Dire Distraction Read online

  “Aren’t you worried that I’ll tell someone?”

  “Not particularly,” he said, his tone smug. “You’re more than aware of what would happen if you were to try to bring in outside help.”

  She sighed, knowing there was little point in arguing. Better to play along and keep alert. She needed to talk to Adam. “So who is it you want me to take out?”

  “Spoken like a consummate professional.” He laughed. “The target is an official with the U.N. Blake Dominico.”

  “The U.S. ambassador?” She tried but couldn’t keep the dismay out of her voice. Not only was the man a patriot, he was probably, thanks to his often extreme views on eradicating the country’s enemies, one of the most protected men in the country. “You’re asking the impossible.”

  “That’s why we have you. Your reputation precedes you.”

  “I haven’t been a part of that world in years. And even then I wasn’t operating on my own. I don’t have the resources to pull something like this off by myself.”

  “I think you’re underestimating your abilities, Ms. Gallagher. And besides, you’ve got more resources than you realize. Which is why I want you to go to New York and survey the situation. Then when you’ve come up with a plan, we’ll see that you get whatever it is you need to make it happen.”

  “I’m not sure you have access to the kinds of resources that might be necessary. Blueprints, surveillance equipment, entrance codes, not to mention weaponry. Since 9/11, access to U.N. diplomats has become increasingly difficult. Particularly at the Secretariat.”

  “Yes, but Dominico doesn’t spend every waking hour at the General Assembly. You’ll find a way, Ms. Gallagher. After all, we have Adam. And it would be a shame for his life to end so soon. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Blind rage threatened to overtake all rational thought, but she clenched the phone until the plastic cut into her fingers, the sharp bite of pain pulling her back from the edge. “I won’t do anything more until I see my son. I need to know that he’s okay.” She paused, sucking in a breath of air, as her mind considered the unthinkable. “That he’s still alive.”

  “You’re not really in any position to be making demands,” Rivon said. “But as it happens, we’re prepared for you to speak with your son as soon as we’ve finished here.”

  “So what else do I need to know? You’ve made your objective crystal clear.”

  “I’ll be texting a file with information and final instructions within the hour,” he said, ignoring her open hostility.

  “What about transportation? It’ll be difficult to stay under the radar if I have to use my credit cards.”

  “All of that has been arranged. You’ll receive everything you need.”

  “And if I don’t? How can I contact you?” It was worth a try. A phone number would be the quickest route to tracking him down.

  “You can’t. At least not by any direct method. But again, arrangements have been made, and as I just said, you’ll be apprised of the details very soon.”

  “Whatever,” she said, her impatience growing by the second. “Let me talk to Adam.”

  “As you wish.” The line went dead. And for a moment she panicked, fearing Rivon’s promise had been nothing more than empty words, but two minutes later the phone signaled an incoming video. And holding her breath, Annie waited for the call to connect.

  “Mommy?” Adam’s face swam into view, blurred as much by her tears as by the quality of transmission.

  “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.” She leaned closer to the picture, as if in doing so she could somehow physically connect with her child. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so.” He nodded, his little face looking older than it should. “At first I was really scared. But there’s a nice man here. He has a Wii. And we’ve been playing Super Smash Brothers. It’s really cool.” He paused, his chin quivering. “But I want to come home.”

  “I know, sweetie. And I’m doing everything I can to make that happen.”

  He nodded again. “Come soon, Mommy. Please.”

  Tears ran down her cheeks in earnest, her heart threatening to shatter. “I will, Adam. I promise. And in the meantime, you be brave.”

  “Like Daddy?”

  “Like your daddy.” She nodded, wondering for the millionth time why she’d made the man seem so much larger than life.

  “He was really brave, right?”

  “Yes,” she said, frustration and anger blending with agony. “And so are you. Just hang in there, baby. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” He nodded.

  “Everything’s going to be okay. I swear it is. We’ll be home before you know it.”

  “Can we have hot dogs?”

  Annie felt a bubble of laughter but before she could say anything the screen went blank. Adam was gone.

  “Hello?” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “Adam?”

  “He’s no longer on the line,” a disembodied voice said.

  “When can I talk to him again?” she asked, desperation mixing with dread.

  “When you’ve accomplished your objectives. I need for your focus to be complete.”

  “You have to know that I can’t do anything well, knowing my son is in danger.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a professional, Ms. Gallagher,” the tinny voice said.

  “That was a hell of a long time ago.”

