Dead Reckoning (26 page)

The SUV lunged out the open-bay door, hit a ditch, and flew over the tracks. Landing with a jolt, he steadied the M4.

An explosion inside the building turned darkness to light. Reece hoped they’d hit the location where the four had assembled. He punched the pedal and aimed for the open room. The Humvee barreled through the wall. Metal folded like an accordion. One panel spiraled ahead of him. Guards dove to the side.

He whipped the vehicle to the right of the asset, circled, and squealed to a stop on her right. With a punch, he shoved the door open, grabbing his M4.

Thud.
A body fell into view from behind the SUV. Reece knew the guy probably had one sniper bullet through the skull.

Clearing the room, he felt every nerve tingle. Where was he? Where did the other one go? A whimper dragged his gaze to the bound-and-gagged woman. Her half-naked body bore witness to the hell she’d endured. Reece jerked open the passenger door.

“Tango at your seven,” Heath warned.

Reece snapped to his left and fired. The second guard slumped to the floor. Smoke snaked into the area behind the body. The moorings groaned against the fire ravaging the building.

“Move it, move it! They’re heading your way.”

He tugged the hood off her head. Angry welts and grossly swollen eyes marred her once-beautiful face. Kneeling at her side, he monitored the environment while reassuring her. “Everything's fine now.”

With his folding Emerson knife, he sliced through her bonds. Hurrying, yet taking care not to aggravate her injuries, he scooped her into his arms and shuttled her into the back of the Humvee.

“Package in custody.” Just as he stuffed himself behind the wheel, Reece spotted three armed men in the doorway.

A ball of fire torpedoed toward him, felling the enemy.

Reece gunned the engine. His stomach clenched as they bolted through the flames that danced over the armor plating.

Ping! Ping-ping!

“Shooter spotted … neutralized,” the voice in his headset said.

A mile later he flickered the lights and pulled to the edge of the road. Heath and the spotter emerged and climbed into the SUV. By the time they returned to the house, a Little Bird waited, rotors whirring.

Heath raced to the back and removed his gear, leaving Reece to take care of the former hostage. He hopped out of the SUV and opened her door.

Her head lolled toward him.

“How you doing?”

She gave a soft snort and shook her head.

“That good, eh?” Reece lifted her into his arms again and transferred her to the bird. A medic immediately slid an IV into her arm. She’d spend a few weeks at Landstuhl Air Force Base in Germany recuperating before she returned to the action. She’d survived, and that impressed him. “Take care. We need you back in the field.”

Through gritted teeth, she braved a smile despite her split lips. “How's Shiloh?”

“Wondering about you.”

“Take care of her.”

“Will do, Edie.”

S
ERENITY SOAKED INTO HER MUSCLES AS SHE GLIDED THROUGH THE QUIET
lake. Rolling onto her back, she gazed up at the sky, still veiled in pre-dawn hues. Nothing imbued her with peace so completely as swimming. The tension of the water pressing against her, then relinquishing to her movements. The cooling touch of the liquid caressing her aching limbs and heart.

Turning onto her stomach, she swam out to the buoy. Holding onto the side, she remembered the way she’d nearly beaten Reece. He always challenged her, left her wanting to be better, smarter, faster.

Prettier.

She flinched. Would he have withdrawn his kiss if she’d been prettier? Is that what made him hold back? Or was it his job—dedication to the call and all that?

Self-hatred chided her for pining after a man she barely knew. Yet she felt as though she had known him forever. He definitely knew everything about her. And it hadn’t taken him ten years to develop that uncanny ability to counter everything she said or did before she could speak or act. Still, while she hadn’t learned to read him, she did have a good sense of what to expect from Reece. For example, if he had returned by now, he would probably be standing on the shoreline watching her.

She let herself look.
Idiot
. Of course he wasn’t there. Lowering herself into the water, she stared down at the glassy surface, surprised at how much she’d hoped to see him. He said he’d be back today, but it could be midnight before she heard the purr of his Ducati.

