The Perfect Hostage (A Super Agent Novella) (Entangled Edge) by Misty Evans Read Free Book Online Page B

fireplace, he took slow, measured steps. In his line of work, he’d pissed off a lot of people. Most never knew his real name, who he worked for, or where he lived. Half of them never saw him; Pegasus typically got in and out without raising an eyebrow. Missions were classified, some labeled secret or even top secret. Details limited to a handful of people directly involved with the mission or the outcome. The CIA, FBI, DoD—they had knowledge of the missions, but only the person giving the orders knew the names of the operatives doing the job.
    But there were always leaks, always people like Lucie who knew the truth.
    Now her family knew, too.
    The Russians, the Mexicans, the Afghans, hell, a common criminal…didn’t matter who was in the house. John had a job to do.
    Protect Lucie. Neutralize the enemy.
    John palmed his gun. Thanks to his and Lucie’s escapades during the weekend, he knew the layout of the house like the back of his hand. Did the intruder? If the man knew the code for the cabin, he knew the layout.
    What had he carried in the cart? Or was the intruder a highly-skilled burglar who planned to abscond with some of the Morgan family’s expensive collections?
    Was there more than one? Did they know the house was occupied?
    Were they armed?
    Questions ran through his mind as he scooted to the corner, took a steadying breath with both hands on the gun and his finger on the trigger. Raising it, he peeked around the corner into the kitchen.
    The table was empty except for a scattering of cake and icing. The chairs were pushed out of the way and the island sported a jumble of trays and plates from the baby shower. A few decorations Lucie had torn down were piled in one corner.
    No one in sight.
    John’s eyes bounced over the outline of dirty champagne glasses by the sink, passed over the various appliances…and came back to the island.
    A silhouette caught his attention. Darker than the rest, it was a black square amidst the clutter. A tiny light on the side pulsed on and off.
    A computer?
    Not his. Not Lucie’s.
    John held his breath and listened. Where had the intruder gone?
    Above his head on the second floor, Lucie screamed.

Chapter Six
    The nightmare was happening all over again. The bad nightmare. The really bad one.
    Locked doors had never kept the nightmare away before, and they hadn’t this time either.
    After kicking in the door, the man in a black ski mask had pointed a gun at her head and motioned her to back up.
    Screaming, she’d taken a good, hard swing at him, but his friend, another goon in a gray ski mask, jumped forward and blocked the swing. He ripped the poker out of her hand and sent her sprawling to the floor.
    Where is John?
    Keeping her focus on the gun, Lucie rose as instructed. Black Mask moved behind her, motioned at the second man to toss him the poker.
    Before she could fight, he wrapped an arm around her and jerked her back against his chest, placing the long poker across her throat and giving a tug. The cold iron bit into her skin, cutting off oxygen. The pain was terrifying, an odd pressure that told her the tiniest slip and her windpipe could be crushed.
    Where was his gun?
    The pressure on her windpipe intensified. Tiny black dots danced at the edges of her vision. The second man looked over his shoulder and slipped into the shadows behind the open door.
    John appeared a second later, his attention landing on her at once. His eyes were flat and hard, but all she felt was relief. John will stop this .
    Glancing at the masked assailant holding her, he raised his hands in surrender.
    No, no, no . Lucie tried to say his name, but what came out was an odd sound and fresh pain burst in her throat. What was he doing?
    He stepped into the room and the man holding her forced her back a step. John stopped.
    His voice was low and calm—as if this kind of thing happened every day. “Yo, man. Whoever you are, you want me, not her, so don’t hurt her, okay? Release her and we’ll