Free Enemy Lover by Karin Harlow Page B

Unless—unless he found a way to eliminate The Solution from the face of the earth.
    “You forget, Colonel, I have records of every dirty deed you and your cohorts have carried out. All of it poised and ready to be delivered into the hands of the Joint Chiefs if I fall off the radar.”
    The colonel’s smile widened. “Isn’t your daughter, Grace, scheduled to begin Stanford in the fall? It would be a shame if she never made it.”
    Rowland’s blood iced in his veins and the crab cakes rose higher, clogging his throat. “Touch one hair on her head, and I’ ll personally cut you up one piece at a time.”
    The colonel laughed. “Give me what I want, Senator, and I’ ll leave your family out of it.” He looked at his watch. “I’m giving you three weeks to reinstate The Solution.”
    “I can’t get it done that soon! My committee doesn’t reconvene for eight weeks!”
    The colonel’s smile faded. “There
is
such a thing as an emergency.” He backed away from Rowland. “I want an official certified letter delivered to the address onrecord for The Solution in three weeks or less. Once I have authenticated our reinstated status, we’ ll resume business as usual. I also suggest you call a cleaner ASAP. You’ ll be no good to me if you lose your Senate seat.” The colonel smiled sadistically. “And, Senator? Between now and then if I discover you have made other plans or I feel you are not moving quickly enough? No one, especially your daughter, will be immune from my gentle reminders.”
    The colonel turned and disappeared into the darkened shadows of the room.
    For a long time, Rowland stood silent, terrified and unsure of his next move. He was up against a terrible wall, but if he gave the colonel free rein to annihilate any person, group or organization he considered anti-American, he could bring about war with enemies the American government kept close to the vest.
    One thing was for certain—The Solution’s operatives were fueled by their blind faith in the colonel. Cut the head off the snake, and The Solution folded.
    Rowland knew of only one man who could help him. A ghost. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and made several quick inquiries. Armed with a phone number few knew existed, Senator Rowland exited the club and found a pay phone down the street. For a long moment, he held the phone in his hand, knowing that if he made the call, he put everyone he loved at risk. He also knew that if he walked away, the fate of the free world was just as much at risk. He dialed.
    On the third ring, a deep voice answered, “Black.”
    The senator cleared his throat and slowly said, “Mr. Black, this is Senator William Rowland.”
    “Who referred you?”
    “Attorney General Marks. He said to give you the code word Orion.”
    “Go ahead.”
    “I made a bargain with the devil and need you to eliminate him.”
    “I’m listening.”

NINE

    The next morning
L.O.S.T. Compound, location classified
    Jax woke with a start. Her skin was drenched in sweat and her heart rate was through the roof. Even so, she managed to feel a pinch of relief.
    Six months ago, her night terrors had been about Montes. Now they were about something else. She’d prefer to do without them altogether, but so long as Montes stayed where he belonged—in her past—she’d take comfort in that.
    “Latent performance pressure anxiety,” Dr. Martin had diagnosed right after the L.O.S.T. mission in Vegas. It had pissed Jax off. The op had gone off perfectly, so why the anxiety? She wasn’t a nervous Nelly. Not by nature. And not anymore.
    Nonetheless, she couldn’t deny it—something inside her worried the next mission might not go so well. That niggling something kept her up at night. Was it simply the baggage of her past, or was it a premonition?
    Shivering, Jax rolled on her side and mumbled, “Don’t get all woo-woo, Jax. Your past would give anyone nightmares.”
    But it didn’t matter, she told herself. She’d left her