Laughter filtered through the early morning quiet. Gita must be whipping up breakfast. With a push, Shiloh glided toward shore in a backstroke. The luminescent moon seemed transparent as the sun pushed it from its high orbit. In the six months she’d spent in India, she had come to love the country, with its ancient history and majestic views. There was something to be said for the slower pace of life. Sure, there were hot spots in the city, but she savored the tranquility that fed her soul in this country.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted wide brown eyes amid a furry face floating toward her. She giggled. “Hello, Aras.” The monkey clambered onto Shiloh's stomach. “Looking for a free ride, huh?”

She kept her strokes even as they came to shore. Easing back, she dragged herself to where the water lapped against her legs. With Aras on her knees, Shiloh stroked the monkey's fur.

“So, what do you think? Will he come back this afternoon or tonight? I want him back
now
.”

Aras's head tilted as her eyes locked on something behind Shiloh. The monkey let out an intermittent screech.

“What?” She glanced over her shoulder and jolted. “Reece.” She stood as Aras scampered off . Flustered that he’d snuck up on her, and yet thrilled at seeing him again, she yanked her towel around herself.

“Monkeys are not known for cooperation during interrogations.”

“Ha. Ha.” She started toward the camp.

“Shiloh, let's talk.”

Nerves buzzing, she didn’t trust herself standing alone with him and so kept plodding up the path toward camp. “So, talk.”

“We have to go back to Mumbai Harbor.”

She stopped, the wind knocked out of her lungs.

“You’re the only one who knows where the cylinder was, and it could contain very important clues to the case.” Pebbles and dirt crunched as he joined her on the path. “We might be too late to retrieve it, but we have to try.”

He wanted her to return to where Khalid had been murdered. To where he’d killed Baseer. Where Mikhail drowned. Her breath shuddered as he came into view next to her.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“Listen,” he said, positioning himself in front of her. “We’ll leave at dusk and be back before sunrise.”

She dragged her gaze to his. “You don’t get it. I don’t want to go anywhere but hom—” The words lodged in her throat.
I have no home.

“Want to try that again?”

Why did he always have to know what she was thinking? Glowering, she turned and paced the path to the lake.

“With the cover of Miller's team, we’ll make the dive, grab the cylinder, and be out before anyone is the wiser.”

Shaking her head, she sighed. “Going back is stupid. They know who we are, what we look like.” She whirled toward him. “Won’t they be watching the site?”

“Yes.”

Shiloh studied him. Not a single line of concern or crease of worry on his rugged face. Blue eyes betrayed nothing but confidence. Insecurity scratched at her, especially with Reece and his unwavering, undaunting, un-
everything
personality. Like a brick wall. Nothing got past him or affected him. Why couldn’t she be strong too? She didn’t want him thinking she was weak. But honestly … she wasn’t sure she could pull this off .

He held out a pill.

She huffed. “Buying my cooperation?”

“Wouldn’t want anything to happen in the bay.”

Pill in her hand, she stared at it. Another sign of her weakness. An inability to even control her own body. “I’ve never had a seizure in the water.” Should she ingest the miracle cure? “The neurologist thinks the combination of water pressure and how much it relaxes me prevents the tangling of the electrical signals that seize my muscles.” Did he have more confidence in her if she took it? Would he believe in her then? She stuck the white tablet in her mouth and swallowed. “There. Happy?”

He closed the distance between them and tipped up her chin. “I’d never put you in jeopardy.”

Cotton coated her tongue as sky-blue irises glistened back at her. “I-I thought anything could happen—that's why you’re always prepared, expect the unexpected.”

His eyes traced her face. “Exactly.”

Stomach swimming at being so close to him, Shiloh pulled away. “You know what? You’re arrogant.” She stepped around him and continued up the path.

“Confident.”

