Kay Hooper - Shades of Gray

Contents

Devastatingly good-looking and charismatic ruler Andres Sereno was ruthless when it came to his island of Kadeira--and to the safety of Sara Marsh. Abducting her was the only way he knew to keep her from his enemies--and the only chance he had to make her admit her love for him. Overwhelmed by his driven hunger, his urgent need, Sara could no more resist Andres than she could resist the next beat of her heart but nothing in her life had prepared her for loving a man with darkness in his soul and danger in his blood. Adrift in a sudden storm with no safe harbour in sight, Sara had met her destiny but could she burn all her bridges except the one between her and the fierce warrior whose untamed passion held her heart captive? Andres tried to shield her from his violent side, but Sara knew the cost: before she could surrender to the primitive force of their desire, she'd have to walk through fire and learn her own strength. Was this love the dream worth risking everything for?

Hagen looked up, honestly surprised for one of the few times in his checkered career. Raven Long had just strolled into his office with the very large and very menacing Zach Steele behind her.

"Hi," she said casually.

Glowering, Hagen responded by demanding, "How did you get into this building?"

Raven shook her head in gentle pity as she settled a hip on the corner of Hagen's desk. "You really should get out more, you know. It's getting awfully easy to catch you off guard."

He ignored that. Splendidly. "I asked you a question."

Smiling, she jerked a thumb over her shoulder at her companion. "Zach's very good at things like that. You said so yourself."

Hagen stared at the big man who was Chief of Security for Long Enterprises and also was quite possibly one of the top three security experts in the world. And since Zach Steele was such an expert, Hagen knew full well how capable he was at breaching other people's security systems especially when Josh Long or his wife. Raven, former agent, required such a breach.

"Breaching the security of a federal building," Hagen said rather mildly, "is a federal offense, Mr. Steele."

"So it is," Zach agreed in his deep, soft voice, his gray eyes serene.

Hagen sighed. "Well, you're here." He looked at Raven with disfavor. "What do you want?"

She looked over her shoulder at Zach. "He still has the power to amaze me. He ropes innocent citizens into his nefarious plots, unethically, if not illegally, swearing them in as temporary agents and using them shamefully, and he has the nerve, the absolute gall, to ask what we want. Amazing."

Hagen didn't rise to the bait. "I'm waiting."

In a wistful tone Zach said to Raven, "One of these days he's going to get what's coming to him. And I want to be there."

Raven sighed an agreement, then returned her gaze to her former boss. Her merry violet eyes became abruptly hard. "Leave Sara Marsh alone," she said gently.

Hagen didn't bat an eye. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do. Or has your memory slipped with the passing years? A couple of years ago Sara Marsh left Kadeira and Andres Sereno; a few months after that you sent Rafferty and Sarah Lewis down there to get Kelsey out of jail. Remember now?"

Hagen smiled like a shark. "Now that you mention it, I do. But I fail to see"

"A few weeks ago," Raven went on flatly, interrupting him without compunction, "there was an attempt to kidnap Sara Marsh. Luckily she has good instincts, and managed to slip out while her would-be abductors were slipping in. She was in touch with our Sarah for a while, but in losing your goons, she lost us too. Unfortunately she doesn't know us well enough to trust that we're entirely on her side. But you know that. And just as soon as we manage to locate her, we'll help her to hide where you'll never find her."

Hagen's smile slipped a notch. "That's a serious accusation. Raven," he said sternly.

"Isn't it?" she agreed cordially. "And kidnapping is still, I believe, a federal offense. Even more of an offense in this case because Sara was to be snatched for the express purpose of transporting her to Kadeira, which is the last place on earth she would choose to be, as her past actions amply demonstrate. Now she's being hunted. Since when have agents of the U.S. government decided to kidnap citizens on the orders of Andres Sereno? Or have you taken up pimping these days?"

It was an uncharacteristically harsh question coming from Raven, and Hagen's smile faded entirely. His pink Cupid's face hardened, and his pouty lips firmed into a straight line. After a long moment he said irritably, "You're being naive. And while we're on the subject, just what right did you and your colleagues have to help Derek Ross enrage an unstable Middle Eastern dictator a few weeks ago?"

Without hesitation she said, "The right as citizens to fight traitors. Now let's hear your answer."

He met her gaze solidly. "I, Mrs. Long, have the right and the duty as a government agent to exercise those powers granted to me by my commander in chief."

"Lot of that going around these days," Zach murmured.

Raven made a rude sound. "Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Sereno couldn't find Sara, so he called in a favor from you. And now you're planning to send her to Kadeira, even though she doesn't want to go."

"Someone else," Hagen said, "owes President Sereno a favor, if I recall correctly."

Readily she said, "Josh does. But you'll notice Sereno didn't ask Josh to kidnap Sarabecause he knew that favor would be refused. Instead he asked you. And we all know you're capable of anything."

"You're out of line," Hagen said in a stony voice.

"So are you! We fought for years, you and I, to break white slavery rings; what in the name of hell do you think this is? She doesn't want to go back there, Hagen, and if that man really loved her, he wouldn't try to force her." Raven drew a deep breath. "So we're here to warn you. If we find out Sara Marsh has been taken to Kadeira against her will, we'll break the story to the press and get it worldwide coverage."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Hagen said mildly enough. "A new extradition treaty with Kadeira is about to be announced. It is perfectly legal to extradite criminals."

Raven slid off the desk and straightened up slowly. Her face was still, her eyes cold. "You bastard."

He smiled.

"That poor girl never broke a law in her life not here, and not on Kadeira!" Raven snapped.

"It's on the record," Hagen said. Or will be by the time anyone checks, he amended silently.

Without another word Raven swung around and strode from the office with Zach. And Hagen barely caught her fierce statement to the big man.

"We've got to find Sara before he does."

Hagen looked at the brass ashtray on his desk, which contained a tiny pile of ashes; he had burned a message slip just before his visitors had arrived. "Too late," he murmured to himself. And then, to the empty office, he made a statement that none of his staff, past or present, would have believed.

"I've made a mistake."

She was too angry to be afraid. The injection they'd given her had acted quickly, and she was hardly surprised to awaken in the small cabin of a boat. She held her aching head with one hand and sat up on the bunk, gazing out the porthole at the open sea. That also didn't surprise her. It was sometime around mid-afternoon, she guessed. The day after the afternoon they'd shanghaied her. She'd slept a long time.

And she didn't have to look at a map to know that she was somewhere off the northern coast of South America.

They hadn't hurt her. In fact, her kidnappers had sustained considerable damage themselves from her struggles, because they'd been taking great pains not to hurt her. And she understood why, of course.