Operation: Midnight Tango

Her vision tunneled on the protruding red button. Her pulse skittering wildly, she sidled closer, one inch at a time. With four feet to go, she launched herself at the alarm.

An instant before her fist made contact with the button, viselike arms wrapped around her waist. “Code three!” she screamed and rammed her elbow into his gut.

A hand over her mouth cut off her words, then he pulled her away from the alarm and swung her around. Emily used every ounce of strength and every self-defense tactic she’d learned over the last three years. But he was incredibly strong and overpowered her with an ease that amazed her.

The next thing she knew, her back connected with the lockers. The breath left her lungs in a rush of air that was part growl, part scream. “Get your hands off me!”

“If you want to live, you’ll shut your mouth and listen!” Holding her against the lockers, he glanced over his shoulder toward the door, as if expecting someone to rush them at any moment. When he turned back to her, his eyes were dark with anger. “What are you trying to do? Get someone killed?”

“I’m trying to keep a dangerous convict from escaping,” she said.

“I’m not who you think I am,” he growled.

If she hadn’t been so terrified, Emily might have laughed. “Next you’re going to be telling me you’re innocent.”

“Honey, I’m a long way from innocent, but I don’t belong in this hellhole any more than you do.”

His voice was like the low rumble of thunder announcing the approach of a violent storm. Emily was aware of his body pressed firmly against hers. She could feel the tension in his muscles, the quiver of nerves raw with adrenaline.

The thud of shoes against concrete sounded outside the door. His body went rigid. “Not another word,” he whispered. “Or I swear I’ll kill whomever walks through that door.”

She could feel the butt of the gun against her belly. “Don’t,” she said. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

His gaze fastened on hers, and she saw a flicker of an emotion she couldn’t quite identify. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone, leaving her to wonder how this was going to end. If he was going to kill her. If he was going to kill one of her co-workers. If she would have that death on her conscience the rest of her life.

He stared at her for an interminable moment, his expression a disturbing mix of fear and very dark intentions. “Unless you want me to pull this trigger, I suggest you follow my cue.”

Before she could answer, he slid his hands to either side of her face and lowered his mouth to hers.

Chapter Two

Emily was so shocked by the sudden intimate contact that for a moment she could do nothing but stand there and try to absorb what was happening. She was keenly aware of his mouth against hers, of the forbidden rush of pleasure that surged from her lips all the way to her toes.

Somewhere in the back of her mind an internal alarm wailed. Some small voice of reason telling her to shove him away. But the heat of the kiss was interfering with the synapses firing in her brain. Every impulse to scramble back and forget this had ever happened was tempered with a stronger impulse to kiss him back and worry about the consequences later.

His mouth was firm and breathtakingly talented against hers. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. The scratch of his stubble against her cheek. When she opened her mouth to voice the protest caught in her throat, he deepened the kiss.

Her protest came out as a sigh. She could feel her body melting. She knew it was the worst thing she’d ever done in her life. But the sensations coursing through her overwhelmed her, made her think maybe kissing him was a mistake worth making….

“Monroe?”

With a strength that surprised her, she shoved the inmate away, appalled by what she’d done, stunned by what she felt, mortified by how this would appear to a fellow corrections officer.

That officer was standing at the locker room doorway, his gaze sliding from her to the inmate and then back to her. “Is there a problem here?”

“No,” the convict said.

The young officer addressed Emily. “Where’s your radio?”

Heat infused her cheeks. She didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what to feel. Barely able to meet the other man’s gaze, she stepped away from the inmate. “I—I must have put it in my locker.”

The officer glared at the inmate with narrowed eyes. “Who the hell are you?”

The convict grinned like an idiot and stuck out his hand. “Zack Devlin,” he said.

Reluctantly the officer took his hand. “You new or what?”

“First day on the job.” Devlin whistled. “Hell of a facility you’ve got here.”

“Yeah, well, if you want to keep your job, I suggest you keep your mouth to yourself.” The man disentangled his hand and glared at Emily. “The sergeant has been trying to reach you on the radio. We’ve got a situation in Cell Block 2-W. Code yellow for now, but I expect them to crank it up to red if the second head count comes up short. Sarge has asked every officer on duty to stay until they find the missing inmate.”

