The Maze (ATCOM)

  The Maze

  By Jennifer Lowery

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  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  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

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books by Jennifer Lowery

  The Maze

  By Jennifer Lowery

  Copyright ©2014 by Jennifer Lowery

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  License Notes

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Cover design by The Killion Group, Inc.

  Editing by Piper Denna

  Author photograph by Trent Anderson of GreatScotMan Photography https://www.facebook.com/GreatScotManPhotography

  This book is dedicated to my friends and co-workers at MCGH. Especially the Cardiopulmonary staff who supported me while I pursued my dream. This is the book I was working on during all those long night shifts, gang! You finally get to read it.

  There are many people who helped me finish The Maze. For me, I never would have reached the end without the loving support of my family. My hubby, Mike, I owe for taking on the burden of supporting the family while I followed my dream. I love you, honey! And my children, Hunter and Jenna for helping keep the house clean so I could write! My sisters, Abby and Melissa, for their support and humor and fun times when we got together for coffee and great conversation. My mom for always being my biggest fan. My dad for being my biggest supporter. I still have the cards and kind notes, Dad! Thanks, guys, for being there for me. Love ya!

  To the fabulous Rom-Critters and Inkslingers out there, you guys ROCK! I value your friendships beyond words. Humbly, I thank you.

  A special thank you goes out to my critique partner and dear friend, D’Ann Lindun. She served as beta reader, CP, sounding board, brainstorming partner and so much more. Whenever I needed her she was there with a good word, ear to listen and solid advice. Without her I don’t think I would have made it through the revision and publishing process! You rock, lady!

  To the most fabulous editor in the world, Piper Denna, who makes me a better writer! Thank you, Piper, for your humor and encouragement, and guidance. My books wouldn’t be complete without you! And for the tweet that made my day: Anaconda!!! LOL!

  And, to anyone I may have accidentally overlooked please know you are not forgotten. I appreciate each and every one of you who helped me get through the writing of this book.

  Last, but not least, I just want to send out a big THANK YOU to all my readers out there! Without you I wouldn’t be here. My wish is to one day meet each and every one of you so I can personally thank you for your generosity and support!

  All my best,

  Jennifer

  Chapter 1

  Noah heard the sounds before he reached the barn. From inside the open doors there came a series of thumps followed by a solid thud. The sequence changed and escalated. It had been a long time since he’d seen Attie, and the last hadn’t been pleasant. He didn’t like the situation that brought him here. Attie was going to hate it even more.

  Girding himself for the task ahead, Noah stepped into the barn and leaned a shoulder against the door, silently watching the woman attacking an old, worn leather punching bag hanging by chains from the rafters a few feet away.

  Her back toward him, she focused on the bag. To her credit she was precise and agile, not once missing the bag, and landing a solid blow with fist or foot every time.

  The sight of her stirred forbidden desires. Attie’s beauty had caused plenty of upheaval in the academy. A spark came from inside and made her glow with life. She was stubborn and damned irritating when she set her mind to something, but that was Attie. Her inner strength impressed even the hardest of men. No one could deny that, not after what she’d endured in South America.

  Not when she blamed him for the death of a fellow agent.

  Watching her, he could see well-honed muscle in each movement. She had healed completely, but Noah could see the surgery scar on her leg below the black barely-cover-your-ass workout shorts she wore. A sleek, red ponytail hung to her waist and swayed with each movement. The underlying sensuality in her movements wasn’t lost on him. Hell, it had drawn him to her. Her sharp intellect made her a woman unlike any other.

  Envisioning this slender, athletic woman undercover as arm candy wasn’t a far stretch of the imagination.

  Attie spun around to face him. Her emerald green eyes met his. Her chest heaved from exertion, stretching the fabric of her tank top taut across her breasts. He forced his eyes back up to hers.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Kincaid?” she demanded, her voice wavering slightly.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Her eyes grew wary. Guarded. “We have nothing to say to each other.”

  Noah let her militant tone roll off him. “It’s about Brendan.”

  Her head snapped up. “What about him?”

  There was no way to soften the blow, so he didn’t try. Attie wouldn’t appreciate it if he did. He’d never been anything but straight with her.

  “He’s been kidnapped.”

  Attie backed up a step. She turned her attention to the punching bag. Her first punch missed and she let out a sound of frustration.

  “Attie?”

  Her pace increased, her movements more intense.

  “That isn’t all.”

  Still she refused to look at him.

  “Santiago has him and he wants you.”