  “Just get the job done.” The connection went dead and Annie stood staring down at the phone. For one second, she considered forsaking common sense and calling in help. She and Nash might be estranged, but he’d never let her hang in the wind. Especially if he grasped the true significance of the situation. Even as she had the thought, she rejected it. She’d reached out to him once before, and he’d turned her down flat.

  And besides, even if for some reason he did agree to help, she still didn’t trust the CIA. At least not with her son. His death would be viewed as nothing more than collateral damage, the primary objective being to take out the threat, no matter the cost.

  No. She couldn’t risk asking for help. Nash was a Company man to the core. He’d proven that in no uncertain terms eight years ago. Which meant she was in this alone. And she’d find a way to save her son. Even if it meant killing an innocent man.

  About the Author

  Bestselling author Dee Davis worked in association management before turning her hand to writing. Her highly acclaimed first novel, Everything in Its Time, was published in July 2000. Since then, among others, she's won the Booksellers’ Best, Golden Leaf, Texas Gold, and Prism awards, and been nominated for the National Readers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion Award, and two RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards. When not sitting at the computer writing, she spends her time exploring Manhattan with her husband, daughter, and Cardigan Welsh corgi.

  You can learn more at:

  DeeDavis.com

  Twitter @deedavis

  Facebook.com/deedavisbooks

  Also by Dee Davis

  The A-Tac Novels

  Dark Deceptions

  Dangerous Desires

  Desperate Deeds

  Daring (novella)

  Deep Disclosure

  Deadly Dance

  Double Danger

  Don’t miss Dee Davis’s bestselling A-Tac series.

  Covert operations expert Nash Brennon has spent the last eight years trying to forget Annie Gallagher, his former field partner and the only woman he ever loved. Annie betrayed him when he needed her most, then vanished without a trace. Now suddenly she's back in the game—this time as a suspected traitor and threat to national security.

  Annie’s son has been kidnapped by political terrorists. The price for his life? Assassinate a UN ambassador. When Nash and his group find her, the smoldering passion between Annie and the man she swore she’d never contact again blazes out of control. But can Nash trust her? The stakes couldn’t be higher: their enemy’s endgame is personal, and one false move could cost them their lives.<
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  * * *

  Stranded in the Colombian jungle after a mission goes bad, Drake has only one objective: evade the mercenaries hot on his trail and deliver “the package” to U.S. officials. But “the package” has a mind of her own, and she has no intention of trading one set of captors for another. Madeline Reynard is beautiful, headstrong, and hell-bent on escape after years as a crime lord's pawn. She'll risk everything for freedom, even if it means deceiving the dark, handsome operative who now holds her life in his hands.

  Drake has been burned too many times to let a woman manipulate him, especially a secretive one like Madeline. Even so, they cannot deny the attraction between them. Now, as enemy forces close in, Drake and Madeline must trust each other with their lives—or face certain death.

  * * *

  When Tyler meets Owen Wakefield, a handsome British operative, she seduces him with no intention of ever seeing him again. But then the sexy Brit is brought into A-Tac, and despite Tyler’s efforts to keep her distance, she finds herself falling for him. Trusting him.

  Owen seems too good to be true—and he is. He’s hiding his true motives and identity, and no matter how he feels about Tyler, he can’t keep her secrets. One of A-Tac’s members has turned traitor and helped terrorists to hijack a shipment of nuclear weapons. As witnesses start dying and evidence starts disappearing, Owen and Tyler must race to find the mole—and prevent a final, cataclysmic act of destruction.

  * * *

  Lara thought working a world away would heal her. Yet volunteering to treat the sick and injured in revolution-torn central Africa can’t stop the shattering memories of losing the man she loved. A night with sexy security officer Rafe Winters seems the perfect temporary escape—until insurgents attack her clinic and Rafe becomes her only way to survive…

  Rafe knows all too well that this beautiful young doctor is the insurgents’ real target: her knowledge of America's espionage system makes her a valuable prize. Helping her flee jeopardizes his hidden agenda—but her unexpected trust in him sparks a desire to protect her that he can’t ignore. Now as their merciless pursuers close in, Rafe and Lara’s only chance for escape will put everything they’ve sworn to protect—and their newfound love—on the line…

  * * *

  When Tucker is assigned to protect—and secretly investigate—Alexis Markham, he expects a routine mission. But this mysterious beauty has a past even darker than his: her father created a horrifying new biochemical weapon—and was murdered to keep it secret.

  Alexis has spent the last decade racing to stay one step ahead of the shadowy operatives who will stop at nothing to possess her father’s formula. She can trust no one, not even her handsome new bodyguard. But the heat that flares between them is impossible to resist. Will giving in to passion bring her the safety she’s always craved, or will her love for Tucker draw him into a killer’s sights?

