Free When Love Intrudes (When the Mission Ends) by Christi Snow Page B

the ball. Both men laughed at his antics, their enjoyment echoing across the yard. It was a picture perfect view and one that Toni knew she needed to cherish. There weren’t many like this in her life. They still hadn’t noticed her yet, so she pulled her phone out of her pocket and took a photo. Perfection.
    At that moment, Nathan’s line tightened from a fish. He whooped and fumbled with the fishing pole with his cast while Sam barked and Brian scrambled up with a net, instructing Nathan the whole time on how to reel the fish in. Forget dinner out, this was what Nathan needed to heal…just some pure fun.
    She slipped back inside so she wouldn’t disturb them, but she needed an alternate plan for dinner. The back pond was a catch/release zone so fresh fish were out, but it was such a fantastic night. Brian had an outdoor fireplace. She looked down at her watch. She could run to the grocery store real quick and pick up some premade hamburger patties they could cook out and continue to enjoy the evening.
    Decided, she left a note on the counter and slipped back out of the house.
    * * *
    The shopping didn’t take long to get done, but Toni still gazed down worriedly at the clock on her phone as she strode out of the grocery store doors into the empty parking lot. The guys would be getting hungry soon. She completely missed the mammoth man standing in front of her until she ran into him.
    “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she stammered, righting herself and using him for balance so she wouldn’t crash to the ground in her high heeled boots.
    When she lifted her eyes, his threatening scowl was more than a little intimidating. She took a step back and ran into another brick wall of a man. The man behind her grabbed her upper arms and dragged her a few cars down and behind a nondescript van. She dropped the bags and opened her mouth to scream, but the first guy slapped a piece of duct tape over her mouth before she could make a sound. Frantically, she searched the parking lot for help, but it was surprisingly vacant.
    The first guy leaned down and growled in her ear as he picked her up and carried her. “Relax, our boss just wants to talk to you for a moment. Don’t fight us and no one will get hurt. Yet,” he added with a malicious chuckle.
    For some reason that didn’t reassure her, especially as the van door slid open and they unceremoniously tossed her onto the hard, metal floor. She sat up, brushing her hair out of her eyes and came face to face with a clean-cut man in a business suit, smiling patronizingly. This had to be the boss they’d referred to.
    “Ms. Vincent, it’s so nice of you to join us.”
    She scowled. Like she had a choice in the matter. She reached up to pull the tape off, but the guy in the suit tilted his head at one of the goons who still hovered nearby. The huge guy grabbed her arms again.
    “Now, don’t do that. Right now I just want you to listen and consider what I’m saying to you. This is simply an offer and like any offer, you should think about it for a few days. Nod if you understand what I’m telling you.”
    She nodded, glaring daggers at him.
    “Good, good, I can already see that you are going to be most accommodating and that’s very good, especially for your continued health.” He leered down for a moment to where her chest heaved against her T-shirt with the force of her anger. That look of lust sent a chill of revulsion skittering across her nerves.
    “Well, anyway.” He seemed to recollect what he was doing here. “You have people in your life you care about and that’s good. My boss is also a man in that same situation. Unfortunately one of those people he cares about made a poor choice. As a result, he could go to jail. But you, Ms. Vincent, could keep that from happening and at the same time, keep those you love safe, too.”
    A ball of dread built in her stomach. Who was this man?
    “You see, Ms. Vincent, life is so very unpredictable. I understand your detective has