The IAD Agency series novels are all stand-alone stories, but it is highly recommended to read them in order to get the most enjoyment from the series!
Chapter One
Chicago,
Illinois
Someone needed to
shoot her.
If her friends
didn’t stop talking about flowers, color schemes, and, oh god, bridesmaid
dresses soon she was going to scream.
Or more likely, she
would hurt one of them…badly.
Tara Toshi was
seated with her friends Bella, Liz, and Mikayla around the large antique table
in Bella’s dining room in the penthouse suite of their building. A light fall
of snow obstructed the view of the Chicago skyline that was usually seen out of
the large windows, making Tara feel even more closed in. Just back from South
Africa, Tara now found herself precariously at the mercy of her girlfriends and
their excruciating wedding planning.
Tara didn’t give a
shit about weddings. Just tell her where and when to show up and that was all
she needed to know. Sighing, she tried to shake the glazed look off her face,
to focus back on the conversation going on around her, but the truth was she
would rather be fighting a group of hostile terrorists than sitting here with
her three friends dealing with the current conversation.
In just under three
weeks Bella Moretti was marrying the man of her dreams, Jason MacBain, who also
happened to be Tara’s boss.
Almost a year ago
Bella had been terrorized by a crazy stalker, Victor Dane, who had snapped and
tried to kill her. Although she had survived the attack, Bella had been badly
injured and traumatized from what he had done to her. Once she was released
from the hospital Bella had moved back to Chicago, where she was closer to her
family.
A few months back
Bella had decided not to let what happened to her control the rest of her life.
She couldn’t let one monster keep her from living. It was while she had been
attending a charity event, one of her first public appearances since the
attack, that she met Jason MacBain. From the way Tara heard it, it had only
taken one look and they had fallen madly in love.
Shortly after, a
picture of Bella and Liz had appeared in an article about the benefit. Even
though Bella’s name had not been mentioned, the picture had allowed anyone with
access to the Internet to know where Bella was currently living. That was when
Victor Dane had come out of hiding. Victor made one final attempt on Bella’s
life but Jason had killed the madman, ending the threat to Bella for good.
Now Bella had her
life back and everything she had ever wanted was falling into place. She was
also planning on opening a restaurant in the city with one of her best friends,
world famous chef extraordinaire Giovanni Cossi. Both Bella and Gio were
brilliant chefs, and with the help of Bella’s teaching assistant, Jenna
Markham, coming on as their pastry chef, Bella Gio’s would be one of the hottest restaurants in the city.
But first, there
was the wedding.
Jason hadn’t been
happy about waiting to get married. If it were up to him, they would have
gotten married months ago. He had all but begged her to elope the very day he
had killed Victor and freed her from her past. But Bella wanted a big Christmas
wedding and anything Bella wanted, Jason would give her. He would move heaven
and earth if he could just to make her happy, but he put his foot down at
waiting any longer than a few months for the wedding, especially now since they
were expecting a baby. They were building a family together. A future.
Jason and Bella
both exuded a contentment and happiness that few people actually achieved. It
was almost difficult to remain in a room with them as it seemed practically
voyeuristic when Jason was anywhere near Bella. Tara was happy for them, truly,
deeply happy for the love they had found together, although it somehow made the
loneliness she felt even more pronounced.
Tara wasn’t like
her girlfriends. She had no idea how to be the type of female that men wanted
to be with long term. Hell, who was she kidding, she didn’t know how to be in a real relationship at all. She had tried, really she did, but every
time the subject of commitment came up she got…itchy.
Among her friends
Tara was known as a man-eater. Her colleagues had named her T-rex, a name she
was amused by most of the time, but what no one knew was that she secretly
wanted the kind of love that Bella and Jason had found. To have a man who loved
her as completely as she loved him.
A real partner.
Tara knew better, though.
Her life was not the stuff of fairy tales and she was so far from anyone’s idea
of a princess that it was laughable. Sadly to say, settling down just didn’t
seem to be in the cards for her, so she told herself she was better off alone.
Half Japanese and
half Italian, Tara was an exotically beautiful woman. She was petite and almost
delicate looking. Her deep, dark-brown eyes held secrets and gave little away
as to what she was thinking or feeling. Most people didn’t know the lethal
strength that her small frame held until it was too late. She wore her
straight, shoulder-length black hair in a razor cut with unique angles around
her face. Tara had a way of wearing her hair in funky styles, but still made it
look elegant.
