Page 6 of Her Ruthless Protector

“Already there,” Cullen said. “So far, the second floor is empty. We’re doing a room by room check.” His voice was a mere whisper.

Kane jerked as he heard more gunfire, but realized it was coming from outside the truck. It was close, maybe just a block away. Was it al-Qaeda? Did it have anything to do with the mission, or was it just one of the normal nightly gunfights in Ja’ar?

He heard the driver’s side truck door slam. The tarp of the truck fluttered and the big Marine who looked like a professional football player lithely jumped into the back of the truck. “I’m going to go check out the commotion. Sweeney’s got the front of the truck.”

“How long have you been stationed in Yemen?” Kane asked Marty.

“Nine months. You can’t go,” Marty said. He’d read Kane correctly. “I can’t do the shit you’re doing. Sit tight. I’ll bring back a report.”

Kane nodded.

Marty silently left the truck.

“What was that?” Max demanded.

“You could be having company sooner than you think. Our Marine escort is checking things out. You men need to find our man and wrap things up.”

Everyone responded in the positive.

“Asher and I are going down into the tunnels now,” Max said.

“Roger,” Kane said. “Leo, are you still watching the women and children?”

“Yes,” Leo answered.

“Raiden?” Kane asked.

“I’ve got all the equipment in a bag,” Raiden answered.

“Come back to the truck,” Kane directed.

“But—”

“No buts. That shit is too important, get your ass to the truck.”

“On my way.” Raiden was pissed, but he’d do what Kane said.

Kane watched as Max and Asher’s signals winked out. They were underground. It made the back of his neck itch not knowing where his guys were. Max might be the lieutenant of this team, but he was the eyes and ears of this team, and they all belonged to him. He spotted Raiden making his way to the truck. At least one thing was going right.

“Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.” A man begged in Arabic.

“On your knees,” Cullen yelled. There was a pause, then Cullen yelled. “Nick, no!”

“Asshole, on the ground, you asshole. Face down.” Cullen’s voice was a roar as he spoke to the man in Arabic.

“Shit, Cullen, I didn’t see the knife,” Nick said.

Dammit. Nick will be running the fucking obstacle course for weeks when Max hears about that stupid move.

“Is that our guy?” Kane asked.

“Nope, too young,” Cullen said. “Nick, take him to Leo. We’ve cleared the second floor. I’m heading to the tunnels with Max and Asher.”

“Make it fast, you’re down to your last five minutes,” Kane warned Cullen.

Kane saw Raiden’s signal as he approached the truck at a run. There was more gunfire close by. The man pushed back the tarp and carefully dumped his stash of computer goods. “Why’s Sweeney alone up front in the truck?” he asked.

“Marty’s checking to see if we have a problem, or if it’s just a normal Saturday night.”