Chapter Five

Gunshots had stopped. Yelling had stopped. Pounding footsteps had stopped.

Still, Mitch didn’t flinch one muscle. He continued to pace his breaths, in and out, in and out. Slow and shallow to a point a casual glance wouldn’t pick up any sign of life. Appearing dead to the enemy was a learned skill. One he’d mastered.

At least he had Liz tucked nice and neat beneath him. All he had to do was wait for the all clear.

A tiny, breathy grunt from Liz reminded him to stay braced on one of his forearms and knees. His other hand kept a tight grip on his gun. He needed to be close enough to shield her, but he also had to give her space to breathe. There was a fine line between tricking the enemy and squashing the client.

Time was wasting.

What was taking so long for the all clear from one of his team members?

She sighed, turning her head enough that her coconut-scented hair tickled his neck. Not what he needed.

The image of her in the green bikini flashed through his mind. Quite a change from the jeans and loafers look she’d worn when he picked her up. Who knew she had curves? Nice curves, to boot. Ones that filled out the swimsuit in all the right places. Tight abs. Toned arms. Long legs.

The corner of his mouth quirked. Long legs in jeans didn’t come close to long legs in a swimsuit.

Beneath him, she began to move. Slow at first, evidently trying to raise her shoulders. First one, then the other. He didn’t budge. She wiggled her hips. Wiggled her butt. Little moves at first. Then, she all out shoved into his groin. And wiggled from side to side.

Mitch’s body slowly betrayed him. First, the adrenaline rush of a heart pounding shootout. Now, for the first time in his entire career, the realization he was attracted to his client, which hit with the intensity of his first HALO night jump during SEAL training. Scary as hell. Painful was more the word for this predicament.

His dick had decided to play the game. Hard-on and Neoprene did not make for comfort.

In the future, he’d need to watch himself around her. Attraction was unprofessional—could damn well get you killed, too. For now, he focused on cold, the Artic, snowpack, avalanche, ice, icicles, icebergs, ice caps—falling head first into ice cold freezing water.

“Stop moving.” He gritted his teeth as he spoke the barely there words.

She instantly stopped. “You’re alive.”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you were dead.”

“Not yet.”

She tried to turn over. “I was trying to get out from under you.”

“Shhhhh. Quiet.” Ice water. Ice water. Ice water.

“I was just trying to explain.” She wiggled back to her original spot then gave another tiny, breathy grunt.

Or was that a moan? He lost all concept of the ice-water scenario. “Liz. Please be still.”

“Why are you so—” She froze. Shifted her backside up slightly. Raised her head. Bumped his chest. Then, hugged the floor. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Shhhhh.”

Footsteps started down the hallway behind them.

“All clear,” OPAQUE agent Josh Slater shouted.

Mitch scrambled to his feet and stepped behind the closest chair. All he’d need for a lifetime of embarrassment would be one of the team members figuring out his quandary.

Liz pushed herself up. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

“I told you to stop wiggling.” He slashed his forearm out in front of him. “You didn’t.”

The disgusted expression on her face as she walked in his direction said he must have insulted her prim and proper decorum.

“So, you plan to blame…that”—she braced her hands on her hips as she scanned her eyes to his groin—”on me? Not hardly.”

He pointed his finger at her. “Give it a rest. Can you honestly say it was all my fault?”

“I. Thought. You. Were. Dead.”

He deliberately quirked the side of his mouth as he leaned into her personal space. “Not. Hardly.”

Her eyes rounded as she folded her fingers into a soft fist and screeched, then turned to walk away. Instead, she bumped into Josh. Screamed. And, like a windup toy being released from its hold, bolted to Mitch.

“Shoot him. Shoot him.” She placed her hand against his shoulder.

He rolled his shoulder backward, nudging her away. “I gotta admit there are days I’d like to, but he’s one of the good guys.”

“I’m Josh Slater, ma’am. I work for Drake.” Josh nodded then chuckled deep in his throat as he glanced at Mitch. “Wiggling?”

Mitch glared at his friend. “Don’t even go there.”

“Oh, I already went.” Josh raised his eyebrows. “Now, if you two are finished with your little spat, you might want to question this crash-through-the-window lowlife.”

Cat pushed a limping man in front of her down the hallway toward the great room.

