His harsh, impatient tone shocked her into obeying. She scrambled further up the tree until the thick leaves almost completely obscured her view of Kai.
Who wasn’t moving to climb the tree.
Of course. Had she really been so foolish as to expect him to follow her?
What he thought he could do in a fight against the type of men who’d burned her camp, she didn’t know. Dammit, she should have knocked him out and dragged him into the bushes instead of letting him send her scurrying up this tree.
She lay down on the branch she’d been sitting on, trying to get a better view. There was one group of leaves in the way, but she wasn’t inching all the way out there to rip them off and risk the branch breaking under her. She wouldn’t do Kai any good if she fell on him.
Down on the ground, Kai moved into the bushes. Susana shifted a little further out on the branch, so she could still see him. The branch groaned, warning her that she was pushing her luck and it wouldn’t be able to hold her weight if she moved much farther.
Kai settled into a hunter’s crouch, his automatic weapon raised, just as Susana finally heard heavy footsteps approaching from the direction they’d just come. She bit her lip and prayed that Kai wouldn’t be hurt.
Kai held his breath and listened intently for several heartbeats. It didn’t sound like a group heading toward him. Not enough sound variation. More like one man, two max if the second one walked in sync with the first.
He’d chosen this clump of bushes to hide behind because it was in shadow, while the thin beams of light poking through the canopy acted like stage spotlights to highlight the place where he and Susana had come through the trees.
He raised his weapon, his finger on the trigger. A man-shaped shadow coalesced in the trees. Stepped forward into the light.
Kai’s brain recognized the man prowling forward in time to stop his finger from tightening on the trigger. My God, what the hell was he doing here?
The man’s nose was slightly up, his head moving side to side as if sniffing the air. He held his M-4 at waist level as he moved silently through the underbrush.
“Rafe!” Kai called. “Buddy, don’t shoot. It’s Kai.”
Kai ducked and rolled anyway, just in case his friend was wound too tightly to recognize his voice and understand his words.
The roll saved his life. A round of fire from the M-4 shredded his former hiding place.
Kai came to rest behind a fallen tree. He snuck a glance around the side and saw Rafe slowly quartering the area, trying to get a bead on him. “Rafe, come on man, don’t shoot. It’s Kai Paterson.”
Rafe fired again.
Shit. He almost hadn’t rolled away fast enough. What the hell was Rafe thinking?
Kai had his back pressed against a tree several yards away from Susana’s hiding place. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Set his weapon on the ground where he could retrieve it later.
He waited until he heard Rafe’s footsteps draw near, then dove out of hiding and rolled past Rafe.
Kai stopped his roll several feet away, turned, and knelt facing Rafe’s back, his hands up. “Don’t shoot, Rafe. I’m unarmed.”
Rafe pivoted, weapon up. For one tense moment, Kai stared down the muzzle of the M-4.
Something dark flared in Rafe’s eyes.
Shit. He’d made a mistake coming into the open. Rafe should have recognized him by now. Instead, his friend was a hairsbreadth away from killing him.
“Rafe, buddy, I know it’s been over two months since we last shared a beer. But come on, you remember me. Kai Paterson. We went through physical therapy together. The SSU medical team called us the dynamic duo because of our fast recovery rate and the number of nurses we had hanging around.” Damn, he might as well be talking to himself. Rafe continued to scowl at him.
He tried another tack. “My sister Jenna is married to your brother Niko.”
Okay, Niko’s name brought a slight softening of Rafe’s expression. But it vanished almost immediately, replaced by a feral curl of Rafe’s lip.
Ah, damn he did not want to die here. But if Rafe was a dog, he’d be whining to attack right now. He had the same intense, I’m-going-to-rip-your-throat-out look in his eyes.
The same look Kai had seen in the eyes of Dr. Nevsky’s subjects.
Shit, shit, shit. Rafe had disappeared leading a team into Kaufmann’s lab, and Kaufmann had been using some of Nevsky’s formulas. If Rafe was on some superhuman drug combination, then Kai had no chance of winning against him hand-to-hand. And no matter how fast he retrieved his weapon and fired, Rafe would get a few rounds off.
And if Kai died, who’d protect Susana?
“So, Rafe, are you going to lower the weapon? Because Jenna will be pissed if you shoot me.” Kai felt sick at the idea of having to shoot Rafe. “And you know if Jenna’s angry, Niko will be mad, too.”
“Jen…na…Ni…ko” Rafe’s voice was thick, his words doled out with a drunk’s care. He shook his head as if trying to clear a fog. By inches, the muzzle of his weapon tilted toward the ground.
