Last Spy Standing

Paolo patted the bed next to him and flashed a grin at Megan. “How about you come back to bed?”

Mitch took a silent step forward. He wasn’t quite out of cover, but he was close enough to take swift action if needed.

“How about you give up? As I said before, I don’t mix business and pleasure.”

“Give it a try, I promise you’ll like it.” Paolo’s tone took on a menacing edge. There were four of them, and one of her. He probably knew that she, too, would have the odds figured. “Come on.”

Mitch stepped into the clearing, not bothering with stealth. He wanted them to see him.

Immediately, four guns pointed at his chest. Four pairs of hard eyes said they wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

“Friends of yours?” he asked Megan as if he’d just gotten back from a bathroom break.

“Who the hell is he?” Paolo came off the bed.

“An old friend.” Megan stepped closer to Mitch. “I knew he was in the area so I called him in for help.”

“The boss don’t like strangers in his business,” Paolo warned her, then turned to Mitch. “Who do you work for?”

“Whoever pays best. Right now, I’m protecting a logging operation north of here.” All logging in the area was illegal, so that should give him the right credentials. “Gun for hire, soldier of fortune, that kind of thing,” he added.

“Which timber boss?” Paolo wanted to know.

Mitch kept his demeanor friendly and his hand close to the weapon tucked into his waistband. “He doesn’t like his name passed around.”

Tense silence stretched between them.

But when Paolo lowered his gun, so did the others. “Forget logging. You’ll come with us. I know a man who pays well and needs some extra muscle.”

And just like that, his chances of getting Zak out of the country swiftly and unnoticed dimmed. Sure, he’d taken on four men in a gunfight before. When he’d been on his own. But if all hell broke loose now, in the dark, Zak or Megan could get killed, and he wasn’t going to take that chance.

Under the smile on his face, his jaw clenched. Instead of taking Zak to safety, he was going to have to stand by as the men took the kid back to the lion’s den.

Megan could have been helpful, but damned if he knew whether he could count on her. She seemed determined to care only about her own mission and nothing else. He had hoped to convince her once morning came, but they weren’t likely to get time alone for that now.

And the balance of power had shifted anyway. The men had played right into her hand.

Regardless, he would get Zak home. With or without her, he thought as he surveyed the drug lord’s lackeys for weaknesses. He never left a mission incomplete.

Chapter Four

By the time morning came, Mitch had a plan. He’d thought about it all night long as he’d slept in spurts squatting by the fire. He could take the men out during their long trek. Getting another look at Juarez’s compound might have provided new intelligence he could pass on to the Colonel, but Megan had already seen the place and had probably passed on all kinds of intel to the CIA. They could deal with Juarez.

His job was to deal with the kid. Which meant he would have to take out Paolo and the others, then turn around and continue north with Zak. He’d call in for military transport the second he could make connection.

Megan Cassidy was welcome to do whatever she pleased. As long as she didn’t stand in his way.

They marched forward silently, in single file. Paolo led the way, with Sanchez, his second in command, behind him. Then came Megan, then Zak, then Mitch, then the other two men.

Mitch reached into the opening of his shirt and plucked a leech from under his collar, slowing his steps as he disposed of the little bloodsucker. He needed to fall to the back of the line. He didn’t like anyone with a weapon behind him.

He made a point of scratching a couple of times before stopping altogether and stepping aside. “Damned leeches in my pants.”

One of the men laughed at him, another winced with sympathy, the rest didn’t bother to respond. Nobody stopped to wait. He messed around with his belt and zipper for a while, until they passed him, then he fell in step behind them.

Step one completed.

Yet the setup was far from ideal. Since they were walking single file, he’d have to take out the men in the back first as they blocked sight of the others up front. But if he took out the men in the back, the two in the front would start shooting at him. Which would leave Megan and Zak in the crossfire.

Not that she was a factor. Megan Cassidy was nothing more to him than the possibility of some carnal fun. His unhelpful fascination with her had to stop before it got him in trouble. She could take care of herself. And yet, on some level, he cared. Not because she was another American; God knew he’d been stabbed in the back more than once by his own countrymen. And definitely not because she was CIA. He’d been caught up in their intrigues before. Their wheeling and dealing had once cost the life of a good friend and nearly his, too.

He had allegiance to his country, not to its corrupt systems. He took orders only from the Colonel. He was loyal only to his team. He trusted very few people beyond that circle. Friends outside the job were too much of a risk.

His family thought he was dead. Better that way for everyone. They hadn’t gotten along too well when they’d thought he was alive. This way, his work didn’t put them in danger, and they didn’t get on each other’s nerves.

He was too busy to be lonely.

Except, back when he’d thought Megan was a traumatized tourist he was leading out of the jungle, she’d sure made him wish for … He wasn’t sure what, but an empty little spot suddenly opened up in his chest.

He looked at her as she marched on resolutely and felt a funny kind of tingle on his skin.

Maybe he was getting jungle fever. That would explain why his thoughts were getting jumbled all of a sudden. He wasn’t the type of man who lost his head, and consequently his life, over a pretty woman.

He had a small box of emergency medicine in his backpack, antibiotics and malaria pills among them. He’d take some meds when they next stopped, Mitch decided as he marched forward, watching where he stepped, until sharp cries pulled his attention to the canopy.

Howler monkeys were passing by high above the ground, flashes of gray streaking through the emerald green of the foliage. He watched them for a second before returning his focus to the path in front of him and the four men he had to neutralize before he could complete his mission.

“Are your wrists okay?” Megan was asking Zak up ahead. Paolo had tied the kid’s hands thoroughly that morning. She checked his skin and reached into her backpack, pulled out a jar and put some kind of a salve on Zak’s wrist.

The kid’s response was lost in the noise the monkeys made.

She was a strange one. Taking the kid back to Juarez where he’d be shot, yet worried about the ropes cutting into his wrists. She didn’t seem hard-hearted. But definitely focused. She would do whatever it took to achieve her aim.

So would he.

The men looked up at the monkeys. Mitch looked at the men. His best chance would be if one of the two up front stopped for a bathroom break. Both at the same time would be outstanding, but he wouldn’t hold his breath for that. He would take whatever opportunity presented itself.

His break came sooner than he’d expected. The howlers were crossing right above them. The man in front of him slowed as a shot went off.

Paolo had decided to go monkey hunting. But he’d only managed to wound the animal, which clung to a branch, emitting a keening sound of pain.

Mitch took aim and ended the animal’s suffering. Then their line scattered at last, Paolo going for the monkey, taking charge of it, even though it hadn’t been his kill. “Let’s eat!” Others moved off into the jungle to gather wood for a fire. Mitch used the distraction to get closer to Megan.

“Are you with me?” He kept his voice below a whisper. He felt better just standing next to her. Didn’t understand why. He barely knew her. She’d scammed him.

A lock of hair had escaped her ponytail and curled against the scar on her neck. His fingers itched to tuck that lock behind her ear. He didn’t.

He watched regret come into her eyes as she said, “I can’t. Not in this.”