Undercover Pursuit. Susan May Warren

He put his hand up and she flinched.

      Oh, man. The sudden flare of fear in her eyes made him feel awful. “Listen, you are Stacey Meyer, right? From Denver? You know, my bride-to-be?”

      After seeing the look on her face, he didn’t know who to feel more sorry for—her, or himself. Because clearly he’d come to the wedding with the wrong date.

      She drew in a breath, glanced at Lucia and then back at him. “My name is Scarlett Hanson, and I’m here for my sister Bridgett’s wedding.” Her voice had a sort of high twang to it. “But I think maybe you didn’t know that, did you?”

      He looked at Lucia, who had frozen. Who, in fact, might not even be breathing. “Lucia, everything is going to be fine—”

      “Who is this woman?” Lucia asked, her voice shaking.

      “I picked her up at the airport. I thought she was my contact—”

      “Picked me up? Picked me up? Oh…oh, you listen here—whoever you are. You were in my cab, thank you very much, and you were supposed to be my date, not the other way around, so let’s just rethink who picked who up, shall we?”

      Perfect. He could spot a woman—no, women—about to unravel.

      Oh, how he hated working with people he didn’t know. It made it very easy for things to go wrong. Things like this.

      “Ladies, please, let’s just figure this out.” He held up his hands in surrender to Scarlett. “Please, sit down. Let’s talk about this.”

      Scarlett stood there looking at Luke as if he had spoken Russian. Then, she drew in a long breath and shuffled over to the sofa. She sat on the arm, her hands tangled together in a whitened grip. “Is your name really Luke?”

      “Yes. And I’m assuming you are really Scarlett Hanson?”

      “Always have been. From the moment I got into the cab with you.”

      Suddenly it all clicked—why she’d been so cold, even offended, when he’d suggested they might be a couple. And why she’d made sure he knew to keep his hands to himself. Oops.

      He looked at Lucia and motioned for her to sit down. She shook her head.

      Yes, next time he would definitely work solo. He schooled his voice into something resembling calm, hoping it might help him, too.

      “Uh, okay, here’s what’s going down, Scarlett. Unfortunately, I was supposed to meet a woman named Stacey. She was my cover—my fiancée—for this mission. Clearly something happened to her.”

      “Mission?”

      “I’m…well, let’s just say I’m a security specialist. And in this case, I’m here to protect Lucia.” He nodded toward her.

      “Why does Lucia need protecting?”

      “Because I’m marrying Benito Sanchez,” Lucia said, none too politely. She finally sat down in the overstuffed chair. “And someone is trying to stop me.”

      “Someone is trying to keep you from getting married?”

      Lucia fiddled with the two-carat ring on her finger. Luke suddenly realized he should have noticed that Scarlett wasn’t wearing a ring. Mistakes—how he hated them.

      “Yes. Maybe because they’ve figured out that I’m not really here to get married,” Lucia said.

      “You’re not?”

      She lowered her voice, glancing at Luke as if for permission. Scarlett glared at him. He nodded. Scarlett deserved some information at this point. It was the least he could do.

      “I’m here to help the CIA catch Augusto Sanchez. He’s a terrorist and the leader of a drug and human trafficking cartel in Panama.”

      “I don’t understand.”

      “Augusto is a shadow. Very few people actually know what he looks like, or where he lives. But he’s my fiancé’s uncle and he’s coming to our wedding. The CIA will raid the wedding and arrest him.”

      “On your wedding day?”

      “Well, I’m not really getting married, obviously.” She cupped her hand over her mouth, swallowing, and Luke could see her tear. “Poor Benito.” She closed her eyes and took a breath.

      Scarlett just stared at her, horror on her face.

      Luke even felt a little sorry for Lucia.

      But that’s what happened when you fell in love with liars. You got dirty, and people got hurt.

      Lucia finally exhaled. “The problem is, I think some one knows the truth. Last week when I was at the market, someone tried to run me down, I know it.” She lifted her arm, and Luke winced at the ugly scrape that reddened her skin. “I told my contact at the CIA but he didn’t believe me. Frankly, I don’t know who to trust, so I called a friend.”

      “My boss,” Luke said quietly, trying to read Scarlett’s face.

      Scarlett turned to him and said, “So, this Stacey is supposed to be here protecting Lucia?”

      “Yes.”

      “As a bridesmaid.”

      “Maid of honor. My friend from college,” Lucia said.

      “And if you aren’t protected—”

      “Then someone is going to kill me.”

      Scarlett looked at Luke and shook her head. “I’m an idiot.”

      “No, you’re not.”

      “Oh, yes, I am. I should have known that a guy like you wouldn’t be my date. I don’t know where my head was.”

      Now what was that supposed to mean?

      She stood up before he could ask. “Listen, Lucia, I am really sorry about messing things up here. And I pray you’ll be safe.” She turned to Luke. “Take me back to the island and I’ll get out of your hair. You can track down this Stacey girl and get back to your mission.” She held out her hand to Lucia. “Nice to meet you.”

      Lucia didn’t move. She looked at Luke, her eyes glued to him.

      Luke blew out a long breath.

      Scarlett lowered her hand. “What’s the problem?”

      “Uh…Scarlett, I really don’t know how to tell you this but, see, you went through security with me. And…”

      Wow, he needed a drink—possibly more than water. Although those days were over, too. He sighed.

      “Luke—”

      “You can’t leave.” Lucia found her feet. “If Luke takes you back to the island and returns alone, they’ll know something is up.”

      “What? No.” She’d gone white, and he grimaced as he delivered her fate.

      “She’s right, Scarlett. You might not be Stacey Meyer, but you are my fiancée. At least for the next three days.”

      “My sister needs me. I can’t stay here. She’s expecting me to help her with her wedding—I have to pick up her dress!” Her voice shrilled as she lunged for the door.

      Luke hated himself just a little when he caught her, his hands closing around her arms. And he felt even worse when he went all military on her, dropping his voice. “Scarlett. I absolutely cannot let you walk out of here.”