by Lexi Blake
“Let’s go before they find these bodies.” Kun was already moving.
Ian got to his feet, pulling the blade back. He wouldn’t leave it behind. If he could take out a few more quietly, he would.
He had his chance, sneaking up on another pirate who seemed to be looking for the king. He was coming from the opposite direction, but had stopped, looking into another room. Ian slit his throat easily and dumped the body in what looked like a secondary bedroom. Three down.
How many more to go? How many more until he got to Nelson?
Kun moved with deadly grace as she made her way to the other side of the boat. Ian followed, keeping his steps as light as possible. Gunfire could be heard above him as the pirates seemed to be sweeping the decks one at a time. They would be moving in soon, and the minute they found the bodies, they would be searching for him in earnest.
They came to a door with a high-tech keypad next to it. Kun placed her thumb on it, looking back as the door slid open. “What can I say? He really liked me. His office is back here in the private section. Only the king, his personal servant, and two of his women have access. The other girl is harmless. Seriously, not a brain in her head. Get in. It will slow them down for a bit.”
He stepped in and the door slid closed again, locking with a tiny snick.
Sean appeared, slinking along the wall as he exited what had to be the office. He tensed for a moment, pointing his SIG right at Kun’s head.
“Don’t shoot her. She’s a friendly,” Ian said, his voice tight. “Is the king with you? Does he have cameras on this ship?”
The king was standing behind Sean, wrapping a long black lanyard around his neck. Before it disappeared under his shirt, Ian saw a small thumb drive attached. “I only have them in the nookie rooms, but they are not attached to any network. I turn them on and off based on whether my partner likes to be taped.”
Even in the middle of all the tension, he had to shake his head. “Nookie rooms?”
His cousin Chapal was behind him, a laptop in hand and a disapproving frown on his face. “My cousin is a perverted man.”
The king stared at him, but Chapal held his ground.
Kun rolled her eyes. “I didn’t even think of that. We can try it, but if the crew talks, we’re screwed. Move it, Tag.”
He was standing beside an ornately decorated wall. It looked like it had been fashioned out of beaten silver. It was a lovely work of art. It also was a hidden door, as Kun proved when she ran her hand down the side and it slid open.
Thank god. He had a place to stash the king until he could figure out how to get him out of here because the halls had to be teeming with guys with guns at this point.
The king frowned at Jiang Kun. “I thought she was on the bad side.”
The king needed to stay out of the intelligence world. It moved mighty fast for him. “She’s working with us now.”
A smile came over the king’s face and he sent the double agent a suggestive wink. “See, I told you she was a delicate flower.”
Apparently the king could think about sex even when the world was falling apart. “Get in here, Your Highness. Did you do what you had to?”
The king shook his head. “He’s jamming the Internet. I couldn’t get it out. I downloaded the research to a thumb drive.”
Chapal held his computer over his chest as though it would prove a good defense. “I have the whole thing set to send the moment we have a connection. If we even have a few seconds, it will go out to several addresses.”
“I can’t lose it,” the king said. “It was my researcher’s whole life. I cannot have his death be meaningless.”
“You don’t know he’s dead,” Ian said. “But you’re going to be if you don’t hide. Unless you know a secret way off this boat.”
“You should get down to the garage,” the king said.
“Garage?” He wasn’t a big yachter.
“It’s where we stow the jet skis and small boats. The speedboat would have been in the garage if we hadn’t been anchored,” the king explained. “It’s on the lower deck, the one just below this one. There’s scuba equipment if you’re thinking of slipping out underwater.”
He wasn’t thinking at all. He was running on instinct. “Is that door the only way out of here?”
The king shook his head. “No, there is one in the back as well. It leads to stairs that go directly to the garage.”
That was better. “Stay here with your cousin, Your Highness. Wait until we’ve cleared the garage and then one of us will come get you. Do you understand? Don’t make a sound.”
