Blue Forever (Men in Uniform) by Nina Bruhns Read Free Book Online

unevenly behind her.
    “No plan. Just get up the mountain and don’t get caught. But we need to be off this road, ASAP.”
    “Agreed.” They definitely did not want to be seen by anyone, and this was the main thoroughfare over the mountains. The problem was the steep incline going up from the shoulder of the pavement. Only a mountain goat could climb that.
    He moved up beside her and matched his pace to hers. “There should be a dirt track that branches off pretty soon.”
    That was the second time he’d known what was coming up ahead. “You have a GPS hidden in that backpack or something?”
    “Nope. The enemy could locate my position by tracking it. I do everything old-school.”
    Good grief. He must have memorized the map.
    Sure enough, about a mile later, a narrow, deeply rutted path veered off into the mountains, following a small, tumbling stream up into the thick forest. They took it, and were soon immersed in the cool, damp dimness under the jungle canopy. The path was only wide enough for one, so Kip took point and she fell in behind him. The track wasn’t goat-steep, but steep enough to require all her breath and prevent them from chatting.
    Which was just as well. She had enough to do to keep from tripping over her own feet.
    Not because of the uneven path, but because her gaze kept fastening on Kip’s very attractive posterior. Even under the rough cotton homespun of his peasant pants, she could see the impressive muscles of his thighs and backside flex and bunch as his legs worked. It was tough to keep from drooling. The man was in amazing shape.
    DeAnne’s male colleagues at the embassy ran to analysts and intellectuals, more at home behind their desks or in a tuxedo than pumping iron at the gym or hiking through the wilderness. The Marine guards were always fit and toned, of course, but they tended to be young, fresh-faced kids right out of school who were too cocky and full of themselves to be attractive. In her opinion, anyway. But the major was a grown man in every respect of the word. The whole package—mature, handsome, strong, and capable. And obviously intelligent.
    If he weren’t so completely and utterly wrong for her, she’d be crushing on him big-time. Good grief. She hadn’t had these kinds of butterflies since high school. What was wrong with her? She was smarter than this. She knew better.
    Boy howdy, did she ever.
    The man was nothing but pure unadulterated trouble.
    T.R.O.U.B.L.E.
    But oh, man.
    Major Kiptyn Llowell was nothing less than pure walking temptation.
    And DeAnne had the sinking feeling she was getting dumber by the minute.

7

    Darcy and Jaeger had set up their laptops in the wardroom where everyone had finally gathered for a hot meal. They desperately needed some shut-eye, but the whole team was too wound up to sleep. The Russian, Romanov, and his fiancée, Julie, were having afternoon tea with the ship’s captain, but Clint Walker had joined them—after making a phone call to his wife.
    “She worries,” he’d said with a little smile. He seemed like a good guy.
    They’d all been arguing over the best way to steal a thousand-pound, ten-foot-long, torpedo-like object from a highly secure army transport or an even more secure navy base without the Chinese noticing.
    But Darcy had overheard a couple of the ship’s officers talking excitedly at the coffee urn about some alleged American spy who had the Chinese authorities’ knickers all in a twist over on Hainan Island. Which just happened to be where the team was supposed to be stealing that AUV sometime in the next few days.
    Now, there was an interesting coincidence.
    Except Darcy didn’t believe in coincidences.
    So between interjecting her opinions on the various outlandish operational proposals being tossed around, she was scouring the Internet for information about this supposed American spy.
    Turned out the Chinese somehow knew the guy’s name, and had gotten hold of his passport photo, and they were