The Spy Who Saved Christmas
“They’re my boys, too, Lara.”
“We’ll get them back tonight, right? And then this will all be over and everything will go back to the way it was before.”
The way it was before.
Her and the boys in one place and him living a fake life somewhere far away, deep undercover. “Sure.”
She gave him a smile that warmed his heart. “We make a good team, don’t we?” There was something in her eyes…
He knew without a doubt that danger lay ahead for both of them. They couldn’t pretend that if they gave into temptation, it would lead somewhere this time.
“What we have here…” He paused. “Don’t overestimate it, okay?” He was warning her off, even though he wanted nothing more than to kiss her. “To get those boys back, you would have teamed up with the devil.”
“Maybe I did.”
DANA MARTON
THE SPY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dana Marton is the author of more than a dozen fast-paced, action-adventure romantic suspense novels and a winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. She loves writing books of international intrigue, filled with dangerous plots that try her tough-as-nails heroes and the special women they fall in love with. Her books have been published in seven languages in eleven countries around the world. When not writing or reading, she loves to browse antiques shops and enjoys working in her sizable flower garden, where she searches for “bad” bugs with the skills of a superspy and vanquishes them with the agility of a commando soldier. Every day in her garden is a thriller. To find more information on her books, please visit www.danamarton.com. She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Books by Dana Marton
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
806—SHADOW SOLDIER
821—SECRET SOLDIER
859—THE SHEIK’S SAFETY
875—CAMOUFLAGE HEART
902—ROGUE SOLDIER
917—PROTECTIVE MEASURES
933—BRIDAL OP
962—UNDERCOVER SHEIK
985—SECRET CONTRACT
*
991—IRONCLAD COVER
*
1007—MY BODYGUARD
*
1013—INTIMATE DETAILS
*
1039—SHEIK SEDUCTION
1055—72 HOURS
1085—SHEIK PROTECTOR
1105—TALL, DARK AND LETHAL
1121—DESERT ICE DADDY
1136—SAVED BY THE MONARCH
†
1142—ROYAL PROTOCOL
†
1179—THE SOCIALITE AND THE BODYGUARD
1206—STRANDED WITH THE PRINCE
†
1212—ROYAL CAPTIVE
†
1235—THE SPY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Reid Graham
—A lone-wolf commando soldier, on loan from the SDDU to the FBI. Reid became the best by making sure he had nothing to lose. When his past rises up and suddenly there’s more at stake than he could have ever imagined, it might just be his undoing.
Lara Jordan
—When a domestic terrorist cell kidnaps her twin sons, she has no one to turn to but Reid, a man whose secret life she’s only beginning to understand. He’s clear about one thing—when the mission is over, he’ll leave again. The smartest thing she can do is make sure she
doesn’t
fall in love with him.
Kenny Briggs
—Moving up in the ranks of the cell, Kenny wants to take down the government as badly as he wants to avenge his father’s death. And he has the full support of his family.
Joey Briggs
—The middle brother, Joey, is fully on board with their plans, and his past experience with demolitions should come in handy.
Jimmy Sparks
—Is he simply another member of the group, or is he something more?
Cade Palmer
—Retired SDDU soldier, Cade is at the right place at the right time to help Reid.
Colonel Wilson
—Head of the Special Designation Defense Unit.
SDDU
—Special Designation Defense Unit, a top-secret military team established to fight terrorism. Its existence is known by only a select few. Members are recruited from the best of the best.
Contents
His hands were stained and rough-skinned. Large. They were the hands that testosterone hath made, she would think later, when she could think. His grip was all male and possessive. His fingers dug into the pale skin at her hips.
Something in her responded to him.
Everything
in her responded to him.
“You have that wild streak of your grandmother’s, Lara Jordan.” Her mother had poured her disapproval on Lara every chance she got. “Mark my words, girls like you come to a bad end,” she used to say, then would add with a disgusted glare, “every time.”
Lara had fought that parental prejudice all her life, only to realize now that her mother had been right. At the urging of the man who was kissing all common sense from her, she lay back on the wood-topped table—flour dust be damned—and let him situate himself between her legs.
She was twenty-two, alone in life for the first time, and she was about to lose her virginity to the most dangerous man she’d ever set eyes on. And she couldn’t claim for a moment that he’d seduced her. She was the one who’d strolled over to his bakery next door with a trumped up excuse, after hours.
“Here we are, the butcher and the baker,” she said just so there’d be something in the air beyond their panting.
