Carla swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, and glared at Vaughn's back.Ashton took her hand and gave it a squeeze.They walked forward, down the hall with its caramel colored marble floor and the Damascus style light fixtures. The door at the very end of the hall stood open, another familiar figure waiting for them.She stepped through ahead of Ashton into the modern home. The first thing that met them was an amazing, panoramic view of the city bathed in afternoon light. The same marble flooring stretched to every corner of the room.To her right, a small kitchen was tucked out of sight. An eight person dining table sat parallel to the glass, the heavy antique wood a nice balance to all the pale colors and clean lines. The condo stretched to her left, all the way to the corner of the building featuring a seating area and stairs leading up to a second floor."We're putting you and Miss White in the two bedrooms on the second floor. The two bedrooms on this floor will suffice fo

Vaughn had to wonder, did Carla's theory hold water? Was she right and all of this was about more than a quick payday?It wasn't Vaughn's job to figure that out. He had to help get Jared Moss back to the states. That was it."This is us." Nolan found a spot and parked along a side street."Don't die." Brenden opened the back door and was gone. For such a big guy, he moved like a ghost. One moment he was there, then he wasn't."Should be a fun afternoon," Nolan muttered."Yeah, well, I question your use of the word fun. Check you later." Vaughn opened his door and stepped out onto the street.The salty tang on the air was soured by a rotting aroma he could almost taste.Trash.Yeah, he'd read about the garbage washing up along the Lebanon shores. It had been one of the first internet searches about the area, plus it was one of the things Ashton had mentioned he wanted to tackle when he began developing his property in the area. It was a lot of talk as far as Vaughn was c

Neither spoke a word all the way up to Ashton's room. Carla shut the door, and he paced across to the windows. She leaned her back against the door and watched him.What was he going through in his head? How much was he holding in?"They're never going to find him, are they?" Ashton turned to look at her, the light at his back casting his face into shadow. She didn't need to see him to feel the heartache."I think they will. You had me read their reviews and vet them, remember?" She pushed off the door and took a few steps forward. "I just-I still think we're coming at this from the wrong angle.""What would you have me do?" He sat down on the edge of the bed and propped his elbows on his knees. His jacket was long gone, and he'd rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows. He really was a handsome man.Carla picked up clothes Ashton had left on the floor. She smoothed them and folded the garments without consciously thinking about what she was doing. "We should at least try my

VAUGHN SAT ON the terrace, the evening breeze bordering on the edge of chilly. Darkness had long since descended on the city. The city noise from below was even quieter at this hour. Being this far above the ground with an uninterrupted view of the water, it was like being on an island.He could go for that right about now.Today was a cluster fuck and the more he thought about it the more frustrated he got.Who'd blown cover first?Him.Their additional manpower should arrive first thing in the morning. That really rubbed him the wrong way. It was like Grant didn't have faith that they could pull this job off or something. Deep down Vaughn knew it was more about needing to keep their assets protected. A couple months back they'd had assets kidnapped out from under them during a job because they'd split manpower. Twice. Vaughn's rational mind knew this was Grant overcompensating. He'd been different since that job. No one wanted to lose a high profile person like Ashton in a

Sunday. The Spice Way, Beirut, Lebanon.HANI PEERED THROUGH the darkened windows of Farez's old shop. The landlord had shut the place down if the old man was to be believed. Right about now Hani needed a break.He'd gone to check on his friends. Of the three who'd joined him on the kidnapping job, one was dead and the other two had gone to visit family. He didn't have to guess who was behind that. There were only two options.Their boss.Or the man in the suit.Hani was willing to bet their boss was behind this. Promising a quick payday with no proof or results hadn't been enough to gain them a reprieve. The suit guy had been forthright with Hani.The only reason he was still alive was because the suits had their own targets. Ashton Khoury and the other Americans. If Hani was going to keep his head, he had to stay close to Farez."What are you doing here young man?"Hani turned toward the elderly woman. She had a bulging bag in hand and stood on the sidewalk peering