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Her grin was sharp as she looked down at him. “Oh, it wouldn’t be a mistake.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Gabe left her there to go meet trouble head-on.
He found cover behind a tree trunk the size of a small car and waited patiently. Heavy footsteps crunched over twigs, and he stuck out his foot as two of them passed by. One of the guards tripped and went sprawling to the ground, and Gabe struck out at the other with a palm to the chest, stopping his heart instantly. He broke the neck of the one who was already down before the man could rise off his knees.
Gabe ignored the steady stream of fire that came from behind him—despite her wanting to kill him, he trusted Grace to fight at his side during battle. It was after the battle that worried him.
He went searching for his next victim.
Only a few minutes passed before he stood in the middle of a ring of twelve guards—all of them dead. None of them had fired a shot. She was even better than he remembered.
Grace was waiting for him when he caught up to where he’d left her.
“Time’s ticking,” he said, looking at his watch.
They picked up the pace and ran the last mile in silence and slowed as they came to a winding dirt road with deeply rutted tire tracks, making footing tricky.
“Did we miss the pickup?” Grace asked.
A forest-green Humvee coated with a thick layer of dust came out of the trees behind them and pulled to a stop. Grace had her weapon out and her finger on the trigger.
“He’s mine,” Gabe said, opening the back door.
Grace slid across the hot leather seat.
The driver turned and looked at Gabe. Logan Grey had worked with him on other missions. He was a quiet man, tall and sinewy with muscle. He wore his dark-blond hair long, not as a fashion statement, but to help cover the terrible scars on the back of his neck. Logan was former MI6, but an almost fatal accident had gained him retirement before he was ready. Gabe hadn’t hesitated at snatching Logan up to join the team. No one knew explosives better than Logan Grey.
“You cut it close, boss,” Logan said. “In thirty seconds I wouldn’t be here.”
“Let’s roll,” Gabe said. “Be on the lookout for company.”
Logan glanced once at Grace and then nodded, putting his submachine gun in his lap.
Gabe closed the window that divided the front and back seat so he and Grace had complete privacy.
“Who’s your friend?” Grace asked.
“Logan Grey. Don’t worry. He’s heard all about you and still agreed to help me find you.”
“I’m sure he’s a real stand-up guy.”
“He’ll grow on you,” Gabe said, keeping his gaze on the terrain around them, looking for threats. “So what do you think? It’s just like old times. We always made a great team.”
“Tell me what you want, and then let me go,” she said. “I’ve got a tight schedule to keep.”
“You don’t have another job lined up once you deliver the flash drive to the South Koreans. Looks like you’re a free agent.” Gabe watched for a reaction, but she showed no surprise that he’d been keeping up with her movements. She waited him out with her silence and a hard look, and he decided to give in to the unspoken standoff…just this once.
“I’ve left the CIA,” he told her.
“I heard. Congratulations. Let me go.”
Gabe smiled and stretched out across the seat, crowding her with the length of his legs, but she didn’t budge an inch. “Did you hear I’d joined the private sector and opened my own agency?”
She laughed, low and sexy, and the smoky sound swirled around him until he was dizzy with desire. “So, good boy Gabriel Brennan has decided to become a bad boy and go rogue. I assume the agency is displeased by your decision?”
“Not at all,” he said, shrugging. “They know when something is out of their control. My agency is privately funded and our reputation is above reproach. Even the CIA recognizes the benefits unknown money can buy. Governments are still hampered by rules, for the most part. Sometimes there are jobs where the rules need to be broken. That’s when they call me.”
“Well, bully for you,” she said. “You always did manage to get what you wanted. Everything Gabe Brennan touches turns to gold.”