The guy stumbled, catching himself with his shoulder against the wall. His pallor was as green as the lizard imprinted on the front of his shirt. “Hey, take it easy. I think you broke my leg.”

“I sure hope so. You tried to kill me.” Cat shoved him forward again.

Mitch’s relief that they’d taken one alive cleared all thoughts of anything else. With a little luck, there might be a chance to gain more info on how Liz’s father had come back on Coercion Ten’s radar. He made eye contact with the limping jerk, then, to really get the man’s attention, he rolled his fingers in and out of a fist as he crossed the room.

Coming to a toe-to-toe stop in front of the man, Mitch snarled as he popped his fist into the other palm. “Well, what have we got here?”

“He’s the one who crashed through the window in the bedroom. Got off a shot at Cat before she put him on the floor.” Josh positioned himself by the French doors leading to the patio outside the great room. “He’s right, though. I heard the bone crack. Bet anything he’s gonna need a doctor.”

Mitch forcefully braced his forearm against the wall beside the man’s head. Leaned to within an inch of the man’s nose. “Well, this may be your lucky day, Lizard Breath.”

The man tried to keep the dilated pupils of his eyes focused straight ahead. “Wh-why’s that?”

“Well, you see, we’ve got doctors on staff. Won’t take me a second to call a doc in.”

“So, call him. I’m hurting bad.”

“Sure thing…as soon as you tell me who you work for.” Preying on a suspect’s fears didn’t set well with Mitch. But neither did someone trying to snatch his client. “Of course, Cat could splint that bone for you.”

Lizard Breath visibly leaned away from her.

He glanced toward the man’s leg. Shook his head. “My advice is to go with the doc. He’s always got those good meds to take the pain away. And, Cat…well, she’s not always a gentle touch. Know what I mean?”

“I…uh…” The artery in the man’s neck pulsed beats at well above a hundred. Breaths twenty-five, or more, per minute.

Keith walked in the door leading a man wearing a red T-shirt with his hands cuffed behind his back. The guy was covered in sand, with a trickle of blood trailing from the corner of his eye socket.

Mitch turned his attention back to the man standing in front of him. “Make up your mind, Lizard Breath. I got someplace to be.”

“Don’t you say a word,” the handcuffed man shouted from across the room.

Threateningly, Mitch stalked toward the newcomer then stopped halfway there. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

Off to the side, Liz kept her serious expression, but she’d put the sofa between herself and the guy who’d yelled.

“I ain’t afraid of you.” The man spit in his direction. “You’ll get yours when them other guys get here.”

Mitch stomped back to the hallway then slammed his fist against the wall next to Lizard Breath’s head. The wall shook. “Who the hell do you work for?”

Lizard Breath wobbled on his one good leg then pointed at the loudmouth across the room. “He said we’d make some quick money if we—”

“I said shut up,” the guy yelled as he struggled to get away.

Josh stepped aside as Keith pushed open the patio door and yanked the yelling man outside. “I’ll be back as soon as I cuff him to the patio post.”

“Secure him in the master bath. Wouldn’t want a stray gator to eat our suspect.” Of course, if Mitch didn’t get the answers he needed soon, a stray gator would be the least of the man’s worries. For now, though, Mitch stayed focused on the guy with the bad leg. “I’m getting tired of waiting. What were you supposed to do?”

Lizard Breath didn’t say a word.

This was taking way too much valuable time, so Mitch decided to speed things up. “Cat, come over here and see what you can do about this man’s leg.”

She took a couple of steps in their direction.

“No. I’ll tell you anything you want.”

The corner of Cat’s mouth twitched in a stifled smile.

Lizard Breath’s shoulders sagged. “Word on the street is that there’s money to be made on that lady.” He pointed toward Liz. “All we gotta do is hold her till the Coercion-something dudes get here.”

“Then what?” Mitch asked.

“I don’t know. Said they’d take care of her after that.” Lizard Breath moaned as he shifted his weight to his damaged leg. “Now, what about that doc?”

Two more answers. Mitch needed only a couple more answers to know how serious this case had become. He took his phone out as he leaned against the wall. Time to play the nice guy routine. “Sure thing. By the way, do you happen to know how much the lady’s worth to these dudes?”

“Fifty thousand bucks.”

Damn. That was a serious chunk. “Any stipulations on dead or alive?”

