“I have seen four men, and one fucking cunt,” she said grimly and stood. “They will be back soon I’m sure, she was a little too excited about fucking with me. They just started that last night. Before then all they did was ask questions. I have intel that needs to be told, even if they have probably moved him already.”
Ridge looked up and shook his head. “Stand back. Who were you looking for?” She nodded and did as he said and stood back, she looked down at her clothes that were dirty and smelled, she had no shoes because they took them and gave her some weird flip-flop things, if they had to run, it was gonna suck.
She said absently, “The hacker who single-handedly compromised half of the world by hacking their secured servers.”
It took him two minutes and she was out of the cell. Dammit, she really needed to talk to Tank about getting some of their toys, she was sick and tired of the civilians having all the cool shit to work with. It was embarrassing.
“Do you have the package?” Tank asked.
“Yep, I have her, how long do we have?” he asked.
“Not long enough, we’ll have to wait until the next pass,” Tank said quickly and he grimaced and looked around.
“Come on,” Ridge said and held out his hand. She walked forward and motioned to her feet.
“They took my shoes.”
“No matter, I have some in a bag just outside the gate, all we need is to get there,” he said and she nodded.
“Where is Tank?” she asked.
“Back at the compound, talking in my ear. Loki and Torch are here with me.”
“Three people? That is all they sent? Tank, are you nuts, you should have made sure they had more backup,” she whispered loudly. Obviously offended and a little angry.
“Yeah, you do realize you are being held by a hostile nation?” he said and pulled her behind him.
Kasey rolled her eyes. “Uh, I kinda figured that when I was taken prisoner, which is why I really figured you would send more people.”
“Nope,” Ridge said as he made it to the door he came from and then turned around and looked at her. “We go through this door and up, at the top there is about five hundred yards to where there are some trees, we’ll use them for cover. To get off this property it is half the battle, the other half is to get out of the country, because they will be searching for you.”
Kasey took a deep breath, which stung and she grimaced a little and said, “I’ll do it.”
“They should have passed, check before you fully come up,” Tank said softly in his ear.
Ridge stared at her for a second and nodded and then turned back to the door and cracked it slightly. “When we get outside the gates of the Embassy, you can call in your report with our Sat phone.”
She nodded and said, “Like I said, they may have moved him, but they may not have. Either way, they were harboring a worldwide computer terrorist and everyone wants to find this guy, the US included.”
Ridge spoke softly, “You sure it is him?”
Kasey paused and then said, “Positive.”
“Then we best get this info out of here. I can give them the weak points as well, you know, if they want to get back in here,” Ridge said softly. “Okay, no one is coming, we have ten minutes before the next pass of guards outside, we should be well on our way by the time they find out you are gone.”
Chapter Five
If everything went as planned Ridge would have been shocked, ‘cause nothing ever went like you planned it, nothing. He stood at the door checking one last time to make sure there was no one coming and then he opened the door and slipped out, holding the door enough so that Kasey could do so as well. When they were both clear, he shut the door gently and then stepped out in front of her again in order to protect her. She wanted to roll her eyes and push by him, but she knew better than to do that, especially since she wasn’t at a hundred percent. Plus, Bo was clinging to her hair and her ear. The little thing had a tight grip thank God.
He took one step at a time, slowly, making sure she was right behind him when he moved to the next step, it was slow, but it needed to be; wearing those damn shoes, and hurting every time she moved made her slow. They made it to the top of the stairs and she looked around him for a second to see the trees he had referred to. She sucked in a breath and then grasped the back of his shirt, letting him know to go when ready.
“Going now,” Ridge whispered and she knew he was talking to her brother. She was finally thinking a little clearly and dammit, she wanted to rip the thing out of his ear and talk to Tank. She missed him, and later when she finally was able to process everything, Kasey would realize that she feared she would be killed and it would push him over the edge.
Ridge moved and she followed, they were quick as they could be. And they almost made it, seriously, if it weren’t for Ridge, she would have been dead. She was so focused on keeping her feet in the damn shoes she never heard the click of the gun being cocked behind her. Ridge did, so when he turned suddenly and grabbed the front of her shirt and used the momentum to throw her behind him and to the ground, she screamed loudly.
“Fuck, we have company,” Ridge said.
“Do you need Torch?” Tank asked briskly.
“Only one, I got it,” Ridge snapped.
The guard who had appeared suddenly fired and thank God, he missed, Kasey thought as she turned over and saw Ridge run at the man and tackle him. Shit, she thought, and scrambled up and looked around. Bo was sitting under a tree staring at her and she shook her head and said, “Stay,” to the little guy. Kicking off the silly shoes they had given her, Kasey stood up fully and stared and waited in case he needed help. He didn’t. And as soon as it started it was over, Ridge turned and ran back to where she was waiting and he grabbed her hand.
“Come on, we gotta get the fuck outta here. Tank, make sure Torch knows we may have company,” he said. Kasey nodded and then stopped at the tree and grabbed Bo. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked.
