Free Special Forces Rendezvous by Elle Kennedy

them any identification,” she said flatly.
    “We won’t be going to the port.”
    Questioning that cryptic response would’ve taken too much effort, so she just moved on to the next issue at hand. “I won’t be able to leave the country without my passport. Everything I own, all my ID and credit cards and belongings, it’s all in my tent back at the clinic.”
    Her throat closed up as she thought of the clinic and pictured it being consumed by fire.
    Grieve later, damn it!
    “Your passport is useless now,” Sebastian replied. “It’s undoubtedly been flagged, which means if you tried to use it to board a flight, airport security will be all over you. Same with credit cards. If you paid for a bus, train or plane ticket using your credit card, they’ll find you. You’re officially a wanted woman, Doc.”
    A feeling of sheer helplessness climbed up the bumps of her spine. “Why? What the hell did those soldiers want from me?”
    “You know exactly what they wanted—to shut you up.”
    “Because I caught them getting rid of those bodies.” She heaved a weary breath. “But this is ridiculous. I can go to the American embassy for help. This conspiracy or whatever it is can’t be government-sanctioned. Those men are obviously involved in something shady.”
    His answering laugh was dry. “And the government can’t be shady? Wake up, Julia. Someone authorized that army general to initiate cleanup protocols. Someone dispatched all those soldiers.”
    “Who?”
    He shrugged. “No clue.”
    She raised the cigarette to her lips and took another frustrated pull. “I don’t understand this. Any of this! What am I supposed to do now? If I can’t go to the embassy, how do I get home? How do I get back to Boston?”
    “You don’t. And you shouldn’t,” he said in a deadly voice. “Your life is at risk now. You know that the villagers in Esperanza were killed by a virus that was intentionally released by the American government, or the San Marquez government, or both. Chances are, the people in charge will sweep this under the rug, but if it does make the news, they’ll probably blame it on a malaria outbreak or a rebel massacre, like they did in Corazón.”
    “Corazón? Wait, wasn’t that the village that Hector Cruz burned to the ground?”
    Sebastian released a harsh laugh. “That’s what they want you to think. But the rebels didn’t murder the people in Corazón. They died of a virus, just like the folks in Esperanza.”
    Skepticism grabbed hold of her. “So you’re saying that this virus is actually being tested on unsuspecting people in remote San Marquez villages?”
    “That’s what the evidence seems to suggest.”
    She studied Sebastian’s face, noting the hard set of his jaw. You’d think he’d look tired and disheveled after a long night of breaking into military camps and riding horses and bribing a fishing captain for a ride, but the man was utterly alert and put-together. His gray eyes were sharp, he didn’t have so much as a smudge on his all-black getup, and the dark blond stubble covering his face only made him appear even more handsome.
    After taking one last drag of her cigarette, Julia flicked the butt into the water and turned to meet Sebastian’s eyes. “I think I want that explanation now.”

Chapter 6
    “W ho are you, Sebastian?” Julia pressed when he didn’t utter a word in response.
    Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on the rusted steel railing and fixed those deep gray eyes on the calm waves beyond the boat. “I’m a soldier. Special Forces.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “Active duty?”
    “I was until my own government decided they preferred me dead.”
    Julia battled another burst of skepticism. “Someone is trying to kill you?”
    “Yup. The first attempt was right after my unit was recalled back to the States ten months ago. Couple days after our debriefing, I was nearly hit by a car in front of my apartment.”
    “Are you sure it wasn’t an