Undercover Captor
Autore
Cynthia Eden
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HarlequinChapter One
âYouâre making a mistake!â Dr. Tina Jamison shouted as she was hauled out of the nondescript brown van and pushed into the dimly lit parking garage.
But the four menâall wearing black ski masksâdidnât seem to care that theyâd grabbed the wrong woman.
And they had gotten the wrong person. They must have made some kind of mistake. There was no way these armed gunmen could actually want her.
The man on the right jabbed his gun into her back. âMove!â
When someone shoved a gun at her, Tina knew exactly what to do. Move. Just as the man had ordered. But Tina was scared and she stumbled, nearly slamming face-first into the cement as she hurried to follow the guyâs order.
This canât be happening. This canât be happening.
Sheâd been safe in her hotel room less than an hour ago. Sleeping. Minding her business.
Sheâd woken to find a man leaning over her. His hand had flattened over her mouth before she could scream. Then heâd put a gun to her head and told her that if she wanted to live, sheâd follow his orders.
Tina wanted to keep living.
One of the men pushed open the stairwell door. Then the gun was poking into her back once more. Tina got the message loud and clear, and she started double-timing it up those concrete stairs.
Why? Why have they taken me? âLook, youâve got the wrong girl.â She tried telling them this fact for what had to be the fiftieth time. They needed to see reason and listen to her. âIâm a doctor, okay? Just a doctor whoââ
âWe know exactly who you are,â the man with the gun replied in a hard, lethal voice. âAnd we know just what Mercer will pay to get you back.â
Her blood iced as Tina grabbed for the stair railing. Mercer. Oh, no. With the mention of Bruce Mercerâs name, the situation went from bad to unbelievably, terribly worse. Because Bruce Mercer was the director of a covert group of agents who conducted secret missions for the United Statesâ government. Bruce Mercer operated the EOD, the Elite Operations Division.
Bruce Mercer was also her boss.
But Iâm not an agent! Iâm a doctor! The one who patches up the wounded after a battle.
Because Tina had learned long ago that she didnât mix so well with danger.
Her heart was about to gallop out of her chest right then and, taking a breathâOh, yes, it was hard. Painful. She was very afraid that she might be about to hyperventilate. Her breath sure seemed to be wheezing out with each frantic exhale.
âCan youâŠâ Tina huffed. âMove the gun?â If the guy stumbled, that gun could accidentally discharge. She knew firsthand the kind of severe damage a shot to the spine would do to a victim.
âNo, I canât.â The gun jabbed harder into her.
âLook, IâIâŠâ She tried to suck in air. Donât panic. Donât. âIâm not who you think I am!â She wasnât an EOD agent. If these men were taking her because they mistakenly thought that she had some kind of classified information she could give to them, they were dead wrong. She didnât have the clearance level needed to access that sort of intel.
âWe know youâre not an agent,â the man snapped. âNow keep climbing. Faster.â
She climbed until her legs burned. Flight after flight. Finally a door opened above her. The scent of fresh air and the mighty Mississippi River teased her nose as Tina was led outside.
Stars glittered overhead. Glancing around, she realized they were on a rooftop. AndâŠand she could hear the whoop-whoop-whoop of an approaching helicopter.
This is so not good. As if masked men with guns could be good. But any group that came equipped with their own helicopter sure equaled a whole world of trouble in her book.
Fear had Tina shaking, but she made herself turn to face the gunman. âI-if you know Iâm not an agentâŠâ She had to raise her voice, nearly shouting, to be heard over the helicopterâs approach. The wind from its blades blew against her, and she trembled. âIf you know that, then let me go! Iâm of no use to you.â
The masked manâthe fellow had to be the leader because no one else had done any talkingâshook his head. âMercerâs daughter is going to be plenty of use to us.â
Mercerâs daughter? Tinaâs eyes widened. Definitely the wrong person. âIâm not his daughter!â
A rough, twisted bark of laughter escaped from the gunman. âSure you arenât, sweetheart.â A Texas accent. She could just hear it slip around his words. âThatâs why Mercer pays for your apartment in D.C. and why he sprung for the fancy hotel here in New Orleans. Why heâs been paying your bills for years.â More laughter. âAt first, I thought you might be his lover, and that connection would have been just as useful to me.â
The helicopter circled around to land. Her abductors had given her time to dressâa humiliating task since theyâd watched her every move. The wind from the landing helicopter made her T-shirt cling tightly to her chest and it tossed her hair wildly around her face.
âThen I got intel that revealed your true identity.â He let the gun trail over her cheek. If she had been an agent, Tina would have done something incredibly cool right then. Such as wrestle the gun from him or give him a sharp right hook.