He licked a fiery trail down her neck and stopped to press his hot lips against her racing pulse. “If a candlestick maker tries to interrupt, I won’t be held responsible.”
They groaned together at the lame play on the nursery rhyme.
She didn’t know any candlestick makers, but she thought she might have found the candlestick.
Oh, my.
Her skirt came up. Her panties slipped away. His mouth scorched her nipples through the thin fabric of her bra. She ran her fingers over the corded muscles of his back. He was almost a full head taller than she and built like a brick oven. She was built like, well, like a butcher, but she felt feminine next to him, desirable in his hot gaze from the beginning.
When she’d decided to take over and run the butcher shop she’d inherited from her uncle, she’d considered that she might be getting in over her head. She had no idea how deep. But this was the life she wanted—adventure, challenge, and not the staid, average existence her mother had lived, where every move was dictated by rules and more rules. She was going to be wild and free.
The man between her legs lifted his head, his dark gaze burning into hers. He said one word only, “Mine.”
“Yes,” she whispered as he pushed inside her with incredible restraint.
They’d known each other for a week.
Two years later…
T
HE DAY HAD BEEN GOING
to hell in a handbasket even before his past decided to rise up and spit into his face. Undercover agent Reid Graham watched with mixed emotions as Lara Jordan walked in on the arm of a corporate stiff whose suit cost more than his monthly government salary.
Of all the restaurants in all the world, and she walks into this one. Tonight of all nights.
Lust and anger hit him in the gut in about equal doses. Lust, because the memory of their one night two years before was still his number-one favorite fantasy. Anger because a single word from her could blow his cover and jeopardize an operation in which he’d invested years’ worth of sweat and blood. One wrong word could easily get the both of them killed. And not just them. He glanced around the crowded dining room, frowning at the people, who could go from innocent bystanders to victims in the blink of an eye.
Dammit.
“So you’re definitely not a cop.” Jen, the coldly beautiful blonde sitting across the table from him, played with her food.
“Hell no, darlin’.” He wasn’t lying. Technically. “I’m a friend of a friend.” He gave her an easy, relaxed smile. “Hey, I’ve been where you are now. Gets easier. Believe me.”
Soft Christmas music danced through the air, the room filled with the scent of pine. The walls were decorated with about two dozen Christmas wreaths, each labeled, showcasing contest winners from local schools.
He pretended to be scanning the holiday decorations while he stole another glance at Lara. She was laughing up at her guy, her face lit like a Christmas tree. Her hair was shorter than two years ago, her impossible curls swinging around her jawline, leaving her creamy neck out there for everyone to see.
Something deep inside his gut twisted.
“I want out.” Jen put down her fork. “I want to disappear. I’m not handing the CD over until I get that guarantee. And I want money.”
“Let me work on that.” Tonight, he was Dave Marshall, a shady figure who operated in the gray area between the two worlds of right and wrong, with connections in each. “Got anything to prove that you’re serious about this?”
She glanced around, then pulled a black cell phone from her purse, slid it across the table. “It’s Kenny’s backup phone. I pretended that mine broke and borrowed it for today.”
He palmed the phone and stuck it into his jeans pocket. “I’ll have it back to you by morning. How you doin’, darling?”
She glanced down, her hand going to her still flat belly. “He doesn’t know. I’m not gonna tell him either. He took up with that bitch. The jerk thinks he can keep us both.” She gave a disgusted snort. Then a sigh. “My sister knows.” She moved her hand back onto the table.
For a second her shirt gaped, and he could see the small firearm she carried. A good reminder that she was more than a frightened pregnant woman who was trying to leave her two-timing terrorist boyfriend. She wasn’t exactly as pure as the driven snow, although she was playing the damsel in distress to the hilt.
“I only got involved in the whole mess because of him.” She put a touch of vulnerability in her voice. “You can get me out by this time tomorrow, right? Before they notice the CD is missing. Dr. Julie said you can do anything.” She flashed him a smile that promised carnal benefits as his success fee.
Dr. Julie Lantos—emergency care provider for injured criminals who preferred to avoid hospitals, and an informant on the side—had referred him to Jen. Dr. Julie had an illegal drug habit that her shady patients supported, and the FBI agent she passed information to overlooked.
Reid leaned back in his chair and smiled right back at Jen. She was hot and she knew it. She was used to running with men who could get her exactly what she wanted. If becoming her new best friend—or more—was what he had to do to get information on the sleeper cell he was investigating, then so be it. It wouldn’t be the worst sacrifice he’d ever had to make for his job.