Page 1 of Storm Warning

CHAPTER ONE

ANDRE MARSH INCHEDcloser to the ventilation grate, scowling at the metal slats obstructing his vision. He needed to see everything going on in the cold, sterile room where thugs held Riley.

His woman was holding her own, so Andre gave her kudos for that. Well, he’d like to call her his woman. At the moment, he occupied the space of a wonderful friend.

He grimaced. He’d been stuck in the friend zone for months now and had yet to broach the subject with Riley in a way guaranteed for him to escape that zone. His feelings for Riley Sloan went way beyond friendship and had since the day he met her and the Artemis team.

“We need your cooperation, Ms. Sloan,” her interrogator said, a plea clear in his voice. “Will you work with us?”

“You have a funny way of asking for cooperation.” Riley wriggled her wrists, which were zip-tied to the arms of a chair, as were her ankles. “Kidnapping? Really? Why didn’t you contact my boss and ask to talk to me?”

“That’s not possible. We can’t use official channels. There must be no trace of the search or of our request for your cooperation.”

“Request? You kidnapped me, buddy. That’s not asking politely.”

“You must understand our position, Ms. Sloan. This assignment is of the utmost urgency.”

Andre frowned. This guy wasn’t making sense. What assignment?

“What’s the assignment?”

“That’s classified.”

She was silent for a beat. “Do you work for the government?”

A wintry smile curved his lips. “Also classified.”

Riley scowled. “Look, I need to know what I’m getting into before I’ll do anything.”

The thug at the back of the room stepped up behind Riley, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and yanked her head back. When she gasped, Thug One pressed a knife to her throat.

She froze.

“Show some respect.”

Andre aimed his weapon at the thug brandishing the knife and adjusted his position. One wrong twitch, and Thug One was dead.

Riley swallowed hard, and blood trickled down her throat.

Andre’s finger caressed the trigger of his Sig. He’d have to move fast to kill all three men before one of them shot Riley or slit her throat in retaliation. He couldn’t depend on Riley to help him, not with her hands tied to the chair, and the rest of their teammates were fighting cartel soldiers. Andre had been the only one to see these thugs slip in and take off with Riley.

“Don’t.” Interrogator pulled his own weapon and aimed at Thug One. “Release her.”

Thug One’s eyes widened. “What are you doing? I’m on your side.”

“I have orders, and so do you. Ms. Sloan is not to be harmed. Release her. Now.”

The thug glared at Interrogator as he complied with the order. He took the knife away from Riley’s throat, released her hair, and stepped back, returning the wicked-looking knife to its sheath.

Interrogator grabbed a clean towel from a nearby table and dabbed at the cut to Riley’s throat, wiping blood from her skin. “There now. It’s just a minor cut. I apologize for my colleague. He’s loyal and enthusiastic about his job.” The man leaned closer to inspect the cut.

Andre tensed, adjusting his aim again. His target needed to move a couple of inches to the right. No way would he risk hitting Riley by accident. He’d rather not shoot anyone in that room. Doing so might bring more men into the room and lower the odds of rescuing Riley to almost nil.

After a careful inspection, Interrogator nodded. “It’s a minor cut. I don’t have antibiotic ointment, or I would treat it.”

Thug Two cleared his throat. “Move back, sir.”

His boss stared. “Why?”