Defenseless Read Free Page B

stop spinning. None of this makes any sense. I’ve seen people do way worse than not gather one small piece of information and still be left on the case. Even though this “small” thing is really a large gaping hole, but that’s beside the point. I’ve invested so much time. I know the area, the locals, the entire backstory, and with the help of the ground operative there, I’m so close to figuring out where Mazir is. My asset has been guiding me, which has allowed me to monitor Mazir’s movements. The only thing I can think of is this is either personal or the agency doesn’t want me to uncover something.
    Director Asher and I are going to have a meeting. There’s no way in hell I’ll just go quietly into the dark. My gut tells me there’s way more to this than meets the eye.
    The phone rings at my desk.
    “Hello,” I say, still trying to wrap my mind around being pulled from a case.
    “Charlie?” I recognize the voice instantly. Mark Dixon. As if this day couldn’t get any more complicated.
    “Hello, Mark. What can I possibly do for you?” I smile despite my shit mood. He and I had spent the entire flight home talking. He’s funny, sexy as hell, but more than that, he makes me feel alive—something I haven’t felt a lot since I lost my father. I worked with Mark for a week when we got back from Aaron’s rescue but it yielded nothing. Then I had to leave for Dubai to track an informant, and things returned to life as usual. We met a few times, but since then it hasn’t been anything regular.
    “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to, princess.”
    Good mood gone. “You want your balls in a vice? Call me princess again and see how fast I get to Virginia Beach and you lose them.”
    “You just want to touch my balls,” he retorts. “Besides, maybe that’s my plan. Get you here.”
    “If you had any.” I smirk.
    I picture him leaning back in his chair, longish blonde hair pushed back, scruff painting his face, and his green eyes filled with mischief. Mark Dixon would bring any woman to her knees. Good thing I’m not just any woman. I think about the last time I saw him. It was when he came to DC with Aaron to talk. It’s not normal protocol, but after all Aaron went through, it was important. My handler urged me to help him through it, since no one else really could. It was really the first time I’ve ever had guilt over a mission.
    “Anytime you want to play with my balls, you just call me.”
    “Why did you call me?” I try to bring the conversation back on point. I have no idea what he could need.
    He pauses. “We need your help.”
    That had to take a lot for him to admit. “How so?”
    “Another shipment of ammo was sent to Africa this time. It’s . . . well, missing. I personally set up that transport. I double-checked it. And some of my guys aren’t checking in on another op. Someone is still fucking with us, and I can’t seem to uncover it. Aaron made mention of something, and I thought of you.”
    “I’m sure you think of me more than I think of you.”
    He laughs. “Doubtful. I’m always on your mind.”
    “Anyway,” I draw the word out. “What are you thinking?”
    On the flight back with Aaron, I had overheard them speculating. There were too many variables that all seemed to lead back to the head of the company. Jackson Cole was a good man from what I observed, but red flags were everywhere.
    First, they had issues in Afghanistan, which led to Aaron going there in the first place. Everyone but him was killed when his convoy was attacked. Then, when Jackson and Mark went to assess the incident, they were shot at. Jackson sustained life-threatening injuries and was flown out immediately. However, after following a few leads, nothing ended anywhere solid. Everyone checked out, so we let it go.
    “Aaron mentioned a name,” he says cryptically. “Jackson wants this shit to stop. And to be honest, I do too. It doesn’t make sense, though. I’ve used all my