“Alive. Of course, they didn’t say anything about roughing her up a bit.” The man waggled his eyebrows and grinned.

Mitch jabbed his elbow, hard and straight, into the man’s ribs. Reactively, Cat caught the man before he fell to the floor. From across the room, Liz sucked in an audible breath.

“These two are a dead end. They wouldn’t know Coercion Ten if it walked up and bit them.” He pushed a button on his phone, and Drake answered on the first ring. “We’ve got two live, in custody. Contact the FBI to pick them up. They’re nothing but a pair of local slimeballs out to make a quick buck.”

He gave a quick report, wondering what Drake wasn’t telling him. Or, worse yet, what OPAQUE hadn’t found out so far. This case had rapidly gone from a typical security shadow to OPAQUE level.

Why the hell did CT have a bounty on Liz’s head? A lot of things weren’t adding up.

“Hey, send a doc. One of the men’s got a busted knee.” He ended the call.

Keith walked back into the room after depositing the other thug in the bathroom. “Everything under control?”

“For now.” Mitch couldn’t shake the shiver on the back of his shoulders. Never a good sign. “Keith, you and Cat reacquaint Lizard Breath with his friend. Then monitor the property’s security panel.”

“On it,” Cat said, as Keith nudged the guy down the hallway.

Liz had eased herself onto the sofa. Her elbows were braced on top of her knees. Head bent into the palms of her hands. There’d been no way to keep her from hearing the remarks, but that was nothing compared to where this case might take them. He’d hoped she’d be strong. Right now, she looked a little pale.

He walked over and nudged his leg against her arm. “You okay?”

She didn’t look up. “Why am I worth so much money?”

“When Coercion Ten wants people to do something for them, and they refuse, they kidnap someone of importance to the person, and…” How could he word this without destroying what courage she had left? “They—”

“Do whatever’s needed to persuade compliance. Right?” She stared into his eyes as she asked her question.

“Something like that. We call it leverage.” Her color had come back, besides which, now she was the one up and walking.

“Okay. What could they possibly want my dad to do?”

“We’re trying to figure that one out. Drake got a CT List update five minutes before I jumped on the personal watercraft to get here,” Josh said.

“They keep a list of people to use?” she asked.

The truth was always best. “Yeah, they keep a list. Every so often we intercept one, or they let us see the update.”

“This time we think our contact on the inside was able to send the info out.” Josh raked his fingers through his dark hair. “The list has Liz’s name next to her father’s.”

Her name being added to the list didn’t surprise Mitch. “Any other remarks by her name?”

“Nope. Funny thing, though,” Josh paused to look back outside. “A few lines later, her name was first, then her father’s as leverage.”

The two agents shared a glance that said what the fuck’s going on? Double lines on the list were few and far between. Usually didn’t end well, either.

What was so damn important on this case?

He’d already picked up on the urgency back at the Mariner’s Bar and Grill when he found out Keith had been added to his team. Having Cat in the house from the beginning, and Josh arriving as backup, had only skyrocketed Mitch’s intuition. The confluence of so many top OPAQUE agents on one job meant there was a high probability the assignment was headed straight up. Hot and fast.

In fact, if you added in Reese, Stealth, and Joey, you’d have the entire Shades of Leverage team on the case. That meant a lot of OPAQUE groups were out there without their usual team leader. Either way you looked at it, the situation was a clusterfuck waiting to happen.

Keith rushed back into the great room, pointing to the room’s surveillance screen. “You need to see this, stat.”

In one quick move, Mitch tapped the tech-band strapped to his forearm and took in the dynamics of the trajectory on the screen in the closeup. He pushed the security-scrambled speaker button for direct access to OPAQUE. “Do you see this, Drake?”

“On it. I’m sending more agents even as we speak. FBI’s ETA three minutes max.”

“The way CT’s surrounding us, this will be an all-out attack. What’s going on, Drake? What aren’t you telling us?”

“I’ve told you everything we’ve got.”

“None of this makes sense. Why would they set up for a direct attack?” Mitch motioned Liz to his side. “They know Liz is here. They know we’re here. Yet they’re willing to charge the house to get her. I’m thinking her dad has been involved in something else for quite a while. Something they really need.”

“Get out of there right now.” Drake’s tone edged on controlled panic.

Mitch didn’t care what the old man said. Once an agent was put in charge of a team, that agent had complete control. Even when he was in charge of other team leaders. “Since when does OPAQUE run from CT?”

