Volume 4: Dangerous AssignmentLUKE BRIAR STARED AT the phone screen and waited for the anger, the bitterness, something. But all he felt was...nothing."Who was that?" Ethan Turner, his friend and fellow Aegis Group bodyguard, emerged from the bathroom."The PI." Luke swiped his thumb over the screen. Her face stared back at him, but it didn't bring up the same feelings it once had."Oh, he find what's-her-name?" Ethan tucked in his shirt."Her name is Dianna.""Well, where'd he find her?""She moved back in with her mother in Pennsylvania." Luke tapped through the settings and set one of the default wallpapers as his background."Tell me, man, how many does this make?" Ethan shoved his feet in his shoes and sat down on the edge of the other queen bed. "You've got a problem, Idris Elba. These women you keep hooking up with? They don't want you to rescue them. You've got to stop.""Fuck you." Luke tossed the phone onto the bed and crossed to the desk.His conscie
ABIGAIL. MY NAME IS Abigail. I am an American. I am a professional. I do not care what my bosses do. I am Abigail. I am American. I will not murder my employer."You look like you're about to break that window." Luke eased into the seat across from her. Somehow, even though he kept his legs on his side, he seemed to take up all of the space around her.Abigail inhaled, catching the same scent she'd noticed in the elevator. Slightly woodsy, a man's scent. And Luke was all man.She needed to get laid. Hard. Maybe a few times, so she could work this tension out of her system. Sex had never been the answer before, but nothing else was working. The way she was so completely aware of this man was...unnatural. It was as though simply by being in the same space with her, he disrupted all of her order. Everything she'd put in place.Luke pulled out his phone. From the seat he'd taken, he had a direct shot of the pseudo Mr. and Mrs. Smith at the in-flight dining table, sipping champagne.
LUKE LET HIS GAZE travel over the people in the swanky hotel bar. Not half an hour ago, he'd been here under the capacity of watching his bosses-of-the-moment sip wine and laugh with someone Luke was certain he didn't want to know. He'd escorted the couple back to their room with Ethan, while Abigail remained behind.She fascinated him.Not Military Police. Not a Marine. So what had she been? Where had she been?He wanted to find out.And not just because she was a pretty face.Their bosses were bad news, and he needed to know more about Abigail. Where she came from. Who she was. If he could trust her when things went bad. And he had no doubt they would. Zain was preoccupied with their bosses, which meant digging up info on curvy and sexy was Luke's job. If it weren't for the surprising lack of information he found, he'd be a lot more comfortable in this gig. A person who left behind so little was hiding something. He intended to find out what it was.Abigail sat alone at t
HASSAN NEARLY CACKLED WITH glee. Years of planning were about to reach culmination. It was perfect. So incredibly perfect he wanted to shout it from the rooftops.She was in place.After all this time, after all this waiting, the trap could finally snap shut. And then his new life would start. He couldn't have lined it up like this if he'd wanted to.She'd saved that stupid couple for last!Oh, it was so freakishly perfect he wanted to dance a jig.Not only did he know more about the merchandise the so-called Smiths wanted to sell, he had the codes. And their client list. All Hassan had to do was finish this job and he'd be in business for himself."Hassan, here." The bartender pushed two drinks across to him.He nodded and transferred the drinks to their owners across the bar.She hadn't even noticed him. It was enough to make him giddy. Everything was going off without a hitch. She really was the perfect double-agent, and she didn't even know it. Soon, he'd have the m
LUKE PULLED OUT THE chair and held it. He needed to check, but his tongue might still be on the floor.Hot damn.That black dress was made of pure sin. Or at least the way it molded to Abigail's curvy, toned body was. Though it lacked the beading and detail of their employer's preferred clothing, it was in the way it fit, the elegant cut, that set his dinner date apart from every other woman here. Her make-up was light, barely there, which was for the best. Abigail's face was a study in fine bones, sloping cheeks, large eyes full of secrets, and a mouth he was desperate to make smile.She was, in a word, perfection.If only they weren't working and he could spend the entire night coaxing her secrets out of her."Thank you," Abigail said. She set her clutch on the table and shifted her chair the right amount to have the perfect view of the client's table. She flipped the catch and he glimpsed her holstered Glock. Nice."My pleasure." He circled to his seat, casting a few gla
ABIGAIL SLID HER HAND around the back of Luke's head. The short, wiry hairs tickled her palm. His mouth moved against hers, his tongue licking the seam of her lips. She inhaled his scent. It'd been driving her crazy since the plane. He thrust into her mouth, stroking her in a way that she felt in her nipples and lower.Long-dead parts of her woke up. Life and-dare she name it-excitement filled her. She'd been so focused for so long, cutting off her more human needs until she was all but robotic.Until he'd made her remember what it was like to be alive again. That what she did-was doing-made a difference to others. But this? Here, in this moment with his hand on her ass and the other in her hair-this was for her.She groaned and leaned into the kiss, lifting up just a little bit more. She wanted all of him. Right now. For herself. Not for a mission or because that was what she was told needed to be done to complete an objective-but for herself.Luke didn't know who she was-what
