The Mercenary Read Online Free PDF

she was telling him.
    “It’s nice to know you have such a good command of the English language, Miss Jones.
    You got it in
    one. Your brother was/is a good operative, and like all good operatives, he went in knowing the odds
    and the consequences.”
    Her heart was beating much too fast. He couldn’t refuse, he just could not refuse. “But you thought he
    was dead. Now that you know that he isn’t—”
    “Makes absolutely no difference. I told you. I don’t work for T-FLAC any longer. I don’t have access
    to any intel. And even if I did—”
    “What kind of man are you? They’retorturing him. How can you just stand there so complacently and
    not care? Even if youdon’t work for them anymore, you still have the experience, the skills, the contacts,
    don’t you?”
    One moment he was completely relaxed, the next he was right in her face. “‘No’ is a complete sentence.
    Want me to spell it out for you?”
    A tidal wave of panic threatened to drown her. Her knees locked and her insides did somersaults at his
    nearness. Lord he was big. Big and mean looking, long hair and earring notwithstanding.
    The muscles in
    her stomach constricted as if she could at least draw that small part of herself away from the
    overwhelming menace of him. His whisky-scented breath was hot on her face, animosity radiated off him
    like a force field. She’d give everything she owned to have that much confidence. That much power.
    Not particularly brave or adventurous in the first place, she’d been running on sheer nerves and bravado
    for days.
    “This ranch is the only thing that keeps me marginally sane and reminds me I’m still part of the human
    race,” he told her grimly. “Just because your brother gave you my name does not give you the right to
    barge into my home and demand anything. Got that?” He was so close, Tory could see the pale squint lines beside his eyes and smell the faint scent of soap on
    his skin. The fiery heat of his body, so close to hers, made her dizzy. She flinched, her trembling fingers
    touching her throat as he looked down at her, his eyes narrowed and hard.
    When she remained mute he said softly, “I spent almost half my life in hell so that people like you can
    sleep safe and sound in their beds at night. I’m just not interested anymore in saving a damsel in distress,
    whatever her problem.”
    His words stunned her. Alex had called this man the best friend he’d ever had. “You heartless son of
    a—I can’t believe that anyone could be so—so unfeeling.Alex thinks of you as a close friend.”
    “In this business I don’t have any friends.”
    “I can certainly see why. With a friend like you, who needs enemies?” Okay. That was probablynot the
    way to get this cold-eyed man motivated.
    Tory felt the wild thundering of her pulse and swallowed hard. Her eyes focused on the subtle plaid of
    the wallpaper and for several seconds she counted the horizontal lines. She wasn’t up to his sparring
    weight. Not tonight at any rate. She knew she wouldn’t be up to his weight even if shewere in tip-top
    physical condition. Which she wasn’t at the moment. She was beyond exhausted, out of her mind with
    worry. And flat-out terrified.
    None of that mattered. She couldn’t fail Alex. No matter how tough, how mean, how unmotivated this
    man was, she had to get through to him. Tonight.
    This was the only shot she had.
    “That leaves me with only two choices.”
    “I can assure you, I don’t want to know what they are. Time for you to leave. I’ll give you directions to
    the local Motel 6 if you like.”
    “One,” she said firmly, ignoring him as best she could. “I can go back again, and try to find him by
    myself…”
    His laugh sounded rusty and not terribly amused. “How’d that work for you the first time around? If you
    could have gotten him out, you wouldn’t be here now.”
    “Two,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I can go into town and talk to the nice people at