by Jenna Night
“What’s happening out there, Kyle?” He barely registered Sam Lansford’s voice coming through his radio. He couldn’t move. His body glued in place.
“Kyle, come in. Are you okay? Is that Hadir?” Sam said in a frantic tone. Sam had been the one to alert him to Ella’s approach.
As a former CIA agent himself, Sam was highly skilled, and Kyle trusted him to have his back. Sam’s hostage-retrieval team had been in Afghanistan on assignment when Kyle enlisted Sam’s technical expertise as a pilot so he could have a real-time view of the entire location in preparation for his meet with Hadir.
It had been through Hadir’s intelligence that they’d been able to confirm that the man in the photo that former Scorpion team member Eddie Peterson had smuggled out of a war zone was indeed the person Hadir knew as Alhasan. And the man they believed to be the Fox. For the first time they had a name attached to the notorious terrorist.
Kyle couldn’t get the last conversation he’d had with his asset out of his head. Hadir had told him Alhasan was preparing to move his entire operation. Their window to capture him was closing quickly. Was this the reason for tonight’s meet? Did Hadir have the location for the move? His asset’s message was so unusual that it had sent up all sorts of warning flags.
Kyle pulled his straying thoughts together. Too many people were counting on him staying alert.
With one final glance at the woman, he snatched up the radio. “It’s not Hadir. It’s a woman...” His voice trailed off. Although Lena and Sam had never met, Kyle had told him everything about his former CIA agent wife.
“A woman?” There was no mistaking Sam’s surprise. “Who is she? And more important, what’s she doing out here alone?”
Kyle wasn’t able to voice his suspicions. “I have no idea,” he managed while trying to shut out painful memories of his final moments with Lena. The argument they’d had. If only he’d known it was the last time he’d see her alive.
“I don’t like this.” Liz Ramirez, Kyle’s second in command came on the radio. “Something’s wrong, Kyle. Why would she be wandering around in the desert? This feels like a setup. We’re on our way.”
As much as he might agree, he couldn’t allow it. Hadir had been very specific. “No, Liz, I’ve got this. I need you to stand down until I give the order.”
Liz didn’t respond, but Kyle could read all her doubts in the silence. He shared them.
He scrubbed his hand over his eyes. Being back in the field had opened up old wounds.
With Jase Bradford running the day-to-day operations for the team, Kyle had realized he missed the action of the field and wanted to be there when the team brought down the Fox once and for all. He had a personal stake in capturing the formidable enemy—he believed the Fox was responsible for Lena’s death.
Still, nothing he’d seen to date prepared him for running into a woman who so strongly resembled Lena. He slammed the door on that possibility. He couldn’t go there and survive having his heart torn to shreds again, because not a day went by that he didn’t miss Lena terribly. Longed to have just another moment with her. Seeing this woman had brought all that back.
“Kyle, we’re picking up at least four vehicles west of you. They’re heading your way. Get out of there now,” Sam yelled into the mic.
Kyle grabbed the binoculars and spotted dust boiling up on the western horizon beyond the compound. Liz was right. It felt like a setup.
He raced back to the unconscious woman and scooped her into his arms. He’d managed only a couple of steps before an explosion split the night and shook the ground beneath his feet. The blast dropped him to his knees. Shocked, he glanced at the compound near where he was to meet Hadir. It had exploded in a firestorm.
There was just enough time to cover Ella’s body with his before a rush of ash and debris chased past them. Kyle could feel the heat from the explosion blast his back and embed bits of shrapnel into his exposed flesh.
In an instant, his misgivings for Hadir’s safety doubled. If Hadir had been anywhere close to the compound, he wouldn’t have survived...unless... An uninvited thought popped in his head, but he couldn’t let it take life. He knew Hadir. They’d grown close through the months of working together. Hadir was desperate to get out of the life he’d lived in the past. He wouldn’t sell Kyle out.
Kyle stumbled to his feet. Hauling Ella up with him, he charged for the Humvee. He deposited her in the seat, got in next to her and engaged the vehicle’s starter. It didn’t respond. He tried the radio, and his worst nightmare was confirmed. The explosion had taken out the Humvee’s electrical system. They were now sitting ducks.
“Hurry, Liz,” he murmured with urgency. Sam’s team would have picked up the explosion and Liz would dispatch a rescue team. Still, in the best-case scenario, it would take Liz twenty minutes to reach them from Bagram Air Force Base. That was the equivalent of a lifetime when facing off with an enemy. Anything could happen. He’d need some advantage to buy them time.
The woman beside him moaned softly and opened her eyes. She glanced around her surroundings and then to him. The second she saw him, she scooted as far away as possible. She was terrified.
I have to find him...
He didn’t see her as a threat. Her injuries were too severe to be faked. She’d probably escaped from the compound, just in time to save her life. As the approaching vehicles drew closer, Kyle realized, like it or not, he’d need her help if they were to survive.
He unholstered his Glock. “Do you know how to shoot?” Her brows shot together. She appeared baffled by his question.
“There are enemy vehicles on the way here now. They’ll reach us before help can arrive. So can you shoot?” His tone was short. Agitated.
