Page 20 of Her Chosen Protector

“Patel said Rivers’ SUV had their tires shot out by the secret police. When he turned around to get them, their car had been rammed. He couldn’t stick around.”

“Is there anything else?” Asher asked.

A man answered with a distinct German accent. “I have been in contact with my Chancellor and she assures me that all of the Western allies have been in contact with the American government and have our own special forces members ready to work with you if that is required.”

Asher winced. The idea of having international teams of Spec Ops descending on Caracas made him cringe, and when he looked around the room, he saw that everybody else was feeling the same way. What was worse, they all knew damn good and well that his call had been monitored by Madura’s men.

Great, just fucking great.

“Is this Heinrich Becker?” Max asked.

“Yes, I’m the head of the IMF,” he answered. “And you are?”

“I’m Lieutenant Max Hogan of the United States Navy SEAL Team. Myself and six of my men will extract you from the bank and take you to the airport where a plane will be waiting. You will then be transported to Puerto Rico.”

“What about my six bank employees?” Señora Azua whispered in a harsh voice, then she started to cough. There was a long pause.

“She’s right, Lieutenant Hogan. Are you planning on pulling these people out of Venezuela? What about their families, are you taking them as well? Have you thought this through?” Eden wasn’t strident, she was calmly asking questions on behalf of Suzanne Azua, making sure she was acting in the woman’s best interests.

Max ran his hand through his close-cropped hair.

“One of my men is going to make sure that Señora Azua gets the care she needs. That will be priority number one. Her being here in Venezuela will be natural. As for the other bank employees, they can come here to the Azua hacienda and leave at different times, so that they get home safely.”

“How will you accomplish this?” Eden persisted.

“We just will,” Asher jumped in. “It’s our job.”

“But—”

“Eden, you gotta trust us, we know what we’re doing. Can you do that?”

Another long pause.

“It goes against my nature, but I’ve got to believe in something. This is a shitstorm. Please just make sure you come through for these people. Please.”

C H A P T E R 5

Leland clapped his hand on Eden’s shoulder after the line was disconnected. “They’re good. I might not know these men in particular, but I’ve served with SEALs before, and I believe in them. They’ll come through, just watch.”

Eden was able to muster up a fake smile. Blindly believe in her dad? Her brothers? Hell, even Lori or Jenny, absolutely. But these guys? Hell, no. It was up to her and whoever else she deemed worth a damn.

After Leland turned to talk to the other two men, Eden looked around the room to see who else might have half a brain cell during a crisis. Carlson was a definite yes, despite the fact his boss was a sniveling weasel who had abandoned everybody and headed for Aruba. Probably Patel. The bank guards? Too soon to tell. Leland with his military background sounded good… She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose, trying to relieve the pressure building up in her sinuses.

Suzanne, who was resting against the arm of the couch beside Eden, tugged at Eden’s sleeve. She glanced up and saw that the men were deep in conversation. When she turned back to Suzanne, the woman made a gesture with her hand indicating she didn’t want them involved.

Curious.

Eden scooched over so she could hear Suzanne.

“I,” Suzanne started to cough. Eden looked at her and noted that blood was seeping through the sky-blue pashmina.

Dammit!

“Use the notepad, Señora.” She nodded to the pad of paper Suzanne had grabbed from her purse.

The woman started to shake her head in defiance and more blood seeped. She let out a slight moan of pain, not enough to get the men’s attention, but enough for Eden’s eyes to light up.

Suzanne held up her hand to ward off the admonishment she was about to receive, and instead picked up the notepad and a pen.