Under the Wire: Bad Boys Undercover (21 page)

Energy pulsed through her. Every muscle inside her screamed for release. She wanted to ride him, enjoy the sensation of controlling the thrusts, but the waves of pleasure already crashed over her.

When he held her hips steady and lifted his body, slipping inside her—in and out—she almost lost her mind. Her thighs trembled and the tightening inside her cried out for release. She wanted to hold back the orgasm and revel in this moment. Enjoy every precious second.

Her chest pounded and her body started to buck. She remembered the talk about intimacy and for just a second wondered if this was enough. If this moment, being so tied to him and his pleasure, could last.

That was her last thought before she came.

“W
E HAVE
incoming.” Parker stared at his watch as he delivered the warning.

Now that they’d been back in the mine for twenty minutes and needed to concentrate, Reid figured this would be a good time to stop watching every move Cara made. Safety needed to be the number one concern. They had one wild card in the building with them—Simon.

While Reid and Cara were in the truck, Parker had questioned Simon, who didn’t break. Didn’t really say anything. He came off as a smart guy who was smart at one thing—his job. Socially awkward and a bit of a blowhard. He also tended to say things that didn’t make sense. Reid couldn’t tell if he was a mastermind or someone who needed a handler.

Reid looked over Parker’s shoulder. “Do we have an ID?”

“I can’t really tell eye color from a dot on my watch.” Parker ended the sarcastic comment by giving Reid the finger.

“You need a better watch.” An alarm system would also be good. All they had to go on right now was the GPS and some other functions on the watch. The beeping of the watch alarm had to do with proximity. They used it when hunting predators. Reid feared that might fit now.

Cara walked into the mine entrance with Simon right behind her. She ignored him and looked from Reid to Parker. “What’s happening?”

The small vibration in her voice suggested either frustration with Simon or worry. She had a sense for danger, so it was likely the latter. After their turn in the truck, all the talking and sex, he wanted more. But it looked like dealing with a new wave of armed guards took priority.

“Someone is coming.” That’s all he said. He figured she could fill in the blanks. It wasn’t as if they had confirmation of anything anyway.

Cara being Cara, she didn’t let the conversation drop there. “Russian special forces?”

“What?” Simon shoved his way past her to stand in front of Parker. “They’re here?”

Parker rarely rattled and he didn’t this time either. “Possibly.”

“We need to move.” Simon walked around in circles. His nervous energy bounced off the walls.

Maybe the part about being hunted by special forces did have some validity. But they were left with the reality of being trapped in a mine. “And go where?”

“Outside.”

“The person or people heading our way are outside.” Parker sounded like he wanted to add “dumbass” or some other comment to the end of his sentence but he refrained.

“Isn’t there a second entrance?” Simon kept walking around. He looked two seconds away from bouncing into walls. “Didn’t you plan for that contingency?”

“We didn’t build this place,” Reid said, pointing out the obvious.

“Okay, let’s calm down,” she said. Simon looked like he wanted to argue with her, but he stayed quiet. She took a few deep breaths before continuing. “Do we know how many are out there?”

“No.” Reid had to admit that would make life easier. Having one come through the door was no big deal. Hell, the way he and Parker shot, ten could come through. But if the special forces guys realized they were missing a bunch of friends, a whole crew could be about to descend on them.

Simon snorted. “That’s helpful.”

“Let me hit him.” Parker looked at Reid. Practically begged. “Just once.”

“The door is locked, right? I mean, he or they or whatever can’t just come in.”

“You need to calm down,” Parker said.

“These guys killed Brad right in front of me.” Simon pointed at his temple. “Shot him in the head, and that
was after they beat the crap out of him.” He glared at each of them and stopped on Cara. “Do you get what I’m saying?”

“Panic isn’t going to help,” she said in a rational voice.

Simon answered back in a voice that inched higher with every word. “Easy for you to say.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“They’ll protect you.” Simon threw his arms wide in a gesture that included the entrance tunnel hallway and openings to tunnels farther back.

He wasn’t wrong, but Reid had still reached the end of his patience. He had a good store of it, but he was fucking done. “That’s enough.”

The banging started a second later. Two thumps then another two. If it was some sort of signal, Reid didn’t recognize it. From Parker’s confused expression he didn’t either.