“I can’t leave him,” she said grimly. She wouldn’t, he had been the only thing she held onto for the last three months. The only thing she connected with, leaving him seemed wrong.
“You can’t take him, you know that,” he snapped, pulling her into the cover of the bushes.
“You are covered,” Tank said in his ear. “He has a bike waiting.”
“Yeah, well before we take off to get home, we better have it figured out, ‘cause I’m not leaving him,” she growled and then moved with him as he tugged her behind him.
“We’ll discuss it when we get free of this place,” he said reasonably, thinking yeah, they were totally going to not have company.
Kasey ignored the fact the stones on the ground were cutting into her feet. She focused on Ridge’s back, even when she heard the yells from behind them, and one of them she swore was the dragon lady whom she would love to get a shot at herself.
Ridge made it to the fence and then pushed her through the little opening, while he looked back and was finally able to pull out the gun he had in the back of his pants. It was the last resort, he really didn’t want to draw attention to them, but if he had to he would use it. Kasey made it through and then kept moving along the fence line until she got to the other side of the large parameter, and then she slid between the posts again, finally after what seemed like she ran a mile they were out of the embassy area and hiding in thick bushes. Ridge pulled her quickly to where the bag was.
“Here,” he said absently and unzipped the bag and began pulling things out: pants, shirt, socks, shoes, all in her size. She wanted to cheer loudly but she refrained from it ‘cause she was saving it for when she could actually shower, then she will probably weep with joy. She put Bo down on the ground next to the bag and ignored Ridge’s grunt of annoyance at the fact she still had the monkey. Dammit, she knew people wouldn’t understand, but she didn’t give a shit, he was going to need to get over it.
“No chatter so far according to Torch,” Tank said.
&
nbsp; “Keep me posted. I will not be able to talk when we reach the bike. Handing the coms over to Kasey in a few,” he said and looked around, making sure that no one was following them.
Kasey moved quickly, pulling off the thin clothing they had given her, and pulled on the entire black outfit and when Ridge threw a hoodie at her she pulled it on and then picked up Bo, slid him into the front pockets, where he shivered and curled in a ball and settled quickly, trusting she would take care of him.
Ridge waited for a second, Kasey looked at him expectantly and he had to do it. Seeing her alive, even if she was a little busted up she was alive and in front of him. He leaned forward, grabbed the back of her neck, and pulled her in and kissed her. She made a noise of protest for like a second, and then she sighed and reached up and touched his face. When he let her go, he touched his forehead to hers and then pulled back and was all business. She smiled and then nodded as he began to speak.
“Here is the deal, we need to get the fuck out of town and to the border of India ASAP before they come looking for us. We have a bike. Loki parked it in the lot in back of the hotel. We need to make it there, get the bike, and lay some miles between us and them,” Ridge said and Kasey frowned.
“My contacts could help, they know why I am here. I have diplomatic…” she started and he shook his head.
“Do you not think they exhausted all options before they contacted us? The US will not admit you were here working for them, so we are on our own. If we get caught, you can guarantee the North Korean Embassy will demand your detainment, they will make shit up. So we get out of here and then deal with shit. You are gonna have to trust me,” Ridge said and she paused and swore under her breath. She knew that, but she still thought one of her contacts would be able to help them.
She didn’t do that easily, trusting people, she could be the poster child for not trusting anyone with her life. She bit her lip and then she sighed, since she met him she knew she could trust him, that is what scared the shit out of her. But she didn’t have much choice right now, and knowing this was a make or break situation, she was going to make sure he knew she was all in. She had to. “Then lead on. I do trust you, and you know this is big for me,” Kasey said and Ridge nodded and then pulled another gun out of his bag and handed it to her.
“I know,” he said and then quickly leaned forward and kissed her again. “I appreciate it. Don’t fire unless you have to,” he said and she rolled her eyes.
“Only if it is to shoot you in the ass,” she said.
Ridge chuckled and then said, “At least you’re still in a good mood.”
“Yeah, getting the shit kicked out of me, but then a dominatrix of pain tends to do that,” she said dryly and then Ridge stared at her intently.
“Do you need me to go get the car and pick you up?” he asked seriously, looking at the various bruises that adorned her face. She knew he had seen the others when she changed as well. Kasey had refused to look until she knew she could sit down and relax while she did it. She had a feeling that once she sat and relaxed, she wouldn’t move for a week.
So she shook her head and said, “Nope, let’s go and get this shit done.”
He pulled out the earbud and held it up. “Best not talk until we are on the road.”
She grimaced and then nodded as he shoved it in her ear.
Tank waited, he heard what Ridge said and agreed, he heard her breathing, that was all that mattered. They were on the run, he could hear the traffic and movement. Looking at his brothers who were in the room with him, he nodded.
Willie, one of their new Prospects, handed him his cell and he hit the button to mute their side of things. He still listened but he pulled up his contact list and then hit the button he had been waiting to hit since all this shit started.
“Hello?” he heard the man say on the other end of the phone.
“You better be ready to pay the piper, old man. ‘Cause I’ll come calling very soon, and when I do, nothing is going to stop me from doing what I should have done all those years ago,” Tank growled into the phone and he heard his father sigh on the other end of the phone.
