Princess Read Free Page A

office?”
    Hawk shook his head once.
    “Did Isaacson send you?” Her voice was squeaky and tight.
    He filed the names away in his memory on the slim chance she had revealed two of her contacts. He decided the greed angle would work best, and he was about to offer her triple what the others were paying, when he noticed a container leaning against the corner of the bed. Made of reinforced mesh with heavy black nylon straps, it resembled the carriers used for medium-size dogs.
    Or for a priceless, genetically engineered government lab animal.
    Hawk checked the floor. There was no sign of movement, but a smart operative would have hidden the animal immediately.
    Outside in the night, lightning cracked and wind hurled itself against the small balcony. Hawk decided it was time for answers. “Where did you hide it?”
    Her eyes widened. Then she dug her nails into his shoulders and began to scream.
    Hawk cut her off with one hand clamped across her mouth. He was cold, wet and disgusted. His ribs hurt, his mood was getting nastier by the second and he wasn’t inclined to be patient.
    He turned her slowly so that he could check the whole floor behind the bed, conscious of his orders to guard the missing animal at all cost. As a SEAL, he was fully prepared to give his life to guarantee that safety. Anyone who got in his way would be immobilized, male or female.
    Something stabbed him hard in his side, just below his ribs. He grunted at the sudden wave of pain burning from his old wound. His hand loosened slightly, and in a second she shot past him. She was struggling with the front door when Hawk spun her around and shoved her against the wall beside the open door.
    “Where is it?” he growled.
    She didn’t answer, fighting furiously.
    “Where did you put it?”
    “Where did I put what? When I tell Isaacson about this, you’ll be fired. I don’t care about the deadline or any other instructions they gave you.”
    So she knew about the deadline to recover the animal?
    But there was something too pat about the explanation.
    Hawk scowled as she managed to wedge one bare foot in the open door. Down the hall two men emerged from the elevator, and any minute the damned female was going to create a scene, which was the last thing the government needed.
    “Move your foot out of the doorway.” His arm circled her throat to keep her from screaming. “Otherwise, I start breaking small bones.”
    She paid no attention. Her towel slipped as she fought back wildly, slamming him in the ribs with her fist.
    So she’d been briefed on his weak points.
    “Two can play dirty, honey.” His arm tightened, cutting off her air while he held her in place with his body. But her foot was still wedged in the open door, and the two men were getting closer.
    “I’m just—doing—what they pay me to do.” The words were a hoarse whisper.
    “So were the Nazi death squads, honey.”
    She was bordering on hysteria now, thrashing wildly. Hawk knew his options were dwindling fast.
    That left him one choice.
    His fingers feathered along her collarbone, fast and expert. They tightened sharply until she stopped fighting.
    Five seconds later she was sliding down the wall into his arms, out cold.

chapter 2
    H awk opened the bedroom door silently. It was still early and Elena Grimaldi was out cold where he had left her on the bed. As a precaution he had clipped her wrist in a plastic hand restraint, which he attached to the head of the bed. No running away for this Mata Hari.
    With his intruder immobilized, Hawk pulled a laptop from his backpack and set it up to download his digital photos from the cliffs. While the photographs loaded, he stripped off his muddy clothes and took a two-minute shower, alert for any noises from the bedroom. Not that it mattered, because the lady was going nowhere.
    After his shower, he checked on her again, but Elena Grimaldi slept on, one foot dangling from the bed. Quickly he rebandaged his ribs and then inspected the