“Fuck, Rogue. You know I won’t do that.”
“Then shut the fuck up and get on board. I’m going into that compound tonight, with or without you and Viper, and I’m not leaving without Laine and her kid. Got it?”
Striker’s long, low exhale exposed his resignation. “Yeah, man. I got it.”
“Good. See you at 2200 hours. Better know those blueprints like the back of your hand.”
He hung up, closed his laptop, and slipped back inside his apartment. Anger made his senses tingle.
Laine and her daughter were locked in their room every night. That shit was about to end.
Chapter
Six
“What are you doing, Mommy?” said Emmy from the bed, her voice sleepy.
Laine should’ve known her daughter would stir, especially with the lamp still on, but if Roarke came tonight, she needed to be ready. She’d packed a change of clothes for each of them, including an extra hijab, and had just removed the back of the only framed photo they had in their room—a picture of Emmy, Cameron, and her.
She tucked the photo into her tote. She didn’t know if or when they’d see Cameron again if they escaped, or if their belongings in London were accessible.
It could be a while before her daughter had contact with her father again, and it was important that Emmy knew who he was—whether that man had been good to them or not. In the photo, the three of them were at the beach, laughing and smiling at the camera. The man in the photo might not have been who Cameron really was, but that was the father Emmy remembered.
“Just getting ready for bed, honey. Go back to sleep.”
“That’s our?—”
Laine lifted a finger to her lips, panic hitting her. She quickly slid the bag under the bed then crawled up next to her daughter and clicked off the light. The main areas in the house had cameras. She hadn’t spotted one in their bedroom, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t an audio bug.
She nestled close to Emmy, wishing she could prepare her for what might happen shortly. But she couldn’t. “I love you, munchkin.”
Munchkinwas their secret word. Laine used it to warn Emmy not to say anything else. Emmy’s arms stiffened, but she stayed quiet and snuggled closer. Usually, Laine used the word only around Fatima and her daughter or Cameron.
She kissed her daughter’s hair and wrapped her tightly in her arms. If things didn’t go as planned tonight, she could be separated from Emmy—or worse.
Fear rushed through her, misting her eyes.
She couldn’t imagine a life without Emmy. Couldn’t imagine her daughter being raised without her mother. Goddamn Cameron to hell. They’d had a good life. Emmy had loved her school in London, her friends. They’d had a house with a garden and a beautiful fairy-themed bedroom for Emmy.
Now, it sat empty.
Laine might not have had the perfect relationship. Might not have truly known the man she’d been with. But she’d had Emmy, and that had made everything better.
She couldn’t lose her.
Emmy’s soft breathing evened, and her small body relaxed. Laine combed her fingers through her daughter’s long hair.
Doubt rolled in. What if Roarke didn’t come? It was already Friday. She had to devise a backup plan because if he didn’t show by Sunday, they needed another way out.
Whomp,whomp,whomp
The whirring of the propellers vibrated Roarke’s seat. The black, inky water of the Persian Gulf rolled beneath them off the coast of Iraq. Traveling over these waters required clearance due to the strong military presence. He’d had to pull a few strings to allow them passage, but that had been the least of their worries.
He checked his watch. Almost midnight. The dark night sky collided with the lights over the land. This far from the cities and towns, there wasn’t much light pollution. The helicopter arced farther away from the coast and moved above land. Minutes later, it flew over the Karun.
“You good?” Viper asked through the headset.
Roarke tightened his hold on his AR-15 and grunted. He was anything but fucking good. He had no clue what he was walking into. More importantly, he had no clue what Laine and her daughter had been through—other than hell.
