Locked and Loaded Read Online Free PDF Page B

in a hospital gown in a hallway for five hours? I’m doing it in my clothes. Fast. Only because I love ya, Hank. But you and I both know that the longer I’m here, the harder it’ll be to get back inside without a problem. If you really care about my health, you’ll make sure I can go back to Salazar without raising any suspicions.”
    “All right, all right, I’ll see what I can do.” Hank released a long, weary sigh and sipped his coffee. “You’re gonna make me start smoking again, Wagner, I swear.”
    Sage winked at Hank and then held up the mirror again. She let out a huff of annoyance as she glimpsed her damaged manicure, and then the side of her jaw, and flung the compact on the bed with her purse. “I’ll get a wardrobe change, and will come out of the front door of the boutique with enough bags to justify being AWOL for a couple of hours, and then head to a restaurant. I’ll let Bruno find me there.”
    “And then go lie by the pool or something, Wagner … just take it easy for a day or so.”
    “In there? Take it easy?” She smiled at Hank, and it was a heart-stopper. “I’ll do my best, boss. I promise.”
    “That’s why I don’t want you going back in.” Hank frowned at her, which only made her gorgeous smile get wider.
    “I’m going in, Hank,” she said calmly. “I’ll go lie by a pool and sip a margarita when all these bad guys are dead or behind bars.”
    Agent Jennings ran his fingers through his blond crew cut and looked at Anthony and then at Hank Wilson when Hank handed Sage a cup of coffee. Anthony kept his eyes on Sage. The dynamic was tense, but interesting.
    “Do you really think this is advisable, Wagner? Dan can—”
    “Hank, it’s now or never. My cell phone has been blowing up with calls and text messages from Bruno, Salazar’s head of security at the house. We’re lucky that it took him a couple of hours before he even noticed I was missing. A boat being gone from the marina probably gave it away. But I just sent him a text back that told him to go screw himself after what I saw and heard on the grounds, so he knows I’m fine and thinks I took the boat now … and otherwise believes that I’m just being femininely pissy about the whole dog incident.”
    She smiled at Hank and accepted the coffee, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she glanced at Anthony. “My biggest problem is going to be hiding the bruises. With my luck, Salazar will think I was with some guy who beat me … some type of sick lover’s dispute or jealousy thing that happened because I’m out there two-timing him, and that, more than anything else, is enough to get me killed. But I’ll think of something. I always do.”
    The room remained silent as Sage took the lid off her coffee and sipped it slowly. After a moment she looked up and captured Anthony’s gaze within her own. “We had enough on Salazar to bring him and his brother in a month ago. But then I learned that he was trying to do a deal behind his Colombian supplier’s back. Arturo Guzman isn’t going to be happy when he finds out that our man Salazar cut himself a sweet deal with the Taliban dudes that have ties to Al Qaeda. Salazar isn’t stupid, and he’s been on edge ever since he brokered this new deal.” Sage took another careful sip of her coffee as though considering each word as the strong black fluid washed over her tongue.
    “A nervous man is a dangerous man,” Anthony said, never breaking eye contact with her.
    “Absolutely.”
    Tense silence threaded between them as she pushed off the side of the bed and sauntered to the window. “Here’s the thing. Salazar is an ambitious sonofabitch, so he took the risk. Being wealthy isn’t enough for him—he also wants power. Like government impacting power.”
    She turned and faced them, abandoning her coffee on the windowsill, then crossed her arms. “Salazar wants what Guzman has, the ability to attend state dinners and tell presidents and captains of