Undercover Accomplice

He needed someone by his side.

Someone he could trust.

A terrorist attack is looming, and Delta Force soldier Hunter Mancini must team up with CIA operative Sue Chandler—again. Their mission: find and stop a radical group before it obtains and detonates a nuclear weapon. But as disaster threatens, Sue reveals a secret even this action-hardened warrior couldn’t imagine. Now with everything on the line, getting the job done is the top priority. Not that Hunter is about to forget the truths Sue has been hiding for far too long…

CAROL ERICSON is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She has an eerie fascination for true-crime stories, a love of film noir and a weakness for reality TV, all of which fuel her imagination to create her own tales of murder, mayhem and mystery. To find out more about Carol and her current projects, please visit her website at www.carolericson.com, ‘where romance flirts with danger.’

Also by Carol Ericson

Enemy Infiltration

Delta Force Defender

Delta Force Daddy

Delta Force Die Hard

Locked, Loaded and SEALed

Alpha Bravo SEAL

Bullseye: SEAL

Point Blank SEAL

Secured by the SEAL Bulletproof

SEAL

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Undercover Accomplice

Carol Ericson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09458-0

UNDERCOVER ACCOMPLICE

© 2019 Carol Ericson

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

About the Publisher

Prologue

He ducked into the cave and swept the beam from the weak flashlight around the small space. Releasing a frosty breath, he slid down the wall of the cave into a crouch and faced the entrance, balancing his weapon on his knees.

After he’d helped Rafi and the others fight off the intruders who’d attacked their village, he took off for the hills—but not before he’d arranged another meeting with Pazir.

The last time he’d tried to meet with Pazir, it had led to the death of an army ranger, the possible death of one of his Delta Force team members and his own decision to go AWOL. He hoped for a better result this time.

A bush outside the cave rustled and he coiled his thigh muscles, getting ready to spring. His trigger finger twitched.

A harsh whisper echoed in the darkness. “Denver? Major Denver?”

He rose slowly, his jacket scraping the wall of the cave, the light from his flashlight illuminating a figure on hands and knees at the cave’s entrance. “If you have any weapons, toss them in first. If you’re not alone…you soon will be.”

Pazir sat back on his heels and tossed a small pistol onto the dirt floor. He rummaged through the clothes on his body and flicked a knife through the air. It landed point down on the ground.

“That’s all I have.” Pazir continued forward on his knees, his hands in the air. “I had nothing to do with the ambush at our previous meeting. I barely got out of there with my life.”

“The other Delta Force soldier? Asher Knight? Do you know what happened to him?”

“He survived.”

Denver almost sank to the dirt again as relief coursed through his rigid muscles. “You know that for sure?”

“I know that he and the others are challenging the story that’s out there about you.”

“They are?” Denver’s spine stiffened, and he lined it up against the cave wall again.

“Your men are loyal to you, Denver.”

“But they haven’t cleared me yet?”

“They’re getting close. My sources tell me there’s a battle raging about your guilt in the highest levels of government.”

“You have good sources, Pazir.” Denver gestured with his weapon. “Sit. What else have they told you? What do you know about those weapons at the embassy outpost in Nigeria? What do you know about the car bomb at the Syrian refugee camp?”

“Al Tariq.”

Denver cleared his throat and spit. “Too small. I know that group and there’s no way they could pull off what they’re doing.”

“They’re the front group in the region. They’re being used to do some of the grunt work. They’re being used to track you down.”

“By whom? Who’s behind this and what do they want?”

“As far as I know, it’s an international group, moles from different government agencies working together. They want weapons, and they’re close to getting their hands on a nuclear device.”

Denver swore, finally loosening the grip on his weapon. “That’s what I was afraid of, and now you’ve just confirmed it.”

“Has to be more than a rumor, Denver.”

“I wanna know who’s at the top. It’s not good enough to finger Al Tariq.”

Pazir scratched his beard and squatted across from Denver. “I know Al Tariq wasn’t responsible for kidnapping that CIA agent.”

“That female?”

“She was getting too close to the truth—just like you.”

“They released her.”

“She escaped.”

“And you think the people who kidnapped Agent Chandler are the same ones pulling the strings for Al Tariq and trying to get their hands on this nuclear device?”

“I know it, Denver. Don’t ask me how.”

“Then I need to figure out who kidnapped Chandler.”

“From here?” Pazir threw out one arm.

