But that was before the storm made the desert ambush impossible.
The wind picked up again and Lachlan looked out over the construction site to one of the most out-of-place things he’d seen in this impossible city—an old-time Ferris wheel surrounded by a roller coaster and colorful circus tents. He imagined that was where the families who couldn’t afford to take their kids to an indoor ski slope or acre-sized aquarium in the obscenely wealthy city spent a fun Saturday afternoon. Then his gaze was drawn from the Ferris wheel to an ominous sight in the distance behind it—a towering wall of brown, billowing clouds blocking out the early morning sun and moving fast. They wouldn’t have much time to execute the operation and there was no room for error. Every passing minute increased the danger he would be in after they secured the princess.
Danger he would share with Regina.
Lach grunted and shook his head. He’d been unable to think of anything else since he’d met her. She was bullheaded, spoiled, a risk-taker who didn’t feel her mortality yet. But she was also smart, brave, capable. She would have made a good SEAL. The problem was, he didn’t think of her as a SEAL, especially at night as he fell asleep or while he dreamed of her silky hair brushing his belly while she?—
“Soup?”
He jumped. Regina had sneaked up behind him. The lass could move without a sound and appear out of nowhere. It was spooky. She looked different with her hair dyed black and her golden eyes hidden behind brown contact lenses, but he supposed he looked different with his hair dyed and dark contacts on, too.
“Gina.”
“You’re the only one who’s ever called me that.”
“Should I stop or do you like it?”
She grinned. “I do like it.”
Lach felt heat rising up his neck. Yup, Gina was dangerous—distracting him when he should have been completely focused. But who’s fault was that? His, of course—she was just being herself.
“Do you want to go over the plan?” he asked just as she was saying, “Is everything all right?”
Lach looked behind her into the darkened body shop. Heath was nowhere in sight but he pulled her outside anyway for privacy.
“I don’t like the change in plan,” he confessed.
“What don’t you like?”
“Too many moving parts.”And it puts you in too much danger, he added silently. “Plus, can we really trust the driver?” Lachlan thought the weakest point of the plan was the driver, though Heath had assured him that he was one of their assets and would cooperate. He remembered the conversation he’d had with Heath about it.
“Don’t worry,” Heath had said. “We’ve been able to count on Faheem in the past. He’s well-paid, and he wants to come to the U.S. so we’ve promised him safe passage and asylum once he gets there.” Jeremy smiled and his eyes glinted. “Besides, we have dirt on him now that would send him to rot in prison. He knows better than to betray us.”
Still, it didn’t sit easy. The previous plan was a simple ambush and extraction in the desert. It didn’t rely on trusting Faheem to take the pre-arranged route to the alley and stop without alerting anyone. And it didn’t put Gina directly in danger while they bought his team time to get Sana to safety, and separate Lach from his men.
Gina nodded. “I haven’t met Faheem. I don’t know him and that bothers me, too. Jeremy vouches for him though.”
That didn’t make Lach feel any better. He didn’t trust Heath—didn’t trust anyone from the Agency, truth be told. He hated the idea of Gina wanting to join up, though she seemed perfect for the job. Actually, she was the type who truly believed she could make a difference for good. Maybe she was exactly the type of person the CIA needed to recruit.
Heath called from somewhere in the body shop. “They’re coming. Ten minutes.”
Gina looked excited for a moment before she schooled her features into a neutral expression. Lach took one last look at the foreboding sky and the dust clouds that looked so much closer now and they went back inside.
“You’ve got your orders,” he told his men, who nodded and got into position. Lach watched Winslow and Huck get into the armored Hilux truck and drive out of the bay and into position, blocking one end of the alley. Banjo and Silas crossed the alley and hid in the construction site, weapons at the ready.
Lach and Gina waited in the dim, dusty room for the sound of the car. Brady “Bunch” Reed was stationed at one end of the alley as lookout and to discourage anyone from stumbling into their mission. The owner of the auto shop had been bribed and the mechanics were told to stay home, but there was no guarantee other civilians would stay away.
It wasn’t long before they heard a car moving slowly toward them. Faheem was doing his job so far. The SUV appeared around a corner and headed up the alleyway. Lachlan tensed. Heath’s intel said there were only three people in the vehicle—one guard who was sitting in the passenger seat, Faheem, and Princess Sana. Lach imagined the guard was already making a fuss, suspicious of the armored car with its hazard lights on, blocking their route.
Faheem’s window rolled down as he came to a stop and so did the guard’s. Faheem laid on the horn and shouted in Arabic at the armored car to move. Winslow yelled back that his partner needed to use the bathroom in the auto body shop and he was waiting for him. The guard was screaming too, luckily distracted while Huck, Banjo, and Silas crept up around the SUV. The windows were tinted so Lach had to trust Heath’s intel about only one guard. Trust but verify had always been his motto, and so Huck was ready to dispose of any other guards who might be sitting beside the princess.
Silas was the first to make his move. He stood up straight, reached into the passenger window and grabbed the guard, pointing a Sig at his head. Huck and Banjo simultaneously opened the back doors, weapons drawn and ready for a fight. All they found was a terrified princess bound and gagged.
Once Huck neutralized the guard, Lach and Gina ran to the SUV. Gina ran to the back where Sana was sitting while Huck cut through the zip ties binding the princess’s hands and feet together. As soon as the princess was free, Sana stumbled out of the SUV and into Gina’s arms.
“Thank you,” she sobbed. “You saved my life.”
Gina held her for a moment before saying, “Team effort. I’m just relieved that you believed me. I’m so sorry that I had to scare you like that.”
