She was no longer out of reach.
She was right there. So close.
He turned fully toward her, almost helpless, and caught her chin in his fingers.
âI was getting you back.â Logan recognized his mistake. He was letting this case get personal, and that was the last thing he should be doing.
Let her go. Hands off. Get her on the plane. Deliver her home.
Walk away. But it had been so long since heâd held her.
Even longer since heâd kissed her. One moment of weakness. Would it really hurt? Would it reallyâ
She rose onto her toes and kissed him.
Yes.
âYou donât deserve to die here.â
Juliana James looked up at the sound of the quiet voice. She couldnât move her body much because she was still tied hand and foot to the chair in the dimly lit room. Tied with rough ropes that bit into her skin. Though sheâd struggled for hours, she hadnât been able to break free. Sheâd done nothing but slice open her flesh on the ropes.
âIf you tell them ⦠what they want to know â¦â He sighed. âThey might let you go.â
Juliana swallowed and felt as if she were choking back shards of glass. How long had it been since theyâd given her anything to drink? After swallowing a few more times, she managed, âI donât know anything.â She was just trapped in a nightmare. One day, sheâd been soaking up the sun on a Mexican beach, and the nextâ
Hello, hell.
It was a nightmare all right, and she desperately wanted to wake up from it. Ready to wake upânow.
John Gonzales, the man whoâd been held captive with her forâwhat was it now? Three? Four days?âwas slumped in his chair. Sheâd never met John until they were thrown together in this hell. Theyâd both been kidnapped from separate areas in Mexico. The men whoâd abducted them kept coming and getting John, taking him.
Hurting him.
And she knew her time was coming.
âIâm not ⦠perfect,â Johnâs ragged voice whispered to her. âBut you ⦠you didnât do anything wrong ⦠It was all your father.â
Her father. The not-so-honorable Senator Aaron James. She might not know who had taken her, but once her abductors had started asking their questions, Juliana had figured out fast that the abduction was payback for something the senator had done.
Daddy hadnât raised a fool. Just, apparently, someone to die in his place.
Would he even care when he learned about what had happened to her? Or would he just hold a press conference and look appropriately saddened and grievous in front of all the cameras? She didnât know, and that fact made her stomach knot even more.
Juliana exhaled slowly. âPerfect or not â¦â She didnât know the things that John had done. Right then, they didnât matter. Heâd talked to her when sheâd been trapped in the dark. Heâd kept her sane during all of those long, terrible hours. âWeâre both going to make it out of here.â
His rough laughter called her words a lie.
Sheâd only seen his face a few times, when the light was bright enough in the early mornings. Appearing a bit younger than her own thirty years, John had the dark good looks that had probably gotten him plenty of female attention since he was a teen.
Not now, though.
âDo you have any ⦠regrets?â John asked her. She saw his head tilt toward her as he waited for her response.
Juliana blinked against the tears that wanted to fill her eyes. Regrets? âA few.â One.
A pause. Then âYou ever been in love, Juliana?â
âOnceââ and in the dark, with only death waiting for her, she could admit this painful truth ââbut Logan didnât love me back.â Pity, because sheâd never been able toâ
The hinges on the door groaned as it opened. Juliana tensed, her whole body going tight with fear. John was already swearing, jerking against his binds, but â¦
But the men werenât coming for him this time.
They were coming for her.
Juliana screamed.
LOGAN QUINN FELT A TRICKLE of sweat slide down his back. He didnât move, not so much as a muscle twitch. Heâd been in position for the past forty-three minutes, waiting for the go-ahead to move.
To storm that building and get Julie out of there.
Hold on, baby.
Not that she was his baby. Not anymore. But the minute Senator James had contacted him, asking for his help and the help of his team, Logan had known that trouble, serious trouble, had come to hunt him down.
Julieâs missing. You have to get her back.
That was all it had taken. Two sentences, and Logan had set his team up for a recovery mission in Mexico. His unit, part of the Elite Operations Division, didnât take on just any case.