It didn’t matter now. He was probably traipsing around the jungle thumping bibles while she was stuck here. Lily needed to find a way out. She understood enough Spanish to know the general had no intention of letting her go. He was toying with her, playing on her fear for his perverted pleasure. Her team would try to help, but ultimately there’d be no rescue. Lily knew in the end, she would have to save herself.
Five
Five hours later the flash bombs went off. Ken thought he’d heard them, but he was sure when six of Garcia’s men rushed out of the house towards a Jeep. Someone had obviously radioed to let them know that the town was under attack. Ken knew that they wouldn’t ignore a threat to their territory. They couldn’t if they wanted to remain in control. Yet they weren’t stupid enough to leave Garcia completely unprotected. Birds squawked, their wings flapping wildly as they launched into the air. Monkeys screamed, leaping from tree to tree. The men sped away, mud flying up behind their wheels as they took the first corner sharply.
There were at least five men and the ex-general himself, Juan Garcia, still inside. Ken slithered through the jungle like his namesake the viper. He came across a tripwire thirty feet away from the house and stopped. He was close enough to be able to lob a flash bomb into the building, but Ken wasn’t sure he’d be able get to the river in time. Besides a flash bomb wouldn’t start the fire he needed.
He backed away, slipping into the brush as three men rushed out of the house and began searching the perimeter of the house. They were alert and on edge. One snap of a twig and they’d open fire. Ken hadn’t been able to see Lily through the windows, which meant they had her shoved somewhere towards the back of the house. He’d have to firebomb the front to drive everyone out the back. They could always decide to go out the windows, but it was unlikely. Ken couldn’t worry about that now. The plan had to work. And for it to work, he had to be at the river when they rushed outside. There was no other option in his mind.
John would keep the men who’d stormed to town busy long enough for Ken to snatch Lily. The soldiers assigned to guard the house finished their search and went back inside. He pulled out the Molotov cocktail he’d created using the lighters and a discarded soda bottle. Ken threw the home-made accelerant into the window along with a flash bomb, then ran through the brush for the river.
He’d stripped out of his ghillie suit earlier, leaving on his green camouflage clothing to make swimming easier. Ken took out his knife and waded into the water. He heard splashing and hoped it was cayman. He wasn’t sure he could tangle with an anaconda and win. He blocked the sound out, focusing instead on where the men, and hopefully Dr Lily Houser, would appear.
A few seconds later, the men came rushing towards the river. Garcia was dragging Lily. He shoved her towards the water, shouting at her and the men. One of the men rushed back inside the house and came out carrying buckets. Two of the others began to scour the jungle for the culprit behind the firebombing. Garcia pointed towards the water and ordered Lily to step into the river. She shook her head no.
“Come on, honey. Do what he says,” Ken murmured.
Garcia pulled out a pistol and pointed it at her head. Lily hesitated, glancing at the water. The tyrant shouted something in Spanish and she flinched. Ken forced himself to wait in the vines. He needed her to get deeper into the water before he made his move. He’d only get one shot at this.
Lily stared at the muddy water. Between the parasites, anacondas and the cayman, she was terrified. But Garcia wasn’t bluffing. If she didn’t get in the water and start handing his men the buckets, then he’d shoot her. Death by cayman or death by bullet: not much of a choice.
She waded into the water. The current swirled around her legs. The mud on the river bottom squished under her boots, sucking at her ankles. She scooted her feet to prevent stepping on a cayman that might be resting on the bottom. Now that she was in the water, Garcia didn’t pay much attention to her since she had nowhere to go. It wasn’t like she could swim off and get very far. If the cayman didn’t get her, Garcia’s men would.
Lily filled the buckets and handed them to the men as they raced to put out the fire. She still didn’t understand what had happened. One minute they’d had her tied in a back room, the next they were screaming.
She scooped another bucket of water out of the murky depths. Something chirped near the shoreline across the river. She stared at the rippling water. Did caymans attack above water or below? Lily shifted her legs and nearly dropped the bucket. Garcia chastised her for her clumsiness. She focused once more on the task at hand. It wouldn’t take long to put the fire out.
Lily wasn’t sure what made her look to the right in time to see a wake caused by something large just below the surface of the water. There’d been no sound. No warning. But the wave was getting bigger the closer it got. She tried to take a step towards shore, but her boots were stuck in the mud. Something grabbed her legs, yanking her feet out from under her. Lily had a second to scream then she was swept under. She fought like a mad woman despite her bound hands, kicking, punching and thrashing to no avail. The predator’s tight grip on her refused to be broken. She gulped in panic, taking in a huge breath of water. Her lungs screamed in agony. There’d be no escape.
Ken swam for all he was worth. It was hard with Lily fighting him, but he had to get them away from Garcia and his men. The river current helped move them, making them glide downstream quickly. When they’d travelled approximately 200 yards, Ken forced them to the surface. His lungs burned as he gulped in air for his starving body. Lily was no longer fighting him. Several yards back, she’d gone limp in his arms.
He kicked towards the shore, knowing he had to act fast. Ken pulled Lily on to the bank and began CPR.
