The weight on top of her disappeared. Hands grasped her arms, hauling her to her feet, but they didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Her whole head swam.
“Jackie. Jackie?” Mr. Baby Blue Eyes peered at her, his helmet slightly askew. He really was a nice, rugged example of a man. “Shit. I’ve got her.”
He bent and the next moment she was staring at his ass, thrown over his shoulder like a sack of rice. God, her head hurt.
The world rocked and rolled, but she couldn’t lift her head to look around.
Her rescuer shifted, and suddenly her bottom met a hard, cool surface. She leaned back against something not all that uncomfortable and blinked at the man crouched over her. Even in the dim light his eyes were bright splotches of color.
Over his shoulder the building at the end of the row crumpled.
That wasn’t good.
Why wasn’t it good?
“Val!” She lurched forward, but the man pushed her back against the seat.
Two figures bounded into view over him; one of them the foul-mouthed Latina.
Val shoved the man aside and cupped Jackie’s face. She spoke, but her lips were a blur and Jackie couldn’t hear a word she said. What was happening to her?
Friday. PPM headquarters in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
“Did they find her?” Zeina Razqa tapped her pen on the plans for next year’s product line. Everything hinged on gaining control of the mines. She could expand her company—but only if she cut out the middle man in terms of getting her hands on raw materials.
“They searched the restaurant, but she was gone. The only thing left were women and children, probably the ones she came to help.” Samba Hamadi’s lips curled at the last word.
Zeina swallowed her thoughts. She could not speak freely here, not like she wanted. Samba had a very strict view of women, their place and what the world order should be. He barely hid his contempt of her. If it wasn’t for the money Zeina brought to this civil war, he wouldn’t have given her another minute. She could play this game if it helped her topple the Davis empire. Their holdings in Mauritania were spreading, and Zeina desperately needed to get her hands on more resources, namely gold.
“She can’t have gotten far, Samba. Your men will find her.” Zeina poured them both another cup of tea.
“They’d better.”
“It appears the riot plans are going well?”
“Yes. We’ll have infiltrated key points of the city in the next few days. If we can spread the military’s resources out, we should be able to make a run on the presidential palace without much opposition. It won’t make a bit of difference if his supporters keep pouring money into them though.”
Zeina wasn’t stupid. She could read between the lines. Samba had another plan he wasn’t sharing. He pitched this same idea over and over again. Every time they had tea it was the exact thing. That was fine. Let him have his secrets. She could work with whatever he threw her way.
“And that’s why we need the girl.” Zeina leaned forward and smiled. “Whoever has her has a leash on Davis. She’s the key to this coup. If we get her, we get the president.”
“What about your man? Can he tell us anything?”
“Nothing we don’t already know.” She sipped the tea, rolling the flavors around on her tongue. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with Samba knowing she had a source inside the Davis company, but she’d needed to explain to him how she knew things she shouldn’t. “Davis knows his daughter was being held against her will, he enlisted a team of mercenaries to bring her home, and they got to her before we did. We won’t know more until the mercenaries check in. It is still working hours on the west coast in America. If they have secured the girl, then hopefully they will confirm it with Davis and we will get a location on them then.”
Samba turned and stared at her, his gaze narrowed.
Zeina challenged many of the gender stereotypes of the traditional Mauritanian woman. Her education alone was considered by some to be abhorrent, but her family was modern in ways many weren’t. Their money and influence had granted her a wider view of the world, and the ability to pursue her passions. Men like Samba would see her as a threat, something to be conquered. Her position was always at risk, which was why she favored things like hair pins that could be used as a weapon. Even in the newly dedicated halls of the PPM headquarters she had to be careful.
“I believe you have matters to attend to, and I should return home. I hope to honor our new president very soon.” She stood and slid her notepad into her satchel.
Samba didn’t speak, he just watched her.
Her value to him was in her reach outside of the country. He could very well see this coup through without her, but it would be more difficult. She was his wild card, his secret weapon. For now, she had value to him, and she needed to keep it that way.
Once Samba was president and took power, she would get the Davis mines, and from there her empire would grow beyond their borders.
3.
Friday. Aegis Group safe house, Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Felix sat back on his heels and clenched his teeth together. The van bumped and turned down the roads, Adam pushing the rental to its limits. Jackie’s head bobbed and swayed despite the other woman’s hold on her chin.
This was his fault.
He hadn’t completely covered her. That bit of rock or whatever it was had banged off his helmet before it pelted her skull. It was a wonder she hadn’t lost consciousness.
They’d managed to slip between two lines of PPM forces and make a break for the center of the city. If they’d been a minute too late, if the other vehicle hadn’t arrived when it did, things could have turned out very differently.
“She’s fine,” the other woman said a bit too loud. “Jack’s got a hard head, she’s a little dazed is all. The cut’s not deep. Head wounds bleed like a bitch.”
“Where is everyone?” Jackie’s head lolled to one side then the other. Her eyes were almost normal again.
