“Yeah, there are enough of us to cover each direction if we go off in pairs,” said a voice that made her shiver and almost lose her grip on the tree branch she was perched on.
That voice … it was the stuff of nightmares. That guard was her personal handler. He went everywhere she did, and he liked to hurt her. A bruising grip on her arm, a shove that sent her sprawling to the ground, taunting her as he branded her flesh and enjoying her screams of pain.
By escaping, she’d made him look like a fool, and she knew the consequences if that man in particular were to get his hands on her.
But right now, he was the least of her problems.
Where was Blade?
When he left her, he claimed she was useless in a firefight, and he had to go so he could take out the men after them, except … nothing.
No shots.
No dead bodies falling.
No anything at all.
It was getting harder to believe that he’d left her there so he could take the guards out more easily, and more likely that he’d lied and just wanted to get himself to safety while he still had a chance.
After all, what did she know? This could be the first place they looked for her. Well, not the first since no one had looked up yet, and they seemed to believe she’d crashed and run, but they would find her there eventually.
So she had to figure out a plan to save herself. She had no intention of becoming a sacrificial lamb so Blade could escape. Of course, part of her believed she owed him her life after her drug had destroyed his, but she was fairly certain he’d just abandoned her, so maybe that debt was paid now.
All she had to do was wait until the men left, climb down the tree, check to see if her car was still drivable, and if it was then she was getting out of there.
If it wasn't … well, she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.
Chapter
Nine
January 12th
8:56 A.M.
Watching from the road, where he’d circled around to get behind the twelve men who had been in those cars, Blade saw them split off into pairs and start trekking into the forest.
Perfect.
Time to make his move.
If all he wanted to do was kill them, he could have just started shooting as soon as they got out of their vehicles. One to twelve didn't make for great odds when it came to a firefight, because as soon as he fired that first shot, they’d have his position, and he’d be unlikely to take out more than three or four before they rallied and started firing back. Chances were, he’d still get the other eight, but it would be a lot riskier, especially when he had someone with zero training to protect.
But he didn't want to just kill them.
He was taking Whitney into a potentially volatile situation when he got home. While his team had all agreed to trust his gut that she was telling the truth, especially with the small thingsthey could verify, that didn't mean there still wasn't wild distrust on all sides. If he could have some concrete facts to back up what Whitney had told him, it would help immensely.
And he wanted his team to trust her.
Accept her.
It seemed more important than it should.
So he needed to get at least one of these men alive.
From what he’d heard so far, he did know that these men knew who Whitney was, and they wanted her back. They’d called her baby genius, which again backed up what she’d told him about her age and her intellect. But he wanted more. Enough to put any doubt to rest and convince all of them that they weren't enemies and would achieve more if they worked together.
Assuming the men were wearing comms units, given that they’d been split up between three SUVs, Blade knew he’d have to kill them silently. His plan was to take out five of the six pairs first, and then one from that final pair, so he could interrogate the final man. Might even take the man with him. Who knew what other interesting and helpful intel they could get from him?
