The blast was bigger than he’d expected. Jeff was thrown back, landing in a patch of thorny berry bushes that coated the ground. He looked up at the starry sky while smoke laced the air.
Toni. He hadn’t even seen what had happened to her because he’d been sailing through the air. He looked around. He was right off the runway, sprawled ten feet from where he’d been hiding when he hit the button and detonated that bomb. He winced. Not only did everything hurt, but it was going to seriously hurt getting up out of this bush. Too bad he was kind of rusty. The blast had caught him off guard.
Instead of lying there any longer, feeling sorry for himself, Jeff got up in one swift movement, ignoring all the scratches and snags to his clothing.
The ocean of thorny bushes spanned nearly a dozen feet and came up to his knees. They stopped after that, but between him and that break, the bushes lay thick on the ground. He was going to get shredded no matter how he tried to get out of this.
The wreckage of the plane glowed not unlike the still-smoldering building.
He catalogued the progression so far and decided things were still in his favor. Savannah was out of Lenny’s clutches, headed to the hospital. Backup was going to be on their way here pretty soon. Toni wasn’t captive by Lenny, as he’d expected, because Lenny was dead. Though, not by his hand. Now it was the General’s men that he had to contend with. Once he knew Toni was all right.
Jeff found the gun he’d dropped and held it firmly as he took the bushes one step at a time. If he ran for it, he would trip and tear up his whole body with scratches. While keeping an eye trained on the airport, he angled toward the closest tree for some cover. He couldn’t underestimate the speed of the general’s men. One of them could have rallied as fast as he did and could be headed his way right then.
Was she all right?
Her screams still echoed in his ears. The fear in her voice, and on her face. Those dark eyes had turned into deep pools of desperate terror. He hated that she was going through this. Determination had him ignoring the sting of berry thorns that ripped his jeans and scratched the skin of his calves.
The need to save her was soul-deep in him. He’d never wanted anything so much his entire life—not even to see his family again. Hug his mother. See his brother. Toni was his most important person. Not just because her life was in danger, but because he cared for her and wanted her to stick with him.
That wouldn’t happen if she was taken away by some military officer from a country he’d never been to and had no intention of ever visiting. Not when it was run by a man who’d killed her mother and caused her to flee with her sister—who’d died en route. Her brother had made it to England with her, but Toni had lost so much in the process. He didn’t like the idea that she should suffer anymore. Not when he could do something about it.
One of the men was just now getting up on both feet.
Jeff finally zeroed in on Toni. She was laying on her stomach on the grass between the small building they’d just been in and the runway.
The guy in charge sat up not too far from her.
How many were there? He’d seen four before. Now only two…so where were the other two?
Jeff stood behind cover of the nearest tree and watched them gather themselves. The airplane was a hot pile of wreckage. He’d managed to blow the thing in half with that blast. There were no other planes around for them to co-op for their own use. That meant they needed a vehicle. Lenny’s truck, or some other set of wheels to get them out of here.
“Find him!” The guy in charge had a booming voice.
Jeff winced and ducked behind the tree. It was dark, but with the glow of the wreckage they would find him soon enough. There weren’t many places to hide and that wasn’t what he wanted to do anyway. He needed to get Toni free.
“Pick her up. Let’s go!”
One man was looking around—probably for him. The second lifted Toni up and over his shoulder. The guy in charge followed him into the small building, beyond where Jeff could hear whatever they were saying.
The first one headed toward the general area where Jeff was.
Jeff moved around the tree, out of sight. He peered out from the far side as the guy kept looking. Searching. Warmer. Warmer. Cat and mouse wasn’t lost on him.
The man had a pistol. On his belt was a mean-looking knife, the same they all carried.
Jeff had to reach Toni before this terrible situation got any worse.
When the man closed to ten feet away, he readied his weapon. He pursed his lips and let out a little whistle.
The man jerked around, gun following the twist of his body.
Jeff put a bullet in his forehead.
The next second, he was running as fast as possible the long way around the airplane. If they’d heard that shot, they would take the fastest route. Meanwhile, he circled the smoldering aircraft and came around the other side.
The main guy, giving the orders, stood at the door of the little building. Jeff didn’t know where the other men were.
He crept to the buildings and circled to the back of one so he could race down the street that ran behind the buildings. Toni was like a radar that drew him to where she was. Hurt. In trouble. He figured even if she was perfectly safe, he would be drawn to her in a similar way. With that soul-deep need to be where she was.
Standing beside her.
Watching her back.
Protecting her from what came at her.
Wherever he landed in life, he wanted it to be one of those positions—standing, watching, protecting. All three, Lord willing. He felt it as though it was his calling.
His body protested moving this fast. Considering what he’d been through—which involved being blown up not once, but twice tonight—that wasn’t surprising. Still, he had to get to her and it didn’t matter what was hurt or how tired and uncomfortable he felt. Plenty of times in his life Jeff had put aside his own comfort to get a mission done.
