The Midnight Hour (5 page)

"Victoria Green, I presume?" Casey said, standing and moving across the room to shake her hand. At her nod he said, "You're right on time. I was just briefing Drake Warren on what the two of your assignment will be."

"What!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Drake asked in a deep growl, reluctantly taking his eyes off the woman to look at Casey. "You're not pairing me up with a new recruit!"

Casey's lips turned into a frown. "She's not a new recruit. It's my understanding that Ms. Green has been with the Agency longer than you have, and like I said, Warren, for this mission you'll need a female partner and she is it."

Eyes narrowing, Drake said gruffly, "When hell freezes over."

Warmth crept up Tori's neck and into her face. She wasn't surprised by Drake's outburst; she expected no less since he had raised holy hell years ago when she'd gotten assigned to be a female part of the Recons. Trevor and Ashton had

en okay with that decision but Drake had felt that when it came to down-in-the-trenches-type covert activities, a woman had no place amidst that kind of danger.

Tori had heard his raised voice before she had reached Casey's office and had recognized Drake's immediately. At first she had almost staggered, lost her balance when she realized they were about to come face to face after all this time. She had paused outside the door to get her bearings and probably would still be standing there if Lucille hadn't been watching her curiously before asking if something was wrong. With all the strength she could muster, she knew she had to play it cool and get through this somehow.

It seemed while walking upright and not lying flat on his back in a hospital bed, very little about Drake had changed, definitely not in the way he could throw his shoulders back so damn arrogantly, and tilt his head with such overbearing pride while looking at you with deep dark eyes that always had such an alluring effect. And then, just like now, there was so much power and masculine strength contained in his

well-built body.

But she had to admit that there was a hardness about him now that wasn't there before and it was apparent in his features. Gone were the laugh lines beneath his eyes and there were no signs of a dimpled smile. Now she saw tension and

anger.

She would always remember the first time he had approached her in boot camp. Instead of formally asking her out, he had merely informed her where he would be taking her that night, and had looked at her like she'd lost her mind when she had told him in a nice way that she wasn't going anywhere with him and that he could go to hell.

She had discovered early that the best way to handle Drake's brash attitude was to respond likewise. He hadn't been able to handle a cocky, smart-ass, streetwise woman who could hold her own with him; especially one who almost, and she meant almost, could best him in martial arts. And from the way he was now acting, it seemed she to bring him down a notch again.

She held Drake's gaze and her heart began beating furiously within her chest. She took a deep breath as she tried to calm her breathing as every emotion she possessed suddenly centered in the depth of her heart. Only someone who'd been as close to him as she had could read his emotions. There was curiosity in his gaze as well as the anger, but she also felt something else; it was something that made a heated sensation flow lower through her body. Attraction.

She felt it deep in her bones. Drake Warren was attracted to her as a woman. She didn't misread the desire she saw in the dark depths of his eyes or the way his nostrils flared in heated lust. It only proved that he was still a man who appreciated what he perceived as an attractive woman. A part of her couldn't help but feel good about that but another part made her cautious.

Although he didn't recognize her physically, being in close proximity with him for any amount of time might trigger something where he would make mental comparisons between her and Sandy. Although she had worked on changing her mannerisms, she knew from experience that Drake was a very observant man.

"I don't understand what's going on," she finally said to both men. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Drake moved across the room to stand at the window. Instead of staring out of it, she felt the intensity of his gaze focused on her.

And for the first time in five years, her body was responding to the interest of a man.

For the next few minutes Drake listened as Casey briefed Victoria Green on the situation. Drake tried like hell to keep "is expression neutral while doing a slow study of her.

While her full attention was on Casey, Drake's full attention was on her.

He leaned tensely against the windowsill and studied her. She was no longer wearing the khaki shorts, tank top and sandals, but had changed into a business-casual attire of dark brown dress slacks and a beige blouse. There was no doubt about it, the woman was stunning and up close she was more ethereal than real and her dark eyes were even more beautiful. Her dark brown hair flowed around her shoulders in a healthy, glossy glow and her lips were more than just full and luscious, they were also inviting.

His gaze slowly moved to her chest. She wasn't large-breasted, but she wasn't small either. In his opinion, the size of her breasts was just right and looked firm pressed against her blouse. There was something that was too graceful about her to be a CIA agent and he couldn't imagine her dodging bullets or roughing it. The thought of that shook him to the core. To him, she was more suited in some man's bed and not going on missions hunting down the bad guys.

He angered at the thought of her life being in danger and was amazed at his reaction to her and her well-being. But the one thing he knew for certain was that she would not be going with him on this mission, no matter what Casey said. The last thing he needed was a partner who was a woman… and an incredibly beautiful woman at that.

After Casey finished talking, Tori glanced at Drake and tried to ignore the flutter that went through her body when their eyes met. A warning went up in her mind. She had to convince Casey that she and Drake could not work together. Years of being Drake's lover gave her the ability to read him like a book and she knew what he was thinking. If he couldn't change Casey's mind about them teaming up together, he would follow orders and take her along only to dump her somewhere while he went on the mission alone.

And there was no way she would let him dump her anyplace. Why did Drake Warren have to be so damn handsome? Why was he so damn self-assured and cocky?

"Before I get teamed up with Warren, sir," she said to Casey, "I want some kind of assurance that he won't go off half-cocked and try to be a superhero. I've heard about how he likes taking risks, and personally I like choosing the risks I take. I love my life and want to be around for retirement, so if you don't mind I'd prefer that you find another female agent to go with him."

Drake narrowed his eyes at Tori before saying, "And I prefer doing the mission alone."

