in the shadows of the business world.”
“Sounds like you have lots of interesting stories to tell.” She tilted her head. “Unless they’re all classified?”
“I’m certain I can come up with one or two I could share.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “What would I get in return?”
The gleam in his eye let her know exactly what he wanted. “I—” Her stomach gurgled loudly. She felt her cheeks heat. “Sorry.”
Mark laughed softly. “Don’t apologize. We can grab lunch before we hit the safe house.”
A fter enough evasive action to satisfy even Faith’s paranoia, they ended up sharing fried chicken and biscuits at a picnic table in a deserted corner of a beachside park. The look of faint disdain on Mark’s face as he ate the meal almost made Faith laugh, but she knew he’d take it the wrong way. He was just so cute when he got all fussy and arrogant. But eating at an upscale restaurant would have been out of character for their worn jeans and threadbare t-shirts. Mark even wore a ragged army jacket that made him look dangerously sexy.
Although, from the look on his face, Mark didn’t approve of their apparel any more than he did their food. And if the way he’d carefully brushed off the picnic table and bench was any indication, he wasn’t a fan of eating outdoors. While she found his fastidiousness odd—with his training he had to have slummed it from time to time on a mission—she felt a warm glow in the vicinity of her heart knowing that he was willing to ignore his distaste in order to help keep her safe.
“So,” she said after she’d devoured several pieces of chicken and two biscuits, “I finally cracked the code on the remaining file on Toby’s flash drive. There wasn’t much new there, except he quoted several sources as claiming that some of Kerberos’s special teams were going to help out the President on an unspecified mission.”
Mark’s hand froze on the way to his mouth, then he set down the piece of chicken he’d been about to eat.
“That means something to you,” Faith said.
“Maybe.”
“What—”
“No, Faith. I can’t tell you.”
The chill in his voice raised her hackles. As she opened her mouth to protest, he shook his head. “All I have now are a few vague rumors. Are you certain there were no specifics in Toby’s notes?”
She nodded.
“Okay. I’ll have to look into this. If I find out anything concrete, I’ll let you know.”
Faith knew she’d have to settle for that. “So, what do you have for me on Toby’s disappearance?”
Mark cleaned his greasy fingers with a wet wipe before answering. “I haven’t found any mention of your brother yet. But Jamieson has assigned me to search lists of military and law enforcement personnel and identify potential candidates for the enhanced soldier program.”
“Did you…” Faith forced herself not to scoot away as alarm flashed through her. “Did you actually pick men out to be kidnapped?”
He sighed. Neatly stacked his lunch debris in a small pile before answering. “Yes.”
Oh, God. Had she been wrong about him?
She started to push to her feet, but Mark tugged gently on her wrist. “Sit down, Faith. It’s not as bad as it seems. Yes, I provided names of potential candidates to Jamieson. But as I mentioned before, I’m working against him. I also gave the data to a privately run special operations group called the Surgical Strike Unit. The SSU’s goal is to shut the scientific program down. They’ll make certain no harm comes to the men.”
Some of the tension drained out of her, leaving her shaky.
“Just how much do you know about the program, Faith?”
She shrugged. “Basically what I told you before. Toby’s notes make it clear that the aim of the program is to create superhuman soldiers, but he never explains what that means. Only that the subjects appear to end up with bulkier bodies and to suffer from insane rages.”
“Okay.” He nodded, as if coming
“Sounds like you have lots of interesting stories to tell.” She tilted her head. “Unless they’re all classified?”
“I’m certain I can come up with one or two I could share.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “What would I get in return?”
The gleam in his eye let her know exactly what he wanted. “I—” Her stomach gurgled loudly. She felt her cheeks heat. “Sorry.”
Mark laughed softly. “Don’t apologize. We can grab lunch before we hit the safe house.”
A fter enough evasive action to satisfy even Faith’s paranoia, they ended up sharing fried chicken and biscuits at a picnic table in a deserted corner of a beachside park. The look of faint disdain on Mark’s face as he ate the meal almost made Faith laugh, but she knew he’d take it the wrong way. He was just so cute when he got all fussy and arrogant. But eating at an upscale restaurant would have been out of character for their worn jeans and threadbare t-shirts. Mark even wore a ragged army jacket that made him look dangerously sexy.
Although, from the look on his face, Mark didn’t approve of their apparel any more than he did their food. And if the way he’d carefully brushed off the picnic table and bench was any indication, he wasn’t a fan of eating outdoors. While she found his fastidiousness odd—with his training he had to have slummed it from time to time on a mission—she felt a warm glow in the vicinity of her heart knowing that he was willing to ignore his distaste in order to help keep her safe.
“So,” she said after she’d devoured several pieces of chicken and two biscuits, “I finally cracked the code on the remaining file on Toby’s flash drive. There wasn’t much new there, except he quoted several sources as claiming that some of Kerberos’s special teams were going to help out the President on an unspecified mission.”
Mark’s hand froze on the way to his mouth, then he set down the piece of chicken he’d been about to eat.
“That means something to you,” Faith said.
“Maybe.”
“What—”
“No, Faith. I can’t tell you.”
The chill in his voice raised her hackles. As she opened her mouth to protest, he shook his head. “All I have now are a few vague rumors. Are you certain there were no specifics in Toby’s notes?”
She nodded.
“Okay. I’ll have to look into this. If I find out anything concrete, I’ll let you know.”
Faith knew she’d have to settle for that. “So, what do you have for me on Toby’s disappearance?”
Mark cleaned his greasy fingers with a wet wipe before answering. “I haven’t found any mention of your brother yet. But Jamieson has assigned me to search lists of military and law enforcement personnel and identify potential candidates for the enhanced soldier program.”
“Did you…” Faith forced herself not to scoot away as alarm flashed through her. “Did you actually pick men out to be kidnapped?”
He sighed. Neatly stacked his lunch debris in a small pile before answering. “Yes.”
Oh, God. Had she been wrong about him?
She started to push to her feet, but Mark tugged gently on her wrist. “Sit down, Faith. It’s not as bad as it seems. Yes, I provided names of potential candidates to Jamieson. But as I mentioned before, I’m working against him. I also gave the data to a privately run special operations group called the Surgical Strike Unit. The SSU’s goal is to shut the scientific program down. They’ll make certain no harm comes to the men.”
Some of the tension drained out of her, leaving her shaky.
“Just how much do you know about the program, Faith?”
She shrugged. “Basically what I told you before. Toby’s notes make it clear that the aim of the program is to create superhuman soldiers, but he never explains what that means. Only that the subjects appear to end up with bulkier bodies and to suffer from insane rages.”
“Okay.” He nodded, as if coming
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