“I have to stay in hiding. You don’t.”

Pazir snorted. “I can’t exactly run around the globe and travel to Washington, either.”

“No, but you can get a message out for me, can’t you?”

“Yes.” Pazir reached into his pouch and pulled out a piece of flatbread. He ripped it in half and thrust one piece at Denver. “You want me to try to send a message to Agent Chandler?”

“I want you to send a message to one of my Delta Force team members. Hunter Mancini worked with Chandler on a covert mission once, and they got…close. You get a message to Mancini, and he can contact Chandler. Maybe she has some insight into who held her and what she was working on, but she’s afraid to say anything.”

“I can do that.” Pazir pulled a pencil and pad of paper from his bag. “Give me the details.”

As Denver chewed through the rough bread, he rattled off instructions to Pazir for contacting Mancini. “I don’t have to tell you not to let this fall into the wrong hands.”

“I give up nothing.”

“Shh.” Denver sidled along the wall of the cave and peered out the entrance. “We’re not alone.”

Pazir lunged for his weapon. “We’ll fight them off together.”

“You go.” Denver grabbed a handful of Pazir’s jacket. “I’ll distract them. Get that message to Mancini if it’s the last thing you do.”

Chapter One

Sue slipped the burner phone from the inside pocket of her purse. She swiped a trickle of sweat from her temple as she reread the text and ducked into the last stall in the airport bathroom. Her heart fluttered in her chest just like it always did before she made a call to The Falcon.

He answered after one ring. “Seven, one, six, six, nine.”

The numbers clicked in her brain and she responded. “Ten, five, seven, two, eight.”

“Are you secure?”

The altered voice grated against her ear as she peeked through the gap between the stall door and its frame at several women washing their hands, scolding children, and wheeling their bags in and out of the bathroom, too concerned with their own lives to worry about someone reciting numbers on a cell phone.

Their nice, normal lives.

“Yeah.”

“You got the name of the barbershop wrong. There’s no Walid there.”

“That’s not possible.”

“You misheard the name…or they purposely fed you the wrong one because they made you.”

Sue swallowed and pressed her forehead against the cool metal door. “They didn’t.”

“Because they would’ve killed you when you were with them?”

“That’s right.” Sue yanked off a length of toilet paper from the roll and stepped in front of the toilet to make it flush automatically. “I’ve been doing this for a while. I’d know.”

“That’s what I like about you, Nightingale. You’re a pro. You’ve already proven you’ll do anything for the cause.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and sniffed. “Next move?”

“We need the correct barbershop.”

“I can’t exactly call up my contact and ask him.”

“You’ll figure it out. Like I said, you’re a pro.”

The Falcon ended the call before she could respond.

Sighing, she pushed out of the stall and washed her hands. On her way out of the bathroom, she almost bumped into her stepmother.

“Where have you been? We need to get to our gate. I can’t wait to get out of this place. I hate D.C.”

Sue dropped to her knees in front of her son, regretting that she’d spent their last precious minutes together on the phone with The Falcon—regretting so much more. She grabbed Drake’s hands and kissed the tips of his sticky fingers, inhaling the scent of cinnamon that clung to his skin. “Be a good boy for Gran on the airplane.”

Drake batted his dark eyelashes. “You go airplane, too, Mama?”

“No, cupcake. Just you and Gran this time, but I’ll visit you soon.”

Linda fluttered a tissue between the two of them. “Wipe your hands, Drake.”

“That’s not going to help, Linda. He had a cinnamon roll for breakfast. He’s going to have to wash his hands in the restroom.” Sue waved her hand behind her at the ladies’ room.

Pursing her lips, Linda snatched back the tissue. “Cinnamon rolls for breakfast? You spoil him when he’s here. I’ll get him a proper lunch once we get through security, if he still has any appetite left.”

He will unless you ruin it.

Sue managed to eke out a smile, as Drake was watching her with wide eyes. “Nothing spoils Drake’s appetite. He could eat a horse and ask for dessert.”

“We don’t eat horses, Mama.” Drake giggled and Sue pinched the end of his nose. “Give me another hug.”

Drake curled his chubby arms around her neck, and Sue pressed her tingling nose against his hair. “Love you, cupcake.”

“Love you.” Drake smacked his lips against her cheek. “Can I live here?”

