The noise of the growing mob outside swelled louder. A muted roar made by hundreds of angry voices chanting one of the only Urdu phrases he knew.Death to America.Hunter Phillips checked his weapon one last time and turned in a crouch to face the six other men now trapped with him in the burning Interior Ministry building. Three of his security contractor teammates, and three international diplomats who were scared out of their fucking minds and visibly struggling to hold it together.The sound of more breaking glass shattered the tension in the room. Another fire alarm blared to life from down one of the hallways, signaling that the flames were spreading fast. Already the smoke was thick enough to make his eyes sting. “We’ve got a minute or two, max, before they scale the wall,” he said to the man on his right.Scottie, the team leader and Hunter’s best friend, scanned their darkened surroundings, but they both knew there was only one way out. “Call again for an emergency exfil,” he
Scottie ended Hunter’s descent with an upraised fist that commanded him to stop. His voice was calm, his eyes intense as he stared up at him. “That’s an order, Hunt. Get your ass up there.”Everything in him rebelled at the command, but he knew Scottie was right. His first duty was to the diplomats they’d voluntarily come to save. He’d get everyone to the roof and direct the bird in, then come back for Scottie if necessary. “Roger that.”Suddenly Scottie’s head snapped around to face the corridor and he fired twice at more attackers. Hunter turned and ran, taking three stairs at a time. Four strides up, he heard Scottie grunt. Hunter whirled in time to see him struggling to his knees, blood pouring out from beneath the bottom of his tactical vest.Without hesitation he lunged down the stairs toward his friend.“I said go!” Scottie’s annoyed gaze bored into his, filled with resolve. Hunter read the unspoken message there. Scottie was prepared to give his life to save the rest of them.
Bent over his keyboard in his third floor office, Youssef Khan inspected the latest schematic in his AUTOCAD program. He was concentrating so hard that he jolted a little in his chair when his computer signaled an instant message with a loud ding. He frowned. He never got instant messages at work. Only at home when he was communicating with one person in particular.His heart rate kicked up a notch. When he read the username along with the message, written in Pashto, his insides tightened.Is she here?It was him. Youssef almost couldn’t believe it.They’d never attempted to contact him here at work before, but IM was his contact’s preferred method of communication. The man was paranoid about phones being tapped and e-mails being traced, so he was always sending messages via different usernames and accounts to avoid detection and tracking. Youssef straightened and considered his reply. Whatever the contact’s network wanted, it must be important for them to take the risk of contacting
“He’s here.”Khalia blinked and looked up from her laptop at Ray Dunlop, the fifty-eight- year-old co-founder of Fair Start Foundation, standing in the hotel room doorway. “What? Who?”“Your team leader.”Huh? Was her jetlag so bad that she’d screwed up the date somehow? A quick check of her calendar assured her she hadn’t. “He’s a day early.”“Yeah, how about that.” Ray’s sun-weathered features gave nothing away about what he thought of the head of her newly arrived security detail. She knew nothing about the man in question except that he’d been handpicked by Tom, the owner of Titanium Security. Normally she would have at least read a file on the men in her detail before arriving here in Pakistan but in light of recent events, Tom had been left scrambling to find replacement contractors for the job.“Downstairs?” she asked, a little nervous about meeting the man who would be responsible for her safety for the duration of her visit.Ray nodded. “In the lobby.”Okay then, apparently f
Given what he’d seen and read about her in her file, Khalia Patterson wasn’t at all what he’d expected. And Hunter wasn’t the kind of man who liked to be surprised. Not in this line of work.Next time he talked to Tom, he was going to give him hell for this.Hunter held Khalia’s gaze as he approached and pushed aside his misgivings about the job. First off, she was a hell of a lot prettier than he’d realized. The few pictures he’d seen of her hadn’t been of good quality, and her face had been all puffy and wet from crying at her father’s funeral. She might not be beautiful, but there was definitely something about her that drew his interest. She moved with a smooth, purposeful gait that spoke of a high level of self-esteem and he had to give her points for maintaining eye contact without flinching because right now he wasn’t making an effort to mask his feelings about this detail.Taking her out to the tribal region while there was a credible threat against her life? Even if he hadn’t
The knock on her hotel room door came at exactly nine the next morning. Hunter was punctual, that was for sure. She liked that he cared about attention to detail.Khalia strode over to answer the door, took a deep breath to quell the butterflies flitting around in her stomach before pulling it open. She and Hunter hadn’t gotten off on the best footing yesterday, and it was her fault. He probably thought she was a total bitch and hated the thought of being near her for the next week. She was determined to make amends for any damage she’d caused and smooth things over.She pulled the door open. Hunter stood there with his hair still damp from a recent shower and wearing cargo pants and a collared shirt. “Hi.”“Morning.” His intent gaze swept over her, taking in the modest knee-length blue dress and black silk scarf she’d covered her hair and shoulders with. Though there was nothing overtly sexual in the perusal, she could sense the male approval there and a shocking burst of heat filled
