.

and Tory froze. She strained away from Ben, ready to confront the men searching the room. But he pulled her deeper into the recess of the closet.

      “Enough.”

      She felt him move around her and saw the glint off the barrel of his gun as he pushed her behind him. So he was armed.

      The sliding door scraped along the track as one of the men pushed it open. He played the flashlight over the interior with clumsy skill. A voice called out from the hallway, and the guard turned just before the flashlight would have illuminated their spot. The guard muttered something in Spanish and retreated from the room.

      Tory waited until they could no longer hear the guards, then pushed her way past Bennington, intent on getting some answers. She stepped out of the closet and turned on him. “What was that all about?”

      “Keep your voice down—they could come back.”

      “I know that.” Damn, he’d made her forget her Athena Academy training.

      “What are you doing here?” he asked. Every line in his body was tense. He vigilantly watched the door. Tory couldn’t reconcile the man standing before her with the man she knew as Alex’s brother.

      “I’m looking for Thomas King. I came here to interview him.”

      “How did you know he was here?” His eyes narrowed, she felt caught under his eaglelike glare.

      “My boss got a call from the minister of foreign affairs, Juan Perez. I don’t think it’s been leaked to every network yet.”

      “It shouldn’t have even been leaked to you.”

      “How do you know that? And what are you doing here, Bennington?”

      Before he could answer, they heard footsteps approaching again. The person stopped outside their door, and Tory dropped into a fighting stance as the door-knob turned.

      “Stay behind me, Ben. I have a third-degree black belt in tae kwon do. I’ll protect you.”

      “Like hell. You Athena grads think you can take on the world one-handed,” Ben said.

      “We can.”

      “Not today. I’ve got a gun, and a gun trumps a black belt any day.”