Rebellious River (Men of Mercy #5)

Chapter 1

Maybe her mother was right. Maybe she shouldn’t have joined the CIA. Maybe she shouldn’t have traded in her cheerleader uniform for a badge.

Kate Richard’s swallowed her groan and pushed the disturbing thoughts out of her mind, spinning the small right-hand silver ring on her finger.

Aside from an imminent terrorist attack or death, those were words that would never pass Kate Richard's lips. Unfortunately, the upcoming meeting with her boss, Agent Lamar Franks, was going to be enough to make her wish she was dead.

But facing her creepy boss wasn't as bad as following her mother's Betty Crocker recipe for life.

Start with a solid wealthy man from her hometown, mix in a wedding and a couple of kids, sprinkle on becoming president of the PTA, then bake in the oven at 300° for a cookie cutout way of life according to Georgia Elise Richards.

Unfortunately for her mother, her youngest daughter had been sour milk to begin with, so Kate mixing with the perfect man had been doomed from the start.

If she’d played with more Barbies growing up, instead of helicopters and plastic army tanks, she’d have been fifteen percent more likely to choose oversized hair bows and the color pink.

That could have led to her focusing more time on makeup and teenage crushes than studying for the SAT and having an intense Tom Clancy novel obsession.

Which could have prevented her mother's undying look of shame and horror when Kate had announced to the family a month after graduation that she'd joined the military.

Of course if she'd read Cosmo, she would've paid more attention to her body and that strange occasional blip in her chest and discovered she had a slight heart murmur.

That could have saved her the embarrassment from the medical review board telling her she wasn't qualified as a candidate for the Air Force.

And she might not be hemmed in a private meeting room on the second floor of the CIA headquarters. The meeting room with stark white walls and humming florescent lights and concrete floors with metal chairs that no one else outside of her small group of coworkers knew about.

Civilians would call it an interrogation room. Kate called it her silent refuge from assholes.

After the current president banned the Patriot Act, the soft interrogation room had morphed from a chamber of light torture for terrorists and traitors to a place where ambitious CIA operatives secretly met to decide whose careers thrived and died.

In a way, the actions performed in this room now were more cutthroat than any waterboarding or sensory deprivation techniques.

They were cruelly executed secret maneuvers against their own team members in the act of ultimate betrayal.

The only time Kate had been in here in the past was to escape the quiet ridicule and sexual mocking of her male counterparts who didn't think she could cut it in the intelligence analyst world.

Contrary to popular belief, her coworkers weren't big buff alpha men – most of them were lanky nerds who wore thick glasses and still carried a chip on their shoulders from years of teasing in high school.

As one of the only female analysts in the unit, Kate had been cast as something much worse - an object of sexual objectivity.

The harassment hadn't taken a leap to the physical side, yet.

The only reason she’d put up with their crap this long was the fact that she was now the most senior member on the team, and the man above her had recently moved, leaving a slot open perfect for her shoes to fill.

The heavy-metal door creaked open and Kate slowly turned to watch her boss slink inside.

Lamar Franks was one of the most nondescript men she'd ever laid eyes on. Hell, he was so average even she had trouble remembering what he looked like when he wasn’t in the same room.

Average height, average build, average features.

The only thing extraordinary about him was the deadly cunning in his gaze.

A gaze currently riveted on her with malicious intent.

She stood, putting herself more on his level. Franks slunk close enough she could smell his disgusting cologne.

Suck it up buttercup. She could keep her mouth shut long enough to accept her promotion and never have to worry about being under Frank’s too touchy thumb again.

Kate squared her already ramrod straight shoulders. “Sir.”

As per usual, Franks gave her a once-over followed by sneer. “Agent Richards.” Franks gaze swept over her a second time.

She ignored the chill creeping up her back. His obvious perusal of her clothes, or what he thought was beneath them, made her skin crawl. “You wanted to see me?”

“That goes without saying doesn't it?” He stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Kate curled her short-trimmed nails into her palms, fighting the urge to slap the hungry look off his face. Franks moved in, palming the wall beside her head, the low wave of heat emanating from him left her ice cold.

“I thought I’d give you another chance to take me up on my offer.”

She leaned back, her shoulders digging into the equally cold wall behind her. “My answer hasn’t changed.”

“I can help you. I know what you want. This job is everything to you, just like it is for me. We share a common goal.” Franks, in a move he’d never been bold enough to try before, traced a single finger across her jaw.

Her heart whacked her ribcage and she had to fight to keep from squeezing her eyes shut. Was he really doing this to her? And why wasn’t she kneeing him in the balls?

Sensing her weakness, Franks pressed his body flush to hers, his arousal obvious. “I can see you’re thinking more like me. You want your promotion? I can give it to you.”

The walls seemed to shrink around her. This wasn’t happening. He’d given her looks, made insinuations, even asked her to hook up – but he’d never laid hands on her.

