The Shaughnessey Accord Read Online Free PDF Page B

She still held the cable he'd handed her, though at some point she'd stopped tapping out the SOS. It was good enough. One of his partners would eventually notice the problem with the Brighton feed.
    Once they rewound the tape to find out when what had gone down, they'd devise a rescue plan in a hurry. But he couldn't wait around for any of that to happen. He wanted Glory safely out of here now. Even if he had to rely solely on himself.
    He took the cable from her hands, moved her to the same spot she'd stood in before, before when he'd kissed her, when he'd made her come with his hand. "I want you out of sight in case anyone comes charging through the door."
    "You want me to stay put, you mean."
    "If something happens to you, I'll never forgive myself for not gorging on dessert when I had the chance."
    She blinked hard to keep away the tears. "You are so not funny, Shaughnessey ."
    "No, but you're crazy about me anyway."
    "Don't count on it."
    "I've been counting on it for weeks already," he said with a wink. And then he sobered. "I need to find out what's happening. I don't want to put you in more danger than you already are, but I have to do this."
    "Do what?" she pleaded in a whisper. "Why don't you just let the police handle it? I think we're safe. No one knows we're here."
    "It won't take them five seconds to find out. I'd like to know who we're dealing with here should that happen."
    "We're not dealing with anyone, Tripp. Please let the police handle it. This is what they're trained to do."
    What was he going to tell her? That he didn't trust the police? That he was better trained than the good guys on the bullhorn but he wouldn't know about the bad guys until he took a closer look?
    He finally asked her to simply, "Trust me? I'm not going to do anything stupid."
    She gave him a look in return that said she wouldn't trust him half as far as Gary Sheffield could throw a baseball. So he held her fingers in his, brought them to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. Then he gave her a grin meant to tell her to leave all the worry to him.
    He took his time cracking the door open again. The sleeve and ski mask obviously belonged to a lookout. The shop's back hallway was only accessible by those already in the shop or those using the alley's door. Meaning, whoever was making demands inside wanted new arrivals kept out and everyone else kept in place.
    He took a deep breath, not sure if he was tamping down or revving up the adrenaline, nodded at Glory, and that was it. He pulled open the door. One long step into the hallway. A hand clamped over the guard's mouth. Pressure applied to a point just below his carotid.
    The man was dead to the world from the choke hold before he even knew what hit him. And deader than deadweight as Tripp dragged him into the storeroom. Glory eased the door closed behind them. No more than a few seconds had passed. No real noise made. Tripp planted a knee in the small of the man's back.
    He didn't bother with the ski mask yet but emptied all the pockets, finding the two things he'd most wanted to find. A 9mm Beretta and a cell phone.
    He tucked the gun into his waistband, punched a number into the phone that no government agency would ever be able to trace, and once connected said, " Shaughnessey ."
    Several minutes later, a computerized voice replied, "Thank you," signaling that his location had been made.

Five

    Once the biometric sensor read the scan of Julian Samms's thumbprint, the ops center's door slid open. He stepped out of the safety vestibule and into the cavernous room, the hub of SG-5's activities.
    Christian and Kelly John both looked up. One nodded. One lifted a hand in greeting. Tripp wasn't anywhere to be seen. Eli McKenzie, the fifth member of the original team, had recently returned to the field in Mexico, having recovered from a nasty—and suspicious—poisoning.
    "Where's Shaughnessey ?" Julian asked, heading for his own desk to download the files he'd need in Miami where he was