“Not yet, my lovey, but soon.” Blinking the tears from her eyes, Sue straightened up and placed Drake’s hand in her stepmother’s. “Give my love to Dad.”

Linda sniffed as she yanked up the handle of her suitcase. “I don’t know why some people have children if they can’t be bothered to take care of them.”

“Linda.” Sue ducked toward her stepmother and said through clenched teeth, “I told you. This…arrangement won’t be forever, and I don’t appreciate your talking like that in front of my son.”

Linda’s pale eyes widened a fraction and she backed up. “I hope you’re not going to be landing in trouble every other month, or you’ll never have Drake with you. You were right to leave him with your sister. Children need stability. You should give up this crazy job and find yourself a husband to take care of you, a father for Drake, and settle down like your sister.”

Sue opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. She’d promised herself not to argue with Linda—besides, her stepmother had a point. As it stood now, Sue couldn’t keep her son with her and raise him properly—even if The Falcon had allowed it.

And he hadn’t.

“It won’t always be like this. I plan to transfer to another position, and then I can have him with me all the time. I’ll contact you tonight for some face-to-face with Drake. Ask Dad. He knows how to do it.”

“I know, I know. Your father knows everything.”

“Thanks, Linda. Safe travels.” Sue blew a kiss to Drake as her stepmother hustled him toward the line for security.

She waved until they got to the front of the line. Knowing her father would be stationed at the airport in South Carolina to pick them up was the only thing that allowed her to turn away and leave the airport. Drake lived with her sister, Amelia, and her family, but they were in the Bahamas and Sue hadn’t wanted Drake to go along, so she sent him to Dad and Linda.

Linda could take care of Drake’s physical needs and keep him safe, but she trusted only Dad to meet Drake’s emotional needs. Her stepmother didn’t have the capacity for that job, as Sue suspected she trash-talked her to Drake whenever she got the chance.

If Sue had one more incident like the one she’d faced in Istanbul, she had no doubt her stepmother would move against her to take Drake away from her completely and declare her an unfit mother.

Sue clenched her teeth and exited the airport. She’d just have to make sure she didn’t have any more of those close calls.

After she fed her parking receipt into the machine and the arm lifted, Sue flexed her fingers on the steering wheel of the car and glanced in her rearview mirror. With Drake’s visit over, she could finally breathe…and find out who was following her. The possibilities were endless.

She navigated out of the airport and drove straight to her office. She had to confront her supervisor, Ned Tucker, about her suspicions. She’d already been debriefed after the kidnapping. Why was the CIA still dogging her? And if it wasn’t the CIA, maybe Ned could help her figure out who it was. She hadn’t wanted to tell The Falcon about this new development.

He thought she was a pro who could handle anything. She could, but handling everything on her own all the time had gotten old. Sometimes a girl just needed a shoulder to lean on. She’d had that shoulder…once.

She rolled up to the parking gate of the office and held her badge out the window.

The security guard waved her through, and she parked her car. Slipping her badge lanyard over her head, she marched toward her office building. She’d taken the day off to drop off Drake and Linda at the airport, but she couldn’t wait any longer to get to the bottom of this mystery tail.

She punched the elevator button and almost bumped into one of her coworkers coming out.

Peter held up his hands. “Whoa, what’s the hurry?”

“Sorry, Peter.” She stepped to the side.

“Thought you were out today.”

“Half day. I need to talk to Ned.”

“I think he needs to talk to you, too.”

“Why? Was he looking for me? He knows I’m out today.”

Peter shrugged. “You might wanna turn around and go home.”

“Why?”

Peter pivoted away from her and called over his shoulder, “Take someone’s advice for once, Sue.”

If Peter thought his cryptic warning would send her home, he didn’t know her very well. She dropped her hand from holding open the elevator doors and stepped inside.

Good. If Ned wanted to talk to her, maybe he wanted to explain what the hell was going on.

The elevator deposited her onto the fifth floor, and she badged the door to the cubicles. The hum of low voices and keyboard clicks created a comforting welcome.

As she turned the corner to her row, she stumbled to a stop. A man she didn’t know was hanging on to the corner of her cube and Ned’s head bobbed above the top.

She bit the inside of her cheek and continued walking forward.

At her approach the stranger turned, and his eyes widened. “Chandler.”

She stopped at the entrance to her cubicle, her gaze darting from Ned to a woman sitting at her desk, accessing her computer.

“Wh-what’s going on here, Ned?”

