Free Surrender to Temptation (Agent Lovers Series Book 1) by Harper Steen, Lesley Schuldt Page A

and their hands were tied behind their backs. Each of the apparently defenseless women was dragged by two men to the door of their hideout, while the remaining six kept an eye out for more intruders. When they didn’t discover anyone else, they followed their comrades inside.
     
    With wide eyes, Gray watched Liz’s and Jennifer’s capture on the monitor.
    “That’s one way of getting inside,” said Chris.
    Gray looked at him in surprise.
    “That was
Plan S
,” Chris observed.
    “And what does ‘S’ stand for? I didn’t think you had any idea.”
    “Until now, I didn’t. But now I get it: ‘S’ for surrender.”
    “Oh shit!” Gray said.

Chapter 4
    Liz and Jennifer were led into a small, musty-smelling room and seated across from one another on chairs positioned just a few feet apart. A beefy guy with greasy brown hair and a scarred face came in and walked right up to Liz, who was closest to him. He bent over her in a threatening manner, drawing so close that she got a whiff of his foul-smelling breath. Nauseated by the stench, she made a face and fought back the powerful urge to gag.
    “Who are you? Who sent you?”
    Not only did he have an unpleasant appearance and the bothersome odor, Liz observed, but spit also sprayed from his mouth when he spoke. She answered in a bored tone of voice. “Local police. The utility company sent us. You haven’t made your last three payments.”
    “Don’t jerk me around!” he roared. Then he struck her face with the flat of his hand so hard her head flew to the side.
    “I would never do that,” she assured him in a genial tone, shaking the dark-smudged hair out of her face and giving him a pleasant smile. She ran the tip of her tongue over her split lower lip and tasted her own blood.
    He reached out his hand, which seemed more like an enormous paw, and pulled Liz out of the chair by her collar, lifting her high enough so she could look directly into his eyes. “When I’m finished with the two of you, you’ll sing like two sweet little birds,” he threatened.
    Liz began to laugh loudly and stole a glance over her shoulder at Jennifer, who was trying to look indifferent. “I have to warn you, buddy. I can’t carry a frigging tune. I’m absolutely tone-deaf. That’s why they threw me out of the church choir years ago.”
    “Don’t talk shit!” Jennifer sounded offended. “As if you were ever in a church choir! I don’t like your constant exaggerating at all.”
    As a powerful blow suddenly hit her stomach, Liz folded forwards. As she fell to her knees, her attacker kicked her hard in the ribs. With a groan she fell to her side and lay on the cold, hard concrete floor. Trying not to aggravate the pain in her upper body, Liz consciously worked to keep her breathing even. From where she lay on the ground she watched as the man asked Jennifer the same questions he’d given Liz and got the exact same answers, as if from a recording. Jennifer got the exact same treatment that Liz had gotten, too.
     
    ***
     
    Chris looked at Gray. “Oh shit! Now what do we do?”
    “Wait!” he growled, barely coherent. Although his expression didn’t betray any emotion, Gray felt stretched to the breaking point.
    “We have to do something or he’ll kill them!”
    “He won’t do that. Not until he gets some answers from them. And given their behavior, I doubt they’ll give him any. They didn’t get their high security clearance for nothing. Anyway, it doesn’t seem like we’re dealing with professionals. They haven’t found the cameras yet; they haven’t even looked for them.”
    “From your lips to God’s ear,” Chris whispered. He stared, transfixed, at the monitor. The two watched in silence as the men tried to beat information out of the women, hitting them and kicking them until they lay bloody and unconscious on the concrete floor.
     
    ***
     
    The door to the interrogation room opened with a soft creak and two men hauled a large round container into