Page 9 of Deadly Designs

Aja Blue pushed the button to start her car. The manreached for the gun at his side. With a scream and barely a glanceat traffic, she floored it, squealing her tires as she ducked aslow as possible while still being able to see over the dash. Hermind rewound twenty-some years to when she’d portrayed Thelma JoPortnoy, a nine-year-old hellion who’d stolen her mother’s car andtaken it for a joyride until the local sheriff had thwarted herplans. She hadn’t really driven the car in that long-ago movie, butthe way she was weaving and swerving now was remarkably similar tohow Thelma Jo would’ve handled the wheel.

When no bullets shattered her back window, Aja Bluesat up and checked her rearview mirror. The man watched her, stilltalking on his phone, but no weapon appeared.

Her hands were shaking as she drove through thestreets of Norfolk, Virginia. She wasn’t sure where to go since theman knew where she lived and worked. It even seemed he had accessto her itinerary and followed her to Arizona.

Aja Blue flipped on her blinker and swerved into theother lane before turning into the parking lot of a chain store.She ignored the angry blare of a horn and wheeled into a space.Then she picked up her phone and punched in the numbers from thecard.

Chapter Two

Christian Zamora had the enemy inhis sights, his weapon poised to eliminate the threat. He was goingsolo, with no teammate to watch his six. Crouching lower, he waiteduntil the target moved. When it did, he squeezed the trigger.

“Damn it.”

Christian smiled as the laser hit the mark, andPresley Parrish’s vest erupted into a fit of blinking lights.Somewhere in the vast building that had been configured for wargames was a hostage. Whoever found it without getting shot threetimes won some serious bragging rights. Only Dan Bradley and GrantColton knew who or where the captive was. Dan and Grant had won thelast time they’d competed, which meant they got to pick the hidingplace and the prisoner. It might be a doll or a live person.Knowing Dan, it would be a dog, though Christian wasn’t sure if itwas possible to keep it from barking and giving away its location.Then again, Quinn Billings was one of the best dog trainers in thecountry, and with his facility on site, they could’ve borrowed oneof his Belgian Malinois for the day. Those dogs were incredible,and Christian wanted one. He’d added his name to a list of adoptersfor dogs that didn’t make the cut. Several pups were alreadyadopted and lived around the compound, but the list of prospectiveowners was long.

Growing up, he’d always had dogs, but his life overthe last few years hadn’t been conducive to owning a pet. A stintwith the U.S. Marines and then a job with the Drug EnforcementAgency hadn’t allowed for much free time. He’d had to settle forquality time with his parents’ black lab or his coworkers’ variouspets.

Returning his attention to the task at hand, hesearched the perimeter. Christian had only been hit once, but hispartner, Audria Giroux, had ditched him. Audria had left thegame—with Christian’s help—after learning the love of her life,former FBI Supervisory Special Agent turned COBRA Securitiesemployee Reese Reneau, had also been playing. Reese had surprisedher after leaving the hospital, where he had been treated for twogunshot wounds suffered a week ago during a case where they’duncovered not one but two wanted criminals. Since Audria left toget reacquainted with Reese, Christian had to find the hostagealone.

At one time, he’d been a lone wolf, preferring to gosolo. Now, he’d rather have the assistance of his coworkers. Hetrusted everyone he worked with to have his back and knew they feltthe same way. It was the same camaraderie he’d experienced in theservice.

He listened for any movement, but his coworkers wereprofessionals. The only sound was the air conditioner humming coolair into the vast space. A small thump came from the direction he’dshot Presley. He didn’t have the heart to tag her again.

Christian crawled around an obstacle and lifted hisweapon when he spotted movement. A child holding an ice cream conepopped up silently, and thankfully, he refrained from shooting it.If he had, it would’ve cost him the game. Targets like that wouldappear to keep reflexes honed and sharp. In a real-life situation,it meant he hadn’t killed an innocent.

Christian eyed the closed door ahead of him. Heglanced around but didn’t see anyone else. There were various roomsaround the facility, and they could be set to explode when theirdoors opened. It would all be a virtual simulation, of course, orsome other type of boobytrap that would cost him the game.

Still moving on his belly, he approached the entryand listened. He heard faint whispering. As carefully as possible,he got to his feet. With a finger on the trigger of his laser gun,he whipped the door open. He had a split second to take in thescene. Two men reached for their weapons. If they shot him first,it would end his pursuit, and he’d suffer endless teasing. Instead,he squeezed the trigger and shot them both. The overhead lights inthe facility snapped on, causing him to close his eyes at the harshglare. An automated voice announced that the game was over.

“Outstanding job, Zamora,” Grant praised. “We didn’thear you approach. How did you avoid the sensor we putoutside?”

“Yeah,” Dan chimed in. “We set it to alert us whensomeone got too close.”

“I crawled here.”

“Ah. Good move,” said Dan. He glanced overChristian’s shoulder. “Where’s your partner?”

“She was eliminated.”

“You did this solo? Awesome,” hailed Grant.

Christian walked over to the hostage. It was astuffed animal that had seen better days but was obviouslywell-loved. It was tied up with rope and a strip of duct tapeacross its mouth. “Is that Yogi, Jamal West-Elliot’s bear?” Jamalwas the adopted son of coworker Declan Elliot and his wife, KenzieBryant Elliot.

“It is,” Dan confirmed as he ripped off the tape andhissed. He turned it to show some fur clinging to the sticky side.“Oops.”

“Jamal will slug you for that,” Grant smirked. “Youpromised Yogi wouldn’t be hurt.”

“Yeah, so let’s say we don’t tell him. Sound good?”Dan looked from Grant to Christian for their approval.

The phone in Christian’s pocket vibrated. He took itout and glanced at the screen. Time stopped as he read the name AjaBlue LaLonde.

An image of her appeared in his head. Tall, withlush, mahogany hair and striking blue eyes. Incredible kisser. Wasit possible she’d thought of him as much as he had her?

“Christian?”

“Hum?” He looked up to see Dan and Grant watchinghim. “Sorry, I need to take this.” He held up his phone and thenstepped outside the room.

“Hello?”

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