“We’re all here. We’re safe. You got us out.” The other woman squeezed Jackie’s hand.
“You are full of shit.” Jackie glared at her nurse. The truck hit a bump and her gaze jumped to Felix, the full force of those dark brown eyes hitting him right in the gut.
Damn, pictures didn’t do her justice. He swallowed, unable to look away. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. He clenched his teeth a little tighter.
“You’re coming around finally. You should tell them about the time you got kicked in the head by that ass.” The nurse swabbed at the side of Jackie’s head with the supplies from his field medic kit.
“Val, you are a terrible friend.” Jackie glanced back to the other woman, breaking the momentary spell.
Felix held himself back from offering to help.
Val leaned toward him, her smile mischievous, but she never took her eyes off Jackie. Felix had the impression Val was putting on a show to make Jackie think herself okay.
“This one time we were trying to help this family evacuate, but they wouldn’t leave this cantankerous, old donkey they’d had forever. Problem was, the donkey had gotten loose. So Jackie here marches off into nowhere looking for it, radios us and we head to her. As we get close enough she tries to grab for its halter. The donkey turns and kicks her right in the head. I about shit my pants thinking she was going to have something broken, she was dead, brain trauma. Nope. This one shakes it off, glares at the donkey and herds it onto the trailer. I think she scared it.”
Felix shook his head. The more he learned about Jackie Davis the more he had to wonder how they hadn’t met already. A person with her lack of self preservation should have been captured a dozen times over.
“Those guards, what did you shoot them with?” Jackie’s gaze focused on him, her brows a dark slash across her forehead under the generous fringe of bangs.
“Rubber bullets.” He patted the gun at his hip. “Since the men in the truck weren’t armed, we decided less lethal was the way to
go.”
“I might like you.” Jackie closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat in front of her. “When can we go back?”
Val glanced at him.
“You’ll have to take that up with our team leader.” He nodded at Kyle sitting near the back doors, watching out the rear windows.
“We’re home,” Adam called out from the driver’s seat.
“Shane and I will do a perimeter check,” Kyle announced. “Get everyone else inside and situated.”
Adam keyed in the code for the gate, and moments later they rolled into the garage of the swanky house the team had rented as their headquarters. Besides being one of the few places big enough for their whole team, this was also the one area of the city where there wasn’t any fighting, but it was only a matter of time until the clashing on the outer rim of the city crept inward.
Isaac and Kyle were out first, ducking under the garage door before it closed to do the check. That left Felix, Adam and Shane with the responsibility of going over the house, reviewing security and managing the assets.
Both Adam and Shane ducked into the house before Felix could get by the press of people.
Great.
He was on crowd control duty by default.
“Okay, everyone,” he said, “into the house. We’ll have a hot meal, showers and beds ready for you soon.”
The three men were just about dead on their feet. They shambled out of the back of the van and toward the open door without much urging.
“Need a hand?” Felix placed his hands on his knees and glanced from one woman to the other.
“I’m good.” Jackie scooted forward.
He stepped out the back of the van, followed by Val. Jackie sat on the tail gate and squinted up at him.
“There’s a bathroom in there, right?” Val asked.
“Through the door, down the hall, can’t miss it.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right back. Jackie, don’t die.” Val quick stepped it up the stairs and into the house proper.
“You okay to walk? Want a hand?” he asked Jackie.
The pictures her family had supplied did not do her justice. Even the carefully curated photographs on her social media didn’t capture the intensity of her stare or how the light caught in her hair making it almost blue it was so black.
Jackie let go of the delicate gold charm at her neck, tipped her chin up and stared at him. It wasn’t quite as gut punching as it’d been in the van that first time, but he could sense how the currents of change seemed to flow around her. Jackie was a doer, a pivotal person who made a difference. She had a magnetic pull, which was likely how she’d convinced the other four that this trip was a good idea.
Felix swallowed, reminding himself he had a job to do. Just because she and his cousin were alike didn’t mean he couldn’t forget what needed to happen next.
“When are you going to tell me why you’re here? You speak English like an American, but you aren’t US military. Who are you?” The knock to the head hadn’t slowed her for long that was for sure.
“Our Team Leader will answer all your questions once we are secure. Inside.” Felix gestured at the door. As soon as Kyle was done checking things out, he’d brief everyone and Felix could get the sand out of his clothes. He’d never realized sand rash was a thing.
“He’s going to sugarcoat what’s going on. I want the truth.” Jackie’s gaze seemed to grow sharper, and it was completely focused on him. She leaned forward, hands braced on the bumper, and gave him her best stare. He couldn’t allow himself to think that just because her bell had been rung she was anything but on the ball. A woman like her didn’t live like this without being able to handle herself and others.
Felix’s contribution to the team wasn’t dealing with the assets. That was Isaac’s job most of the time. He had a way with people, especially the female assets, though since he’d begun playing house with a previous client his charm had been more professional in nature.
