Page 65 of Hot & Heavy

"She doesn't know jack shit, if you ask me."

"Doesn't matter," Sanders, the CIA guy, told him. At least this bunch of dodo birds knew enough not to send Dan Sullivan. "We've already put the word out that we've got in custody a woman who infiltrated the terrorist camps and has been there the past year. We'll let an 'unnamed source' slip a tidbit or two about this modern-day Mata Hari to the Washington Post. We'll say she has enough data to bring down the entire Al Qaeda network. And that she's in a safe house on the West Coast. Aljazeera and the major news media in this country will eat it up."

"Ian, we need to draw out these tangos once and for all," his commander tried to convince him.

"They'll know she's with me. I didn't make any secret of the fact I was bringing her back. My home address is unlisted, even here on the base, except to my direct chain of command, but still, you know damn well they're going to find it… and Maddie."

"That's the point," Sanders said.

"You want to set Maddie up as bait."

Sanders shrugged. "She won't get hurt."

"The hell you say. You can't guarantee her safety."

"Yeah, I think we can. You'll be guarded at all times, surreptitiously, of course. In fact, you've been tailed by at least two men since you got married."

Ian closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

Commander Harding came up behind Ian and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's for the greater good."

"That sounds like something a politician would say when he's done something slimy. How long do you expect this operation to last?"

"Two… three weeks at the most."

"And the marriage?"

"Annulled as soon as you two file the papers after that. As long as—"

"Forget it," Ian interrupted. Geesh! Now they were interfering in his love life, too. "Ain't gonna happen." I hope. I pray. I hope. "How about Maddie? What happens to her after this is all over?"

Sanders said, "Either a safe house and new identity here in the States, or we'll fly her wherever she wants to go. Give her a little money to help her get adjusted, too."

"Are there guards watching my house now?"

They all nodded.

"If I agree to this… and I am only saying if… I demand that this be a SEAL operation. No CIA within a mile of me or my home."

"You have no right to make demands," his XO said.

"We have to be involved," Sanders protested.

"Why are you being so difficult?" his father demanded. "You don't have any feelings for this woman, do you?"

He gave his father a scorching look. You traitor. What kind of man are you that you would sacrifice your child for some "greater good"? Ah, hell, it's the same old thing. Loyalty to country comes first, even above family. His father didn't even wince.

"Actually, it might work better if this is a SEAL op. If men are seen anywhere near his house, people will assume it's just a friend or teammate dropping by for a beer." Commander Harding's face turned red with excitement. "It could work. What do you think, Ian?"

"I don't know," he said. "I'm so pissed right now I can't think straight. Let me think it over."

Harding said, "I could order you to do it."

"But you'd rather you didn't have to. Right?"

Harding nodded.

"Give me twenty-four hours to give you an answer. And let me talk it over with the other members of my squad. Then… we'll see."