Hot Rebel (24 page)

A helicopter suddenly appeared overhead, its rotors whipping frantically. For a scant moment, Victoria thought it might be Nick’s people coming to help them—

But a searchlight flicked on and began sweeping over the traffic as if searching for something.

When it stopped on their car and lingered, Victoria had to shield her eyes from the glare. She prayed it would go away again, that it was temporary.

But the glare stayed—and a voice boomed from a loudspeaker.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Fucking hell, this is going to shit fast.” It was Big Mac who’d spoken.
 

No one disagreed with him.

“We’ve got to get them out of there,” Garrett said. “If the Russians get them…”

He didn’t need to say what would happen then. If the Russians got Brandy and Victoria, it was over. Because HOT wasn’t going to be allowed to charge in and take their teammate from the Russians. The Cold War was a long time ago, but even though missiles weren’t pointed at each other’s cities anymore, it still wasn’t a good idea to piss off the guys who maintained an entire nuclear arsenal they could aim at you if they wanted. The Russians might have destroyed a lot of weapons under the various treaties in place since the Berlin Wall fell, but that didn’t mean they had nothing left.

They had plenty, and everyone in this organization knew it.

“If we get caught interfering in a Russian operation,” Richie Rich growled over his comm link, “there will be diplomatic hell to pay.”

“We won’t get caught.” It was Hawk who’d spoken that time. “Dex and I can disable the helicopter, and then we’ll fire on the armored car. They’ll think they’re under attack from outside, and they’ll shift focus. If we can get them to move, Brandy’ll know what to do.”

“Do it,” Richie said.

“Copy.”

Garrett waited in an alley with Sam “Knight Rider” McKnight. Their eyes met in the darkness and they nodded. Garrett gripped his assault rifle tighter, ready to go on the attack if it was necessary.

They’d been tasked with getting into position and helping Brandy escape if it became necessary. Echo Squad was also working the scene, preventing anyone from leaving the consulate grounds without being searched. Since there were NATO troops deployed to Ras al-Dura to help the Qu’rimi government maintain the peace, Echo Squad was acting in that capacity, blending into the background and acting as peacekeepers would. They were tasked with not allowing the virus to get out of the consulate. It wasn’t an easy job, and Garrett hoped like hell they succeeded.

If they were lucky, Chernovsky hadn’t had the virus with him in the first place. But there was no way of knowing that for certain.

The helicopter hovering over the traffic seemed to have targeted one car in particular, but then the spotlight moved on and the voice over the loudspeaker kept issuing orders to the street in general. The Russians were searching for something, but they didn’t quite know what. Still, as quickly as they’d mobilized, it wasn’t a good sign they were planning to give up the search anytime soon.

Suddenly there was a metallic pop and twang—and the whine of the helo’s rotors grew high-pitched as smoke poured from the tail. The pilot only had seconds to act before the fuel caught fire. The craft suddenly banked to the left, and the helo went down on the massive grounds of the consulate. Men poured from the interior before the vehicle caught fire, and Garrett turned his attention toward the intersection where the armored car still blocked the street.

The night air exploded with the sound of rapid gunfire. Hawk and Double Dee were firing on the car—and the occupants were firing back. A good sign, he hoped.

The armored car roared forward and then back again—and then it turned, facing the direction of the gunfire. Garrett hoped it was just the opening Brandy needed to get free.
 

“Come on, Brandy, step on the fucking gas,” Garrett muttered. A second later, a Land Rover bounced up onto the sidewalk and shot alongside the traffic. Gunfire blazed from the passenger side as it careened into the intersection on two wheels. The armored car couldn’t turn fast enough to stop the Land Rover from shooting into the gap.

Metal scraped against metal as the vehicle forced its way between cars that were sitting too close for it to pass smoothly. Tires squealed and engines whined as the intersection turned into a bumper-car derby—but then Brandy sped out the other side and gunned the engine. Horns blared and drivers yelled, but the Land Rover disappeared behind some buildings.

“Fuck, that was close,” Sam said.

“Amen, brother. Keep going, Brandy. Drive the fuck out of that bitch and get away safe.”

*
 
*
 
*

“We have no choice, Nick,” Victoria said as they sped through the city streets. “We have to use Ian’s contacts as planned.”

Nick gripped the wheel hard. “He’s fucking dirty, Victoria. How do we know he won’t turn us over now that he has what he wants? Jesus, that helicopter arrived damn fast considering it was mere minutes since we’d fired. How did the Russians mobilize so quickly?”

She’d been asking herself the same thing. But why would Ian tell the Russians they were there when it would reveal he had knowledge about the situation?
 

“You may be right. But how else are we getting across the desert without his help? Unless your guys have set up an escape route for us?”

Nick growled. “This mission is under the radar, so no.”

“Under the radar? You didn’t tell me that before.”

He threw a hard glance at her. “No.”

Frustration was a solid lump in her throat. If this was under the radar, then maybe they’d promised her the moon without ever intending to deliver.
 

No.
She wasn’t going to think like that. Not yet.

“And you still aren’t going to tell me a damn thing, I take it?”

“I can’t. Just trust me.”

“I do trust you.” It was true. And not just because he’d been inside her, making love to her so sweetly she’d cried with the joy of it. She trusted him because he was too damn decent not to. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know the details anyway.”

“I can’t tell you.”

“I think you fucking can. We’re running for our lives, and I’ve risked everything by getting you into Ian’s organization. The least you can do is be straight with me in return.”

“Jesus, you never give up.”

“No.”

