Accidental Commando (13 page)

He exhaled on another curse. “Frankly, I wasn’t thinking.”

“That pesky adrenaline again?”

“Something like that. Did I hurt you?”

“If you had, you wouldn’t need to ask. I’d have bitten you.”

“I might have enjoyed that.”

She thought about closing her mouth around his tongue, and feeling its firm length rasp between her teeth as he pushed in deeper… Her pulse went to a whole different level and she swayed.

He cupped her shoulders. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She locked her knees to keep herself steady. “Of course, I’m okay. I’m not some weak-kneed, hothouse flower who wilts from a little tongue. But I’d appreciate it if you try to stop this habit you have of grabbing me and flinging me around whenever you want to. This isn’t the first time you’ve done that and it’s getting irritating. Nobody flings me around. Haven’t you noticed how tall I am?”

“Emily…”

“And you need to work on this take-charge attitude of yours. I realize it’s probably part of the whole soldier mystique but it would help if you take a few seconds to explain things instead of issuing orders and rushing out like—”

He kissed her again. This time it was a mere brush of his mouth over hers before he released her and stepped back. “I’m on your side, Emily. You don’t have to keep fighting me.”

He was wrong. She
did
have to fight him. Otherwise, she was liable to lose herself in these feelings that were swirling around them. She raked her hair off her face, then grabbed for her collar as her robe slid off her shoulder.

Tyler’s gaze followed her movement. His jaw twitched. He seemed about to say something else when footsteps sounded in the corridor. Several men in palace guard uniforms strode past her room. One paused in the doorway, spoke briefly to Tyler in Spanish, then returned the way he had come.

Tyler moved toward the door. “Promise me you won’t leave this floor, Emily. Don’t wander around. Don’t go near the windows. If you need something, ask Jack or one of the palace guards.”

“Tyler…”

“And if you want an explanation,” he said, taking his gun from beneath his jacket, “I’m asking you to do those things because I can concentrate on my job better if I know you’ll be safe.”

Emily watched him go, then hugged her arms over her chest. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it swish in her ears. “You be safe, too,” she whispered.

It was pointless to feel anything for Tyler, she reminded herself. The attraction between them was probably just an illusion, or a product of their circumstances. She shouldn’t trust her emotions any more than she should trust a man.

Because only a fool didn’t learn from their mistakes.

They found the body at dusk. It had been wedged behind a stack of oil drums at the back of the garage that housed the official government vehicles. The middle-aged man had been hired on the landscaping crew two months earlier. Before that, he’d worked at a small florist shop until the owner’s son-in-law had been given his job. He’d had no criminal record or known criminal associates. Like the young construction worker who had been killed the day the envoy had arrived, he simply appeared to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And like the other man, he’d been strangled and stripped. The big difference was that this time, the body had been found within the palace grounds.

Tyler stood at the entrance to the garage and watched the taillights of the unmarked van bearing the remains move toward the rear gates. President Gorrell wanted to keep the incident under wraps, at least until the envoy’s visit was concluded. He understood the gravity of the situation. El Gato had gained entry to the palace
before
he’d disguised himself as a gardener. From what Emily had witnessed, he’d also had a weapon stashed in the fountain. The only way he could have accomplished either of those things was if he’d had inside help.

“The last team checked in.” Esposito’s voice came over the radio. “They drew a blank.”

The chief had been overseeing the communications during the search. He’d used the floor plans of the palace to chart the sweep pattern so that all the nooks and hidden corners were covered in order. Eagle Squadron had joined forces with every available member of the palace guards, moving methodically from east to west in a way that would prevent their quarry from doubling back to an area that had already been cleared.

Despite all the precautions, it appeared that El Gato had slipped out of their grasp again.

“I don’t like the smell of this,” Duncan said, falling in beside Tyler as he left the garage.

“I know what you mean. We need to take a closer look at the palace staff.”

“I’m already on it. I’ve got Intelligence running another check on everyone who does business here. They’ve got to dig deeper.”

“He must have used a vehicle to get past security. Besides the grounds and household employees, there would be delivery and maintenance trucks.”