But despite her
beautiful features, Tara was a warrior.
Growing up in a
volatile home, Tara learned at a very young age to protect herself. She was an
army brat, always moving from base to base when her father had been
restationed. Life had been better when he was away on a mission or when he was
on tour. Her father had been abusive when he had been home and her mother had
been no help. She was a meek, quiet woman who had lost her will to live years
ago.
Looking back, Tara
could never understand why her mother had stayed with him. Her mother always
made excuses for her father’s behavior, even taking the blame for his actions
and over the years Tara had learned to resent her almost as much as her father.
When he had started to hit Tara, it had been casual slaps. Back then it seemed
like he enjoyed the challenge of her defiance, but Tara had refused to be like
her mother, letting him hit her and apologizing for him. As she got older, he
got less tolerant of her refusal to conform to his rules. And so she began to
live in terror of her father’s fists.
Until the day he
tried to kill her.
It wasn’t anything
particular that set him off that night long ago. In fact, with a man like that,
it never took much to ignite his madness. He had come home drunk, like he did
so often, and started in on her mother for not cleaning the house. He yelled
and belittled her, throwing things around the room. When he stumbled upon some
of the debris, he flew into a rage and started to hit her mother. Tara jumped
in and tried to stop him, earning a beating so bad that it had almost killed
her.
Her mother had
turned a blind eye, meekly following Tara’s father into their bedroom while
Tara had been left on the floor, so bloody and bruised she could barely move.
Barely able to see out of her eyes, Tara watched them leave the room together,
and felt the last scrap of feelings she had for the two people who had created
her die.
And it was on that
day she learned how to hate.
It took her
precious minutes to try and drag her broken body up off the floor and to make
it to the front door. Once she got herself upright she walked with no direction
in mind, the pain so overwhelming she could barely think. Thankfully a few
military police officers saw her limping on the road, took one look at her
bruised, bleeding body and immediately took her to the hospital. When the
doctor asked what happened, Tara never hesitated. She told them everything. The
military police immediately went after her father, but they came back with the
shocking news that he had killed her mother and then shot himself.
Tara had been nine
years old.
That was the day
Tara Russo died and Tara Toshi had been born. When she healed enough to be
released from the hospital, Tara moved in with her only living relatives, her
aunt and uncle in Chicago. But they had taken her in out of necessity, not
desire. Her relatives were cold, barely speaking to her or acknowledging her
presence. They made it clear that she wasn’t wanted. Her uncle was her mother’s
brother who had shunned her years ago for marrying a white man, and Tara
reminded him of everything he had turned away from. He blamed her for her
mother’s death and made sure she knew it every second of every day.
Thankfully Tara’s
luck changed when she met Bella and Liz shortly after moving in with her
relatives. Her new friends had allowed her the escape from the icy disdain of
her guardians whenever she needed it. She tried to remain aloof but Bella and
Liz had decided to befriend her and wouldn’t leave her alone until she finally
gave in. Bella and Liz became the sisters she never had and Bella’s three older
brothers had nagged and watched out for her as only older brothers could. For
the first time Tara felt close to people and learned how life was supposed to
be, even though deep down she still held herself apart from the others.
It was safer that
way.
When they grew
older, Bella had gone off to culinary school in France and Tara left for
college. Always a bright student, Tara’s photographic memory allowed her the
opportunity to go anywhere she wanted. She had chosen California to get as far
away from her relatives as possible and it was there that she had been
recruited by the CIA.
To someone like
Tara, spy craft came easy. She had focused all of her rage and aggression into
her training to become one of the best agents the Company had ever seen.
Determined never to be a victim again, Tara had excelled in martial arts all
her life, and within the Company, she had honed her skills to become a lethal
fighting machine. She was also an expert with codes and with her small, nimble
fingers could dismantle almost any bomb with time to spare.
She believed in
what she did, but hated the bureaucracy that went along with the job. Tara had
no problem killing a man who was planning a terrorist attack on a city or
someone who sold guns to profit from war. She slept just fine. It was the men
who sat in their comfy offices and sent soldiers into harm’s way without regard
for their safety that were her problem.
Burnt out from the
bullshit life of bureaucratic espionage, Tara sought something else. Leaving
the Company for the private sector, Tara now worked for a company that
specialized in security. Mac Securities provided defense assistance and
installed security systems in high-risk facilities around the world using the
latest technology and military precision.