Think. Think. Think. If she kneed him, she’d lose her promotion and her job.

Her heart pounded faster.

Her entire career would be ruined.

Franks finger moved lower, skimming the collar of her button up and then down.

She started to shake. Was this what all her hard work had come down to?

Franks didn’t care how much overtime she’d put in, all he wanted was what was between her legs.

Kate slammed her hands to his chest and shoved. “Stop.”

He stumbled back a step and immediately re-closed the gap, his hot breath fanning across her face. “I’m giving you one more chance.”

White hot rage flooded her system. Kate grabbed his shoulders and looked directly in his eyes. “Go to hell.”

Franks blinked, his mouth slack with shock and Kate brought her knee up. Hard.

“Shit!” He grabbed his nuts and fell back, moaning in a much deserved dose of pain. “You bitch.”

He grabbed the table before hitting the floor and wheezed.

“You never intended to promote me, did you?” She advanced, her fury growing with each second. “You don’t care how much harder I worked than the rest of the team.”

Franks held up a hand, gasping as he tried to straighten, a nice pale shade on his cheeks now. “You-“

Kate cut him off with a sneer, disgusted with herself almost as much as him. “I’ve put up with all your looks and insinuations for years. I even helped you cover your ass when your old buddy Agent J ghosted and turned traitor.”

Every operative associated with Mr. J was now either dead, or simply disappeared into the darkness of a giant government cover up.

Everyone but Agent Franks, whose absolute desperate dance to cover his tracks had actually worked and he'd been allowed to stay on in the same position of power.

A feat Kate couldn't figure out exactly how he pulled off.

Franks white face flushed and used the table to lever up straight. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kate bared her teeth in a warning smile. “You mean that thumb drive off the laptop I acid washed for you?”

Kate felt the flush of triumph filter into her veins. She’d never really considered blackmailing him to get what she wanted. Blackmailing was illegal and wrong and went against her very morality, but so did using unsolicited sex for control.

Kate tapped her chin thoughtfully. “You know, I think that alone is enough reason for my promotion.” Let alone the fact she’d worked twice as long and hard as her entire team combined.

“I always knew you had it in you.” Franks straightened his features and arched a brow, not looking in the least bit worried. In fact, he looked smug.

“I never wanted this. You made me,” she defended.

He shrugged like he couldn’t care less. “Using blackmail to retain your position is a hallmark of our profession.” Franks paused. “Just like its used to destroy a career.”

A twinge of unease found its way into her chest. “Give me the promotion. I deserve it.”

“Can’t do that.”

Franks wasn’t dumb. He knew she wasn’t lying. She could destroy him with the thumb drive. “Why not?”

“Because I’ve already promoted Coons.”

She froze. “The newbie?”

He nodded.

“You tried to manipulate me into having sex with you for a promotion that you’d already given away?” Her voice rose with each word.

A serpentine smile slithered across his face. “There was no manipulation. I was just taking you up on your offer. Can’t blame a red-blooded man for giving in to the constant sexual provocation of his female co-worker.”

“Your insane.” Kate backed up a step, suddenly unsure of her confidence. “I’m giving that thumb drive to the Director.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Franks said quietly.

She eased to the door, her hand inching to the handle. “You can’t stop me. I’m going to do what I should have done months ago.”

“Turn that thumb drive in and you’ll be the one going to federal prison. Not me.”

“Being my boss won’t save you this time. I’m going to tell the director everything about J and about every single time you harassed me.” Kate grabbed the handle, twisting it down.

“You mean how you constantly used your body to try and manipulate me into promoting you? Or how you illegally scrubbed a federally owned laptop? A laptop registered under your name.”

Kate spun. “Liar!”

Agent Franks’ vindictive expression disappeared, his brow smoothed out and he rocked back on his heels, casually tapping a finger on his lower lip. His condescending nature chipped at her confidence. “Did you really think I didn’t expect you to eventually try and use that thumb drive against me?”

“What did you do?” Kate asked in a trembling voice.

Instead of answering her, he asked another question, “How many of your co-workers do you think will side with you against me?”

The floor seemed to drop from beneath her feet. None of them would. Not one man on her team liked working with her or thought she belonged in the analyst world. And the fact she’d help solve more cases than any of them made them resent her even more.

“I see you’re understanding your position.

” Franks eased into the metal chair next to the table and steepled his fingers.

“Imagine the Director’s surprise when your entire team corroborates your blatantly sexual behavior towards me to further your career.

I suspect he’ll be just as shocked when I am forced to show him how you illegally scrubbed that computer to cover your tracks. ”

Kate felt the blood leach from her face. “You can’t.”

Franks patted his knee in open invitation. “I don’t have to do anything. You can keep your job if you want it bad enough.”

Her body went cold. She’d suffered under Franks day after day, telling herself he didn’t matter. The CIA was her life and she’d thought she could put up with anything for her career.

But she could never do what he wanted. Ever. “I quit.”