“And limos. We can’t forget the politicians. Not everyone in the government supports Gorrell’s policies. That’s the problem with a democracy.”

Tyler considered that for a while. “You might be on the right track. If the Juarez cartel wants to make a comeback, they’d need at least one friend in the legislature.”

“It’s no wonder Gorrell wants our help. This could be why we always seem to be one step behind El Gato. We still don’t know what he’d been intending once he got inside today. That bothers me.”

“The sniffer dogs went over every inch that the search teams did, so we know he didn’t plant another explosive device. I’d bet he planned a direct attack.”

“If we hadn’t thrown off his game with our search, there could have been a few more stripped bodies as he worked his way closer to the envoy.”

Tyler scanned the windows of the palace as they approached. The ones on the ground floor were locked up tight, but many of the upper story ones were open to the night breeze. “He might still be here.”

“Possible, but not probable. Even if he is, he won’t be able to get to the envoy’s quarters. Gonzo said the major put that entire corridor off-limits to the palace staff for the remainder of her visit.”

“Then Emily should be safe, too.”

“It’s incredible that she spotted him in the first place. What were the odds she’d be up at dawn and happened to be looking out her window at the exact time he was in sight?”

Tyler rubbed his face, trying to drive out the image of Emily standing on the window seat with her camera. She truly hadn’t considered the possibility that she could have been placing herself in danger. “We got lucky. It was a close call.”

“Closer than you realize. I hadn’t believed her at first. I thought it would turn out to be a false alarm.”

“Emily isn’t the type who would cry wolf. She wouldn’t have said anything if she hadn’t been certain.”

“Well, she was right this time. That calling card El Gato left in the garage is proof enough.”

“She’s a courageous woman.”

“Uh-huh. She’s got great legs, too.”

Tyler tightened his jaw. Emily did have exceptionally long, shapely legs. That short robe she’d been wearing this morning had displayed them to perfection. That was another reason the image of Emily on the window seat had been haunting him.

“She has interesting taste in underwear,” Duncan continued. “Take that red lace number I saw under her robe—”

“You shouldn’t have noticed,” Tyler cut in.

“It was about as subtle as a fire engine. That made it tough to miss.”

He gave Duncan a stony look. “Try harder.”

Duncan returned his regard without flinching. “You should take your own advice, junior. Seems to me you’ve been doing a lot more than noticing.”

Tyler remained silent.

“Whatever’s going on with you two,” Duncan said, “don’t forget why she’s here.”

He couldn’t take offense at the reminder. The other men had a right to expect him to direct all of his attention to the mission. He’d given similar advice to Jack last fall, when his friend had grown too close to the woman who’d been in his charge. Jack had ignored the warning. Tyler couldn’t. “No chance of that, Dunk. I know exactly why she’s here, even if she doesn’t.”

By the time they reached their top-floor field headquarters, the major had returned, as well. Along with Esposito, he was studying the blueprints that someone had tacked to the walls of their briefing room over the course of the day. While Duncan helped himself to coffee and took a seat in front of his computer, Tyler went straight to Redinger. “Major?”

He rolled his neck wearily as he turned. “What is it, Sergeant?”

“If you have a minute, sir, I’d like to talk to you about Miss Wright.”

“She did well today.”

“That’s for sure,” Esposito interjected, crossing his arms as he leaned one shoulder against the wall. “Not many civilians would have been able to make that identification and then to act on it so quickly.”

“Miss Wright’s only thought was to help us,” Tyler said. “Because of her, we probably derailed another assassination attempt.”

“That’s a given,” the major said. “Ms. Haggerty has already expressed her gratitude. What’s on your mind, Matheson? It’s been a long day.”

“Miss Wright deserves more than our thanks.” He paused. “She also deserves our honesty.”

Redinger used his foot to hook one of the stools that were in front of the communications equipment and dragged it closer, then sat. “You’re referring to the problem of her newspaper article.”

“Yes, sir. She has proven how cooperative she is, and I’m sure she can be trusted to act responsibly. The behavior we saw when she first joined us was only a reaction to a personal problem she’s trying to work through.”