“When I gave you the team lead, I stipulated you had one objective. Keep Liz safe. Keep her alive. Got that?”

“Yes, sir. But—”

“Leave the team. Put someone else in charge. Don’t even take time to think, Mitch. Get Liz out of there right now.”

There’d been very few times an OPAQUE agent had been told to desert his team. Drake had always drilled that extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. Extreme circumstances meant the client was more important than the team itself. More important than each agent.

He didn’t like this.

“Don’t think,” Drake shouted. “Go. Now.”

“I’ll chance the panic room.” Liz’s voice held a tremble. So did her body as she turned toward the hallway.

Mitch processed his options. Liz. Panic room. Coercion Ten. Explosive. Chance? Liz—dead. Together. Escape. Fight. Survive. Chance? Small.

He made his decision. “Josh, you’re in charge of the team. Liz and I will head to the beach.”

“I’ll take your back. Are we going out the tunnel?” Keith slammed a new clip into his gun.

“No.” Mitch scanned the screen one last time then gripped Liz’s hand and pulled her along with him. “The tunnel would bring us up in the middle of CT’s main force. We’re going cross-country.”

Keith raised his arm to show his tech-band had ended up busted in the prior fight. “If we get separated, that’s gonna be tricky in the dark.” OPAQUE’s tech-bands handled everything from sonar to radar to GPS to texts, phone calls, and more. Kept everyone in sync. Without one you were fighting solo.

He motioned Liz to stay next to him. “From now on, you don’t leave my side. I’ll try to hold on to you. If I can’t, grab my shirt. And keep up.”

“Got it.” Liz glanced around at the agents—Keith, Josh, Cat, and two more who had appeared from nowhere. “Thank you. Thank you all.”

Mitch would slow his pace enough for her to stay right behind him. If she fell, he’d stop. If she couldn’t get up, he’d make his stand there. They’d have to go through him to ever take her.

“Josh, what kind of personal watercraft did you guys come in on?”

“The new Quantum40s.”

“Where?”

“Three houses down. Across the marsh. Across the beach. Far side of the pier.”

“How many?”

“Two. Enhanced GPS. Secure tracking by OPAQUE. Silent running.” Josh kept his eyes on the security screen. “Looks like CT is setting up.”

“Got it.” Mitch pushed the speaker button again. “Drake, we’re going out on a Q40. You track us and stay in touch. I’ll head us straight across the Gulf. Once I find a safe island, I’ll wait for your signal.”

“On it. Good luck.”

Luck and training were all any of them ever had. He pulled Liz next to him and positioned them by the door they’d be exiting. Her hand felt small in his, but she gripped with a strength he doubted she even knew she had. The look she gave him as she quickly nodded indicated she’d do whatever he said.

“I have a question,” she said, taking a half step back. “What’s does Quantum40 mean?”

“First of all, OPAQUE means Operation Protector Agent Quantum Elite. Quantum—Q40—means it’s one of our specially designed pieces of equipment.”

She cocked her head to the side, mockingly lifting the corners of her lips as she shot him a demanding spill-the-beans look. “Nice try. Now. What is a Q40?

“Let’s just say it’s an upgraded PWC.”

“You mean like a WaveRunner?”

“Not exactly.” He always hated being the one on the receiving end of pointed questions. But since he’d already figured out Liz was a smart, serious, and searching type of person, he might as well answer her question. “Yeah, it’s basically got the same style, but this baby’s got state-of-the-art technology. Sleek aerodynamic body design. And technological capabilities for the next century.”

“Sounds like something the government or the military would want to know about,” she said.

“OPAQUE works hand-in-hand with the FBI, CIA, military, and on and on. If it’s in the U.S. interest, it’s our interest. And vice-versa.” He grinned. “Does that answer your questions on the Q40?”

Biting the inside of her cheek as she nodded, she lifted her eyebrows. “Now, about you and me riding one together…uh…”

“Nothing to it. Just like riding a motorcycle without wheels across the water.” He decided not to tell her how fast the thing could go. How a zero-turn was the latest upgrade. Or that its energy core was pushing infinity.

“Maybe I should tell you that—”

“Tell me later.” He glanced at the agents waiting for his signal. “Time to go. Everyone, take your place.”

