Avenged (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (Volume 5) (28 page)

BOOK: Avenged (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (Volume 5)
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Okay, that made her feel slightly better, and she did trust Duncan, based on his previous performance. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

He nodded. “We’ve got you something to eat in one of the trucks. You ready to go?”

She glanced at Nathan, fighting the tide of sadness swamping her. She’d known for hours that they’d have to say goodbye, but it was even harder than she’d imagined. Her throat tightened.

He stepped in front of her, cupped her face in one hand in full view of Duncan and the others. His touch was tender, but there was no mistaking the proprietary intent behind the gesture. He was marking her as his and wanted the others to know it. “You take good care of her,” he said to the other man as he gazed down at her, his eyes alight with possessiveness.

“We will,” Duncan answered, looking surprised by Nathan’s overt display.

Taya gripped Nathan’s solid wrist with one hand, her other slipping down to curl around his waist. “You be careful,” she whispered, unable to hide the roughness in her voice. She was strong and she would do this on her own, but she was going to miss him like hell while she did.

“I will be,” he promised. His thumb stroked across her cheek gently. “You take care of yourself and I’ll see you soon.” He’d promised to contact her if possible while they were apart, but that depended on their schedules.

Taya nodded, allowing herself to cling to him for one more moment before dropping her hands and stepping back. “Bye.” Heart heavy, she followed Duncan out the front door, the others behind her.

When the SUV she was riding in pulled out of the driveway she looked back. Nathan stood on the front step, hands in his pockets, his gaze locked on where she sat behind the darkly tinted window.

 

****

 

Ayman woke at the tense whisper close beside him.

“Get up.”

His eyes snapped open in the darkness. He was in an unfamiliar room, a lumpy mattress beneath him, and he ached all over.


Now
. We have to move.”

His heart rate doubled at the urgency in Darwish’s gravelly voice. “What’s going on? What time is it?” he whispered back, rolling out of the bed, each muscle protesting the movement. Felt like someone had beaten him with a hammer.

“Time to go. Have to get to our pickup point.”

Still groggy, Ayman shoved his feet into his boots, laced them up and grabbed his jacket and backpack from beside the bed. Their host was waiting at the side door, his face hidden in shadow. “You’d best hurry,” he said in a grim voice. “They won’t wait for you.”

Today was pivotal. All the final preparations would be made, including finalizing the intel and plan for the whore’s demise.

Ayman slipped out the door behind Darwish, pistol in hand. The sounds of the waking forest surrounded him, birds beginning to stir and call out as the sky began to lighten to the east. It was dark amongst the tall trees though.

Dark enough that accidents could happen.

His fingers tightened around the grip of his weapon, his gaze trained on Darwish. After yesterday he trusted the man even less, knew he had to watch his back with him. The Brethren still needed him for the big op, but that didn’t mean Darwish felt the same way.

Their boots were quiet over the forest floor as they wound their way through the thick growth of oaks and maples. They kept a fast pace and soon sweat began to break out over Ayman’s body. The cool morning air felt good against his skin, his muscles limbering up as he moved. About ten minutes later they approached the parking lot next to the entrance to the walking trails. Darwish slowed, his movements cautious as he circled the area.

Ayman automatically took the other side, pausing behind some thick bushes to peer at the vehicles parked in the lot. Two of them. A small sedan that sat empty, and a white delivery van, the driver’s silhouette visible through the windshield.

He read the license plate, relaxed a little when it matched the one they’d been given the night before. Glancing over at Darwish, he waved and nodded.

Together they approached the van. The door locks popped open. Ayman kept his weapon at the ready, not willing to take any risks. Opening the side door on the driver’s side, he scanned the driver then the interior, index finger resting on the trigger guard. The man was the one they’d been told to expect.

“You have any trouble getting here?” he asked, using the prearranged challenge.

“No, traffic was good,” the driver responded calmly, glancing in the rearview mirror at him and Darwish on the other side.

Correct response. He and Darwish slid inside and shut the doors.

“Anyone follow you?” Darwish asked, scanning out the windows.

