Dangerous Desires (27 page)

“For you, maybe,” Madeline said, her hands still clenched around the iron pipe.

The man shrugged. “I never wanted her dead. But then she hit me.”

“Believe me, I’m going to do much worse if you don’t start talking. Who offered you the money?”

“I swear I don’t know,” he said, holding up both hands. “A man came by the trawler asking about a woman. Said she’d run away from her husband. He told me there would be a substantial reward for any information.”

Madeline made a choking sound, but Drake kept his attention focused on the man. “And you were only too happy to help.”

“
Sí.
It was a lot of money. Ten thousand. American.”

“Is this the man?” Drake held out the photograph of Alexander Petrov that Nash had given him.

“It looks like him. Only his hair is shorter. Like in the American army.”

Drake nodded, filing this newest bit of information away. “So what did you tell him?”

“The truth. That she’d asked me to ferry her out of the country, only she ran off before we could finish the
deal.” He shifted, wincing from the pain. “The man threw a couple hundred my way, and I thought that was the end of it. Until I ran into her in the market.”

“And you figured you could turn a tidy profit if you grabbed her and took her to Petrov.”

“It seemed like a plan,” the man said, shrugging, “only I wasn’t taking her to him. He said he’d check back, so I thought I’d just hang on to her until then. Hadn’t planned on her being such a livewire.” He shot a heated look in Madeline’s direction. “Bitch almost got me killed.”

“Yeah, well I wish I’d hit you harder,” Madeline said, lifting the rebar.

Valdez growled something unintelligible, his eyes narrowing as he reached for his pocket.

“Gun,” Madeline yelled as Valdez dove for the cover of the pillar, shooting at Madeline.

Drake fired as he dove between Madeline and the bullet, then rolled to his knees and fired again. Valdez’s body slid down the pillar, his lifeless eyes still wide with surprise.

“Did he hit you?” Drake asked, turning to Madeline, searching for any sign that she’d been injured.

“No.” She shook her head, reaching out to touch his hand. “I was afraid he’d hit you.”

“I’m fine,” Drake said, his fingers squeezing hers. “Bastard never had a chance.”

“Is he…” Madeline whispered, her eyes moving to the body.

“Dead? Yes.” Drake nodded, reaching over to check the pulse and retrieve the little handgun. “Should have guessed the guy had a second piece. Anyway, we need to get out of here before we have company. If I heard the shots, someone else will have heard them, too.”

“Petrov,” she said, running a hand through her hair, still staring at the body. “So who is he?”

“One of two mercenaries we think di Silva hired. Montague was the other one.”

“The guy I killed,” she said, her lips tightening into a thin line. “How long have you known this?”

“Since I first talked with Nash. The night we arrived in Puerto Remo. There’s been a lot going on. I didn’t have the chance to tell you. I thought maybe we got him when we blew up the boat.”

“But we didn’t.” She shook her head, clasping her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white. “And even if we had, Ortiz would have just sent someone else. It never stops. Like a nightmare I can’t wake up from. They just keep on coming.”

“Now’s not the time, Madeline,” Drake cautioned. He held out his hand to her, but she pushed it away.

“I’m sorry. I’m fine,” she said, pulling to her feet. “Really. What’s a little kidnapping after everything else I’ve been through?”

“It’s almost over. And you’ve been amazingly strong. You’ve just got to hang in there a little longer.”

“Until you can turn me over to your buddies in Washington. The ones who covered up your brother’s disappearance. Sounds peachy keen to me. Just what the doctor ordered.” She was just this side of hysteria; he could see it in her face.

He reached out, his hands closing on her shoulders. “Madeline, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“It’s a lovely promise. But you know that it isn’t one you can keep. Besides, you’ve got your own problems to deal with.”

“Right now, all that matters is making sure you’re safe.”

She nodded, and he started for the door, but she put her hand on his arm, and he turned back. “Look, I know you had to save me again. And I know I’ve been a real pain in the ass. But I also need for you to know that I wasn’t trying to run. I was trying to help. I was feeling left out, so I went to the market. I wasn’t trying to get away. I swear it.”

“I know,” he said, intent on reassuring her. “I saw your bag. On the counter. You’d never have left it behind.”