He shot her a look. “This could mean my ass, you realize.” Then he sighed. “There’s nothing much to tell. This isn’t a sanctioned op, and we’re all taking a risk trying to expose Black. But he’s getting his information from somewhere, quite possibly the CIA, and Mendez wants to know where the leak is. There’s more to it, including an operation that nearly cost one of our teammates his life, and that of his wife and son too. We almost didn’t get there in time. And we still don’t know who suppressed the information, but there could be a link to Black. Expose him, find the bastard.”

Goose bumps rose on her skin at the thought. “Your teammate and his family are fine?”

“They are. He’s the one who just shot us out of there, by the way.”

“Then I’ll have to thank him some day. Assuming we make it.”

He reached over and took her hand, dragging it to his lips. When they touched her skin, her entire body quivered with heat and need.
 

“I won’t let anything happen to you, baby.”

Warmth filled her. “I won’t let anything happen to you either. But consider that if it was Ian who turned us in, there won’t be anyone waiting to help us.”

He squeezed her hand before letting it go. “We’ll try it your way, then. If we get to the checkpoint and no one is there, we’ll know, right?

“That’s what I think. If he meant to betray us back there, he’d have no reason to set up an escape route.”

Nick sighed. “So where’s this mysterious checkpoint we need to hit?”

She took her phone out and called up the plan Ian had sent earlier. She knew it could be a dummy plan, but she had to try. He always sent an escape plan when the environment was urban, so if he hadn’t sent one this time, she’d have been suspicious. Maybe this plan was simply meant to make her believe all was normal. But maybe it was real.

It was a chance they had to take.

“The old quarter. The gray building on Sultan bin Mohammed Street, behind the McDonald’s and across from the vegetable market.”

“God, I hate Qu’rimi addresses. Why can’t they number anything?”

“They’re working on it.”

“Not fast enough for us.”

“We’ll get there, Nick.”

After that crazy escape from the blocked street and the intersection, when the helicopter had suddenly banked and crashed and Nick had pointed their car between other cars set too close together and just blasted his way through, she had to believe they would make it.

The streets were normal here as they rolled through the city. Not deserted, but not packed either. It was late, and many of the residents were at home. The drama at the consulate did not translate to the city as a whole. She knew their car bore obvious damage, but it wasn’t the kind of thing most Qu’rimis would pay attention to. The streets here were usually jammed with any combination of rusted-out vehicles, donkey carts, motor scooters, and pedestrians. A scraped-up SUV was nothing in a city that constantly worried if it would have enough to eat this week or if the opposition forces would cut off the supplies to the city.

But the sooner they got another car, the better she’d feel.

Nick’s phone rang and he slid the bar before putting it to his ear. “Brandon. … What? Seriously? … You guys fucking rock, you know that? … Yeah, love you too.” He laughed and she realized it was the first time she’d heard him laugh without any kind of restraint. “See you in Baq. … Fuck yeah, you can count on it.”

He dropped the phone into the cup holder. “Echo Squad has Ian Black in custody. They’ll question him closely, relieve him of the virus if he has it, and let him go. But not before we can get back and search that server room.”

Victoria blinked. “Wow, they have Ian? I didn’t think he’d get caught.”

“He’s surrounded by the best of the best. How could he not get caught?”

“He won’t tell them anything, you know.”

“No, but if he has the vials, they’ll at least be safe.”

Victoria leaned her head against the seat and watched the city lights slide by overhead. She was more tired than she thought she’d be. The adrenaline rush from earlier was seeping away and leaving her boneless. She’d barely slept at all last night, and while she’d snatched naps today, it hadn’t been quite enough. She’d been far more keyed up before an op than usual.

But that was because of Emily.

She’d kept thinking about Emily sounding so frantic on the phone, which had messed with her ability to rest. She’d had to shove all that emotional turmoil down deep to get the job done, but now it was out again and swirling inside her belly and brain. She was tired, but terrified for Emily.

It wasn’t a good combination.

They eventually found the building they needed. Victoria dialed the number Ian had given her. If no one came, they’d know the entire mission had been a setup. But if someone did…?

It didn’t mean Ian wasn’t dirty, but it at least would help her feel less heartsick.

When a Qu’rimi man met them, she was still wary. Nick looked ready to shoot the man if he so much as looked at them cross-eyed, but the guy didn’t show any signs of deception. He brought them a different car, wished them well and Godspeed, and took the one they had. He also gave them a key, but he told them he didn’t know what the key went to.

Victoria dialed the next number in the plan, her heart thumping as she waited for everything to go to hell. But the next contact gave them the landmarks they needed and yet another contact gave them the street and building description. When they finally reached the safe haven for the night, she was beginning to believe it was real. The house was small and nondescript and had gates that opened and let them drive into a courtyard.

No one came out to greet them as they pushed open the doors to the Jeep the first man had given them and stepped out into the silent night. This house was on the edge of the city in a quiet quarter, and nothing stirred other than the occasional cat on the prowl.

“I think we’re alone,” she said.

“I’ll search the house.”
 

He took the key and disappeared into the night. She let him go, leaning against the side of the Jeep and yawning. He returned a few minutes later, materializing out of the darkness and nearly scaring her silly.

“It’s empty. I need to turn the Jeep, in case we need to leave fast, but take your pack and go inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”

She did as he said, too tired to argue as she trudged toward the darkened house. When she stepped inside, she realized he’d turned on a small battery-powered lantern for her. The house probably had electricity, but it wasn’t a good idea to use it and become a beacon.

Victoria yawned again as she dropped her pack on a table. The house was small and made of mud brick, but its interior was cool and bare.