The Costa Rican sun sizzled over her skin. The humidity softened the air and had Everly thinking more about the vacation she hadn't taken in years than the operation at hand. She’d been pulled from a mission winding down in the worst war-torn area of Syria, where she’d exposed an ISIS leader, then dropped into the serenity of Costa Rica. The culture shock hadn’t quite worn off yet, and she was feeling a little like Cinderella. But that could also be because she’d pored over every detail of this new op on the flight here and was going on thirty-six hours without sleep.
“I still can’t believe you’ve cast me as nanny material,” she told Roman.
They all knew she didn’t care for kids. The guys thought it was because she hadn’t had much exposure to children over the years, but Everly believed it was because she’d never had the luxury of being a kid herself, so she didn’t understand them.
“This is going to be a quick in-and-out,” Roman assured her. “And we all know you can become anything or anyone you set your mind to.”
Everly looked out over the infinity pool, the landscaped yard, the jungle beyond, and finally, the ocean in the distance, and sighed. “Then I want to be the CEO of a fancy startup tech company, because they evidently know how to live.”
“It’s more of a high-tech training outfit,” Sam said, “combining performance clothing and equipment with tried-and-true military training techniques. He’s got major contracts with special forces divisions in both Great Britain’s and Canada’s military. He’s also got a waiting list for the technology. Over half a dozen American mercenary outfits want it for their overseas soldiers. And it sounds like the US military would jump on board in a heartbeat if he wasn’t currently declared a criminal.”
“When is he supposed to be back?” Roman asked.
“I expected him to be here when his head of security told me to come right over, but he’s not, and no one’s giving me a straight answer on when he’ll return. He’s supposedly on some kind of training mission in the wilds of his forty-acre jungle. Seriously, this man may very well have the most amazing life ever—a multimillion-dollar company in its infancy, an amazing estate in a country that hasn’t seen war in over fifty years, and a band of brothers to play with in the jungle. He has to think he’s died and gone to heaven.”
“Don’t get any ideas about moving to paradise,” Roman told her. “You’re way too young to retire, and we all know you don’t want to have anything to do with marriage and babies. So get the job done and come home.” A click sounded in her ear. “Gianna is on the other line. Sam, keep me updated. Everly, we’ll see you in a few hours.”
“They just called my flight,” Ian said. “Signing off.”
Once Roman and Ian disconnected, Sam said, “The kid’s really cute. Sucks that her mom died.”
“That would depend on the mom.”
“You’re so jaded.”
“I am,” she said absently as her mind shifted directions. “How are the Seavers and Gianna connected?”
“I imagine the head of an interagency task force would cross paths with a senator on the Senate Armed Services Committee.”
“I suppose. I guess I expected them to be closer. This isn’t exactly a small favor.”
The sound of footsteps on the concrete behind her alerted Everly to the security guard’s approach.
“Incoming,” she murmured, letting Sam know she wouldn’t be speaking directly to him.
Everly turned and worked up a smile for the guard, even though she knew he wouldn’t return it. He’d been a stoic guy from the beginning. Decker was six foot six inches of muscle. He was black, he was intense, and to any woman who hadn’t spent her entire adulthood around men like this, he would be extremely intimidating.
“I was just going to come and find you,” she told him as if she hadn’t noticed him watching her every step for the last hour. “Mr. Hix is obviously too busy to see me today. I’ll call tomorrow and make another—”
“I just spoke with him. He’s on his way back now. It’ll only be another five or ten minutes. I apologize for the wait. Are you sure I can’t get you anything to drink? The cook just made fresh iced tea.”
“No, thank you, I’m fine. Is Mr. Hix’s daughter here? I haven’t seen her.”
“She’s with the housekeeper.”
“Why don’t you send her out? I’d love to get acquainted with her,” she lied.
“You’ll have to wait until Mr. Hix returns.” Clearly not a conversationalist, he took up residence in the shadow of the veranda again.
Everly wandered past the twenty-five-meter lap pool. Its infinity edge looked out over the ocean, where she had no doubt a spectacular sunset dazzled Hix and his daughter every night. All the rooms on the lower level had floor-to-ceiling glass panels, which were now open, blending inside and outside into one glorious space. The modern home had been decorated in grays and whites with simplicity and style. The overall effect was Architectural Digest meets tropical paradise. Since she didn’t know any men with the level of taste the design had to require, Everly assumed he’d purchased the house this way or had it decorated.
“I’ve counted twenty-seven CCTV cameras on the exterior,” she told Sam.
Her teammate whistled through his teeth. “Add those to the eighteen we found on the fences, and you’ve got one paranoid dude.”
“The file makes it sound like he’s got a lot to be paranoid about.”
Before she’d returned from Syria, the team had run a night surveillance op to evaluate how easily they could drop in and grab the girl. It hadn’t taken them long to realize Hix had put all his special forces training into play when he’d set up the home’s security system. So now Everly stood on the millionaire’s pool deck waiting for an interview. She would search for Hix’s weak spot so the team could exploit it to get the girl out.