Maggie's Revenge

by Jacquie Biggar

  24

  “Quick, get rid of that fire,” Maggie yelled to the women preparing their dinner. “Smother it with sand to keep the smoke down.”

  They took one glance at her face and hurried to do her bidding. Kim gathered the rifles they’d confiscated from the rebels and ran to join Maggie and Olga lying on their bellies near the lip of the overhang. She handed over the guns and flopped onto the sand at their side. “What are we going to do?” she cried, fear riding high in her voice.

  Maggie stared at the fast approaching lights, her heart pounding the soil beneath her breast. “Nothing,” she said, forcing a calmness she was far from feeling. “We’re going to wait them out. With any luck, they’ll turn and not even notice the Humvee. But if they do, chances are they’ll assume we’re long gone by now. As long as we don’t give them reason to think otherwise.”

  She glanced over her shoulder, pleased to see the fire barely smoldering, and motioned the others to stay low. When she turned back it was to see the vehicle—a truck—top the rise above the hollow where the Humvee sat. It would be a matter of seconds before the alarm went off, and here they were sitting ducks on this damn ledge. Way to go, Holt. She could practically hear Adam berating her decision. You know better than to land yourself in a kill box like that.

  He was right, too.

  They were vulnerable up here. The only point in their favor was the advantage of height over their enemies. At least until the bullets ran out.

  She used the scope on the rifle to track the oncoming vehicle’s progress. The moment their headlights picked out the dark gray of the Humvee, she could practically sense the excitement in the cab. Capturing the women would feed their families for months to come, and keep the men from feeling the cartel’s wrath should they fail. A powerful incentive to succeed.

  “They found it.” Olga’s resigned tone lay heavy between them. They fell silent and watched the truck pick up speed as it raced down the hill toward its quarry.

  They circled the Humvee round and round, dust flying into the air in a golden fan under the spinning tires. The warrior shouts and rifle shots carried across the valley, announcing their jubilation to the wilderness.

  Maggie held her breath as the truck finally came to a halt and three men exited, guns pointed at the hapless Humvee. She couldn’t hear what their leader barked, but the implication was obvious. His accomplices stormed the vehicle, ramming the windows with the butts of their rifles. When that didn’t work they shot it, then ducked as the shells ricocheted away. The moment they gained entry the men lost their stomachs, puking up the putrid scent of death emanating from the interior of the truck.

  The women looked at each other and smiled grimly.

  The leader must have ordered a periphery search, the men wiped their mouths and stumbled away into the darkness. He glanced toward their hideaway and Maggie ducked, her heart in her throat. When she dared to look up again, he was at the open passenger door of the pickup, SAT phone in hand. Shit, he was calling in reinforcements.

  She could shoot him now, she had a bead on his scrawny head, but that would only verify they were indeed in the vicinity. If the call had already gone through, it would make matters worse for her girls.

  Take a chance, or wait him out. She had to make a choice, and soon.

  The sky had shed its drab gray coat and donned one of sparkling midnight velvet by the time Adam stirred. A warm weight lay on his shoulder and across his thighs. He glanced sideways at Amanda and smiled. She snored. Something he could hold over her head at a later date, perhaps? Speaking of which—he carefully moved her hand from his lap—an inch closer and she could have found out what she did to him.

  He cleared his throat and she moaned in her sleep, turned away, and cuddled up to his jacket in the corner. Lucky coat. Why did all his thoughts circle around to sex with her? He straightened in his seat and met Frank’s amused eyes in the rear-view mirror.

  “What?” he growled under his breath, irritated at his libido, and at Frank for noticing.

  “Almost there,” was all he said, lowering the window a third allowing the cool desert air to filter into the car.

  Amanda sat up in a rush. “What happened? Where are we?” Her gaze landed on Adam, then blinked away as though she too felt the chemistry between them.

  Get over yourself, O’Connor.

  “We’re nearing the extraction point,” he answered, scraping a hand over his stubbled chin.

