Free Ransom by Terri Reed Page A

the news reports about blood diamonds in developing nations. It sickened her to know that so much immorality existed in the world. Liz’s lip curled. “Do you have any idea of the working conditions of the men, women and children who work in the mines in Venezuela or Sierra Leone or the Congo? Don’t you have a conscience?”
    â€œIt’s not personal, it’s business,” Travis said in a tone that suggested she was the one in the wrong.
    Disgusted by him, she turned to Blake. “So now what?”
    â€œNow our plan has changed,” Blake said. “He’ll wear the wire and meet with Santini.” He turned his dark-eyed gaze on Travis, who visibly blanched.
    â€œNo way, man,” Travis said. “He finds a wire on me, I’m done for.”
    Blake’s gaze narrowed. “He won’t find it. All you have to do is get Santini to incriminate himself. Get him to admit to funding the mines in Venezuela, to smuggling the unregistered diamonds and to kidnapping Jillian. Then we’ll move in and take him down.” He turned to Liz. “And free your sister.”
    That sounded good to Liz. But her frayed nerves wouldn’t be soothed until she was reunited with her sister. And then she and Jillian would leave this place of snow and ice and head back to the peace and quiet of Hilton Head. At least when a storm blew in there she was prepared. This storm she’d found herself in right here right now was like nothing she’d experienced before and there’d been no way to prepare.
    But the crisis wasn’t over yet. And she had no idea what to expect next. Or whether or not Jillian would live or die.
    * * *
    â€œI’ll call for a taxi to take you back to the safe house,” Blake said, anxious to get moving. They were close to bringing down Santini and rescuing Liz’s sister. He could feel it in his bones. But he had to get Liz somewhere safe. Her presence was too distracting for him. When she was close, she was all he could concentrate on. Not good at all.
    They were standing in a secluded spot in an alley behind a strip mall where there were no prying eyes. Drew and Sami waited in an SUV nearby with Travis in the backseat. They’d transferred the wire from Liz to Travis with little fuss. The plan was to drop Travis off a few blocks from the café and then stake out the diner.
    When Santini showed, they’d swoop in. Or if Travis was instructed to go to another rendezvous spot, they would follow. There would come a moment when Santini would come out from under whatever rock he’d crawled beneath, and Blake would be ready.
    â€œNo way, I’m coming with you. My sister’s trusting me to help.” Liz stared down her nose at Blake. He almost laughed at her attempt to intimidate him. Her honey-colored braid was coming loose, and her cheeks were pink from the cold. She stomped her feet to keep warm. “And if you try to leave me behind, I’ll just follow you.”
    Blake clenched his back teeth. He wanted her to cooperate and go back to the condo and let his team do what they did best. But from the stubborn jut of her chin and the determination in the depths of her sea-colored gaze he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
    He understood and even appreciated her commitment to rescuing her sister. But she was a distraction he didn’t need. After fearing he’d failed her back at Fort George, then the surge of relief and...something else that he refused to acknowledge when he’d entered the barracks to find her holding off her brother-in-law with an iron poker, he knew having her around wasn’t in anyone’s best interest. Certainly not his.
    He didn’t do emotions. He wouldn’t let any weakness stop him from doing his job. Especially on a mission. Getting tangled up inside over a woman could lead to disaster. If he started putting her welfare ahead of the mission’s goal, then failure was