“Oh…uh…sure. I’ll just…get my radio and meet up with you in the briefing room.”

“And bring the new recruit with you.” Sending a final scathing look at Zack, the officer turned and left the room.

Emily’s knees went weak the instant the other man disappeared, and she sat down hard on the bench. She couldn’t believe what she’d done. Couldn’t believe one of her co-workers had seen her do it. What had she been thinking letting an inmate kiss her?

Groaning, she put her face in her hands. “I’m finished as a corrections officer.”

“Look, if I hadn’t done what I did, you would have brought down the wrath of God knows how many corrections officers, and I’d be on the floor getting a mouthful of concrete about now.”

Raising her head, all she could think of was that she was twenty-eight years old and she’d never been kissed like that in her life. Suddenly she felt as much contempt for herself as she did for the inmate.

He glanced toward the door. “Look, things are about to get nasty. I’m going to go while the going is good. I appreciate the help.”

“Don’t thank me for something I didn’t do,” she said, giving him a seething look. “I’m going to hit the alarm the moment you walk out that door.”

“Just remember that things aren’t always what they appear,” he said. “No matter what you hear about me later, don’t forget that.”

No, Emily thought, she didn’t think she would ever forget this night no matter how much she wanted to.

“Watch your back.” Giving her a mock salute, he slid through the doorway with the soundless grace of a panther and disappeared into the dimly lit corridor.

For several seconds Emily sat motionless on the bench and listened to the hard pounding of her heart. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Couldn’t believe levelheaded Emily Monroe had fallen for the oldest con in the book. She’d dishonored herself, jeopardized her job and compromised everything she’d ever believed in.

Just like her father.

She rose on trembling legs and started for the alarm panel. She was midway there when movement at the doorway drew her attention. For an instant she thought Devlin—or whatever his name was—had returned. She was surprised to see, of all people, Marcus Underwood, the administrator of Lockdown, Inc., the private corporation that ran the Bitterroot Super Max. What on earth was he doing at the prison this early in the morning?

“Mr. Underwood,” she said. “I was just—”

“Officer Monroe.” He crossed to her, followed by another man. “We caught part of what happened on the security cameras from the command center. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said.

“You’re aware that we’re currently under a code yellow.”

“Yes, sir. I was about to hit the alarm. An inmate overpowered me in the infirmary less than ten minutes ago.” Her voice shook as she described the situation she’d walked into at the infirmary. “He identified himself as Zack Devlin.”

The two men exchanged a look that sent a chill up her spine. “Devlin has a long and violent history,” Underwood said.

“Did he get away?” she asked.

“Nobody gets away from Lockdown, Inc.” The second man came up beside Underwood. The stripes on his shoulders told her he was a lieutenant, but she’d never met him. “We’ll get him.”

Underwood addressed Emily. “Did he tell you anything? Mention where he was going?”

She shook her head. “All I know is that he’s wearing a Lockdown, Inc. uniform and coat and that he’s armed with a semiautomatic pistol.”

“How did he get a weapon?” Underwood asked no one in particular.

“Evidently he had help,” the lieutenant said. “Someone must have smuggled it in.”

“Zack Devlin could talk a nun into lying for him.” Underwood looked grim. “Put out a code red.”

“Yes, sir.” The lieutenant reached for his radio and began barking orders.

Hearing the squeak of rubber against concrete, Emily turned to see a man in a white lab coat standing in the doorway.

“Ah, Dr. Lionel,” began Underwood. “Before we take Officer Monroe to the debriefing room for a statement, we thought it would be a good idea for you to look her over, make sure she’s all right.” He turned his attention to Emily. “You’ve been through quite an ordeal with a very dangerous criminal. Lockdown, Inc.’s policy requires you to be thoroughly checked out by one of our medical personnel.”

“I’m fine.” She just wanted to get the paperwork finished so she could go home and forget this ever happened.

The three men were staring intently at her. Emily started to tremble when she noticed the syringe in Dr. Lionel’s hand. “What’s that for?” she asked.

