Targeted

but couldn’t move unless he wanted to break his arm.

“Okay! She knows something or saw something, but I don’t know what. I swear! Our instructions were to take out the girl. That’s all I know.”

If Jack had been working against the Russian mob or even against men directly inside Vargas’s cartel, it would take months to garner information. If he ever did. From the easy responses, Jack guessed this guy was just hired muscle with nothing to lose. “What about the girl in Miami? Why are they going after her?”

This time the man didn’t pause. “She’s the backup plan. She’s friends with the Moreno woman and the only person they could find as leverage against her. Vargas thinks if they threaten her friend she’ll come out of hiding. I don’t know any more! They don’t pay me enough for this shit!”

“Jack?” Sophie’s scared voice jerked his head around. She was too close.

In the instant he turned, he wanted to kick his own ass for giving in to his stupid instinct and not following his training. Everything around him slowed down. The man he held turned with his entire body, using the momentum of his free elbow, and swung back at Jack’s head.

Leaning back, Jack nearly missed what could have been a crippling blow. The man came at him full force this time. Jack slammed into another car as the guy tackled him. Sophie shouted, but he tuned her out. He had to bring this man down and keep Sophie safe. That was all that mattered.

Jack deflected two blows and managed to get in a few kicks, but the other man was pumped up now. After Jack struck him in the jaw, the guy already had his fist drawn back. Jack realized he’d have to kill him. Dragging out a fight wasn’t something he had time for. He hated the thought of killing someone in front of Sophie, but it had to be done.

A loud shot reverberated through the quiet night air, causing them both to freeze.

“Stop!” Jack turned at the sound of Sophie’s voice.

In trembling hands she held the gun he’d knocked away from the man earlier. Next to him the dark-haired thug lifted both his hands in the air.

Keeping his eyes trained on the man, Jack walked backward to Sophie. “Give me the gun,” he murmured when he stood directly next to her.

Wordlessly she handed it over, a slight tremor in her hands.

“On the ground. Now,” he ordered the man.

“What are you going to do to him?” Sophie’s voice shook.

Jack pulled his cell phone out of his pocket with his free hand. “Turn him over to the police.”

“What about us?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be long gone.” The Keys were the worst place for criminals to hang out. The FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshals were all stationed in Key West. Not to mention the locals. For small-town cops, they were all well trained. They worked with so many different federal agencies, they had to be.

After he made a quick call, he fastened the man’s wrists behind his back with flex cuffs from his backpack and locked him in the trunk of one of the older-model cars. The man didn’t struggle much, probably because he knew that unless the locals or feds had something on him, he’d simply be deported. And Jack wasn’t worried about him being a problem. The man would probably disappear for a while considering he’d given out information on Vargas. Either that or Vargas would kill him for failing.

Once he and Sophie were on the road, she asked, “Did I hear that guy right? Those guys are definitely going after my friend?”

“Sounds like it.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. This late, there shouldn’t be many people on the road. There was only one road in and out of the Keys, so if anyone was following them, he’d know.

“We need to call her.”

He agreed, but there were other things to consider. “We can contact her now, but if she’s being watched, our call might simply alert them.”

“Then why don’t you tell your boss?”

“Remember the man we heard on the phone at the condo?”

“Yeah.”

“His name is Levi Lazaro. We’re friends—or we used to be. And he works for the NSA.”

She gasped, fear rolling off her. “He works with you?”

“Yes.” Jack gritted his teeth. Or at least Jack thought he did. He couldn’t believe Levi would betray his country, but Jack had been gone for two years. A lot could change in that amount of time. Money was a powerful motivator, and while he would like to think Levi was above that, things looked bad.

“So, what, your boss knew about this?”

“No.” There was no way in hell Wesley was involved in any of this. The man had sacrificed so much for his country that nothing could sway him.

“Jack, you’re going to have to give me a little more than one-word answers. I’m not a mind reader and I’m terrified for Hannah. We’ve got to help her. Now.” Panic punctuated every word.

“Sorry. I’m running through scenarios in my head.”

“Well, please involve me. We’re in this together.”

He felt a small cracking around his chest at the way she said “we.” “Wesley is my handler. We’re all part of the same organization, and everyone who works for him knows each other. I don’t know what missions any of the team goes on unless we’re on the same mission. And if Levi was working with Vargas, I would have been informed. It would have been a joint op. As it stands . . .” He shook his head, not wanting to say the words aloud.

She frowned. “Okay, so how did they track us down? Your friend sold you out?”

“I don’t know, but it’s possible.” He didn’t tell her that Levi was the only other person who knew about Jack’s personal safe house. It would make her even less likely to trust him, and right now he needed her.

“So why can’t we call your boss?”

“If someone’s hacked the NSA or if there’s a mole in the agency, it’s possible they’re watching him too.”

“We can’t sit by and do nothing.”

“I know. I just wanted you to know our options.”

“We need to call Hannah now. Those guys left over an hour ago. They’ll be in Miami soon.”

Sophie was right. It didn’t matter what option they chose. Her friend was in danger. Jack handed his phone to her. “Call your friend. Make sure she understands the urgency of the situation, but don’t waste time explaining. She needs to leave and go somewhere no one would think to look, not even you. Tell her not to use her credit cards and to take the battery out of her phone. She should get money out of an ATM and use cash for now. She can buy a throwaway with cash tomorrow and leave a message on my phone that she’s safe.”

Sophie swallowed and took the phone from his hand. He didn’t miss the way her hands trembled as she slipped the battery into place.

Jack listened as Sophie convinced her friend to leave. To give her credit, she didn’t take no for an answer and she didn’t waste any time.

“You sure she’s going to listen?” he asked as she hung up.

“She’s my best friend and she’s not stupid.” It was hard to miss the defensive note in Sophie’s voice.

“You met her in college, right?” He needed to keep her distracted right now, and talking was the best way to do it. Plus, he wanted to know the things about her life that a file simply couldn’t tell him. He’d missed Sophie so fucking much. More than he’d realized until he’d found himself face-to-face with her, her tantalizing scent messing with his head and making him remember how great things had been between them.

She nodded, the action jerky. “Yeah.”

“And? Come on, give me more than a one-word answer.” He gave her a lopsided smile, hoping she’d let her guard down.

She gave him a small smile as the tension in her shoulders loosened a fraction. “Freshman year I got stuck with this horrible roommate who talked to her boyfriend for hours every night, but after a week she got homesick and moved out. That’s when Hannah got placed with me. I was really shy and she really wasn’t, but somehow we clicked instantly. We’ve been best friends ever since. Her mom—” Sophie bit her lip and stared at her clasped hands as if she was afraid she’d said too much.

To him, it wasn’t enough. “What is it?”