Chapter One
Jack Grayson took a sip of his beer and covertly adjusted the earpiece he wore, trying to ignore the bead of sweat trickling down his back. A childhood spent in London had hardly prepared him for tropical climates.
He spared a glance toward the third-story window of the building across the street and saw a glint of light, reassuring himself that Luke Rogan, the Alliance’s deadliest sniper and one of the few men he knew he could trust unequivocally, was still in place in case they needed cover.
“Where the hell is Ralston?” Luke murmured over the comm, his deep voice gruffer than usual. “This op’s been pissing me off from the start.”
Jack could relate. He’d spent the last eight months gathering intel on a man named Eric Evans who’d been hired to take out Luke and the woman who was now Luke’s fiancée, in the hopes that the trail would lead them to Jacob Stone—the traitorous son of a bitch who’d been behind it all.
The trail had taken Jack from Luke and Sarah’s home in Wyoming to a rogue assassin’s villa in Cuba to a drug runner’s warehouse in Miami and now to this shitty hotel in Mexico City, where someone working on Jacob’s behalf had made contact with the local drug cartel, presumably setting up a deal to help fund Stone’s operations now that his political career was over and he’d been burned by every reputable agency and organization in the United States. The man they’d once trusted as a friend—a brother—had been blacklisted by those eager to distance themselves from his fall from grace. At least, that was how it appeared on the surface. But Jack knew that, in reality, there were most likely many still clamoring for Stone’s favor, clinging to his coattails in hopes of still furthering their own ambitions.
Unfortunately, Jack had no idea where the hell Stone himself had holed up when his bid to steal the Templar treasure was thwarted. But as soon as Stone’s lackey returned, Jack sure as hell intended to find out.
He took another sip of his beer, surreptitiously taking in his surroundings at a glance. The slowly whirling ceiling fans attached to the vine-covered pergola did little more than stir up the oppressive, moist air that hung about the incongruously heavy European tables packed in among the potted palm trees and suffocating heat of the hotel’s outdoor café.
Most of the other patrons were obviously tourists, laughing and talking too loudly as their margaritas took effect. To his experienced eye, the only one who didn’t seem to fit was a lone man tucked in the corner who looked like he was heading out on safari, his khaki pants and cotton shirt a little tooturistato be legitimate. He was also trying far too hard to blend in with the crowd, standing out more conspicuously for the effort and setting off Jack’s finely tuned internal shit-storm alarm.
“Look alive, ladies and gentlemen,” Jack announced, experiencing a familiar heaviness in the air that was independent of the intense tropical heat as his muscles tensed, preparing for action. “Looks like we have company. Three o’clock. Safari hat.”
“Got him in my sights,” Luke confirmed.
“Don’t take a shot unless I give the word, even if he moves in on Ralston,” Jack ordered calmly. “Let’s just see how Dr. Livingstone here plays into our little drama, shall we?”
“Dr.who?”
At the sound of Ian Cooper’s Texas drawl over the comm, Jack glanced toward where the man lounged on a bench across from the café, pretending to read the local newspaper. The former U.S. Marshal was one of their own, having been recruited to the Alliance several years earlier. He’d proven to be a tremendous asset in the field and a shrewd negotiator in the boardroom when acting for their front company, Temple Knight & Associates. But there were days he seemed seriously damned young. Of course, the older Jack got, the younger and youngerallthe newer recruits seemed . . .
“Livingstone,” Jack said. “The nineteenth-century explorer who went missing in Africa? ‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume?’” When he was met by only silence, Jack added, “You’ve seriously never heard of him?”
“Sorry, brother, not ringing any bells,” Ian told him.
“So, Jack, you think this ‘Livingstone’ guy’s cartel?” Luke interrupted.
Jack’s gaze flicked toward the subject of their conversation, taking another look. “If so, he’s not local. Regardless, we’re clearly not the only ones who’d like to chat with Ralston. Ian, can you get a facial rec on our friend?”
Ian casually rose from the bench and strolled into the café with his cell phone to his ear. He lingered near the bar as if waiting for a seat and pulled his phone away from his ear, fiddling with it as if texting, but Jack knew he was snapping a photo of the man in the safari hat to send back to their tech team at headquarters. “Sending it through now,” Ian murmured. “Stand by.”
“Watch your back,” Jack murmured, scanning the patrons in the café once again. There were some new faces among the crowd—and they didn’t look like they were there to tie one on. “Two spooks three o’clock.”
“Copy that,” Ian affirmed.
Jack allowed his gaze to casually drift back toward the hotel. “Maddie? What’s your twenty? Do you need backup?”
Maddie Blake, the only female member of the team, heaved a sigh over the comm. “I’m in position. And, no, I don’t need any backup, Jack.”
“Is there a problem?” he asked, slightly taken aback by her obvious offense at his question.
“Yeah, there’s a problem,” she snapped. “I may be new to the Alliance, but I’m a big girl, Jack. I don’t need you to babysit me.”
Her no-nonsense attitude was one of the things that had first drawn him to her all those years ago, and he’d fallen in love with her before he’d even realized it. Unfortunately, he’d had to walk away from her without a word of explanation, thinking he’d been protecting her when really he’d been too much of a fucking coward to explain the truth. And now he was paying for that with the daily torture of having her within arm’s length since she’d joined the Alliance, yet forever out of his reach.
He ran a hand through his hair and took a moment to consider his response. The last damned thing he wanted to do was hash out their issues in front of the others. There was little that was private in the Alliance, but what he’d once shared with Maddie was too precious to him to open it up for discussion. “I’m not babysitting, Maddie. I’m just ensuring that a member of my team is safe.”
There was a long, tense pause over the comm, neither of the others apparently wanting to be the first to break the silence. Finally, there was a quiet cough and Ian asked, “So, how’s the housekeeping uniform workin’ out? Anyone give you a second glance?”
Maddie grunted. “Only because the shirt is about two sizes too small. One false move and the girls are gonna burst out. And these shorts are ridiculous.”
“Sorry ’bout that,” Ian admitted. “Didn’t get much notice you’d be joining us on this little excursion. I had to guess at your size. But I’m happy to gather that intel first-hand next time, Maddie, if you’re up for it.”