Underwood gave her a reassuring smile. “I can see that you’re upset. You’re still shaking. Dr. Lionel is just going to give you a little something to help you relax.”

“I don’t need to relax.” Emily didn’t know what was going on, but there was something very wrong with this picture. As crazy as it sounded, she couldn’t shake the suspicion that these men hadn’t appeared out of nowhere to help her or debrief her. But why would they harm her? What could they possibly have to gain?

“What’s this all about?” she said. “What’s going on?”

Underwood spoke. “Did Zack Devlin tell you anything, Emily?”

Warily she glanced from man to man. “I’ve already told you everything that happened.”

“Everything, Emily? Are you absolutely certain? We were watching you on the security cameras, you know. You and Devlin seemed to be quite…close for having just met.”

The kiss, she thought and closed her eyes briefly. Dear Lord, they think I helped Devlin escape. “I— I can explain what happened.”

“Please do.”

“H-he surprised me. I was so…stunned, I couldn’t react.”

“Do you have any idea what the penalty is for aiding and abetting an escaped convict?” the lieutenant asked.

“I…didn’t,” she said breathlessly. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Your father did.”

Humiliation cut her at the mention of her father, but she kept her shoulders square, her chin up. “I know how this might look, but I did not help that man escape.”

“Someone did,” the lieutenant said.

“I followed policy and procedure,” she maintained.

“Of course you did.” Underwood assumed the classic good-cop role. “And now you’re going to tell us what Devlin told you.”

“He didn’t tell me anything.”

Sighing as if she’d disappointed him, Underwood nodded at the doctor.

“What are you doing?” she asked as the doctor approached her.

His grim expression raised gooseflesh on her arms. “We’re going to give you a little something to help you remember.”

Emily couldn’t believe this was happening. She stared at the syringe in Dr. Lionel’s hand, her heart pounding like a drum. The three men stood squarely between her and the door. There was no way she could get by them. Her hand went to the canister of pepper spray that should have been clipped to her belt only to find it gone. Damn. Damn. Damn.

“I want to speak to Warden Carpenter.” She’d known Clay Carpenter since she was a teenager. He’d worked with her father a decade earlier. The two men had been friends. He’d helped Emily get her job at the prison. He would never approve of what these men were about to do.

“I’m afraid the warden is unavailable,” the lieutenant said.

“Stay away from me,” she warned.

In tandem the lieutenant and the doctor closed in on her. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it already is,” the doctor said.

Emily lunged toward the alarm panel. Two sets of hands closed around her biceps and yanked her back.

“Let go of me!” She lashed out with her feet.

“This will be easier for you if you cooperate,” Underwood said. “Tell us what Devlin told you.”

She looked over to see Dr. Lionel thumb the cap off the syringe. “Keep that away from me!” she yelled, hoping she didn’t sound as terrified as she felt.

“We’re not going to hurt you, Emily. This is just a little thiopental sodium to help you tell the truth.”

Truth serum, she thought with a burgeoning sense of horror. “You can’t do this.”

Grabbing her arm, the lieutenant shot an irritated look at the doctor. “Inject her, damn it. We don’t have much time.”

The doctor raised the syringe. Emily had worked for Lockdown, Inc. for three years. She had two commendations in her personnel file. Why didn’t they believe her? Why would they go to such great lengths to extract information when she didn’t have a clue what they wanted from her? What could possibly be important enough to risk Lockdown, Inc.’s reputation? Or even her life?

Just remember that things aren’t always what they appear.

Devlin’s words scrolled through her mind. She glanced at Dr. Lionel. The needle was about to penetrate her skin. Oh, dear God…

“The first man that moves gets a bullet for his trouble.”

The doctor froze. All eyes swept to the doorway. Zack Devlin entered, his gun leveled on Underwood. He looked at Emily. “You okay?”

“No.” She scrambled back, looked from Zack to Underwood, then back to Zack. “I want to know what’s going on.”

“You were about to become Lockdown, Inc.’s latest victim.” His gaze cut to Underwood. “Killing your own people now?”

“You’ll never get out of here alive,” the lieutenant sneered. “Nobody has ever escaped this prison and lived to tell about it.”

