with anger. “Unknown as of yet.”
“Tony must be breathing fire,” Sal said. “Has he secured the system again?”
“We’re working on it, but in the interim we’ve verified enough information with the FBI to believe the rest of his info is accurate as well. This is not the first time we have received good intel from the Phoenix. Somehow he was able to track the sale to Vegas.”
Sal gestured toward the screen. “Do we really believe that he intercepted the e-mail invitation to the auction randomly? Are we sure he’s not in on this?”
“He’s not in on this,” Tara swore.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Jason argued.
“Jason, he’s the one who gave us the intel about the stolen canisters in the first place. We would have never known where those rogue scientists were or who they were selling it to if not for the e-mail I received from him while I was helping out in Libya. He gave me just enough time to pull a team together and haul ass to South Africa.” Tara pushed for them to listen to her. “I know we don’t know who the hell this guy is, but this makes four times that he has sent us good intel in the past year and in no way have we found anything that has connected him to the actual issues.”
“She’s right,” Mikayla agreed softly. “Bishop and I would have died on our last mission if we hadn’t gotten the heads-up about the ambush that militia had set for us.”
Jason grudgingly grunted in agreement. In the shadowed world they lived in, allies came in all forms and loyalty was rewarded. But that didn’t mean Jason was willing to completely trust a man he knew only through a few coded messages.
“Is Tony tracking him?” Tara asked.
“Tried and failed,” Sal admitted, the anger clear in his voice. Tony Moretti was Sal’s younger brother and a computer genius. If Tony couldn’t track the infamous hacker Phoenix then the guy must be exceptional. It was a good thing the unknown source was working with them instead of against them.
“I want a team in place at the Palace Hotel and Casino ASAP. You’ll be going in as Mac Securities on the job upgrading security in the hotel since it was already scheduled. Lucian and Slade are finishing up an op out in Arizona and will meet you in Vegas in a few days. Hopefully you will find the canister and take out Gorin before the auction, but if not, we will need to figure out where and when the sale is and take out all the players.” Jason hit another button and a new photo popped up on the screen.
This one immediately caught Tara’s attention. The man on the screen had Hollywood good looks, with perfect dark-blond hair, strong facial features and a killer smile, but his dark blue eyes were hard, indicating that there was more to him than was on the surface.
Bad guy eye candy? What a shame…
“The owner of the hotel casino, Julian King, knows a great deal about what happens in Vegas, so he may be useful.” Jason pointed to the man’s picture on the screen.
Ah, Tara thought with a sigh. Corporate eye candy.
“He’s an asset, so use him if necessary. Bottom line is we need to eliminate this threat. Take down Gorin and the buyers and destroy the canister if recovery is not possible. There is no telling how many lives are at stake if any of the buyers gets their hands on this type of bioweapon. Work with the FBI contact through channels only when it becomes absolutely necessary or if they get in your way. Oh, and while you’re at it, you can also make sure the hotel security system is updated nice and tight on your downtime.”
Rock cursed under his breath.
“Why isn’t the LA team all over this?” Tara asked. “I figured they would want this mission since it’s basically in their backyard.”
Jason smiled. “They wanted it all right. I backed Stryker off.”
Kane Stryker was the head of the IAD branch based out of LA and the CEO of Stryker Development, a construction company that built structures all over the world. Stryker Development, similar to Mac Securities, was the perfect cover for agents to travel internationally without raising alarm. Jason and Kane were friends, but neither man would back off a mission that easily.
Tara simply raised an eyebrow and waited him out.
“Since you were part of the takedown team in South Africa I simply reminded him that we already laid the groundwork for this case. The LA branch is also handling an issue of several missing scientists that is taking a lot of manpower right now.”
“Related?” Rock asked.
“Nope, just another shitty situation to add to the list of many.”
“Do we know who that e-mail went to, who the potential buyers are?” Sal asked as he studied all of the intel.
“There are three.” Jason put another photo up on the screen. “Edward Levy—”
“Isn’t that the white pride wacko that leads that paramilitary group out in Oregon or something?” Mikayla asked as she studied the picture.
“Yep, and he has just graduated from being a pain in the ass to dead man walking.” Jason put another photo up. “The next is Ricardo Mendez.”
“This isn’t the usual type of action for a drug cartel to be involved in,” Adrian countered. “Isn’t he supposed to be hiding in Panama somewhere after he pissed off one of the larger cartels? Are you telling me he’s in Vegas?”
“He’s trying to expand. Pissing people off is a given,” Tara said.
“He sure pisses me off…for breathing,” Rock clarified.
Tara’s mind worked as she studied the photo of the infamous drug lord. “It makes sense.”
“Yeah,” Sal agreed. “Could you imagine how much sales would increase if you could take out all your competition without ever firing a gun?”
“Shit.” Adrian rubbed a hand over his face. “I didn’t think of that. Who is our last contestant?”
Jason hesitated before looking Tara dead in the eye as he pressed the button to bring up the last photograph. “It’s Hassan Sharif.”
