Hot & Bothered (A Hostile Operations Team Novel - Book 8) Read Online Free PDF Page B

day since then, Ryan had grown angrier and angrier. He felt… betrayed. Used. Cheated on, and that was a ridiculous notion considering they’d only ever been together once.
    But they’d been friends for months, and he’d thought Emily could tell him anything.
    Anything but the fact she was doing something crazy like leaving the country with Ian Black. What if she was fucking Black now? Ryan couldn’t even see straight when he thought like that.
    Colonel Mendez walked in, and everyone in the room shot to attention. He looked them over for a long minute before he spoke.
    “At ease.”
    They sat down again as he went over to the computer console and tapped on some keys. A map of Acamar appeared on the whiteboard hanging on one wall.
    “We’ve just gotten notice that a group of archaeologists working in the Kuma Desert have been taken hostage by a Freedom Force cell. One of the archaeologists is pregnant.”
    “Shit,” someone said.  
    That sentiment was echoed by everyone in the room.
    Mendez stood with hands on hips, looking every bit as angry as a lion with a thorn in his paw.
    “We’ve been tasked with the rescue.” His gaze slid over them, hard, angry, and Ryan knew that something else was coming. Something that none of them was going to like. “Our contact on this mission is an old friend to HOT.”
    Ryan’s gut churned at the twist on the word friend . He didn’t like where this was going. He knew, deep down, the name that Mendez was about to say—and it filled him with a kind of helpless rage he’d never felt before.
    “Ian Black,” Mendez continued, “has an asset inside the Freedom Force cell. He’s getting his information from this asset and passing it through channels. We don’t know where the archaeologists are being held, but once we get boots on the ground in Acamar, we’ll work with Black and his team to locate and extract them.”
    “Can we trust Black’s information, sir?” Fiddler asked.
    It was probably the politest thing anyone could say. Ryan couldn’t form a coherent sentence, much less ask something so nice as whether or not Black could be trusted. As far as he was concerned, Black could never be trusted.
    But he’d gladly take the opportunity to work with the man on this mission. Because once he got Ian Black in his sights, he wouldn’t rest until he knew precisely where Emily was.  
    He glanced at Victoria. Her mouth had flattened, and Brandy had moved closer to her. Yeah, she was pissed as hell at her former boss—and she’d been one of the few people who’d ever defended him.
    Ryan didn’t think she’d defend him now.
    “Victoria, you’re sitting this one out,” Mendez said coolly.  
    It wasn’t unexpected considering the circumstances, but Victoria looked surprised nonetheless.
    “Sir, I can do the job.”
    “I know you can, but I think it’s best if you don’t. You’re emotionally compromised. Your sister went to join Black, and I don’t need to worry about the inevitable explosion when you two meet up again. The hostages are our priority, not a family feud.”
    “Yes, sir,” Victoria said, her voice as tightly controlled as a spring. The fury in her words was unmistakable to anyone who knew her, though. “Does this mean Emily is in Acamar, sir?”
    “Yes. I am assured she’s safe.”
    “And will you bring her home?”
    Mendez’s gaze didn’t falter. “If that’s what she wants, yes.”
    Victoria swallowed and nodded, and Mendez let his gaze slide across everyone there.
    Ryan’s pulse thumped as he waited for the colonel to single him out next. But that would mean Mendez somehow knew about Ryan’s relationship with Emily—and he was pretty certain no one knew. He’d been careful. She’d been careful.  
    Or so he’d always thought.
    Mendez turned back to the screen and called up another slide. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief as the colonel moved on with the planning. He informed them they’d be on a plane tonight and on their way to the