Operation: Midnight Guardian

She might look like an angel with her wide eyes and porcelain skin; she might even be one of the most stunning women he’d ever laid eyes on. But physical beauty made no difference to Cutter when it came to treachery.

He stared at her, keenly aware of her proximity, that she smelled good, that her complexion was as pale and flawless as a child’s. But there was nothing even remotely childlike about the rest of her. Her eyes were deep and blue and filled with a woman’s secrets. Within their depths he saw the remnants of terror and a jumble of emotions held on a taut rein. Her blond hair was pulled into a ponytail, but several strands had fallen free to frame her face. Strands his fingers itched to brush aside.

She possessed the kind of beauty that blinded a man. The kind of sexual appeal that made even a smart man do stupid things. All for the sound of her laughter or the promise of a touch. An element that made her every bit as dangerous as the terrorists aiming to kill them.

Ignoring the uncomfortable tug of something he didn’t want to identify, Cutter turned away. “Let’s move. Chances are they’re going to use the chopper to search for us.”

“But won’t the storm ground them?”

“It would if we were dealing with a sane person.” He shot her a sober look. “In case you’re not reading between the lines here, we’re not.”

“But they don’t have a pilot. They shot him.”

Impatient with her questions, he took her hand and pulled her into a jog. “The Jaguar wouldn’t have shot him if he didn’t have a backup pilot.”

“The Jaguar?”

He hadn’t meant to say the name aloud. Just hearing it sent a chill up his spine. Even after two years he could recall what it had been like to be helpless and hurting and look into the other man’s eyes and see pure evil.

“Stop talking and start moving,” he snapped. “Faster.”

She complied, but Cutter knew there was little chance of them outdistancing The Jaguar’s men. The terrorist surrounded himself with the most brutal men in the world. Men who would risk it all to advance whatever twisted beliefs had transformed them into terrorists.

Cutter had been in worse situations and still come out alive. But with a storm moving in and killers hot on their trail, survival seemed a long shot at best.

“Where are we going?”

He glanced over at his prisoner. She had snow in her hair. It clung to her thick eyelashes. Her cheeks were pink with cold, her eyes bright with fear. He wished she wasn’t so damn good to look at. The last thing he needed was a distraction….

“Right now we’re just trying to put some distance between us and those bastards with guns,” he said.

She was starting to breathe hard again. The way a woman did when she was in the throes of lovemaking. The image of her with her head thrown back, her body welcoming his, flashed unbidden in his mind’s eye. He imagined his hands on her body, her breaths coming short and fast as he worked her toward release….

Shoving the image aside, he picked up the pace. “Faster,” he said.

She struggled to keep up. “You never told me what agency you’re working for.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I like to know who I’m dealing with.”

“All you need to know is that I’m the man who’s going to save your life.”

“The way I see it, you’re the man who’s going to make sure I spend the rest of my life in prison for a crime I didn’t commit.”

“Save it for the judge, blondie.”

“The judge has already made his decision. A decision based on lies and planted evidence.”

“You got caught,” he snapped. “Deal with it, because you’re not going to get any sympathy from me. Got it?”

“What I got is railroaded. I can prove it, but not from inside a prison cell.”

“There are young men and women risking their lives every day to keep this country safe,” he snarled. “I don’t have any compassion for turncoats, so cut it out.”

For several minutes the only sound came from the pounding of their feet against the earth.

“You want to know what’s really frightening about all of this?” she asked.

“You have no idea what’s really frightening,” he said bitterly.

“The real culprit is still out there. They probably have access to the EDNA project. They’re probably trying to get their hands on the final-phase plans. And they’re probably still planning on selling the information when they do.”

Cutter stared hard at her, looking for the lie he knew was there. But the woman staring back at him had one of the most guileless faces he’d ever seen. He was not gullible when it came to female charms. Not by a long shot. But he could feel the draw to her. A draw that was part sexual, part…something else. Like a full moon pulling at a restless sea and causing a dangerously high tide.

Cutter was too smart to act on any of the crazy thoughts running through his head. He knew all too well what could happen when you mixed sex with an assignment. The last time he’d given in to temptation someone had ended up dead. He’d nearly been killed himself and had spent a good part of the next year wishing he hadn’t survived.

“Unless you want to end up dead,” he said, “you’ve got to keep moving.”

“Maybe that’s a better alternative to spending the rest of my life—”

His temper snapped. Stopping abruptly, he swung around to face her. Roughly he yanked her toward him so that her face was only inches from his. Close enough for him to smell the rosemary and lemon of her hair. He steeled himself against the sweet warmth of her breath against his face.