She eyed him suspiciously before she answered. “Yes, I think so.”
There was no time to wonder why she wouldn’t know the answer off the top of her head. He grabbed the backup weapon he’d tucked under the seat and handed it to her. “We just have to stay alive until our exit team arrives. Okay?”
Fear chased across her face, and she shook her head. “I’m not leaving here. I won’t desert him.”
“Who are you talking about? If you want my help you’d better tell me.”
She inched farther away, staring at him wide-eyed and tight-lipped.
“We have to move now,” he ground out in frustration. With the enemy gaining quickly, they had to take cover behind the Humvee if they wanted a fighting chance.
Kyle grabbed her hand. Before he could move, she jerked free. He’d sort out the reasons why she was so terrified once they were safe.
“We’re dead if we stay here. We have a chance if we take cover behind the Humvee.” She hesitated a second longer then gave a short nod.
“Go ahead of me, I’ll cover you. Stay low.” Kyle barely got the words out before the lead vehicle reached them. Seconds later the world around them went up in gunfire.
With the enemy’s headlights aimed straight at them, it was impossible to see anything. Kyle fired off a round in their direction to give her time to reach the rear of the vehicle.
There was no time to retrieve the M240 machine gun he’d stashed behind the backseat just in case. The enemy quickly retaliated and shots ricocheted off the open door he was standing behind, mere inches from his head. Kyle tucked and dived for the back as another barrage of bullets splintered the door off its hinges. If he’d been a second slower, he’d be dead.
God was watching out for him.
Ella leaned heavily against the Humvee’s bumper as if the effort exerted by running to the back of the vehicle had taken its toll.
When he reached her side, she quickly straightened and moved away.
“Are you okay?” she asked when she got a good look at him. “Your back is burned and you’re bleeding.” She stared at him with those eyes. He reali
zed she stood almost at eye level to him. She was tall like Lena, yet where Lena had been slim, this woman was suffering from extreme malnutrition.
“I’m fine,” he managed. “I caught some of the debris from the explosion. The compound I’m guessing you came from must have been wired to detonate.” Whatever her reason for wandering the desert, it might just have saved her life.
It took a second before what he said registered. Her hand flew to cover her trembling lips, immediately capturing his attention. An emotional reaction he couldn’t relate to Lena. Lena had already been a top CIA operative by the time they’d met. Keeping her emotions in check was critical to her survival. The only time he’d seen his wife cry was when he’d had to deliver the news of her parents’ deaths.
Another round of shots whizzed past the Humvee and they both ducked.
The additional vehicles came to a noisy halt next to the first, their high beams glaring. Kyle had no idea how many men they were up against. Adrenaline rushed through his body, buoying his courage. He’d almost forgotten how harrowing combat could be.
He flattened himself against the vehicle, fired quickly, then retreated. The noise of bullets striking metal was so loud it sounded like it was right next to them. Someone screamed in pain. He’d hit one of the enemy soldiers.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ella inching closer to the edge of the vehicle. She squared her shoulders and opened fire. Kyle couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was clearly accustomed to using a gun.
Another round of gunfire shattered the front windshield and took out the back window. At this rate it wouldn’t take long before the enemy realized they had the upper hand, if they didn’t already. When that happened, they’d charge the vehicle. He and Ella would be dead.
With still no sign of the rescue chopper in sight, he had to come up with an alternate plan and fast.
“They’re going to figure out it’s just the two of us soon enough. We need to do something drastic,” he yelled over the noise of the firefight.
As he watched, she swayed on her feet and he reached out to steady her. Immediately she backed away from him, the look in her eyes guarded.
Kyle covered his frustration with difficulty, because he was now genuinely concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay.” Her voice, barely a whisper, did little to reassure him, yet the self-confidence she clearly didn’t realize she possessed showed in the way she carried herself.
He’d seen the same determination and self-confidence in Lena. Except for that last mission. Something had been wrong from the beginning. His wife hadn’t been herself.
Kyle shoved that dark memory aside. It had eaten at him for years. Now was not the time to rehash it.
“I’m okay,” she insisted again when he appeared doubtful. “What do you have in mind?”
In spite of her assurances otherwise, he believed she couldn’t handle much more. He needed to find out why she was here in the desert. To do so, they had to survive.
“If I can reach the backseat, I have an M240 machine gun there. It will give us a fighting chance until our backup arrives. I need you to cover me.”
She checked her clip. “I’m almost empty.”
He handed her his backup clip. “On the count of three.” She nodded and he counted off. “One. Two. Three.” He barely hit the final number when she opened fire. Even weak and barely hanging on, Ella handled herself like someone who had been in this situation before. And that didn’t ease his mind one little bit. Had he managed to save one of Alhasan’s agents?
Kyle dived through the busted rear window and crawled forward. It sounded like World War III outside, and he could hear charges whizzing past his head. He located the M240 and its rounds. With the weapon armed, he used the headrest for a stand. Shielding his eyes against the glare, he fired at the closest vehicle. The rounds shot from the weapon and instantly struck their target. The vehicle went up in flames. Screams followed. He’d injured at least one man, possibly more.
