Marcel dropped his mug in the kitchen sink. With the force of the thud, Luc half expected it to shatter. Instead, it thudded and spun as Marcel balanced his hands on the edge of the counter. He didn’t turn around and Luc didn’t signal his arrival.
Marcel’s shoulders stiffened as a slicing sound whizzed through the air. When he spun around he had a knife in his hand. He blew out a hard breath as he set the blade on the counter with a shaking hand.
Marcel’s harsh intake of breath cut off. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Keep your voice down.” Having Shane and Connor come in with guns blazing would not go well for any of them. Luc could open fire but he predicted Marcel would be a hindrance in any stress-filled situation.
“You can’t just come in and out of my house.”
“You knew I was here.” He had been in and out of the house. Part of him liked the thrill and the danger. Proving over and over that he could walk in right under the Corcoran Team’s noses was a side benefit.
“I thought you snuck out.” Marcel leaned against the counter. “Where’s Bruce?”
Luc was getting pretty sick of everyone acting like Bruce had the tactical lead on this operation. The guy came on board for this one job. Being handpicked by the boss had its perks but Luc was ready for him to leave. “Handling some of the details for later.”
As usual, Marcel didn’t ask what those were. He wanted things done and didn’t care how they were done so long as he didn’t have to hear about them. That lack of commitment only made Luc outline every detail to torture Marcel. He’d been about to do just that before they heard the heavy footsteps on the porch and Connor walked in.
Pushing this guy off his high pedestal was the only decent part of this job so far. So Luc intended to keep doing it.
“This time you need to be successful.”
“About that.” There was no way Luc would take the fall for any failure in this operation. Not when the blame fell so easily on other shoulders. “Seems like you forgot to mention an important fact.”
Marcel waved him off. “I can handle Connor Bowen.”
“Really?” Luc had had a front-row seat and watched a professional toying with a novice. At another time, in another situation, preferably one that couldn’t trace back to him and land him in prison, Luc may have enjoyed watching Marcel get wrapped up in his obsession and lies. Not this time.
Marcel might view himself as some sort of international power player but no one else did. Until recently he’d been married and in a constant state of panic over being caught using his charity as a cover. He whined and lost focus. He provided the basis, the shipments perfect for the crates and merchandise they really needed to move. But that was the only pro in his column.
“I’m playing a role as a director of a charity,” Marcel said. “Being what Connor expects.”
Not that Luc saw. To the extent Marcel ever had a convincing cover it appeared to be blown now. And that made him a liability.
Luc decided to lay it out. “You’re in love with his wife and he knows it.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s clear what you want to do to her and it’s nasty.”
“You’re out of line.” Marcel’s voice rose and shook as he talked.
“Keep it down.” Luc struggled to maintain a whisper over his growing frustration.
“Then stop talking about Jana.”
As far as Luc was concerned, the lack of communication about her was the problem. “Don’t you think I needed to know what was happening between you two before we started this operation?”
That was the one thing Luc could not tolerate. He’d put his reputation, not to mention his life, on the line. All for some lovesick idiot who couldn’t keep his focus long enough to finish a job.
Marcel pushed off from the counter. “You had the facts you needed. You’re the one who’s failed to accomplish even the most simple of tasks in this operation.”
“Because I wasn’t permitted to cut through this and hurt Jana. Now I know why.” The calculation struck Luc as obvious. He just needed to talk fast enough when the time came to keep the spotlight on Marcel and prevent it from shifting.
A creak had them both turning toward the front of the house. Luc reached for his gun and Marcel grabbed a pot. So long as the noise didn’t lead to footsteps they’d be fine. For a few more seconds they stayed quiet and unmoving. Nothing happened. Whatever drew their attention sounded like it hadn’t breached the door.
Marcel stepped forward and looked down the hall to the front door. “Probably the porch.”
“Fix that before it causes trouble.”
“Right, I’ll get to it in my spare time since I have so much of that.” Marcel looked out the window to the side of the kitchen area.
“You’re welcome to join us on the front lines outside. Just make sure you duck when the bullets start flying.” Luc did not want to hear about how hard the work was from the guy who sat at a desk all day.
“You shouldn’t be in here.”
Luc wasn’t ready to let this go. This was too important and impacted too many people. Some who knew who to shoot and tended to get blinded by anger. “Does everyone know about your crush on Jana but me?”
“That’s enough.” Marcel’s voice dropped back to a soft whisper. “We’re done talking about this.”
This guy still didn’t get it. This wasn’t a game. “I’ve lost a lot of men out here.”
“Which says something about the people you hire.”
They’d suffered real losses that would set back their operation. That sort of thing destroyed morale. It also made busywork that Luc didn’t need. Searching through lists of mercenaries to find qualified people amounted to a waste of time. He’d do it because he had to, but he’d much rather blame someone else.
