Undercover by Vanessa Kier Read Free Book Online

the way is blocked.”
    He hustled her through the maze of corridors to a section of the building that she’d never seen before.
    “Attention. Attention,” a voice blared in Spanish over the loud speaker. “This is the Peruvian military in conjunction with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency. We have the compound surrounded. Please exit quietly with your hands on your head.”
    Alvarez swore and ran faster, his iron firm grip on her arm forcing Madalena to keep up with him.
    Overhead, the message repeated in English.
    Madalena looked for a chance to escape, but the long corridors left her no place to hide. She was still trying to figure out how to break free when they reached what looked like the door to a linen closet.
    Alvarez pulled open the door, revealing a sleek elevator. After shoving his gun in his waistband, he entered a code onto a small keypad in the wall to the right of the elevator, keeping his punishing hold on Madalena’s arm. As if he knew she planned to run.
    The keypad gave out an angry beep.
    Alvarez muttered a curse and tried again.
    Another beep.
    Alvarez went very still. He took a deep, shuddering breath. Shook out his hand. Then tried the code again.
    This time a flashing red light went off overhead as a different alarm sounded.
    Alvarez smacked the control panel with his fist, then tried to pry apart the elevator door with his fingers.
    Madalena used his distraction to pull against his hold.
    Alvarez backhanded her. “Stay still! Or do you want to be captured and put in jail? Or worse, die when the government sets the building on fire?” He pulled her toward the elevator. “Help me get these doors open. The system has frozen me out.”
    “Have you lost your mind?” she snapped. She’d never seen Alvarez in a panic before. Furious, yes. But not so scared that he couldn’t think straight. “We can’t force apart steel doors. Isn’t there another escape route?” The man was paranoid when it came to his safety. He must have other ways out of the building.
    Alvarez glanced around, as if not certain of their location in relation to the rest of the fortress.
    She let out a wild laugh. “You don’t know where the next escape route is, do you? The mighty Jaime Alvarez, lost within his own fortress.” She made an exaggerated show of looking around. “Where are all of your guards? Where are all of the staff that should be filing out of their rooms? They’ve all abandoned you, Alvarez. You’re under attack and they’ve left you to suffer alone.”
    “Shut up, puta .” Alvarez hit her again. While she struggled to regain her balance, he pulled the pistol out of his waistband, tightened his grip on her arm, and dragged her back the way they’d come.
    A unt Madalena wasn’t in her room, but from the lingering scent of sex and cologne, Niko knew that both she and Alvarez had been here recently. Cursing, he spun around and stepped back out into the eerily quiet corridor. He glanced left and right, trying to decide which way they’d gone. If he were Alvarez, he’d head to the nearest secure elevator that led to the escape tunnel.
    Not that the elevator would do Alvarez any good. The program Niko had loaded into the security system would lock out all codes but the new one he’d set for himself and the assault team. He ran around the corner and into the corridor that held the elevator, but immediately stopped. Flashing lights and a blaring alarm indicated that someone had already tried to access the elevator.
    Damn. There were too many ways that Alvarez and Aunt Madalena could have gone from here. Wait. He sniffed the air. There. A mix of his aunt’s perfume and Alvarez’s cologne.
    Grinning like a fool, Niko prepared to play bloodhound.
    The warnings to surrender came again over the public address system. Niko didn’t want to be caught running through the halls holding a pistol when the assault force came to clear the building, but he wasn’t going to give up his chance to get his