Targeted

Chapter 8

Traitor: one who betrays one’s country, a cause, or a trust.

Sam sat against the tree in his backyard, embracing the feel of the rough bark scratching him through his shirt. Anything to erase that image of Sophie coming out her bedroom earlier. She’d been wearing long pink pajama pants and a tank top. He’d seen the outline of her nipples through it and hadn’t been able to stop staring. He scrubbed a hand over his face, then froze at the sound of soft footfalls moving over the grass behind him.

Swiveling, he glanced around the tree. Sophie gave him a tentative smile when she saw him and wrapped her arms around herself in that defensive way she often did. He didn’t want her to be like that with him.

“What are you doing out here?” she whispered as she sat directly next to him.

Holy shit, she was so close and smelled so good. Everything about her got him hard and he felt like a jerk because she looked at him with such innocent trust and gratitude. As if no one had ever been nice to her before except him. Swallowing hard, he lifted his arm and motioned for her to lean in.

Smiling, she scooted closer and laid her head on his shoulder as she tucked her body against his. He fought a groan. She was so compact, but with the right amount of curves. And she was soft and warm. God, what he wouldn’t give to—nope, not going there. He shifted uncomfortably, cursing his hard-on, and was thankful for the relative darkness of Ms. Bigsby’s backyard.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he finally whispered back. He wasn’t really sure why they were whispering in the first place, but decided to go with it.

“Me neither. It’s so quiet.”

He nodded, his chin brushing the top of her head. Her shampoo had a tropical scent to it, and it reminded him of the beach and coconuts. It was very quiet, especially for a Friday night. Normally someone in the neighborhood was having a party, so he savored the stillness. He didn’t have school or baseball practice tomorrow, which meant he could sleep in if Ms. Bigsby let them.

“Do you want to go to the beach tomorrow?” she finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

His entire body tightened. The beach. With Sophie. In a bathing suit. Being tortured by seeing her and not being able to touch, or stop other guys from staring at her. He tried to find his voice but failed.

She pushed up and looked at him, her dark eyes guarded as she inched away from him. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s not like we have to be friends just because we live in the same house.”

He’d been living under the same roof as her for a week, and he sure as hell didn’t want just friendship. Clearly she’d misunderstood his silence. “I want to!” he blurted, then felt stupid. “I was just thinking I don’t have a bathing suit.” Okay, that sounded lame, but she seemed to believe him.

Her shoulders relaxed a fraction as she leaned back against him. “You’re lucky because you’re a guy. You can just wear shorts. Or I’ve got some money saved up. I can buy you a suit at the boardwalk on the way.”

She was offering to buy him something? He tightened his grip around her shoulders as something foreign settled in his chest. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it made him feel warm. “Nah, I’ve got some cash saved too.” He was always socking it away. Never knew when he’d get stuck in a shitty house and have to split. There was no way he’d let her pay for anything, but it amazed him that she’d offered in the first place.

“So . . . did I hear Inez stop by earlier?” There was more than a little hesitation in Sophie’s voice.

Sam snorted. “Yeah. Stupid cow.” He didn’t understand girls at all. He’d told Inez to leave Sophie alone and had been pretty mean to the neighbor girl. It wasn’t like he wanted to be mean, especially to a girl, but she tortured Sophie and that shit was gonna stop. So what did the crazy girl do? Inez came over wearing practically nothing and asked him if he wanted to “hang out” with her tonight. As in hook up. Fucking gross. The thought of touching Inez like that was enough to turn his stomach.

“You can hang out with her if you want. Just because she’s—”

“No.” He couldn’t even let Sophie finish that thought when he could hear the pain in her voice. He shifted their bodies so she had to look up at him. She stared at him with big eyes and he forgot to breathe. What he wouldn’t give to kiss her. Just once. He swallowed hard. “You think I’m that shallow?” He didn’t expand because he didn’t need to.

