Read Online Guardian Agent by Dana Marton - Free Book Online Page A

Jasmine here to catch up with her brother and sister after the showdown with Brent three days before. They’d been separated for Gabe’s debriefing and he hasn’t seen her or her brother since. Nobody seemed to be able to tell him where they went.
    He wasn’t allowed to leave. He was to wait for the colonel who wanted to speak to him in person and was due at camp any minute.
    So when the door of his room opened, Gabe pulled his spine straight and put his heels together out of habit. But instead of the colonel, Jasmine walked in.
    “Hi,” she said, her Bourbon eyes fast on his face, a small, shy smile on her amazing lips. “How is your leg?”
    The rubble that had buried him had done some muscle damage. He’d been limping the last time she’d seen him.
    “Fine.” He was used to getting banged up, didn’t see why everyone wanted to make such a big deal out of it. He’d been checked and rechecked by medical personnel in the camp.
    She linked her hands together in front of her in a nervous gesture. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you. You saved my family.”
    “No thanks necessary.” He wanted something else, something more. He wanted her not to walk out of his life. He wanted to be able to kiss her again. And again. “How is Mandy?”
    “Much better after some IV fluids and antibiotics.”
    “And Jake?”
    “Has a new cast.” Her smile grew a little. “Looks like the army is going to clear him of all wrongdoing.”
    “Good. Excellent.”
    They faced each other in silence for a long minute, both of them clearly uncomfortable. He hated all the awkwardness between them.
    To hell with that. He smiled at her. “So do I get to know what’s in that diary?”
    She blushed crimson. “That diary got you into this mess. You could have been killed. How can you joke about it?”
    “No joke. I’m sincerely interested.” An understatement. He would have given his antique baseball bat collection to know what she’d written about him ten years ago.
    “I was a foolish teenager.”
    “And now?” He stepped closer.
    She didn’t answer.
    He held out his hand. “My life is a mess. I don’t know if I have anything to offer to a woman like you. I’m pretty sure you’d be a lot better off without me.”
    She gave a lopsided smile. “Are you asking me out?”
    He held her gaze. “I’m asking a lot more than that.”
    She stepped into his arms.
    “I’m going to kiss you, if that’s all right.”
    She lifted her mouth to his without hesitation.
    She was soft and sweet, the most amazing woman he’d ever met. He wanted to know more of her, all of her. Need surged through him to feel those soft curves of hers, to hear her soft breath hitch in his ear as they tangled in the sheets together…
    The door’s scraping interrupted his fantasy, and they pulled apart. The colonel came in and gave them a narrow-eyed look, his gaze settling on Gabe.
    “I just had to sit through a very uncomfortable meeting with some top brass and Congressman Wharton who’s visiting the troops here ahead of the elections. They’re not happy about the shootout.”
    “Yes, sir. I apologize, sir.”
    “Do you have proof of any of your fairytale beyond your report and Tekla’s envelope? Hard proof. And by that, I mean, do you know where the gold is, soldier?”
    Gabe started to shake his head, but then thought of Congressman Wharton’s great yacht as it had bobbed in the harbor back in Venice a couple of days ago. Working in pairs, the A Team had searched all larger vessels to make sure Jake Tekla wasn’t hiding on one of them. But Brent had gone to the Congressman’s yacht alone. Because of the sensitive nature of the thing, he’d said. He’d gone at night. Didn’t want the media to catch him. They showed up every couple of days to snap some photos of the Congressman.
    What if he hadn’t gone to the yacht to search it? What if he’d carried something with him? Like gold disguised as crates of supplies? The teams had several