LITMIR.BIZ

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stressed. How long would they keep working under that wrong assumption? How long until someone figured out they’d screwed up?

      There was silence from Dylan, then he asked, “Is she?”

      No. But Drew didn’t give that immediate response. He trusted Dylan, of course he did, but there were some secrets he couldn’t share.

      Drew was one of the few people in the world who knew that, yes, Bruce Mercer actually did have a daughter. But that daughter wasn’t Tina. “Hell if I know,” he said.

      It was a good thing Dylan wasn’t there to see him. The guy had always said that he could read any lie on Drew’s face. Lucky for Drew, the bad guys didn’t have such an easy time of seeing past his deception.

      “Tina Jamison wasn’t supposed to be involved in this case,” Drew growled. “No way. Who messed up? How did this happen?” Tina wasn’t the bait for the trap they needed.

      “I don’t know.” He could hear the frustration in Dylan’s voice. “That’s why I asked if she actually is his daughter, because that’s the only thing making sense on my end. We gave Devast’s men the false trail. They were supposed to follow it to our operative, not to Dr. Jamison.”

      Something had gone wrong. Very wrong. Now Drew had to stop the train wreck before Tina was killed.

      There was a murmur in the background then Dylan said, “Get back to her. Word just came down that someone is about to send proof of life to the EOD.”

      Drew ended the call and started back toward the main house. Proof of life could be anything. Providing proof was the standard deal in an abduction case. That proof could be a video of the prisoner. A phone call from the captive.

      It could be a severed finger. An ear that had been sliced off. That kind of physical evidence was actually often needed. High-profile prisoners were valuable and, before they were ransomed, their DNA had to be confirmed.

      He couldn’t let anyone cut into Tina.

      He checked his weapon. Fully loaded.

      Then he kicked up his speed and raced frantically back to Tina.

      * * *

      THEREDHEADWASBACK. Tina stared up at him—no, she stared into the guy’s phone. He’d turned the phone sideways; he was video-taping her.

      “This is what we call proof of life,” he murmured. “We need you to prove to your dear old dad that you’re still alive.”

      They weren’t proving anything to her father. Her father was dead. So was her mother. They’d both died shortly after Tina’s eighteenth birthday.

      Their blood had soaked her fingers. She hadn’t known how to save them.

      I do now.

      “Look into the camera,” he ordered her. “Say your name.”

      The door opened behind him. Drew. Drew was back.

      It got easier for her to breathe then.

      She stared toward the redhead and his phone. “My name is Tina Jamison.”

      “Good girl,” the redhead murmured. Lee. That was his name. She’d heard one of the other men call him that earlier. “Now tell us the date.”

      She did. Her voice didn’t tremble. Tina was proud of that fact.

      “Bruce Mercer, we have your daughter,” the redhead said. His voice was cold and flat. “She’s alive right now, but, if you don’t follow our orders exactly, she won’t be alive for long.”

      Tina kept staring at him.

      “We want an exchange,” Lee continued. “Her life for yours.”

      That wasn’t going to happen. Not ever. Mercer was too important. He had ties to too many governments, too many agents, too many secrets.

      She was just the doctor who patched up the team members.

      I’m expendable.

      Bruce Mercer wasn’t.

      “For every day that you delay, we will hurt her.”

      Oh, wait. What?

      “We gave you proof of life,” he continued. Her eyes narrowed. Was he recording these images of her? Or streaming them live to Mercer? If the fool was streaming them, the EOD would be on top of this group in hours. Sydney would trace the signal back to this location.

      His hold tightened on the phone. “Now it’s time for proof of pain.”

      He’d barely even got the words out before the other guy—the blond who’d kept her terrified for the past hour—came at her with his knife.

      Tina tensed, but the knife just went to the ropes that bound her. Carl cut through the ropes that circled her right hand.

      “What the hell...” Drew began.

      “Slice off her finger,” was the order that followed.

      Carl smiled.

      Tina tried to jerk her hand back.

      She couldn’t. He was too strong.

      “Stop!” Drew bellowed.

      He wasn’t stopping. The knife pressed toward her hand.

      Tina looked away.

      But the blade didn’t slice her skin. Instead she heard the brutal thud of two bodies colliding. Her head whipped back toward that sound. Drew had just slammed into Carl. He’d tackled him, and both men had hit the floor. The knife clattered away.

      “What are you doin’, Stone?” Finally, Lee had dropped his phone. The video show seemed over.

      Drew pounded Carl’s head into the floor. Then he leaped to his feet. “You aren’t cutting her, Lee.”

      “I’ll do anything I want!” His chin jutted out, and Lee motioned to the other two men who stood against the back wall. “Take that fool down.”

      They ran toward Drew.

      But they were the ones that hit the floor.

      As he fought, Tina began to yank at the ropes still around her. Now that her right hand was free, she could escape. Her fingers were shaking as she undid the knots on her left hand. Then she started jerking at the ropes that tied her feet to the legs of the chair.

      Grunts filled the room. The crunch of bones. The fight was brutal and—

      More men were rushing inside.

      Drew put his body in front of hers.

      She untied the last knot and jumped to her feet.

      “You aren’t hurting her!” Drew shouted.

      Then she heard a new sound. A very, very loud boom. A gunshot.

      Drew’s body jerked at the impact, but he didn’t stop fighting the men who came at him. Of course, he didn’t stop.

      A killing machine.

      He took down another man. Broke the nose of the fourth guy who rushed at him.

      Hard hands grabbed Tina. A gun was shoved against her temple. Then Lee ordered, “Stop!”

      Drew whirled. His gaze dipped to Tina’s face, then back to the face of the gunman—Lee. “You aren’t killing her,” Drew said. His lips twisted into a humorless grin, one that was ice-cold. “She’s no good to you dead.”

      “True.” The gun lifted away from her. “Though it seems that you are no good to me alive.”

      He was going to shoot Drew again. Kill him while she watched. “No!” Tina yanked free of Lee’s arms with a wild burst of strength. She put her body in front of Drew’s. “Don’t!”

      Lee hesitated. His gaze went from her face

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