Read Online Taken by Surprise by Tonya Ramagos - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tonya Ramagos
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sparkle in her eyes stopped him cold.
"Alec is my friend, too. I deserve to be there, to be a part of the team to find him."
They had received no contact from Alec McIntyre since the coded message nine days ago. It took the analyst at the bureau close to twelve hours to fully decode every word of the message. Alec had been that careful with the transmission. The end result gave the FBI and DEA the confirmed location of Phay's compound between the lines of Cambodia and Thailand. It informed them of two American women taken as hostages. Finally, it relayed the coordinates for Navy SEAL Team Six to follow through with their mission of weapon recovery connected to Operation Liquid Tab. It didn't, however, lead them to Alec.
"Mal, I'm not even part of that team. Cooper sent Peterson, Kell, and Lowe with Cameron. They're already gone." He glanced at his watch. Early afternoon in Waterston put it very early morning in Cambodia. With roughly twelve hours' difference, it would still be dark overseas, the time when the task force believed Phay's compound would be at its most vulnerable. "Hell, they should be executing OLT even as we speak."
Jeez, what he wouldn't give to be there, too. He would've been part of the team, but their leader thought he would be more useful in Silver Springs. Born and raised on the coast, he knew the city and surrounding area. He had been gone long enough not to be known himself except by immediate family and close friends of his twin brother, Jason. He could infiltrate the club scene with the DEA agent in place and help her collect the needed intel, possibly even find the dealer in question leading Veng Kim Phay's stateside operation. The FBI and DEA now believed those drugs were not only being distributed on the streets of Silver Springs, but also used to facilitate Phay's already thriving trade for weapons overseas.
"What if he's dead, Jack? What if Alec's cover was blown and Phay ordered him killed?" Mallory's voice thickened with tears, her eyes sparkled with them, but she didn't cry. God help him, if she started to cry, there wouldn't be a power in heaven that could save him.
"He's MIA. You know as well as I do that could mean anything." Yeah, and they both knew the status of MIA agents often turned to KIA before their case closed. He saw from the way she looked up at him she was thinking the same thing, fearing the worst just as he, and it broke his heart. That expression of utter sadness compelled him to make one of the biggest mistakes of his life. "Come here."
Jackson reached for her, closing that last bit of safe distance between them, and drew her against him. He felt himself drowning even before she put her cheek on his chest. She tilted her head enough to gaze up at him from beneath her long, tear-glistening lashes. He almost did it. He nearly gave in to everything he'd hidden from her all these years. She saved him, or maybe doomed him to hell, by speaking before he could act.
"I can feel it. I'm right. When you get this close, put your arms around me, you can't hide it." Her hands slid down his back as she swayed ever so slightly against him, pressing her belly to his erection.
He knew why she did it. Mallory Stone always fell back on what she deemed conformable ground when things hit her that she couldn't control. The grief over the loss of a dear friend fell under that heading of uncontrollable for her.
"No, I can't." Shock exploded like firecrackers in her eyes. He felt her tense in his arms. She lifted her head, opened her mouth only to close it again, obviously speechless. He had never admitted he wanted her before—not outright told her beyond a shadow of a doubt, anyway. The embers of triumph that rained from the explosions in her eyes told him she didn't doubt a thing anymore.
Jackson dipped his head, stopping a breath from her lips. "One day I'm going to stop hiding, Mallory." Desire stole the oxygen between them. It made it thick, hard to breathe. Her heart thumped wildly
"Alec is my friend, too. I deserve to be there, to be a part of the team to find him."
They had received no contact from Alec McIntyre since the coded message nine days ago. It took the analyst at the bureau close to twelve hours to fully decode every word of the message. Alec had been that careful with the transmission. The end result gave the FBI and DEA the confirmed location of Phay's compound between the lines of Cambodia and Thailand. It informed them of two American women taken as hostages. Finally, it relayed the coordinates for Navy SEAL Team Six to follow through with their mission of weapon recovery connected to Operation Liquid Tab. It didn't, however, lead them to Alec.
"Mal, I'm not even part of that team. Cooper sent Peterson, Kell, and Lowe with Cameron. They're already gone." He glanced at his watch. Early afternoon in Waterston put it very early morning in Cambodia. With roughly twelve hours' difference, it would still be dark overseas, the time when the task force believed Phay's compound would be at its most vulnerable. "Hell, they should be executing OLT even as we speak."
Jeez, what he wouldn't give to be there, too. He would've been part of the team, but their leader thought he would be more useful in Silver Springs. Born and raised on the coast, he knew the city and surrounding area. He had been gone long enough not to be known himself except by immediate family and close friends of his twin brother, Jason. He could infiltrate the club scene with the DEA agent in place and help her collect the needed intel, possibly even find the dealer in question leading Veng Kim Phay's stateside operation. The FBI and DEA now believed those drugs were not only being distributed on the streets of Silver Springs, but also used to facilitate Phay's already thriving trade for weapons overseas.
"What if he's dead, Jack? What if Alec's cover was blown and Phay ordered him killed?" Mallory's voice thickened with tears, her eyes sparkled with them, but she didn't cry. God help him, if she started to cry, there wouldn't be a power in heaven that could save him.
"He's MIA. You know as well as I do that could mean anything." Yeah, and they both knew the status of MIA agents often turned to KIA before their case closed. He saw from the way she looked up at him she was thinking the same thing, fearing the worst just as he, and it broke his heart. That expression of utter sadness compelled him to make one of the biggest mistakes of his life. "Come here."
Jackson reached for her, closing that last bit of safe distance between them, and drew her against him. He felt himself drowning even before she put her cheek on his chest. She tilted her head enough to gaze up at him from beneath her long, tear-glistening lashes. He almost did it. He nearly gave in to everything he'd hidden from her all these years. She saved him, or maybe doomed him to hell, by speaking before he could act.
"I can feel it. I'm right. When you get this close, put your arms around me, you can't hide it." Her hands slid down his back as she swayed ever so slightly against him, pressing her belly to his erection.
He knew why she did it. Mallory Stone always fell back on what she deemed conformable ground when things hit her that she couldn't control. The grief over the loss of a dear friend fell under that heading of uncontrollable for her.
"No, I can't." Shock exploded like firecrackers in her eyes. He felt her tense in his arms. She lifted her head, opened her mouth only to close it again, obviously speechless. He had never admitted he wanted her before—not outright told her beyond a shadow of a doubt, anyway. The embers of triumph that rained from the explosions in her eyes told him she didn't doubt a thing anymore.
Jackson dipped his head, stopping a breath from her lips. "One day I'm going to stop hiding, Mallory." Desire stole the oxygen between them. It made it thick, hard to breathe. Her heart thumped wildly
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