He started toward the back of the magnificent suite of rooms. Chapal followed him. “I can reprogram the security to give you access. Our system doesn’t run off Internet. It should work.” His hand touched the keypad, typing in numbers. The screen next to it glowed. “Place your thumb over it.”
Ian put his thumb on the keypad and it blinked twice.
“Now you have access. I will keep trying to get into the system.” Chapal turned and walked back to the nookie room, his head held high.
“Kun, watch them,” Ian ordered.
“I should come with you,” she returned.
“Watch the asset for me. Shoot anything that comes his way. They’ll get through the door eventually.” He could already hear them on the other side of the suite, trying to get it to open.
She snarled a little his way. “You owe me, Tag.”
“Are you sure about her?” Sean asked.
As sure as he could be. “She didn’t kill me, and she knew Ten’s middle name. She works for him. She’ll keep the king safe. Well, as safe as he can be since we have pirates on board.”
“Any idea how many?” Sean followed him, closing the door behind.
The stairs were ornate, like the rest of the boat. Ian started down them, keeping his step light. “No idea. I’ve had to keep my head down.” He touched his earphone. “Any count on how many hostiles we’re dealing with?”
Knight’s voice came over the line. “Tag, it’s bloody good to know you’re alive. We didn’t want to make contact in case it could be overheard. There are two boats off the yacht. You’re dealing with at least twenty armed men. Pirates, from the look of them. They’re likely hired hands. One of the boats is hidden by the yacht. I can’t see how many people are still on it.”
It didn’t matter. He just needed a rough number to know how to proceed. He reached the door that hopefully led to the garage.
“Can you see the garage?”
“That’s an affirmative, Tag.”
“How many?”
“I can’t see inside, but the boat that’s parked on the port side let two out before parking. It’s open to the sea. Are you going to attempt to swim out?”
“I’m going to see if we can get the king out that way. He says there’s scuba gear. If we can go deep, we will. What’s the ETA on the Coast Guard?”
“The commandant said they’re on their way,” Knight explained. “Fifteen minutes out.”
“Understood. Tell Ten I expect my wife to be unmolested when this is over.”
There was a long pause on the line.
“Tell me my wife is on the beach, Knight.” Every muscle in his body tensed. Charlie was safe. She had to be safe.
Knight’s voice was very calm as it came over the line. “I think Nelson had a mole on the yacht. The boat you put her on turned and went around to the other side of the boat. I haven’t seen it since. Your wife was on board.”
Ian heard Sean curse behind him. At least he didn’t have to fill his brother in.
His wife was in Nelson’s hands, and he’d left his only bargaining chip behind.
“Hey, calm down, brother. We can handle this. Let’s get our assets in order. Let’s take the garage and then we can go from there. He said there were two, maybe three? We can handle that.” Sean was cool and collected, which was good because Ian felt like running screaming through the fucking boat.
Sean took over
the conversation. “Knight, we copy you and we’re going silent.”
He cut off the feed.
Ice. Charlie needed him to be the ice man. And Sean was right. From the garage they could move into the water if they had to.
The garage might offer a few distractions.
He would need them if Knight was correct and Charlie was in Nelson’s hands. Shoving his panic down, he put a hand on the door. As quietly as he could, he pushed it open no more than a half an inch. He caught sight of two men moving at the water’s edge and another walking up the side.
Without looking back, he held up three fingers, then gestured to show his brother where they would be.
They would have seconds. Surprise would be their only real advantage.
Ian shoved the door open and used the P90 to lay out a line of suppressive fire. The air cracked around him, a symphony of bullets and low shouts that was so familiar to Ian he’d almost missed it.
Cover. He’d taken down one, hitting him squarely in the chest, but now the others were returning fire and he needed cover. He ducked, throwing himself behind a row of jet skis.
To his right, Sean took up position behind the door, only the barrel of his gun sticking out. His brother proved he hadn’t lost a beat as he placed a bullet neatly in a pirate’s forehead.
