Chapter 12

Max stood on the back patio, staring out at the vast expanse of green lawn that stretched away from the house. Trees stood as tall sentinels bordering each side, and he knew that beyond them was electrified fencing with concertina wire on the top. He knew it because Si had given him the video tour of the property and pointed out all the security measures. For a moment, he wished he could drag all these people he and Regan would be meeting with back to this house and beat the shit out of them until they were bloody and broken. What kind of people were they who would turn on their own country that way?

He heard the sliding door open behind him and turned to see Regan step out onto the patio. Despite the intensity of the day-long session, and the stomach-turning events and people they were discussing, she still looked cool and contained. The only indication of its effect on her were the faint lines of strain at the corners of her eyes and her mouth. She carried a tablet in her hand similar to the one Si had given Max the day before.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Absolutely not." He smiled. "In fact, I should be getting acquainted with my wife."

She chuckled. "I'm curious as to how this will all work. I've never done this before."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Played a role? Pretended to be someone you aren't?"

She shook her head. "Like I said earlier today, I'm the most comfortable working inside."

"Well, you've done a hell of a job ferreting this out." He lifted his glass in a toast. "Without you, this plot never would have come to light, and this country would be hit with a massive disaster. Caught totally unaware."

"If what Si learned is true and they have whatever this is set for the Fourth of July, we can't afford to make one mistake at this meeting."

He nodded. "No kidding. The Fourth of JulyIndependence Dayis coming up in three weeks. That means they'll be planning the final details in this meeting. I don't know what kind of security they have at this place we're going to, but I'll need to find a way to slip off in the evening and reach out to Si."

"It'll be tricky," she pointed out, "but we'll figure it out. The first thing we'll need to do is check the security they have in place. See if it's all electronic or if they have flesh-and-blood security men hanging around."

"Remember, we have one more test to pass before we even get to that," he reminded her. "We have to check into the hotel in the town near this lodge and meet with Whitlow. Apparently he's promised to give them a full assessment of us to make sure we won't cause a problem before he lets us into the inner circle."

"But Bernardo vouched for us. Si made sure of that when he saw him." She frowned.

"However, I'll bet everyone in this little group is nervous since Bernardo's 'heart attack' happened."

Max snorted. "I'm surprised he didn't have a real one when Si walked into his office and told him we had the goods on him for his illegal arms sales. And that we'd frozen all his offshore accounts."

"And I'm surprised he didn't just pick up the phone and call for his attorney," she told him.

Max actually chuckled. "I think when someone comes to your home at six in the morning a Homeland Security Badge, two FBI agents, and a folder full of paperwork including your offshore bank accounts, you have a good idea a lawyer isn't going to help. Si told me it was a tossup who he was more afraid of, Si and his merry band or the people in this little group. You can bet that weapons or not, this so-called friends would have disposed of him where no one would find him. They don't want this kind of thing spilling over onto them."

"Si said Bernardo did a masterful job of convincing Jed Whitlow bis heart attack was real and that his brother could be trusted."

Max frowned. "I hope his wife isn't a loose cannon."

Regan shook her head. "As I understand it, she's so afraid her high-society friends will find out her husband is on the verge of going to prison, she was willing to do anything."

"They aren't really going to let him off, are they?" Max asked.

"Not completely. But it's up to DHS what happens to him when we get this wrapped up."

Max drained his glass and glanced at Regan. "Can I get you something? I'm drinking plain soda but perhaps wine? Or whatever?"

"Soda for me, too. Thanks. And we probably should get to work on that thick folder Si handed us and learn our parts." She grinned. "Think I'll get an award if I play it right?"

He moved so he was standing close enough that he was looking directly into her eyes. "You'll get more than that if we pull it off. And I personally will buy you anything you like."

She stared back at him, her emerald eyes darkening almost to a forest green before she took a step back. "Well, then. I'll have to start making a list."

In the kitchen, he refilled both their glasses and carried them back out to the patio. Regan was standing there, hands in the pockets of her slacks, just staring off across the lawn much as he'd been doing before. He took a moment to study her, framed by the fading rays of the sun as she was. There was something about her he'd never seen in all the other women who had passed through his life. And that was exactly what they'd donepassed through. His choice, for sure. He hadn't wanted depth, he'd wanted casual sex with no demands. The SEALs got all the rest from him.

But now this woman had come into his life at the exact moment when he didn't need a distraction. He gave thanks she appeared to be a thorough professional who was as focused on this as he was. Still, with the days of playacting facing them, you never knew what could happen. He had to keep remembering all the lives in danger if he screwed up.

He nudged her arm and handed her the filled glass.

"How about we sit down at that table over there and get to know each other a little better outside of the mission parameters."

She looked at him, her lips turned up in a hint of a smile.

"Why, Max, what an interesting proposition."

He shook his head. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Although when this is over, if we survive it, we might address that very situation."

Something heated swirled in her emerald green eyes, just for a moment, but it woke up feelings in him he didn't know he had. How was it that now, in the midst of this crisis, he had finally met a woman that he might want to share his life with and he had to tuck it all away? Because he was a SEALthere was no "former" about itand that was what SEALs did. But Jesus. It was going to take every bit of discipline he had to keep his hands to himself. Would one kiss be so bad?

"We should get through this first," she reminded him, interrupting his train of thought.

Good thing, too.

"That's at the top of the list." He sat down in one of the chairs and motioned her to another one. "And part of that is getting to know each other well enough to pull off our role as a married couple. Make ourselves believable. These people won't be happy with the change, and we'll be under a microscope. If they suspect the least little thing, we'll be dead, and so will a lot of other people."