Smiling shyly, she shook her head and tucked it back against his shoulder. “I’m glad you don’t want to hang out with her,” she said after a few minutes of silence.

• • •

Jack hated the memory that played through his head, but he couldn’t slow it down or stop it as he tried to lift Sophie’s head without waking her. He slipped a pillow under her head, but she opened her eyes immediately. Instead of the fear he expected, her espresso-colored eyes were confused.

“What are you doing?” she mumbled.

“You fell asleep out here and I don’t want you to get a crick in your neck.” His hand hovered under her head. For a moment he stared at her parted lips. She wasn’t quite awake, still in between that dream state and awareness. What he wouldn’t give to taste her again. The soft sighs she’d been making in her sleep made him wonder what she’d been dreaming about.

“What time is it?” Her voice was quiet.

Slowly he withdrew his hand and sat on the floor even though moving away from her was the last thing he wanted to do. “A few minutes before midnight.”

She rolled over on the couch and faced him. Jack had pushed the coffee table out of the way and laid out a blanket and pillow on the floor next to the couch. In the quiet living room, slivers of moonlight peeking through the long blinds covering the sliding glass door were their only illumination. It was still light enough for her to see that he’d fashioned a makeshift bed next to her.

“Why are you out here?” There was a slight trace of panic in her whispered question.

“I’m sleeping next to you.” Occasionally he opted for boxers, but he normally slept naked. He knew that even boxers would freak her out, so he’d stayed in his jeans and T-shirt. Not exactly comfortable, but he’d dealt with a lot worse.

“Why?”

“If something happens, we need to be able to move together and quickly.”

“Oh.” She pulled the blanket up higher on her chest.

“Try to get some sleep. In the morning we have some decisions to make.” He closed his eyes and tucked one hand under his head. Sleeping next to Sophie again like this wasn’t exactly the way he’d imagined it. Once he joined the NSA he’d kept tabs on her. From afar he’d watched her develop into a beautiful woman. But beautiful women were a dime a dozen. There was something else about Sophie that called to him.

Always had.

From before they’d even spoken to each other. Jack didn’t know what it was about her that got under his skin. Maybe it was the fact that she understood where he came from. They’d both had similar upbringings. Both had grown up in foster care because of shitty drug-addicted mothers who’d abandoned them to the system. Neither knew who their fathers were. They’d both been unwanted. They were both survivors.

Of course she’d survived a lot worse than him. He’d dealt with the occasional beating from asshole foster parents, but she’d been terrorized by a sick bastard when she was seventeen. And Jack hadn’t protected her.

“Jack?” Her quiet voice cut through the even quieter night air.

“Yeah?”

“Please talk to me.” The pleading note in her voice surprised him.

It was dark, but he could make out the delicate lines of her face. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Anything.”

“Can’t sleep?”

Her hair rustled softly against the pillow as she shook her head.

“For what it’s worth, you’re handling this better than most civilians would.”

She chuckled and in the dark he couldn’t tell, but he thought she smiled. At least it sounded like it when she spoke. “Civilian. I guess you’ve been doing . . . whatever it is you do for a while?”

Wesley would probably be pissed if he found out, but it wasn’t as if Jack was spilling state secrets. “I’ve been working for Wesley for five years.”

“Sorry if it’s rude, but how old are you?”

“Almost thirty-one.”

“Oh.”

“What?”

She shifted again, this time onto her back. “Nothing. You just remind me of someone and he would have been the same age.”

Jack knew that he should keep his mouth shut. He should try to get some much-needed sleep. Unfortunately he didn’t give a damn about what he should do. Thoughts of Sophie had been torturing him for years. Shut your fucking mouth, he tried to tell himself again but lost the battle. “Do I remind you in a bad way or a good way?”

“Both.” Her answer was soft and immediate.

“Who was he?”

She was silent for a moment, but finally spoke. “You’ve obviously read my file, so you know I was in the foster system.”

