Page 7 of Hidden Attraction

Finally, the low hum of another plane filled their ears, and they craned their necks to look for it. The small silver aircraft came into view, growing larger the closer it got.

When it touched down in a screech of airbrakes and landing gear on the runway, Denver twitched his head toward the parking lot. “I’ll bring the car over. You wait for the women.”

Of course he was left to make contact, but he didn’t argue. Denver jogged off to get the car.

Minutes later, the plane door opened, and a set of stairs lowered to the ground. At first, no one appeared, then a small woman filled the doorway and began to descend the steps.

Denver parked the car a few steps from the plane and got out just as a second woman emerged, this one with blonde hair.

Chase locked his stare on Alyssa Vargas. She looked the same as he remembered her. Only this time she wasn’t wearing loose linen clothes like that day in the Middle East. Her phone was clasped to her ear, and her hair was in a sleek ponytail. Her black suit conformed to her curves, which swayed only lightly as she strode right past him and Denver and got in the car.

“Friendly ladies,” Denver muttered under his breath.

Chase set his jaw. This was just the sort of behavior he expected from the ambassador. For her to treat anyone under her as little more than a servant. The people who guarded her were nothing but wallpaper in the background of her life.

Denver let out a low whistle as the pretty blonde assistant approached them.

She offered them both a smile. “I’m sorry Ambassador Vargas didn’t say hello—she’s under a lot of stress today.”

“Aren’t we all?” Chase didn’t bother to keep the irritation out of his tone.

She looked from Chase to Denver. “Would you guys mind getting our luggage?” Then she walked off to the car and slipped into the back seat with the ambassador.

Chase shook his head once the door shut. “Get involved? With that? I’d rather be tied up in a pit of vipers.”

Denver issued a gruff laugh. “You mean the car ride is going to be any different?”

They shared a genuine laugh and moved forward to grab the luggage off the cracked tarmac. They might be in for a hell of a ride, but at least they still had their humor.

* * * * *

Alyssa never felt so relieved to end anything in her life. Her call with General Hemmings had tested everything she knew about relations with people in power and then some.

With a sigh, she lowered the phone from her ear and let it rest on her lap. Kennedy sat beside her, looking unruffled against the dark leather of the car interior. And Alyssa…Alyssa had stress sweat.

Thank god for good deodorant and the air conditioning trickling through the car vents.

Now she was on her way to a meeting with the secretary-general of the United nations, her old mentor from the early days of her career. She carried a lot of respect for him, and that respect flowed both ways. So the last thing he said to her lingered like black smog coating her mind.

Be careful, Alyssa. You would make a nice target.

The two men who’d come to escort them from the airstrip to the United Nations were definitely military. Having a security detail always allowed her to relax, and these guys oozed with confidence. The bonus was that they didn’t ask her any questions. After the calls she’d taken in the air, more questions were the last thing she needed.

“How are you holding up?” Kennedy asked in a soft voice meant to keep their discussion private even though the military guys were a foot away in the front seats.

She pushed out another sigh. “Everyone wants answers I don’t have yet.”

In the rearview mirror, she caught a set of dark gray eyes fixed on her. “We can share what we know if it helps,” the driver said.

“Not unless you know how a bomb ended up in the ICE detention center.”

The men traded an indecipherable look. Then the other spoke. “I’ll share what I can.”

The guy in the passenger seat was huge. The swells of his muscled shoulders were wider than the seat he rode in. And his short, almost black beard gave off vibes of a movie villain.

“We believe the bomb was the same one we tracked from Turkey to Fort Leonard Wood, where we lost it.”

She gave a small shake of her head. “You managed to follow a bomb all the way across the ocean but lost it in the country?”

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