Page 38 of Lethal Illusion

He set the cup on one of the few spots on the waiting room table that wasn’t littered with magazines.“How are you holding up?”

Jackson shrugged and fought not to wince.“I’ve been through worse.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

Yeah, he knew that.He just hated acknowledging his own injuries.It reminded him of his own mortality, and that was a subject he’d rather not think about.“Possible concussion, cracked ribs.Six stitches to take care of whatever caught my right side.Other than that, I’m fresh as a daisy.”

Austin chuffed out a breath.“Have you talked with Essie yet?”

“Yeah.”It was the first thing he’d done when he reached a place with cell phone reception.He’d told the love of his life not to worry, that he’d be just fine, but that hadn’t deterred her from booking the first flight to North Carolina.It was totally unnecessary, but he loved her all the more because she’d done it without hesitation.“She should be here in a few hours.”

“Good.Text me her flight information, and I’ll send one of the guys to the airport to pick her up.”

“Thanks, boss.”It was nice to work for a company that treated their employees with respect.“Any word on Navarre and Sloane?”

Austin shook his head, frustration evident on his face.“Nothing yet.We’ve got a team on scene trying to piece together what happened.”

“It was well planned out.They knew we were coming.”

“Yeah.I know.Now we have to figure out how they got that information.”

The possibility of Six Points having a leak chilled Jackson’s blood.“How many people knew about the op?”

“Aside from the agents assigned to the job?Nobody.”

“Did Sierra’s team get tagged as well?”

“No, only you.”

The news alleviated some of Jackson’s concerns, because that meant the call hadn’t come from inside the house.If it had, those assholes wouldn’t have fucked up by attacking the wrong target.“Maybe Sierra has a disgruntled employee.”

“It’s always possible,” Austin said.“Or somebody within her inner circle was offered a boatload of money.Larissa and Nina are checking to see if any of them recently received an unusual deposit in their bank account or splurged on something expensive.If nothing hits, they’ll branch out to emails and text messages.It’s only a matter of time before they find the rat.”

NavarreandSloanedidn’tsleep well that night, which really wasn’t surprising.

They’d used the alarm on Navarre’s watch to mark the shift changes; Sloane dozed until midnight, and then he’d napped until the distant rustle of raccoons woke him a few minutes before his alarm was set to chime at three.He’d been wide awake ever since, worrying about the rest of their team, wondering who’d hired those goons to kidnap Sierra, while listening for signs of danger outside their shelter.Anything to keep his mind off the sexy woman sleeping beside him.

He couldn’t see her—the glow stick died hours ago—but oh, he could feel her, lush and warm in his arms, her hand resting on his chest and one of her legs twined with his.Every so often, she breathed out a sigh that bordered on sexual, and it damn near drove him wild.

She moved in her sleep, her hand trailing down from his chest to his abs, and his body leapt to attention.A little lower, to the waistband of his pants, and half of the blood in his brain shot down to his groin.

Nothing good could come from this, he reminded himself again and again as he gripped her wrist and slid her hand back up to his chest.As soon as he let go, her hand started to drift down again, leaving him no choice but to keep hold of her wrist so she wouldn’t do something they might regret.

The hoot of a nearby owl provided a much-needed distraction.The forest was alive with chatter, chirps, squeals, and grunts, which was good, because the first warning sign of an approaching predator—human or animal—was silence.So far, nothing had ventured near their shelter, probably because the critters put them in the predator category.That was fine by him.He appreciated nature, but he had no desire to interact with it.

Inevitably, his thoughts drifted to Jackson.They were friends, roommates, brothers-in-arms.He’d served as best man in Jackson’s wedding.The possibility that Jackson was no longer alive made his chest ache, though he held out hope that wasn’t the case.The rental vehicle was heavily armored, which should have provided additional protection for Jackson and the others when it plunged down the ravine.Combined with the other safety features, they stood a decent chance of walking away from the wreck on their own two feet.But until he knew for sure, he’d worry.

Outside, in the distance, an animal let out a god-awful shriek.

Sloane jerked awake.“What was that?”

“From the sound of it, some unfortunate critter became part of the circle of life.”

“Oh, God.What do you think it was?”

“I have no idea.It’s not important.Go back to sleep.”

“How am I supposed to sleep after that?What if whatever killed that poor animal comes sniffing around here?”

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