The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(90)

“What are you talking about?” Graced asked.

He pointed toward her pocket. “The thumb drive. You just had to pick it up. Luckily I had Melissa watching the drop to make sure nothing went wrong. At least I didn’t lose the package. If the Chinese won’t buy it, then I know some Venezuelans who will. Your man is an idiot, you know. I can’t believe he sent you in to do his job. Now, you’re going to come with me, or I’ll put a bullet through this one’s head.”

“Grace, I’m dead anyway. You run.” Adam’s eyes pleaded with her.

Grace didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t watch Parnell kill him, not when there was the slightest chance that he could live. Jake would realize something was wrong. He could get here in time, but only if she walked away with Parnell.

“Okay, I have the drive and I’ll go with you.” She held her hand out and let Parnell pull her to him.

He chuckled against her ear, the sound jagged and disturbing. “You’re a dumb bitch, Hawthorne. I could still kill him. I won’t. He’ll provide a very nice distraction.” He started to walk her toward the stairs, pressing her forward. “You see, a regular agent would walk right by his body on the way to get to me. I have the feeling this group will get all huggy-huggy, save my buddy. It will make it so much easier to pick them off one by one. Or to make a deal. You’re my one-way ticket out of here, red.”

He pushed her up and up. When Grace reached the roof, she wondered if it was the last place she would ever see.





Sean slammed into the room. Alex McKay had called him to come down here, and Sean knew he had to obey. He comforted himself with the fact that Adam and Jake were on Grace babysitting duty. Sean had made it clear to his teammates that Grace’s protection was more important than anything else. It wasn’t a conversation they had included Ian in. In some ways, Sean would always be Jake and Adam’s CO. After everything they had gone through together in Afghanistan, they had bonded in a way that was hard to break. He and Adam had had it out and reached a sort of common ground. Adam was going to keep his hands off Grace, and Sean promised not to use him for target practice.

“What’s up?”

Black stood in the back of the suite watching the bank of black and white televisions feeding the images from the tiny surveillance cameras they had set up across the hotel.

“Mr. Black believes he’s identified at least one of Patrick Wright’s accomplices. A woman named Melissa Lowe. She’s a known member of the Earth League. She’s at the party. She’s attempted to make contact with Matt Wright.” Alex handed him a printed photo of a thin young woman. Alex was dressed in sweats and a T-shirt. He looked more like a linebacker in the off-season than a former FBI agent.

“All right, you track her.” He pulled out his SIG SAUER and checked the clip. “Any idea who the foreign agent is?”

“Ian took him out ten minutes ago. He was Chinese.” Alex said it matter-of-factly. He pointed back to the bathroom. “We used facial recognition software. I think he was quite surprised by it. He’s trussed up and waiting transport to the nearest facility. All we have to do is watch for the drop, pick up the package, and hope Wright shows his face. If not…”

Black’s face looked ghostly in the light from the monitors. He never looked up. “If not, then the Chinese will assume he’s a double agent, and he’ll have two governments trying to kill him. But I want that package.”

“Do we have any idea what it is?” Sean was curious.

“There is a small aerodynamics firm in the Bryson Building,” Black said. “One of the engineers there is working on certain instrumentation upgrades that would greatly benefit our current drone programs.”

Drones were changing aerial warfare. Drones flew at ultrahigh altitudes and could bomb targets and gain intelligence without risking human lives. If the US was making a leap technologically, the Chinese would pay big to keep up. “All right, I’ll buy that.” He took the picture Alex handed him. “I’ll make sure everyone knows about Melissa Lowe.”

He heard Black sigh. “No need. I think everyone knows now.”

“What?” The hair on the back of Sean’s neck stood up. Something bad was happening. He could feel it. The little voice that always spoke to him right before the bad shit went down was whispering. He strode past Alex and stared at the monitors. The one in the center was the only one that mattered.

“Shit, is that your Grace?” Alex leaned in behind him.

Sean watched as Parnell’s accomplice herded Grace toward the back of the ballroom. Horror built in his system, churning his gut. They disappeared from one monitor only to show up on the next. The dark-haired woman had something pressed into Grace’s side, a gun no doubt. Grace’s face was tight as she looked around.

God, she was probably looking for him. She was in danger, and he was downstairs.

Sean watched as Adam Miles took notice of Grace and signaled to Jake. Seconds later, Adam raced out of the room, and Jake followed at a more leisurely pace. Sean approved of the plan. One to watch the front, another to go up the back way but from below. Adam would either meet them on their way down or follow them up. If they turned back, Jake would be there.

“I’m going back.” He would follow the same path Grace took. He understood why Adam had done what he did, but Sean would just go through with guns blazing. He wasn’t going to let Parnell get away with her.