Six hours later, Rio struggled with the key card the receptionist had given him. Juggling shopping bags filled with clothes and shoes while trying to fit a square of plastic into a freaking slot was impossible. He just didn’t want to drop the bags and have to pick them back up again. Gah. Just as the plastic finally went in the slot and the tiny dot flashed to green, he felt something touch his neck and froze.
“We have your man.” His brother Haaz’s voice sent a jolt of fear down his spine. “You will come with us or he dies.”
“No, no, no, Cade was in Afghanistan, he was safe. He had to be.”
“You think we can’t reach him in Afghanistan?” his brother sneered, “Hezbollah can reach everywhere.” He pushed the needle farther into Rio’s neck, but didn’t depress the plunger.
You said it out loud, idiot.
“Decide now, Felipe,” Haaz growled, “You come with us and he lives, you fight me, and you die here.”
Fuck!“I’ll come with you.” What other choice did he have? Even the slightest chance that Cade was in their hands meant he had to do everything in his power to ensure that the one who was sinking deeper under his skin every day survived.
Rio allowed his brother to turn him around, each movement he made jostled the needle in his neck. It stung but he supposed he should be grateful that Haaz didn’t inject whatever shit was in the needle into his bloodstream.
“You will walk out of here with us, as if there is nothing wrong.” Haaz ordered. “If you try to signal anyone, Saad will hit send on the text message he has on his phone, telling our brothers in the Middle East to kill your man.”
How the fuck did they find out?
Did he somehow tip them off?
Did someone at Dreamland tell them?
Or worse.
Did something he had been working on tip them off?
Was he the one who had compromised Dreamland and Ghosts?
Rio’s brain worked overtime as they entered the elevator and hit the button for the underground parking lot. He watched the numbers counting down, each one like a punch to his heart. Dread and fear for Cade roiled in his stomach. Maybe he should puke on Haaz’s shoes. That might give him time to run. But here in this elevator he was stuck, he had nowhere to run.
When the lift reached One, it shuddered to a halt, the doors swishing open.
Run!His self-preservation screamed in his brain.
“I am sorry, Sir,” Haaz hit the button to close the door, “This one is full.”
Rio lifted his eyes from his boots, his gaze clashing with the startled gaze of the pilot who had flown the Blackhawk from Mexico earlier today for a split second before the door shut again and the elevator jolted downward.
Once they reached the parking lot, Haaz and Saad gripped both of his arms before the door opened. Rio struggled, but just as when they had taken him from his abuela’s farm, he still was no match for both. Before he could do much more than kick out a few times he was stuffed into the trunk of a car, with the lid slamming shut behind him in what sounded like a death keel.
* * *
“Ghost Team Alpha, this is Dreamland, do you copy?” Harper held her hand out in front of her and studied her manicure. This was one call she was not looking forward to making. Damn it, why was it always she who had to do the shitty jobs?
The call connected over their secure channel.“Go ahead, Dreamland, we got you loud and clear.”Cade’s voice sounded loud and clear in the War - Room.
“Ghost Three, can you get me Ghost One, stat?” There was no freaking way Harper was going to give this news to Cade over coms, not without clearing it with Rock first.
“Sure thing, Dreamland, gimmie five, how copy?”
“That’s a solid copy, Dreamland will wait.” Harper spun around to ask the other analysts, “Tell me you got something?”
“I am tracking three cars which left the underground within ten minutes of Brock seeing Rio in the lift. I just don’t know which one he’s in.” a voice called. She couldn’t see who it was, but it came from the back of the War - Room, which meant it was one of the people assigned to cyber recon. Fabulous. Rock would kill her if they missed something on the chatter groups because they were busy doing something that they shouldn’t have had to do.
“Any luck with Facial—” Harper didn’t finish the question when Rock’s voice sounded over coms.
“Dreamland, this is Ghost One.”
