Undercover Pursuit. Susan May Warren

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СКАЧАТЬ had barely spoken to him the rest of the ferry ride, or even as they’d hailed another cab to the far end of Isla Mujeres, the Isle of Women, where the resort of Lost Breezes sat on the northern tip. He picked up a towel folded in the shape of a swan sitting on his bed, shook it out and rubbed it over his forehead.

      “Stacey is from the private sector, but she came highly recommended by my pal David Curtiss. He mentioned that she was a lone wolf, but she said she was very capable and knows what she’s doing.”

      Luke pictured Chet in his office in the Czech Republic, staring out at the snow along the Charles Bridge in Prague.

      “So, you’ve never met her?”

      “Just on the phone. But I’m confident she can handle herself. She probably is used to working alone, but this is a couple’s job, so you need to get her to warm up to you.”

      “Believe me, no matter what I said, it was the wrong thing. It felt pretty chilly over on the port side of the ferry.”

      “Listen, Luke. If Sanchez’s men think you’re anything other than Lucia’s special guests for her wedding, they’ll take you out into the middle of the ocean and leave you for the sharks. Lucia has been working too hard and too long for this mission to go south.”

      “Scarlett’s probably right. I could get the job done better solo, too.”

      “No, you couldn’t. You need Stacey to act as Lucia’s bridesmaid and your fiancée, otherwise you won’t be able to stay close enough to Lucia to get her out of there when the CIA moves in on the Sanchez family. This mission all hinges on Lucia walking down the aisle on Saturday night. Augusto Sanchez will come out of hiding, and the CIA will finally get their hands on one of Panama’s biggest crime bosses. We need you on-site, watching Lucia, or she could get killed. And she needs someone there to remind her that she’s not in this alone. That’s Stacey’s job. Lucia’s already had one scare.”

      “I thought you told me the accident in the market wasn’t an attempted assassination.”

      “The CIA said it wasn’t. But that’s why she called for help. She’s scared, Luke, and you gotta keep her calm. Focused.”

      Everyone just needs to calm down. Scarlett’s words made a little sense now.

      Luke stood up and leaned against the doorjamb that led out to the balcony. The salt weighed the air, layered his skin in grit. “And why, exactly, did Lucia call you?”

      He heard Chet sigh. “We met in D.C. We’re old friends.”

      Old friends. Luke didn’t want to explore that meaning too far, but it was no wonder Chet didn’t want to take this job. After all, Chet was recently married and he didn’t need any reminders of past liaisons. Luke knew what ghosts could do to a guy—suck him back to the past, into his mistakes. No, Chet deserved a fresh start with his bride, Stryker International pilot Mae Lund. Luke’s silence pushed Chet into confession.

      “We may have had some sparks, Luke, but mostly, we were just friends. She was just a young law student, and I was in and out of the country with Delta Force. It wouldn’t have worked. However, I also know Benito—her fiancé—from my Delta days, and if I showed up, he’d know Lucia had been betraying him, romantically and possibly otherwise.”

      “Chet, is Lucia expecting you?” Perfect, just perfect. At least he now knew what not to say.

      “No. She’s expecting one of my men. My capable, get-the-job-done-despite-personal-feelings men. That’s you, Luke. But you might have to do more than just your job here, Luke. The Sanchez family has to believe that you and Stacey—”

      “Scarlett.”

      “—are a couple, at least in public. So turn on some charm or something. You’re good with the ladies—or at least you were. Dig deep and find that old lady-killer.”

      Luke walked through the bedroom to the tiny cement bathroom, turned on the faucet then stared into the mirror. He needed a shave. “I’m not that good, Chet. And besides, I’m not the guy I was.”

      He hadn’t been that guy since he woke up one day to angry pounding on his hotel room door, looked at the woman on the other side of the bed and realized he’d turned into his lying, cheating father. Only Luke’s lying and cheating hadn’t exactly been his fault. Not that it mattered, in the end.

      Chet’s voice softened. “No, you’re not. I know that.”

      “Besides, this girl isn’t going to be charmed. She’s a straight shooter, and she’s not into playing games.”

      “So be the new guy—the gentleman.”

      The gentleman. He hadn’t had much practice in that arena, either. Last time he had a date, the previous president had been in office.

      “Most of all, get the job done. Keep Lucia—and Stacey, for that matter—alive. No matter what it takes.”

      “Okay, boss.” Luke said goodbye and hung up. Then he picked up the note left for him at the check-in desk. His “fiancée” hadn’t stuck around long enough to read it with him, and of course, she’d booked her own solo accommodations.

      Not that he expected to share. But in today’s world, it might make convincing the Sanchez clan they were a couple just a smidge easier.

      But perhaps this was for the best, because, just for a second, sitting beside her on the boat, watching her purse those unpainted lips that made her appear more innocent girl than hired muscle, well, he’d felt something shift inside. Add that to the way, for a second, she seemed even hurt, and yes, she’d unglued him long enough for him to wish he could take back his words in the cab—the ones that had put the pain in her eyes.

      He went to the sink, washed his hands, pressed a towel to his face.

      Stared at the familiar villain in the mirror.

      Yes, he would turn on the charm, but only for the sake of the mission.

      Three days was going to feel like eternity.

      He opened the note and found a hand-scrawled script. “Meet us on the boat by five for drinks and dinner. Lucia.”

      Unfortunately, by the time they’d arrived, the cocktail hour had come and gone. Thankfully, he’d found out Scarlett’s room number after greasing the palm of a valet in the lobby, one who had seen them enter the hotel together. It never hurt to make friends with the staff, and Raoul looked like a guy Luke might need later, so he added a retainer to his information gratuity.

      And, with the twilight already hovering over the sea, Raoul had found a boat willing to skipper them out to the yacht.

      Yes, the fun was about to begin.

      Now these were the accommodations she’d hoped for—an ocean view, the sound of the seabirds, the briny redolence of the ocean. She loved it all, just as she knew she would. Not that she’d ever been to the sea before, but she’d read about it plenty of times in the romance novels that lined her shelves. And everything she’d read about Mexico and Isla Mujeres had told her she’d love it.

      And to think she’d nearly missed all this.

      Never СКАЧАТЬ