Red Awakening (Red Zone 2)

“Of course.”

“Secure the database at all costs.” Even though it was locked up tight, several levels beneath the building, it still wouldn’t be safe from an irrational group of terrorists armed with bombs.

“And Keiko Sato?”

Miriam waved a dismissive hand. “Collateral damage.”

The men nodded, and the fate of CommTECH’s press secretary was sealed. There would be no rescue for the woman. If she made it out alive, it would be a bonus, but her survival wasn’t the object of their mission.

As the twins left to clean up the physical mess in Houston, Miriam turned her attention back to dealing with the fallout to CommTECH’s image. It would not do to have the ruling company seen as vulnerable to attack—their stock would plummet. And although she trusted that the Mercer twins would ensure everyone in Houston got the message not to mess with CommTECH, there was still public perception to finesse.

Right about now, a press secretary would have come in useful.

Pity CommTECH’s was as good as dead.

Chapter Ten

When the shit hit the fan, Mace snatched Keiko and ran. There was nothing else he could have done. She was the holy grail of kidnap victims. If the terrorists got their hands on her, it was game over—for Keiko. And he couldn’t allow that to happen. He owed her after getting her into this mess in the first place.

“Stop fighting,” he snapped as he took the steps to the next floor two at a time.

Of course, she ignored him. “You set this up. You used my parents to get the violent arm of Freedom into the building. You’ve been with them all along. You’re a terrorist and your group is killing people.”

“What? No! I’m not with Freedom. I’m saving you from the terrorists. I’m not one of them.”

“Yeah, right. And it’s just a coincidence that they’re here, too.”

“Well, yeah.”

She let out a strangled growl. Infuriating woman. There was no time to deal with her conspiracy theories.

“We need to find somewhere safe to lay low, buy us some time to figure out our next move.”

The comm unit in his ear had gone silent, and he hoped like hell that meant Freedom was using a jammer and not that something had happened to his team. Whatever the reason, he was without backup. In a building overrun by terrorists. A building that CommTECH owned and Enforcement was bound to storm at some point.

It was the Armageddon of undercover operations.

“Put me down.” Keiko struggled in his hold. “I can walk.”

“Not in those shoes.” He was faster carrying her.

“Put me down right now. I’ve had enough of you and your team.” She paused, going still in his hold, and he could almost hear her big brain thinking. “There never was a threat to my parents, was there? You’re all in Freedom together, and you’d never hurt your own. It was all just one big bluff, wasn’t it?”

“Listen carefully, princess. I. Am. Not. With. Freedom.”

“Why should I believe that? Everything else that comes out of your mouth is a lie.”

“Rescuing you has painted a huge target on my back with Freedom. Why would I do that if we were part of the same group?”

“How should I know? Maybe this is all part of some elaborate plan.”

“Yeah. I blackmailed you to get me, and only me, onto the press list. But somehow, miraculously, in some other way, I managed to get the rest of my terrorist buddies onto the same list—without using you to do it.” He snorted. “You aren’t thinking straight. This is coincidence. Freedom obviously thought the same thing we did: that they had to take advantage of the press conference being held here instead of at a hotel. It was an easy way to get into the research facility, and who knew when the opportunity would come up again.”

She let out a mirthless laugh. “Do you even know how to tell the truth?”

“Can we argue about this later? We need to find a way out of this building before it turns into a war zone.”

“There’s no we.” She still dangled under his arm, but it didn’t stop her from arguing with him. “This whole thing between us has been one huge mistake. Why don’t you just put me down? That way you can get yourself out of the building before Enforcement arrives and arrests you along with the rest of your terrorist friends. I won’t even tell anyone you were here. How about that?”