“Don’t you dare die on me,” he pleaded as he took a deep breath and pinched her nose to breathe into her mouth. Her chest didn’t rise. Ken adjusted her chin and blew another breath into her body, watching her chest rise this time, then began the first of fifteen compressions.
Sweat and water dripped from his forehead. The sounds of the jungle crashed in around him. He could hear Garcia and his men shouting in the distance, but their voices were growing fainter. They were moving away from their position. He gave his last compression and two more breaths, then pressed his lips to her ear. “You’re a fighter, damn it. I need you to fight!” He started compressions again. “Fight for me, Lily. Fight for us.”
Ken had been about to give her two more breaths when Lily choked and sputtered, spitting up water. He carefully turned her on her side, so she could get all the water out, then gently laid her flat. Her green eyes fluttered open and widened as he came into focus.
“Glad to have you back, Doc,” Ken said, sitting back on his haunches. “Thought for a minute I’d lost you.” The words caught in his throat as profound relief flooded him.
“How?” She frowned, her gaze dropping to his camouflage clothing. “What are you wearing?”
Ken knew the second she’d put two and two together. Her eyes narrowed and she sat up abruptly. Her hand went to her head and he reached out to steady her.
“They were after you all along,” she growled, then coughed some more. “And here I was worried that something had happened to you. I should’ve known.”
He leaned in next to her ear. “Keep your voice down. We don’t want your friends to find us unless you want to go for another swim.”
Lily shuddered. “I thought a cayman got me.” She glanced down at her legs in disbelief, then slowly felt her limbs as if to reassure herself that they were still intact. Her clothes were sticking to her like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination. Despite the warmth, she began to shiver.
“That was the intention.” Ken’s gaze followed hers and the heat around them intensified. She was glaring at him by the time their eyes met again. “If you feel up to it, we need to move. I have to get you to the fallback position.”
Lily stood, brushing his hands away. “I’m not going anywhe
re without my people.”
Ken’s jaw firmed. “You can’t go back. That’s the first place Garcia and his men will look for you.”
She hugged herself. “What about my medical team? Garcia is not fooling around.”
“John has made sure that they’re safe.”
Her hands moved to her slim hips. “I should’ve known he was part of this, too. You’re not a real priest, are you?”
Ken’s lips twitched. “Don’t sound so disappointed.” His heart was still pounding over how close he’d come to losing her. “If I was a priest, I never would’ve kissed you. But I can’t say I wouldn’t have thought about it. Any man breathing would have.”
“I’d rather not discuss that . . . that incident.” Lily’s gaze dropped to his mouth and lingered. When she realized what she’d been doing, she kicked the dirt at her feet. “It’s your fault that I’m in this mess, Father . . . is Ken even your real name?”
“My name is Ken Thompson, but my friends call me Viper.”
She scowled. “I suppose that’s some kind of Freudian nickname.”
Ken laughed. “Why don’t you tell her?” He looked over his shoulder at the trees.
Like a phantom materializing, John stepped out of the brush completely camouflaged. “He got the name because he can move through the jungle as silently as a viper. Of course, I have heard rumours about his . . . other endowments.”
Ken punched John in the arm. “You aren’t helping. Did you get the medical team out of the line of fire?”
John nodded. “I had one of the villagers with a boat move them over to Santa Clarita. They’ll be safe there until they can be extracted. Garcia’s wound up like a wet hornet.”
“That’s what happens when you firebomb his house and snatch his hostage. I also left an incriminating trail in the brush to make it look like a small army was around. That should keep him busy until we come back. I thought I told you to meet me at the fallback position.”
John shrugged. “Wanted to make sure everything went off without a hitch and that my partner didn’t need me,” he said.
Ken nodded. “Thanks, but next time I expect you to follow orders.”
John saluted in response.
“What do we do now?” Lily asked John, ignoring Ken completely.
“We need to get the hell out of here,” he said, pointing in the direction he’d appeared.
“Lead the way,” she said.
Lily refused to look at Ken, even though he tried repeatedly to catch her eye. Her emotions were so mixed up. Part of her was relieved that he was alive and had managed to save her, while part of her was furious that he’d caused her to be in this mess in the first place. She felt betrayed. He knew how important this clinic was to her, and yet he’d been lying to her from the beginning. It angered Lily no end that, despite everything, she was still attracted to him.
They hiked through the jungle, sweat dripping from their bodies by the gallon. Several hours and many false trails later, they reached their fallback position. They’d be safe here for the night or so she’d been told. Lily didn’t think she’d feel safe again until she was back in San Diego.
“I’m going to do a perimeter check.” John glanced at his watch. “Should take me an hour or so,” he said. “You kids behave. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He winked at Lily.
She smiled in spite of herself. “He’s incorrigible. How do you put up with him?”
“You get used to it,” Ken said, checking his weapons. “How are you feeling?”
“Exhausted, wet, dirty and hungry,” she said.
“You’re alive,” he said softly. “That’s all that is important.” Ken still couldn’t believe how close he’d come to losing her. His hands shook as he zipped the drag bag closed.
