Stone Cold Heart Read Free

television in the corner and turned up the sound. "He's already been briefed."
    Temporary guy? Who was Colin Davies? And why hadn't she ever met him? And how did a new guy get in charge over Keisha? However, Keisha didn't look pissed. Surprising.
    "Once you get on island, he'll assess the situation and give you orders," Jack said. "And you'll follow."
    Keisha was frowning as if she’d like to argue about something.
    "Are you sure she's ready?" If it had been anyone but Riley asking, it would have likely gotten Jess's back up, but she knew he didn't doubt her abilities, he just wanted to make sure she would be safe.
    "She's ready." Jack aimed another slow measuring look, this time at Jess. The shadows in the swirls of his green and gold eyes, which changed colors depending on his mood, seemed vaguely threatening. Threatening? She was imagining things.
    Jack finally said, "We need her."
    Both Connor and Riley tensed subtly. Not wanting to jeopardize her opportunity, Jess nodded confidently. But inside she wondered...what had that little flicker been all about? What wasn't he telling her?

Three
    42 hours earlier
     
    The chopper's rotor blades swirled, trying to suck her into the updraft, as the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea-King flown by the U.S. Marine Corps lifted up and away. Jess was surprised GHR had been able to use military resources to get them onto this ship but she wasn't about to ask Keisha how GHR made that happen. She'd save that question for her big brother when she got home.
    The ship's engines ground beneath her feet with a subtle chug and her stomach let her know she wasn't on land. Beside Jess, Keisha staggered and nearly fell. Not so perfect. As Jess managed to keep her sea legs, a little zing of triumph zipped through her.
    Spotlights illuminated the LZ in blinding relief and cast the surrounding deck in darkness. A shadow detached from the murky side of the command tower. The silhouette was male. A little over six feet, lean, graceful, with something familiar in his movement as he sauntered toward them.
    The glow from the landing pad bled over his features as he drew near. And when his face was revealed, her brain processed details. The arch of his brow, the almost aristocratic cheekbones, the sensual lips and windswept light brown hair. She'd barely slept in the last thirty hours which is why her brain didn't make the leap at first. But...she knew this guy.
    Intimately.
    His name hadn't been Colin when she'd had sex with him. It had been Niles. A stuffy name for a very not stuffy guy. Of course, they hadn't exchanged last names so he likely didn't know her last name was Stone. The sex had been smoking hot and a little too intimate for her comfort.
    As a result, the last time she'd seen him, she'd been sneaking out of his hotel room at five in the morning, in a very small, very clingy little black dress, shoes dangling from two fingertips, after a particularly stressful op had almost gone totally south. As in dead south.
    Jess's gaze narrowed in on his face, watching his eyes, difficult in the encroaching darkness. He faltered, so briefly that if she hadn't expressly been watching, she'd have missed it.
    Motor oil and sea water mixed in the air as the whup-whup-whup of the helo's blades faded into the distance.
    Without acknowledging any recognition, the new guy leaned down and grabbed the two extra duffels she and Keisha had brought. He jerked his head toward the door to the bunking quarters. They had several hours until the ship reached the island. It certainly seemed as if he didn't plan on discussing old times. So that's how this was going to play out.
    Fine.
    Of course, she looked a little different now. She'd changed her hair color, again. Now she had ribbons of blond and brown and mahogany. When they'd met before she'd had auburn hair. So maybe he really didn't recognize her.
    Her heart thumped in anticipation as she realized she was about to be a part of her first humanitarian mission. After years of working