Authors: Allie K. Adams
At Any Cost (33 page)
Dan's eyes rested on Donovan. "I'm in charge of this mission. I say we find something else."
Donovan didn't back down. "And I'm your goddamn superior, Weber. I say we use her."
"You are not my superior on this, not anymore. You gave me the green light to do this my way. You are on the sidelines. This is my op and I say we find another way."
"Listen to yourself! You're obsessed. Take a step back, Weber. If it were anyone else, you'd agree."
He growled in frustration. Damn, damn, damn. He was right and Dan knew it. Pushing his personal feelings for JT aside wouldn't be easy, but he had no choice. "Fine. You two stay here." He stood and started stuffing guns into his belt.
"Where are you going?" Snyder asked. He eyed him and shook his head. "Dude, you're not going in there alone."
"Take Donovan back to the hotel." Dan ordered and took a step toward the compound.
"Hell, no." Snyder stood and copied Dan by shoving guns into his pants. "I'm going in with you."
"Snyder, I gave you a direct order."
"Fuck your order. Tombstone courage will get you killed."
Dan heard his own words used against him. He said the same thing to
Opie
the first time he met him. He'd been right then, and knew Snyder was right now. Still, he couldn't risk anyone else on this. He didn't want anyone else's death on his conscience.
Snyder continued to press. "You did not drag me all the way out into the jungle to sit on my ass while you risk yours. Why should you get to have all the fun? Let's get in and get out. Donovan can stay here and listen in. If things get hairy, he knows what to do."
"I do?" Donovan looked up at them, his eyes wide.
Dan closed his eyes and allowed a few of his favorite curses to roll off his tongue. He rubbed his neck, having suddenly come down with a pounding headache. It stemmed from where Snyder hit him on the back of his head.
"Headache?" Snyder asked.
"Yes," Dan hissed, keeping his eyes closed.
"Why?" Donovan asked.
Dan opened his eyes and rested them on Donovan. "Snyder knocked me out yesterday."
"In my defense, I did it to save your ass. Lest we forget. Besides, you did pay me back by nearly breaking my neck."
Donovan sat there, looking at Dan and Snyder, following whoever was talking. He finally rested his eyes on Dan. "So Turner gave you the makeup job on your eye. Snyder knocked you out. And you have a habit of choking the members of your team. Huh. Interesting way to run a mission."
Weber gave Donovan the finger and stepped out of the hole. "The signal is three tongue clicks. Any other noises and you shoot first, ask questions later."
Donovan nodded, swallowed. He grabbed one of the many guns and pulled it to his chest. His face paled as he sank down and darted his eyes back and forth. Dan rolled his eyes and walked away, pulling Snyder with him.
"Donovan isn't quite the man I remember."
"Tell me about it," Dan answered. He pulled out his knife and started hacking away at the thick brush in front of them.
"And you thought he was the mole?"
Dan slowed, turned to look at him. "How did you know that?"
"Why else would you want to take a guy using a cane for a walk in the middle of the jungle if not to get information out of him? Did you have to make the guy cry?"
Dan turned back around and kept hacking away. "He's not the mole. I told you. His wife is."
"No wonder he cried."
"Yeah, having the woman you love betray you..." Dan didn't want to finish.
"That's not what I'm talking about. The mere thought of settling down with one woman brings a tear to my eyes. You will never see a ring on this man's finger."
Just wait
, Dan said to himself.
When you meet her, you won't even know what happened. And the mere thought of
not
settling down with her will bring a tear to your eyes.
Dan had to stop thinking about JT. If not for the sake of the mission, then for the sake of his own sanity. "Donovan not only lost his wife on this deal, but there's a good chance he'll go to prison. His career in NASSD is over even if they don't fire him. No one wants to work with someone they can't trust."
"But you said it was his wife."
"He talks too much, especially when it comes to something as top secret at the
"Hey, don't you think it's time you let me in on what we're really dealing with? Who is Leon anyway?"
Dan sliced through a vine and pulled it aside. "
"How? Like a bacteria?"
"No. Worse. Nanobots."
"What the hell is a nanobot?"
"A sophisticated little robot, on a molecular scale. We were told they were being used to discover new ways to rebuild
"But that wasn't what they were doing. They were building a weapon, using the nanobots to target
Snyder blew out a breath. "Sounds like a science fiction movie. Do you know how to stop them?"
"There is an antidote, but it only works if the nanobots haven't made it into the bloodstream."
"What happens then?"
"Then you bury the poor bastard. The antidote can't catch them. They are both being carried through the body at the same speed. Think of it like a roller coaster. The guy in the back will never be able to catch the guy in the front. They are both at the same constant motion."
Snyder put his hand on Dan's shoulder, stopping him. When Dan turned, he noticed how pasty white Snyder had turned. "That weapon is on its way down here?"
"It may already be here."
Snyder shook his head. "Holy shit, Weber. If Mercado gets his hands on something that destructive—" He didn't finish. They both knew the rest of the equation. "How could something like this get out?"
Dan turned around and kept going. "Our mole."
They fell silent as they approached the compound. Dan signaled for Snyder to stand watch while he snuck around to the side of the house.