Without giving them time to regroup, Kyle continued firing, taking out two more vehicles.
He stopped briefly to listen. An engine fired. The remaining vehicle was in retreat.
He slid back through the rear window, still armed with the M240, and then stepped from the cover of the Humvee. As he continued firing at the retreating vehicle, some of the rounds hit the spare fuel container on the back and it exploded. The person behind the wheel swerved and lost control. The jeep flipped on its side and dug a ditch in the sand some ten feet long before it came to a grinding halt, dust seething.
Kyle rushed the vehicle. Two men were inside, unconscious and badly injured.
“Are they alive?” Ella asked from close behind him. He couldn’t tell what response she was hoping for.
He nodded. “Yes, but just barely. We need to get them medical help right away. As well as the others.” He glanced at the ruined vehicles surrounding them, then back to her. Ella hadn’t budged. She was staring at the injured men. “Do you know them?” he asked curiously, and she whirled to face him.
“They were at the compound. They tried to kill me,” she said without any sign of emotion.
Before he had time to process what she’d told him, the noise of additional approaching vehicles vibrated the ground at their feet. They were coming from the same direction as the others. Some sort of makeshift camp? If it was, it had been set up a good distance past the destroyed building in the western foothills of the mountains. They’d evacuated the compound because they’d planned to blow it up, which told him they’d known he was coming.
He started to head back to the Humvee when he noticed the way Ella was leaning over, her hands on her knees, her breathing hard. He touched her shoulder to warn her of the approaching vehicles and she rounded on him with the weapon drawn.
“Whoa,” Kyle said and lifted both hands. “There’s more vehicles on the way. We have to take cover.”
She glanced over her shoulder briefly then back to him. She had the Glock aimed at his chest and she seemed torn. He held his breath while he wondered if he’d saved the life of an enemy combatant.
Would she shoot him? Could he reach her side and disarm her before she got a shot off? From what he’d seen so far, he knew she was deadly accurate.
“Ella, I’m not your enemy,” he told her quietly and waited for some reaction. It felt like forever before she slowly lowered the Glock.
Kyle slung the M240 over his shoulder and they raced back to the Humvee barely reaching it before the vehicles came in firing heavily. Even with the M240 they wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long.
Then in the distance, he heard it, like an answer to his prayer. Multiple choppers advancing their way. Liz would be piloting one of the machines, but she’d enlisted additional backup from Bagram, as well.
Thank You, God.
The Black Hawks ate up the distance quickly, their spotlights panning the desert surface until they spotted the enemy.
Two of the choppers homed in on newly arrived vehicles. A rapid exchange of fire ensued. Behind them, the remaining chopper tossed sand in their eyes as it landed.
“Hurry, sir,” Agent Michael Harris yelled loud enough to be heard over the battle raging around them.
“We have to go, Ella,” he told her. From her mutinous expression, Kyle realized he’d have a fight on his hands getting her on board. “We have about two minutes to board the chopper and get airborne before those guys behind us take out our only means of escape. The chopper can’t stay on the ground much longer.”
Still, she didn’t budge. She stared at him in defiance. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere. I can’t,” she insisted with more emotion than he’d seen so far.
Whatever her reasons for wanting to stay, he wasn’t about to leave her behind to face certain death. Kyle took the matter out of
her hands and lifted her into his arms.
“No.” She froze for half a beat and then she struggled with all her might to be free, her fists pummeling his chest. Kyle ignored her efforts completely as he headed for the chopper. A barely audible sob escaped as she gave up. Tears soaked his shirt.
His emotions were raw and on the surface. Her likeness to Lena had him off his game. Yet he wasn’t prepared to accept this woman as anything more than a prisoner of war at the very least. She hadn’t shot him when she’d had the chance, but until he knew for certain where her loyalties lay, he didn’t trust her, and he certainly wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
Kyle raced to the Black Hawk as bullets whistled past their heads. Michael took Ella from his arms and hauled her into the chopper, where she quickly pushed his hands away and huddled in one of the empty seats.
With her safely aboard, Kyle cleared the entrance and the door was slammed shut. Seconds later, the Black Hawk went airborne.
He took the seat next to Ella and glanced her way. She scrubbed tears away with fisted hands. He didn’t buy that her being out there in the desert was an accident, but to gain answers, he’d need her cooperation.
He handed her a set of headphones and put his on so that he could try again to reach her. “Ella, let me help you. Tell me who you’re trying to save.” Her only answer was a brief shake of her head. His disappointment rose.
With Liz piloting the chopper, it made a ninety-degree turn and headed back in the direction of Bagram. They’d covered less than a quarter mile when a fireball lit up the night sky. Liz used all her skills to avoid a direct hit.
Seconds later, the radio exploded. “I’m hit, I’m hit,” a panicked voice—it sounded like Sam’s pilot—shouted into the mic, shocking the chopper’s occupants.
“What’s happening, Liz?” Kyle asked with urgency as he leaned forward to get a clearer look. In shock he watched Sam’s chopper slowly drift to the ground.
“He must have taken our hit,” Liz said in disbelief.
Kyle couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that his friend’s chopper had been shot from the sky.