He remained completely still against the pillow. “Yes.”

“You remind me of one of my foster brothers. His name was Sam.”

“You two were close?”

“Very . . . He meant everything to me.” The last part was almost a whisper. The honesty and grief in her words hit him square in the chest with the intensity of a fifty-cal sniper rifle. Why the hell did she have to admit that to him?

He rolled back over and stared at the ceiling. It wasn’t the best distraction, especially since her exotic, earthy scent was teasing him, but it was better than staring at her profile. When he did that it was hard to concentrate on even speaking. “What happened to him?” Jack felt like an asshole even asking since he knew the answer, but a long-buried part of him wanted to hear what she truly thought about Sam. About him.

“Life.” The word came out bitter, strangled. She cleared her throat and continued, quickly changing topics. “Do you like what you do?”

Talk about a loaded question. “Sometimes yes. Other times I wonder how different my life would have turned out if I’d made another choice.”

She snorted. “I actually understand that. The boy, well, man, I was in love with died. We weren’t even talking or friends at the time, but I’m pretty sure he’d planned to propose to me before my life turned to hell.”

Jack struggled to draw in a breath. There were some things he’d known as a young man, like the fact that she’d loved him. Sophie had never said the words, but he’d known how she felt. But she’d known he planned to propose? Don’t ask the question, he ordered himself. But there was no force on earth that could stop him. “Would you have said yes if he proposed?”

“Yes.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. He did not need to know that. He shifted against the floor, his attempt at getting comfortable pointless. Raw energy hummed through him and he fought his growing agitation. Why the hell had she admitted that?

“You probably can’t even tell me, but do you have family?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face and shut his eyes tight. She wasn’t holding anything back. No one who got into his line of work had family. “No.”

“I guess we have that in common. We’re both alone.” Her whispered words wrapped themselves around his chest and squeezed with startling intensity.

You have me. You’ve always had me. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but of course he didn’t voice them. They wouldn’t make sense and they’d probably scare the hell out of her. He might not have been in her life, and with the exception of the last two years when he’d been deep undercover, he’d always watched out for her, wishing things could be different. It was the only way he’d been able to keep a link to her. Something that had always pissed off his boss, but it had been one of his contingencies when he was recruited.

“Jack . . . why did you kiss me in Miami?”

“You were in shock. It was the only way to get you to calm down.” Liar.

Silence descended on the room.

He stared at the ceiling for a long moment, telling himself to stay quiet, but his mouth wouldn’t listen to his brain. Being around Sophie had completely upended all his training. She wouldn’t even have to torture him to get information out of him. “I didn’t say I didn’t enjoy it, Sophie.”

She sucked in a quiet breath. “Oh—”

He didn’t know what she was going to say, but he didn’t want to hear whatever it was, so he cut her off. “It can’t happen again.” Because it would only torture him, remind him of what he could never have.

She didn’t speak after that. Instead she curled up on the couch so that her back faced him.

Why the hell couldn’t it happen again? he kept asking himself even though he knew damn well why it couldn’t. The closer he got to her, the more he let her into his life, the harder it would be when he walked away. Even the thought of walking away from her was excruciating. Actually doing it after having had another taste—he wasn’t a masochist. If he took things further, it wouldn’t just be torture, it would be impossible.

The floor beneath him dug into his back. He rolled onto his side, but that didn’t help either. Years ago while still a sniper in the Marine Corps, he’d slept sitting straight up in cramped caves in Afghanistan with no problem. Tonight, visions of Sophie’s perfect mouth swam in front of him, rendering sleep impossible. And his fantasies didn’t stop at her mouth. He kept envisioning what the rest of her looked like. It might have been years, but he knew exactly what she was hiding under those clothes. And he desperately wanted to see, touch, and stroke all of her with his mouth and hands.