Again, no guards. The way JT described how many men were at that first dinner, the place had to be crawling with them. So where were they? He looked at his watch. It was late, but midnight was hardly late enough for everyone to be in bed already. Besides, Mercado ordered twenty-four hour surveillance on the compound.
Dan searched the area of the house for the best way to break in undetected. With locked windows and doors, he still counted over a dozen ways in. Mercado really needed to work on his security.
Dan decided the roof would be the least obvious. Looking around one last time, he pulled himself up a trellis attached to the side of the house and rounded over the top. Keeping low, he made his way over to the other side of the house, where he spotted an attic window. Without hesitation, he swung over and penetrated the opening feet first. At least the shatters fell onto the insulation. He only hoped the guards didn't pick up the slight noise.
The attic was a mess, dusty, and smelled musty. Dan stifled a cough and stepped lightly between the clutter, careful to remain on the framing. A sliver of light at the other end of the room caught his attention. Stepping softly, he made his way over to the light.
It was a door. Slowly, he turned the handle and cracked the door open. A long, skinny set of steep stairs descended into a dimly lit hallway. He pushed on his earpiece, listening for JT. Still sleeping.
Amazing. Chaos all around her and she sleeps. Another rookie mistake. He'd have to have a word with her about that. He knew better than to simply walk down the stairs. That would be too easy. Maybe a few steps down. He stopped and listened. Nothing. A few more steps down. Still silent.
There were only a few steps left. Dan crouched down and scanned the hall. It was empty. He stepped down and deftly crept into the shadows against one side of the hall, stopped and listened. JT's breathing distracted him. He turned off his earpiece.
Muffled voices came from behind a set of double doors Dan stopped in front of. Holding his breath, he leaned against the door and listened. He couldn't make out what they were saying, only that one voice was male, and the other distinctively female.
It had to be Mercado and his new guest. Dan could rush into the room and kill them both right now, and no one would know until morning. He could then find JT and together they would haul ass out of Colombia. Mission accomplished.
There was just one problem. Mercado was their best chance at Peck. Peck had
Dan glanced back at Mercado's door as he made his way down to the next door. No light coming from under the door. Trying the knob, Dan stopped when it wouldn't turn. Locked. He'd bet his good eye JT was on the other side. He could
feel
her.
Dan knelt down and worked the lock. It opened and he pushed his way inside, gently closing the door behind him.
She came out of nowhere. Jumping on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck, she went for his eyes. Dan spun out of the headlock and pulled her to him, her back against his chest, his hand over her mouth. Dear God she felt so good up against him. He rested his lips against her tempting ear.
"I only have one good eye left, Turner. And I'm going to need it to find my way back out."
JT stiffened and struggled to spin around. Dan released his hold on her, only to have her turn around and promptly slap him across the face. Holy shit, right across the bruise she gave him last night.
Even in the dark, he could see the fire in her eyes. "You scared the hell out of me. Are you insane? What are you doing here?" She kept her voice at a whisper.
Dan let out a long silent sigh. This woman was going to be the death of him. Not only was he taking an incredibly stupid risk to see her, she was slowly beating him to death. "You are going to have to find a less painful way to greet me, Turner."
She laughed nervously, then covered her mouth when it came out louder than she expected. His chest swelled at the sound. Before reason could overtake his sanity, he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her, tasting her. He loved her lips. His tongue met hers as they both fought to take control of the kiss. Cupping her face with his hands, he gave her a final nibble before reluctantly pulling back. God, he wanted to get her the hell out of here. She was too fragile for something like this.
Who was he kidding? Fragile was not a word he'd ever use to describe JT Turner. Knowing if he didn't touch her again, hold her again, he'd never leave, Dan pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
"You're trembling," JT pointed out.
Was he? It took Dan a moment to realize it. Jesus Christ. He was so scared for her it actually had him shaking. But if this FUBAR of a plan didn't work, he'd have no way of finding her. Having her plant her earrings on Mercado meant losing her. If this op went any further south than it already had, it could mean losing her forever. He started to shake again.
"There's been a change. You need to plant your earrings on Mercado."
She stiffened and pushed out of his embrace, looked up at him. She lost her color, and the sparkle in her eyes disappeared. "But you told me to never take them off."
"I know what I said. We need to track Mercado when he meets with Peck. We need to hear the deal."
"You don't have any other tracers? What about all the gadgets that Gadget Master guy makes? Don't you have anything else?"
Dan shook his head, still kicking himself for not thinking this far ahead. "I didn't grab any. I didn't think I'd need them. Sweetheart, you're earrings are our only option."
Her eyes widened, but she didn't protest. She didn't have to. Dan read it in her eyes. The earrings were her only link to him. Without them, she was a sitting duck and she knew it. She nodded, accepting her fate. She'd be alone against Mercado and his men, and it terrified the hell out of her. But she did it without mouthing another protest.
His admiration for her went through the roof.
He'd never felt more for her than he did right now. Damn, if he could change places with her, he would. In a heartbeat. Just to see that fear in her eyes made him ache. "I'll be right on the other side of the fence, JT. I won't let anything happen to you."