“I recall you suspected some kind of breakup.”

“It was more complicated than that. Before she came to Rocama, she was swindled out of her life savings by a man she’d been engaged to.”

Duncan set his coffee down and swiveled his chair to face them. “Well, that explains her attitude toward men.”

“And her short temper,” Esposito added. He folded the wrapper over the chocolate bar he was eating and put it in his pocket. “The poor kid. Did they ever catch him?”

“He’s awaiting trial.”

“Bummer,” Kurt said, moving into the room. “No wonder she needed a vacation.”

Tyler glanced behind him to see that Jack had also returned and was listening. He’d only intended to talk to the major, yet it was just as well the other men heard the facts, too. All of them were involved in the charade. They should understand the toll it was going to take. “Her fiancé betrayed her trust on every level, which is why she was so cautious about us. The longer we lie to her about her story, the worse it’s going to be for her when she learns that we’re scamming her, too.”

Duncan whistled through his teeth. “Whoever tells her had better put on a flack vest first.”

“That’s probably going to be you, junior,” Jack said.

“I’m not worried about what she’ll do to me, I’m worried about what this will do to her. The person she’ll be the hardest on is herself.”

“It may be difficult for her to accept initially,” Redinger said. “But what’s important is she’ll be alive. With her continued cooperation, Ms. Haggerty will be, too. That’s our priority. In time, Miss Wright should be able to understand we acted in her best interests.”

“Does the end justify the means?” Tyler asked.

Redinger stood. His voice chilled. “Careful, Mathe son.”

“I mean no disrespect, Major. I just want to be fair to Miss Wright.”

“Then use your head. We can’t risk the success of the mission by alienating our only witness, particularly after she has just demonstrated how valuable she is. We need to bring her further in, not drive her out. In addition, her actions today have made her an even bigger target for El Gato. He doesn’t leave loose ends. How long do you think she’ll last on her own if you tell her the truth now and she decides to walk?”

Tyler couldn’t give him an answer, because there
was
no right answer.

“We carry on as we started,” Redinger said.

“Yes, sir.”

“Unless you are requesting to be relieved of your duty.”

“No, Major Redinger. Miss Wright is my responsibility. I would like to see this through to the end.”

Chapter 7

“M
y dear, you look stunning.”

Emily fidgeted with the fine chain that made up the strap of her gold evening bag. The petite envoy was the epitome of elegance in her royal blue taffeta gown. The discreet rustling of the fabric as she walked made her sound as classy as she looked. Next to her, Emily suspected she resembled an Amazon. “Thank you, Ms. Haggerty. That’s kind of you to say.”

“Nonsense, I’m not being kind, I’m being factual.” The envoy tilted her head to smile up at her. “Only a woman with your height and coloring could wear a dress like that.”

Emily hooked the chain on her shoulder and resisted the urge to fidget with her dress, too. The outfit had been a splurge for her, one she’d planned to wear for a romantic dinner with Christopher during their honeymoon. She hadn’t cared that the slinky jade fabric would cost a fortune to dry-clean, or that the lack of sleeves and the scooped back displayed an acre of freckles. She hadn’t hesitated to buy new shoes to go with it, either, even though she didn’t normally wear heels this high, and the dainty gold straps that circled her ankles and toes were beginning to feel like iron bands. Like the other clothes she’d packed, she’d indulged herself because she’d wanted to spark a fire in her groom.

And of course, the main reason she’d chosen this outfit was because she’d loved the way it made her feel.

Like a woman who wants to celebrate her body.

Her lips quirked as she remembered Tyler’s comment about her underwear. Though she wouldn’t have put it quite that way, it was true. This dress did make the most of the attributes she had. As long as she didn’t break her ankle by falling off these heels, that is.

“All clear.” Tyler’s voice came from behind her right shoulder. “We’re proceeding to the ballroom now.”

Emily’s smile dimmed. The commandos had formed into a diamond around her and the envoy as soon as they’d moved from the private wing of the palace to the public one. The need for the extra security measures was a sobering reminder that El Gato had already managed to breach palace security twice.