By the time they reached the Ministry of Education building, nerves wereonce again jumping in her belly. Hunter escorted her upstairs to the appointed office without a word. “I’ll be in the lobby when you’re done,” was all he said before leaving.Khalia went into the meeting, relieved to have Ray there with her. The minister—a portly man somewhere in his fifties, dressed in a business suit— stood and shook their hands, then offered Khalia his condolences about her father while an appointed photographer took some shots of them. She put on a smile.This one’s for you, Dad.He’d be proud of her for doing this. Knowing that helped a lot and kept her centered. Even though he was gone forever, his approval still meant a lot to her. She could be brave for him, for his memory and legacy.Together, she and Ray laid out the purpose for their trip, Fair Start’s intentions for the new girls’ school in the Swat Valley, and their belief that girls deserved the right to a quality education, no matt
What? Too stunned to protest, Khalia sprawled flat on the pavement. The breath whooshed out of her as Hunter’s hard weight landed on her back, squashing her against the burning hot sidewalk. Someone near her screamed. A split second later she heard the loud bang of an impact, then the still air was ripped apart by a violent explosion. The force of it tore over her like a raging wind, whipped through her body like a shockwave. Her eardrums and lungs felt like they’d exploded from the pressure. For a split second the sidewalk rolled and bucked beneath them as if they were on a boat.It took a moment for the truth to sink in. A bomb.Her heart hammered against her ribs. Hunter was still on top of her, his arms crossed over her head and face to shield her. She didn’t dare move. People were screaming, running past them, even over them. Hunter grunted when someone stepped on him, but he didn’t budge from his position atop her. She could hear the sound of glass shattering close by, hitting t
Ethan watched Ann fluff his pillows for what seemed like the hundredth time. He smiled, enjoying her pampering him. He knew she was just concerned about him and he enjoyed every minute of it. It had been a close one. So close he’d made a decision, one he had yet to talk to her about. There had hardly been a time when they were alone.When he’d woken in the ICU, she was there and so were a half dozen nurses. Then when he’d come to again, he’d been in a private room with his parents hovering over him. It had been nice having them there, but he wished for some time alone with Ann.Then she had left for the evening, promising she’d be back first thing in the morning. She had walked in five minutes after his parents and Roberta had. Now her family was there, chatting and acting like he was a hero.Blake was there as well. The kid had grown tall, but still looked the same. Ethan could tell he was glad he was okay, even if he played it cool. Javan had even stopped by at one point before headi
Ethan was fighting for his life. There were two of them, he’d spotted them instantly when he’d entered the large stadium. His eyes had scanned not the stage, where Ann was focused, but instead the roof and upper bleachers of the large stadium. It had taken him only a few seconds to see the dark spot hovering in a private booth area. The nose of the rifle stuck out from the box. With his mind totally focused on getting there quickly, he lost track of Ann. He knew she’d make it to her father and hoped to God she had enough sense to stay down. When he reached the opening to the booth, he threw himself in and charged the man, covered in darkness. He didn’t see the second man come out of theshadows until the knife was already on a downward arch.Trying to block it, he felt the blade hit his rib cage, tearing his shirt and the skin below. Turning, he connected a solid blow to the skinny man’s nose, shattering it and sending blood splattering all over both of them. Paul, the senator’s assis
Ann and Ethan spent the next few days locked in the editing room. They had gone over every inch of footage that had been uploaded from Rio before the incident. There really wasn’t anything other than crowd shots they could use.She’d been enjoying their time together. There was hardly a moment when they weren’t together. Javan had even been moved over to watching Blake instead.Ethan had been spending all his time with her. He slept in her bed, they ate dinner together, they ate breakfast together. He sat across from her when she worked in her office. They had been spending a lot of their evenings in the editing room together. She couldn’t explain it, she just enjoyed spending her time with him. He was easy to get along with, and she didn’t want to be apart from him.She’d woken the other night to an empty bed and had instantly felt empty herself. Then she’d heard him talking on the phone in the other room. She’d quietly rushed in and smiled when she’d seen him pacing her living room.