  “Oh.” She made an effort to straighten her clothes and sweep her hair into its usual knot, but it was having none of it tonight. “Okay, good. Do we have a plan then?”

  Adam was surprised she was allowing their input. At the office Amanda was known as a hardliner. She gave the orders and her agents followed them, or else. He wasn’t used to this softer, less certain version of his dragon boss.

  “Find the drop zone, check the area for enemies, and rescue our operative. Should be a breeze, right, Chief?” He felt more than saw Amanda stiffen beside him. Good. They were back to being frenemies, much safer for both of them.

  “Yah,” Frank muttered, “a breeze. Now that your awake, why don’t you channel-surf the comms and see what you can find out about our welcoming party?”

  Amanda nodded her agreement and reached over the seat to fiddle with the radio’s controls mounted under the dash. Living on a large Texas ranch meant two-way radios were a must, especially after the accident that had taken the elder Stein’s life.

  Adam tried to keep his focus on the road ahead and the static blaring out of the speakers, but it wasn’t easy with Amanda’s ass swaying back and forth with the rhythm of the car. His fingers itched to explore, starting at her knees and working their way up. His nostrils flared, imagining the sultry scent of her arousal. His mouth watered, thinking about tasting all that smooth, silky flesh. His co…

  “What was that?”

  Her breathless voice whispered across his nerve-endings, drawing his skin tight and his breathing rough—until it registered what she’d heard. He sat up, cursing. “Gunshots. Step on it, Chief.”

  25

  The tense silence was broken by a landslide of rocks rolling down the hillside below the women. Maggie froze, the muzzle of her rifle swinging from the leader yelling into the SAT phone, hands flailing, to his nosy minion climbing the slope with dogged determination.

  “Kill him,” Olga urged, her own gun wavering in her hands.

  “No,” Maggie hissed. “Not unless I have to, he might give up.”

  “I’m not going back there,” Kim cried. “I can’t, I just can’t.” She raised her gun and pulled the trigger, once, twice, continuing on and on until all the rounds were spent, tears pouring down her pale face.

  Deafened by the sonic boom of the high-powered rifle blasts, Maggie didn’t have time to berate the frightened young woman. The second soldier appeared to her left and returned fire. He’d been more careful than his fallen comrade, using the boulders and brush for cover as he made his way up the hill. Their campfire must have alerted the men after all.

  Olga had climbed to her feet amid the chaos and took aim, her cheek nestled against the rifle stock.

  “Get down,” Maggie shouted, her gaze frantic as she searched the darkness for the leader who’d disappeared when the gunfire erupted.

  Olga fired off a shot, then sank to the ground with a hard thump. Maggie shuffled over the distance separating them, harsh breaths scraping her throat raw.

  Olga half-sat, half-lay on her left side, arm crossed over her body. She gave Maggie a triumphant smile laced with pain. “You’re not the only one who gets to play hero, I’ve told you that before.” She closed her eyes for a too-long moment, then opened them to focus on Maggie’s worried face. “Did I get him?”

  Maggie nodded around the sobs building inside like a tsunami. Her friend was dying. She could see it in her eyes and in the trickle of blood seeping down her chin. Internal hemorrhaging, it had to be.

  “That was one hell of a shot,” she
said, reaching out to tentatively move the arm. A dark spot was forming on Olga’s tummy, just above the belly button area. She’d been gut shot. If they were closer to a hospital, maybe, she might have had a chance, but as it stood…

  “Why, Olga?” she pleaded, angrily swiping away the useless tears.

  “Because I had to,” she answered, her gaze compassionate as though she knew the end was near—and she probably did. “I have much to atone for in this life. This was my chance to make a difference.” She reached out with trembling fingers and brushed at Maggie’s tears. “Don’t cry. I’m not.” Her hand dropped away and her head drooped.

  She was gone.

  Maggie stared, stunned the woman who’d come to mean so much to her since their capture was dead. They’d been arguing—she couldn’t even remember why—and now she’d never get the chance to make amends.

