Page 16 of Booker's Mission

“Your ass is way too fine for any man to forget.”

“Not funny.”

“But accurate.” He took a deep breath, leveling his gaze at her. “So, this is where you start talking, sweetheart, and you don’t stop until I know exactly what we’re up against. And for the record, I don’t care if it’s legal. If you’ve gone rogue, and the DEA has a warrant out for you. If simply being seen with you gets my ass tossed in jail. I’m in, regardless. But I can’t help keep us alive if I’m in the dark, so… lay it on me. And don’t leave anything out, because there’s no way this is over, and we don’t have enough time or resources to adapt.”

CHAPTER4

Callie stared at Booker,surprised he hadn’t simply pulled over and kicked her out. Left her to live or die by her own devices. She hadn’t been joking. She still couldn’t believe he’d agreed to accompany her without her putting it all on the line, first. Giving him the chance to back out.

He wouldn’t. Not before, and definitely not after they were just attacked. But that didn’t mean he liked being kept in the dark, as he’d phrased it, evident by the furrowed brow. Those sexy eyes that never stopped scanning their surroundings, before settling on her. Waiting.

She speared her fingers through her hair, praying he didn’t notice the way her hand shook. Not that most guys would pick up on it. But Booker wasn’t most guys. “It’s—”

“Complicated?”

“Cliché, I know, but true.”

“Good, because that’s what I do best.”

She sighed, knowing she had to tell him everything but unsure if she’d get through it without sinking into a flashback. And the last thing she wanted was to show him that side of her. The part she couldn’t control. “The gist of it is, you weren’t the only one who got called back to work, early. Have you heard anything about that scandal they’ve had in Florida with some DEA agents getting caught with their pants down in the Caribbean?”

“I heard rumblings about a grand jury.”

“Well, apparently there was one contact who wasn’t involved or outed, but he couldn’t stay in case his identity had been compromised. But he was able to secure a new ‘in’ for another agent.”

Booker glanced at her. “You? But, you’re not even familiar with that cartel. I thought they kept agents curtailed to one location, so you knew the players? Made contacts you could trust.”

“So did I. But my boss in Richmond, Keith Rogers, suggested they use me with the hopes that no one would know me when I hadn’t worked an international case outside of Mexico. He claimed my experience with all the JSOC teams put me at the top of the list. Made it sound as if I was his only choice. Though, I’m sure the fact I was posing as some bigwig’s girlfriend was part of the reason they chose me. Tits and ass, I suppose.”

“Shit.” He fidgeted on his seat, looking as if he was the one who wanted to crawl out of his skin. Or maybe punch one of those assholes they’d run off the road. “You didn’t have to…”

“Have to, what?” She inhaled, swatting him across the chest. “Have sex with the asshole? Of course, not. I’m all for taking one for the team, Booker, but there are lines I won’t cross. But, I did have to sell it. Hang off his arm like a freaking trophy. God, it was…”

“Demeaning?”

“And frankly, scary as shit. Staying at the guy’s villa without any backup. Wondering if he was playing both sides. Just waiting for the perfect moment to out me in order to gain a better position in the family business. I haven’t slept through the night for a year.”

Booker reached over — took her hand in his and damn, it was so warm. Strong. He gave her fingers a squeeze. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you went through.”

She shrugged, because what else could she do? “It all seemed worth it when I intercepted intel on a huge shipment of cocaine. I managed to contact my handler without getting shot — got a team assembled. We raided their crappy shack in the middle of the damn rainforest and seized nearly ten thousand kilograms of the stuff when an entire squad of mercenaries stormed out of the jungle. As if they’d been waiting for us to get inside — corner ourselves.”

She ran her other hand through her hair, again, doing her best not to pull some of it out. “There were so many bullets flying, I couldn’t even tell who was friendly and who was trying to kill me. We all got hit, and since armor-piercing rounds tend to leave a mark…”

She took a shaky breath, pushing at the images wavering in the dark. “I got lucky and had one of the metal wall panels fall on top of me. Guess they either missed me or didn’t think it was worth moving when they came through searching for survivors.”

“Getting shot then pinned was lucky?”

She ignored the pop gunfire sounding inside her head. The ghosted press of metal against her skin. “It’s the only reason I’m still alive when nine other agents are dead.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, his rough breath flaring his nostrils. As if he’d had to force it out without screaming. “They killed your entire team?”

“There’s more.”

Booker shook his head, giving her a hard stare. “They left you for dead. How can there be more?”

“I heard two men talking just before I passed out. One of them asked the other how much his fellow agents’ lives were worth to him, and the asshole just laughed it off. Said he would have killed us for half of what he’d been paid.”

“Shit.” He gave her hand another squeeze. “Do you know who set you up because you don’t even have to ask, sweetheart, I’ll just eliminate him for you.”

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