  A strangled cry escaped her throat and she whipped around to face him. “How can you mention that name to me?”

  “I have no choice.”

  She shook her head. Backing up, she faced him from behind the bag and started jabbing.

  Noah straightened from the doorframe, stripped down to his t-shirt and walked over to the swinging bag to stop it with his hands.
<
br />   Attie continued to abuse it, glaring at him. “Get out of my way, Kincaid.”

  He ignored her and held the bag steady.

  She swung, her fist grazing his forearm. Not by accident.

  “Give me a minute, will you?” she ground out, hitting with more force.

  “We don’t have a minute.”

  She ducked around the bag. “Damn you.” She kicked the bag hard, then threw a jab at him.

  Noah allowed the first blow, but not the next.

  She hit him with a series of punches and kicks.

  He sparred with her until she was exhausted, letting her work the demons out of her system so she could think rationally. She had always needed an outlet, unable to keep things bottled up. Mostly it came in the form of temper, but ATCOM had trained her to control it. He understood her need to lash out against the fate being delivered to her. If he could change it, he would. He would do anything to save Attie the pain she suffered.

  Finally, he swept her legs out from under her. She landed on her back in a cloud of dust. He moved in fast, dropping down to straddle her thighs. He locked her hands above her head to still her movements, feeling her tremble beneath him.

  When he looked down in the depths of Attie’s cat eyes, he saw pain shimmering so deep it seemed bottomless. Below that lay fear she wouldn’t admit to, but couldn’t hide. Silently, he cursed Santiago and vowed to complete the mission ATCOM was sending him in to do. Hell, he welcomed it.

  This wasn’t the Attie he knew. The woman who’d become the first female agent in the history of ATCOM was fearless, determined, confident, headstrong. Nothing stopped her from getting what she wanted. She would go over, around or through to accomplish a goal.

  “Finished?” he asked, knowing he couldn’t ask about her fears or offer protection against them because she’d never allow it. Holding her ground was one of Attie’s vices and something she did very well. Too well. She had yet to realize leaning on someone wasn’t a sign of weakness.

  “Move so I can get up.” Her voice caught and his gaze dropped to her mouth. How many times had he thought about kissing those beautiful, stubborn lips? How close had they come to finding out if the chemistry sizzling between them was real? How close had he come to losing his career for just one kiss?

  Too damn close.

  “Noah…” she murmured and he knew. Knew no matter what wall sat between them, she still felt it. “What? No, get off me.”

  Noah rolled to his feet and held out a hand. She accepted and he pulled her to her feet. Immediately she withdrew, brushing off her backside. She picked up her sweatshirt off the floor and slipped it over her head, keeping her face averted. He retrieved his shirt and shrugged it on.

  “Tell me,” she said, facing him, all traces of intimacy gone. Her eyes still carried that haunted look, but she was ready to listen now.

  “Brendan pretended to be talking to you while he delivered Santiago’s message to me.”

  “What?”

  “Santiago won’t release Brendan until you show up at his specific coordinates. He’ll kill him if you don’t show. He gave you seventy-two hours.”

  Noah watched her reaction, seeing the impact his words had on her. To her credit, she remained standing on legs he knew were threatening to collapse.

  “Give me the coordinates.” Her voice didn’t betray her emotions. Only her eyes did.

  He knew better than that. She would try and go without him. His next words weren’t going to settle well.

  “No. We go as a team.”

  * * * *

  A team? Was he crazy?

  Attie shook her head. That option had been eliminated the day she retired. Did he really think she would follow a man who’d caused the death of an agent and ruined any chance of putting Carlos Santiago in prison for the rest of his miserable life? Noah Kincaid’s decision had destroyed everything she’d worked for, suffered for, and all because he didn’t trust her.

  “I’m going alone. That’s what Carlos expects, and that’s what he’ll get.”

  As she said it, something cold and familiar spiraled through her. Carlos Santiago was the cause of her nightmares. He hadn’t only tortured her in that cell for three days. He’d made her life a living hell for months prior. But no one knew that except her and Carlos. That was the way it was going to stay. What had happened to her had no bearing on the here and now.

  Old memories surfaced and Attie had to tamp them down before speaking again. ATCOM had taught her restraint, and she did her best to exercise it right now. For Brendan’s sake she would do this, even if it meant facing Carlos again.

  Attie shuddered.

  “We’re going together. I need Santiago to have eyes on you so I can get Brendan out of there.”