Any moment now, Kyle or Isaac would come looking for Jackie and they’d get her out of his hair. He could take a breath, screw his head on straight, and proceed as usual. Maybe he should have taken time off, but that would have left the team one man down. He couldn’t do that to them.
Felix shifted his weight to one foot, then stopped.
Deep down, he liked her. Respected the hell out of what she was doing. Which meant he could not be the one to talk to her about anything.
“Will you tell me the truth?” Jackie asked.
“Depends on what you want to know.” He set his rifle up against one of the trunks containing their supplies. He could talk and do his evaluation of their gear.
“For starters—why couldn’t we go back?” The weariness she must be feeling was starting to show through. It was the micro-expressions, the slope of her shoulders. The woman was going on fumes, but she wouldn’t give up. He bit his tongue to keep from telling her to go rest. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who’d take that suggestion well.
“You saw the bus, right?” He went to a knee and unlocked the ammo case. Usually they didn’t travel quite so heavy, but the current situation in Mauritania was volatile. If they got into trouble, no one would be coming in after them. Might as well double check everything was still there while they talked.
“Yeah, what was that?”
“You know who PPM is?” He did a quick check over the boxes, ensuring they were all there, and snagged a box to supply the team inside. To his knowledge, no one had shot a live round.
“The People’s Party of Mauritania, yeah.”
“We don’t know the big picture, let me be clear about that. Your dad hired us two days ago to get in here, find you, and get out.” He fastened and locked the case, then moved on to the next.
“What is all this stuff?” Jackie stared at the line of black travel cases.
“Munitions, medical supplies, food, gear—anything we thought we’d need.” He perched on the lid of one case and opened another once more giving it a count.
“What are you doing?”
“Eyeball inventory. We don’t have enough people with us to leave someone behind, so we lock it up, and when we come back, I do a check.”
“Okay, back to the PPM. What are you getting at? You’re getting at something.”
Felix glanced up at her. “When we got here and showed your picture to our contacts, they’d already heard about you. People have been looking for you since before your group was kidnapped.”
“Me? What would they want with me?”
“Don’t know. We got a tip around mid-afternoon someone was looking to move people for the right price. Americans, specifically. Figured you were either our girl, or someone who needed our help. Maybe if we knew who was doing the buying we’d be able to guess at more, but now we don’t have to.”
“What about the people we left behind? The women and children?” Jackie dropped her hands and took a step forward.
He grimaced. This was the gray area he hated. The job was hard enough. Getting Jackie and her medical team out was going to take all their skills. Add a bunch of sick, injured and young kids to that mix and it was damn near impossible.
“Jackie? Hey, Jack, we’ve got a problem.” The Latin woman leaned through the open doorway.
“What is it?” Jackie turned toward her friend.
Shit.
Felix reached for the rifle, his stomach clenching.
Had they been followed?
“You’ve got to come in here. They want to fly us out of here in the morning without going back.” Val’s face twisted up as though she were the one in pain.
“What?” Jackie turned on him, her eyes wide. “Is she right?”
“Talk to Kyle.” Let him be the bad guy.
“I’m talking to you.” Jackie’s voice hit the right note, just enough authority and force. It’d likely worked against people unaccustomed to a chain of command.
“Look.” Felix blew out a breath. “We were hired t
o get in, get you, and get out. It’s our policy that we rescue as many as we can, but we’re just a five-man team. Our resources are what we can carry and our manpower is everything you saw tonight. There’s a civil war about to tear this city apart. We have to prioritize based on what we can physically do without loss of life.”
“I’m not going with you.” Jackie pushed to her feet, wavering a bit, her face twisted into a mask of anger and pain.
“I’m not leaving my patients behind.” The other woman braced her hands on either side of the door.
Felix bit his tongue.
Kyle had said specifically to not inform Jackie about her mother until they were airborne, a decision Felix didn’t understand. If she knew about how close her mother was to death’s door wouldn’t she want to go now?
“Look, ladies, I understand that you want to save these people, but the only reason that PPM bus was in that part of the city was because they were looking for you.” He pointed at Jackie. “If we remove you from the equation, if they know you’re not around to use as a hostage, doesn’t it make sense that they’d leave that part of the city—and your patients—alone?”
“We can’t do that,” Jackie said.
“That’s not going to work.” The other woman sighed.
In all the jobs Felix had done, he’d never had someone being held as an unwilling captive that didn’t want to be rescued. Part of him wanted to shake some sense into the two women. The other part of him wanted to wash his hands of this, leave it up to Kyle, and go about his job. The last few days had been hard on everyone, but his team hadn’t been holed up in a cell.
“We have to go back,” Jackie said again. “I don’t care what my dad wants. I’m not leaving without those people.”
“What do you suggest we do?” Felix folded his hands in his lap.
Jackie blinked at him a moment.
“Get some vans and go back.” She gestured at the van they’d arrived in. “We could load everyone up and be gone in fifteen minutes. Then we could all get out of here.”
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