Free More Than Strangers by Tara Quan Page A

University
    Still unable to process what he had read, his gaze flitted back to the profile’s first line. He focused on the words that had rooted him to the spot. Even now, it felt as if ice were flowing through his veins. He refused to believe it. She couldn’t possibly be this idiotic.
    But no matter how long he stared, the document didn’t change. This wasn’t a nightmare.
    Name: Nulli O’Hara.
    God damn it.
    Next to the name was a headshot of the same blue-eyed redhead he corresponded with every day—the same person who was responsible for him not having had sex in over six months. They had never verbalized an agreement to be exclusive, but no other woman felt right.
    Until now, he had thought they knew a great deal about each other. It was becoming glaringly apparent she had left a lot out of their daily chats. She had described the shoes she bought, the food stalls she frequented, and even expressed concerns about coworkers leaving the city. But she had never given any indication she had moved to an unofficial war zone.
    Still reeling from the discovery, he took out his phone and read her last message.
    TBGeek: Buying fruit at Sunday Market. There’s oranges…and more oranges. I’d kill for a strawberry right now.
    Bits and pieces of past conversations suddenly made sense, and they combined to piss him off. With great difficulty, he suppressed the urge to throw his phone into the wood-paneled wall.
    His little idiot had left Dubai to come here—a city fraught with violent crimes and terrorist attacks. There were more targeted killings in this country than anywhere else in the world. Of course, she would be buying oranges. It made perfect sense.
    His instinct was to jump into an armored vehicle and drive around town looking for her. If law and order existed, he would call the police. In this city, it was a waste of time. “Dan, where are we on locating the three squints?”
    Dan’s dark head popped through the door. Since embracing the private sector, they took certain luxuries as their due. The suite had a living room, kitchenette, and two adjoining bedrooms each with a private bathroom. “My guys grabbed the two polio experts and drove them to the airport. Both are on the next flight out.”
    Jason’s jaw clenched. “And the TB project manager?”
    His friend shook his head. “I’m having trouble locating her. She’s not answering my calls, and her tail lost her at Sunday Bazaar. I wouldn’t be too worried. No one answers their cell phones here—too many crank calls and spam texts. She’ll head back to the villa soon, and we can pick her up from there.”
    That wasn’t good enough. Jason had a bad feeling in his gut, and he couldn’t take emotion out of it. This wasn’t a stranger—this was his Nulli. She wasn’t safe, and it was driving him insane. He tapped out a message with unsteady fingers.
    JR: Where are you now?
    An eternity seemed to pass in the span of a few minutes. She could have been kidnapped. She could be dead. She could be—
    His phone’s screen flashed.
    TBGeek: Eating fro-yo at the mall. *sniffs air* Burgers and fries are tempting me.
    He felt like smashing something. The damn BlackBerry was a good place to start. He would be tempted if it wasn’t the single line of communication she was responding to. Considering his lack of expertise in this city, he had no choice but to loop Dan in. “She’s at the mall. Do we have a car with GPS?”
    His friend walked through the door and sat on the adjacent armchair. “You’re going to have to be more specific. Which mall, and how do you know she’s at one?”
    In lieu of an explanation, Jason slid the phone across the coffee table. Dan glanced at the messenger screen. He frowned as he picked it up. With a flick of his forefinger, he scrolled through the previous conversations. It didn’t take him long to get the gist. “You’re in a relationship with one of the people we’re here to protect? When were you going to tell