Under Fire

Under Fire
Carol Ericson

An experiment gone wrong unleashes the most elite killers on the planetWhen an unstable patient opens fire on Ava Whitman’s lab, only a bullet-proof window and agent Max Duvall stand between her and certain death. Max vows to prevent Tempest—the covert ops agency behind the shooting—from killing the one witness left standing: Ava. But a victim of a brainwashing attempt, Max is battling his own demons. How can a man who has been programed to become a mindless, soulless killer keep the emerald-eyed beauty safe? Now, on the run and running out of time, Max has to use every ounce of strength to ignore his deadly tendencies. And every bit of willpower to not give in to his desire for Ava.

“Can I do anything to help you?”

Ava touched his arm again, this time lightly, brushing her fingertips across the slick material of his jacket.

The human contact and the emotion behind it made him shiver. Max clenched his teeth. “You can’t do anything to help. You’ve done enough.”

She grabbed the door handle and swung open the door before the car even stopped.

“Hold on. I’ll walk you up.”

“I thought you were anxious to get rid of me.”

He didn’t want to leave Ava, but he had to—for her own safety. “I was anxious to get you away from the lab and back home. The police can pick it up from here.”

He followed her to the front door. She dragged her keys from her purse and slid one into the dead bolt. It clicked and she opened the door.

Apprehension slithered down his spine and he held out a hand. “Wait.”

But it was too late. Ava had stepped across the threshold and now faced two men training weapons on her.

And this time she wasn’t behind bulletproof glass.

Under Fire

Carol Ericson

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CAROL ERICSON lives with her husband and two sons in Southern California, home of state-of-the-art cosmetic surgery, wild freeway chases and a million amazing stories. These stories, along with hordes of virile men and feisty women, clamor for release from Carol’s head. It makes for some interesting headaches until she sets them free to fulfill their destinies and her readers’ fantasies. To learn more about Carol, please visit her website, www.carolericson.com (http://www.carolericson.com), “Where romance flirts with danger.”

To Marilyn, for all that you do.

Contents

Cover (#uc9104bf2-52b1-582c-bf6d-768cc3fe78d2)

Introduction (#uaa03254c-8ab4-5c2d-8e32-8ad0f45c5de7)

Title Page (#u67511304-b1d3-5c27-bd33-f9725b3257af)

About the Author (#ud95189f3-77e2-5ce7-a444-19e634006b88)

Dedication (#u04f284b0-a9b9-5d94-8702-a01ee905d295)

Chapter One (#ueb0a48bf-ec9a-5488-b2f7-38bc7b538f44)

Chapter Two (#u529cd16d-4761-5b96-89ab-7ba5df26cb8f)

Chapter Three (#u290b7277-b7eb-5089-a838-097543160faf)

Chapter Four (#u30674b16-37af-5698-acc7-2985d935eea3)

Chapter Five (#u9de65740-1b60-55b5-9426-7ab28b537f1f)

Chapter Six (#u138a3ee5-5900-5b8e-ba62-1234a2a4a0d1)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One (#ulink_f2be8487-ac5c-520c-b2f2-9e0d76f955a5)

The shell casings from the bullets pinged off the metal file cabinets. One landed inches from her nose and rolled one way and then the other, its gold plating winking at her under the fluorescent lights. The acrid smell of gunpowder tickled her nostrils. She smashed her nose against the linoleum to halt the sneeze threatening to explode and give away her position.

Someone grunted. Someone screamed. Again.

Ava held her breath as the rubber sole of a black shoe squeaked past her face. She followed its path until her gaze collided with Dr. Arnoff’s.

From beneath the desk across from her, he put his finger to his lips. His thick glasses, one lens crushed, lay just out of his reach between the two desks. With his other finger, he pointed past her toward the lab.