Tuesday. Unknown, Chicago, Illinois.PRISCILLA'S EYES AND THROAT stung from the smoke. Her ears rang and in the rush of men to come and go she kept getting kicked.Large hands grabbed her by the arms. She flinched before she realized who it was.Brenden.This was their chance to get free.She didn't know how he did it, but he got her wrists lose. She pushed to her feet, wobbling a little and blinking back tears as the gas stung her eyes.Brenden clutched her to him and rushed across the room, toward the window. They hadn't even gone three steps before more hands grabbed her. She tried to hold on to Brenden, but her numb hands wouldn't cooperate.The hands yanked her back and the next thing she felt was the cool press of metal to her temple. She sucked in a gasp and watched Brenden whirl, only to be tackled by one of the goons. The two men crashed to the ground, landing half in and half out of the house.Arturo wasn't going to use her as a shield.She'd been through
Tuesday. Safe House, Chicago, Illinois.BRENDEN WAS GLAD TO have the condo to themselves for a little while. Soon enough the guys would be back from dinner and they'd begin debrief, but for now Brenden needed a little quiet time with Priscilla.He secured the door behind them, his hand never leaving the small of her back.The doctor had prescribed a minor muscle relaxer and suggested she follow up with her normal physician for any new pains or problems. There just wasn't anything to triage.Brenden wouldn't be there to make sure she went to the doctor or to take care of her. That knowledge gnawed at him. He didn't like knowing that in a very short time they'd be on opposite ends of the country.Without discussing it they both headed toward her bedroom. He once more shut and secured the door.He almost wished there was another door or maybe a panic room he could squirrel her away to, but that was ridiculous and he knew it."What do you say to sleep?" She hooked her fing
Six months later. Taylor Family Reunion, Chicago, Illinois.PRISCILLA WAS GOING TO HURL.A voice in the back of her head reminded her that the last time she'd lost the contents of her stomach had also been in Chicago. All over her kidnappers.Today had no such danger factored in, unless she took into account her light blue dress and the fact that backyard barbeques were often messy.It was too late to change now.Brenden opened the passenger door of their rental and held out his hand. She took it and held on tight as he pulled her to her feet.He studied her face. "You're looking a little green.""I want them to like me," she grumble-mumbled under her breath.Who would have known she actually got nervous about meeting people she wanted to impress?Other than a little interview nerves, she'd never gone through this before moving to Seattle a few weeks ago. When she'd gone to the first get-together that included dozens of Aegis Group employees and their families, she
BRENDEN WAS DONE WITH the crowded back yard. There were too many people. It was draining. And yet the day was a success.He dumped a few abandoned cups in the sink, rinsed them out then stacked them to await the next run of the dishwasher as the appliance was currently chugging away.Priscilla and her sister stood near the back porch with his mother and aunt, their conversation involving a lot of hand gestures and laughter.She fit here. With him. In his family."Hey there." Oaklynn stepped up next to him, the baby passed out in her arms. She bumped his hip with hers as she swayed."Hey." He reached over and tugged on Oaklynn's long hair, earning a playful swat from her.She turned to face him. "Okay, so, like, when are you two getting married? Are you going to ask her tonight? Because you totally have that look.""What?" Brenden frowned at her. "What look?""The she's-all-I-think-about kind of madly in love look."Brenden turned his attention back to Priscilla who wa
Volume 5: Dangerously EntwinedWednesday. Safe House, Playa d'en Bossa, Ibiza.MELODY NGUYEN STARED LONGINGLY out of the windows of the safe house at the crystal beaches beyond. She wished she was headed out for a relaxing day on the sand. Hell, she'd take a day of cleaning her bathroom and kitchen over what she was about to do.Her co-leader, Grant Anderson, herded the rest of their team out the front door. He'd been practically growling at them to leave for the last hour. Because Grant expected them to fall into their routine."You guys stay out of trouble.Melody gripped the back of the tall chair and watched her last glimpse of the four men headed out to enjoy the day.She really wished she were going with them.Grant closed the door. The thunk of the deadbolt was loud in the sudden silence.She held her breath as he turned to look at her. Her skin prickled and her traitorous body warmed at his attention. After all this time she should be used to it, but she w
GRANT ANDERSON STARED DOWN the empty hall, still reeling from his exchange with Melody.What the hell just happened?He'd known things were off between them lately, but he hadn't seen this coming. With their last job wrapping up so fast, he'd made plans. A God damn private chef was supposed to be here in half an hour to cook lunch then a masseuse. He'd warned the guys to stay away, that he and Melody would be working. In reality what Grant really wanted was to lay his claim on her publically. Let everyone know they were together. But he'd never done that because that wasn't what she wanted.And now she didn't want him.How was it they were breaking up? And she didn't even want to talk about it? She'd just decided how it was and that was it?Grant pushed off the chair and strode to the other side of the house where the neatly manicured lawn butted up against a high fence dividing this property from the neighboring one.It was a tropical paradise, and he'd thought if they sch
Wednesday. Private Yacht, Ibiza.LIMAN FAHED PEERED THROUGH the binoculars at his team getting into place to breech the mansion positioned just off the coast of Ibiza. It was a beautiful day for an assault mission. Blue skies. Not a cloud in sight. A brisk breeze.It was as if nature were celebrating Liman's victory with him.Everything was falling into place.Finally."Sir?"He turned his attention on the monitors.They'd spent weeks, months gauging where to strike, how many people they would need, and now it was happening.With any luck, Liman would have Elio back before the end of the week. It had rocked their whole team when the Americans kidnapped their top officer. Liman wasn't about to leave his man there to rot. Elio was too valuable, too unique.One monitor showed four men walking shoulder to shoulder down an old path winding between homes. They had no idea what was coming for them."The teams are waiting for your signal, sir," Khaled said.He was new
Wednesday. Safe House, Playa d'en Bossa, Ibiza.GRANT REALLY SHOULD HAVE called the chef as soon as Melody had walked away from him. Now he was going to be on the hook for the rest of the payment. He couldn't imagine eating the meal he'd hoped to share with her by himself. Or leaving it by her door to enjoy the meal cold, if she'd take it at all.The doorbell peeled again."Coming," Grant called out as he jogged across the floor to the entry.He paused to peer through the peephole. Some habits just didn't go away.A man stood on the other side, his head bent, the sun glinting off his dark head of hair. He wore a dark jacket. A chef's coat?Had Grant ever gotten a picture of the person that company was sending over?He blew out a breath and mentally kicked himself.The op was over.He shook his head, banishing the paranoia that came with every job, and unlocked the door. There was no reason for a retaliatory attack. Besides, they'd ensured the last assholes could ba