Page 12 of Hidden Attraction

He was going to be the last man standing in this dark game, which meant he had to take out Cypher first. He didn’t like how this pattern was forming. Cypher was circling too close, too fast.

“But someonedidknow.” Alyssa’s quiet words drifted from the back seat, sending prickles of awareness over the back of Chase’s neck.

He glared at the vehicles on the busy street and the red light that didn’t turn green fast enough.

Somebody knew Ambassador Vargas was at the hotel. Exiting at that precise time.

That meant they definitely knew she was headed to the UN.

He couldn’t wait for another kidnapping attempt and hope they’d be as lucky.

Change of plan.

He grabbed his phone and punched in the text to Con.Authorization for transport to Charlie base requested—two persons.

He wasn’t taking Alyssa to the UN. He was taking her to the Charlie team’s base to speak to Con.

* * * * *

“This doesn’t make sense,” Alyssa said to herself more than anyone else.

She sat ramrod straight in the back seat, her gaze glued to the tinted side window and the landscape blurring by. Since those men jumped out of the van, her heart hadn’t slowed. It tripped and flipped every other beat. And now…

She wascertainthat Special Operative Chase was not driving her to the United Nations as planned.

They were leaving the city.

The realization frayed her nerves even more, the edges nothing more than flapping threads.

There had to be a logical explanation for why she was being targeted. A breach, a leak of information. Something internal. Someone knew her schedule, but how?

Thinking through it didn’t bring her any closer to answers, just looped back to the same impossible truth: someone had tried to kidnap her.

Kennedy sat beside her, quiet and still, as shaken up as Alyssa was. In the passenger seat, Denver said nothing, arms folded as if brute force would fix the whole mess.

And Chase—he drove like the roadsowedhim speed.

None of this made her feel any safer, despite the fact that they’d saved her from those armed men.

The buildings changed from inner city skyscrapers to simpler structures, and the road stretched out. She now knew with complete certainty that they werenotheaded to the UN.

She clenched her fingers in her lap. “Why are we taking a detour? Where are you taking me?” Her voice held a sharp note. “I have a schedule—”

“Which has changed,” Chase cut her off.

Kennedy gave her a wide-eyed look.

Clearly Chase didn’t know who she was or where her career began. She’d dealt with a hell of a lot more stressful situations than a grouchy SEAL with a god complex.

She gripped her phone. “Then I need to call the secretary-general and let him know I won’t make that four o’clock meeting.”

“Donotmake that call, Vargas. Or text either. Do you hear me? You’re going to let us handle this.”

Her jaw dropped at his command. And there was no mistaking itwasa command.

Well, she didn’t take orders from her security detail, except—

Except when they’re trying to keep me alive.

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