Read Hot Shot (A Hostile Operations Team Novel)(#5) for Free Online

times?
    Fuck no . Even though his body went rock hard at the thought.
    “My b…baby,” she said. “S…someone took him.”
    His blood froze. “Jesus,” he breathed. “Why are you calling me? You should be calling the police.”
    “No! They said not to. They said they’d kill him. Jack, please.” She sobbed then and it twisted his stomach into knots. The Gina he knew didn’t break down. She’d been so tough, even when she’d been scared beyond reason. She’d never broken down, not like this.
    “Tell me what you need.”
    * * *
    What did she need? She needed her baby back. Gina twisted her hands together and then dashed her fingers beneath her eyes for the thousandth time since she’d gotten the call. Why had she left little Eli in New York? She didn’t like leaving him, but she’d flown down for this concert and then she was flying back immediately after, so it had seemed like the right thing to do. He had a nanny. The building was staffed by security. And she’d hired her own security once the new threats started coming.
    She’d told herself it was simply a crazed fan. She was accustomed to that and she could deal with it. But someone had taken Eli from his nanny when she’d gone out for coffee that afternoon. Just snatched him up and then told her not to call the police. Instead, they’d given Cassie a note and told her to read it to Gina over the phone.
    Call the police and your baby dies. Wait for instructions.
    Gina shot up from her seat and paced the spacious living area of her suite. She’d thrown everyone out and told her manager to let Jack in the instant he arrived. He was the only person she could think to call since the police were out of the question. It hadn’t been easy getting his number, but she’d persevered because she had to. And then he’d answered with that clipped “Hunter,” and heat had flared in her belly at the sound of his growly voice.
    She raked a hand through her hair and then pressed her fingers to her lips to stop a sob from escaping. She’d held it together pretty well up to now, but she was on the edge of her control. Eli was innocent, just a sweet little boy who was so happy and perfect. He didn’t throw fits. Cassie had said he was the calmest baby she’d ever cared for.
    And he was. Just so unflappable and calm.
    But what must he be feeling now that he’d been ripped from the arms of the nanny he knew? What would those people do with him?
    The door opened and her manager stood there. He’d been furious with her the past few weeks because she hadn’t wanted to sign a new contract with the record label and their relationship had been strained. But now his eyes were red-rimmed and her heart dropped to her toes. Did he have news…?
    “Barry?”
    He stepped aside and Jack Hunter appeared in the door, all tall and golden and handsome. Oh dear God, she could see Eli in him. Her gut twisted into knots. She’d kept Eli a secret from him—from everyone except a few very trusted people who knew the baby she’d “adopted” was actually her own child—and the guilt of it tore at her.
    But she hadn’t known, when she’d given birth, whose child Eli was—Athenasios’s or Jack’s—and she hadn’t known for months, not until he grew all that wheat-blond hair and his little face formed into a smaller version of Jack’s. Softer and sweeter, but unmistakable to her.
    She’d been so relieved that her baby was Jack’s. But how could she tell him? How, when he’d told her he never wanted a child because he couldn’t be there for one? He’d lost his wife and unborn child, and it had nearly killed him. He’d decided he couldn’t have a normal family life like other men because he was a career soldier and his job required him to deploy at a moment’s notice. How could he be a typical husband and father with a life like that?  
    He’d made her heart hurt when he said that, but who was she to tell him differently? They’d spent three days together, talking