“Not that I noticed.” The driver backed out of the spot and headed for the lot exit. “Everything’s in place. Meeting’s on schedule.”

Just hours from now, Ayman knew.

“Good,” Darwish grunted. “Finally we get to act.”

Anticipation curled inside Ayman. Soon he’d get his final assignment. He already knew the most important parts of the attack, but not who was responsible for what. The Brethren had been planning this for months down to the last detail, and the impact was going to be huge.

He had too much at stake to fail. Once they saw he was still committed and stalwart with the coming attack, they’d trust him and hopefully leave his family alone. There hadn’t been an opportunity to warn them yet. He’d speak to Mahmoud tonight about it, but actions were stronger than words and he would prove himself to them.

No. He would prove himself to the
world
when he took part in the attack that would free their revered leader and shake the United States to its core.

 

****

 

Nate was in the team room cleaning his M4 late that afternoon when Blackwell popped his head around the corner, his ice blue eyes finding Nate’s. “Briefing in five,” his teammate said.

He paused in the act of reassembling the firing mechanism and eyed the other man. They’d just finished up a long meeting about security protocol for the trial about an hour ago. “Something up?”

“Looks like. DeLuca and Tuck are having a meeting with Celida and her partner right now.”

Must be something urgent then. Nate shoved to his feet and followed Blackwell out into the hallway. “Other guys know anything?”

“Nope.”

Typical Blackwell. Straight to the point, no bullshit, kinda like Bauer, only not as grim or quiet. Nate didn’t hang out with him much outside of work, at least not these days. Blackwell was former SF and married to an official with the Defense Intelligence Agency. Nate had never met her. Based on a couple things he’d heard from some of the other guys on the team, apparently things weren’t going too well on the home front for Blackwell, which probably explained why his wife never showed up at team social functions.

The door at the end of the hallway opened and the rest of the team walked in carrying bags from a burger joint just off base. Bauer was in the lead, his face set in his characteristically grim expression that said he was in work mode. “What’s up, Doc?” he said to Nate, sipping at the soda in his hand.

That Bugs Bunny thing never got old for the guys, but he far preferred it to Dr. Feelgood. “Dunno. Investigators are here though, so it could be another intel briefing, or it might be more.”
Please don’t let it have anything bad to do with Taya.
He hadn’t been able to contact her yet. She’d be settled in to her new safe house by now, awaiting the start of the trial tomorrow. She was scheduled to be the first witness called, as early as tomorrow afternoon.

Bauer nodded and headed straight for the briefing room, pushing the door open for the others. Cruz, Vance and Evers filed in behind him, all stuffing their faces as they went. Nate had passed on going out to grab a bite to eat, saying he wasn’t hungry. Mostly he’d just wanted some time to himself without the guys around.

He’d been doing a lot of thinking about Taya. They’d only spent a short amount of time together, relatively speaking, but it blew any other experience he’d had with a woman out of the water. The sex was fucking amazing, but that was only part of why he was falling so fast and so hard for her.

Something had shifted inside him, and he felt…lighter inside somehow. He knew he had a long way to go before he got past the survivor guilt and dealt with the issues he’d dragged along from his childhood, but already he could see an improvement in his thoughts and mood. The self-destructive cycle he’d been in had been broken, at least for now. He intended for it to stay that way.

“Here man, gotcha something.” Evers handed him a bag. “Extra bacon.”

They all knew he was pretty much a bacon whore. Nate took it with a smile. “Thanks.”

DeLuca and Tuck were up at the front of the room with Celida and Agent Travers. “You guys go ahead and eat while we do this,” DeLuca said as Nate and the others sat.

Nate dug into his bag and made short work of the burger while the briefing started, his attention glued to his commander.

“Credible tip came in about twenty minutes ago. The two tangos who escaped the hotel in Raleigh are rumored to be at a high level meeting with top commanders of The Brethren.”

Nate lowered his burger, forced the mammoth bite he’d taken down his suddenly tight throat. He wanted those fuckers. Wanted them bad.