Josh kept staring at the security screen. The others scattered to their spots. Keith stood directly behind Mitch and Liz, ready to bring up their rear.

Mitch checked his gun one more time then patted the knife strapped against his thigh. All they had to do was flat-out run for a hundred-fifty meters without being shot, stepping on an egg-laying turtle or a scavenging gator. Never mind the no-see-ums, pests that would eat them alive as they ran through the marsh and across the beach.

Cat rushed to the door with an extra gun, handing it to Liz. “You said you can shoot.”

“Yes.”

“It’s loaded.” Cat grabbed a small pump bottle from the side table and sprayed Liz. “The guys are already slathered up with pest repellent. This’ll help you with the no-see-ums.”

Liz tucked the small pistol in the side pocket of her shorts.

Mitch tugged her close and gave Keith and Josh the thumbs-up. “Ready. Go.”

Josh shut down every light in the house and on the perimeter as he and Liz and Keith darted out the door, across the patio, and into the yard next door.

CT would know something was going on. They’d be confused. They’d regroup. They’d move out into the open without knowing. Josh would pop the lights back on. Confuse them again. Easily target a few of them.

Everything would be only seconds. That worked. A few seconds might be all that was needed for them to make it into the marsh. The marsh and mangroves could hide them from CT’s line of sight, but not from the GPS. They’d for sure have their tracking system lit up—just like OPAQUE.

Mitch didn’t let go of Liz’s hand and barely slowed his pace for her, although going through the undergrowth hindered them anyhow. Keith’s movements synced with their own—his counterpart would do what was necessary to keep them safe. The three of them bunched together before heading across the beach to the pier.

“Liz, you ride with me. Make yourself small and hug my back.” Mitch pointed to the Q40s on the far side of the pier. “CT will think there’s only one of us.”

“I need to tell you something.”

“Later.”

“But—”

He stop-signed her with his hand then popped his fingers against his mouth for her to be quiet. She nodded, but her eyes said she was fighting the urge to argue.

“We’ll head northwest across the Gulf.” Mitch tucked his gun in his leg holster.

“I’ll take one of the Q40s and head south,” Keith said.

“Sounds good. CT may think we all were headed to the Keys.”

“Hey, we’ll grab a beer or two at the Mariner’s when this is over,” Keith said, as he and Mitch fist-bumped.

“You got it, big guy. That’s a promise I can keep.” Mitch grinned then glanced toward the pier. “Thanks for having our backs. I owe you one.”

“You’d do the same.”

Mitch led the group as the three of them ran low and fast across the short stretch of sand until they reached the two Q40s tied up at the pier.

Taking the first one in line, Keith jumped onboard and tapped the navigation screen. “Damn, first my tech-band gets busted during the fight. Now, there’s a black screen of death on my ride. Nothing’s working for me tonight.”

“Use mine.” Mitch yanked the tech-band from his arm and handed it to Keith. “Find us once you think it’s safe.”

“I’ll use the muffler silencer till I’m a good way down the shoreline. Then I’ll rev the engine and kick it in high gear in the other direction. Maybe I can lure them off of you for a while.” With a grunt, Keith strapped on the tech-band and took off across the water at a slow and easy pace.

Mitch straddled the other Q40, motioning Liz onto the back.

She didn’t move. Just looked at him. Looked at the whitecaps rolling in. Looked back at him with scared eyes. Suddenly, gunshots echoed across the marsh from the direction of the beach house they’d fled.

Things had just amped up a hundred percent, and that meant only one thing—the two of them were on their own. Help wouldn’t be coming any time soon. And, even if it did, they’d be better off completely gone. Evidently, this case had cascading undertones none of them were grasping.

“Get on, Liz.”

“Life jackets?”

“Nope. Now, get on.”

She shook her head. “I tried to tell you back there.”

“What?” If he had to get off the Q40 to set her on, he was not going to be happy. “What’s so damn important that you won’t get on?”

“I’m afraid.”

“I’ve got you.” He held out his hand.

“What if I fall off?” Her voice trembled with fear, but still she reached out to him.

“I’ll stop. You get back on. End of story.”

“Okay. But for the record…” She stepped from the pier onto the Q40 footrest, straddled the seat, and slid up close behind him. Wrapping her arms tight around his waist, she leaned her lips toward his ear, “I can’t swim.”