Operation Date With Destiny (4 page)

She knew she
’
d been cutting it fine
,
but there hadn
’
t been any other way
. I
t had to be done under pressure, he was smart and resourceful—she could
n
’
t
afford to give him enough time to come up with a way to get out of it. However in doing so she ran the risk of getting them both thrown in jail for life in one of the worst prison systems in the entire world.

They ran out the rear of the small house, running past market stalls and through back doors of shops to zigzag their way along the busy streets and the whole time she felt Johnny close behind her
. He was
practically her shadow and
she
knew there was going to come a time when she
’
d be on the receiving end of some rather unpleasant payback—but not yet—first they had to stay focused and make sure they got out of here in one piece.

****

Tupper
’
s
mind had been racing as fast as his damn legs were. He
’
d managed to shove his feet into his shoes just prior to jumping the rear fence and taking off down the first back street, pulling his shirt on as they slowed down to come out into a crowded market. He
’
d been surprised at how fast this woman could move—he thought he was pretty swift, but she was certainly managing to keep pace and the view from behind wasn
’
t
exactly
hard on the eyes either, although he wasn
’
t allowing himself to be too distracted by it—seeing as they were
running for their lives and all.

She slowed down to a jog and he followed suit as they came to another busy
cross street
and had to make their way through crowds of tourists and kamikaze scooter riders. They didn
’
t talk and he didn
’
t bother wasting his breath on questions—there would be plenty of time for that later…
oh man would there be time for that,
he thought gritting his teeth angrily.

He couldn
’
t believe she
’
d framed him for that drug bust. He swore a long steady stream of profanities. The last time something happened like that he
’
d been on the run for eighteen mo
n
ths
. E
ighteen months of his life he
’
d never get back. No
freakin
’
way
was he going through that again. He had no idea what he was go
ing
to do about it—but he
’
d think of something…once they were clear of danger. Although from what
Lara Croft
here had planned
,
danger would most likely be something he
’
d have to live with for a while yet. How the hell did he keep getting himself in these situations?
Seriously?
Did he have
‘
pick
me
’
tattooed on his forehead or something?

“
In here,
”
she said, opening the back door of a taxi and sliding in beside him.

Tupper
noticed she didn
’
t give the driver an
address;
he just drove off and had obviously been waiting for them. He glanced over at the mystery woman and saw she was staring out the window, seemingly happy to ignore him. His gaze fell on her thigh where the knife had been strapped, but which she
’
d removed and shoved in one of the large pockets
of her cargo pants
. She had some mighty fine shaped thighs too
as
he recalled
in
a flash of memory, seeing them when she
’
d been in that sexy clingy number at the bar and then again later…back at his house as he
’
d slid his hand
along the smooth, toned length
…

“
Don
’
t even think about it,
”
her sultry voice cut into his wandering thoughts and he snapped up his gaze to find her watching him cynically.

He was pretty sure she was referring to the knife
, seeing as he
was still staring at
the place it
’
d been
. He thought it wise to keep
what he was
really
thinking
to himself. Still it would probably piss her off to know he
’
d been thinking about
,
her
. N
aked
. I
n his bed
. H
e swore as he felt certain parts begin to perk up in interest.
No freakin way,
he told
his mutinying penis
.
Have you forgotten the two time scheming little witch has just set you up to take the fall of a major drug bust? Hello? There is no way we
’
re finding her attractive…at all!
But his lecture went unheeded as his erection continued to try and
force
a path out of his trousers.

“
Where
are
we headed?
”
h
e snapped, angry at his body for ignoring him and furious at himself for allowing this stupid predicament to have happened in the first place.

He saw a small smile touch her lips before she turned her gaze out the front window.
“
Just sit back and relax, Gunny. We
’
ve got this,
”
she said calmly.

He glared at her from across the seat and tried not to let her see how she provoked him. She knew his rank as a Gunnery Sergeant and was now baiting him with it. He hated letting anyone else take charge of a situation—well, one that involved his life being at risk anyway
,
and particularly if they happened to be some stranger who
’
d proven themselves not above drugging and tying him to a bed…naked, at that!
Yeah, sit back and relax
—sure, he could do that…not!
“
Who are you, anyway? Are we still going with
Destiny?
”

“
We won
’
t be in each other
’
s company long enough for it to be an issue. Put your hands out,
”
she said, pulling out rope from a bag on the floor.