“I can’t believe it. It’s taken almost a week and they are finally going to let me run my piece from Rio. They want it edited a little more and some more back story, but the executives want it by Friday.” Ann was so nervous, she was pacing her small office.Ethan sat across from her and looked bored. “Are you listening to me?” She picked up the nearest item, which happened to be a stress ball, and tossed it athis head. He caught it and proceeded to squeeze it playfully as she smiled.“I’m always listening. I knew they were going to run it. It’s a good piece. Plus, you had an excellent cameraman.” He smiled and tossed the ball back at her.She caught it and set it back on her desk, then walked around and sat in her chair. There was so much to do in the next few days, she didn’t think she’d have time. Preparing a piece this big took a team and her team… she closed her eyes on the flash of memory that popped into her head. Well, her team was dead.“I’m going to spend the next few days g
Ann was bored. Since returning home, she’d gone to work, gone to the grocery store. Her kitchen was now fully stocked with groceries. When she’d arrived home last night she had realized there wasn’t anything to eat since she’d left for a long journey. She’d visited her family and done other boring everyday tasks, but was still bored out of her mind. How could she ever get back in the swing of a normal life after what she’d gone through with Ethan?She’d been happily surprised to see Javan yesterday at the store. When they’d come back to her place, he’d come in and installed several small cameras throughout her place. She’d talked to him and had found out that he’d had to leave Rio on account of helping them escape. She felt bad, but was happy that he was going to be helping Ethan out now.She was in the middle of watching the evening news, when the doorbell rang. She hadn’t even heard a word the announcer said since she’d been too busy thinking of Ethan again.Knowing it was the pizza
The next morning Ann marched into her office with a plan. There was no way she was going to let Anthony fire her. She walked out of the elevators and past the secretary with her head held high. She avoided talking to anyone; she just wanted to make it into her office. She was so focused on getting there, she didn’t see the man sitting behind her desk until after she’d closed the door, leaned back on it, and released a sigh of relief.“Was it that bad?” Dave asked from her chair. She couldn’t help it, she squealed. She’d only met Dave Myers once before, on the day she’d been hired almost five years ago. He was an older gentlemen with silver hair. His suitsalways looked pressed and he never had a hair out of place. He had a reputation for being a hard-ass and she’d done everything she could to avoid dealing with him directly.“Oh,” she stood up straight and ran her hands over her skirt, trying to make sure she looked perfect.“Come in, Miss Rhodes. I’d like to hear all about your adven
She smiled again. “Thanks, Daddy. I knew you’d have all the answers. What can I do now?”“Well, if he doesn’t come back on his own… If I know anything about my little girl, you’ll find a way to make him crawl back.”That night she lay in her bed for a few hours listening to the sounds of the city around her. She missed the sounds of the jungle and of Ethan sleeping beside her. She missed his warmth, his smell, his touch.She knew she was going to have a hard time falling back into a pattern. How could she ever go back to a normal life after what they’d been through? Did she want to? More importantly, did she want to do it all alone? Even though they’d only known each other a few months, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.The shadows on her ceiling did little to soothe her as the light hit the leaves that were starting to fall from the large tree outside her window. She turned and hit her pillow a few times, trying to get comfortable. She’d had no problem sleeping in the dirt or wet
The next morning they met his parents for a day trip to the beach, something they’d done since he was a kid. Usually they’d spend the whole night sleeping in a tent or sleeping bags under the stars if the weather held out.This time they had stayed late enough to have some of his dad’s homemade mussel soup. He’d laughed as he taught Ann how to dig for mussels. She’d been a little grossed out at first, but after he’d showed her how to collect the first few, she’d rolled her sleeves up and been totally focused.She’d even helped him collect wood for their fire. He’d always enjoyed having a campfire on the beach. Something about the smell of burning wood and the salt from the ocean made him feel like he was truly home.As they sat on a large piece of driftwood in front of the fire, he pulled her close as he watched his parents laughing about a story they were telling.It was almost like life was going in slow motion for a few minutes. His mind flashed from seeing the same scene as a chil
She’d toed off her own heels as she walked her way back to just below his hips.His erection sat between them, proud and erect. She knew he wanted her to touch him, but she leaned over and started kissing and rubbing her hands over his chest again.She wanted this to last. She wanted to enjoy every inch of him, slowly. “Ann, your killing me.”“Don’t rush me. I’m enjoying myself too much to go fast.” She smiled as she nibbled her way down his chest. When she reached his belly button, she dipped her tongue in and swirled it around the sexy spot. He had a light covering of hair that trailed down to his sex. She followed it until finally, she gripped him lightly in her hands. She watched as his eyes closed and he moaned while arching his head.“You like it when I touch you?”“God, yes!” He almost jumped when she swirled her tongue around the head, lapping at him as she used her hands to stroke his length. She cupped his balls as she used her mouth to please him.His hands plunged into her