Out of the Shadows (Falcon) by Geri Foster Read Free Book Online

took the weapon. “Who should I shoot? You?”
    His hand clasped her arm. “This is hard for me to say, but I’m sorry, Kate. I should’ve never dragged you into this. I realize I may be walking into a trap, but with a little luck, I might survive. You won’t.”
    He removed the night-vision goggles and slipped the apparatus onto her face. Bravely she held out the gun. “I can back you up,” she said.
    “No. I want you to go. Stay hidden until Jake comes tomorrow night. Then get on that plane and go back to your life.” Brody pulled her against his chest and squeezed. His chin rested on her head, and he inhaled. After all they’d been through, she still smelled of flowers and sunlight. The curves of her small frame surprised him. “I had no right to take you.”
    He bent down and captured her mouth. She tasted so sweet he thought he was in a candy store. On its own accord, his tongue slipped into her mouth and he deepened the kiss. With no resi stance from Kate, she leaned against his chest and he struggled to breathe. She whimpered and his insides went up in flames. For the first time in his life he wanted a woman so badly he’d almost be willing to die for an hour alone with the CIA agent.
    Brody broke the kiss.
    “You’re right, but now I’m here.” She touched his chest with her delicate hand. “Maybe together...”
    He shoved her long blond hair behind her ears and cupped her cheek. “I’ll risk my life, but not yours.”
    He released her and motioned her back the way they’d c ome.
    She hes itated. “Why are you doing this, Brody?”
    He looked away, unable to face her . “Five years ago I was a prisoner in Iraq. For sixty-one days I was tortured, beaten, humiliated and starved. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The worst part was having no hope. Knowing that no one with half a brain would come into the middle of an Al Qaeda camp and get me.” He glanced at her. “A.J. came.”
    “Brody...”
    He inwardly smiled at the big goggles and the bad- ass gun in her hand. She looked more like Tweety Bird going after Sylvester than an experienced CIA agent. Especially decked out in a T-shirt and bikini panties.
    “Brody.”
    “Have a nice life, Kate. And I’m sorry for all I’ve put you through.”
    He left her and trotted across the road. He took the Glock out of his waistband, and pushed aside a thin curtain used as a door. Dim light sliced the darkness like a slit in a tent.
    Two men sat at a scarr ed wooden table. Between them sat a bottle of cheap tequila and a burning lantern. In the darkened corner of the room, a woman stood holding a young child.
    “You Manuel?” He asked the guy closest to the door.
    The man looked up, his eyes wide, his fingers trembling on table. “Sí, I am Manuel.” He stood, knocking the chair backwards. “Do you have the money?”
    Brody reached in his back pocket and threw an envelop e on the table. Several hundred-dollar bills slid across the table. “Half now, the rest when I get what I came for.”
    The man practically drooled on the money. Impoverished didn’t begin to describe the small village. Brody guessed the man had never seen so much cash at one time. His shaking hand slowly moved toward the package but stopped.
    Manuel looked at the man whose face remained hidden by the brim of his hat. “You bring the girl?” Manuel asked Brody.
    “She had a date . Couldn’t make it.”
    Manuel snatched up the money and walked toward the door. Brody put his hand on the man’s chest, stopping him. “Where is Chavez?”
    He replied by motioning with his eyes. Brody’s gaze moved to the stranger seated at the table. He hadn’t moved since Brody’s arrival. Nor had he looked up.
    Brody walked closer and saw the man had a small caliber gun in his lap. He guessed this guy was here to make sure nothing stupid happened to his fellow villagers.
    Or did he have another agenda?
    “Who’s that?” Brody asked.
    Sweat poured off Manuel in long unbroken lines. His