At last, he let her go, and she jumped back with a wary look. “I feel violated.”
“You’ll live,” he said with a sly look and pointed his thumb at the door. “Let’s go inside, it’s freezing.”
She practically ran to the door, only to bump into him when he suddenly halted.
“By the way, did you ask Martin why he was there tonight?” he said, turning to her.
“Sure. The Commandos have taken a couple of Eagles, too.”
Marco’s eyes narrowed. “He wouldn’t have sent the whole gang out on a hunt for a couple of people. I bet he’s hiding something.”
“Like what?”
He shook his head, disappearing down the dark corridor. “I wish I knew, Pain. Wish I knew.”
Chapter 8
Dave stretched in his chair and let out a loud, martyred sigh.
“Okay, I officially admit it—this idea with the dogs sucks.” He took another look at the screen, where ten blurry images of empty streets were bouncing up and down. “When I was offered a spot on the surveillance team, I did not expect to be spending hours staring at dog butts, night-vision version.” He waited for a reply, but there was none. “Rooney?”
The hacker appeared from the bathroom door, his eyes distracted. “You were saying?”
Dave cast his eyes skyward. “I said, my ideas suck. Don’t ever let me propose anything again.”
Rooney chuckled, perching on a desk with one of his countless laptops. “You’ve only got twenty more minutes before Ty takes over. Besides, it’s really not a bad idea. I’ve seen worse.”
Dave shot him a curious glance. “Like what?”
Rooney shifted uncomfortably. “I’m afraid that’s classified.”
Dave kept himself from rolling his eyes. “Classified must be your middle name.” He turned back to the screen, only to throw up his hands. “Oh, stop that! The hell you doing?”
He watched through another dog’s camera as one of the animals hooked its collar on a piece of metal and pulled at it with all its might. The camera glinted, flying off in one direction like a shooting star, while the dog with the GPS ran off in another.
“Awesome. It took us three nights to get those cameras up and running, and we’re already one agent down.”
“I’ll call Rob. Someone will pick it up and find another dog,” Rooney said, as calm as ever.
Dave got up from his chair with a shake of his head. “They’ll never find it without the GPS. We’re going out anyway, so we’ll swing by and return it tomorrow morning. I need a good night out to restore my traumatized brain. A dinner at a fine restaurant, a big glass of wine, maybe a lobotomy…”
“I thought you wanted this job? I can get someone to replace you, if you want.”
“No, I…” Dave thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “I think I want to see for myself where it goes,” he said with a smile, and pointed at the screen. “I’ll be at this exact spot in a few minutes. You’ll probably see it.”
“Okay. I’ll cover for you until Tyler’s shift.”
Dave picked up his new leather jacket and checked his reflection in one of the sleeping monitors. “I’ll swing by Elena’s room and get right on it.”
“Rob will keep an eye out for you.”
“It’ll only take a second, and we’re not on foot,” Dave said. “But sure, whatever.”
A little later than he’d expected, he and Elena were in his car in the small parking lot outside.
“I thought I had a few more minutes,” she grumbled, checking her hair in the passenger seat mirror. “I wanted to do my hair before we go.”
Dave gave her a sideways glance, starting the engine. “No need. Everyone will be blinded by those legs.” His hand slipped under her light coat and up the silk-covered thigh.
She swatted at him with a chuckle, and Dave caught her wrist, leaning in for a kiss.
“You’ll mess up my lipstick,” she whispered from an inch away, her eyes big with exaggerated protest.
“Screw the lipstick,” he murmured against her lips, then stole a quick kiss and pulled back a little. “You sure you wanna go out tonight?”
She smirked. “I didn’t get all dressed up for nothing.”
“I wouldn’t call it nothing…” he said, turning to the wheel.
“Drive the car!” She laughed as he guided the Mercedes out of the parking lot.
“I can’t!” He smiled, taking his hands off the steering wheel for a second. “That blue mini’s too distracting.”
“Stop it.” Elena grabbed the wheel, laughing. “You’re an excellent driver—I’m sure you can work through the distraction.” She bit her lip in that sexy way of hers, eyes sparkling.
Dave grinned, spinning the car in a perfect U-turn at the exit. “That I am.”
They sped down the slick road around the field, headquarters a warm smudge of light in its center. He turned out right—it did take him only two minutes to reach the spot where the dog had dropped the camera.
It took him another five to find the tiny device and return to the car, his eyes on the sky above, searching for Rob’s squad. He knew it was pointless—they weren’t called Ghosts for nothing.
He slid back into the driver’s seat and tossed the camera into the gloves compartment. “Ready to go?” He looked at Elena, finding her slumped against the seat, and leaned closer in confusion. “Babe?”
Someone grabbed him from behind. He bucked, clawing at gloved fingers, but they squeezed his neck so hard, stars flashed before his eyes.
His vision flickered and went black.
* * *
Blinding light stabbed through Dave’s eyelids.
His eyes fluttered open, only to squeeze back shut, struggling to keep the light out. His skull pounded,
