Missing Mother-To-Be. Эль Кеннеди

job and executing it brought him satisfaction. Pleasure, even.

      But he couldn’t go on this way forever. He was thirty-eight years old. Eventually he’d have to quit risking his neck, and the money this assignment would bring in was enough to live on for the rest of his life, if he chose to get out. What would he do anyway, if he gave this all up? He’d lived fast and dangerous for so many years now, taken on jobs that most men wouldn’t dream of taking, usually legal, though sometimes the lines were blurred. He’d walked the dark side for so long, he wasn’t sure light belonged in his life. Maybe the darkness was all he’d ever have.

      As they reached the jet, Kilo descended the metal ladder and stepped onto the tarmac. Of all the men on the team, Kilo was by the far the biggest. At six-five and two hundred and fifty pounds, the man was enormous. He also doubled as a pilot, though how he managed to wedge that huge body into the cockpit was anyone’s guess.

      “We’re all fueled up and ready to go,” Kilo announced in his Tennessee drawl. The gentle accent seemed completely wrong coming out of the guy’s mouth.

      “Watch your step,” Le Clair said to Lana, then gave her bottom a firm slap and pushed her onto the first step.

      With the blindfold on, she was unprepared for climbing stairs, and ended up stumbling forward, her hands shooting out in search of something to steady her.

      Le Clair chuckled again, the harsh sound bringing a jolt of rage to Deacon’s gut.

      “Easy,” he found himself hissing out.

      Le Clair’s head swiveled in his direction. Those silvery eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

      Deacon quickly backpedaled. “Her daddy won’t be so generous if he finds out we’re roughing up his daughter.”

      The boss raised one thick brow. “How about you leave the cash negotiating to me and get on the damn plane, Delta.”

      Deacon made a show of apology, bowing his head slightly and climbing up the ladder with hunched shoulders. Why hadn’t he just kept his mouth shut? So what if Le Clair was being a little too rough with Lana? It was just part of the job. Shake up the target, get her nice and scared.

      Except, scaring Lana was the last thing he wanted to do.

      The interior of the jet was pristine, featuring two plush white leather sofas and mahogany tables. There was even a small bar in the corner. Discomfort crept up Deacon’s spine. Last time he’d been on a plane like this was more than two decades ago. His father had owned a sweet little Gulfstream, which the family made good use of, traveling to their vacation homes in the Hamptons, Europe and the villa in Tahiti. Back then, Deacon had enjoyed being surrounded by such wealth. Now it only reminded him of the way his entire life had shattered.

      “Put her over there,” Le Clair said to Charlie, nodding toward the end of one couch. “Cuff her to the table.”

      Deacon tried not to cringe as Charlie hauled Lana to the sofa, forcibly made her sit, then circled one metal handcuff around a slender wrist and secured the other to the leg of the table beside her. The position had her leaning to the side, but none of the men seemed concerned with her discomfort.

      Deacon pretended it didn’t bother him, either. Remaining expressionless, he headed for the other couch as Echo closed the door of the jet. He was about to sit down when Le Clair issued a sharp order. “Delta, get in the cockpit with Kilo. You get to play copilot this morning.”

      He got the message loud and clear. Le Clair didn’t want him around after the way he’d reprimanded him out on the steps. He was being banished, punished for talking out of turn.

      “Yes, sir,” he murmured before turning around and heading for the cockpit door.

      Just as well. Maybe he could use this time to figure out what the hell to do. He needed a moment alone with Lana, so he could make sure she understood just how hazardous it would be if she revealed their liaison to the others. Maybe he could use their tryst to convince her not to cause any trouble. Get her to trust him.

      Because he knew, without a doubt, how volatile Paul Le Clair’s temper was. Le Clair might have use for Lana now, but if her daddy didn’t pay up, she could very well end up being collateral damage.

      And Deacon had no intention of letting that happen.

      Chapter 3

      Deacon was obviously an undercover operative. Lana reached that conclusion somewhere between being blindfolded in the SUV and being hauled off the plane. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been in the air. Her captors had kept the blindfold on the entire time, which made it impossible to look at her watch, but her internal clock told her many hours had passed. At least ten. She hadn’t heard Deacon’s voice in the cabin during the flight, causing her to deduce that he was the “Delta” who the man with the faint French accent had ordered into the cockpit.

      She sensed his presence the entire time, though, and spent the flight piecing together the details that provided the evidence to confirm her theory. The imperceptible shake of his head when she’d been about to remind him of their night together. The reluctance in his eyes before the blindfold had been tied around her head. The way he’d told his boss to go easy on her when the man got too rough.

      He was evidently working undercover. Somehow he’d infiltrated this group of thugs, and he was here to bust them. Bust them, and protect her in the meantime. That had to be it.

      Right?

      Guess again, Nancy Drew.

      Lana ignored the cynical voice. No, that had to be it. Why else would Deacon be here?

      To kidnap you, idiot.

      No. She clamped her teeth over her bottom lip. No, he must have more honorable intentions. She might not have much experience with men, but she’d always relied on her immaculate judgment. She had a sixth sense about people. Knew right from that very first “hello” whether they were good at heart, or working an agenda. Her brother Jim still teased her about it, calling her a walking lie-detector test. Her BS meter was flawless.

      Or at least it had been in the past.

      “Walk toward the car,” came the voice she now recognized as Scar Cheek, or Tango as she’d heard one of the men call him.

      Walk toward the car. Right, because she could totally see the car. The blindfold was beginning to annoy her. She was tired of being in the dark, literally.

      A hand wrenched her arm, nearly ripping it from the socket. She cried out in pain, but no one consoled her. Instead, she was being dragged along again. A chill hung in the air, making goose bumps rise on her bare arms. She remembered the boss man mentioning warm clothing. Were they somewhere north? Up in the mountains? A hysterical laugh bubbled in the back of her throat. For all she knew, they’d flown her to Antarctica.

      “Goddamn northern California,” she heard a male voice mumble so quietly they probably didn’t realize she’d heard it.

      But she had. Loud and clear.

      Northern California!

      Okay, so she had a location. An ironic one, seeing as she’d spent the past couple of weeks fighting the urge to come back to the States. Now she was here, and her family probably had no clue. Unless her captors had contacted them already. Just as she’d deduced Deacon was one of the good guys, she also knew exactly why she was here.

      Money.

      Story of her life, wasn’t it? She was Lana Kelley, the youngest child of two incredibly rich parents, not to mention a wealthy uncle. These men obviously wanted to squeeze some cash out of her parents, or maybe Uncle Donald. There was no other reason why she’d be kidnapped, and this was just another example of how money drove people to such incredible lengths. Evil lengths.

      Lana drew in a wobbly breath as someone shoved her into the backseat of another vehicle. She wanted to speak, to assure these men that whatever they wanted, her family would give them, but