She pressed her fingers to her ribs. “My chest hurts.”
He glanced at her. “Sorry about that. They’ll be bruised for a couple weeks. I had to give you CPR. You weren’t breathing.”
Lily’s hand moved higher until it rested above her heart and her expression grew pensive. A few minutes later, she said, “Thank you.”
Ken shrugged. “Figured it was the least I could do after causing you so much trouble.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “What’s going to happen now?”
“First, I’m going to kiss you,” he said, moving closer, giving her every opportunity to say no. When she didn’t, he grasped her waist and pulled her into his arms. “Then once I’ve gotten you to safety, I’m going to finish the job I came here to do.”
Her eyelids fluttered closed.
Ken’s lips brushed Lily’s, gently at first, then more insistent. “I never meant to hurt you,” he murmured, grazing the side of her mouth. “I almost died when I saw Garcia’s men pull you out of the Jeep. I thought for sure I’d lost you.” He deepened the embrace, pouring his heart and soul into the kiss. “Please tell me that you’ll give me another chance.”
Lily’s body thrummed. He was kissing the good sense right out of her head. She pulled back until mere inches separated their mouths. “What am I going to do with you soldier?”
He smiled and her hearted skipped a beat. “You can start by kissing me back.”
Epilogue
Ex-general Juan Garcia never felt the bullet enter his head. It had been fired from over 1,500 yards away. No one saw the two men dressed in ghillie suits slip back into the jungle. Nor did they notice the Black Hawk that extracted them under the cover of night. The next day the local paper announced another failed coup.
Eight months later . . .
John Ekle stood at the side of his friend and partner, Ken Thompson, just like he’d done hundreds of times before. And just like before, they wore matching suits – except these suits weren’t meant to conceal them. They both turned to face the doors as the organist began to play. A vision in white silk, Lily walked down the aisle clutching her father’s arm.
“Sure you know what you’re doing, sir?” John asked. “Might be your last chance to scrap this mission.” He laughed.
Ken glanced at him, but couldn’t seem to keep his eyes from straying back to his bride. “My target has never been clearer, soldier.”
“Last chance,” John said. “We have a fallback position located near the side entrance.”
He glanced at his friend. “Don’t you have something you could be spotting?”
Ken watched John scan the row of bridesmaids like a connoisseur picking out a fine wine. He stopped when his gaze landed on Karen Matthews. The nurse wore an emerald-green dress, which accentuated her figure and fiery red hair. Their eyes met and something unspoken passed between them. “Target spotted, sir. Permission to engage?”
Ken looked at Karen and laughed. “Permission granted,” he said, knowing that John didn’t realize he was the one being targeted this time. He’d figure it out eventually. Probably when they were walking down the aisle.
Lily’s father gently placed her fingers on Ken’s arm and firmly shook his hand. He kissed his daughter’s cheek, then discreetly wiped a tear from his eye before taking a seat next to her beaming mother. Both their families were here to celebrate their union, along with half of Ken’s unit. It had taken precision planning to make the wedding go off without a hitch. Lily had done an amazing job. Ken smiled at his bride. Love showed in her misty green eyes.
“Thanks for giving me a second chance,” he said, whispering in Lily’s ear. “And a third . . . and a fourth . . .”
Her rosy blush matched the fresh blooms in her hands. “Did I have a choice?” she asked, arching a brow as a smile ghosted her face.
Ken shook his head. “No.”
The minister cleared his throat to get their attention. Ken’s heart swelled as they said their vows. It had taken time and lots of persuasion, but Lily was finally his to have and to hold. He’d get to wake up to her glowing face for the rest of his life. Ken couldn’t imagine a better mission as he slipped the ring on to her finger, and then kissed the bride.<
br />
Overkill
E. C. Sheedy
“I want your best man, Holister. And that’s Tanner Cross.”
“Impossible. He’s in the Congo.” Holister tightened his grip on the phone, unable to believe what he was hearing.
“Then get him out of the Congo and have him in London tomorrow.”
“I need to get this straight. You want Cross to come to London . . . to kill you.”
“Call it ‘euthanize’ if that goes down easier. Or better yet ‘neutralize’.”
“Jesus.” Holister didn’t like this order one bit even though it did come from Joseph Derek, his boss, and the man who, twenty years ago, founded the Raven Force. Financed by Derek’s billions, the Ravens were a covert, privately controlled, government-sanctioned squad created to destroy illegal weapons cartels.
“Joe, be reasonable. Chances are you’ll come out of this better than new.”
“They’re opening my skull, Holister. Poking around in my brain – and they won’t give me any guarantees. There’s a chance of dementia, loss of memory, altered personality. Who the hell knows what else.”
“I’m just saying, what you’re proposing? It’s overkill.”
“It’s also an order.”
“At least wait until after the surgery – see how it goes.”
When he spoke again, Derek’s words were still heavy with intent, but more personal. “You think I want this? Going under and not knowing if I’ll wake up with the intelligence of a cabbage or, worse yet, not be in control of information that – if it fell into the wrong hands – would put all of the Raven Force at risk?” A pause. “I’d prefer not to wake up at all.”
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