Hot Shot (A Hostile Operations Team Novel)(#5) by Lynn Raye Harris Read Free Book Online Page A

your anger with me stop you from helping me now.”
    He blinked. “You really fucking think I’d refuse to help you because I despise you right now? That’s my kid too, and I’ve never even met him. And now someone has him and I might never get to—”
    A sob broke from her and she slapped her hand over her mouth to contain it. He felt like an asshole. What the fuck was he saying? His vision grew blurry and it took him a moment to realize what it was. Fucking tears? He never cried—except once.  
    And he wasn’t about to do it again. He hadn’t been able to save Hayley, but he could do something about finding his son. Eli wasn’t lost to him yet.
    “We’ll find him, Gina. Somehow, we’ll find him. I promise.”
    * * *
    He hated her. Gina could see it in his blue eyes, in the tension of his muscles. His jaw was tight and he kept his hands clenched at his sides. She didn’t blame him, not really. Guilt and fear twisted tighter in her belly. Eli was all that mattered. She didn’t care if Jack hated her so long as he helped her get her son back.
    Their son.
    Right. Gina shoved a shaky hand through her hair to get it out of her eyes. She hated that she’d told him the truth like this, but she was desperate. He had to help her. She didn’t trust anyone else. The FBI wouldn’t care about Eli the way she did. She knew they were competent and that they would do their jobs—but it only took one person giving away their presence to alert the kidnappers. And Eli would be dead.
    She couldn’t take that chance. She needed someone who was just as invested as she was.
    And Jack was. She could see it in his eyes, in the set of his jaw. She had to believe he could do this. That Jack and that magic military team of his could find Eli and rescue him before it was too late.
    “I believe you.” She had to believe him. To do anything else would destroy her.
    He raked his fingers through his hair. Then he blew out a hard breath. His brows drew low as he concentrated on something. “I’ll call my team leader, ask for time off. And I’ll ask for the commanding officer to call his contacts. He knows people.”
    She sank onto the couch again as all the nervous energy went right out of her. She wished like hell she still smoked because she could damn sure use a cigarette right about now. But she’d given that up years ago when someone had suggested she was damaging her voice.  
    Still, the urge sometimes rolled through her and made her long for the days when a little bit of nicotine in her system could calm her frayed nerves.
    “Then what?”
    He shoved his hands into his pockets and stood there looking a bit lost. She recognized the expression as one that Eli sometimes wore. It made her heart twist.
    “I don’t know. We have to wait for them to call, right? When we know what they want, we’ll figure out what to do.”
    She hunched over and rubbed her hands up her arms. She was chilled now, the anger and adrenaline of the previous few minutes draining away and leaving her empty.
    “I have to cancel the concert. No way can I go on.” Barry would understand. He would handle everything in his usual efficient way. He wouldn’t be happy about it, because this was her big comeback tour and they’d been fighting about everything from the music to the costumes. But after years of doing what everyone else wanted her to do, she’d finally put her foot down after she had Eli and said she was going to do what she wanted. Fewer flashy dance numbers. Less style over substance.
    She still gave people a show, but on her terms. And they were taking the changes pretty well even if Barry was upset with her over it.
    “You might want to reconsider that,” Jack said, and her head snapped up. “I know you’re upset, but they seem to want you to behave as if everything in your life is the way it should be. If you don’t go on, the speculation will be intense.”
    “I can be sick. It happens.”
    “And the media will camp outside your