Luke leaned forward, kissed her hip, and followed the slight tan line. His fingers brushed through the curls covering her mound. He opened his eyes, his lips still on her, and met her gaze.He grasped her right knee and pushed it up over his shoulder. Her hips canted forward. Her stomach was all knotted up. She was completely open to him.His touch was certain, bold. This was no fumbling search. No, Luke knew exactly what he was doing to her. His fingers parted her folds, sliding back and forth.Her eyes closed and she groaned, moving with him. He was watching her, she could feel it-and she didn't care. Let him see how much he turned her on, what he was doing to her. There was nothing to gain or lose by being with him. This was for her.His thick fingers probed her entrance. One digit swirled around, teasing her nerve endings. She groaned and worked her hips, searching for the right touch.Luke's lips were hot against her thigh. He kissed up higher between her legs. He thrust
ABIGAIL SAT PROPPED UP against the headboard. She was sore in places unaccustomed to use, but in a good way. Maybe this time, with the right partner, sex was the answer.Luke pushed through the door, tip-toeing with the trays of food in hand."Hope you're still hungry." He handed over her dinner and she settled it on her thighs."It's still hot." Luke shed his pants and slid in next to her.She was starving. After the day packed with stress, then four rounds of sex, she could probably eat three times this much."Coast Guard?" Luke asked between bites."What makes you say that?""The way you walk.""No." She chuckled and ate another bite, but it tasted bitter.She didn't like lying to Luke, but what choice did she have?There was no way she could tell him the truth, could she? He was looking into the Smiths. He knew their real names. How much more would it take before he stepped into this shit with her?"Luke?""Hm?""I need you to stop digging on the Smiths. P
Two months later. Ekko's Apartment, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.EKKO STARED AT THE table with the spread of food laid out.Was there enough? Did she need more? Would Coco and Paxton like it?She reached out and adjusted the tray of cheese so it was at more of an angle instead of perfectly aligned to everything else.It looked too neat."Stop." Silas took her hand and spun her toward him, capturing her against his chest with strong arms around her waist."It looks like I'm trying too hard." She smoothed her hands up and over his shoulders."Stop. It's just Paxton and Coco.""Your best friend and his fiancé, who I haven't met yet.""What?" Silas' face scrunched up. "You've talked to her dozens of times.""In the background of you and Paxton talking. That doesn't count." She pulled away from him and proceeded to turn dishes a little this way and that."You do realize Coco spends most days digging in elephant shit and stuff, right?""Silas." She scowled at him."What?" He gr
IT FELT LIKE THE weight Silas had been carrying around in his gut had now attached itself to his eyelids. He floated in darkness, no longer asleep but not yet awake. Someone had called this twilight once, though he couldn't recall who. Something wouldn't let him go back to sleep. There was something he needed to do. It was urgent.What the hell was it?That nagging question hounded him as he ever so slowly gathered his strength.He wasn't aware of time or how long it took to wrestle one eyelid open, but at long last he peered out of his darkness into...more darkness.Well that was just dandy. What the fuck?He blinked that one eye again, letting his vision adjust. He was in a room and there was a light on, it just didn't do much.Machines beeped and whirled around him.That was a sound he could never mistake and it told him the first piece of his puzzle. From there the others fell into place, one after another.He was still in the hospital.He'd been hurt.There was a fight.
EKKO CLUNG TO THE stretcher bearing Silas out to the parking lot.She hadn't realized how bad his injuries were. He was barely keeping his eyes open. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she kept pace with the two paramedics. Silas covered her hand with his as they came to a stop at the bumper of an ambulance.Paxton, Brett and Vito were sitting inside. They were worse for wear and grim, but seemed okay.All around them police were marching uninjured people they'd arrested to sit in a line next to a chain-link fence blocking the sidewalk. The night was lit up with swirling lights that made her head spin."Where's Chayan?" she asked. Her heart was tearing in two, aching for both men.A little distance away an ambulance took off, sirens blaring. She hoped it was the one with Pasley in it."Ma'am, I need to look at that wound," a paramedic said to her.She held tight to Silas' hand. "What about Chayan? Older man, little taller than me? Salt and pepper hair?"Silas had said he was fine.
