Free Operation Swift Mercy by Karlene Blakemore-Mowle Page A

”  Nikkos spat out sarcastically. He hated incompetent employees even more than he hated things going wrong.
    “Vehicle rented to one Chase Maloney. U.S citizen.”
    How the hell did Mercy get mixed up with this Maloney person? He would have known if she’d been sneaking around behind his back—he had her watched…which is why he knew she’d been at the industrial estate the day before. Paranoid or not—having her phone tracked was a precaution he’d been glad he’d taken. She’d began to act suspicious the last day or so and a quick check online of where she’d been that day had revealed the reason behind her unusual behaviour. It pained him to have to eliminate her—he may not have given up other women completely since moving Mercy into his house, but he had been genuinely fond of her. There was something about her—a gentleness…an innocence, maybe, that attracted him to her. She may have been becoming slightly annoying with her unusual demands, wanting to know where he was at all hours of the day and night, but he’d thought she’d be easy enough to control once he’d shown her it was not acceptable to question him in that manner. It seemed he’d misjudged her.
    “I want this guy found. I want them both found.”
    “Yes sir. We’re working on it.”
    “Well for your sake, I hope you work fast. I need her eliminated.” Rubbing his temples with his fingertips, Nikkos closed his eyes, effectively dismissing his body guard and fought to get his emotions under control. Nikkos Petros did not lose his cool. Ever. He didn’t build up his wealth and business by giving into a temper tantrum at the drop of a hat. Once he was sure Mercy had nothing that could incriminate him—he’d deal with her and then put this whole mess behind him. And she would be found. He would see to that one way or the other.
    ****
    Mercy opened her eyes and saw that the room was no longer flooded with bright sunlight. A glance at the bedside clock showed it was almost 5pm. She’d slept for hours. Across from her, she saw Chase had come back at some point and taken the second bed. She hadn’t had a chance to really get an unobstructed view of the man yet. He was always the one watching her.
      He was quite simply, gorgeous. It looked like he’d decided to let his whiskers grow into a rough looking goatee type beard—just enough to highlight his strong jaw and give him a rugged look. She supposed in his job , the majority of the time he’d be clean shave n . A smile touched her lips as she thought how he was rebelling over his holidays . His hands were folded across his chest and she watched as it moved up and down with his steady breathing. Her gaze travelled over the bulky , very masculine , watch on h is wrist and along his arms . They were muscular enough to make her mouth water without looking like they ’d been moulded from plastic or bulging in a gorilla like fashion.
    Oh yeah , Chase Maloney had definitely caught her interest—unfortunately , running for her life and knowing she could quite possibly end up dead within a matter of days had taken precedence over her lustful thoughts.
    Moving quietly she sat up and swung her legs off the edge slowly so as not to wake him. Easing off the bed, she tiptoed her way across the room heading for the balcony so as not to make any noise and disturb Chase until he woke up.
    Down below tourists meandered along the streets and Mercy envied them their carefree existence. Would she be able to do that ever again? If she managed to hand over the evidence on Nikkos—would she really be free of him? He was powerful enough to have someone take care of her even from behind bars. A cold sweat broke out and ran down her back as she realised the  implications behind what she was about to do . Either way, Nikkos was going to kill her.
    The sound of the door sliding open behind her made her jump in alarm.
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Chase said. His voice was lazy from his nap