  Attie shook her head. “This isn’t your problem, it’s mine.”

  Something flickered across his face but he masked it too quickly for her to read. “Take it or leave it.” Noah turned and walked away.

  She glared at Noah’s back. She remembered a time when she would have followed him into the trenches of Hell if he’d asked. He’d been strong, steady, and reliable. A man she respected. He hadn’t singled her out or treated her any different from the men in the academy. He demanded as much out of her as the others and she’d given it one hundred percent. The road hadn’t been easy, but becoming an agent was all she’d ever wanted to do. And she’d done it on her own steam, not because her brother and uncle were there before her.

  Pain knifed through her chest as she watched his retreating back. She’d trusted him once. Until that fateful day in a steamy South American jungle when he’d stopped trusting her and made a decision that changed the course of their lives forever.

  Noah Kincaid had started the chain reaction that got Seth killed, and she wasn’t about to let him get her brother killed too. Teamwork required trust and that was something they’d lost.

  Furious with him for withholding, she stormed after him.

  “I retired from ATCOM. You can’t do this to me. I am not one of your agents anymore,” she shouted. Damn it. Seeing him again brought old feelings to the surface.

  He turned to face her. “No, you’re not an agent anymore,” he said, “and for the record I don’t want you to come along. I didn’t even want you involved, but Santiago won’t have it any other way. He wants you, Attie, and that should scare the hell out of you. We either work together on this or you let me take my chances with Santiago alone.”

  She stopped short, her anger abating. He was right. She was scared. She knew what Santiago was capable of, but Noah wasn’t going to give her Brendan’s location and she couldn’t go without it. Time was running out.

  She hadn’t been able to save Seth, but she could damn well save her brother. If it meant teaming up with a man who’d betrayed her, then so be it.

  “For the record,” she said, repeating his earlier statement, “I don’t trust you either. I won’t take orders from you and I won’t rely on you for anything. What we had in the past is over. We’ll go together, but only because there is no other choice.”

  Noah stared at her for a moment before nodding. “Any way you want it, as long as we get moving. I’d like to be en route to Colorado within the hour. The chopper is on standby.”

  Attie sent him one last, angry look before brushing past him. “I’ll be ready in fifteen.”

  Chapter 2

  Noah still refused to give her the coordinates. They were in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, which was all she knew. She could do nothing without him and suspected he liked keeping her at a disadvantage, although it drove her crazy.

  Silence stretched between them as they made their way up the mountain over rocky terrain and through dense forest.

  Attie was right at home, having spent most of her life in the mountains. She loved the clean, crisp air, the rugged beauty, and demanding terrain. She knew Noah was just as comfortable since he taught wilderness survival at the academy.

  Irritated about taking the back seat t
o him, she glared at his back. The narrow, overgrown path forced them to walk single file. The pack he wore added bulk to his already massive frame, making it impossible to see past him. She was getting tired of seeing him. The way he moved with silent ease, the sureness in his step, the pure masculine grace.

  Needing a distraction, she reached into the pocket of her parka, pulled out an energy bar, and opened it.

  Without looking back, Noah asked, “Got another one of those handy?”

  Attie held the bar between her teeth and reached into her pocket for the other one.

  “Here.” She tossed it to him.

  He caught it in midair without missing a step. “Thanks.”

  Attie ate hers as her thoughts turned to Brendan and the man who held him. Santiago was no ordinary terrorist. He smuggled drugs into the States, but he had a darker side not many knew about. Those who did didn’t live to tell about it, with the exception of her. She had witnessed first-hand what kind of man he was and she had the scars to prove it, both physically and emotionally. Shaking herself out of the past, she stuffed the empty wrapper in her pocket and drilled imaginary holes between Noah’s shoulder blades. So many regrets. So much lost.

  “Watch your step.”

  “Wha—” Attie muttered at the same time she tripped over a raised tree root. She stumbled, cursed, and glared at Noah, who had stopped to turn and stare at her.

  Regaining her balance, she snapped, “I don’t need your help.”

  “I figured you were too busy boring holes into my skull to notice.”

  “Back,” she corrected under her breath. “We’re wasting time.”

  Noah gave her a long, measuring look. “Is this how it’s going to be, Attie?”

  Her chin lifted.

  “Your hostility is going to make for a difficult trip.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I wanted to come alone.”

  Anger flickered in his eyes. Noah was a rock; he kept his emotions under control at all times. She’d been envious of his restraint once. Attracted to it. Now it annoyed her as much as it turned her on.