“What about your choices? You bring your girlfriend here and she uncovers everything.” The level of stupidity involved in that socked Luc. He decided right there he needed new partners on the next job.
This time Marcel didn’t deny his dream relationship with Jana. “Not everything. She thinks there’s a math error in the paperwork. No big deal.”
If that were true they wouldn’t have a stack of bodies outside and undercover operatives swarming the place. Luc didn’t know why Marcel couldn’t see that. “I disagree.”
“I can convince her.”
The man continued to wallow in cluelessness. “She’s not stupid.”
“I’ll direct her where I need her to go.” Marcel gave another sneak peek at the front of the house. “I’ve done it before.”
As far as Luc could see, Marcel ignored one very important factor in all of this. What he’d come to see as
the
biggest factor. “Even if that’s true, you can’t control her husband.”
“His time is almost over.”
Sounded as if Marcel planned to beak protocol and remove Connor. Luc wanted to be there to see that because he couldn’t imagine it. “That’s what this has all been about. All the planning and the hiring of muscle to help out. You came up with this elaborate scheme to lure him here, get rid of the competition and become the hero.”
“All of this has been about tying up loose ends. Connor is the ultimate loose end. Trust me.”
“No.” Killing Connor would bring down the wrath of his men. Luc didn’t want that much attention and he knew he would not be alone on that.
“You have one final chance to do your job.”
Threats. Those qualified as Luc’s least favorite things. “Or?”
“You think the paperwork won’t lead back to you? That I don’t have this all figured out?” Marcel’s hubris snapped back into place. He delivered his speech in a voice filled with satisfaction. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
“I thought you were retiring.” That was part of the plan. Marcel planned to walk away with his reputation intact and a lot of money in his pocket.
So did Luc. That was the piece that kept him from unloading. Marcel thought he had his ticket out, but Luc had a contingency in place. One where he would not be implicated. Others would pay and he would walk away. With the money.
The man made one threat too many. Threw around big words and acted like he could dictate what happened from here on out. As if Luc could let him live now.
“I am getting out and will not be looking over my shoulder for Connor Bowen. The only way to ensure that doesn’t happen is to eliminate him.”
It was the way Marcel said it. So sure with an almost stupid dreamy expression. He’d clearly spun some strange romantic fantasy that included a woman who worked for him and appeared to think of him as nothing more than a mentor.
Luc had to hold back a laugh at the other man’s expense. “But you plan to take his wife with you. You actually think she’ll walk away from her husband and her life and be with you?”
“She already did.”
The signs were so obvious yet he kept missing them. “You’re not paying attention because that woman is not on the verge of leaving her husband. Not even close.”
“She’s not your concern.”
Luc didn’t understand it. It was as if this one woman choked off all common sense and cost them more bodies on this mission. “Fine, but you need to know this is about to go down.”
“Good.”
Luc talked right over Marcel. “The plan is now in play and can’t be pulled back.”
“So?”
“If it comes down to killing her or getting out of this without trouble, I will put a bullet right in the middle of that pretty forehead.”
Marcel straightened. “No one touches her.”
Luc was done agreeing to nonsense. “You heard what I said.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jana’s head pounded hard enough to block her hearing. She’d wanted to yell at Connor during the short drive to the charity office. He’d waltzed into Marcel’s house and did the macho-guy thing. Flexed muscles and threw around phrases like
my woman,
or maybe he hadn’t, but it sure sounded like it from where she listened in on the porch.
But one thing had changed. She could no longer pretend Marcel looked on her as if they were in some sort of mentor relationship. He hadn’t come right out and admitted his feelings for her, but she picked up on the clues. His voice changed and he grew stern. An emotion she couldn’t name had washed over him, stripping away the charming facade she knew.
The way he looked at her when she walked into the room. The suggestion she had shared her feelings about her marriage, which she absolutely had not. The things he’d said about Connor making a huge mistake in letting her go. Marcel had started dropping those comments a few weeks ago.
It all made sense now. Marcel wanted something more. Something she would never give him.
After pulling up to the charity and putting the car in Park, Connor got out and slammed the driver’s-side door. Instead of going into the building he folded an arm on the top of the car and stared at her over the roof. “Are you not talking to me?”
“Why would I be mad?” She didn’t know what she was other than confused and frustrated.
“Well, there’s the thing where you just used the word mad.”
She’d put her marriage on hold and went searching. A man she trusted to give her shelter had ulterior motives. It looked like her husband’s jealousy had some foundation. Every way she could mess up and get things wrong, she had. The enormity of it made her dizzy. She reached out for the car to regain her balance.
“You promised not to attack Marcel.” She heard the slap of the accusation in her voice. She hadn’t meant to say anything.
“He’s still alive, isn’t he?”
