Alpha One (Shadow Agents 1)

He’d been lying to her since the first day they met, and those lies had torn a hole right through any dreams that he might have ever had.

The day Juliana found out the truth about him, about why he’d first walked into that diner to meet her...

It would be the last day she ever trusted him.

But he led her outside. Jasper already had an SUV idling near the porch steps. They jumped into the back, rushed away. The windows would be bulletproof, the vehicle’s body reinforced.

The SUV drove fast, hurtling down that narrow road.

“We’ve got backup on site,” Jasper said, his drawl barely evident. “Syd called in reinforcements. The road will be clear.”

It might be clear, but that didn’t mean Guerrero didn’t have someone out there, watching them, following them.

Guerrero had definitely taken the bait. He wanted Juliana, wanted her alive, because not one single shot had ever been taken at her.

And when a man like Guerrero wanted something...he didn’t stop.

Come for her yourself. Come and face me.

Because Logan wasn’t the type of man to ever stop, either.

* * *

SHE DIDN’T KNOW how long they drove. She didn’t really care. Juliana sat hunched in the car and saw the image of a man taking his own life flash before her eyes.

That man—Luis—had been so afraid of Guerrero that he’d killed himself instead of betraying his boss.

Logan hadn’t so much as flinched.

During the ride, he’d been on the phone beside her, talking to the mysterious Mercer and demanding explanations. He wanted to know who’d leaked their location.

But every now and then, she could feel Logan’s eyes on her. And she could have sworn there was suspicion in his gaze.

Why?

The vehicle slowed. Juliana blinked and glanced around even as the engine died away. “Another safe house?” she whispered, and yes, she’d put too much emphasis on safe. At this point, she didn’t think anyplace was safe. Guerrero was going to keep coming.

The man could track like no one she’d ever seen before.

“Not exactly,” Logan said. His voice was guarded, carefully emotionless. In the closed interior of the vehicle, she was too conscious of his body pressing next to hers.

Had she really been moaning in his arms just an hour or two before? That memory seemed surreal. The death, the violence—that had been reality for her.

Then Logan opened his door. She turned away and shoved open the door on her side and rushed out into what looked like a parking garage. A deserted one.

Jasper was by her side, waiting. “You all right, ma’am?” he asked.

He actually seemed worried. More worried than Logan. Juliana nodded.

“It’s for your safety,” Jasper said. “It might hurt, but...”

Wow. Hold up. She lifted a hand. “What’s going to hurt?”

Jasper pointed to the left. Juliana turned and saw a redheaded woman in a white lab coat heading her way. Her gut knotted and she asked, “What’s going on?”

“Just a small procedure,” Jasper told her. He even put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a little stroke. As if that was supposed to be reassuring. “To make certain that you stay safe.”

“So far, I sure haven’t felt safe.” Her own words snapped out.