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“When my father finds out about this, he will have you killed.”
It was obvious I was wasting my breath. Until I was able to get her into a temporary but secure location for the night, the full weight of the operation as well as the level of danger wouldn’t register. I sat back against the van, never taking my eyes off her.
What she needed to be told would be handled later. For now, all I needed to accomplish was keeping her out of trouble.
“Clean getaway,” Ryker told me from the passenger seat. He didn’t bother looking behind him. The fewer details he was privy to, the better. It was our way, the intense training we’d received aiding in our accomplishments. If you could call annihilation of hundreds of people something to brag about.
“Keep going.”
She eyed me like a hawk, her breathing labored. While she understood better than most the necessity for covert actions, it couldn’t take away the intense fear of the unknown. I thought about the dossier I’d been provided, memorizing every detail of her life since birth. She was an overachiever, her brilliant mind sought after by dozens of corporations and military personnel. Yet her behavior indicated she had no idea how much her brain was worth.
Handling her could prove to be difficult, if not impossible. The best method of dealing with her rebellious nature was providing as much of the truth as she could tolerate. Terror was inevitable. Hopefully, it would help keep her safe. That was my job, one I was required to perform at all costs.
Including losing my life.
For the next thirty minutes, the only sound was the rumble of the engine, and an occasional horn. It was best to remain quiet. Isabella finally lowered her head to her knees, still shaking but much calmer. It should be clear to her now from the fact I hadn’t put a bag over her head or a bullet in her brain that assassination wasn’t on my agenda.
When the van’s engine started to slow, I shifted toward the front, peering out the windshield. “Any situations?”
“None detected, sir,” Ryker said as he peered into the specialized communications unit both he and the driver had been provided. They would be left in the van prior to their exit, the top-secret equipment never allowed to get into enemy hands. The technology was far too important to allow out of my possession.
The driver peered into the rearview mirror for the first time, shifting his gaze toward me three seconds later. I’d known Mike for most of my life. He had no understanding of my current position, his loyalty to any cause I deemed necessary the reason he was here. As he made the final turn into the secluded area, pulling to a stop and sliding the gear into park, he gave his only statement since accepting the temporary position.
“Be safe.”
Safe wasn’t in either of our vocabularies, but it had been something every man on my team had said during our time spent in the military. We thought of it as our good luck motto.
The two men exited quickly, walking into the bank of trees without looking back.
“Get into the passenger seat,” I told her.
“Where are we going now? Disneyland?” she asked, not moving.
While we were safer than we’d been forty minutes before, the chance we’d been followed clandestinely was far too significant to waste a single minute. I grabbed her by the arm, yanking her onto the seat.
“Let go of me.”
I planted my hands on either side of her, lowering my head until our faces were inches apart. “You’re going to remain exactly where you are. Do not try and grab the wheel or do anything else I’d consider stupid. You will be able to open the door as there are no locks on your side. If you raise a hand to me, the punishment I’ll dole out will be far more significant than the one you received earlier. Am I clear?”
“Do you always treat the women you kidnap this way? What’s next, tying me to your bed, doing filthy things to me?”
Her spite was fascinating, something that didn’t match her perceived conservative persona. She’d also managed to get under my skin to the point my cock had yet to stop aching.
So I did the unthinkable.
I said exactly what was on my mind.
“Yes, Isabella. If you continue misbehaving, I’ll enjoy stripping away your neat and tidy clothes, exposing the voluptuous body you usually seem desperate to hide, tonight being the exception. Then I assure you that the joy I’ll get in taking everything I want from you will fuel the fire that burns deep inside the both of us. When I’m finished, you’ll beg me for more.”
I took several deep breaths as I allowed her to register what I’d said. There was more fire in her eyes than I’d ever seen in any woman before. I’d crossed a line, and would likely be terminated after my first assignment, but it was well worth it. Why?
Because before the mission ended, the lovely Isabella Adams would be writhing under my body. And yes, she would scream out my name.
CHAPTER2
“And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.”
—Joseph Rodman Drake