But there was still no recognition in his eyes as he looked at Kai.
“Rafe, I’m gonna stand up now. No threat, just friends, okay?” He didn’t wait for Rafe to answer. As he pushed to his feet, he palmed the knife he kept up his sleeve.
The butt of Rafe’s weapon came up so fast, Kai didn’t have time to duck. It caught him square under the chin. His knees buckled and he folded to the ground. Before he hit, the rifle butt slammed into his stomach, then his kidneys.
Kai gasped. Tiny silver dots pulsed behind his lids, but he held on to consciousness as if it was the winning mega-million lottery ticket.
“Where’s the woman?” Rafe’s voice was a deep growl, nothing like his usual teasing tone.
Kai shook his head and rolled, narrowly avoiding Rafe’s boot before it connected with his ribs. He grabbed Rafe’s ankle and yanked. Rafe landed on his back and Kai lunged for the M-4. They fought for it, tumbling across the ground.
Kai finally wound up on top, straddling Rafe, pressing the length of the M-4 against his friend’s windpipe.
“Rafe, what the fuck is going on?”
Rafe let out a sound like an enraged bear. With inhuman strength, he flipped them over so he was on top.
Rafe’s fingers closed around Kai’s throat and squeezed.
A feral howl echoed through the jungle.
“What was that?” Jenna asked. But part of her knew. Dear God, no. Don’t let them be too late.
“Rafe,” Niko answered. He sprinted in the direction of the howl.
Jenna followed, pushing herself hard so she wouldn’t lose track of her husband. Rafe must have found Kai and the Dias woman. As she ran her brain kept cadence with a plea. Don’t let them die. Don’t let them die.
She couldn’t bear to lose Kai after she’d just found him again. Or to lose Rafe.
Up ahead, Niko burst into a small clearing.
“Rafe, no! Let him go!”
Panting, Jenna arrived in time to see Rafe kneeling over Kai’s prone body. His hands encircled Kai’s throat and he pounded Kai’s head on the ground, growling at him, “Woman, woman, where woman?”
From the way the muscles in Rafe’s fingers stood out, he had such a tight grip on her brother’s throat that Kai couldn’t answer even if he wanted to.
Niko dove across the clearing. He collided with Rafe, knocking his brother off of Kai. The two of them careened across the ground in a deadly tangle of arms and legs.
Jenna rushed over to Kai.
He was conscious, but his eyes were slightly unfocused. “Kai? It’s Jenna. Can you hear me?”
“Jenna, no! Get out of here,” Niko shouted.
She glanced up.
Rafe’s boot slammed into Niko’s head and her husband went skidding across the mulch. “Niko!” She started to crawl over to him, when she heard Rafe approaching.
For one terrifying instant her eyes met his. The world froze and she
shrank back. Dear God. There was nothing remotely human about him.
Rafe smacked her aside as if she were nothing more than an annoying pest, his focus entirely on Kai.
Hell no, he wasn’t going to hurt her brother again. As Jenna fell, she swept her legs out, then hooked her foot around Rafe’s shin and let momentum pull him down. He roared and lashed out with a large fist.
Jenna narrowly avoided it.
“Rafe!” Niko’s voice was a bit wobbly. He was up on his knees, the tranquilizer gun in his hand. “Stop!”
Rafe didn’t so much as flick an eye toward his brother. He lunged for Kai again.
Jenna heard a slight whoosh as the tranquilizer dart was released. It hit Rafe in the side of his neck.
He ignored it. He reached Kai and flipped her brother onto his stomach, pulling Kai’s arms behind him. “Where woman?”
There was another whoosh and a second dart hit Rafe between the shoulder blades. He still didn’t drop.
Jenna threw herself on his legs and pulled.
Shit.
“Jenna, get out of the way!” Niko shouted. She’d managed to pull Rafe off of Kai, but in the process, she’d ruined his aim.
Dammit, two darts down and his brother was still moving. Unstoppable as a monster out of a sci-fi movie. And there were only two darts left.
Niko’s vision doubled for a moment. He sucked in a breath and shook his head, waiting for it to clear.
Across the clearing Kai slowly crawled away from Rafe. Rafe shook his leg, trying to dislodge Jenna, but she clung with the tenacity of a starving hawk to a field mouse. So Rafe used his upper body to drag himself toward Kai.
Jenna’s brother was slower than a tortoise. Dammit, Rafe was going to catch him.
Niko moved closer. His next shot hit Rafe in the upper arm. This time Rafe turned his head. He looked down at the feathered end of the dart, then up at Niko, his face contorted with rage.
Rafe snarled.