Sighing, he got up, folded the blanket, and threw the pillow back onto his bed. Out of habit he rechecked the windows and doors and headed back to the living room. Sophie hadn’t stirred once since he’d gotten up. Good, maybe she’d get some rest. At least one of them should, and he’d rather it be her.

He walked to the sliding glass door and shifted one of the floor-length blinds to the side. Most of the people who stayed in the building were snowbirds, so the place was empty half the year. One of the main reasons he’d purchased it. The building was unassuming and the tenants were quiet. More often than not, hiding out wasn’t necessarily about the best security. It was about being untraceable.

Hiding in plain sight.

The intracoastal water glistened under the pale moonlight and stars. It was unlikely anyone would be out this late, but he wanted privacy if he decided to work on his laptop on the porch.

Jack started to let go of the blind when two large, dark shadows moved from behind a palm tree. The movement had been slight, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Not with Sophie’s safety.

Without making his movements overt, he let the blind slip back into place, then went to wake Sophie. Using one hand he covered her mouth. Immediately her dark eyes opened in a wide-eyed panic, but when she saw that he had one finger over his mouth, she simply nodded.

Jack removed his hand and motioned that she should follow him. It was too late to get out. If someone was outside, they’d have the entire place surrounded. He grabbed his laptop and phone and headed to his room. He also picked up her pillow and shoved it into the hallway closet. The place needed to look as if they’d left a while ago.

He opened the sliding closet door in his room and shut it behind them. It was damn near pitch–black, but he was thankful Sophie wasn’t outwardly reacting. Her breathing was slightly erratic, but that was it. Reaching up, he felt along the top shelf until his hand landed on a flashlight. Jack flipped it on and handed the computer to her. This place was off the radar, but experience had taught him to always have a contingency plan. Always.

He’d brought only one trusted friend here years ago during a long weekend of fishing: Levi Lazaro. They’d rarely gotten downtime and it was right before his buddy had tied the knot. Sort of an impromptu bachelor getaway. Even then, he still hadn’t told his friend about this. There’d been no reason to. Jack put the small flashlight in his mouth, then felt along the wall until his hand ran over the almost invisible seam. Seconds could mean their survival, so he tried to block out Sophie’s presence. Normally he wouldn’t break a sweat, but knowing that her life depended on him had changed everything. Perspiration trickled down his face and neck.

Jack pulled the wall covering away and turned his flashlight toward Sophie. He motioned for her to get inside. Without pausing she ducked down and crawled in. A muted thud sounded somewhere in the condo. He hurried in after her and pulled the false wall back into place behind him. He’d originally built this crawl space for one person. Hunched over, Sophie wordlessly stared at him, but he could see the questions in her eyes. He sat first and guided her so that she was sitting in his lap before he flipped the light off.

There wasn’t much insulation through the plaster, so it wasn’t too difficult to hear what was going on. The bedroom door creaked as it opened. Sophie tensed in his arms, so he placed what he hoped was a calming hand on her back.

The sound of the closet door sliding open caused his stomach to roil. This was it. He heard the sound of hangers sliding across the pole, a quiet curse, then the door sliding shut. Sophie’s back relaxed slightly against his chest, but he could feel the pounding of her heart.

“They’re not here,” a familiar voice said.

Jack’s entire world shifted when he heard Levi talking. He’d wondered how anyone had found this place, had briefly wondered if there was a leak in the agency—one he’d gladly ferret out—but for a friend to betray him seemed impossible. What the hell was going on?

When his friend—or former friend—continued, Jack assumed he was on the phone since there was no audible response. “No, we’ve swept the place. There are recently washed dishes and food in the kitchen trash can, so they were here earlier, but they’re gone now. . . . Yes, I’m sure. I’m not leaving a man behind. You’re being paranoid. . . . Damn it. Miguel, they’re not here. It’s not my fault you got bad intel. Find a new contact, then. . . . Fine, we’ll head back to Miami. . . . Hannah Young? . . . You’re bringing too much heat on yourself. . . . No, I’m not involving myself with her. . . . She has serious ties to the community. . . . Kidnapping her will serve you no purpose.” He argued for another few moments, then hung up the phone.