  Maggie gently closed Olga’s eyes. “Rest, my friend. You’ll be safe now.” She looked peaceful. Possibly for the first time since they’d met.

  Kim touched her shoulder. “Come. There’s nothing you can do for her. We have to take cover.”

  She wanted to rail at the girl, “Can’t you see, she’s dead? We have to stay here. Protect her. We can’t leave her here alone.” But they must. There was no choice.

  Numb, she rose and allowed herself to be led away, refusing to look back, though it ripped her heart in two. “Any sign of the bastard who shot her?” Cold rage temporarily replaced the despair. Her fingers dug holes into the barrel of her rifle. She was sick and tired of being the victim, it was time to take a stand.

  “Not yet, but there’s another vehicle coming. Look.” Kim pointed in the same direction the angel of death had arrived from and sure enough, another set of headlights speared the darkness.

  Anticipation rose in Maggie’s breast. She was ready for a fight. Then she met the frightened gazes of the young women counting on her to keep them safe and the anger drained. She had a job to do. Olga had given her life to protect these women, could she do any less?

  “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. Take the truck and head west. Find the nearest village and wait there. I’ll keep these guys busy, and come for you as soon as my partner gets here.”

  Kim looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. “Do you have a death wish or something?” She shook her head. “We’re in this together. Come up with a plan B.”

  Maggie gulped back frustrated tears. Didn’t they understand this was their best chance of survival? “I can’t guarantee your safety. Please, do as I ask and I’ll make sure you get back to your families. I promise.” She had no idea if she’d live to see it through, but there was no doubt there would be more casualties if they stayed. The men chasing them wanted them dead or alive, they’d made that abundantly clear. Obviously, Chenglei was done playing games.

  “We’re not leaving you,” Kim said, lifting her chin mulishly.

  “Why?” Maggie cried. “You don’t even like me.”

  Kim looked startled. “I barely know you. It doesn’t matter what I think, we’re a team. You taught us that.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m scared. Don’t leave us. Please.”

  Olga would say, “We’re stronger if we stick together.”

  Maggie blinked back more tears and nodded. “Okay, plan B it is. We’re going to try and sneak down to where we hid the truck. Keep your eyes peeled and watch where you put your feet, we don’t want to announce our intentions. Got it?”

  The girls stared at her wide-eyed.

  Maggie sighed. “Just stay close. And for God’s sake, keep quiet.” She checked her gun, grimacing at the lack of ammunition, picked up one of the canteens of water, and headed away from the front of the ledge. And Olga.

  It pained her to leave her friend behind, out in the elements where anything could… she swallowed. As soon as she got the women to safety, she would return.

  “See you soon,” she whispered, just before she dropped over the edge of the hill. “Keep us safe.”

  They made it to the bottom without mishap, but that only ratcheted up the tension factor. Where was the leader? And what about the second guy? She’d seen him go down under Olga’s bullet, but that was no guarantee he was dead. She lifted a hand to halt her companions—impressed with their silence—and scanned the area between them and the brush-covered pickup a hundred yards away. An intimidating distance when looking through a scope. The desert was lit by a million twinkling lights high above them. There was next to no cover. All she could do was hope the men were on the other side of the hill, making that climb.

  “Let’s go,” she said. “We have to hurry. Duck down and cover your head.” They could live from a body shot, one to the head… not so much.

  Following her own advice, she took the lead, guiding them, zigging and zagging across the interminable distance. She didn’t draw a steady breath until all of them arrived safely beside the truck.

  “Well done. Okay, let’s get out of here.” She pushed aside the brush, trying not to think what might be clinging to the branches, and eased the driver’s door open, breathing a sigh of relief when the interior light stayed off. The militia had the same need for concealment as she did. She waited for the women to slide in first, then she jumped in and closed her eyes in a brief moment of prayer before turning the ignition.

  After a coughing fit that gave her heart palpitations, the engine turned over and they burst out of the remaining shrubbery.