  * * *

  After the death of her A-Tac partner, Hannah doubts everything she thought she knew about love and loyalty. When handsome Harrison Blake joins the team, she’s reluctant to trust him—or to act on her intense attraction to him. Then Hannah receives a podcast of a gruesome murder, and the only person who can help her find the killer is Harrison.

  Harrison has spent years trying to hunt down the cunning monster who killed his sister. Now investigating with Hannah, he faces a shocking possibility—his sister's murderer has resurfaced. As the danger escalates, Hannah and Harrison grow closer, the desire simmering between them ignites. And when Hannah disappears, Harrison has only one chance to save the woman he loves.

  * * *

  Ignoring his instincts once cost Simon a vital op—and the life of his best friend, Ryan. Now as escalating, violent attacks hit A-Tac, another person he loves is in danger. Homeland Security agent Jillian Montgomery’s investigation has suddenly brought her back into Simon’s life, and unless they can learn to trust each other, their dangerous mission will fail.

  After her husband Ryan’s death, Jillian dedicates herself to saving others. She can’t afford to be tempted by Simon, even though his every touch reignites the desire they once shared. But in the last desperate minutes before disaster strikes, their second chance at love might be the most lethal trap of all…

  Looking for more great digital reads? We’ve got you covered!

  Now Available from Forever Yours

  After a fire consumes the Ellis family fortune, the beautiful and resourceful Miranda finds herself faced with an impossible dilemma: enter a life of petty crime or watch her family succumb to poverty. But once her fiancé learns of her descent into danger—and of the strange, new powers she’s discovered—saving her family may come at the high price of her heart.

  When Lord Benjamin Archer’s one chance for redemption is destroyed by corrupt London antiquarian Hector Ellis, he vows to take what Ellis values most—his daughter Miranda. Forced to hide his face behind masks, Archer travels the world hoping to escape the curse that plagues him so that he can finally claim his prize.

  But once Archer returns home to London, will it be revenge he seeks? Or will the flame-haired beauty ignite new, undeniable desires?

  * * *

  Dear Reader,

  My boy Stone has always been the quiet one in the family, but now he’s got the whole town talking. He and his long-time sweetheart Sharon are crazy about each other, but suddenly they can’t see eye to eye on their future. Sharon thought they were going to go to college, then get married. But Stone had other plans—plans he didn’t share with anyone.

  So it looks like our resident matchmaker Miriam is going to be wrong for the first time ever. She swears Sharon and Stone are true soul mates. Well, I think between the broken promises and Sharon’s meddling mother, these two kids are going to need a miracle to make it down the aisle…

  There’s Arlene—I just need to finish her trim and then I can head over to the Watermelon Festival. Be sure to stop back by the Cut ’n’ Curl for hot rollers, free coffee—and the best gossip in town.

  See you real soon,

  Ruby Rhodes

  * * *

  Since the accident that nearly took her life, Chloe suffers from acute agoraphobia. Living alone above her family’s bookstore, she spends restless nights terrified by strange visions…until a mysterious stranger appears and offers her salvation. Chloe is drawn to the ethereal, gorgeous Nathaniel—but her haunted soul warns her there is more to him than meets the eye.

  An archangel who roams Earth collecting souls of the newly departed, Nathanial is the sole witness to the accident that should have taken Chloe’s life. Seduced by the purity of her soul, he defies Providence by saving her life. But his attempt at kindness marks Chloe for damnation, and makes her an unwitting pawn in a game of unholy ambition. Now together they must fight the demons of Hell itself—for a love that defies the boundaries of Heaven and Earth.

  * * *

  As the Collegium council’s top sheriff of the southeastern United States, Valeria Banning doesn’t just take her job seriously, she takes it personally. So when a notorious traitor wanted by the authorities suddenly risks his life to save hers, she has to wonder why.

  As a mage, Griffin is sworn to protect innocents from dark magic, which is how he finds himself fighting side by side with the beautiful Valeria Banning. But when the council finds out the two have been working together, they’re both left running for their lives—from the law, the threat of a ghoul takeover, and a possible Collegium mole.

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  For more about this book and author, visit Bookish.com.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2<
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  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  A Preview of Dark Deceptions

  About the Author

  Also by Dee Davis

  You Might Also Like...

  Newsletters

  Copyright

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2013 by Dee Davis Oberwetter

  Excerpt from Dark Deceptions copyright © 2010 by Dee Davis Oberwetter

  Cover design by Diane Luger. Cover copyright © 2013 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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