Though darkness had only just fallen, he pulled the thin blanket over them, his arms still tight around her. The strong liquor would help both of them sleep. They only had to make it one more day.
He didn’t tell Pia that tomorrow night, before they left camp, he was going to find a way to kill Benito Velasquez.
Chapter Twenty
It was three in the morning. The plan was set. Almost time to go. Harper glanced over at Chase, busy making a last-minute check of his gear. In full camouflage and tactical gear, he looked terrifying—and amazing.
The damp air put a slight curl in his hair. With his face streaked with black paint, and those warm brown eyes, she thought he was the sexiest man on planet Earth. Desire clenched low and hard in her belly, which was completely out of line.
Harper glanced away and, returning her focus to the mission, mentally began running through the details one last time. In order to create the diversion, she and the men would have to split up, Harper staying in a designated spot above the camp on one side while the men went in from the opposite direction.
Once she’d completed her task, she would meet up with all of them, including Michael and Pia, and they would make their way to the landing zone, where the helicopter would be arriving just before dawn.
A faint shiver ran through her. She would be on her own tonight. The men would be counting on her, all of them would. Fortunately this high up in the mountains, the area around the plateau wasn’t dense jungle terrain. Rocks and boulders littered the ground around thick mountain scrub.
She wouldn’t have to worry about fighting her way through heavy vegetation, reptiles and bugs, but she’d have to stay low and out of sight. She had dressed for the mission in black jeans and a black long-sleeved T-shirt.
Standing beneath the faint rays of moonlight streaming down through the clouds, she stuffed her pale hair beneath a black knit cap.
“Hold still.” Chase turned her to face him, reached out and caught her chin. Using his fingers, he striped black greasepaint over her cheeks and forehead. She could read the worry in his eyes. He checked her gear, straightening the camo vest she was wearing that Killian had managed to jury-rig to fit her.
Half a dozen flash-bang grenades were clipped to the front. Her Ruger rode in the holster on the belt at her waist. Her first day on the trail, she had learned to tuck her pants into the tops of her hiking boots to keep out unwanted creatures.
“You know what you have to do, right? You don’t have any questions?”
She shook her head. They’d been over it a dozen times. “I toss a flash grenade into the camp and move. Toss another grenade and move again. I don’t look at the flash and I keep going. I don’t stay in one place. The grenades confuse the guards and cause general havoc, enough for you to reach Michael and Pia’s tent, get inside and get them out of there.”
“That’s right.”
She managed to smile. “Don’t look so nervous. I was the pitcher on my high school softball team. We won the championship that year.”
His mouth curved a little, not much. “Good to know.”
She checked the flash grenades for the umpteenth time. Apparently, they erupted in a blinding light and made a helluva lot of noise. Chase had shown her how to pull the pin and hold the grenade before she made the toss.
“You ready for this?” he asked.
“More than ready.” Brandon and Killian would be clearing the path ahead of them, taking out any guards who might pose a threat. She hadn’t asked what that meant. She didn’t want to know.
“Remember, when we reach the spot on the east side of the camp, Killian will stop and turn and tap you on the shoulder. That’ll mean you’re in position, ready to lob the first grenade.”
They had spent all day observing the camp, timing the guards, working out exactly how to implement the extraction.
“Count to three hundred,” Chase said. “One thousand one, one thousand two—like that—before you make the first throw. We should be in position by then.”
“Got it.” The idea was for the distraction to lure the soldiers in the opposite direction, away from Michael’s tent. The trick was to toss the grenades and get away safely.
“The minute you lob the last grenade, make your way up the mountain to the rendezvous point.”
“That big boulder that stands out up on the ridge.”
“That’s the place.” Chase reached out and cupped her face between his hands. “Damn, I wish you didn’t have to do this.” He surprised her with a brief hard kiss. “Promise me you’ll be careful, angel.”
“I—I’ll be careful.” She looked up at him. “Just find my brother and Pia, and get them out safely.”
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
They moved out, heading up a trail that wound its way around the perimeter of the camp, Killian and Brandon in front, Harper, then Chase. On the plateau below, the embers of dying campfires glowed in the night. She couldn’t see Michael’s tent, but she knew it was among those on the opposite side of the wide, open clearing.