Then another sound reached them. A muffled voice. Reid couldn’t make out the words. The whole thing could be a trick to lure them in closer then shoot through the door. It was old but still metal. The person on the other side would need a hell of a weapon, but Reid wasn’t taking a chance.

The voice grew louder. Shouting. Saying something.

“Anyone getting that?” Parker asked.

A name. Cara’s name.

Simon glared at her. “Who is that?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“Sound familiar at all?”

“How do I tell?”

Reid searched his mind, tried to think of a way special forces would know her identity. They could have a list of scientists on the expedition. Or . . . he looked at Simon. “Did you tell them her name?”

Simon’s forehead wrinkled and he shook his head. “No.”

“Could it be Caleb?” Parker asked.

Simon threw up his hands. “Who the hell is Caleb?”

“It’s someone who doesn’t have a way to contact us.” The unstated answer was “not one of us.” Reid knew that much was true.

But standing there wasn’t fixing this. Whoever was out there knew her name, which likely meant they would not move until they saw her. Him, her, they—the person had Reid’s full attention now. Much more banging and the person could draw attention or break the doors they needed between them and the outside world.

He motioned for her to get back and then yanked Simon out of the way. “Stay back here.”

Parker nodded as the two of them approached the doors. Inched forward without making a sound. They pressed against the opposite side of the main tunnel. Neither of them stood in the middle, where they would have been an easy target. Once they were in position, Reid called out, “Who’s there?”

“Mickey Stoltz.”

The name sounded familiar because he’d studied the expedition files. It appeared on a few pages. This guy made the arrangements. He had some security title with the foundation but as far as Reid could tell he’d failed to provide anything to the scientists.

The bigger question was how he got there and why. Tasha was following Niko, and Mickey should be pasted to their sides. She’d reported not seeing him for more than a day. Now Reid knew why. Mickey made a side trip to their neighborhood.

This just got interesting.

Reid nodded to Parker to open the door. When he did, Mickey stood there with no weapon and no discernible backup. Just one man out in the middle of the Ural Mountains.

Yeah, that made sense.

Mickey’s smile fell when he looked at the guns pointed at him. “Wait a second.”

“Hands up.” Parker gave the order and the man immediately complied.

“I am here on behalf of Niko Murin.” Mickey took one step. Then another. “I work for the foundation.”

“You’re a long way from your plush DC offices.” Reid didn’t have much time for the foundation or any business that sent innocents out to dangerous areas unprotected. This guy, with his fancy credentials, should have known better.

Mickey nodded. “We have a missing science expedition.”

“Do we look like scientists?” Parker asked.

“Hardly.” Mickey lowered his hands. “You look like you work for Tasha.”

The guy acted like saying her name gave him a free pass. Reid didn’t like it. “And?”

“She’s with Niko right now. They’ve decided to work together. They sent me out ahead to scout for you and the expedition.” Mickey reached into his pocket and Parker took aim. “Wait!”

“Don’t be stupid.”

“I was going to show you the message on my phone.”

Since he’d checked in with Tasha ten minutes ago and she described being with Niko as a form of slow torture, Reid doubted everyone was as chummy as Mickey pretended.

“Mickey!” Simon yelled the man’s name from one of the tunnel rooms farther back.

“I knew I should have shot him.” Parker said it, as Reid was thinking it.

A smile spread over Mickey’s face as he shifted around, clearly trying to look past the bed in the tunnel where Simon’s voice had come from. “You found them.”

“So your work here is done.” Reid wanted this guy gone. Something about the calm demeanor and monotone voice had his senses firing.

Simon broke free then and stopped in the arched tunnel. “You’re here.”

“Where is everyone else?” Mickey kept looking around.

“Gone. I mean, I know Brad is.” Simon swallowed a few times before continuing. “He was with me and they shot him.”

Mickey frowned. “They who?”

“Men with guns.”

When Mickey scanned the mine again, Reid explained. “Other men with guns. Not us.”

Not that he wanted that intel out. Simon only talked about Brad, but the rest of them were gone. For now, Reid planned to keep that bit of news quiet.

“I’m here.” Cara slipped out from behind Simon.

“Lock the door.” Reid nodded to Parker before looking at everyone else. “Let’s step back into the larger room.”

Still jumpy, Simon took a step toward the doors. “We should leave.”

Mickey stopped him with hand on his shoulder. “Soon.”

