Undercover Texas - By Robin Perini Page 0,9

him in? You can trust me.”

“My house is ashes. My son is in danger.” Erin flashed an irritated look at Hunter in the rearview mirror but did as he said. “Excuse me for having trouble finding my happy place. Trusting you is just not happening, no matter what you’ve done for us.”

He caught the tearful quaver in her voice hovering just below the anger. She was exhausted...and petrified.

She should be.

Way more than she realized.

“I promise...you’ll be fine,” he said rashly, having no clue if he could guarantee such a claim.

“I’ve been fine since you disappeared,” she said. “Then, the moment I see you again, my home goes up in flames. You fight like an assassin and your phone-jamming toy is too high tech and top secret for a computer analyst, or whatever you’re claiming to be today. If you’re into something bad, how do I know you didn’t bring this trouble down on me?”

He shook his head. Despite her fragile—and frightened—appearance, Erin Jamison had a spine of steel and a genius IQ that made her way too smart for her own good. Any other time, her suspicions about him would be correct, but this crisis she’d brought on herself. “I told you, your prototype caught the attention of the wrong people. My company intercepted several communications that indicated you were to be kidnapped tonight and turned over to a terrorist cell. Those are the facts.”

Erin let out a shaky breath. “If you know who these people are, then drop me by the police station and tell them before you go. After they’re arrested, I’ll deal with this problem just like I’ve dealt with everything since I was eighteen. By myself.”

For a smart woman, she was being incredibly obtuse. She was in danger. He wanted to be there for her. He’d always wanted to be there for her. When he’d been unable to get her memory out of his head, he’d taken his first clandestine leave to go see her, thinking he’d surprise her.

Instead, she’d surprised him. She’d been seven months pregnant.

He’d never doubted her child was his. She’d been a virgin before Santorini. She had been so naive. An unbelievable prodigy, genius level, and the most innocent, loving person he’d ever known. She’d made him feel alive again.

Seeing her pregnant, and knowing that even by communicating with her he’d endanger her and the baby, Hunter had gone from elation to grief in a heartbeat. Every warning from that first briefing with General Miller pummeled through Hunter’s brain. No family. No friends outside of the team. No weaknesses.

Erin was his vulnerability, his child an even larger one. They could be used against him. He couldn’t risk putting her, their child or his team in danger. His heart hadn’t shattered into a million shards when he made the toughest decision of his life. It had been sucked into a black hole, where no feelings escaped.

He’d had no choice then.

Or now.

Hunter turned on a road leading to highway 281.

Erin whipped her head toward Pensacola. “You’re going the wrong way. The police station is back there.”

He flipped on his turn signal and merged into traffic. “Erin, I’m the only one who can help. I’ve devised a plan.” Hunter pressed a button on his earpiece. “We’re en route.”

“Did you pick up the packages?” Leona asked.

“Yes, but our friends were less than five minutes behind,” Hunter growled. “Why didn’t you know about them earlier?”

Leona let out a curse that belied her grandmotherly appearance. “Must be new deliverymen. I’ll look into it.” She paused. “By the way, the firemen found the charred remains of two similar packages inside the burning building. Police are assuming they belong to the occupants of the house. I suspect they were delivered to the address just prior to the blast.”

Hunter’s gut roiled. He’d heard a thud in the kitchen just before Terence and his partner had burst into the living room. He didn’t want Erin to ever know what had happened. “Our friends don’t want anyone searching for a missing doctor and her son.”

He could picture the flash of fury in Leona’s eyes.

“How do you want me to proceed?” she asked.

Hunter watched Erin’s eyes. He could see those genius-level brain cells taking in his end of the conversation with his handler. Erin would understand the whole situation soon enough. As far as the world knew, she and Brandon were dead. Hunter didn’t intend to change that perception.

“Stay with the plan, Leona. Run the credit card as soon as we’ve had time to