Then take all of these jerks out.
But she wasnât an agent. She knew how to heal, not how to hurt.
âYouâve been the one constant in Mercerâs life since you got out of med school. Youâre that constant because youâre Bruce Mercerâs daughter. The daughter he tried to hide after your mother was killed in that attack in France.â
She swallowed. The fact that sheâd been born in France was really going to work against her here.
âOf course, if youâre not his daughter, you can just prove that to me.â
The gun was still at her cheek.
The helicopterâs blades had stopped.
âProve who you really are,â the man in the mask murmured. There were slits over his eyes so that he could see out, but the rest of his face was concealed. All she knew was that the guy was big, with narrow shoulders and hips, and that his words carried a slight Texas accent. She couldnât physically identify any of the men who had taken her.
âAre we ready?â another voice called out as heavy footsteps approached from behind her. This voice didnât hold a Texas accent. This one just sounded bored.
It also sounded familiar.
Tina felt her cheeks turn ice-cold, then they burned red hot.
Those footsteps kept approaching. âYeah, we got our package,â the gunman said with a quick nod. âThough sheâs been whining the whole time about us having the wrong woman.â
The weapon finally left her cheek. Moving slowly, carefully, because she sure didnât want to set anyone off, Tina turned to face the man. The helicopter waited behind him, perched perfectly in place.
There was a ski mask over this manâs face, too. Slits for his eyes, a hole for his mouth. As the others, he was also dressed in black from head to toe.
But she knew him; knew those broad shoulders, the tall, tough build. He towered over the other men by several inches and he walked with a slow, stalking grace.
Relief swept through her and Tina felt dizzy. Drew Lancaster.
âIf sheâs been talking so muchâŠâ his familiar voice rolled over her, edged with a Mississippi drawl, âthen maybe you should have just gagged her.â
Wait. What? Tinaâs eyes widened in horror. That wasnât what Drew was supposed to say. Drew wasnât a criminal. He was a good guy. He was a federal agent with the EOD.
He moved behind her, and put his hand over her mouth. âSee?â Drew murmured. âEasy enough to stop her from talking.â
She nearly bit him.
But Drew bent and put his mouth right next to her ear. âStay calm.â A bare whisper. One Tina wasnât even sure she hadnât imagined. But sheâd felt the warm rush of his breath against her ear and a shiver slid through her body.
Drew kept his hand over her mouth as his head lifted a few inches. His eyes glittered down at her. She knew those eyes were golden, the color of a jungle cat that sheâd seen once in the D.C. zoo.
Drew had always reminded her of that great cat. Because he was wild and dangerous, and heâd scared her, on an instinctive level, from the first moment theyâd met.
âI didnât realize our cargo tonight was a woman,â Drew charged as he glanced over at the lead gunman. âMaybe next time, you should clue me in on that.â
The guy grunted. âNeed-to-know basis, Stone. Need to know.â Then he jerked his thumb toward the chopper. âNow are you ready to get us out of here?â
Stone. Her lips pressed against Drewâs palm. She hadnât seen him in two months. Not since heâd left for his last mission.
Drew shifted his body and glanced down at her. This time, Tina could see past her fear and she easily read the hard warning in his eyes.
Drew was undercover. These menâthey knew him as someone named Stone.
And something else that Tina realized⊠Drew wasnât about to blow his cover.
Not for her.
Her shoulders slumped. Things were going to get even worse before they got better.
âIâm ready,â Drew said. He dropped his hand and backed away from her.
The gun was jabbed into her back once more. She didnât tense this time.
But Drew did. âIs that necessary?â The words seemed gritted.
âYeah, it is. Now get that bird off the ground!â
Drewâs gaze dropped to the gun then his stare slid back to Tina. She knew that she had to look terrified.
Because she was.
âDo you seriously think sheâs going to get away?â Drew glanced around the rooftop. âNo oneâs up here but us.â
The gun didnât move.
âHer hands are tied. Sheâs not going any place.â Drew exhaled. âAnd I donât seeââ
âSheâs Bruce Mercerâs daughter!â the gunman snarled. âYou think he didnât train her? Until weâre clear, Iâm keeping my weapon on her.â
Drew blinked. âBruce Mercerâs daughter,â he repeated softly, considering the information it appeared.
No, Iâm not!
But did Drew know that?
âI guess that changes things,â Drew said. Then he turned away and hurried back to the chopper without even a second glance. In seconds, all of the men had climbed in behind him and Tina found herself secured in the backseat.
The blades were spinning again, matching the frantic beat of her heart, and the helicopter rose high into the air.
