Exposed

“We won’t hurt you.”

Her eyes widened and she started to scream. Tory clamped her hand over the woman’s mouth and pinched her carotid artery. The woman slumped against her. Tory took her under the armpits and laid her on the bed.

“Let’s go,” Ben said.

“I need to get to Thomas King. Something weird is going on with him. I can sense it.”

“Why are you concerned about King?” Ben watched her with narrowed eyes.

She was surprised that he knew who King was. Some pieces of the puzzle that was Ben Forsythe were morphing shape. “Why are you here in the same hospital as he is? And why are you armed? What do you know about him?”

“Nothing really,” Ben said.

“Or if you do, you’re not saying, right?”

“Tory, just pretend this never happened,” he said, gesturing to the room and himself.

“You know that as a journalist I can’t ignore this story, Ben. I’m not leaving the hospital until I’m sure King is here and he’s unharmed.”

“The less you know the safer you’ll be.”

“I’ve already started asking questions. And I’m not going to stop until I have this story figured out.” Tory moved past Ben, intent on searching the floor and finding out where Thomas King was.

“I was afraid you’d say that. King’s being moved tonight.” Ben stopped her with a hand on her arm.

She was surprised he gave her the information. “Where to?”

“A more secure location.”

“Ben, what are you doing here?”

“Listen, I’m kind of busy. Can we talk later, Patton?”

“Right.”

Ben tucked his weapon into his ankle holster, and they left the room. The corridor outside wasn’t busy, and Ben glanced both ways before leading her toward the stairwell.

“I don’t want to—”

“Trust me, Patton. You’ll still get your exclusive but you need to get out of here now before those guards come back.”

She nodded. Ben was tall and ruggedly good-looking in this light. He scarcely resembled his newspaper pictures. A beard covered the bottom half of his face, he wasn’t grinning and his eyes didn’t have that vacant expression he usually wore. In fact, he seemed like a highly trained military man.

Funny that he’d never really looked muscular in his evening wear.

“I thought you left the military years ago,” she said as they went down the stairs.

“Who says I didn’t?”

“I’m trying to put the puzzle together, Forsythe. And most of the pieces don’t fit.”

“Then don’t force them.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked out of the hospital past the guards as if he owned the place.

Once they were away from the entrance, Tory tried to move away but Ben wouldn’t let her. He pulled her against his body as they walked around the corner of the building.

He was pressed all along the side of her body. Her face was level with his chest and she leaned her head against him for a moment, guessing that he wanted them to look like a couple as they got away. He smelled good and clean, and for a second she wanted to rest there. To let her heart stop pounding like crazy.

Give her a lying politician or an apologetic Hollywood superstar who’d been busted for using cocaine and she was okay. But running and hiding from el policía who hated americanos made her feel vulnerable. Something she’d vowed a long time ago to never be.

As soon as they were out of sight of the guards, she forced herself to shift away from Bennington. Hell, he was Alex’s useless brother. What the was going on here?

She stopped and turned to stare up at him. “What are you doing on Puerto Isla?”

“What do you think I’m doing here?”

“It’s a little too dangerous for you to come down here to chase after your love bunnies, so I’m not sure.”

He gave her a half smile that took her breath away. “Nice opinion you have of me.”

“I didn’t know you cared.”

“I don’t.”

A patrol of two guards rounded the corner. Ben tensed and swore.

He backed her against the wall. His mouth moved over hers with none of the skill and finesse she’d have expected of him. Instead she was overwhelmed with raw passion and a primal feeling that welled up deep in her soul.

His free hand cupped her butt and pulled her fully into the cradle of his thighs. One of his legs slipped between hers. He had her completely protected with his body, and though the threat was imminent she still responded to the passion in him.

It had been a long time since a man had kissed her like Bennington was doing right now.

“Helada. ¿Qué usted está haciendo?” one of the guards called out.

Ben lifted his head, rubbed his lips over hers one time and then glanced over at the guard who’d asked them what they were doing.

“El intentar conseguir una cierta acción,” Ben said with a grin. Then lowered his head to hers again.

The guard laughed and walked away, wishing Ben luck. Ben continued to hold her until the men disappeared, and she did her best to ignore the racing through her bloodstream.

She was here on the job, dammit. And nothing—certainly not Bennington Forsythe—was going to mess with that.

The afternoon air was thick with the smell of hibiscus, something that always reminded Tory of her mother’s house and the bushes that grew under her childhood bedroom window. She pulled back from Ben. He kept her loosely tucked to his side.

He put on a pair of sunglasses, shielding his eyes from her. She wasn’t sure she could trust him. He hadn’t said he was in the military, and the Ben she knew could very easily be down here on a lark. Working—or rather playing—at some dangerous game that involved little or no ethics.

“I can see why you have a reputation as a ladies’ man,” she said lightly. She edged farther away from him. But his hand on her waist stopped her.