“I’ve always had a knack for breaking protocol.” Devlin’s mouth curved in a dangerous imitation of a smile. “Get facedown on the floor. Hands behind your backs. All of you. Now.”

“He’s a killer,” Underwood said to Emily as he got down on the floor. “Don’t believe anything he says. You’re through, Devlin!”

Ignoring him, Zack crossed to her and held out his hand. “Give me your cuffs.”

Numb with shock and the knowledge that she was about to cross the point of no return, she removed three nylon restraints from her belt and handed them to Zack. She watched as he secured the men’s hands behind their backs.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Saving your life.” He shot her a sober look. “And mine. Come on.”

Underwood raised his head. “Don’t ruin your life, Emily. You don’t know who you’re dealing with. Zack Devlin is an Irish terrorist. A very dangerous man who’s murdered dozens of innocent people.”

Zack reached for her hand, but she stepped back, out of his reach. “I’m not going anywhere until I know what the hell is going on,” she said.

“They think I told you something.” He gazed levelly at her, his expression unreadable. “They were going to pump you full of truth serum.”

“Why did you come back?”

“Because after they injected you, they were going to kill you.”

Shuddering, Emily looked at the three men lying facedown on the floor. She’d known Marcus Underwood for three years. She couldn’t understand why a man of his stature would resort to such tactics. What could she possibly know that could be of value to him?

On the other hand, she’d seen the syringe. There was no doubt Dr. Lionel had been about to inject her with truth serum. Did they suspect Zack had given her some sort of sensitive information? Did they think she had smuggled that gun in and helped him escape? How was she supposed to make sense of any of this?

“You have to trust me.” Zack said the words with cold calm, but she heard the skitter of nerves just beneath the surface. “They’ll kill you if you stay.”

“Give me one good reason I should go with you,” she said.

He shot a pointed look at the clock on the wall. “For starters, in about thirty seconds all hell is going to break loose.”

Emily was absolutely certain all hell had already broken loose. She was wondering how the situation could get any worse when an explosion rocked the building.

Chapter Three

“Run!”

Zack didn’t wait for her to obey his command. Grabbing Emily’s hand, he dragged her from the locker room and into the main corridor.

A deafening alarm screeched intermittently, keeping perfect time with the blinking red strobes that ran along the walls. He tightened his grip on her hand and tugged her toward the personnel tunnel that would take them to the parking lot where a four-wheel-drive SUV waited, compliments of his contact at MIDNIGHT—a man Zack would happily kiss right now if he were around.

Unfortunately Emily was more interested in answers than running. Digging in her heels, she yanked her hand from his and turned on him, her expression frightened and angry. “What did you do?” she demanded. “What did you blow up? If you hurt someone—”

“I didn’t hurt anyone,” he cut in.

“I heard the explosion, damn it.”

“You heard a variation of a concussion grenade. All I did was add the timer. A lot of noise and smoke but no fire. It’s a diversionary tactic.”

“Why should I believe anything you say?”

“Maybe you prefer to go back in there with those nice men who were about to inject you.” Turning to her, he put his hands on her shoulders. When she tried to pull away, he squeezed just hard enough to make her hold still, listen to him. “Look, we don’t have time to discuss this. All you need to know is that you’re in danger. If we don’t get out of here pronto, they’re going to kill us.”

“Why?”

Because of me, he thought bitterly, and a hefty dose of self-recrimination rose inside him. The memory of Alisa’s death pressed into him with sharp, cruel fingers.

Shoving thoughts of the past back, he looked over his shoulder. “In a few seconds this place is going to be teeming with men who’ve been given orders to kill us on sight. If we don’t get through the personnel tunnel now, we’re toast.”

She looked pale and shaken despite the tough veneer she wore like a coat of armor. He could feel her shaking beneath his hands. Zack couldn’t blame her for being afraid, for not believing him. She thought he was a convict trying to escape. But he could tell she had good instincts. That those instincts were telling her to believe him. If he could only get her to listen to them.

“Trust me,” he said urgently. “I’ll tell you as much as I can once we’re safe.”

