“I assume you told him to hold his position?”
“You know I did, but…”
This wasn’t like him. Waiting. And Sloane knew it either meant he was pinned down or bleeding out.
Avery’s SUV growled in the distance. “Maybe he just knows how pissed you’ll be if he disobeys an order.” Avery paused, hesitation evident in her tone. “You got enough supplies?”
“Only what was in my go-bag.”
Which irked the hell out of her. If she’d been in Langley she’d have her carbine, an assortment of frags, some high-tech devices that could cripple enemy forces. Instead, she had her Glock, a few extra mags, a decently stocked med kit, a multitool, and her ruggedized tablet. Hardly enough to take on the forces she suspected Nick had encountered.
“Shit. Just… No heroics. This is simply a snatch and grab. We’ll deal with whoever’s targeting Nick once you’re both clear.”
“Nick’s the one with the hero complex.”
Avery snorted. “He’s not the only one. Stay safe.”
Avery ended the call, the eerie silence settling hard in Sloan’s chest. She glanced at the dot again. He still hadn’t moved, and that singular thought sluiced ice through her veins.
She forced in a soothing breath, reminding herself lethal was a mindset, not a weapon — that she’d faced worse with less and still survived — as she pushed a bit harder, the needle closing in on ninety. Of course, she’d always had Nick to watch her six. Going it alone…
She rounded a corner, passed a merge lane, when a black Suburban shifted in behind her, heavily tinted windows, no front plate. It sped up, then matched her speed, following her when she veered onto a winding two-lane heading into the forest. The driver didn’t rush her, staying a few car lengths back as she took the turns a bit fast, left some rubber on the pavement.
The dot on the map drew nearer, the time edging close to the limit when a second SUV pulled out from a side road up ahead, tried to box her in. She didn’t flinch, just aimed for a gravel pullout just ahead of the other vehicle, yanked up on the parking brake as she spun the wheel, executed a dynamic one eighty.
The sedan shuddered, spitting out rocks and dust as she punched the gas, headed back toward the Suburban. A deadly game of chicken she had no intention of losing. The other driverbalked, turned to avoid a collision, then bottomed out in a shallow ditch off the right side.
The other SUV peeled out, picked up the chase as she wove back the other way, took another road off to her right. It doubled back, coughed her out farther south on her original path, shadows already covering the pavement.
Too long.
And Nick hadn’t moved. Hadn’t replied. Just that dot, pulsing on her screen.
She couldn’t lose him. Not like this.
The thought played in the back of her head as she rounded a blind corner, stared at the massive logging truck parked diagonally across the road, completely blocking it. A couple men in tactical gear standing next to the bumper.
No time to think, she just hit the brakes, then spun the vehicle, skidding the sedan sideways, looking as if she planned on scooting beneath the trailer. Gravel shot out from beneath the tires, a choking dust cloud swirling to life. She unclipped her belt, grabbed her supplies, then dove out before the car had even rocked to a halt, slipping beneath the trailer. Stones bit into her skin as she rolled to her feet, gun already tracking the first guy.
In that half-second of hesitation — the men all waiting for the dust to settle, her to pop out of the car — she fired, caught the first bastard in the thigh, then his buddy center mass. She didn’t waste any ammo, each shot a surgical answer to a threat. The men dropped, voices shouting behind her as more assholes poured out of that trailing SUV — a spray of rounds bouncing off the rig, chewing up the rows of logs piled in the trailer.
She took a graze across one biceps — a hot stinging line of pain as she circled to the rear, climbed onto the stacked wood. The men moved in close, dust still swirling in the air, the setting sun casting shadows across the road. She waited for two of the men to sweep past, gazes focused on the other side beforeslipping down, moving in close, ghosting through their ranks the way she’d watch Nick do a thousand times.
The last guy dropped, groans mixing with the echoed reports when tires screeched along the road, a second wave of vehicles closing in. Blood stained her jacket, sweat and dirt lining her brow. She checked her mag, intimately aware of how many bullets she’d fired but needing the simple action to ground her.
Memories of Prague danced in her head. A repeat of being outmanned, outgunned. And just like that night, she couldn’t win against a sustained firefight here, either. Better to continue on foot — get lost in the trees.
Except where Nick couldn’t wait for her to drag her ass several miles through the dense undergrowth. Bleed out what precious few moments he likely had left. She chanced a quick glance at her cell, her breath stalling, a punch of fear hitting her full force in the gut.
Nothing.
No pulsing dot, no coordinates, just an empty map openly mocking her.
She scrolled, checked if he’d moved.
Still nothing.
Her chest heaved, one glaring truth screaming in her head. Either he’d somehow smashed his burner or…
