Page 1 of The Fixer and the Fugitive

Prologue

She could fit anywhere.Probably could have won Olympic Gold in gymnastics,she thought. As if anyone would have enrolled her in that. No one had ever put her in any sort of class, outside of compulsory public school. And she’d missed so many days of that it was nothing short of miraculous she graduated. Probably the teachers had a conference and realized if they didn’t pass her they’d have to keep her. Outside of school, she’d taught herself to swim, along with everything else.

Now she used her natural flexibility to shimmy between tiny spaces in the rocks, like a hungry mouse.Six elite SEALs on standby and I’m the one they send in, only a few months out of basic. Not too shabby.

She supposed she shouldn’t be cocky, but it was becoming harder to accomplish. Basic had been a cakewalk, as had everything since. If not for all the tricky work of relating to other people, she’d probably be recommended for Officer Candidate School. That and her lack of a college degree, or desire to ever procure one. She’d had enough education to last a lifetime, thank you very much. Anything else she had to learn could beacquired the way she’d found everything else: through the school of hard knocks.

One of the SEAL guys gave her the signal, a tiny little sound that was supposed to be like the croaking of a frog. She didn’t tell him she’d never heard a frog croak in real life. City kids like her didn’t get a lot of nature.

She eased into the opening, darting through narrow passages only big enough for someone her size. If not for the providentially tiny openings, would the SEALs have used her?Probably not.She was nothing to them. She saw the way they looked at her, so superior, so dismissive, and wanted to make them pay. And she would, if they had time.

The sound of scuffling feet alerted her to someone’s presence. This part of the building was supposed to be empty, but even a few months in the army had been enough time to teach her things rarely went according to plan, especially not in the middle of the desert where tech was spotty at best. Her head whipped back and forth, looking for a spot to hide. There was none. In desperation she looked up and, like a beacon of hope, saw an opening in the ceiling. With a jump worthy of a standing ovation, she leapt, her fingers barely making purchase with the ceiling’s crack. And then she was through, fitting herself in the tiny little space like a centipede taking shelter from a harsh storm. All of her contorted around whatever she now shared the ceiling with. Squinting, she leaned closer and sniffed, smiling in delight at what she found. Because, without a doubt, it was exactly what the Navy brats came for. And she, lowly newbie soldier she was, had found it for them.

She was so gleeful she forgot to keep track of her allergies. A sneeze popped out before she could stop it and then a dark face loomed below her, scowling.

Stay and hide or fight it out?A little puff of laughter escaped at the idiocy of her question. When had she ever walked awayfrom a fight? She twisted, lowering her foot onto the guy’s face like a boom. He screamed and backed away, clutching his bloody, broken nose.

It was over almost before it could be fun. The SEALs had that effect, swarming the place like ants at a picnic, taking out all the targets while she stood by like, well, like a helpless female. And they weremad.That was the worst.

“You weren’t supposed to engage,” the leader said, whirling on her with a bossiness she didn’t appreciate. He might outrank her, but that didn’t make him better.

In lieu of an answer, she raised a finger and pointed above her, maintaining eye contact with the SEAL. He followed the line of her point, eyebrows rising interestedly at the crack.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked, much friendlier now.

Again she refused to speak. Instead she shimmied back into the hole and began dumping all the stuff they’d come for down through it. Drugs. Guns. And information, hard drive upon hard drive of it. She shimmied back down and dusted her pants. “Will that be all, Lieutenant Ridge?”

He gave her a little nod, distracted by the bonanza on the floor. “Thank you for your help, Private. I’ll put in a good word with your CO.”

She swallowed her snarky reply. It would feel a little too good to give him one, but he was one of the hoity-toity elite. She could tell by the way her commanding officer practically fell all over himself trying to impress him. A little nod was the best she could manage. Her gaze slid over him and landed interestedly to the person behind him, a pretty boy who was smiling at her in a way that was familiar. He was interested. She gave him a little look. He gave her one in return. Unfortunately the Lieutenant caught it and frowned, giving his head a hard shake.

“Ethan, no. We finish this, and we’re out. No distractions, no diversions.”

With a sigh, Ethan returned his attention to the task at hand, summarily dismissing her. That dismissal made her enraged. It felt too much like every other dismissal in her life. Interestingly, they all came at the hands of some man.

She spun on her boot and fled, trying hard not to stomp like a pouty toddler.I’ll show them,she thought. She could have anyone, and she would. Nelson had been giving her the eye lately. She’d held off because he was with Tina, the only other woman on this assignment. But desperate times and all that…

She returned to base, ignored everyone who tried to ply her with questions, and made a beeline for Nelson. He was just leaving the shower when she found him. Without a word, she ushered him back inside.

An hour later, Tina found her. Normally she could take Tina easily. Despite the fact that Tina was bigger, she was a better—and meaner—fighter. But Tina waited until she was asleep. It was almost a fair fight, almost. Tina said all the ugly things women always said when they learned what she’d done. Strangely they always blamed her instead of their philandering significant other. Oh, well. She’d take it. It wasn’t as if she’d ever had female friends.

The MP’s arrived and tried to break up the fight, but it was too far gone. And because it was her third such fight since the assignment began, she was the one they dragged to the brig. She thought she’d cool her heels for a while and they’d let her out. She should have known her life never worked out that well. But even she was shocked when they came for her and led her to the CO’s tent.

She readied her defense against her CO. Rather, she readied her defensiveness. It would be hard for him to discipline her, given what she had on him. Namely their time together with him in Nelson’s place. He might deny it, but she had proof, backupjust in case. It wasn’t her first time. She played for keeps; it was better people knew that up front.

When she entered the tent and saw The Colonel sitting still and silent, watching her, all her defensiveness fled. She’d never seen him in real life, of course. But she’d heard the rumors, the whispers. He was a legend, so much that she’d started to doubt he was real. He must be something the army told all newbies to scare and impress them.This is what you should aim for, and this is what you should hope you never encounter.

Tina must be related to him. That was the only explanation. The army was filled with such blatant nepotism. It made her sick. For that reason she skipped the requisite salute and slouched into the chair opposite from him, uninvited. He didn’t comment, and she was strangely disappointed by that.

For a while, they stared at each other in silence. He was expressionless, so much it was eerie, like staring at a robot. She remained mutinous, arms crossed tightly over her chest. When he finally spoke, it was so unexpected she couldn’t help but jump a little, then cursed herself for the show of weakness.

“Why did you join the army?”

Even his voice sounded tough, especially for an old dude.

“Army or jail,” she answered, after running the list of scenarios and deciding nothing could be gained by stubborn silence.

“Why did you think the army would be better?” he asked.

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