The Midnight Hour by Brenda Jackson Read Free Book Online Page A

was concerned, that was not the end of it. The both of them had worked for Hawk so it would have made sense that at some point, he would have run into her. She'd been a surprise and he didn't like surprises.
    Trying to take his mind off her, he glanced around the boat. From the moon's light he could see that this particular yacht was a beauty, from the gleaming floors to the sparkling walls, not to mention the leather benches. The government intended to give the impression this boat was owned by some wealthy person while docked next to the Diamond Bay Resort, and it did. Drake loved boats. In fact he owned one and couldn't remember the last time he had taken it out to do some fishing. While in Texas, he, Ashton, Trevor, the Madaris brothers, along with Trevor's brother-in-law Mitch, had spent some time in a cabin on the Madaris brothers' uncle Jake Madaris's ranch. For four days they had fished to their hearts' content and for him those days had provided some very relaxing and soothing moments.
    So much for taking his mind off Tori Green, he thought when his gaze wandered back to her. A bevy of small flutters began moving around in his stomach and he decided this wouldn't do. He was determined to find out what there was about her that attracted him. Without making a sound "e eased over toward her.
    She must have been in deep thought about something because she hadn't heard his approach and when he slipped into the seat beside her, Tori quickly turned, her round eyes °°ked startled, just moments before she caught him off-guard, and in a martial arts maneuver that was faster than anything he'd ever seen, she flipped him off the bench. He lay on his back staring up at her in total amazement.
    Two things hit him at once. The first was that she was good and quick, and the second was that he knew of no other person, man or woman, who mastered ninjutsu, a particular style of martial arts other than Sandy. But he had to admit that she was a tad better than Sandy and to his amazement, she was left-handed, which had to have added a greater degree of challenge for her.
    "Sorry," she said apologetically, with more than a tinge of anger in her voice as she reached out her hand to help him up. "I didn't know it was you. What the hell were you thinking about sneaking up on me like that? You could have gotten hurt."
    Ignoring her outstretched hand, Drake got back to nil feet without her help. His lips tightened at the thought that she was operating under the illusion that she could have physically hurt him. He gave her a measured look. Besides being an expert in martial arts, according to Casey, she was also one hell of a sharpshooter who could easily take out her target. A cloud of unease raced through him when he remembered that those two things had also been Sandy's specialties but in the end they hadn't saved her life. But then neither had he. He had given her a direct order not to go back inside that warehouse but she had been lured by the sound of an infant crying. In the end it had been a setup tape recording, and she had fallen for it just like Solorno: Cross had planned. He sighed deeply. He didn't give damn just how good Tori Green was. In the end she could die just like Sandy had. Guilt over being responsible for the loss of one woman's life was bad enough. He didn't want to deal with two.
    As he looked at her, he tried not to notice just how beautiful she was. She had pulled her hair back in a ponytail yet the glow from the moon picked up its gloss as well as her startling features. She was annoyed with him, highly upset, deeply pissed and was giving him a look that spoke volumes.
    He glanced around to make sure the boat's crew was not around and decided to have his say. "When we get to shore and make it into the jungle, I want you to hang back and let me handle things from there." Drake could immediately tell that his comment only angered her more.
    "Forget it, Drake. Whether you like it or not, we're a team and you will not