IGNEY PACED IN A circle, looking down each hall in turn.Where were they? Had he miscalculated? Were they willing to lose the woman so long as they got the man?His orders were clear. Get both the man and the woman.The woman was a symbol. Too many young people had taken to the streets because they listened to others like her.The man though, he knew things.Killing the woman was personal. Chasing her had cast him in a bad light. But the man was more important in the grand scheme of things."Fuck," Igney muttered. He glanced at a pair of men striding for the doors. "You. Come here."The men never glanced at him. Because they didn't understand him?He whirled to face Alban. "Where are the others?""I don't know where Delem and Michil are." He grimaced. "I haven't heard from them since we split up to search the building."That wasn't good.Igney had heard a lot of gunfire. Was it possible the other men he'd brought with him were dead?If both Chayan and Pasley escaped, leavin
EKKO'S ONE OFFENSIVE ATTEMPT was an utter failure. Her head spun and she was going to be sick.This wasn't good.She felt like a ragdoll being drug around, first by Igney then another man she didn't recognize. He spoke Daurian though which could only mean one thing.He was London DSS.Her body chilled. Was that from fear or the blows to the head? She didn't know anymore."Come find me, Pasley, or your little bird dies," Igney cackled into the radio.She tasted bile.Pasley had called her little bird back in the park.Igney cackled like a bad movie villain. The man was enjoying this. He was getting off on torturing them all.What about Silas?Pasley was with him.If Pasley told Silas, if he knew, they would come for her. Silas was determined to bring them all home and to keep her safe. But if he did, if he came to her rescue, Igney would kill them. Igney needed her and Chayan. Which meant he couldn't kill her here and now. It was an empty threat. Wasn't it? Did she dare belie
SILAS PUSHED HIS GROUP hard as they traversed the second floor. The sun had fully set, plunging them into complete darkness where there weren't windows or other lights.This building was a damn maze, and every turn they needed was blocked by too many people to fight their way through.There had to be more than the fifteen or so they'd estimated. More like thirty.This wasn't good.What about Ekko? Where had the others gone to?He'd hoped getting down here meant they would find her and Paxton, but so far all they'd found were a few bodies. At least they knew Paxton and Brett were eliminating the other side. But no one had taken the ammo or guns. Why? When resources were this precious, why not take them?Could they have gotten free? Did he dare hope?Something thumped in the darkness. Like a heavy footfall.Silas cursed himself as he skidded to a stop. He didn't see anything, but his gut screamed at him. He pivoted and threw himself at Chayan, shoving the other man aside. Silas w
THE DARKNESS FELT AS if it were swallowing her.Ekko clung to the back of Paxton's shirt like he'd directed. She couldn't shake the sensation that there were hands out there reaching for her. That Igney or one of the others were biding their time and waiting for the chance to kill her.Where was Silas? What about Chayan and the others?They'd been separated before she realized what was going on.Behind them a burst of gunfire spurred her on, shattering the silence.She knew it was Brett. Was he trading gunfire with someone? Those shots all sounded the same to her. She hoped he was safe. He was only one man and they had no idea how many were behind them."Stay close." Paxton reached back and pressed her hand to his back.Her head pounded with each and every step. It hurt so bad, but she didn't want to say anything. Her pain was minimal compared to what could happen."Will you cut that out?" Paxton yelled behind them.He side stepped and sort of skipped through a narrow gap betw
SILAS GRIT HIS TEETH to keep from telling Paxton to hurry the fuck up. It wasn't like Paxton was slow. The knife on his belt tool was small and no doubt dulled after cutting through several sets of thick, plastic restraints.Sitting like this it felt as though there was a ten pound weight sitting on his guts. He didn't know what the knife had cut, but Silas knew from the woozy feeling and blood making his jeans sticky it wasn't good. He had to get the others out of here before his clock ran out."Which way did they bring you up?" Silas asked Brett instead of chafing at how long getting free was taking.Brett stood by the door, a discarded piece of wood held as a weapon. "We came in some doors, up a stair to our right then a long walk down here. You?""Different way." Silas grimaced. "Do we retrace our path, or avoid it? How many people were with you?"Brett grimaced. They'd been hooded when they arrived. "Hard to say.""Let's assume at least the three that came in here plus one o
EKKO STARED IN SHOCK, her head spinning as the men left the room again."S-Silas?" she whispered so softly she barely heard herself.He slumped sideways groaning.Had that man-that monster-just stabbed Silas?"Man, Silas, dude, talk to us." Paxton had scooted forward, his arms extended behind him, attention on Silas."I'm fine." Silas' voice was strained. "Brett, Vito, how are you two?""Alive," Brett groaned."Vito? Man?" Silas shook his head and sat up straighter."Fine."This was it.Ekko swallowed.They'd done everything and in the end, they were outplayed.The DSS would kill them. She wasn't sure why they hadn't already, but she didn't doubt that death was the final move. All of these people, they were going to die because she'd been arrogant. She'd thought she knew what she was doing, when in fact she hadn't a clue.A sob tore out of Ekko making her already aching head pound harder."Ekko?" Silas called out. "Ekko, listen to me, this is going to be okay. Pax?"A ch