Her boss ran a hand over his bald head, his forehead glistening with sweat. “I thought you were out today, Sue.”

“So, what? You figured you and a couple of strangers could get into my computer in my absence?”

The guy to her right straightened up and pulled back his shoulders. “Ms. Chandler, we’ve noticed some irregularities on your workstation.”

“Irregularities?” She shot a look at Ned, who refused to meet her gaze. “I don’t understand.”

The woman sitting in front of her computer twisted her head around, a tight smile on her face. “I found another one.”

“Another one what?” Sue stepped into her cube, hovering over the woman seated at her desk.

The man placed a hand on Sue’s arm. “Perhaps it’s best we talk in Ned’s office.”

Sue had noticed a few heads popping up from other cubicles. She lifted her own chin. She knew damn well she didn’t have any irregularities on her computer. The Falcon would make sure of that—unless these were communiqués from him.

“Let’s go, then.” She shook off the man’s hand and charged out of her cubicle and down the aisle to Ned’s office in the corner.

She reached Ned’s office before the two strangers, with Ned right behind her. She swung around, nearly colliding with him. “What’s going on, Ned?”

“They received an anonymous tip about you forwarding classified emails and documents to your home computer.”

“What? You know I’d never do anything like that. I’ve been in the field myself. There’s no way I’d put anyone in danger.”

“I know that, Sue.” His gaze darted over his shoulder, and then he sealed his lips as the two investigators approached.

Sue shuffled into the room as Ned sat down behind his desk. “Take a seat, Sue.”

“That’s okay. I’ll stand.” Folding her arms, she squared her shoulders against the wall.

The two investigators remained standing, too.

The woman thrust out her hand, all business. “I’m Jackie Templeman.”

Sue gripped her hand and squeezed hard, her lips twisting as Jackie blinked.

The man cleared his throat and dipped his head. “Robert Beall.”

He didn’t offer his hand and she didn’t make a move to get it. She folded her arms across her chest and asked, “What did this anonymous email say?”

Templeman shot a glance at Ned. “To check your emails.”

“You have no idea who sent it?”

“No.” Templeman shook her head. “That’s why it’s anonymous.”

Sue smirked. “Got it. So, you believe every anonymous email you receive and rush in to do an investigation?”

Templeman hugged her notebook to her chest, as if guarding state secrets. “Not everyone.”

“Oh, I see.” Sue shoved off the wall and plopped into the chair across from Ned. “Just the ones about me.”

Beall finally found his voice. “Because of your…um…the incident.”

“Funny thing about that incident.” Sue drummed her fingers on Ned’s desk. “You’d think the Agency would be kissing my…rear end, considering a leak on their part led to my kidnapping in the first place.”

“And then you escaped.” Templeman tilted her head.

“Yeah, another reason the Agency should be nominating me for a medal or something instead of combing through my computer.”

“You escaped from a group of men holding you in Istanbul.” Templeman’s delicate eyebrows formed a V over her nose.

Sue snorted. “I guess that’s hard for some people to believe, but some female agents aren’t pencil-pushing computer geeks. Some of us know how to handle ourselves.”

A smile tugged at Beall’s lips, but he wiped it out with his hand.

“Besides, I was debriefed on that incident and the case was closed. You still seem to be using it to go after me.”

“The point—” Templeman straightened her jacket “—is that we did find anomalies on your computer. Enough for us to confiscate your machine and suspend you.”

“Suspend?” Sue jumped from the chair. “Is that true, Ned?”

“Just until they can figure out everything. I think there has to be a mistake, and I told them that. We already know those emails implicating Major Rex Denver and sent to a CIA translator were fakes. I’m confident that this investigation is going to find something similar with these emails and you’ll be in the clear, Sue.”

“Suspension starting now?”

“Yes, we’ll accompany you back to your cubicle if you want to take any personal items with you.” Templeman pushed past Beall and opened the door.

“I don’t have anything there I need.” Sue smacked her hand on Ned’s desk. “Let me know when this is over, Ned.”

“Of course, Sue. Don’t worry.”

As she stepped through the door, Templeman tapped her shoulder. “Badge.”

Sue whipped the lanyard over her head and tossed it at Templeman’s chest, but it slipped through the investigator’s fingers and landed on the floor. The woman couldn’t even make a good catch. No wonder she had a hard time believing Sue had escaped her captors.