Sophie gripped Jack’s arm tightly. Her short fingernails dug into his skin, but he ignored the pricking sensation. He couldn’t tell her now, but he wouldn’t let anything happen to her friend.

Silence descended around them, so he slowly moved his arm up and pressed the backlight on his watch. It was almost one thirty. He brushed back Sophie’s hair and leaned close to her ear. “We’ll leave in one hour. Want to make sure they didn’t leave someone in the condo.”

Her hair tickled his nose as she nodded.

From Levi’s conversation, Jack couldn’t figure out if they’d decided to leave someone behind. If they had, he doubted the person would stick around long. And just what was Levi doing working with Miguel Vargas? It was possible he was undercover, but Jack’s boss hadn’t mentioned anything. Considering that they were trying to bring Vargas down, that was something Wesley would have told him. Hell, if he had an inside man it was unlikely he’d even have needed Jack. Or if he had, they would have been working in conjunction.

The way Levi had spoken to Vargas had been insubordinate, and that surprised Jack, especially if this was an undercover op. He couldn’t dwell on that now. He’d get his answers soon enough.

Sophie shifted slightly in his lap, and his body instantly reacted. Years of training had ensured that he knew how to react under any circumstances. His body was his to control. Having a sexy woman work her charm against him had never been a problem. Unfortunately Sophie wasn’t working anything. She was simply trying to get comfortable. He tried to focus on anything to take his mind off the way her petite body fit perfectly against his, but it was impossible. Jack couldn’t believe he was reacting like the randy teenager he’d once been around her, but there it was. Her backside shifted against his erection, intensifying his pain. It was as if every single memory he had of their time together erupted inside his head at once. All he could think about was how they’d been in this very same position before—with no clothes on. When they were younger, he’d loved getting creative in bed and she’d been up for anything. He bit the inside of his lip, hating his lack of control. It reminded him too much of how he’d felt when he was helpless in certain shitty foster homes. When he first became friends with Sophie, she’d evoked that same feeling, but he hadn’t cared then. Now it was like a warped, out-of-control sensation.

She moved again, jerking him out of those thoughts, and this time she must have realized his reaction because her back went ramrod straight. He wanted to apologize, but there wasn’t anything he could do, so he laid his head against the wall, closed his eyes, and drew on his shittiest memories from the past decade.

Human beings sold for mere hundreds of dollars, women shot in the street for showing their ankles, images of children being forced to work in brothels . . . yep, that did it. As vicious memories assaulted him, his body obeyed. The last thing he needed was for her to think he got his rocks off like some kind of pervert. Not when nothing could happen between them anyway. Her mere presence was shredding all his hard-won control.

When he whispered in her ear that it was time to move, she jerked unsteadily. They were taking a risk exposing themselves, and as much as he enjoyed holding her, they couldn’t hide out forever. Sophie still clutched the laptop, but managed to help him remove the paneling. When they both stepped out, he motioned with his finger to stay quiet. The room was dark, but there was enough light coming in through the blinds that they could see what they were doing.

Jack bent down and withdrew a gun from his ankle holster. “Stay here,” he whispered in her ear.

After a quick sweep of the condo, the prickly sensation on the back of his neck was gone. A few things had been moved around, but they were alone. He found Sophie sitting on the edge of his bed, clasping the computer to her chest.

“Grab whatever you need. We’re leaving.”

“Where are we going?” she whispered.

“A motel for now.”

She opened her mouth as if she might say more, but she ended up nodding and grabbing her wallet she’d hidden in one of the dresser drawers while he packed up his computer, his cell phone, and a few extra changes of clothes.

He hoisted a backpack on his shoulder as she entered the room. She wore those ridiculous sneakers from earlier. It bothered him that Sophie didn’t have anything else to wear, but he’d fix that soon enough.