“I wouldn’t have left
you,
not after everything that’s happened,” she whispered, her gaze holding his. “I was wrong to have left this morning. I can’t take that back, but—”

“We can’t do this now,” he said, shaking his head.

“But I don’t know what I’d have done—”

“You’d have figured out something.” He shrugged, his tone dismissive. “You always do.”

Hurt crested in her eyes, but he turned away, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms, knowing that allowing himself to care was a mistake. Things between them were already too complicated.

“Come on,” he said, his tone brusque as he forced himself to focus on the task at hand. “We need to move. As long as Petrov’s in Puerto Remo, you’re in danger. Which means we have to get you out of here. Now.”

“I’m not going back to the States until someone can assure me that I’m not walking into some kind of trap.” Madeline crossed her arms, turning to look out the window at the red and pink hibiscus in the courtyard. The
fountain gurgled merrily, the soft sound comforting, the normalcy almost seeming to mock her fear.

“You’ll be safer in custody than anywhere else,” Drake argued, eyes narrowed as he watched her from his perch on the sofa. Annie sat across from him, sipping a glass of fruit juice. Nash was in Drake’s bedroom talking with Avery. Reporting, no doubt, on Madeline’s latest brush with death.

She squared her shoulders, turning back to face Drake and Annie. “Unless the whole reason Langley wanted A-Tac to get me out of di Silva’s grasp was to make certain that I don’t tell anyone about the card and its significance.”

“But you didn’t understand what it meant,” Drake said, frowning. “So you weren’t a threat even if there was a coverup.”

“Maybe, but they had no way of knowing that. And even if I didn’t know, I do now.” She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the windowsill.

“I think Madeline has a point,” Annie said. “Until we know what really happened with Tucker—or Andrés—we can’t be certain what’s motivating Langley. Or more specifically, the people who may or may not have something to lose.”

“I wasn’t trying to throw you to the wolves.” Drake shook his head, his troubled gaze meeting Madeline’s. “After everything we’ve been through, you know that I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“It’s just that you trust your bosses.” Madeline sighed. “I get that. And taking me to Virginia would mean mission accomplished.” She hadn’t meant to sound bitter, but the sentiment came just the same.

“Look,” Annie said, cutting through the building tension between them, “I’ve had firsthand experience with the suits making up their minds without any effort to distill the truth, so I tend to side with Madeline on this. But the important thing here is that we have evidence of wrongdoing. We know that someone on the inside is supplying di Silva’s organization with information. There’s simply no other way his people could have known Drake’s identity, not to mention your location.”

“Agreed,” Drake said. “But it’s still a leap to assume the leak is related to the possibility that my brother may still be alive.”

“True.” Annie nodded. “but that doesn’t mean we can afford to ignore the possibility. The way I see it there are two potential sources for the leak. Either someone in the upper echelon of the Company, someone with access to our movements, or someone within the unit. And given what we suspect about your brother, it seems credible to believe it’s coming from over our heads.”

“Someone with the motivation to cover up the truth about what happened to Tucker’s division five years ago in Colombia.” Madeline moved to perch on the arm of a chair, her eyes on Drake as he considered Annie’s words.

“But the evidence also supports its being someone from A-Tac.” Drake frowned. “I mean, we’ve had issues with sabotage for several operations now, including the equipment Tyler used to blow the stash.”

“I’m not arguing with you, Drake. I’m just saying that as long as there’s a chance that someone at Langley is trying to silence Madeline to avoid revealing a coverup, we can’t risk taking her in.”

Madeline shot a grateful smile in Annie’s direction, her heart twisting at the thought that Drake was so intent on getting rid of her. She knew he’d never intentionally put her in harm’s way, but clearly he was ready to move on. While the notion wasn’t anything new, the intensity of her disappointment came as a complete surprise. Somewhere along the way, she’d started to count on Drake.

She blew out a breath, running a hand through her hair, her muscles protesting the movement, the pain reminding her all over again of the danger she was still in.

“I have to agree with Annie,” Nash said, snapping his phone shut as he strode into the room. “Until we figure out what’s what, Madeline stays with us.”

“You’re making me sound like the bad guy here,” Drake said, his frown deepening. “I just want Madeline to stay safe. And so far, I haven’t done the best of jobs.”

