soon enough.’
Mason arrived next, having made the 30-mile drive from his home in Baltimore in under an hour. Unlike Keegan, he was a big man, tall and broad shouldered, with a lean, angular face, olive-coloured skin and dark eyes that missed nothing.
He always kept his hair shaved to the bone, typical of his military background, but Drake suspected he was getting thin on top and just didn’t want to admit to it. In any case, he had dressed for the occasion, wearing a grey business suit that looked as if it had come straight off the peg.
‘Jesus, Ryan, you look like shit today,’ he remarked without preamble.
‘Better than looking like shit every day,’ Drake returned with a wry smile.
The older man grinned. ‘I wouldn’t know.’
Frost was next. She’d been about 100 miles south in Richmond when the call came in, though she arrived only a few minutes behind Mason. God only knew how many speed limits she’d broken on the way here, but Drake wasn’t surprised. Speed limits had never meant much to her.
She was carrying her leather biker’s jacket over her arm as she approached.
‘This had better be good, Ryan,’ she warned, tossing it over the back of the nearest chair. She reached up and brushed a lock of dark hair out of her eye. Frost had a temper like no one he’d ever met, especially in the morning.
‘Interrupted your beauty sleep, did we?’ Keegan quipped as he poured himself a coffee.
Frost gave him the finger.
‘Grab a coffee and a chair,’ Drake suggested. ‘We’ll get started in a minute.’
As it turned out, it was another ten minutes before Dietrich finally showed up, sauntering into the conference room as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He only lived 10 miles away, yet it had taken him longer than any of the others to get here.
Drake was taken aback by the change in him. The Dietrich he’d known had been a muscular, intimidating man with piercing blue eyes and rugged good looks. He’d always worn expensive clothes, top-of-the-range watches, kept himself groomed to the point of vanity.
In contrast, the man before him was lean and spare, the veins in his exposed arms standing out hard against his skin. His dark hair was longer and dishevelled, greying a little at the sides, and he’d grown a goatee beard. But even that couldn’t hide the hollowness in his face.
He was wearing a grey polo shirt and jeans – a far cry from the Gucci suits that used to be his apparel of choice.
But for all that, his eyes still gleamed with quick intelligence, and he moved with the confident, unhurried walk of a man firmly in control of the situation.
‘Nice of you to join us, Jonas,’ Drake remarked with a pointed glance at his watch.
‘Good to be here, Ryan.’ Taking in Drake’s appearance, he frowned. ‘You’re looking tired these days.’ He leaned in closer and added, ‘Not as easy as you thought being a team leader, is it?’
Drake met his gaze evenly. ‘Well, that’s not something you have to worry about now.’
Dietrich’s smile contained no warmth as he locked eyes with Drake. Then, without saying anything he helped himself to a chair and tilted it back, making sure he was quite comfortable before looking expectantly at Drake. ‘Well, aren’t you going to get us started?’
Chapter 9
NAKED AND HALF frozen, she was dragged into her cell and dumped on the floor without a word. Her mind barely registered the flash of pain as her head hit the concrete, but she did feel the cold begin to seep through her skin. Her clothes were tossed in a moment later, landing on the stained mattress.
Bastard had seen to it that she was dragged naked through the general population block, still dazed and struggling to regain control of her muscles after the massive electric shock she’d received. The other inmates had loved that one, yelling and banging on the cell bars. They had even hurled a few new insults her way, though she barely heeded them.
Still chortling with amusement
Mason arrived next, having made the 30-mile drive from his home in Baltimore in under an hour. Unlike Keegan, he was a big man, tall and broad shouldered, with a lean, angular face, olive-coloured skin and dark eyes that missed nothing.
He always kept his hair shaved to the bone, typical of his military background, but Drake suspected he was getting thin on top and just didn’t want to admit to it. In any case, he had dressed for the occasion, wearing a grey business suit that looked as if it had come straight off the peg.
‘Jesus, Ryan, you look like shit today,’ he remarked without preamble.
‘Better than looking like shit every day,’ Drake returned with a wry smile.
The older man grinned. ‘I wouldn’t know.’
Frost was next. She’d been about 100 miles south in Richmond when the call came in, though she arrived only a few minutes behind Mason. God only knew how many speed limits she’d broken on the way here, but Drake wasn’t surprised. Speed limits had never meant much to her.
She was carrying her leather biker’s jacket over her arm as she approached.
‘This had better be good, Ryan,’ she warned, tossing it over the back of the nearest chair. She reached up and brushed a lock of dark hair out of her eye. Frost had a temper like no one he’d ever met, especially in the morning.
‘Interrupted your beauty sleep, did we?’ Keegan quipped as he poured himself a coffee.
Frost gave him the finger.
‘Grab a coffee and a chair,’ Drake suggested. ‘We’ll get started in a minute.’
As it turned out, it was another ten minutes before Dietrich finally showed up, sauntering into the conference room as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He only lived 10 miles away, yet it had taken him longer than any of the others to get here.
Drake was taken aback by the change in him. The Dietrich he’d known had been a muscular, intimidating man with piercing blue eyes and rugged good looks. He’d always worn expensive clothes, top-of-the-range watches, kept himself groomed to the point of vanity.
In contrast, the man before him was lean and spare, the veins in his exposed arms standing out hard against his skin. His dark hair was longer and dishevelled, greying a little at the sides, and he’d grown a goatee beard. But even that couldn’t hide the hollowness in his face.
He was wearing a grey polo shirt and jeans – a far cry from the Gucci suits that used to be his apparel of choice.
But for all that, his eyes still gleamed with quick intelligence, and he moved with the confident, unhurried walk of a man firmly in control of the situation.
‘Nice of you to join us, Jonas,’ Drake remarked with a pointed glance at his watch.
‘Good to be here, Ryan.’ Taking in Drake’s appearance, he frowned. ‘You’re looking tired these days.’ He leaned in closer and added, ‘Not as easy as you thought being a team leader, is it?’
Drake met his gaze evenly. ‘Well, that’s not something you have to worry about now.’
Dietrich’s smile contained no warmth as he locked eyes with Drake. Then, without saying anything he helped himself to a chair and tilted it back, making sure he was quite comfortable before looking expectantly at Drake. ‘Well, aren’t you going to get us started?’
Chapter 9
NAKED AND HALF frozen, she was dragged into her cell and dumped on the floor without a word. Her mind barely registered the flash of pain as her head hit the concrete, but she did feel the cold begin to seep through her skin. Her clothes were tossed in a moment later, landing on the stained mattress.
Bastard had seen to it that she was dragged naked through the general population block, still dazed and struggling to regain control of her muscles after the massive electric shock she’d received. The other inmates had loved that one, yelling and banging on the cell bars. They had even hurled a few new insults her way, though she barely heeded them.
Still chortling with amusement
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