Targeted

one of their own. It wasn’t as though he could have gone to the funeral, but he should have been told. Because no matter what, he’d have reached out to Levi.

“I know.”

Jack disconnected, then rolled down Sophie’s window. He popped out the battery and handed it to her. Without him having to ask, she tossed the pieces into the trash can by the pump.

“Is everything okay?” Sophie asked. She’d been completely silent until then, sipping her coffee and carefully watching him.

“Yes.” The answer was automatic as he steered out of the lot.

“No, it’s obviously not.” He nearly jumped out of his skin when she placed a light, reassuring hand on his arm.

The soft way she touched and looked at him tore the truth from him. How did she do that? “I just found out a friend of mine died last year.” It wasn’t like he was telling her details of something classified. It was the only thing that eased his conscience about opening up.

“Oh . . . God, I’m so sorry.” And she was. The sincerity in her voice was real. Something else he loved about her. Sophie didn’t say anything she didn’t mean.

“Thanks,” he murmured as he pulled back onto the main road.

Just being close to Sophie grounded him in a way he’d never expected. Or even imagined. He’d learned at a young age to only depend on himself. So why did he feel this sudden need to bare his soul to Sophie? Maybe not exactly bare it, but he wanted to open up to her. For once he wanted to be honest with a woman. Tell her things he’d never told anyone. He just wanted to let someone in. Okay, not someone. Only Sophie. That scared the hell out of him.

Chapter 11

PHOTINT: photographic intelligence, usually involving high-altitude reconnaissance using satellites. Also called IMINT.

Hannah could hear the distant sound of male voices and another, more insistent tapping sound much closer. She kept her eyes shut. She was afraid of what she might see when she opened them. Visions of wrestling with a man, then being knocked out with some sort of drug tickled her memory. It wasn’t a dream, that much she was sure of.

“Are you awake?” a soft female voice asked.

Hannah cracked open her eyes at the question. A pretty blond woman wearing jeans and a plain black T- shirt sat huddled against a wall. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and her arms were wrapped around them. The blonde looked as though she was barely out of college. Glancing around, Hannah realized they were in a matchbox-sized concrete room with one bed and one toilet. And she was stretched out on the uncomfortable mattress.

Pushing up, she tried to ignore the pain splintering through her skull. “Where are we?” Her voice was raspy and unused, making her wonder how long she’d been unconscious.

The blonde shrugged, but the action was a little jerky. “I don’t know. Cuba maybe. They just brought me here a couple days ago and one of the guards told me we’re moving again very soon. He said I’d be seeing my family, so I think we’re going to Miami.”

“Moving? They? What’s going on?” Hannah gingerly touched the back of her head. A small bump had formed on the bottom side of her skull. She moved her jaw back and forth, not surprised her face was sore.

“The men holding us work for Miguel Vargas. He was here earlier, but you were still unconscious.”

“Who’s Miguel Vargas?”

The girl frowned at her. “He runs one of the biggest South American drug cartels. You don’t know who he is?”

“Oh . . . maybe.” She couldn’t remember if Sophie had said anything about that on the phone. Her head was still fuzzy. Stretching out her arms in front of her, she looked at herself, then down at her clothes. Dirt stained her white T-shirt and jeans, but she didn’t think she’d been hurt anywhere else.

“What’s your name?” the girl asked.

She stopped her assessment. “Hannah. What’s yours?”

“I’m Holly. Do you know why you’re here?” Her voice slightly trembled.

Hannah shook her head. “Not really. The last thing I remember, my best friend called and told me to pack a bag and hide somewhere for a few days. She said someone was after her and . . .” She trailed off as she realized that anyone could be listening to them. The more she came awake, the worse off she knew she was. This was a bad situation. The other girl had said they might be in Cuba? Holy hell. Bad, bad, bad.

“Who’s your friend?” Holly asked before Hannah could speak.

She contemplated not answering for a second, but this girl was a captive too. And even if she was faking it for some reason, Hannah had no reason to lie. “Her name is Sophie.”

Holly’s forehead crinkled. “Sophie . . . Sophie Moreno?”

Hannah couldn’t hide her surprise. “Yeah, you know her?”

“She works for my dad. I’ve known her for years. How is she involved in this?”

Hannah shrugged. “I don’t even know what ‘this’ is. Why is some drug lord holding you hostage?”

“It has something to do with my dad’s company. I tried to ask one of his men once, but—”

The sound of heated male voices drifted through the steel door of their room. “Who is that?” Hannah whispered.

There was a spark of fear in Holly’s eyes as she held a finger to her mouth. “Shh. Roll over and close your eyes. I’ll tell them you’re still sleeping.”

Without pause, Hannah did as she asked. She tried to keep her breathing normal when she heard the door creak open. A man said something in Spanish, but she couldn’t understand him. Holly answered, and then another man spoke, but his voice was much softer. Nicer. They continued talking. Hannah could pick out some words, but bonita was the only one she understood.

There was some shuffling around behind her. Hannah prepared to be shaken awake—or worse—but nothing happened. The door shut and after a few minutes Holly spoke.

“You can turn over now,” she whispered.

She cringed as the mattress creaked. “What happened?”

Holly held out a handful of celebrity Spanish magazines and a faded paperback. “They wanted to know if you’d woken up and they left these.”

“Have they . . . hurt you?” Hannah hoped the girl understood what she meant.

For a moment, her blue eyes darkened, but she shook her head. “No, thankfully. One of the men tried to rape me when I was first taken, but the guy who brought these in stopped him.” She held up the magazines.

“Have you tried to escape?”

The other girl shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself again. “No way. They all have guns and I don’t even know what country we’re in now. Before they brought me here, they actually let me out of my room a few times, but I was in the middle of the rain forest. I wouldn’t have known where to run anyway. Everyone around here is really scary.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“You said you think we’re in Cuba?” Hannah stood on shaky legs and stretched her arms above her head. Her body was sore, but at least she could move.

“Yeah. I heard one of the guards talking.”

Hannah had started to ask another question when the door flew open. A man with a scar down the left side of his face looked back and forth between them. He nodded once at her, then said something she didn’t understand.

“He wants you to go with him. He said they have questions for you.” Holly’s voice shook as she translated, and a fresh wave of terror swept over Hannah.

Just because these men hadn’t harmed Holly didn’t mean they wouldn’t hurt Hannah.