ordered the assassination of an innocent woman to cover their own mistakes?â
âDonât you?â
âIt doesnât matter.â
âLike hell. We donât kill innocents.â
âThat we know of.â
âSo, we better make damn sure before you kill your sister-in-law.â
âSheâs not. Technically.â
âWhat-the hell-ever.â
âOur orders are to neutralize the threat,â Neil asserted.
Roman frowned at his subordinate. âI know what our orders are.â
Unaffected by Romanâs ire, Spazz continued. âTheyâre not to kill the woman per se.â
âNo.â Kadin crossed his arms and glared. âAccording to what you told us, thatâs what the Army brass wants.â
Shit, he did not need this. âWeâre under orders from our government.â
âExactly,â Neil said.
Kadin nodded firmly. âNot the Army.â
The tension in Roman ratcheted several notches higher. âYou let your personal feelings get in the way of doing your duty and good men die.â
âIf we donât, a good woman is going to,â Kadin growled, clearly unimpressed with Romanâs logic.
Roman knew what his gut was telling him, but he didnât know if the message was coming from his libido or his instincts as a soldier. Heâd wanted Tanya Ruston the first time he saw her and that desire had not gone away. Spending time with her touring the compound had only made it worse.
He liked her. Damn it. Wanting her was bad enough. How many layers of complications did he need on this assignment?
âSo, what are we going to do, chief?â Trigger demanded. âWe going to serve our country or some idiot Army officer who should never have okayed a copy of the JCAT coming to Africa in the first place?â
âWeâre going to find the threat and neutralize it.â
âWell, thatâs a relief,â Face said from the open doorway to their room. âI thought for a minute I was going to have to go on the run with the babe.â
Romanâs head snapped up with a sharp jerk. âHands off, Drew.â
âOooh, he means business, he used your real name,â Neil said before jumping out of reach of Romanâs smack to the back of his head.
âYou think our Geronimo is actually human?â Kadin demanded, his voice laced with mocking amazement.
âWhatever the hell I am, I know how to handle insubordination. You want to keep pushing it?â
The former MARSOC sergeant just laughed and shook his head. Definitely too much like Roman. âSo, whatâs the plan?â
âFirst, we figure out if she has a copy of the program,â Roman said. âHiding it is going to be a lot harder here than someplace where technology already has a foothold. The closest Internet access is Harare and as impressive as their cell phone network is for an African nation, they donât have ready access to mobile browsing either.â
âSo, it has to be on a storage device of some kind.â
âExactly and since these buildings have simplified construction, it shouldnât be too hard to find.â
âIâll start with a search on her laptop,â Neil said.
Roman nodded once. âBut youâre going to need to search all the computers in the compound. Security is too loose; she could have it stored somewhere else for safekeeping until she can transport it.â
âFinding it wonât mean sheâs the leak,â Kadin pointed out.
âIt could be someone else in the compound,â Neil agreed.
âOr no one here at all,â Drew said. âJust because her movements coincide with the transfer of information, doesnât mean sheâs not being set up.â
âThatâs for damn sure,â Kadin grumbled.
Â
Goddard Project Agent Bennet Vincent drank a cup of surprisingly good coffee as he sat at a table in the dining hall and