Vengeance.
Mercer would understand his pain now. He’d feel the same agony that Anton had experienced. But there would be no relief from that pain. There was never any relief.
“Burn the place to the ground,” he ordered as he left the ranch.
Thud. Thud.
The base had already been set to ignite. The first explosion detonated and the flames burst into the air. The scent of fire drifted on the wind. He didn’t look back at the flames.
He was too busy looking ahead—and planning for Tina Jamison’s death.
Chapter Six
Tina wasn’t looking at him. She hadn’t looked Drew directly in the eyes since Lee Slater’s death.
They were at the airport; a small strip that was used just for government operations. A plane waited behind Tina.
This was the moment he was supposed to let her go. Why won’t she look me in the eyes?
“Thank you,” Tina said. Her voice didn’t sound right. Too stilted. Too polite. “I can’t ever repay what you did for me.”
He didn’t care that they had an audience. Drew took her hand in his. Her skin was incredibly soft—he’d never get used to that silken feel beneath his rough fingers. “I want you to watch your back.”
Her eyelashes flickered. “Rachel is going to D.C. with me. I’ll be perfectly—”
“You won’t be safe, not until we have Anton Devast in custody.” She’d heard the name already, when he’d been trying to force a last-ditch confession from Lee, so he wasn’t breaking any clearance by telling her. Hell, after all she’d been through, the woman deserved to know who was after her.
He didn’t care about Mercer’s rules right then. Not with her life on the line.
Tina glanced at him. Wet her lips. “Do I want to know...the things that he’s done?”
No. Drew didn’t even want to know. The tortures. The murders. Anton’s network stretched halfway across the world. Getting to the man, eliminating him, had been a goal of the EOD for years.
But Anton Devast was a hard man to kill. Getting close to him was practically impossible.
I was almost there. One more day. I would have been up close and personal with the man.
But Tina had come first. His hold tightened on her. “He’s not just going to walk away from you. He’s convinced that you’re Mercer’s daughter. Stay alert.”
“And you stay alive.” She gave him a sad smile. One that made his chest ache. “I’ve grown rather fond of you, Agent Lancaster. I know there’s more than just ice running through your veins.”
For her, there was fire.
She looked back at the plane that waited. The pilot stood outside, his hands on his hips.
“We need to go, miss!”
Drew just didn’t want to let her go.
It’s not about what I want.
If he had his way, he’d be the one sticking to her like glue. But Mercer’s orders had come down. This flight was Tina’s safe passage back to D.C.
Drew’s job wasn’t finished. He was to head back to the Devast base. He was supposed to start picking up the pieces of this mission and track the HAVOC ringleader once more.
What he wanted... He wanted to kiss Tina. To taste her again.
Not here.
Drew cleared his throat. “Remember what I promised you we’d have?”
Naked, tangled together.
Her pupils widened. Her lips parted.
“I keep my promises.”
He let her hand go.
Tina stared up at him. Finally, finally, she was looking deeply into his eyes. “You’d better.”
She turned away. She and Rachel began heading toward the plane.
Watching someone walk away had never been harder.
* * *
BRUCE MERCER DRUMMED his fingers on his desk. Tina Jamison was safe. She was on her way back to him.
Dragging her into this mess had been a mistake. A miscalculation. He didn’t make those often, but when he did...
The phone vibrated on his desk. Not the confidential office phone.
His personal phone.
Only a handful of people knew his number. He picked it up instantly, thinking it was his daughter, Cassidy.
Unknown number.
Tension tightened his body as he read the message on the phone’s screen. He answered the call with a curt, “Hello?” He didn’t identify himself. Never would.
“Hello, old friend.” That voice—that familiar voice—stopped time for him.
Twenty years... It had been twenty years since he’d last heard from Anton Devast.
How had the SOB gotten his private number?
“You always underestimated me,” Anton murmured. “That was such a shame.”
Mercer didn’t speak. He wouldn’t. There was no sense giving the man any more information than Devast already possessed. And for Devast to get his private line...
He has far more intel and connections than I realized.
“I know where your daughter is...”
No, the guy didn’t. He didn’t even know who Mercer’s real daughter was.
My Cassidy is on her honeymoon now. With one of my best agents at her side. A man who’d die for her in an instant. She’s safe, and you can’t touch her.
“Your girl is flying through the sky. Safe?” Anton laughed. “No. She’s not safe. You know what I do best.”
Destroy. Terrorize.
“There won’t be anything left of her.” More laughter. “You should have agreed to the trade. Then you would be the one dying and she’d still have a shot at life.”
Click.
Sweat slickened Mercer’s temple. That call could have been a hoax. A trick to mess with his head. To cause panic and force him to make a mistake.
Except...
Anton Devast doesn’t make threats.
The bastard delivered promises.
In the next second Mercer was dialing fast and frantically on his phone, calling the one agent who should be able to help him.
Don’t be too late. Don’t be...
* * *
THE PHONE IN Drew’s pocket vibrated. Frowning, he yanked it up to his ear. Dylan had just given him the replacement phone an hour ago. There weren’t many folks who should be trying to reach him then.
He began, “Hel—”
“Get to Tina Jamison.” Bruce Mercer’s voice barked the order.
Drew’s head snapped up. Tina was heading onto the plane.
Drew started running.
“Get to her, Lancaster. Secure her. You saved her before and you damn well better save her now—”
“Tina!” Drew bellowed.
Tina turned toward him. Her head tilted, the sunlight glinting off her dark hair and the replacement glasses that she’d been given.