Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(73)

He smiled up at Ashley. “You might find this level of special interest, Ms. Lansing. Insurgents are trying to overrun a top secret American Army outpost in the desert. Land mines and bombs have been set around the perimeter as a deterrent to the attack. They may or may not save the troops inside. Justin has uncovered the access code to detonate and destroy the attackers.”

The Warden smiled. “Justin, finish the mission.”

“No!” Ashley cried. “Don’t do it!”

Justin swallowed, his hands froze over the keyboard.

“Hit the button, Mr. Connell.”

Justin still stalled.

The Warden put his hand over Justin’s and pressed the trigger.

A huge explosion filled the screen.

“Congratulations!” a mechanical voice bellowed. “You’ve successfully eliminated your target. All of the insurgents are dead.”

Ashley swayed, ready to faint. “Oh my God, no.”

The Warden turned to her. “I see that you’ve figured out what we’re doing, haven’t you, Ms. Lansing?”

“No.” She shook her head, not wanting to believe her suspicions. “You wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Oh, but I would.” He laughed with delight, then his face turned cruel. “Let me make something perfectly clear. Your little rebellion is over. You have bucked me for the last time. I told you what would happen if you didn’t stop, so don’t blame me for the consequences of your actions.”

She grabbed his arm. “Who did you hurt?”

“Hurt?” He feigned shock. “What a quaint word for the devastation I just released.” He pointed a remote to the monitor next to Justin’s and pressed a button. Live video feed flickered on. A small military compound burned, flames roared into the sky. “Your brother Ben, his black ops team, and their hidden military base camp have all been decimated, and the fault is entirely yours.”

“No!” she sobbed, holding her belly. It couldn’t be. Ben wasn’t dead. This couldn’t be happening.

The Warden grabbed her arm. “I warned you, Ms. Lansing. I can get to anyone, anywhere. Don’t forget again.”




Deb’s body tingled all over. She couldn’t believe she’d lost control like that, but Gabe Montgomery had just ripped away the emotional defensive wall she’d used to protect herself for so very long.

While in the military, it had been self-preservation to not get involved with the men in her unit. Work and relationships didn’t mix, particularly when you were fighting an entire desert of men for respect.

Since then, she’d dated, but the truth was, Gabe Montgomery had captivated her from the moment she’d realized he’d survived after his injury. He possessed gut and grit, but more than that, he had heart.

Now, he’d also laid claim to hers. “We really should have done this a long time ago,” she teased. “How come you never asked me out?”

Gabe’s eyebrow arched. “I watched you torpedo most of the men in the bar for months. You didn’t seem overly receptive to advances.”

Deb sighed. “They weren’t you.”

He caressed her upper arm. “So, if you weren’t looking for a relationship or a hookup, why did you come to Sammy’s anyway? Most of the women there are badge bunnies. It doesn’t seem like it’s your scene.”

Deb averted her gaze. “I miss being a part of a unit. The Search and Rescue team helps. That’s why I usually come in with them. I couldn’t ever join in when it was just cops. That thin blue line, you know.”

“There’s definitely a wall when you’re not a cop—even if you used to be a cop. Things have been different for me, too, since everyone thought I was just running the bar,” Gabe said. His fingertips glided down her skin. “You miss the Army?”

She shivered and eased off of him. Without answering his question, she tugged a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. Then she tossed him one.

He rose onto one elbow. “Hit a nerve?”

“You ever look back on something you did and would give anything you have to change the choice you made?”

“Everyone has a past. Some with more regret than others, but yeah. Some days I don’t think about it. The last few, I’ve been reliving that day every second. Well, except maybe the last half hour. This sexy woman kept distracting me.”

She lifted her lashes and met his gaze. She saw the humor, but also the sympathy. He was leaving it up to her whether she wanted to tell him or not.

With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around her knees. “We were doing a rescue mission just outside Kandahar. A real Leroy Jenkins. Multiple casualties. At least two guys with amputations.”

She stared at the wall, but instead of a nondescript print, a cloud of dust from her helicopter’s rotors appeared in her mind. Tension vibrated around her. A warning from her commanding officer rang in her ears.

“We almost didn’t sit down. The landing area wasn’t secure. They were close to scrubbing the mission.”

Gabe moved over to her, but she shrank away. He didn’t press.

“I checked out the site. What a mess. A half dozen injured friendlies lined up on the ground. Three US soldiers. There were two choppers, but we couldn’t take everyone. I got the two double amputees and fit in everyone else I could. The extra load was dangerous.”