* * *
HIS COVER WAS about to be blown to hell and back.
Drew Lancaster slowly lowered the chopper onto the landing pad. His jaw was locked tight, his hands held the controls securely and rage beat at his insides.
Tina Jamison.
When heâd landed the bird on that roof, the pretty little doctor had sure been the last person heâd expected to see. But sheâd spun toward him, her eyes wide and desperate behind the lenses of her glasses, and heâd realized that he was in some serious trouble.
Sheâd known who he was. Without even seeing his face, Tina had known. Maybe his voice had given him away. He hadnât bothered to change accents with this particular group. Heâd just wanted them to think he was a slow-talking, ex-soldier from Mississippi. A man with a grudge against the government. A man willing to do just about anything for cash.
Tinaâs face had lit with hope when sheâd seen him. Such a beautiful face it was, too. Heâd found himself admiring it more and more during his visits to the doc at the main EOD office. Sheâd been all business, of course, checking his vitals, talking to him about stress in the field.
Heâd been imagining her naked.
Before the blades had stopped spinning, Lee Slater was already out of the chopper and dragging Tina with him. The jerk still had that gun far too close to her for Drewâs peace of mind.
How am I supposed to get her out of here?
With narrowed eyes, Drew watched Tina and Lee vanish into the main house. More armed men followed them inside.
They were in the middle of Texas, at a dot on the map that most folks would never find. It wasnât as if the cops were just going to rush in and rescue the kidnapped woman.
He was deep undercover. Working under the alias of Stone Creed. The men hereâthey were looking to cause as much chaos on U.S. soil as they possibly could. They were into drugs, into weapons and into wrecking the political powers that be.
And, in particular, it seemed that the men were looking to take out the EOD. Or, more specifically, they wanted to destroy Bruce Mercer.
Drew climbed from the chopper and checked his own gun.
âCan you believe it?â the excited voice asked from behind him.
Drew looked back just as Carl Monroe yanked off his ski mask. Yeah, that mask wasnât exactly necessary anymore. Not since they were back on their own turf. They didnât have to worry about unwanted eyes seeing them here.
Carl grinned. âWe got the EOD directorâs daughter!â
No, they hadnât. Drew swallowed. Bruce Mercer did have a daughter, all right, but that daughter wasnât Tina Jamison.
What would happen when the men realized that theyâd taken the wrong woman?
She will become a dead woman.
He couldnât let that happen. Heâd been sent in to gather intel on this group, to determine just how much of a threat the individuals known as HAVOC posedâand, once his assessment had been made, his team was supposed to eliminate that threat.
It sure looked as if his timetable had just been accelerated.
âShe sure is pretty,â Carl said. Like Lee, Carl was a Texas boy, born and bred. He was also very, very dangerous. Carl liked to use his knifeâoften. And, according to his file, Carl enjoyed watching his victims slowly die from their knife wounds. Torture and pain were all part of Carlâs twisted package.
âYou should have seen her,â Carl continued, voice thickening, âwhen we found her in that hotel room. She was all tousled andââ
Drew whirled on him. âAre you going to help me secure the chopper?â His words rapped out. Fury had coiled in his gut. No way, no damn way, should Tina have been put at risk like this. At his first opportunity, he had to contact the other EOD agents assigned to the HAVOC mission. They needed to work an immediate extraction on her.
And if they didnât, then he would.
Carlâs smile stretched. âYou thought she was pretty, too, didnât you? Itâs those glasses⊠Sexy.â
He wanted to drive his fist into Carlâs face.
But Carl turned away and went to work on the chopper.
Drew exhaled slowly as he tried to bring his control back in check. He was still the new guy in this crew. Useful because he could fly anythingâand kill anyone instantly. Sure, his dossier had been faked, but his skills were plenty real enough.
During his time in Delta Force, Drew had been turned into a lethal fighting machine. He didnât need a weapon to take out a dozen men. He could do that just withâ
A scream cut the night. Her scream.
Drew was running toward the main house before he could even think about his response.
The door was shut, so he just kicked his way right through it. The wood banged against the wall.
âDonât!â Tina yelled. âPlease, Iââ
Her cry was abruptly cut off.
Drew felt the familiar ice encase his fury. That was the way it had always been for him. When it came time for a battle, he went ice-cold. No emotion. No room for mistake.
Heâd been called a robot by some of his teammates before.
Heâd been called a hell of a lot worse by his enemies.
Why had Tina stopped screaming?
Another door was in front of him. A tall, blond guy with a gun at his hip tried to block Drewâs path. âStone, man, I donât think they want you right now.â
Drew shoved the guy out of his way. He went in that room.
