Quickly he got the grappling hook from his pack and used it to hook over the lowest branch and haul himself up.From there he could see straight into the room where Mila was tied to a chair.
As he watched, Agus backhanded her and her head snapped back.Dobby swung his rifle up and aimed, but didn’t take the shot yet.
The bang would bring all the guards running and he wanted to avoid a firefight, particularly as there were more innocents in the house this time around.
He hadn’t brought a sniper rifle because they’d been packing light and Axle was the team’s main sniper.
But even if he hit Agus, he still needed to get into the house, cut Mila’s ties and get them out without raising an alarm.
All in the middle of the day when anyone glancing out the window would see him dash across the open clifftop to the gardens.
He needed a plan, fast.
***
Just as Mila had suspected, all traces of kindness had evaporated the moment Agus showed her into the guest bedroom.He shoved her into a chair.“Tie her up,” he ordered Ali.
Ali hesitated.
“I can easily find a new bodyguard if you’re not up for the job,” Agus said.
Ali winced and was almost apologetic as he cable-tied her hands behind her and her feet together.She winced at the pull on her muscles, still sore from the tsunami.
She gave silent thanks to Jared who’d insisted on teaching her how to get out of cable tie restraints and hand cuffs one day when he was showing off what he’d learnt at training.
She just had to wait for the right moment.
“Leave us,” Agus said.
In seconds, she was alone with Agus.The room was luxurious with a king-sized bed covered in lush pillows, a set of bedside drawers as well as a tallboy on the other side of the room by the door.
It would be a lovely place to stay under different circumstances, but nothing stood out as a potential weapon if she managed to get free.
She turned her attention back to Agus.Others might think him calm, but Mila knew better.The slow walk to the window and back was more of a prowl, his hands twitched minutely as if wanting to punch something, and his eyes were full of malice.
She exhaled, watching him carefully.This was a man she’d never seen before.This was a man who had done things that required guard dogs and bodyguards.
“You were wise not to tell me who your mother was,” Agus said.
She didn’t respond.
“Do you know what she did to me?”
Mila shook her head, wanting to hear his version of events.Then maybe she could build an argument that wouldn’t end with her being killed.
“She arrested me for theft,” Agus said, coming to a stop in front of her chair.“I took food for my siblings.My parents died in the tsunami and we had nothing, not even a roof over our heads.We needed to eat.”
She didn’t ask why it was that her mother had caught him selling the food back to desperate villagers who were starving.
“My arrest left my siblings with no one to look after them.Two died when I was in prison.My engagement was called off and I lost the woman I loved.”He smiled.“But in prison I learned how to take control of my life.I came out a better man, one who could take care of his family.”He watched her, waiting for a response.
“I’m glad you benefited from it.”
His backhand took her by surprise and her head snapped back.She closed her eyes at the pain and let herself go limp, faking unconsciousness.
“Mila.”He slapped her cheek roughly, but she didn’t respond.
He swore.“Weak woman.”
