After a moment, he joined her, his deep male laughter filling the car. It felt good to laugh together. It never ceased to surprise her how comfortable she was with him. Sure, there was that delicious sexual tension, of being aware of, and attracted to, a fine male specimen. And hewasfine—six foot two, lean and hard-bodied, with that nice, easy smile and those deep-set, knowing blue eyes which were always assessing. He wore that easy demeanor she’d seen in psychologists and scammers—the one that engaged people in conversations to reveal clues about themselves. She was sure he saw himself more the former than the latter, but his job as a troubleshooter must include a few scams here and there.
But even knowing he was analyzing her didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was the challenge to keep him guessing. Maybe it was the attraction—that determined glint she caught in his eyes now and then was thrilling and a little scary. She wasn’t sure what she really wanted with this man. Her lifestyle since joining GEM had been simple—living the high life was way better than living on the streets. It was her mantra. She didn’t mind the dangerous situations—hell, she’d grown up fending for herself in the most dangerous places—but now she had money and security. Now, when she wanted to, she could join her GEM sisters for family-type excursions. Now, she could save money and, if she wanted to, she could spend it on holiday pampering, fulfilling her need to live in luxury.
It’d been years since her days scampering in the dirt, digging through the mountainous piles of trash for her next meal, and finding shelter away from the street gangs. But a part of her was still that child, one who dreamed about living the life she now had. And Surya liked pampering that little wild girl. She glanced at the man beside her again. A relationship with him promised to be complicated and she wasn’t sure whether she was ready to drop her mantra.
“We’re here,” she told him, navigating the car into a dusty side street. “What did your contacts tell you to do?”
“The two villagers will see us inside one of the shops. Here’s the name of the place. I’m assuming there is some sort of downtown-type area where the shops are located?”
Surya looked at the paper. “This village is in the interior of Bali by the rainforest. Says here to go into the shops and ask for directions to another village. Okay, I know where it’s referring to. There’s the most magnificent rainforest resort in the other place, so everyone would be used to visitors dropping by asking questions or directions.”
“Okay. What’s the name of the resort?”
“Awang Awang. It’s amazing.” Surya sighed. Now, that was where she should spend her next vacation. “It’s totally set up in the mountains looking down at the rainforests. It’s a dream place if you want to escape from the usual hustle and bustle.”
Kirk frowned. “No wonder my contacts brought that to my attention. If it’s a touristy mecca, why would these villagers notice any unusual activities with strangers? There would be plenty of people making trips into the rainforests, right?” He stroked his chin. “Hmm. You’d think Bali jungles would be the last place for a terrorist hideout. They’re usually deep in the Sulawesi islands.”
Surya parked the car on a street corner. “Well, these aren’t just terrorists,” she pointed out. “They are Caucasians walking in and out of the rainforest. Your bad SEALs and turncoat operatives wouldn’t look too suspicious hiking around the fabulous resort.”
“Good point.” He opened the car door. “Ready?”
“Yeah.”
* * * *
Not far away
“Vadim, we heard Petrovich is dead.” Mark Walters didn’t add he was glad the bastard was dead. He loosened his grip on his cell phone, trying not to betray his tension. “They got Holland.”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know about this?”
“Holland is going to name names. MacKenzie’s going to send his men after us.”
He knew he was up shit creek. It didn’t matter. It was over for him, but he needed to make sure his family was taken care of. Petrovich had had him in a stranglehold, but with him dead, there was hope Vadim would be a bit more humane. He closed his eyes. His beautiful wife and his baby.
“We’re keeping an eye on such matters,” Vadim replied. “We’ve got people inside, you know. Holland isn’t sure of our other insiders, so you’re safe for now. They’re busy grieving. If they make a move, we’ll just kill another one of them. We’ll keep them busy with funerals.”
The cold laughter that followed the threat made him swallow. Him, a SEAL. He was supposed to be the warrior here, and yet these fucking men had reduced him to a frightened man, unable to think, by killing the people close to him.
“Look, that’s all fine, but the five of us aren’t going to be able to keep these fucking militants from shooting that missile at the Interpol General Assembly. This whole thing went to shit with Petrovich’s death. Who’s going to pay the ransom these militants are demanding? Your people? You’ve kept us in the dark long enough. We need information to proceed.”
“You’ll do as you’re told, or have you forgotten your family is also under our surveillance?”
His eyes shot open. He could feel his heart rate increase. He made his voice softer. “Don’t hurt them, please. Look, I’ve done everything you’ve told me. I can only count on my SEAL buddy. The other three, they’re fucking mercenaries, so their loyalties aren’t exactly their best trait. They’ll just go along with the terrorists, collect the money, and cut and run.”
“This is laughable. Your loyalty? You have no loyalty right now.”
He could cry at his loss. This was his life and he’d really, really messed up. All he could do now was make sure his wife and baby would live. One of them was going to kill him in the end—these fuckers, the terrorists, the MacKenzies. It didn’t matter which side. He was surrounded.
“Look, Vadim, I know I’m nothing to you,” he placated, “but if you want me to find where they’re hiding our scientists, at least let me in on the details. I’ve done as we were ordered but look what happened when you didn’t give us enough information to make sure everything went your way. We lured both of them while they were meeting here for Petrovich, after seeking permission with these militants to use their territory. But because you didn’t tell me about Petrovich’s death, they’ve now changed the game plan and fucking moved the prisoners from under our noses. They know their way around the forests here more than we do. The five of us are searching like blind men looking for a needle. Asking the locals questions has been a delicate operation. And even if we do locate them, I repeat, how are we going to stop this missile?”
“We do not care about the missile.”
His mind went silent as he grasped the reality of what was happening—couldhappen in a matter of days. “Fuck, man, we can’t just let them fire it towards the assembly. Hundreds of people might be killed!”
“That isn’t your business. Your job now is to find their fucking hiding hole and get our scientists back. Your job wasn’t supposed to lose them in the first place.”
“Myjob was done! We were to hold on to the hostages until Petrovich flew over with the money. It’s all a SNAFU right now, what with angry militants, a missile crisis, and no money for the mercs, whomyouhired, might I add. I have my hands full trying to convince everyone to follow orders as it is. I know the MacKenzies. They aren’t just going to sit home and cry. They have plans and if they aren’t implemented by now, they are being implemented. It’s just a matter of time before they find out who else besides Holland you have in your pocket, Vadim.”