The first thing he saw was the blood. Fat drops that were sliding down Tinaâs arm. Lee Slater stood next to her, a knife in his hand. âI think thatâs what we need.â
In his mind, Drew saw himself rushing across the room and breaking the guyâs wrist. The knife would clatter to the floor, falling from Leeâs slack fingers. With him out of commission, Drew would turn on the other two men there. He could have them all on the floor in less than a minute.
But he didnât attack. Not yet. Because heâd been given very specific orders from Bruce Mercer.
The job was top priority. The fear was that these menâmen from the U.S., from Mexico and from parts of South Americaâhad access to classified government intel. There had been a leak at the EOD just months before, and they were still tracking to determine just how much information had been taken from headquarters.
Theyâd followed the trail to HAVOC. Drew was supposed to be days away from meeting the groupâs leader.
Days.
Getting an up-close audience with the man named Anton Devast wasnât an easy task. Those who got close usually wound up getting killed.
Drew locked his jaw. âWhyâd you cut her?â
Theyâd cut Tina and gagged her. The gag would explain why sheâd stopped screaming. Damn it, the gag had been his suggestion, but heâd only said it to clue her in to the fact that she needed to stay quiet about him.
Her eyesâso green and brightâfound his. There was a desperate plea in her gaze.
A plea that he couldnât answer right then. Not if they wanted to both keep living.
âI was just showing her,â Lee said softly, âwhat would happen if she tried to escape. We can treat her wellâŠâ He lifted the knife. Blood coated the blade. âOr we can make this little stay turn into her worst nightmare.â
A tear leaked down Tinaâs cheek. She had high cheekbones, a slightly pointed chin and the cutest damned nose with its spray of freckles.
Normally her face was full of soft color and life.
Right then, fear had etched its way across her face. He didnât like for Tina to be afraid. Not one bit.
âYou showed her,â Drew growled. âShe got the message. Now put the knife up.â
Leeâs dark eyes narrowed. âI donât take orders from you.â
Fine. Drew stalked toward him. He grabbed the guyâs wrist. Donât break it, not yet. But the threat was there, and Lee would know it. âYou think the boss would like it if you killed Mercerâs daughter? Seems to me sheâs a tool that he can use. Not something to be damaged.â
Lee swallowed. The guy liked giving pain, but he couldnât handle being on the receiving end of it. He was also afraid of Drew, mostly because Drew had gotten into HAVOC by fighting his way in. Heâd taken down five men, left them bloody and broken. The initiation had been hell.
But so was life.
âItâs just a cut,â Lee said dismissively. âNo big deal.â
âDonât cut her again. If the boss wanted her, then the boss will get her.â Maybe he could use that. Surely, Devast would want to come in for a personal look at Mercerâs daughter.
That visit would give Drew his chance to eliminate the man.
After all, eliminating Anton Devast was his job. At his core, Drew was a killer.
Still holding Lee, Drew let his gaze return to Tina. He didnât like seeing tears in her eyes.
Andâher glasses were cracked. He let his hold on Lee tighten a little more. âIâll take first watch on her,â Drew said.
Lee was trying to yank his hand free. Failing. âWhat?â
He hadnât stuttered. âIâll take first watch.â Because he didnât trust anyone else with her. Definitely not Lee or Carl.
Leeâs eyes were angry slits, but he gave a grim nod. âFine, you do that.â His short, red hair looked as if heâd raked his fingers through it. âYou can stay with her while I get some sleep.â
He made his words sound like an order. Whatever. As long as the guy got out of thereâŠ
Drew released the man.
It only took an instant for Leeâs smirk to come back. âIâll see you again soon, sweetheart,â he promised Tina. His gaze flickered to Drew. âAnd Iâll see you later, too, Stone.â A threat hung in the words.
Heâd have to stay extra alert. The way Lee was eyeing him, Drew knew he might find a knife shoved into his own ribs during an unguarded moment.
Not like that would be the first time.
Drew lifted his hand and his fingers traced over the thick scar on his right cheek. âYou sure will.â He made certain that his words held just as much of a threat as Leeâs had.
Actually they held more of a threat. Showing a weakness with these guys was a mistake, because theyâd most definitely attack that weakness.
Drew didnât move until Lee and his two cronies were out of the room. When the door shut behind them, he exhaled slowly.
Tina was still staring at him with her wide, desperate eyes.
He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but he couldnât be sure listening devices werenât in the room. When heâd first reached the compound, heâd found two bugs in his bunk room.
It only figured that there would be some in there, too.
He glanced toward the door. Even though Drew had said that heâd take first watch, Lee might have stationed a guard outside.