“Must we have all this drama?”
Tank felt his jaw tighten. “Yeah, DAD, we must.”
“I don’t know what you want from me,” he snapped.
Tank laughed loudly and said, “Nothing, not one fucking thing.” Tank hung up the phone and then made another call.
“You have what I need?” he asked.
“Yep, I have everything you need,” the woman said cryptically in the receiver. “I’m going to need a little favor though.”
Tank sighed and then said, “Listen, I don’t have…”
“You don’t understand,” the woman said and then she continued, “it’s not for me, it is for someone you know though.”
Chapter Six
Ridge and Kasey made it to the bike without notice, at least something was going right for them. Torch was standing in the distance watching the street where the local police would come if they were called. So far there were no sirens, which didn’t surprise Ridge since he was certain the North Korean government did not want to explain how Kasey had escaped in addition to the conditions she was being held in.
Kasey didn’t hesitate, she jumped on behind him, shifted and moved until he looked over his shoulder to see that she had taken the little monkey out of her front pocket, put him right in the front of her hoodie, pulled up the hoodie to cover her hair and her face, and then nodded to him. Pulling out into traffic, he didn’t look anywhere but to the road in front of him. He knew if something were to happen, Torch would tell Tank who would pass it on to him. Not the best way of dealing with shit, but considering he was driving on a bike in a foreign country, it was the only way right now.
Kasey put her forehead on his back and then whispered softly, “Tank?”
“Hey, sis,” he answered right away. “You okay?”
She snorted and said, “Well, I was captured and held by a hostile country for about four months I think. So, being free? Yeah I’m more than okay.”
He chuckled. “Kinda a dumb question I know.”
“Don’t get mushy. I’ll be here when you land. Make sure you keep the link open in case we need to talk to you. Tell Ridge that Torch is dealing with the local authorities right now, and Loki is waiting at the checkpoint.
“Okay. When I get back though, we are going to need to talk. I’m done with this, Tank, him hanging me out to dry. I love my country, and I would die for it, but I will not do a damn thing under his watch anymore.”
Her brother instantly agreed, “Damn right.”
She hadn’t been kidding. That was the first thing she was going to do after she made the phone call to check in with her superiors: telling them she was out. Four months was a long time to sit. She knew of others who had been arrested and held as well. She wasn’t special, and she didn’t expect special treatment. But she also knew her father could have told Tank sooner, and thus gotten her out sooner. Her brother would have moved Heaven and Earth to help her out, and he had the means to do it.
Kathmandu wasn’t huge, nor was it small. He then pulled over on a side road and parked. It was dark, and they didn’t have much light, but he wanted to check her out real quick to make sure she didn’t need anything patched up immediately.
Kasey got off the bike first and steadied herself by holding the seat while he slid off as well. She nodded, took a deep breath, and then looked up at him with a small grin. “Yeah, nothing like an ice bath and some icy hot won't fix.”
“Gonna take some time to get those,” Ridge said while reaching into the saddlebags to pull out a first aid kit he knew they had packed for him. Torch used to be a boy scout, so Ridge knew he was always prepared. “Come on, let’s look you over, make sure we don’t need to do a patch job really quick.”
Kasey sighed and then nodded. “Fine,” she said and gently pulled Bo out from her sweatshirt and then pushed back the hood and waited.
&n
bsp; Ridge grabbed the flashlight in the corner of the first aid kit and clicked it on. He turned and shined it up to her face and grimaced a little when he saw the glaring bruises that seemed to be appearing before his eyes. “Fuck.”
She snorted. “Yeah, well I’m pretty sure that bitch enjoyed doing it. She really made sure to do a thorough job.”
He grabbed an antiseptic wipe and began cleaning the small cuts on her face. She stood still and let him, mostly because at this point if she let go of the seat, she may not remain standing. She felt her legs wobble a little, and Ridge had to have noticed because he moved and turned until her ass was leaning against the bike, taking all of the weight off her legs. She was so tired.
“Lift your shirt,” he said gruffly and she sighed but complied.
His eyes hit her ribs and she saw his jaw clench, well, it must look pretty bad for him to look like that. “Doesn’t hurt much,” she muttered and then Ridge’s eyes came up to hers.
“Really?” he said grimly.
She shrugged a little. “Okay, I can’t feel it much right now, so yeah, it doesn’t hurt.”
“Well, it will soon,” Ridge said and then grabbed an ace bandage and some tape and began wrapping her ribs. She sucked in a breath a few times when she felt a twinge here and there. She wasn’t lying that she didn’t feel much, but she also knew that Ridge was right, she would feel it soon.
When he was done, he looked at her legs and he said, “Do you need to drop your pants?”
She grinned and said, “Really, seen me for a whole hour and already you are trying to get into my pants?”
Ridge rolled his eyes and said, “I guess that is a no.” He looked at her closely and then said, “When we get a little further we’ll stop and grab some food, see where we are, and go from there.”
Shattered (Furies Book 2) Page 6