Mac Securities was
the top in the field. Part of that was because Jason MacBain only hired the
best and brightest for his company. The other part was due to the fact that Mac
Securities was also a front for IAD, a specialized intelligence agency and
counterterrorist taskforce that very few people even knew existed. The
International Alliance of Defense was an extremely covert branch in the
intelligence community, more like a transnational agency.
They were the
ultimate warriors of global warfare with agents stationed all over the world.
The members of NATO had formed IAD with a policy of “get it done, no matter the
cost.’” IAD handled their own problems and discourses internally, and that was
just the way they liked it. They were the elite and only the best were chosen
to serve.
For the highly
skilled select members of IAD it was a dream come true, since most of the
agents had been disillusioned with the rules, regulations, and red tape of the
regular intelligence branches. Only the highest, most qualified candidates were
chosen for IAD, given a kind of worldwide immunity for their actions.
Government agencies around the world looked at the members of IAD with awe, not
to mention a great amount of envy. Not that it didn’t piss off other agencies
when they had to defer to IAD agents if the situation called for it.
When Jason had
offered Tara a position with IAD and Mac Securities she had jumped at the
chance, never once regretting her decision. Tara was one of them now and she
was one of the best. Finally she had found the place where she belonged.
Now if only she
could be as lucky in her personal life…
Bella and Jason
lived in the top floor of the luxury apartment complex that housed most of the
members of IAD and Mac Securities. Tara lived on the third floor in the
building. She was happy that she lived so close to her friends, not that she
was home much. Tara kept herself out on assignment, keeping busy because that’s
the way she liked it. But now that she was back in Chicago where she made her
home, she still couldn’t find a sense of peace. One of her greatest strengths
she’d always depended on was how she could finish the job then leave it behind,
but lately, lately it wasn’t working.
The restless
feeling she sought to keep at bay just wouldn’t go away. She had been on
several back-to-back missions, volunteering for the most dangerous assignments.
But inside she
still felt numb, disassociated from everything.
Tara knew she was
worrying people, but she simply couldn’t make herself care. No, it wasn’t that
she didn’t care, she just didn’t know what to do about it. When she was out on
a mission it was the only time she felt anything anymore, but doing what she
did and seeing the things she’d seen had a price…
Shaking off her
disgustingly pitiful mood, Tara looked around and saw all four of her friends
staring at her expectantly.
“What?”
“Well, what do you
think?” Bella asked, trying to hide a smile.
“Oh, for fuck’s
sake, Bella, it’s your wedding. Pick whatever you want.” Damn. Tara immediately
felt sorry for her outburst.
What
the hell is wrong with me?
Not insulted in the
least, Bella shook her head and laughed out loud. “The wedding is pretty much
planned. Less than three weeks to go. You don’t even know what we were talking
about, do you?”
Tara’s blank face
made all the women laugh.
“We were talking
about bachelorette parties,” Liz explained. “Obviously you weren’t listening to
us.”
Okay, now that she
could get into.
Feeling slightly
guilty, Tara tried to relax. “Look, Bella, I’m just not good at this planning
stuff. Your bachelorette party I can do, I can plan that for you no problem.
All this other stuff…I’m sorry, I’ll try to pay attention. I know this is
important to you.”
She pressed her
fingertips to her temple to try to relieve the pressure lurking there. Her
recent excursion to Cape Town had been a tough one. Although the debriefing was
finished, memories of the mission stayed with her like a bad hangover. Christ,
she needed a vacation. Only, people like her didn’t take vacations. Perhaps she
just needed to stay busy and go on another assignment, pronto.
“Sorry, I’m just
tired,” Tara murmured absently.
A look of concern
crossed Bella’s face as she reached a hand out to touch Tara’s arm. “Are you
okay? I’m sorry, sweetie. You just got back from god knows where, and here I am
forcing you to deal with my wedding crap. You should be in bed getting some
sleep or relaxing.”
That was one of the
perks of having your best friends know your darkest secret. Tara didn’t have to
hide from them, or lie about what she did. On the other hand, having people
care was a bitch.
Tara didn’t want
anyone’s freaking sympathy.
She was a
counterterrorist agent for Christ’s sake, she could damn well handle some
wedding plans. Son of a bitch, she needed to be alone when she was in this kind
of mood. Not fit for human consumption on any level, she needed something to
keep her busy. Something hard, something dangerous. She needed to get away from
her friends who were looking at her with all that compassion in their eyes
before she screamed.