Tara froze as she stared at the face of the man she saw in nightmares. Bile rose in her throat and she had to force herself to stop from putting a hand on her churning stomach. Each of the three men were on their most wanted list, and when someone was on an IAD list, that meant that they wanted him dead and wiped off the face of the earth.
But no one wanted Hassan Sharif dead more that Tara.
A few years ago on Tara’s last assignment with the CIA one of the two other agents she was working with made a colossal mistake and ended up getting killed. Tara and the other agent weren’t so lucky. They had been captured.
Sharif and his men had tortured Tara and the other agent for close to four days before an extraction team had come. The CIA had washed their hands of the situation and left them for dead, but IAD had stepped in and rescued them.
That was when Tara had discovered that someone in the CIA had thought the lives of three agents were acceptable losses in exchange for the information they had gathered and sent back to their handler. The IAD agents had destroyed the building where she had been held along with most of Sharif’s men, but Sharif had already fled. When Tara had regained consciousness, she quit and started working for IAD.
Ever since that dark day it had been her goal to be the one to personally put a bullet in Hassan Sharif’s head as payback. Her very soul burned with the need for justice.
“How the hell did that fuckhead get into the US?” Adrian demanded.
Rock crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Well, well the son of a bitch has finally come out of hiding.”
Jason placed his fingertips on the table and leaned forward as if bracing himself for what was to come. “Tara, I want you in place at the Palace hotel where you’ll be control on this mission. You shouldn’t even be on this, but you were part of the team that originally recovered the other canisters. You are running comms, not in the field.”
“Bullshit.” Dangerous energy vibrated through her entire body as
her eyes all but sparked with her fury.
“Clear the room.”
Jason didn’t need to demand that Tara stay as she remained exactly where she was seated. He waited until the others had silently exited and the door closed with a soft snick before he met Tara’s gaze. If he weren’t a damn good agent himself, he might have actually winced at the look on her face. Most intelligent men had enough if an innate sense of self-preservation to tread lightly when dealing with a woman’s anger.
But Tara wasn’t just angry.
This was like looking at pure rage.
And damn it, she wasn’t just any woman…she was a freaking weapon and scary as hell.
They studied each other in a silent battle of wills, neither of them giving ground under the other’s intense scrutiny. Finally Tara leaned back in her chair, her careless body language belying the icy wrath she was feeling. “Do you honestly think you can keep me caged?”
Jason’s brow rose at that. “You will do as ordered.”
“Not if it’s a bullshit order I won’t…sir.”
“Damn it, Tara,” Jason snapped. “You’ve been on back-to-back missions for months now. You won’t take the required time off. I can’t get you to chill the hell out and level off. And after that last mission do you honestly think you’re functioning at one hundred percent?”
Tara’s body tensed in insult and she rose slowly. “Are you saying I can’t do the job?”
Frustration had Jason all but growling. “No, I’m not saying that. But for Christ’s sake, do you think we can’t see what you are doing to yourself? You’re on edge all the fucking time now and that makes you dangerous. How long do you think you’ve got until you completely burn out? You’re one of my best agents and I can’t use you if you don’t get your head right.”
Guilt burned in her gut. “What the hell is this? Are you blaming me for what happened on the last mission? You know damn well none of that shit was my fault.”
“Jesus Christ, woman, don’t you get it?” Jason roared. “It has nothing to do with the bleeding mission. You are more than just an agent. You’re a friend. You want revenge, I get that. But for Christ’s sake, Tara, this is dangerous. Hassan Sharif knows that you’ve been hunting him and he wants you dead just as much as you want him buried six feet under. If he knows you are in the same city, he is going to come after you.”
“Let him.”
“You’re being reckless. We will get Sharif, I promise you we will, but not right now. This mission is more important than getting even. A lot of lives are at stake. You risk putting yourself, your team, and the mission in danger if your judgment is clouded with personal shit!”
Silence hung between them for a few seconds before Tara spoke quietly. “Low blow, Mac. I would never, never put the mission or my team at risk. You know that. I won’t…”
She all but shook with the rage burning inside her. The memories wanted to come back, of the pain and the fear, so much so that she had to fight back the bitterness that wanted to spew out. She wanted to scream, rage, to throw herself into a chair and lay her head down and weep, but she didn’t. She couldn’t.
She would not be weak.
Never that.
Instead, she forced herself to control her breathing and unclench the fists she held so tight she knew that her nails were cutting into the palms of her hands. She took a slow, steadying breath and was proud when her voice came out clear and even. “I know that the canister is priority, but if you take me off this, if you bench me, I’ll walk and find Hassan Sharif on my own.”
“Tara—” Real alarm filled Jason as he watched Tara calmly walk toward the closed door.
“It’s your call.”
Jason slammed his hand down hard on the table. “Bloody fucking buggering hell! You are the most exasperating stubborn woman!”
In any other situation, watching his loss of control would have had Tara laughing.
But not now, not about this.
