Bare Nerve Read Online Free PDF

are?” Anna asked. She hadn’t softened in the least toward him, which was understandable.
    His hard-on for her hadn’t softened either. He wanted her with an intense desire that took him by surprise. She was nothing like the women he usually spent time with. He would have liked to play it off as nothing more than a sexual itch, but as she wasn’t his usual type of lay, he knew it was more. She was exactly the type of woman he’d always wanted.
    Which made him uncomfortable, so he tried desperately to ignore the images in his head of her naked in that big leather chair.
    “Jack? I asked you a question,” she said, her British accent even sharper than it had been earlier.
    “My men are always ready,” he said. He was trying to give her a little extra room because he would be pissed as hell if his client had suddenly brought in a new team for them to have to work with.
    “Wonderful. Do you require anything from me so they have the mission specs?”
    “I will forward Tommy Lazarus, our comm expert, the information you’ve compiled. And I’ll ask him to send you what we have. I think most of it you already know, but Andreev’s local hangouts in Algiers might not be familiar to you.”
    “We haven’t taken any jobs in Algeria. We tend to work for dignitaries and executives, and that country isn’t exactly welcoming to foreigners,” Anna said.
    “Very true. We can get you up to speed on the country very quickly,” Jack said, surprised she’d admitted to not knowing everything.
    “I know the White City,” she said carefully. Her accent wasn’t as sharp, and neither was her tone. And an emotion he couldn’t define passed behind her eyes.
    “All the better,” Jack said, trying to keep things light and focused on the mission. He didn’t need to know why she’d suddenly turned pale when she’d mentioned the White City…well, he didn’t need to know unless it would affect the mission and his team.
    “When were you last in Algiers?” he asked, trusting his instincts.
    “A lifetime ago,” she said and glanced away as Charity walked over to them.
    He wanted to say the hell with all the other women in the room and pull Anna away so he could find out more about what made her tick.
    Damn, it was a very good thing Kirk wasn’t there, or he’d be giving Jack hell about not focusing on the mission. Never had Jack been tempted to put anything or anyone in front of a mission.
    “Jack, can you give me a minute?” Charity asked. “I need you to show us on the map the different locations Andreev’s known to frequent.”
    Jack stood up and went to the computerized whiteboard that lined another wall. Charity called up a map of Africa. “We can’t enter through Morocco, because that border is closed. I have contacts to help us enter through Tunisia.”
    “That’s okay, Sam will get us through in the most expedient way. It’s nice to know Andreev won’t have the same advantages,” Justine said.
    “But Andreev will more than likely go through Morocco and the mountains,” Jack said.
    “That is true,” Anna said. “We have to remember to think like a criminal if we’re going to catch him.”
    She looked right at him as she made that comment, and Jack realized Anna Sterling didn’t like him or what he did. That pissed him off because he knew he was a necessary evil. The world they lived in was violent and turbulent, and there was always a need for a soldier-for-hire.
    “I’m not a criminal,” Jack said carefully. “My men are highly trained, and we do a job no one else will do. And your boss doesn’t think you’re familiar enough with Algeria to go in on your own,” Jack said.
    “I didn’t mean to imply I thought you were a criminal,” Anna said, looking straight through him. She turned away. “I’m almost done here.”
    “Good. I’m going to the airport unless you need me here. I want to check out Jack’s team,” Justine said.
    “I’ll let them know to expect you,” Jack said.
    “Hold