Tara waved a hand
dismissively. “I’m fine, Bell. Don’t worry about me.” She managed a smile for
her friends. “You know, just had a little too much fun in the sun and all that.
Gotta love South Africa. I must be depressed being back here with all this
snow.”
“Is that where you
were?” Liz asked, truly intrigued. “I always wanted to go cage diving with the
great white sharks down there, but I don’t think I have enough courage to do it
in reality.” Although Bella knew about IAD, Liz still thought they were all
agents of Mac Securities, still a dangerous job, but nothing compared to the
truth. They tried to keep any information as vague as possible, but Tara
wondered how much Liz actually knew.
Tara held her
easygoing expression by force of sheer will and determination. Deep down she
was screaming inside. At the very mention of sharks her blood froze. She had
been part of a task force working in conjunction with CIA operatives to
retrieve three canisters of stolen biological agents in Cape Town. During the
joint operation, the team had been forced to find cover in the water before the
charges they had placed up on a bluff blew them all to high hell.
Local authorities
had screwed with their case big-time and the situation had gone FUBAR pretty
damn quick. They had been able to recover two of the canisters, but the
surviving Tango had been able to get away with one. Needing immediate
extraction and unable to wait for airtranspo, Tara’s team had been forced to
swim miles to safety amidst the hazardous rocks falling from above. With a few
of the agents wounded, that was never a good situation and Tara had watched in
horror as sharks drawn to the scent of blood in the water had ripped two
members of their team to pieces.
No words could
describe what that had been like.
Tara tried to be
flippant and winked at Liz. “Yeah, it’s been snowing here for weeks now and I
thought a little sun might cheer me up.”
Bella and Liz had
quickly learned that the trips that all of them took were never just for fun
but they smiled just as Tara had intended. They didn’t know what happened and,
by god, she would keep it that way. No one should have to deal with that shit,
but Mikayla as a fellow agent knew better.
Tara wasn’t fooling
her.
As a sniper,
Mikayla “Lynx” Lincoln had been on her own share of dangerous missions. She had
eyes like a hawk and never missed what she was aiming at. Mikayla had read the
brief on the mission and knew exactly what Tara had been doing in South Africa.
The sympathy in her striking violet eyes was almost more than Tara could bear
at the moment.
Unable to stand the
conversation any longer, Tara tried diversionary tactics. “What were we talking
about? Oh yeah, the bachelorette party.”
“I’m not having
one.”
Tara gasped. “Not
having a bachelorette party? Well, crap…that’s the only fun part about a
wedding!”
Bella laughed at
her friend. “Jason and I decided not to follow that little tradition. He
doesn’t want to go out and see a bunch of strippers and I don’t want him
killing whatever poor soul you would hire to dance for us.”
“Hmm.”
Tara took a moment
to think about that one. Yeah, Jason would kill any other man Bella saw naked,
but she still had to pout a little. “I guess you’re right. Damn it, I was
looking forward to that part, though.”
The women all
laughed.
Mikayla looked out
of the apartment window with a grimace. “If it keeps snowing like this, you’re
sure going to get that winter white wedding you wanted.”
Bella gave a happy
sigh of contentment. “I know.”
“I think it’s so
romantic that you’re getting married on Christmas Day,” Liz sighed.
“At least Jason
won’t ever forget your anniversary,” Tara added.
Like he ever would.
Jason MacBain would forget his own name before he forgot something as important
as the day he married the woman he loved.
Tara’s phone pinged
an incoming text, cutting off further conversation. Mikayla’s phone issued a
similar sound. They quickly read their messages and Mikayla rose from her
chair, smiling in apology.
“Work calls.”
“Sorry, B.” Tara
tried for a look of reticence but knew she failed as Bella laughed.
“No, you’re not but
that’s okay.” Bella giggled. “I’m not trying to torture you and believe me I
know this is torture for you. Go ahead. Come back up for dinner if you can.”
“Are you cooking?”
Tara asked hopefully.
Bella laughed. “You
know it.”
“Then hell yeah,
we’ll be back. Thanks. See you guys later.” Tara squeezed Bella’s shoulder as
she passed by her chair. As she and Mikayla made their way out of the
apartment, Tara hoped that no one heard the sigh of relief that escaped.