  And came face to hood with the leader holding a rifle aimed right at them.

  26

  The soldier pointed his rifle right at Maggie’s face. She imagined she could feel the laser beam right between her eyes and for a brief moment she contemplated giving him a reason to make that shot.

  But she wasn’t alone.

  “What are we going to do?” The youngest girl cowered against the passenger door as though she could disappear into the plastic paneling.

  “Be quiet,” Kim snapped. “Let her think.”

  Think. Yeah, that would be a good idea, except Maggie couldn’t see past the light fading from Olga’s cerulean blue eyes. It was her duty to protect and she’d failed, costing her friend’s life. Some Special Agent! The only thing she had after months of undercover work was proof Chenglei was an integral part of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Phoenix Project. Proof she needed to turn in to SAC Rhinehold before more lives were lost.

  The soldier waved the muzzle and hollered in broken English. “Arriba las manos. Get out of the truck, Señorita. Now, if you please.”

  Maggie slowly raised her hands over her head as he’d ordered.

  “You can’t listen to him,” Kim muttered, lifting her hands behind her head. “We’re dead the second we get out.”

  “He’s going to kill us anyway,” the teen wailed.

  She was right. In fact, Maggie couldn’t understand why he hadn’t already, unless… Could Chenglei have found out about the information she’d gathered against him and his corrupt organization? Before he’d discovered she was an agent, Maggie had spent time as Chenglei’s private toy. Her stomach clenched in remembrance. It had been worse than the rapes that came after, at least those had been against her will. What Chenglei had done to her, she’d allowed in the mistaken belief the end justified the means. It didn’t and it never would.

  The only good thing she’d gotten for her deal with the devil was an evidence trail that would once and for all close the southern corridor and put an end to the link between the cartel and their own government.

  The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Chenglei hadn’t allowed her to live all this time just to toy with her—he’d already tried torture and that hadn’t worked—he was waiting for her to crack under the pressure. Then he could swoop in and offer to save her, if only she divulged how much she knew and where she’d stored the proof.

  “Hang on,” she murmured, lowering her hand to open the door. The roar of the vehicle they’d seen from the top of the hill was getting louder, their time was
running out. “Don’t shoot,” she called to the guerilla soldier watching their every move. “Get ready,” she said under her breath.

  She pushed the door wider and made as though to exit the truck. The moment he focused on her instead of all of them, Maggie shifted her foot from the brake to the gas and yelled, “Duck.” She dropped behind the steering wheel, cranking hard to the right in order to avoid hitting the man. Her door slammed shut, startling a shriek out of the teen.

  Shots exploded over the roof of the truck and pinged off the quarter panels. The back wheels fishtailed and bogged down in the sand to the side of the road, slowing their forward momentum and making the motor roar with fury.

  Maggie’s heart dropped to her toes. “Go, you damn thing. Go.”

  It didn’t matter how much she cursed or revved the engine, it wouldn’t move. She could hear the Mexican yelling for them to stop and then as if that weren’t bad enough, in the next instant the vehicle they’d been trying to avoid sped into view, heading straight for them.

  Frustrated, Maggie smacked the steering wheel and quit trying to escape the hole she’d dug herself into. Out of options, she dove for the gun that had slipped to the floor with her erratic driving. Kim’s knees dug into her chest, but it was the women’s bruised, scraped legs that gave her pause. If she needed another reason to bear arms the physical signs of what they’d been through strengthened her resolve. The men who captured and sold women like animals needed to pay for what they’d done.

  She grasped the rifle butt and brought it up, thumbing the safety off. A quick glance back showed the soldier who’d been chasing them on foot had disappeared, but she didn’t have time to wonder where he’d gone—their company had arrived.

  Blinded by the lights glaring through the windshield, Maggie squirmed like a fish caught on a hook. Tempted as she was to shoot now and ask questions later, her training stayed her finger. She couldn’t take the chance. With any luck, it was a few villagers heading home and they’d stopped to offer their assistance.