“I took the toothbrush and toothpaste if that’s okay,” Sophie whispered.

“It’s fine.” Despite the situation, he felt a smile tug at his lips as he watched her. She looked a little vulnerable, but the woman had a spine made of steel. “Stay behind me until I tell you otherwise.”

“Okay.”

Weapon in hand, he led them to the front door and opened it an inch. If a sniper was waiting, there was realistically little they could do, but one of the reasons he’d picked this place was that it was across the street from a golf course. Not many places to hide.

When he was as sure as he’d ever be they were alone, he stepped outside.

“Where’s the car?” she whispered.

There was a single line of parking spaces in front of the building, but on the off chance they’d been tracked, he hadn’t wanted their vehicle too close. “I parked at another building.”

Using the darkness to their advantage, they jogged down the street until they reached the packed parking lot.

“We’re three rows down.” He motioned for her to stay close.

As they maneuvered through a row of cars, he slowed when they reached the back of a dark van. He hadn’t heard or seen anything, but the adrenaline rush he’d gotten earlier was still pumping overtime. Being out in the open with Sophie for an extended period of time wasn’t good for his sanity. Normally he was able to gauge any surrounding danger, but with her around, his internal meter was off balance.

As he paused and listened, a dark blur came out from behind the van.

“Take cover,” he ordered Sophie, going into battle mode.

A man dressed in all black lifted a gun at Jack, but he was only two feet away. If he’d wanted to kill them, he should have waited until he had a little distance between them. Close-quarter combat was Jack’s specialty. Hell, anyone with decent training should know to take down an opponent without having to get too close.

In a quick move, Jack struck out with his arm, knocking the man’s weapon out of his hand. It clattered to the pavement noisily in the otherwise silent parking lot. The man attacked, trying to punch Jack. He grunted as he moved and left his face unprotected.

Jack slammed him in the nose, fast and hard, with his fist. A crunching sound rent the air as the stranger howled in pain. At the same time, Jack kicked the guy’s inner thigh. It was a move he’d used many times before. The body reacted instinctively and this guy didn’t know what to protect right now. When the man stumbled, blood rolling down his face, Jack gave him a swift punch to the throat and another shot to one of his shins. The guy was big, but a tiny bundle of nerves ran along the shinbone. And pain was pain, no matter a person’s size.

As their would-be attacker wheezed for air, Jack grabbed one of his arms and twisted it behind his back before slamming him face-first against the van.

“Sophie? You okay?”

“I’m fine!” She sounded as though she was a few cars over.

“Stay where you are!” He couldn’t do his job if he was worried about her, so he was glad she’d listened and hidden.

The man started to struggle, so Jack lifted his arm higher, threatening to break it. “Who sent you?” Jack knew the answer, but his first response would tell him a lot about how informative this guy would be.

“Can’t breathe . . .”

“Who?” Jack pressed harder.

“Miguel Vargas.”

Interesting. “Why do they want Sophie Moreno?”

“I don’t know.”

Jack lifted his arm a fraction of an inch higher and gave him a rapid kidney punch. The man howled in pain but couldn’t move unless he wanted to break his arm.

“Okay! She knows something or saw something, but I don’t know what. I swear! Our instructions were to take out the girl. That’s all I know.”

If Jack had been working against the Russian mob or even against men directly inside Vargas’s cartel, it would take months to garner information. If he ever did. From the easy responses, Jack guessed this guy was just hired muscle with nothing to lose. “What about the girl in Miami? Why are they going after her?”

This time the man didn’t pause. “She’s the backup plan. She’s friends with the Moreno woman and the only person they could find as leverage against her. Vargas thinks if they threaten her friend she’ll come out of hiding. I don’t know any more! They don’t pay me enough for this shit!”

“Jack?” Sophie’s scared voice jerked his head around. She was too close.