Casey crossed his arms over his chest and met both of their gazes. "Unfortunately what the two of you want doesn't matter in this case. My only concern is the life of a young woman who happens to be the president's niece. Whatever problems you have in working together, I suggest you quickly get over them. There's going to be a boat docked out back tonight that will transport the both of you to a military ship that will carry you to Costa Rica. Members of the Marines Special Forces are standing by as your backup, but it will take the two of you working together to make your way through the jungle to rescue the woman safely."

Tori signed deeply. She knew Casey was right. A woman's life was at stake; somehow she would find a way to endure Drake's presence without giving anything away. "What's her name?" she decided to ask.

"Robin Thomas." Casey then switched his gaze to Drake. "Any questions?"

Drake glared. "No questions for you but a statement for Miss Green." He turned and gave a full-leveled stare. "You had better hold your own because I don't plan to slow down for you."

Tori narrowed her eyes. "And I don't plan to slow down for you, Rambo." Ignoring the intense anger that was spreading to every one of Drake's features, she turned to Casey. "When do we leave?"

Casey looked at the mutinous expressions on the two agents' faces. Although they had come highly recommended, he wondered if perhaps he'd made a grave mistake by teaming them together. It was too late to make any changes now. They were on their own and he hoped they didn't kill each other before things were over. "You leave out during."

Solomon Cross's hands tightened into fists in his lap as he sat at the conference table and met the stares of the seven men looking back at him. They were the heads of the ASI cartel, the kingpin and his six drug lords. He had requested this meeting with them. He was tired of keeping a low profile. It had been five years and he was ready to return to his place among them.

"Your request has been denied, Solomon."

He glanced slightly to his right. Manteo Pella had spoken. He and Pella had never seen eye to eye on anything and it left a bad taste in Cross's mouth that of all people it was Pella who had delivered the cartel's decision.

"May I ask why?"

It was the kingpin, Jose Delgado, who spoke. "This cartel is still cleaning up the messes you've made, Cross. You're too quick to let emotions get in the way of sound thinking. The only reason you're still with this cartel is out of respect for your stepfather who gave all of us our start. But don't push your luck as to how far our gratitude to him goes. Because of you the organization had to decentralize into several smaller groups, which is a risky way for us to operate. But as long as we have the CIA and DEA breathing down our necks we can't function any other way. That incident in Haiti was inexcusable."

Cross leaned forward. Inexcusable, hell! He had needed to get revenge for what had been taken away from him. Didn't they know that? Didn't they understand the principle of "an eye for an eye"? He sighed deeply. Evidently they didn't. "That was five years ago."

"Yes, but the United States government is yet to get over it, and there has been a price on your head since," Delgado said angrily. "They would just love to get their hands on you. In the meantime, this cartel has had to make adjustments."

Cross slowly stood. Rage flowed through him but he refused to let it show. "Is that your final answer?"

Delgado met his gaze. "Yes, and the cartel wants you to continue to keep a low profile. Hopefully, within another year we can take a look at your request again."

Cross nodded then turned and walked out of the room. Damn Delgado and his stinking lords. What they didn't know was that over the past five years he had kept a low profile and at the same time he'd slowly been clipping away at their safety net. When they met again in a year, they would discover they didn't have control over anything. He would. He had more South American government officials, DEA and CIA agents in his pockets than they could ever imagine. And he'd held several secret meetings with Martino, the head of the Uruguay rebels.

Yes, in less than a year he would be in full control and the first thing he intended to do was to put bullets in each of their damn heads.

It was a few minutes past midnight when two black-clad bodies slipped aboard the sleek and elegant-looking yacht that would carry them out further into the Atlantic where* huge military ship was waiting.

Automatically, Drake and Tori went to opposite sides of the boat, each needing distance from each other for totally different reasons; each feeling the frustrations and anger of having been sent on a mission together.

As Tori removed her jacket and knelt down to straighten her gear, she stole a quick glance in Drake's direction. With his thunderous expression it was easy to see that he was still angry about being partnered with her. She knew after leaving Casey's office that Drake had stayed behind to convince Casey that he worked better alone. A part of her had hoped he'd been able to do so and had waited for Casey's phone call saying her part in the mission was cancelled. But a phone call never came and as instructed, she'd been packed, ready and waiting at the docks at midnight. So had Drake and he hadn't said a single word to her since. The moment she'd arrived and he had stepped out of the shadows, she had been fully aware of him as a man.

She still was.

Tori straightened her body and leaned against the railing of the boat and looked out into the night. The lights from shore were fading, which meant they were heading deeper and deeper out into the Atlantic and closer toward their mission. She had to put all personal turmoil in dealing with Drake out of her mind and concentrate on Robin Thomas, a woman who was depending on them to bring an end to her nightmare. She just hoped Miss Thomas was still drugged or at best, wouldn't let her abductors know she wasn't one of the president's daughters.

Tori checked her watch. They would connect with the military boat in a few hours and then it would take a few more before they arrived on the shores of Costa Rica. She eased her body down on a bench, trying to think of anything but the man standing across the boat from her. A man who still had her heart.

Drake leaned against the rail and watched Tori as she sat down on the bench. Anger boiling, muscles tensed, his gaze raked over her. His attraction to her had risen another notch and there didn't seem to be a damn thing he could do about it. Even while the two of them had been in Casey's office, he'd had a major fight on his hand every time he'd felt himself getting aroused, something that had never happened to him before, especially while conducting business. In his life there was work and there was play. Ever since he had lost Sandy, all women he'd associated with had been labeled for Play but now it seemed the two would be intertwined, although he was determined to keep things separate. Tori Green was the kind of woman a man had sex with, not one to go off on dangerous missions taking risks. They would be placing their lives in each other's hands. He much preferred placing something else of hers in his hands, like the pair of breasts pressing against her black shirt. There was enough light from the moon to illuminate her body and what he saw he found mouthwatering.