She couldn’t handle this. Not now. Thoughts and regret spun in her head. She doubted every decision she’d made over the past few months and questioned her judgment. If Marcel really was using the charity to do something illegal, she might just strangle him and let Connor watch.
She had to know and the only way to do that was to step back into that building. The same one where men had chased her and dragged her off.
Pulling up a well of strength she wasn’t sure she had, she stood up straight and headed for the front door. “Let’s just do this.”
Connor met her on the bottom stair and matched his step to hers. “I would point out I didn’t make up his feelings for you. This was not just about me losing my temper or being unreasonable, though I admit I have been that at times. You want me to say you made me jealous? Fine, you did.”
She hated that. She was not that kind of woman. She didn’t get any joy out of making Connor miserable. That for a second he believed she cheated or would play games to have it look that way made her sick for him.
It also made her a little angry. She would never do that and at least
that
he should know. “I told you I don’t view him that way.”
The wind carried her hair and Connor reached out and tucked it behind her ear. The touch was so gentle and loving that tears pushed against the backs of her eyes.
“But he thinks of you as his girlfriend.” Connor said the words in a soft voice, as if it hurt to mutter them.
She caught his hand and held it. “I’m not.”
“I’m not the one you need to convince.”
She sensed that was true. After all of her denials to Connor, she now had to sit Marcel down and tell him the score. She’d assumed he knew the truth, but now she was sure that wasn’t true.
She kissed his hand then dropped it. “Let’s just focus on the charity issues right now. One problem at a time.”
“Am I the problem or is Marcel?”
It looked like Connor wasn’t ready to move on and handle something else. Her chest ached at the thought. “You’re both being difficult right now.”
He came to a stop and his shoes scraped against the rough ground. “Tell me again. What exactly did I do in the last half hour that’s the problem?”
She took in the frown and the square shoulders. He looked ready for battle and ten seconds from launching into a new litany of anti-Marcel information. She didn’t want to listen. Disappointment already weighed down her muscles and exhausted her.
Still, Connor deserved to know one truth. “You were right about him.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I’m not repeating it.”
Connor’s head shot forward and his eyes went to tiny slits. Then it all changed. A smile pushed up one side of his mouth and those sexy eyes went wide. “Ahh.”
Yeah, now he got it. She admitted it. He was right and she was wrong. And... “I hate that.”
That smile went to full wattage. “I’d apologize—”
“We can add this to all the mistakes I’ve made lately. The pile is getting pretty huge.” She couldn’t even think about the long list without wanting to sit down.
His mouth fell flat again. He reached for her as she went up the two steps to the door. “Jana, that’s not—”
With her hand on the knob, she turned around and faced him again. Her back touched the door but she didn’t bolt. Even though she really wanted to. “You have every right to rub it in.”
A few thuds of his footsteps and he stood in front of her. “I’d rather kiss you.”
The pressure behind her gave and the door opened. She would have flown backward but a firm hand caught her shoulder and Connor grabbed her arms. For a second, fear flashed through her. The memories of the kidnapping flooded back. Then a strong arm wrapped around her.
Cam squeezed her close to his side. “I get a hug first.”
“For what?” She looked him over, admiring every impressive inch. Brown hair and that cute dimple in his cheek. The ladies took one look at the former black ops expert and started fixing their hair and applying lipstick. Not that he noticed.
He smiled down at her. “Surviving the jeep explosion and run through the desert.”
“Sounds like a normal day for you guys, but I’m happy you’re all okay.” And she was because she loved every last alpha, demanding one of them.
Cam looked from her to Connor and back again. “Does that mean you’re coming home?”
“Feel free to answer the man so long as the answer is yes,” Connor said.
If they could get through this and find time to sit down and talk through all the things they’d skimmed over in the past, she was. She hated being away from the house and Connor. She wanted her life back. She needed him to understand she was a wife and not a client who needed protecting.
For months she thought she needed time away. She’d been wrong and she had to own that. What she really needed was Connor. Turned out loving him was easy. Living with him was not but they could make rules and loosen the string. At least she hoped that was true.
“I am not having a conversation about my personal life until whatever is happening here is resolved.” She relaxed all of her other dealing-with-the-husband rules over the past few days. She was determined to hold firm on this one.
Cam made a face. Even threw in a hissing sound as his arm dropped away from her. “About that.”
“What?” Connor asked.
“Let’s head in.” Cam opened the door and ushered them inside. “Drake and I found some paperwork in the safe.”
The inside looked like a windstorm passed through. There were papers everywhere and boxes and smashed bits of...she wasn’t even sure what. A wall, maybe? Anxiety whirred to life inside her. The men. The chase. The call to Connor. She wanted to forget it all.
“How did you get it open?” Not that she got an answer. She got staring and a bit of an are-you-kidding-me look. “Right, forget I asked.”