“Recent satellite footage confirms that vehicles have been arriving close to the target house throughout the day. The way the roofline’s set up, we haven’t been able to get a head count or even any shots of who’s entering the house.” He nodded at Celida, who pulled up images on a large screen mounted on the wall behind her.

“Target’s forty minutes away by car,” she said. “If we’re right, most of the key Brethren leadership will be there as well, including Mahmoud Abbas.”

The guy rumored to be at the helm of all this.

“We’ve got a standing warrant for him from a federal judge,” Travers added. “Just waiting for word from one of our agents near the target location, but in the meantime you guys can plan how you want to execute the search warrant. It’ll be a search and seize operation. They’ll have bodyguards and sentries at the minimum, and as the trial begins tomorrow, it confirms recent chatter that they’re planning something big for tomorrow.”

Not if we get to them first
, Nate thought, his attention riveted to the image on screen.

Something dripped onto his palm. He glanced down at the forgotten burger, saw a blob of sauce had landed there. He crumpled the burger up in its paper wrapper and wiped his hands with the napkins in the bag, never taking his eyes off the screen. God, he hoped all the tangos were in there.

“Let’s plan it out,” DeLuca said once the two agents were finished speaking. “Tuck?”

Their team leader stepped forward and used a laser pointer on the satellite image of the target house as he went through the basic plan. Entry and exit points, order of entry, who would do what, contingency plans.

They came up with variations to be used in particular circumstances. It was a residential neighborhood so they’d have to ensure they sealed off a tight perimeter to reduce the chance of any collateral damage.

“Any questions?” DeLuca finally asked.

No one said anything, but in the silence Agent Travers’s phone rang. He turned away to answer it, spoke for a second then faced them with a smile and a thumbs up.

Green light.

Fuck, yeah.
The hair on Nate’s arms stood up.

“Let’s saddle up,” DeLuca commanded. “You’ve got ten minutes to suit up and grab your gear.”

Nate jumped out of his seat and rushed for the door. He was the first one through it, each stride taking him one step closer to ending the threat against Taya.

 

 

 

Chapter Twenty-One

 

 

“Cruzie, hold up a second.”

Special Agent Ethan Cruz paused partway to the door of the briefing room at DeLuca’s words. “Uh, sure,” he said, surprised. Agents Morales and Travers had just left, along with all his teammates, except Vance, who was holding the door for him.

Vance glanced back at him from the doorway. “Later, man.” He stepped into the hallway and let the door shut behind him, leaving Ethan alone with Tuck and DeLuca.

He walked back to the seat he’d just vacated and lowered his weight into it, facing his commander and team leader. “What’s up?”

DeLuca stood in front of his desk, leaning his weight against it casually, his arms crossed over his chest. Tuck stood off to the side, his arms also folded. “Wanted your opinion on Schroder,” DeLuca said.

Ethan concealed his surprise. They wanted to talk about this now, when they were about to execute a search warrant? “My opinion about what, exactly?”

“Where his head’s at. You’ve been with him for the better part of a week now. How’s he doing?”

“Good. He’s solid.” That was about the best thing he could say about another operator, and he’d said as much in his report after the incident at the hotel in Raleigh.

DeLuca nodded, eyes grave. “That’s good. Any concerns about him being on this op?”

He understood why DeLuca had asked. If someone’s head wasn’t totally in the game, things could go sideways in a heartbeat. Then people started dying. But he also sensed DeLuca’s concern had something to do with Schroder’s feelings for Taya.

“No, none,” he answered without hesitation.

“What about him and the girl?”

Ethan shrugged. “WITSEC’s handling her security now. Whatever’s going on between Doc and Taya, it’s pretty serious for him. Actually, I’d say he’s more in the game now than he’s been for the past couple months. More himself.” Schroder was a solid operator who always did his best and all but bent over backward to please the guys on the team. The past few months, everyone had noticed the downward spiral Schroder had been on.

From what Ethan had seen though, ever since Taya had shown up, Schroder seemed like a different guy. Yeah, he was doing his job in guarding her, but there was more between them than that. Even in his downtime Schroder hadn’t been on the phone lining up booty calls or talking to one of the many women waiting in the wings for him.

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