In the instant he turned, he wanted to kick his own ass for giving in to his stupid instinct and not following his training. Everything around him slowed down. The man he held turned with his entire body, using the momentum of his free elbow, and swung back at Jack’s head.

Leaning back, Jack nearly missed what could have been a crippling blow. The man came at him full force this time. Jack slammed into another car as the guy tackled him. Sophie shouted, but he tuned her out. He had to bring this man down and keep Sophie safe. That was all that mattered.

Jack deflected two blows and managed to get in a few kicks, but the other man was pumped up now. After Jack struck him in the jaw, the guy already had his fist drawn back. Jack realized he’d have to kill him. Dragging out a fight wasn’t something he had time for. He hated the thought of killing someone in front of Sophie, but it had to be done.

A loud shot reverberated through the quiet night air, causing them both to freeze.

“Stop!” Jack turned at the sound of Sophie’s voice.

In trembling hands she held the gun he’d knocked away from the man earlier. Next to him the dark-haired thug lifted both his hands in the air.

Keeping his eyes trained on the man, Jack walked backward to Sophie. “Give me the gun,” he murmured when he stood directly next to her.

Wordlessly she handed it over, a slight tremor in her hands.

“On the ground. Now,” he ordered the man.

“What are you going to do to him?” Sophie’s voice shook.

Jack pulled his cell phone out of his pocket with his free hand. “Turn him over to the police.”

“What about us?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be long gone.” The Keys were the worst place for criminals to hang out. The FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshals were all stationed in Key West. Not to mention the locals. For small-town cops, they were all well trained. They worked with so many different federal agencies, they had to be.

After he made a quick call, he fastened the man’s wrists behind his back with flex cuffs from his backpack and locked him in the trunk of one of the older-model cars. The man didn’t struggle much, probably because he knew that unless the locals or feds had something on him, he’d simply be deported. And Jack wasn’t worried about him being a problem. The man would probably disappear for a while considering he’d given out information on Vargas. Either that or Vargas would kill him for failing.

Once he and Sophie were on the road, she asked, “Did I hear that guy right? Those guys are definitely going after my friend?”

“Sounds like it.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. This late, there shouldn’t be many people on the road. There was only one road in and out of the Keys, so if anyone was following them, he’d know.

“We need to call her.”

He agreed, but there were other things to consider. “We can contact her now, but if she’s being watched, our call might simply alert them.”

“Then why don’t you tell your boss?”

“Remember the man we heard on the phone at the condo?”

“Yeah.”

“His name is Levi Lazaro. We’re friends—or we used to be. And he works for the NSA.”

She gasped, fear rolling off her. “He works with you?”

“Yes.” Jack gritted his teeth. Or at least Jack thought he did. He couldn’t believe Levi would betray his country, but Jack had been gone for two years. A lot could change in that amount of time. Money was a powerful motivator, and while he would like to think Levi was above that, things looked bad.

“So, what, your boss knew about this?”

“No.” There was no way in hell Wesley was involved in any of this. The man had sacrificed so much for his country that nothing could sway him.

“Jack, you’re going to have to give me a little more than one-word answers. I’m not a mind reader and I’m terrified for Hannah. We’ve got to help her. Now.” Panic punctuated every word.

“Sorry. I’m running through scenarios in my head.”

“Well, please involve me. We’re in this together.”

He felt a small cracking around his chest at the way she said “we.” “Wesley is my handler. We’re all part of the same organization, and everyone who works for him knows each other. I don’t know what missions any of the team goes on unless we’re on the same mission. And if Levi was working with Vargas, I would have been informed. It would have been a joint op. As it stands . . .” He shook his head, not wanting to say the words aloud.

She frowned. “Okay, so how did they track us down? Your friend sold you out?”

“I don’t know, but it’s possible.” He didn’t tell her that Levi was the only other person who knew about Jack’s personal safe house. It would make her even less likely to trust him, and right now he needed her.