âMumph.â
His attention slid back to Tina.
âMumm-mphâŠâ She jerked in the chair. Someone had tied her to the chair. Probably Lee.
He crossed to her side and knelt on the floor so that theyâd be at eye level. âThe ropes were tied too tight,â he muttered, feeling anger try to push past his control once more.
Canât have that. Must maintain cool.
The other agents had him all wrong. They thought he was made of ice. That he didnât feel when he went out on his missions.
The problem was that he felt too much. And if he didnât control his fury⊠Then Iâm too dangerous.
He loosened her binds. He glanced up at her, his gaze colliding with hers.
A crack ran across the right lens of her glasses, looking like a spiderâs web. He reached up.
She flinched.
âEasy,â Drew murmured. âIâm just checking you out.â
He lifted the glasses away from her face.
She blinked at him.
Hell. She was just as sexy without the glasses as she was with them. Heâd thought maybe it was just a hot-librarian-type thing working for him, but no. The woman was simply temptation.
He didnât need temptation. He had a job to do.
Sheâs the job right now. The words whispered from within him.
He put her glasses on the nearby table.
âMumph!â Ah, now Tina was sounding angry behind the gag. He wasnât sure what would be better for her. Fear or anger. Unless they were careful, both might just get her killed.
He leaned toward her. Brought his mouth right to her ear just as heâd done before. Her scent, light, sweet strawberries, wrapped around him.
Because of Tina, heâd developed one serious addiction to strawberries over the past year. Not that she knew it. Not that she knew anything about him. To her, he was just another agent.
Another adrenaline junkie that she had to patch up and keep alive.
Only now it was his turn to keep her alive.
âBe very careful what you say,â he barely breathed the words against the delicate shell of her ear.
Tina shivered.
Was that shiver from fear? Had to be. In these circumstances, he was foolish to think it could be from anything else.
But, just in case, he filed that reaction away for future notice. Because heâd sure like to know every sensitive spot on Tinaâs gorgeous body.
âThey could be listening.â His mouth brushed across her ear.
She gave the faintest of nods.
Her smell was incredible.
Focus.
He lifted his hands and undid the gag. The cloth dropped from her mouth.
Tina licked her lips and sucked in a deep gulp of air. âThank you.â
His own mouth tightened. She shouldnât be thanking him. He hadnât saved her. âIâm going to patch up your arm.â
She blinked once more, and her gaze found his. She was still breathing deeply, gulping in air as if sheâd been starved for it.
Her skin was porcelain pale and he wanted color staining her cheeks once more. He wanted the fear gone from her eyes.
Trust me. He mouthed the words to her.
After the faintest of hesitations, Tina nodded.
The ice melted a little around him. He turned away from her. Fumbled through the drawers in the room until he found some first-aid supplies. The menâand womenâat the compound were always ready for battle, so that meant they had to be ready for the cleanup after that battle. Heâd quickly learned that there were first-aid supplies scattered all around the place.
Tina didnât wince when he began to clean her wound with an antiseptic cloth. âItâs not deep enough for stitches,â he said as he put the bandage on her arm. âYouâre lucky.â
Both her brows shot up.
Fine. So âluckyâ hadnât been the best word to describe her current situation.
He grabbed a chair and pulled it toward her. She was still tied up, and he had to keep her that way or the others would wonder what the hell was happening. âYouâre going to be all right.â
Tinaâs gaze just stared back at him.
He realized that she didnât believe him. Maybe that was goodâbecause Drew hated making promises he couldnât keep.
* * *
âMR. MERCER?â
Bruce Mercer looked up from the files that were spread across his desk. His assistant, Judith Rogers, stood in the doorway. Judith hated buzzing him. Sheâd said once that buzzing was too impersonal for her, and she usually came in to tell him when he had a visitor.
So her standing thereâŠwalking in unannouncedâŠthat wasnât unusual.
The fear in Judithâs eyes was unusual.
âTina Jamison is missing,â Judith told him as she twisted her hands into fists. âI just got the call from an agent at her hotel. The lock on her door was broken, and Tinaâsheâs gone.â
Mercer didnât let the expression on his face alter.
This situation had been one that he feared. He was playing a deadly game, and Tina could have just become a pawn in that game.
If he wasnât careful, he might lose his pawn.
He might lose the whole damn game.
âGet me Dylan Foxx,â Mercer demanded. âRight now.â Because he was going to need agents in the field to work this case and to make sure that Tina survived the battle that was coming.
Heâd foolishly positioned Tina right in the middle of that battle.
Iâm sorry, Tina.
He didnât make mistakes often, but when he didâŠthey were deadly.