She didn’t pull away when he reached for her hand. They sprinted down the corridor at a reckless speed, rounded a corner and entered another hall. Ahead, two corrections officers manned the metal detector all personnel had to walk through to reach the tunnel.

Stopping abruptly, Zack lurched back, out of sight. “Damn it.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Metal detector.” He tugged the gun from his waistband, looked at it longingly, then tossed it into a darkened corner. “Let’s hope this goes the way I want it to.”

Both men looked up as Zack and Emily approached. A quiver of fear went through him when they raised their shotguns.

“Hold it right there,” the first man ordered. “Show me your badges. Now.”

Zack reached into his coat for the ID he’d stolen back at the infirmary. The photo on the badge didn’t look anything like him, but all he could do now was hope the officer didn’t notice.

“Hell of a night for a code,” he said casually.

“Ain’t that the truth,” officer number two muttered.

Vaguely Zack was aware of Emily holding out her badge, the officer looking closely at it, his shotgun ready at his side. Zack unclipped his own badge and held it out. He tensed as the officer looked at it, then at him. “That’s not your photo,” he said.

“Sure it is,” Zack returned smoothly.

The second officer came around the metal detector. “There a problem?”

Zack laughed. “Says this photo doesn’t look like me. Guess I’m too good-looking for my own good.”

The man eyed him suspiciously. “Where you headed?”

For the first time Emily spoke up. “Sarge sent us to do a perimeter patrol of the parking lot. Keep an eye on the vehicles.” She glanced at her watch. “We gotta run, boys, so make up you minds if that looks like him or not.”

Frowning, the officer passed the badge back to Zack. “Go.”

Zack didn’t have to be told twice.

THE PERSONNEL TUNNEL TOOK them to the employee exit. Emily hit the push bar on the double door and shoved it open. The cold predawn air hit her like a blast from a freezer, and she shivered.

“Where to now?” she asked.

“Keep walking.”

But midway to the parking lot Devlin stopped, as if listening, and looked over his shoulder toward the prison. “This is too easy. They had to have seen us on the cameras.”

“If they’d seen us, we’d be in custody already,” she said. “The SORT team doesn’t mess around.” The SORT team was the prison system’s version of a SWAT team.

“Unless their intent isn’t to take us into custody.”

For a moment the only sound came from their boots sinking into snow as they jogged across the parking lot. Around them the January night was bitterly cold. The occasional snowflake fell from a black sky, but the air was heavy with moisture, a precursor to a heavy snowfall.

“Over there.” He pointed toward a big white SUV parked in the far corner of the lot.

“Now you’re adding grand theft auto to your repertoire of charges?”

“My contact left it for me. There’s a GPS chip and a few other useful items hidden inside the wheel.” Taking her hand, he started toward the vehicle at a dead run. “Hurry.”

Contact? GPS system? Useful items? A dozen alarms were blaring simultaneously inside Emily’s head, most of which were warning her not to believe a word he said. She didn’t know what was going on or who to trust. The one thing she did know for certain was that this man was a convict. That he was escaping. That her employers at Lockdown, Inc. presumed she was helping him.

But she couldn’t explain what had taken place back in that locker room. Would Marcus Underwood and his men have hurt her if Zack hadn’t shown up when he did? What information could he possibly have that would be so valuable? Emily didn’t know the answers, but the possibilities chilled her to the bone.

When they reached the SUV, Zack went directly to the right front tire and knelt to open a small hidden compartment set into the wheel. Emily stared in shock as he withdrew a good-size drawstring satchel and a set of keys. She’d never seen a key holder like that before. “How did you know that was there?”

Grinning, he tossed the keys into the air and caught them with one hand. “Must be my lucky day.”

The tinny thwack! of a bullet penetrating steel punctuated the statement. Thwack! Thwack!

“Get down!”

The next thing Emily knew, she was being shoved to the ground. She got a mouthful of snow, and then Zack was on top of her. Thwack! Thwack! His body jerked with each gunshot. She could feel her own nerves jumping, terror beginning to flood her. Thwack!

“Damn it!”

She looked up to see the right front tire explode. Then her hand was locked within his and she was being dragged to her feet. “Run!”