Jason growled in frustration before throwing his hands up. “Bugger it, I knew you would ignore me, but I had to try. Just…” He sighed again, at a loss for what to say. “Just be careful.”
Tara paused with her hand on the door to turn back to look at him. “Don’t worry. I’m good, you know that. I’ll take this asshole down. I’ll do whatever it takes to take him down permanently this time.”
That’s what I’m afraid of, Jason thought sadly as he watched her leave.
Chapter Three
Las Vegas, Nevada
Julian King sat back on the comfortable backseat of the stretch limo as it glided down the strip, heading toward the private airport to pick up the Mac Securities specialists that were arriving.
Julian knew the reputation of Mac Securities and he wanted the opportunity to study them before he allowed them anywhere near his systems. Since they had installed the security system when the Palace Hotel and Casino opened in Vegas five years ago, Julian had tweaked the system enough that even the team that had installed it wouldn’t know the exact details that he had in place.
Julian took the security in his hotel very seriously.
He had inherited the family’s hotel business when his father had died shortly after Julian had graduated from college. Julian had grown up in the hotels and took over the reins of the company with surprising ease. With a mixture of experience and instinct, he took the well-known enterprise to new heights, making the Palace Hotels the best in the world. Julian had kept the signature trademark style and class of the Palace Hotels, but had expanded it with modern convenience. They catered to the highest caliber of clientele and he had made sure that every hotel was enhanced with a touch of the uniqueness depending on its location.
Julian was a demanding man and he expected the best. He would settle for nothing less than perfection. He paid his employees generously and made sure they were well taken care of, invoking loyalty and dedication from each member of his staff even though he expected excellence from everyone on his staff, from the managers down to the janitors.
Growing up, Julian had always been the loner and no one pushed themselves to succeed more than he did. His mother hadn’t hesitated to hand over the reins of the Palace Hotel empire to him when the time came. Julian’s brother was content managing the European locations, spending most of his time in the London Hotel. He was willing to help out wherever he was needed but he gladly left the majority of the business in Julian’s capable hands.
Their younger sister, Rachel, was attending school in New York and working part-time at the New York hotel. His mother still managed the New York hotel and would remain there until Rachel was ready to take over. If Julian’s guess was right, which it usually was, Rachel would be taking over as soon as she graduated and his mother would finally get to enjoy their estate in the south of France.
Although Julian had traveled extensively, visiting his hotels all over the world, he ultimately chose to make his home in Las Vegas. He loved the city. Everything about it appealed to him, the people, the surreal atmosphere of the city, the gambling. He knew every game like the back of his hand and the odds were always in his favor.
He also loved the anonymity of the city.
Yes, he and his family were well known throughout the world, but very few people actually knew anything personal about him. Julian ruthlessly fought to keep his own life private and, since he was a force to be reckoned with and everyone in Vegas and most of the business world knew it, no one wanted to cross him.
Julian absently cracked a knuckle as he glanced out the window to watch his world pass by in a flash of lights and color. Yes, Vegas was his town. Nothing happened in his city that he didn’t know about. With his wealth and status, he kept all kinds of information at the tip of his fingers.
And what he had been hearing lately did not make him very happy.
In fact, if the rumors were true, it pissed him off.
The limo pulled into the airport just as the Mac Securities jet touched down on the runway. Putting on his des
igner sunglasses, Julian waited until the driver came around to open the door to step out into the blazing sun. Even though it was technically winter, the cold season never seemed to effect much change on the Las Vegas desert. To Julian, the weather was perfect. Any warmer and he would have been uncomfortable in his suit and that simply would not do.
The steps of the private plane lowered, and when the descent was complete, Julian watched as two huge men stepped out carrying large duffel bags and hefting large suitcases down the steps. Julian moved forward slowly, pacing himself to give him time to study his new security consultants.
As he walked closer he could see that the two men were identical twins, and from the look of them, they were no doubt a lethal pair. One of the men said something to the other and headed back up the stairs to the plane while the other came over to meet Julian.
Julian and the man eyed each other in a casual display of curiosity that most males were prone to do. Two Alpha males sizing each other up. Julian usually could tell a lot about someone within the first few seconds of meeting them. It was one of the reasons he had been so successful in business. But this man gave very little away and that made Julian’s guard go up.
“You King?” the large bruiser asked.
“Yes, I am.” Julian paused for effect. “And you would be?”
Adrian flashed a grin as he offered his hand. “Adrian Savage.”
Julian had to give Adrian credit as he seemed amused by the arrogant tone Julian had used rather than being insulted. Julian accepted his hand and flashed his own grin in return.
“Savage. The name suits you.”
A deep laugh rumbled out of Adrian’s chest. “More than you know. Thanks for picking us up. Didn’t expect for you to come personally.”
“I take the security of my hotel seriously and wanted to show that I appreciate you coming out.”
“Wanted to check us out before we put our game faces on, huh?” Adrian chuckled as he asked. “Sorry, Mr. King, but you’ll see we are always ready and you won’t catch us off guard.”