Alpha One (Shadow Agents #1)(8)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“This means…” He leaned forward and unhooked the seat belt that had kept her steady during the bumps and dives of the flight. “It means that it’s time for you to get your life back.” His face came close to hers. The face that she’d never forgotten. His black hair had once curled lightly but now was cut brutally short.

The old adage was annoyingly true—a girl really did never forget her first lover.

Over the years, Logan had grown harder. A thin scar under his chin looked as if it could have been a knife wound. And his eyes now creased with fine lines. No one else had eyes that shade of bright blue.

Only Logan.

Right then, his lips were only inches away. Had she really kissed him hours before? At the time, it had seemed like a good plan. Some hot, fast action to chase away the chill that had sunk into her bones.

John is dead. She’d left him behind, and he’d died.

She’d almost died, too, and she’d been so scared. Had it been so wrong to want to feel alive? For just a few moments?

Then Logan had pulled away from her.

Again.

Apparently, it had been wrong. Same story, same verse. Logan Quinn wasn’t interested.

And she wanted to forget. She wanted passion, not just him.

Not. Just. Him.

They climbed out of the plane. The guy called Gunner went first, sweeping out with his weapon up. Logan stayed by her side. A giant bodyguard who took every step with her.

Two black SUVs waited for them. Logan steered her to the front one. Climbed in and slammed the door behind him.

As soon as he and Gunner were inside, the SUV started moving. The driver tossed back a cell phone to Logan. “Another mission down, Alpha One.”

She glanced over and found Logan’s eyes on her. Should a man’s gaze really feel like a burn? His did.

He had the cell to his ear. Who was he calling already?

“Alpha One checking in,” he said into the phone. “Package delivered safely.”

Being referred to as a package grated. She wasn’t a package. She was a person.

Juliana glanced away from him. Empty landscape flew by them. Miles of dry dirt, dotted occasionally by small bursts of struggling green brush.

“Sir?” Logan’s voice was tight as he talked to whoever was on the other end of the line. “Yes, sir. I understand.”

The called ended. Short. Sweet.

“Juliana…” He caught her right hand. Oh, now he was back to touching? “I’m sorry,” he told her, and he actually sounded as if he was.

Curious now, she glanced over at him. “For what?”

Logan’s handsome face was strained and his bright blue eyes told her the news was going to be very bad even before he said, “Senator James is dead.”

Chapter Three

The hits just kept on coming for her. Logan watched Juliana, clad in a black dress that skimmed her curves, as she bent and placed a red rose on her father’s closed casket.

No one had been able to glimpse the body—folks didn’t need to witness the sight left after a gunshot blast to the head.

His team had been with Juliana for the past four days. They’d stood guard, making sure that she returned to Jackson, Mississippi, without any further incident. Once in town, his team had taken over a group of rooms at a local hotel. He’d insisted that Juliana stay at the hotel, too, so that his team could keep a better eye on her. At first, she’d balked, but he hadn’t backed down. His instincts had been screaming at him, and Logan hadn’t wanted to let Juliana out of his sight.

He’d expected her to cry at the news of her father’s death. After all that she’d been through, she was entitled to her tears.

She hadn’t cried once.

Her back was too straight as she walked away from the casket. Mourners began to file past her. One after the other. All offering their condolences and stopping to give her a hug or a pat on the shoulder.

Logan watched from his position underneath the sweeping branches of a magnolia tree. The fresh scent of the magnolias was in the air. That scent had reminded him of her. The first time they’d kissed, they’d been under a magnolia tree. It had been raining.

She’d trembled against him.

“You know what we have to do,” Gunner said from beside him.

Logan spared him a glance. Gunner’s gaze was on Juliana, his face tense. Gunner was the quiet type, quiet but deadly. A Spanish father and a Native American mother had given him dark gold skin and the instincts of a hunter. He’d been trained early on a reservation, learned to hunt and stalk prey at his grandfather’s knee. A lethal SOB, Gunner was one of the few people on earth who Logan actually called friend. He was also the best SEAL sniper that Logan had ever met.

“Knowing it and liking it…” Logan said with a sigh and tried to force his tense body to relax. “Those are two very different things.” But the orders had come down from high above. There wasn’t a choice on this one.

With the senator out of the picture, Juliana was now their key to cracking Guerrero.

She’d created the sketches for them. Of Guerrero’s goons and of the man she’d called John. Perfect sketches that had even included slight moles on some of the men. Her artist’s eyes had noted their every feature. Juliana truly was a perfect witness.

One that Guerrero would never let escape.

It was the picture of John Gonzales that intrigued Logan and his men the most. An innocent man, or so Juliana claimed. Another hostage who’d been taken and tortured by Guerrero.

Except John Gonzales wasn’t listed as missing in any database. He wasn’t turning up in any intel from the CIA or the FBI. As far as they were concerned, John Gonzales didn’t exist.

“You think Guerrero’s gonna make a hit on her?” Gunner asked as his gaze swept the crowd.

They weren’t there to pay respects to the senator. Neither of them had respected Aaron James worth a damn. They were there for guard duty.

The mission wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

“The boss does.” Because Logan wasn’t the man in control at the EOD. But this time, he agreed. Every instinct Logan had screamed that Juliana wasn’t clear, not yet.

She had to be here today, though. Senator James was being laid to rest. Unfortunately, he wasn’t taking his demons with him.

The crowd began to clear away. It was a high-profile funeral, with government officials spilling out for their photo ops. Lots of plainclothes security were scattered around, even some folks Logan recognized from the Secret Service.

In particular, he’d noticed that two men and one woman in black suits stayed close to Juliana. On-loan protection. Those three were so obvious, but maybe that was the point. The Secret Service liked to be in-your-face some days.