But that left one, and he’d taken position behind a small boat, tied up on the side of the garage just at the water’s edge. Ian fired but the boat looked solid. His opponent simply shoved his gun over the top and fired, not giving Ian a target.
But he didn’t need one because his backup was on the way. He saw a figure surface, his head coming briefly out of the water before he took a silent breath and went under again.
There was a strangled scream and the sound of a body hitting the water and then silence.
Sean stepped out. “What the fuck just happened? Tell me that guy didn’t get pulled in by a shark.”
He should never have let his brother watch Jaws when he was a kid. Sean could stare down just about anything but still had a fear of sharks.
Luckily, this shark had a British accent.
Simon hauled himself onto the ramp, standing gracefully and straightening his tie. The fucker even swam in a tie. He slicked back his hair and sounded as though he’d come for tea instead of just drowned a man. “Sorry I’m late.”
Ian pointed at him. “You I like. Now we have a problem. Nelson has my wife.”
Simon simply took the gun Sean was holding out for him. “Then we shall have to get her back.”
“Mr. Taggart?” A familiar voice came over the overhead speakers. “I hear you’re already at work.”
Shit. They’d found the bodies, and it sounded like Nelson was already on the bridge. Or they might have heard all the shit that had just gone down.
“We never had to play it this way, you know,” Nelson continued. “We could have worked together. Alas, you had all the skills but lacked that special something I require in a partner.”
Yep, Ian had a conscience. Oh, it was a flexible conscience, but it was there. He also had a certain loyalty to his country that Nelson would find offensive. Fucker.
“Luckily, I managed to find a couple of friends to help me out along the way. They’ll be the ones who kill you if you don’t surrender right now and bring me the king of Loa Mali. I’ll need his computer as well. You see, I bombed his testing site so I really am going to need that computer. I’ll just have to kill his employees until he brings it to me.”
Thank god for soundproofing or the king would likely be martyring himself.
“Or maybe I’ll just start with the pretty lady in the white bikini.”
Ian’s body went cold.
A nasty chuckle came across the speakers. “You dressed her nicely for me, Tag. I’m going to enjoy her before I kill her. Or I could always reunite you. I have a soft spot for lovers. Especially when I was such a good matchmaker. Your choice, Tag. Your wife has five minutes before I slit her throat.”
“Stay calm,” Sean said.
“I am calm.” He was deadly calm. His focus had narrowed to one point in the world. Saving his wife. He laid out his options, shitty as they were, and came up with a plan.
“Do we have what he wants?” Simon asked.
Ian shook his head.
“We can always get the computer,” Sean said. “We have a copy so if we need to hand the computer over, I don’t think Kash would argue. He was horribly torn up about his guards. He won’t want Charlie’s death on his conscience.”
Ian nodded. “I’ll get it. I’ll do the trade.”
“You think he won’t just kill you on sight?” Sean asked.
That would be the smart play on Nelson’s part. It was what Ian would do if their roles were reversed. “I’ll password protect it. He doesn’t get the password until I have my wife. Then he’ll try to kill both of us.”
“I’m thinking that’s not a smashing plan, boss.” Simon shook his head.
“That’s because you don’t know what your part is yet. Get those bodies and some rope. What we need is a little chaos.” And a little time. The minute the Coast Guard showed up, all bets would be off.
His team leaned in and Ian told them the plan.
Chapter Nineteen
Charlie stood on the bridge, watching as Nelson’s men boarded the boat. She kept her eyes on the outside. It was better than seeing what Nelson had done to the crew.
They were lying in heaps of dead flesh, their corpses cooling. He’d just put out that he wouldn’t kill the rest of the king’s people if the king gave him what he wanted, but Charlie knew the truth. He would kill everyone. No matter how fast he got the data.
