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If the team commander hadn’t notified Jordan of the nearly dead Mossad agent they had rescued, Micah wondered which way would his life have gone. Would he have done the same as his father? Realized that whoever Orion was working for had enough ties to his government that eventually he would have been killed either way?
Micah had realized as the waters closed over his head that night that the investigation his mother had been involved in hadn’t been sanctioned. She had been told to let it go, that the rumors were just that, rumors. Ariela Abijah had ignored that directive, and she had died for her efforts.
Orion had destroyed Micah’s life as he had known it, and Micah was determined to destroy Orion. When this mission had first begun, nothing had mattered to Micah but catching Orion. He’d never imagined that in a few short days, saving the girl would become more important.
“I need skin tags,” he told Jordan, speaking of the small skin-colored discs that housed a one-time-use electronic tracker. “Match them to her skin tone. I also want a bracelet, something simple that she can wear daily, with a GPS chip set in it that activates remotely. I don’t want anything that could trip an electronic detector if he has one.”
“Orion strips jewelry from the body,” Jordan pointed out. “He also washes them down before they awaken. A skin tag won’t work if it’s wet.”
“Jewelry and clothes are always found close to where he’s taken them, normally in the same room where they’re killed. Only once did he take a personal effect. That being the Star of David that Ariela Abijah wore,” Micah argued. “Cell phones and electronics are disposed of on the way.” He turned and stared back at Jordan fiercely. “He almost took her, Jordan. She would have been defenseless if he had gotten her into that SUV. I can’t risk it happening again.”
He had been so certain he could keep her safe. That with him, as well as the team for backup, there was no way Orion could get to her. And he’d been wrong.
“Has Nik figured out how he got to the car?”
Jordan shook his head. “He’s back at the apartment going over the camera feed now. He hasn’t found anything yet.”
“We have to assume he’s guessed that there’s the possibility that this is now an operation.” He breathed out roughly. That was going to make protecting her harder. “We need to contact the informant, see if he has any information.”
“Travis is working on that.” Jordan nodded. “We should have something within the next twelve hours.”
“They’re always awake when he slices their wrists,” Micah said quietly. “Tox reports on the victims suggest he kills them within an hour of consciousness. His drug of choice has always been GHB. He wouldn’t want to waste too much time. Get them where he’s going to kill them, time to strip and wash the body, another hour, then perhaps thirty minutes to an hour before they awaken. He’d give himself enough time that they wouldn’t awaken before he has them chained.”
“He has medical knowledge then,” Jordan stated.
Micah nodded at that. “At least enough medical knowledge to know how to adjust the drug; otherwise he’d kill them. That shit is too dangerous to mess with blind.”
His fingers curled over the metal bar at the side of the mattress as rage threatened to burn through him. He’d promised that he would protect her. He’d given her his word, built her trust. And she had nearly been taken.
He reached out and touched her hair, just her hair, tucking it gently behind her ear. The weight of her hair behind her ear seemed to comfort her when she was nervous. It was a habit he found completely charming.
This woman had fascinated him over the past four years. Even though he had only known who she was, had only glimpsed her coming or going from Emily’s, Raven’s, or Morganna’s homes, still she had drawn him. The knowledge of her courage, her strength, had always astounded him. He’d seen it in her face, in her eyes, each time he glimpsed her. In the stubborn set of her chin, the straight line of her shoulders. She’d been through hell, but she was a survivor, and she was determined to show the world exactly what she was made of.
There was such beauty in her courage. As though it were a light that shone from inside her, that beauty radiated over every inch of her.
She was a woman of strength. Such strength held a beauty that was all its own. It was a beauty he found irresistible in Risa.
“We’ll carry on as though this were a botched attempt and you’re a concerned lover. We’ll use a private security firm to take you to and from the outings you have planned,
and give Orion the impression you’ve hired a bodyguard because of the attempted kidnapping. We’ll maintain your cover as a SEAL and work from there. If we play this as we started, then he may suspect an op, but he won’t find proof of one.”
Micah touched her hair again. “He doesn’t flinch at the thought of going against an agent or agencies,” he said softly. “Ariela was Mossad. Her husband was CIA and her son was Mossad. He doesn’t worry about possible ops or complications.”
“According to our source, his employer is pushing him hard as well,” Jordan murmured. “We and our contact suspect the employer knows his identity. That’s going to make him sloppy, Micah. Keep your mind on the operation we have here, not the woman. She’s secondary.”
His head jerked up. The rage burning inside him became a conflagration that threatened to burn into his soul.
“She is not secondary. Ever,” he snarled. “Mark my words, Jordan, you risk her further than she’s already being risked and you’ll have a rogue on your hands. I won’t tolerate it.”
Jordan grimaced furiously. “Son of a bitch,” he hissed. “I knew you were losing your head over her. You can’t do that, Micah. When the mark becomes more important than the operation, shit happens. We saw that with Noah when that militia kidnapped his wife. Keep your head on straight or we’ll lose Orion and Risa. None of us want that.”
“I will not lose Risa to that bastard,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Get the items I asked for. I want her apartment checked again, now. If he managed to get more bugs installed during the commotion, then I’ll move her. But mark my words, Jordan, he won’t take her.” From me. Micah bit off the words. He couldn’t risk even the thought of such possessiveness toward her.
She was a woman of strength and courage. Such women should be protected at all times when they couldn’t protect themselves.
“Everything is in place, I’ll have the items you need,” Jordan assured him. “But you better get a handle on those emotions, Micah. I thought I could trust the lack of emotion you’ve always displayed. Especially where women are concerned. You’re going to make me start wishing I had put John in her bed instead.”
Micah stared back at Jordan, knowing his emotions were throwing a kink in the cold, logical operation they were working within. At no time before had his emotions ever been displayed. He’d been cold, hard. Even before Orion had destroyed his life, Micah had known to protect his soul. Somehow, Risa had managed to break through that barrier, and now she held a part of him that he wasn’t familiar with.