“There’s a lot more smoke to my reputation than substance.” She pushed his hand off. He put it back, more firmly. He scanned the area searching for something. Backup? More attackers? She didn’t know.

“Actually, Forsythe, I’m beginning to think there’s more substance than you’d like the world to see.” That wasn’t very subtle, but she was on an adrenaline jag from her near escape with armed police.

“There isn’t, Patton.” His voice was devoid of its earlier commanding tone. This was the Ben she’d run into a few times in Manhattan. Society’s golden boy, who flitted from woman to woman and party to party with little care.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked. His hand still gripped her waist. She’d always been a little intrigued by Alex’s brother.

“You heard what I told the guards,” he said.

“Trying to get a little action? Ben, you’re hopeless.” She tilted her head back and tried to read his eyes, but it was impossible with those dark shades and his guarded expression.

“Nah, baby. I’m just an all-American male.” He ran one finger down the side of her face. She knew he was playing her. Using the spark of attraction that had developed between them to distract her from the questions she was dying to ask.

“I won’t stop asking until you tell me what you’re doing here.”

Ben stepped away from her. He took her hand, leading her away from the hospital.

“You’re not still on about that, are you?” he asked. He pushed his hands through his thick hair and pivoted away from her.

“I never really left it,” she said softly.

“Well, forget it, Tory, and forget me. Get yourself off this island as quick as you can. This isn’t the place for you. Who let you come down here?”

He didn’t sound like Society Sam now. He was pure pissed-off male and Tory bit the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling. She wondered if he’d ever be able to fool her with his charming rogue’s smile again.

“Ben, it’s the twenty-first century. No one let me come. My station sent me. I was promised an exclusive.”

He nodded. “Go back to Miami. I’ll make sure you talk to King there.”

“How can you ensure that? Are you still with the military?”

“Never mind me. Just get back to your hotel, pack your stuff and get your sweet ass off this island.”

“My sweet ass?” Tory wanted to smile at him but wasn’t going to. Her mind was swirling with questions and half-formed answers. She needed to write this encounter down on paper. She thought better with a pen in her hand.

“It’s a phrase.”

“One most guys are smart enough to keep to themselves.”

“I haven’t heard any complaints.”

She narrowed her eyes and stepped away from his touch. “I’m not leaving the island. This interview is my chance to reach the next level in my career. And it’s not like I don’t have the training to handle this type of situation.”

“God save me from Athena women. Seriously, Tory, forget you saw me here.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to do that,” she said. There was something different about Ben in her mind now, and she knew she’d never forget his rock-hard body or his skill and knowledge in getting them away from the hospital.

“Try real hard. You’re a smart lady—you should be able to figure out something.”

“That’s right, Bennington, I am a smart lady and I’ve finally realized that something about you doesn’t add up.”

“Let me know when you figure out what it is,” he said. “Where are you staying?”

“Near the airport.”

“Where’s your car?” he asked.

She gestured in the direction where Jay was still parked. She hoped.

“I’ll see you safely to your car.”

“I can handle walking to my car by myself,” she said.

“Be careful. Even Athena graduates sometimes find themselves in over their heads.”

“I know that.”

“I wish you’d leave.”

“I’m not going to until I talk to Thomas King. I’ve had some time to think about his situation, and nothing adds up.”

“Like what?” he asked. She couldn’t tell if he was curious or ticked off because she refused to let it go.

“Well, how did the guerrillas ambush an entire SEAL platoon? You know how well trained the SEALs are. One or two causalities I can believe, but the entire team?”

“They are highly trained. But even highly trained men can make a mistake.”

“Is that what happened?”

“How would I know? I’m here for the sun, sand and beautiful babes.”

“Thirty minutes ago I would’ve believed that.”

“It’s in your best interest to believe it again. When are you supposed to meet King?”

“Well, I kind’ve got officially uninvited to interview him, but Perez is meeting with me tomorrow morning.”

“Be careful, Patton. Someone doesn’t want King to talk to you,” he said, and she couldn’t tell if he was warning her or threatening her.

“You?”

“We wouldn’t be having this conversation if that were the case.”

“You don’t scare me. I’ve got my Athena training, don’t forget,” she said with a wry grin.

“What does scare you?” he asked, his playboy smile fixed firmly in place.

She wasn’t going to admit to fears to this man who’d implied that he might have killed her if that had been his order. She tossed her hair. “Nothing.”

She walked away without looking back. And though she’d never admit it, she was glad Jay was in the Jeep.

The afternoon was balmy and she paused in the shade for a moment to tip her head back and just breathe. She wasn’t as brave as her Athena pals. Her hands were still trembling. It’s just an adrenaline let-down. But it felt like fear, and she didn’t like being reminded that failure here could have higher consequences than just being busted back to the local television station.

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