Operation: Midnight Guardian Read Online Free PDF Page B

the chopper, how did you manage the fire?”
    “I didn’t.” He pulled her to her feet. “What you saw was a smoke grenade. A diversion.”
    No, she thought. He was no ordinary cop. But if he wasn’t a cop what agency was he with? CIA? Homeland Security? She wondered why he had been sent to take her back. Why not local law enforcement? Why not the FBI or the U.S. Marshals Service.
    “Who are you?” she asked.
    “I’m the man who’s going to keep you alive.” His icy blue eyes burned into hers. “Right now, that’s all you need to know.”
     
    THE SON OF A BITCH had beaten him at his own game once again.
    The Jaguar paced the snow-covered ground with the sleek elegance of his namesake. Dark anticipation and a keen sense of unfinished business had him feeling restless and edgy. Not only was Sean Cutter alive, but he was psychologically and physically sound and working for the CIA again. That more than anything surprised The Jaguar. By all rights, the man should be dead. At the very least he should be locked in a padded cell.
    He and the federal agent went way back, but their relationship was far from amicable. Cutter was the only man The Jaguar had not been able to break. Even under torture, the agent had maintained his silence. He’d defied a black art form The Jaguar had made his business and built a reputation upon. The sense of failure had nagged at him for two years. This time, he would make certain Sean Cutter talked, then was tortured and killed.
    Bracing himself against the cold north wind, The Jaguar lit a cigarette and walked to thechopper, where two of his men were working on the engine.
    “What is the status?” he asked.
    “Operable.”
    “Excellent.”
    “The smoke was evidently from a smoke grenade and did little damage to the engine.”
    A diversion, he thought. How very like Sean Cutter… Hatred churned inside him. He looked up at the swirling snow, felt the dark anticipation stir. “Is the chopper equipped with infrared?”
    The other man smiled. “The American government spares no expense when it comes to hunting down those who would question their absolute power.”
    The Jaguar nodded. “I want the scientist and Sean Cutter. I want them alive. And I want them now.”
    “The weather could be a problem.”
    He turned his gaze on the other man. “The last man who questioned my wishes lasted for fourteen hours in my torture chamber. When I tired of his screams I shot him. Perhaps you want to test your endurance?”
    The other man looked away, his Adam’s apple bobbing twice in quick succession. “I am merely looking out for your safety.”
    “That would best be done once we’re airborne.”
    “I understand.”
    The Jaguar scanned the rugged countryside, feeling an uncomfortable urgency to finish what should already have been done. “They couldn’t have gotten far.”
    “Not on foot and in this weather. They have no gear. No weapon or radio.”
    The Jaguar said nothing. But he knew the other man underestimated Sean Cutter. He himself had underestimated the federal agent two years ago. He would not make the same mistake twice.
     
    CUTTER HAD NO PROBLEM with risking his life for the safety and security of the American people. What he didn’t like was the idea of risking his life for the likes of a traitor like Mattie Logan. He had zero tolerance for anyone low enough to betray their country.
    She might look like an angel with her wide eyes and porcelain skin; she might even be one of the most stunning women he’d ever laid eyes on. But physical beauty made no difference to Cutter when it came to treachery.
    He stared at her, keenly aware of her proximity, that she smelled good, that her complexion was as pale and flawless as a child’s. But therewas nothing even remotely childlike about the rest of her. Her eyes were deep and blue and filled with a woman’s secrets. Within their depths he saw the remnants of terror and a jumble of emotions held on a taut rein. Her blond hair was