“
Ah, no,
”
he said, declining and obstinately refusing to willingly be
trussed
up again like a God damn thanksgiving turkey.

Reaching behind her back she pulled out a Glock from where she
’
d kept it tucked, its steely black nastiness pointed at him in a very convincing manner. Added to the driver
’
s gun also trained on him from the front seat, he let out a
humorless
grunt and held out his hands, glaring at her as she bit back what looked suspiciously
,
like a smirk.

“
Okay,
Destiny
,
”
he
said
,
stressing the name sarcastically.
“
Excuse me for being a little concerned about your credentials here—but you do
realize
we
’
re not going to be able to simply stroll through the airport to catch a flight, right?
”
h
e snapped watching as she deftly tied the rope.

“
No way? Seriously?
”
she muttered sarcastically
.

Okay, fine. Be a smartass,
he thought glaring out
the
side window.
“
You just better know what the hell you
’
re doing, lady. Cause
’
I
’
m gonna
’
be really pissed if you stuff this up.
”

“
I
’
ll tell you when you get to do your thing. Until then—I
’
m quite capable of running the show.
”

His inner ego threw a tantrum at that
.
B
ut she
’
s a girl!
However since she was the one carrying a big—assed, ugly knife and gun, and since the pounding in his head had not benefited from their little dash across the damn city, he couldn
’
t be bothered to argue.

Chapter
Three

Destiny stared out the window and tried very hard to remain focused but it was hard with so many things running through her mind at once.
Would the chopper be waiting? Would they make it on time? What would they do if they missed it? Was Jackson okay? Were they mistreating him? Was he even still alive?

Then of course there was the added complication of
Mr.
Attitude
, sitting all too close beside her
.
She forced herself to stop enjoying the feel of his warm thigh resting against hers and the citrus, woody kind of smell of whatever he
’
d used the night before. It had smelt far too good then and damned if she could still smell it on him now.

Last night.
She sighed. There
’
d been more than one occasion where she
’
d wondered how the hell things had gone so drastically wrong in her well
-
planned life to have brought her to this moment. Two words, she thought bitterly…Samuel Tre
’
ago
.

Then her thoughts flew to the only thing left in this world that meant something to her. Destiny blinked furiously as an image of her little brother appeared in her mind. She closed her eyes and saw him as he
’
d been the last visit home. He
’
d gotten tall, so different to that chubby, smiling baby she
’
d adored from the first moment she
’
d laid eyes on him in the hospital after he
’
d been born when she
’
d been thirteen.

Now
he
was thirteen, and
at
that in between age—too young to be a little kid and not quite old enough to be treated as an adult. She remembered that age well and a deeper regret
surfaced when she
wished she could call her mother and
apologize
for all those past temper tantrums. Sometimes she forgot for a moment, that she
couldn
’
t
call her anymore. She waited for the pain to ease—it was a physical thing, cutting through her chest and taking her breath away. She wondered if it would
ever
ease?

The only thing keeping her together was the need to find Jackson. She
’
d deal with her grief later when she had time to fall apart. Now was not th
at
time—her brother needed her and she had to stay in control in front of this man or she
’
d be no help at all to Jackson.

****

Ponleu waited for them at the drop zone
.
Destiny disembarked from the chopper, lifting her pack to swing it over her shoulder and walked across to greet him with barely more than a nod. There was no way she could show her affection for her friend in front of his men—or in front of
Johnny
Tupperoni for that matter. Weakness was something that people jumped on once they found it. How well she knew that. Anger swelled inside her at the thought of what Tre
’
ago had stolen from her, and the resurgence of
rage
fuelled her energy once more
,
giving her a second wind
.

Tupperoni stood behind her, his hands bound together in front of him and she turned slightly to introduce the two men, watching as they silently sized each other up.
“
Has there been any movement?
”
s
he asked
,
falling into step with him as they headed for the vehicle parked by the impromptu airstrip.