Cam walked over to a table with neat stacks of files and papers on it. He grabbed a few off the top. “Looks like Marcel is using the shipments to carry something other than vaccines overseas—”
“No.” It was a reflex response. She said it but while she studied the paper in Connor’s hand she realized she’d never seen it before. It looked different from the other invoices and included Marcel’s handwriting and specifically referenced the unaccounted-for additional boxes.
Connor handed the document to her. His stern expression and the way his skin pulled tight across his mouth showed his inner turmoil. “I know this is difficult to take in, but he’s dirty.”
She understood this looked bad and she guessed Marcel was doing something secretive and likely pretty awful. She couldn’t really deal with that idea so she locked it away in another part of her brain. Later she’d take all the information out and assess it. If this was like the last time when the charity was being used or if anything else was happening under her nose, she’d wrestle with that guilt and her failings later.
Now she needed focus to get at the thought that kept nibbling at her. “You told me your friend has been watching over the shipments. How would Marcel be moving extra boxes of anything from here, directing and hiding, with the oversight you set up?”
“What are you talking about?” Cam asked.
Connor stared at her for an extra second before breaking off to glance at Cam. “You know this charity has had issues before, right?”
“Sure. That was your last job before starting Corcoran. The one where you met Jana.”
“After that, since Jana still did work for the charity even from afar, I called in some favors and Drake agreed to act like a watchdog. The distribution chains tend to be in the rough areas where he works.”
“For the CIA.” She filled in the blank in case Cam didn’t know. But when he didn’t so much as blink, she guessed Cam might have more inside information on Connor’s past than she did.
“Sort of.” Connor waved a hand in front of his face. “That doesn’t matter now.”
“Wait a second.” Cam shifted his weight. “Why didn’t Drake tell me that when we were going through all of the documents and coming up with potential scenarios?”
That was exactly Jana’s question. This guy had all these skills but missed potential drug running or illegal distribution of some type happening right in front of him? That didn’t make any sense to her.
“He probably thought he was keeping my confidence.” Connor’s expression didn’t change but something in his voice did. “Where is he?”
“Holt got here before you and they went out checking for tracks and evidence.”
Connor nodded at the satphone. “Call them in.”
* * *
L
uc
pushed
down
the excitement welling inside him as he lined up the gunsight. They’d rotated through so many plans that he’d lost count by this point. He wasn’t even sure what the end goal was. On one hand they wanted Jana to stop snooping and Connor stopped before he picked up the trail she’d found. On the other, they wanted Connor. For what, Luc didn’t really know.
Regardless of the final solution, they’d all failed. But this one would work. Separate and destroy. It was so simple. Don’t let the Corcoran Team members gather or get too close. Pick them off one by one.
And this was the first domino. From here they’d give the okay for the next attack. When the smoke cleared only Connor would be standing and only long enough to see his wife go down.
It was a shame, really. A beautiful woman like that deserved a chance to change sides, but the boss wanted her gone now. Too much had happened. Too much time had been lost and too many men had been killed.
He stood at the bedroom window and looked through his sight again. He had a clear shot of this guy Shane’s back as he walked the grounds of Marcel’s property with his head down. At this distance with this rifle it would only take one shot.
Shane stopped, facing away. The man almost made it too easy.
“I’ll take him.” One shot. No wasted ammunition and certainly no opportunity for Shane to return fire.
Marcel hovered too close. For a guy who wanted clean hands he was almost cheering for this putdown. “Quick and clean. We need to get over to the charity office.”
Luc knew the plan. Hell, he’d created the plan. He didn’t need either a cheerleader or someone pretending to be in charge when he wasn’t. “No problem.”
“He took his vest off.” Marcel shook his head. “Stupid.”
The desert heat started burning and Shane had stripped it off. Luc stood right there and watched. Now the vest rested on a chair only a few feet away from him. Not that it would help him there. “I guess these Corcoran guys aren’t as smart as everyone says.”
Luc got into shooting position. He ran through the checklist in his mind.
Marcel’s hand darted over and he lowered the weapon. “What are you doing?”
“Like I just said, taking a shot.” It took every ounce of control Luc possessed not to shoot Marcel. “And never touch my gun.”
“From here?”
From the way Marcel looked around his bedroom, Luc guessed the other man didn’t like the choice of shooting position right near his pillow. That was tough because this room gave Luc the best angle. “You wanted quick.”
Before Marcel could whine or do something to draw attention to them, Luc aimed and fired. There was a crack and the man dropped. The broad shoulders tipped forward and the rest of his body followed. A whoosh and he went boneless.
Satisfaction surged through Luc. He’d missed that sensation on this job. So many steps had gone wrong. But not this one. This time he could enjoy the win.
He looked at the still form crumpled on the red land for a few seconds. “Done.”
“That’s not what I expected.”
“Get used to it since he’s just the first.” Luc ignored Marcel and lowered the weapon. “Now it’s time for Phase Two.”