Take Me (Take Me 1)

“Are perfectly fine, perfectly safe. There’s currently no danger to them, Ms. Kane. Or to you… As long as you stay calm. Answer some que

stions—”

“Answer some questions?” she belted back. A bit loudly so a few heads snapped in their direction.

Neither she nor Damen spoke for several minutes and the curious gazes drifted away.

Damen told her, “My involvement with the explosions in Mexico City was to determine who was plotting to blow up that block—and why.”

Her gaze narrowed on him. Nikki had never vacillated between the fight or flight instinct—it’d always been to fight. How ironic the latter was going to be her destiny this time, because the plane was speeding down the runway, the wheels were lifting off the ground… And before she could form a plan in her head, they were airborne.

“Asshole,” she muttered.

“No, Ms. Kane. I’m not.” He eased back in his seat while saying, “I’m going to reach into my pocket and show you my ID.”

“Which I’m just supposed to accept as being real?” She scoffed.

“I admire your skepticism,” he told her. “Misguided, though it is.” He did as he’d indicated and pulled out his wallet, very quickly and discreetly flashing his credentials.

Her eyes returned to his and she studied him for a long moment before saying, “I don’t know what QTango Ops means. Pretty sure no one else does, either.”

“Note the Defense Intelligence Agency insignia, Ms. Kane. That’s what’s most important here.”

Her teeth ground over his amused tone. And the fact that she detected a hint of a French accent around the fringes. As well as an Irish one.

What the hell?

At that very moment, Nikki would have summoned the flight attendant to confirm the other woman truly did know about Damen and the supposed agents, or to warn her there might be a terrorist on the plane—but the attendant was strapped into her jump-seat behind the wall separating the galley from the cabin as the plane soared toward the desired altitude.

Damen said, “I have to return to the States for a debrief, and I knew you’d booked this flight. That’s how we’re on the same plane.”

She glared a bit harder. “You’re tracking my Internet activity?”

“You almost booked a trip to the Maldives. Any particular reason why?”

“You clearly don’t know as much about me as you think you do. I have training in—”

The ding that echoed in the cabin to confirm they’d leveled out caused Damen to interject, “You can use your phone now. Connect to the inflight Wi-Fi and go to CNN. Breaking news.”

“You are so infuriat—”

“Just do it, Ms. Kane,” he implored.

She seethed. As soon as the attendant stepped from behind that wall, Nikki would signal her.

In the meantime… Intrigue got the best of her and she did as instructed.

A statement from U.S. and Mexican officials was being read at the U.S. embassy…in Mexico City. A spokesperson announced a primary suspect had been located and apprehended, and that he’d acted alone to sabotage the gas lines and create the explosions—in an attempt to validate his skills and devotion to a growing, global terrorist cell.

“The statement was prepared yesterday,” Damen told her. “That it’s being delivered right now isn’t a coincidence. The governments were waiting for us to leave the country before they jointly divulged the information. Safer that way for me and my colleagues.”

Nikki captured the link and sent it to Jude, texting: Is this real-time?

A second later, she got her answer: Yes.

Damen wore a smug expression now. He was too devilishly handsome for words. Too devilishly handsome for her own good.

Still… A foreboding feeling remained.