Evidence of Passion (Shadow Agents 7)

His shirt was wet with blood. He was gasping and struggling to speak.

She’d just left him minutes before! How could this happen? How?

She yanked out her phone. “I’ll get help.” She’d have an ambulance there in no—

He grabbed at her hand. “Help...”

“I am! I’m getting you help.” The line rang. Once. Twi—

Brent gasped again. “G-go...” He jerked on her. Harder.

And something sharp stabbed into Rachel’s neck. The phone fell from her fingers as she spun around, but the man there was cloaked in shadows.

She tried to lunge to her feet, but Rachel felt her body collapsing.

He drugged me.

That sharp prick had been a needle. And...and she’d been drugged before. Three years ago. By Jack.

A needle to her neck. They’d been dancing. She’d trusted him so completely. He’d lifted his hand and injected her. She hadn’t seen the needle until it was too late.

Just like it’s too late now.

His arms wrapped around her when she collapsed. The drug seemed to instantly weigh down her limbs.

“Don’t worry about him, sweetheart. He’s already dead.” He lifted her easily into his arms. Rachel’s eyes were sagging closed but she saw that he had on a dark ski mask. His features were covered. There were holes for his eyes. His gloved hands tightened around her. “And you...you’re mine.”

* * *

DYLAN BURST INTO the pub. Rachel had gone there a few nights before, so maybe she’d tried the place again. He scanned the booths, rushed into the back rooms, and even checked the ladies’ bathroom. A few shouts and curses greeted him, but there was no sign of Rachel.

He headed back to the pub’s entrance. His body was tight with worry. He tried calling Rachel, but her phone just rang and rang.

Okay, she could be furious at him, but she didn’t get to go off the grid like this.

Jaw locking, he turned from the crowd and phoned the EOD. When his call was answered, he snapped. “This is Dylan Foxx.” He knew the voice-recognition software would be confirming his identity. “I want a track put on Agent Rachel Mancini’s phone. I need the phone’s location now.” Rachel also had a tracking chip implanted on her, but he didn’t push for intel on that, not yet. Mercer would need to approve that sort of information retrieval.

Calm down. The order whispered through his mind. He knew it was possible that he was way overreacting. She’s just letting off steam. You know Jack won’t hurt her. He saved her life before the blast.

But Dylan couldn’t seem to get calm. Fear snaked through him, and Dylan wasn’t used to fear.

He only felt fear when Rachel was in danger.

All of his primal instincts were fired up right then.

The agent was back on the line in moments. Dylan put his hand up to his ear, trying to dim the noise so he could hear what Helen Grant had to say. “Triangulation shows that you should be right near Rachel Mancini,” Helen told him.

He spun around, searching the bar once more. “Check that signal again and call me back.” He shoved the phone into his pocket. He’d just caught sight of the bartender. The guy was laughing as he headed toward a back room.

Dylan pushed people out of his way and grabbed the guy’s shoulder. “Aidan, right?”

The guy frowned at him. Then his brows lifted. “Ah, I figured you’d be in, sooner or later.” He looked over Dylan’s shoulder. “But I think you just missed her...”

“Rachel.” Her name burst from him. “She was here?”

Aidan nodded. “Sure. About ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago.” Then he added, “She was upset.”

Dylan’s guts twisted. “I need to find her.”