She’d seen what one of his men had attached to the side of the boat just under the water’s surface. He might have thought she wasn’t looking at the time, or maybe he didn’t care, but she knew damn well he intended to blow the yacht sky high. She’d also watched as he put the bomb’s trigger device in his pocket.
She had to get that device.
Unfortunately there were four guards watching over the bastard. The pirates were dressed in a mixture of camo and jeans and tank tops. They looked dirty and mean and very comfortable with AK-47s.
“Do you think he’s panicking, dear?” He put a hand on her shoulder.
She shivered and tried to step away. She was steady on her feet again, but her hands were still shaky.
His hold tightened. “Don’t. I wouldn’t want to be forced to make a point, Charlotte. I think Taggart will be more inclined to be helpful if you’re in one piece, so be a good girl and don’t flinch when I touch you.” His hand stroked her shoulder, but she couldn’t forget that he had a gun pressed to her side. “You might make me think you don’t want me, sweetheart.”
Nothing could make her mouth stop though. “I thought I made that plain when I turned down your first offer, Eli.”
“Or you could have just been playing hard to get.” He took a step back. “You know I understand the value of not giving in too soon. Sometimes you have to make a man work for it, don’t you? Charlotte, you’re a smart girl. We could use you. You have to know that Taggart is a bad bet at this point. Why else would you have contacted me?”
“I didn’t. It was my sister.” The last thing she needed was to play out the creep’s sexual fantasies. She was going to have such a long talk with her sister. If she survived this, Chelsea was getting off the information-gathering wagon forever. That kind of power had become a dangerous addiction for her.
He frowned and stepped over the captain’s body. “I should have known. Well, that’s a shame. I mean I’ll still try to recruit her because obviously she got all the brains in the family, but I was hoping for a fuck buddy, too. I’ll have to take a pass on her. You got the looks. She got the brains. Taggart is going to lose his balls over a woman. I kind of love that. I wish the others were here to witness it. I’ve had to be in his shadow for years. I was an operative before he was old enough to join the Army. Then on
e day they recruit him out of black ops and put him on some fucking pedestal. Well, I showed them.”
She’d always known his problems with Ian weren’t strictly professional. “Yes, you showed them that he was human and that you’re a traitor.”
He waved that off. “Traitor? I’m more American than any of those fuckers. They still think we’re some sort of democracy. We left that long ago. You know what took down your father’s precious USSR? It sure as fuck wasn’t a thirst for freedom. Hell, no. It was capitalism. The world doesn’t run on democracy. It runs on capitalism, and I’m a capitalist.”
As long as he was talking, he wasn’t shooting her full of electricity. “So you’re going to take the plans for the engine and sell them to the highest bidder.”
“No. I’m going to hand them over to the oil company that’s paying me and let them sit on it. There’s still money to be made in oil. A lot of it. Until such time as that changes, there’s no place for technology like this. Do you really think some bumfuck beach bum from Loa Mali is the first scientist to think this up? No. This is just the latest, and we’ll take this down, too. When the company is ready, they’ll roll out their own version and the money will stay in the right hands.”
Ian had been right. This wasn’t about selling secrets to other governments. “So you work for companies that want you to steal technology for them. Or hurt other companies. That’s why you’re working with my uncle on the pipeline.”
Nelson shrugged a little, like a small boy who had been caught cheating at Monopoly. “Malone Oil doesn’t belong to my employers. If you aren’t in with the big boys, then you’re fair game. The Collective watches out for their membership.”
“The Collective? They have a name for themselves? Oh, god, I hate the Illuminati crap. So I’m supposed to believe that a bunch of CEOs have gotten together and they hire you to what? Steal some plans? What the hell can you really do?”
A nasty little smile lit Nelson’s features. “Well, let’s see. Let me give you an example. Let’s say my latest assignment is for a pharmaceutical company whose top-selling pain reliever is being beaten out by new-blood competition. New drug research takes years and millions of dollars. It’s so much easier to simply herd the public where we think they should go.”