“So why can’t we call your boss?”

“If someone’s hacked the NSA or if there’s a mole in the agency, it’s possible they’re watching him too.”

“We can’t sit by and do nothing.”

“I know. I just wanted you to know our options.”

“We need to call Hannah now. Those guys left over an hour ago. They’ll be in Miami soon.”

Sophie was right. It didn’t matter what option they chose. Her friend was in danger. Jack handed his phone to her. “Call your friend. Make sure she understands the urgency of the situation, but don’t waste time explaining. She needs to leave and go somewhere no one would think to look, not even you. Tell her not to use her credit cards and to take the battery out of her phone. She should get money out of an ATM and use cash for now. She can buy a throwaway with cash tomorrow and leave a message on my phone that she’s safe.”

Sophie swallowed and took the phone from his hand. He didn’t miss the way her hands trembled as she slipped the battery into place.

Jack listened as Sophie convinced her friend to leave. To give her credit, she didn’t take no for an answer and she didn’t waste any time.

“You sure she’s going to listen?” he asked as she hung up.

“She’s my best friend and she’s not stupid.” It was hard to miss the defensive note in Sophie’s voice.

“You met her in college, right?” He needed to keep her distracted right now, and talking was the best way to do it. Plus, he wanted to know the things about her life that a file simply couldn’t tell him. He’d missed Sophie so fucking much. More than he’d realized until he’d found himself face-to-face with her, her tantalizing scent messing with his head and making him remember how great things had been between them.

She nodded, the action jerky. “Yeah.”

“And? Come on, give me more than a one-word answer.” He gave her a lopsided smile, hoping she’d let her guard down.

She gave him a small smile as the tension in her shoulders loosened a fraction. “Freshman year I got stuck with this horrible roommate who talked to her boyfriend for hours every night, but after a week she got homesick and moved out. That’s when Hannah got placed with me. I was really shy and she really wasn’t, but somehow we clicked instantly. We’ve been best friends ever since. Her mom—” Sophie bit her lip and stared at her clasped hands as if she was afraid she’d said too much.

To him, it wasn’t enough. “What is it?”

“Nothing. Sorry if I’m rambling. I do that when I’m nervous.”

“You’re not rambling. What about her mom?” He could listen to Sophie talk for hours.

She shrugged. “I love her mom, but lately she’s been hounding Hannah to get married and have kids even though she has four older brothers, all of whom are single.”

“Isn’t she a nurse?”

“The head nurse of the pediatrics ward. She’s young and ambitious, but it’s not what her family wants for her. Don’t get me wrong, her mom is really great. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have probably starved in college. She bugs me about settling down too, but she’s not as hard on me.” A small smile tugged at Sophie’s lips, and it nearly undid him.

From Sophie’s file he knew she was close to Hannah Young, but it was obvious she was close to the whole family. Hell, it sounded as though she considered them her family. It had been a long time since he’d prayed, but he decided to take a chance and throw up a silent one for her friend’s safety. If her friend died, it would shred Sophie. And anything that caused her pain was unacceptable.

Sophie barely concealed a yawn as they pulled into a cheap motel on the next island closer to the mainland. “Where are we?”

“Islamorada, and this place accepts cash. Stay here while I get us a room.”

She didn’t audibly respond, but nodded instead. Her red-rimmed eyes were glassy and tired. The one-story baby blue building looked the same as it had six years ago.

Once he’d secured a room and two keys, he found Sophie dozing against the headrest of the car. When he knocked on her window, her eyes flew open in a panic until she realized it was him.

She grabbed her purse and stumbled out. Luckily they were parked two spots down from their room, so he didn’t have to move the vehicle.

After opening the door, he gave her one of the keys. “Don’t open for anyone. I’ve got my own key.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back in five minutes.” He shut the door behind him without further explanation. Jack might not be able to do much for her, but he was going to make sure he took care of whatever needs he could.