The tone worked with Mickey’s demeanor to keep Reid on edge. He felt a move coming, big and unpredictable. The kind where people got hurt. So long as Cara stayed safe and they got some answers, Reid was fine with whatever came next. He just wished he could get a better handle on Mickey.

He worked for a guy with a big ego. That had to be tough for a man with Mickey’s past. He enjoyed being in charge. But in this game he didn’t have the money and the power. Reid thought there was a pretty good chance he’d overreached and tried to get some of both.

Mickey looked around the mine as he walked farther in. He peeked first into the shaft with the cart blocking the way then into the room with the pool of water. He wasn’t exactly casing the place but seemed to be indexing every crack and pebble.

As he walked by Cara’s bag, he hesitated. Not for long. It barely lasted the time of a blink. Reid saw because he was watching for it. He couldn’t make out everything sitting on the dark bag. Personal items and her wet coat. A few . . . rocks. What had she called them? Grabbo, grabbon? Reid didn’t remember and it didn’t matter. The only piece of intel that meant anything dealt with the cobalt, and those rocks were a source.

Mickey stopped next to Simon. They stood at the entrance to the room with the pool, near the lip before the water started. Seeing them together set off an alarm bell in Reid’s brain. The odds of two guys randomly walking around the Russian countryside, this close to the hidden lab, had to be slim. And Reid didn’t believe in coincidences.

“What are you supposed to do once you find the missing scientists?” Reid asked.

Mickey didn’t hesitate in his response. “Handle them.”

Reid’s hand went to his gun. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

“Being honest.” Mickey took his gun out of his pocket. “I hear you Alliance guys prefer that.”

Cara must have clued in because she went from listening to glaring. Her gaze bounced down to Mickey’s gun then back to his face. “What’s happening?”

“Don’t play dumb, Cara.” Mickey motioned for her to come closer. “It’s over.”

She didn’t move. If anything, she inched closer to Reid. Just like he wanted. “Leave her out of this.”

“Oh, she’s in it.” Mickey laughed. “What, you didn’t think she was really out here to investigate a decades-old case, did you?”

Simon looked around. The fact that he was in trouble finally seemed to dawn on him. His gaze traveled from person to person but he didn’t move. Looked like he was frozen to the spot. Since that spot happened to be next to a wild card with a gun, he’d chosen a bad place to stand.

“Simon’s your man.” Reid became less and less convinced of that by the second. That was the piece that fit. Mickey needed a man on the ground. Whether he was working alone or with Niko, they’d been in DC. Someone else set up the lab and would perform the actual work.

That led Reid right back to Simon. He’d shown up at the wrong time. His story didn’t make sense. Even now
he looked confused but didn’t seem to have the sense to be scared.

“This guy?” Mickey hitched a thumb in Simon’s general direction.

Simon frowned. “Where did you get a gun?”

“It’s just stupid to be out here unarmed.” Mickey looked over at Parker. “Right?”

“You should put yours down now.” Parker closed in. He stood between everyone and the front doors. His size and shot would make it hard for anyone to pass.

Reid depended on that. He looked over, thinking to grab Cara, but she was a few steps too many away from him. He needed her to move.

“Not going to happen.” Mickey took out a second weapon. “The guns stay with me.”

No matter how many weapons he had on him he could still only fire two at a time. That put him at a disadvantage. Apparently he missed the part where he was outmatched.

“Do you want to die?” Reid asked.

Mickey glanced over at Cara. “It’s time for us to shut this down, honey.”

Her mouth twisted into a frown. “Stop acting like we’re working together.”

Reid refused to believe that. Not her. Not with this guy. “Nice try.”

“What, you think I needed a botanist for my plans?” Mickey’s grin turned feral. “A geologist knows about cobalt.”

“What are you talking about?” Simon grabbed for Mickey’s arm.

Mickey pushed him away. “This guy means nothing to me.”

Reid could see they were headed right for maximum chaos. Once bullets started ricocheting in here they were all in trouble. “Okay, everyone calm down.”

Mickey pointed the gun at Simon. “He’s useless to me.”

Simon took another step back. “Come on, man.”

“See?” Mickey fired. Hit Simon in the center of his chest. A red splotch was already forming on his shirt as he plunged backward into the water.

Reid started toward Mickey, hoping to get there before he could get the shot off. But Reid was too late. The gun fired and he lunged for Simon, thinking to save him from what would likely be a deadly plunge into the pool.