“You saved my life more times than I can count,” she protested. “You’re the only person I
do
feel safe with.” Again the thought came as a complete surprise. And Madeline bit her bottom lip, wishing the words back.

“You’re not the only one,” Annie said, with a smile. “Drake saved my life once, too. Hell of a shoot-out, and I wasn’t on the winning side—until he showed up.”

“Okay, enough with the Drakefest,” Drake growled, pushing restlessly away from the sofa and walking over to the window. “What else did Avery have to say?”

“Is he going to tell Langley you found me?” Madeline cut through Drake’s question, putting voice to her worst fear.

“No.” Nash shook his head. “Avery considers it need-to-know. And until things get straightened out it’ll be easier if the folks at Langley believe you’re still missing. Not to mention di Silva’s thugs.”

“Good, then it’s settled,” Annie said, her eyes darting to Drake.

“I told you I only want what’s best for Madeline,” he sighed, spreading his hands in acceptance. “And if that’s staying with us, then so be it.”

It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but Madeline was relieved nevertheless. She lifted her gaze, intending to encompass them all, but instead her eyes settled on Drake. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I can’t tell you what it means to know that you’re on my side.”

He held her gaze for a minute, then shrugged, leaning back against the sill as he turned his attention to Nash. “I assume there’s still no confirmation that Andrés is Tucker?”

“No, but Avery’s going to keep digging.”

“What about getting out of here?” Annie asked.

“The boat’s waiting in the harbor,” Nash said. “Or it will be by the time we get there. So the only thing left to decide is where we’re going.”

“Well that one’s not up for debate,” Drake said, pushing to his feet, his expression resolute. “We’re going to San Mateo. Because if there’s even the slightest chance that my brother’s alive, I’m damn sure not leaving Colombia without him.”

Magdalena, Colombia

E
verything appears to be secure,” Drake said, as he joined Nash, Madeline, and Annie on the front porch of the house Avery had secured for them in the village. It was a ramshackle building of indeterminate age, its exterior suitably nondescript.

“Yeah, well, I think we’ve got company inside,” Nash said, drawing his gun as he nodded at the front door standing slightly ajar.

“Get behind me,” Drake whispered to Madeline, and for once she obeyed, stepping behind him as he and Nash stepped in tandem through the doorway.

“Christ, Hannah, I could have blown your head off,” Nash said, lowering his gun.

“Now you know how it feels,” Drake said, smiling over at Hannah. “I wondered if you’d show up.”

“You know me.” Hannah grinned, her dark hair spiking every which way, a bright streak of red framing the right
side of her face as she peered over the tops of her leopard-framed glasses. “Never could resist a good mystery.”

“Nosy Nellie is more like it,” he said, his tone teasing as they all joined Hannah in the living room.

“How long have you been here?” Nash asked.

“I got in a few hours ago. I was actually just starting to wonder where you guys were.”

“We had to be sure that no one was following us,” Drake said, as he sat next to Madeline on the sofa.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite an adventure,” Hannah said, smiling at Madeline.

“An understatement actually. But I was lucky. I had Drake along for the ride.”

“Definitely a man you want around in a crisis.”

“You’re in charge of intel, right?” Madeline asked. “Drake mentioned you. But I thought our location was supposed to be—”

“Eyes-only?” Hannah nodded, sitting back down. “It is. Except that intel is my thing. And Avery’s been acting really weird. Tyler, too. It didn’t take much to tap into my sources and work out what was what. I never thought for a moment that we’d actually leave you and Drake out there, no matter what Langley said.”

“So, does Avery know you’re here?” Nash asked.

“He was very particular about keeping our presence here ‘need to know,’ ” Annie added.

“He made that more than clear, when he told me to butt out. But me, being me—I ignored him. And kept digging. And finally he gave in and here I am.”

“You know that the threat to Madeline is very real,” Drake said.

Hannah sobered, her gaze encompassing them all. “I
do. And I’ve done everything in my power to make certain no one can track my movements coming here. And I brought my personal computer.” She waved at the laptop. “It’s got everything I need, but it isn’t networked through Sunderland or Langley. Which means any work I do stays off the grid. And thanks to Jason it’s encrypted as well. There’s absolutely no way to trace it. And I swear no one knows I’m here.”