Free Forged in Fire by Trish McCallan Page B

and I do mean anything , I’m going to rip your lungs out through your ass. You’ll be using them as a fucking umbrella.”
    He listened a second, shook his head, and massaged the tight skin across his forehead. Dealing with arrogance and stupidity left him with a headache.
    “No, we weren’t conducting ops on mainland soil. They’re on their way to a wedding. However, they’ve been apprised of the situation. They’ll be monitoring the passengers until you get your team into place. Fine. I’ll be flying up myself. Yeah, sure, you do that. It’s spelled M-a-c-K-e-n-z-i-e—make sure you get the spelling right.” Without saying goodbye, he slammed the phone down.
    Chastain had to be fucking kidding. Could the prick really be so stupid he’d blow off fresh intel from a black op? Christ Almighty, he’d run into arrogance and territorialism before, but this guy took the prize, and considering the jackass headed up the Seattle’s counterterrorism unit, they were in a shit-can of trouble.
    The door to the office opened as he pushed his chair back and stood up. “Get me Admiral McKay.”
    “Of course, Commander. I’ve taken the liberty of booking you on the first flight out. It leaves in two hours.”
    Of course he had. No doubt he’d known a trip to Seattle was in Mac’s future before Mac had. He didn’t bother to tell the man to cancel his appointments and reschedule. Knowing Radar, he’d already done so.
    As he waited for the call to ring through, his thoughts returned to Zane. What the hell had Winters gotten himself into? He might not know what his LC had lied about, but he knew the lie was there. There was something else he was certain of. Somehow, in some way, this lie involved a woman. When it came to solid by-the-book operators like Zane Winters, only a woman could trip them up and send them reeling into the gray zone where lying became an option. Only a fucking woman could turn them inside out and upside down and put them through the wringer until they lost all sense of who they were and what they stood for. Until they were bled dry of their honor and self-respect.
    When you added in Zane’s family history and all that crap about soul mates—well hell, the man had a weak spot a mile long. No doubt some conniving bitch was playing up that soul mate bullshit and wrapping his buddy around her finger.
    Because only a woman could ruin a man like Zane Winters.

    * * *

    Beth described her dream several more times before Zane was satisfied. At which point he kicked her and his two friends out of the storage closet. She suspected the bid for privacy was meant to protect his friends from the lie , as she was beginning to think of it.
    The deceit still bothered her. If they’d had more time, she would never have allowed him to take that step, but their window of opportunity was shrinking. Besides, his story would be believed more quickly than hers, which was essential with only an hour left until boarding.
    “Why don’t you tell us about your co-workers?” Cosky’s flat tone turned the question into an order. He braced his shoulder against the wall beside the closet door and turned so he could keep an eye on the airport’s main corridor.
    “You mean do I work with anyone capable of cold-bloodedly murdering hundreds of people?” Beth asked drily, knowing where this line of questioning was headed. “Why are you jumping to the conclusion that their inside guy is in engineering? It makes more sense to recruit one of the bag smashers or techs.”
    “Do you know the baggage handlers or techs?” Cosky asked, his chilly gaze studying her face.
    “Well, no.” Like any big corporation, PAL’s departments were pretty insular. She knew everyone who worked on her floor, and a few people who worked on the floors above and below, but nobody who worked out in the hangars.
    “But you do know your engineers, so we’ll start with them. Is there anyone who comes to mind as being capable of this?”
    Sure there were