Prelude to a Rumor, Part Two (Harmless Book 4) by Melissa Schroeder Page A

those deep blues short-circuited his brain for a few seconds.
    “Do you think it’s worth it?”
    Sean shrugged then looked at Lassiter. “You said they are in hiding? No one has found them?”
    Lassiter nodded. “Being rich does have its benefits, and they have paid people well to hide them.”
    Young read over the report and nodded. “Yeah. Doesn’t mean I like it. The area we are going into is overwhelmed with terrorist groups. They use it as a training area. Hell, so did we.”
    “Legally?” Sean asked.
    Young’s lips twitched. “No comment.”
    “The other problem is the coverage in the area. I know this area. Cell sucks and even satellite reception has issues. We get stuck, there might be no way to get out.”
    Apparently, Lassiter had had enough. “I’m pretty sure I can find someone else to handle it for the money, but, you two are my best bets.”
    Sean glanced at Young and nodded again. “I can handle the money and the situation.”
    Young’s eyes twinkled as his lips curved. “Most definitely.”
    Sean just hoped once they got to where they were going, they got out free and fast.

CHAPTER TWO
    “ S omething’s fucked ,” Randy Young said, his tone as dark as his scowl.
    They’d arrived just moments before, both of them relieved on how easy it had been. Then, they had stepped inside. There was something very, very wrong. Sean could feel it in his bones.
    Sean glanced at Young, then around the abandoned hut. He had to agree with the former SEAL. There was something really fucking wrong with the situation.
    Dust covered the furnishings, and there were definitely signs of decay. The small wooden table looked like termites or something had been eating on it. Hell, the covers on the small cot were moving. The stench of rotting vegetation permeated the air. He really didn’t want to know what was living under there. The absence of any humans—along with any kind of food told him one thing.
    “No one has been here in months,” he said. He rolled his shoulders as a dribble of sweat slid down his spine. Fuck, it was hot.
    Young nodded. “So, did Lassiter set us up, or did someone set up Lassiter and we get caught up in it?”
    “That’s a very good question.”
    His gut clenched. Damn, he didn’t want to think badly of his old friend, but things weren’t adding up. Lassiter had never had a clusterfuck like this in the years Sean had been working for him. He’d trusted the man with his life more than once, but now he was having doubts.
    Maybe Lassiter was more pissed about his breakup with Jaime than Sean had thought. Sean knew Lassiter had trained her, had guided her through her career, and he had taken it personally when Sean and Jaime split up. Still, Sean didn’t think Lassiter would set him up to be killed for it.
    Sean glanced around again. There weren’t even any signs the missionaries had been there. It was a dead end. No one had been there for at least a month, probably more. Just as both he and Young had worried, there was something off about the mission.
    “You’ve worked for him for awhile. Do you think he’d set us up like this?”
    Sean glanced at Young. He was fucking smart, and it wasn’t as if Sean hadn’t just had the same thought.
    “I haven’t given him reason to. Have you?”
    A smile that had nothing to do with humor curled Young’s lips. Damn, it made him even more fuckable. Sean always liked his humor with a dark and sadistic edge, and especially appreciated it in his lovers.
    Fuck. He needed to get his mind off that topic. They needed to formulate a plan that had to deal with getting the fuck out of there.
    “So, you’re relationship with Lassiter is contingent on you not giving him a reason to kill you?”
    He smiled. “That’s pretty much true in all of my relationships.”
    Young chuckled at that. “Same here. What the fuck do you think it means?”
    “I think he has bad info, or someone is setting us up.”
    “Ya think?”
    “Who have you pissed off