“Same thing.” She trudged toward camp with him right behind her.
All right, Mr. Confidence
. After a glance back to gauge his proximity, she dropped to the ground. Fingers planted against the dirt, she swung her legs around to sweep his feet out from under him.

He leapt into the air and as he came down, he pinned her shoulders to the hard earth. Immediately, he snatched her wrists and held them over her head with one hand.

Shiloh gasped, stunned as a jolt of pain shot down her back and through her shoulders. Dirt and her own stupidity ground into her face. What was she thinking?

A chuckle—a deep one. “You’re too easy.”

Mind racing, she thought to whip her leg up and smack him in the back. But with one leg, he had both of hers secured. Teeth gritted, she chose to feign surrender. “Fine. You win.”

Amusement trickled through his eyes and into his lips. “I don’t think so.” His grip on her hands and legs didn’t lessen.

Angry—yet wanting very much to laugh—she let out a half groan. “Okay.”

He didn’t budge.

“Get off me, you big oaf!”

Reece chuckled again and scooted back onto his haunches.

Freed, Shiloh stomped off to her hut. She hadn’t meant to wrestle with him, but he aggravated her to no end. Still … he might have gotten her this time, but she’d find a way to prove she could out-think him. If it took her to the end of her natural life.

“I’ll be waiting, Blake.”

Jaw clamped, she balled her fist.

More laughter.

Bring it on, Brutus.

She waited through breakfast, through the noon meal, each time hoping a brilliant idea would leap into her mind so she could pay him back. There had to be a way to outsmart this fox. How exactly did one go about upstaging a U.S. government-trained operative who’d probably seen more brutality than one could imagine?

Clunk!

Shiloh jumped.

Reece slid his tin plate across the picnic table and bent toward her. “Give up yet?”

No way would he bait her that easily. She’d find the perfect opportunity. Patience, her new best friend, would afford her the prime moment. Then he’d know not to underestimate her again. He’d respect her, admire her.

Miller joined them at the table. “Everything's set. We’ll head out under cover of night to the river, take it down to the bay.” He shoveled some curried chicken into his mouth. “I’ve tagged Stick and Bronco.”

It felt like guppies scuttled through her stomach at the thought of the mission that would take her back to Mumbai. She stared at her food. The acrid odor clogged her throat. Fork set down, she sipped her water.

“We’re ready.” Reece didn’t miss a beat in eating or answering.

Shiloh considered him. “
He's
ready.”

His gaze jerked to hers. “You chicken?”

The accusation narrowed her eyes.

“We’re ready,” he repeated.

“Good enough. I’ll meet you two lovebirds at the dock at twenty-two hundred.”

Blue-grey twilight hugged the sky. Reddish-orange streaks tucked the sun in for the night, drawing out the moon. Four hours ago, Miller had spoken words that put the fear of God into Reece. Responsible for every life on this mission, he railed at the thought of love being a factor in this gig.

On the edge of his bunk, he sat with his fingers steepled and pressed to his forehead. He drew in a deep breath.
God
… He pulled his shoulders up a bit and sighed. What? Exactly what did he expect to hear God say about this? Too often man expected God to salvage the mess they made out of situations. He’d seen it time and again. People living the way they wanted, serving no one but themselves. Then when the first problem comes along, they slap God with the blame, expect Him to run SAR and drag their sorry carcasses out of the jungles of their own stupidity.

No. He wouldn’t create a mess with this one. It’d happened once before and Chloe paid. Eyes closed, he clenched a fist. He’d hesitated … a deadly mistake with her life on the line.

Weariness dragged his shoulders back down. He hung his head and stared at his boots. This close to the goal he couldn’t let anything interfere with the completion of this mission. Then he would escort her back to the States.

If she goes back, I’ll never see her again.

When she’d come up out of that water with Aras, Reece couldn’t believe his ears. She’d anticipated—
longed
for his return. Even now, nearly a full day later, the thought still poured lava through his mind. The way her grey-blue eyes sparkled with relief and … attraction—