Fatal Secrets

Informationen zum Autor Allison Brennan The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Sudden Death," and one of today's hottest writing talents ("Romantic Times"), keeps the harrowing thrills and the heated passion coming, in the second novel of her latest pulse-pounding trilogy. Original. Chapter One They'll fire you. ICE Agent Sonia Knight gave her partner a sideways glance and rolled her eyes. Not if we succeed. Trace shook his head. I want this bastard as much as you, but we're walking a very fine line here. We're so close. We could both end up dead. Our witness has risked everything to give us this information. If Jones gets even a whiff that Vega is turning state's evidence, he and his pregnant wife are dead. Don't think it. You know it. He hasn't checked in for three days, which isn't like him. Kendra Vega is fine. We checked on her yesterday afternoon. For now. But Vega could be getting spooked. It's one thing to talk about getting out of the business, but doing it is another story. These people are ruthless. Vega knows it. And you pulled every string and called in every favor to get them into witness protection when he delivers the goods. You can't do squat for him unless he comes back with the promised intel. True, but Sonia feared that Xavier Jones was untouchable. He'd been getting away with trafficking in humans for years because his instincts were sharp and he trusted no one. That one of his top security men came to her three weeks ago to make a deal was a miracle. She wasn't going to blow itshe wanted Jones in prison and the Vegas safe. That's why not hearing from Greg Vega for the last three days disturbed her. Where was he? Why hadn't he checked in? I wish we had better information, Trace said, not for the first time. They were hiding among the pine trees near Devils Lake, appropriately named considering the son of the devil, Xavier Jones, owned hundreds of acres in the Sierra Nevada foothills abutting the lake. She could see his house with field binoculars, and tonight, like the last two nights, it was dark. It will happen this week. This is our third night watching Jones's place. He's out of the state, like Vega reported last time he checked in. The kid could be wrong. He's not. They'd contacted the Transportation Security Administration. Xavier Jones hadn't used his passport. He usually traveled by private plane, both retaining a pilot and having a license himself. Tracking small craft was much more difficult, making the last few days even more frustrating. He could be back in northern California now for all they knew. Sonia had spent long days talking with ten-year-old Andres Zamora just to get him to trust her. He told her everything he remembered about his family's abduction and his brother's murder. It all held together, and he had the scars to prove it. I should never have run. You did the right thing. Your brother told you to go. I should have stayed to find Maya. She is all I have. Don't give up on your sister. How could she survive what they do to her? I don't even know where they took her. Sonia didn't have an answer, because she didn't know if she could find his sister. Eight days was a long time in the vile underworld, and thirteen-year-old Maya had most likely been sold before she ever set foot in the United States. If she even ended up here. They'd been separated during the journey, and Andres had no idea where they'd been when she'd been taken away. He'd ended up being smuggled in by truck, then boat. Sonia frowned at Trace. If you're worried about a reprima...

Autorentext

Allison Brennan

Klappentext

The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Sudden Death," and one of today's hottest writing talents ("Romantic Times"), keeps the harrowing thrills and the heated passion coming, in the second novel of her latest pulse-pounding trilogy. Original.

Zusammenfassung
DEADLY QUEST

When a top lieutenant in a notorious ring of human traffickers agrees to turn state’s evidence, Immigration and Customs Enforcement senior agent Sonia Knight believes she’ll finally take down the illegal operation’s devilish mastermind, Xavier Jones. But when an FBI sting on Jones’s criminal enterprise collides with an ICE stakeout, Sonia is enraged: Her informant’s life and her evidence are in grave jeopardy.

**FBI agent Dean Hooper has been chasing Jones for years on money-laundering and tax-evasion charges and doesn’t need or want a hot-headed ICE agent second-guessing his every move. When the Bureau is ordered to join forces with ICE, Sonia is just as livid: Her job is to save lives, not money. But their team effort pays off as fierce mutual resentment fades and passion flares–along with risk.

For Jones is just one piece of a depraved puzzle, answering to an even more dangerous predator. Denied his expected prey, this pitiless fiend intends to make Sonia and Dean pay with their own blood.

Leseprobe
*Chapter One

• “They’ll fire you.”

ICE Agent Sonia Knight gave her partner a sideways glance and rolled her eyes. “Not if we succeed.”

Trace shook his head. “I want this bastard as much as you, but we’re walking a very fine line here.”

“We’re so close.”

“We could both end up dead.”

“Our witness has risked everything to give us this information. If Jones gets even a whiff that Vega is turning state’s evidence, he and his pregnant wife are dead.”

“Don’t think it.”

“You know it. He hasn’t checked in for three days, which isn’t like him.”

“Kendra Vega is fine. We checked on her yesterday afternoon.”

“For now. But Vega could be getting spooked. It’s one thing to talk about getting out of the business, but doing it is another story. These people are ruthless. Vega knows it.”

“And you pulled every string and called in every favor to get them into witness protection when he delivers the goods. You can’t do squat for him unless he comes back with the promised intel.”

True, but Sonia feared that Xavier Jones was untouchable. He’d been getting away with trafficking in humans for years because his instincts were sharp and he trusted no one. That one of his top security men came to her three weeks ago to make a deal was a miracle. She wasn’t going to blow it—she wanted Jones in prison and the Vegas safe. That’s why not hearing from Greg Vega for the last three days disturbed her. Where was he? Why hadn’t he checked in?

“I wish we had better information,” Trace said, not for the first time.

They were hiding among the pine trees near Devils Lake, appropriately named considering the son of the devil, Xavier Jones, owned hundreds of acres in the Sierra Nevada foothills abutting the lake. She could see his house with field binoculars, and tonight, like the last two nights, it was dark.

“It will happen this week.”

“This is our third night watching Jones’s place. He’s out of the state, like Vega reported last time he checked in. The kid could be wrong.”

“He’s not.” They’d contacted the Transportation Security Administration. Xavier Jones hadn’t used his passport. He usually traveled by private plane, both retaining a pilot and having a license himself. Tracking small craft was much more difficult, making the last few days even more frustrating. He could be back in northern California now for all they knew.

Sonia had spent long days talking with ten-year-old Andres Zamora just to get him to trust her. He told her everything he remembered about his family’s abduction and his brother’s murder. It all held together, and he had the scars to prove it.

“I should…