Undercover Captor(47)

Nice job getting her out of there. He had to hand it to Lancaster—the agent had a certain style.

And Cooper knew that he’d been lucky, too—if there had been more light in that alley, Drew would have recognized him.

Recognition wasn’t on Mercer’s agenda. Not then.

He wondered if Mercer knew just how involved Drew had gotten with the good doctor. Because Cooper had seen the way the guy touched her.

The touch of a lover, not an agent.

He’d have to brief Mercer. Drew might not be up to his usual standards of ice and detachment on this particular case.

When cases got personal, they all too often got messy.

As far as Cooper was concerned, personal involvement always led to danger.

Tina Jamison was already in enough danger as it was.

* * *

“I DIDN’T GIVE any order for a bomb!” Anton snarled. “What the hell happened?” He wanted to shatter the phone.

“B-boss, the house just exploded. They were inside—all of ’em! They’ve got to be dead.”

His back teeth ground together. He spun around and tapped on his keyboard. The feed on Drew Lancaster’s tracker immediately came up. According to the signal, Drew Lancaster was moving fast down Bridge Avenue.

His eyes narrowed. I’ve got you. Drew thought that he could throw up a distraction and escape with Anton’s prey?

Not happening.

The agent should have taken the money. Now he’d just die.

And so will the woman.

* * *

TINA’S ARMS WERE locked around Drew’s waist.

He eased the motorcycle to a stop, pulling it up near the wall of a bar. It was hitting close to 3:00 a.m., and the bar was about to shut down.

Perfect timing for him.

Drew shoved down the motorcycle’s kickstand.

“Why are we stopping here?” Tina asked quietly.

He knew the place didn’t look like much of a safe house, but that was why they were there. Appearances could be plenty deceiving.

He tucked his helmet under his arm. “You need a place to crash.” They both did. “By morning, this case will be all over.” Because Devast would have followed their breadcrumbs straight to Mercer.

Drew had told Tina that he had to make the situation personal for Devast. And he had. The bomb at the house on Moyers would have infuriated Devast. As soon as Devast had pulled up Drew’s tracking signal and realized that he’d escaped the flames...

The SOB would have decided that he had to go after Drew himself.

After all, Devast had told him that he didn’t give second chances. Devast’s men weren’t catching Drew and Tina.

So you have to get involved in the job yourself, don’t you, Devast?

Devast would follow their planted trail. Mercer and the EOD agents could capture him.

And Tina would be able to head back to her old life.

He pushed open the bar’s door. His gaze swept the area, checking for any threats and, when he was satisfied, Drew gave a nod to the bartender. The redhead raised her brows when she saw him. Like Sarah, this woman had ties to the EOD. The bartender’s brown gaze flickered toward the Staff door.

A band was playing. A somebody-did-me-wrong slow tune. Three couples were still on the dusty dance floor.

Drew eased past them. Tina glanced over at the couples, hesitating.

“Come on, Doc,” he said. “We need to go.”

A sad little smile tilted her lips, but she followed him. Just past the Staff door, a narrow flight of stairs waited for them. Drew had actually been to this bar a time or two before. He’d crashed here between missions, so he knew exactly how to find the hidden key to the upstairs apartment. They headed inside, and he secured the door.

“The bar will close by four,” he told her, putting the motorcycle helmets down. “Then it will be dead quiet, and you can have plenty of time to rest.”

That same smile—one that looked a little sad and a little lost—curved her lips as Tina ditched her blond wig. “And when I wake up again, I’ll go back to my old life?”

He nodded. “That’s the plan.” A fast and frantic plan that he’d had to make as soon as he realized exactly how Devast must be tracking them.

The music drifted lightly in the room, muted, so that he couldn’t clearly hear the singer’s words, but he could easily hear the guitar’s strains. The low melody was sad and soft.

Tina brushed her hand through her hair. “I never thought so much could change for me in just a few days.”

“You’ll be back to safety soon.”

“Safety.” She seemed to be tasting the word. “Yes, I guess I will be safe again.” She glanced toward the bed. Narrow, only built for one.

Drew cleared his throat. “You take the bed.” He could crash in the chair. If he could crash. Ever since he’d gotten that call from Devast, his body had been tight with tension and too much adrenaline.