Page 56 of Dangerous Liaisons

“Hamilton wouldn’t jeopardize her life.”

“He wouldn’t see it as jeopardizing her life. She was never anywhere near Colombia. So where is the harm in using her name to catch an informer who threatened national security?” Perez paused. “You see, there is one person in this world Robert Lanton fears.”

“You?” Jesse offered.

He nodded. “I own him.”

“You’re his meal ticket.”

Perez laughed. “True, and I fed him well. But nothing I own sits idle.”

“Your money bought you the lives of five elite soldiers.”

Perez gave a deprecating snort. “Such information would not be worth ten million dollars.”

“Ten million—we only found two.”

Perez flashed brilliant white teeth. “He will not receive the other eight.”

Anger flushed through her. “I don’t give a damn how much blood money you paid. You killed them, you bastard. I—” she broke off at realizing what she was about to reveal. “Your men slaughtered them.”

“Self-defense,” he replied. “Your men would have done the same if my men had attacked them.” Jesse started to reply, but he cut her off. “Think, Miss Evans, you’re missing the big picture.”

Despite the blood that roared through her ears something clicked in her mind. He’d said national security. Selling out Green Team was a security breach, but wouldn’t be considered national security. A submarine that could enter U.S. waters without detection… The big picture snapped into focus.

Jesse kept her voice level as she said, “We both know more Cartel subs get through our net than those we catch, but the sub you’re building is reported to be far more sophisticated than even the supersub we snagged last year. Your sub will need help penetrating the sonar surveillance network strung across the Caribbean. You might make it past the sonar net by shadowing freighters along shipping routes, but unlike the small tin cans your predecessors used, you can’t hope to go unnoticed by our Alpha-class subs. A U.S hunter-killer subs will hone in on your equipment in ten minutes flat—and that’s if the Navy or Coast Guard don’t find you first.” A smile of admiration spread across his face as she ended, “You need Lanton to hand over our sub locations and patrol routes.”

Warmth swept through her. Robert Lanton hadn’t set her up simply as an agent who’d sold out her team. She was a highly skilled and very dangerous operative guilty of treason.

Perez lifted his drink in a toast. “As I said, national security.” He took a sip and set the glass back on the table.

“Ten million dollars is a great deal of money. Lanton wouldn’t give up future payments of that size.”

“He was…torn, but ultimately realized I would never release him from my employ.” Perez shrugged. “He made the mistake of thinking he could take my money then dispose of me.”

“Why tell me all this?” Jesse waved her hand, indicating her surroundings. “Like you said, you can kill me and no one would know the difference.”

“Robert Lanton counted on you finding me, and one of us killing the other. It didn’t matter which. The one left standing would be dead by his assassin’s hand.”

She opened her mouth to rebut, but the logic hit hard. All she’d had to do was her job in order to set Lanton’s plan into motion. This explained why she’d escaped Colombia. Green Leader wanted her alive so she could kill Perez. Then, as Perez said, if she failed, another assassin would finish the job. Then kill her. Jesse felt as if a knife had pierced her heart.

Cole.