Now that the objective was a woman he’d fallen hard for, it seemed as though every one of those missions had been simply training.
For this.
He reached the corner of the building she was in.
Jeff crept down the short alley between buildings and hopped the tiny, wood picket fence that separated public area from staff-only access. He hugged the building and peered around the corner.
One entrance. One guy inside with her.
No one in view that he could see. Whoever was left had to be looking for him.
Jeff swept to the door, shoved it open with his shoulder, and went in. Gun first. Fast enough to assess the situation inside, a mere half second before the unmistakable feel of prongs touched his side. He heard the crackle and was on one knee before his mind could comprehend what’d happened.
The gun was snatched from his hand, and Jeff was dumped in a chair.
He blinked. A man came at him. Jeff flinched.
The guy laughed and grabbed his hand, which he then zip tied to the back leg of the chair beside his hip.
A quip entered his mind. He decided to keep his mouth shut instead of being antagonistic with these guys.
He looked around and saw Toni on the floor, lying on her side with her face to the wall. He stared intently at her back. Watching for a breath. Some sign of life. Anything.
“Go find us a vehicle.”
“Yes, Sir.” The man rushed out the door.
Leader guy closed in. Jeff considered kicking him, but since he couldn’t get free of the chair, it might not be helpful. Was Toni biding her time, waiting for a chance to jump up and turn the tables on their captor?
“You destroyed my plane.”
Jeff lifted his gaze to the man. “Oops.”
He swung with the pistol, clipping Jeff’s forehead with the butt of the weapon.
His head jerked to the side and pain eclipsed everything for a second. Jeff hissed out a breath.
“You think I don’t know exactly who you are?” The man studied him. “We have time. Tell me what I want to know now, and I’ll save you the trouble of visiting my detention facility. It is where I keep all my favorite tools.”
“Tell you that you’re mean? Or that you smell?” Mostly Jeff figured every grown man was still—at least in part—a seven-year-old boy. “Because both of those are true.”
“Tell me where Amala Wambuso is.”
“Dead.” Before he could object, Jeff said, “Like me.”
He sneered. “You will tell me—here—at this place you think you will be rescued. Or at my facility, where you will pray for death.”
“Maybe.”
The guy produced the knife Jeff had seen him with earlier. Jeff clenched his back teeth, unwilling to allow the guy to see how much a blade worried him. A gunshot, so long as it didn’t pierce any vital organs, only lasted a second. After that, you had to apply pressure and find a doctor. A knife, on the other hand? Jeff had seen what damage could be wrought by someone intent on harm. He’d had buddies captured and tortured. Savannah had been sliced up by Lenny.
The blade was brought close to his sternum, pressed into him and drawn down, on a diagonal, toward his right hip.
Jeff hissed out a breath as his skin split. He tugged on the tie holding his hand tight to the chair leg, when he made the realization his legs…they were free.
He kicked out at the guy, who only laughed as he backed out of reach.
Blood soaked the cut in his shirt, and the skin beneath dampened as sweat beaded there. Sweat and blood.
“Where is Amala Wambuso?”
He figured if he told the guy he didn’t know, he’d be rendered worthless and wind up stabbed through the heart. Or shot.
Either way, he’d be of no use to Toni.
The door flew open. The guy who’d gone to look for a vehicle burst in. “A helicopter is approaching.”
“Good. Kill the occupants. We will take it for ourselves.”
“Yes, Lieutenant.” The door stayed open as he moved to obey orders and race back out into the night.
Backup? He didn’t know who it might be, but figured they were here to help. Whoever they were. The cops in this town didn’t have a chopper. No one else knew they were here. Tate? No, he likely didn’t have those kind of resources. Zander?
Whoever it was, Jeff prayed they got onto the ground without incident.
A gun battle erupted outside. The prayer died on his lips.
“God will not save you now.”
“That probably depends on your perspective,” Jeff said. “Salvation doesn’t always mean you’re brought out of harm’s way.”
“Tell me where Amala is, and I will give you riches beyond what you desire.”
“Don’t hurt Toni, and I’ll think about it.”
As if he wanted anything else. The guy operated from his context of wants and desires—and what he valued. The plane Jeff lived on was completely different. He hardly wanted money. His home was all he needed.
As for what he desired? There was exactly one name on that list: Toni Havig.
The gun battle continued outside.
The man studied him, then turned his scrutiny to Toni, who was still lying on the ground, unmoving. “Tell me, or I kill her.”
“You will not touch her.” Jeff tugged against the tie on his wrist. He kicked out, but the man was too far away.
Movement outside caught the guy’s attention, but he was too late to spot the dark figure that Jeff saw.
“You are surrounded. Surrender immediately, or we will use lethal force.”
Zander. Jeff nearly passed out with relief.
The lieutenant hid behind the wall and called out, “One single step in, and I kill both of them.”