Deceived Read Free Page A

you know about him?”
    â€œI don’t,” Luke assured her. “Your dad said they’d be coming for Elijah.”
    â€œWhy would they want Eli?” Maddie breathed, clearly confused. “He’s just a kid.”
    â€œI thought he’d be safe,” Blake murmured. “I didn’t think they’d ever find out where I’d hidden it. . . .”
    â€œHidden what?” Maddie pressed. “Dad, what did you hide?” When the senator didn’t respond, her gaze darted between Jack and Luke. “What does he mean?”
    Jack shook his head. “No idea, love. There are only a handful of people in the Alliance who know anything about where the treasures are hidden—the highest-ranking commanders and a few trusted confreres . None of the rest of us know anything about where or how they’re hidden.”
    Luke ran a hand through his thick black hair and muttered a curse. “Well, apparently our pal Hal thought he could trust a fucking kid with the information.”
    â€œHey!” Maddie snapped. “How dare you—”
    â€œHe’s right, Maddie,” Jack interjected mildly, cutting across her anger. “I don’t know what your father was thinking, love. He completely disregarded protocol and has jeopardized us all. Hal isn’t privy just to the treasures but to our covers, current ops—perhaps even private residences. We know a Guardian will transfer his knowledge of the treasures, but he could’ve shared the other information as well.”
    â€œA lot of guys could die if we don’t get a lid on this and fast,” Luke added.
    â€œDad would never put anyone at risk unnecessarily,” Maddie insisted.
    â€œThen we need to get to your nephew before anyone else does,” Luke told her. “Where is he?”
    Maddie sent a guarded glance in her father’s direction, her eyes brimming with tears as he slipped into unconsciousness. “They’re in a little town in Oregon about seven hours from here.”
    Luke nodded. “I’ll call it in,” he announced, fishing his cell phone out of his jacket pocket.
    â€œLet me,” Jack insisted. “I’ll report in after we get Hal to the hospital, let Will know what’s going on.”
    Luke met Jack’s gaze again in the rearview mirror, noticing his brother-in-arms’ guilty expression, wondering why the hell he wasn’t willing to immediately call in their redefined objective to their commander. There was only one reason he could think of. “Commander Asher doesn’t know what we’re up to, does he?”
    â€œIt’s my fault,” Maddie defended. “I asked my dad to procure Jack’s help under the radar. I’m sorry—I had no idea it would go down like this.”
    Luke chuckled bitterly as he pulled a hand over his face, working to keep his anger in check. This was fucking awesome. He’d just gotten his ass shot at as a personal favor to Jack’s . . . whatever .
    â€œWe’ll need guards on the senator,” Jack informed him. “And Maddie isn’t safe either. We’ll need to get them both back to headquarters in Chicago. I’ll handle things here until we can move them.”
    â€œAnd the kid and his parents?” Luke prompted, already guessing at the answer.
    Jack shifted a little in the front seat. “I’m going to need you to bring them into protective custody.”
    â€œIt’s only Sarah and Eli,” Maddie added. “Sarah’s husband was killed in a car accident three years ago.”
    Luke clenched his jaw, not liking this plan one damned bit. “This is more Ian’s thing, brother,” he pointed out to Jack, referring to Ian Cooper, another of his brethren who was a former U.S. Marshal and had a personality far better suited to babysitting duty.
    â€œIan’s on his way back from the Sudan, and you bloody well know it,” Jack