Holy Mother of God. There was nothing of his little brother in Rafe’s expression. This was an animal.
Jenna’s hand reached up and took hold of the back of Rafe’s shirt, her body weight pulling his head back. Rafe bellowed and fell, crushing Jenna under his back.
But Rafe’s neck was exposed.
“Jesus, I’m sorry bro.” Niko sent his last dart into the base of Rafe’s throat.
Rafe let loose a roar of pain. He broke free of Jenna and charged Niko.
Fuck, even with the darts in him Rafe’s speed was unbelievable. Niko dove out of the way seconds before Rafe landed beside him. His hand scrambled for the pistol at his belt.
Before his hand undid the safety, Rafe was on top of him. Niko was more muscular and that usually gave him an edge in their fights, but Rafe’s new strength was beyond normal. Within seconds, Niko found himself in the same position Kai had been in, flat on his back with Rafe’s hands around his neck.
“Rafe, no,” Niko said in Greek, hoping the language of their father would penetrate Rafe’s brain. “I’m Niko. Your brother. Remember?”
Rafe’s hands tightened.
“Don’t do this,” Niko gasped. His hand fumbled for the knife on Rafe’s belt. “Mamá will be so sad…” His fingers found the hilt. Spots obscured his vision, but he fought them. He couldn’t pass out yet. He undid the snap on the knife sheath and slid the weapon free. But he could feel his strength slipping away.
Hell no. He wasn’t going to pass out. Not going to leave Jenna to face this monster.
God help him, he’d kill Rafe first.
“Ni…ko?” A faint flash of recognition crossed Rafe’s eyes.
“Yeah, little bro, Niko.” His voice was so raspy, it was barely recognizable. Please, let him get through to Rafe anyway. “I’m here, Rafe. You’re safe now.”
“Save…me.” Horror widened Rafe’s eyes. Then he dropped, heavy as an anvil, across Niko, the tranquilizer finally taking over.
Niko let the knife slip out of his grasp. He put his arms around Rafe in a hug.
He tried to swallow, but his throat muscles had locked up. He coughed, but it didn’t help. Finally he managed to push words out, even though he knew his brother couldn’t hear him. “Don’t worry Rafe, I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”
Niko blinked back tears. Sometimes he still thought of Rafe as the kid with the runny nose who had followed his big brother around with adoration in his eyes. But that sweet kid who’d always been asking “why” was gone, lost to time.
Niko pushed Rafe off of him, then rolled to his hands and feet. “You’re going to be whole again,” Niko promised. “No matter what it takes. But until then,” Niko pulled a pair of reinforced flexicuffs out of his pants pocket. “I’m sorry, bro, but this is necessary.”
Niko cuffed Rafe’s hands and feet. He removed the darts from his brother’s skin, then pulled out a special net from his backpack and wrapped his brother in it from neck to feet.
He sat back on his heels and surveyed his brother.
Shit. His chest hurt. Niko put a hand up to his sternum, certain he’d find a hole there. But the flesh was intact.
It was just his heart that felt hollow. Because, Christ, Rafe looked dead.
Niko reached out and felt for his brother’s pulse. It was strong and steady under his fingers. “I’m sorry, bro. It had to be done.” Niko smoothed back Rafe’s hair. Unconscious, his brother’s youthful good looks had reclaimed the face that moments before had been distorted by animal fury.
But Niko saw lines of strain and recent scars that testified to horrors endured since Rafe had left on his last assignment. Niko pushed to his feet, slow as an arthritic eighty-year-old. Struggling to breathe through the weight of too many emotions, he walked over to Jenna and Kai.
“How is he?” Niko asked his wife.
“Getting there, thanks,” Kai croaked. “Rafe okay?”
“Subdued, anyway,” Niko said.
“What…was that all about?” Kai asked. He put his elbow underneath him and with Jenna’s help, managed to sit up.
Niko glanced across the clearing. “He was captured by Kaufmann’s group. They gave him their version of Nevsky’s drugs.”
“Oh, man. Shit. I’m sorry.”
Niko shrugged. “That’s why we need the damn chip. To help us reverse what’s been done.”
He heard the faint sound of something hard hitting the ground behind him. Niko dove for Jenna, covering her with his body.
And the world exploded in sound and noxious smoke.
Chapter 23
Susana had just started to climb down the tree, thinking it was safe, when an explosion almost knocked her off her perch. She wrapped her arms and legs around the trunk of the tree, closed her eyes, and waited for a second explosion.
Instead, there was silence. And a faintly sweet, chemical smell that made her throat and eyes burn. Susana snatched at the collar of her shirt and pulled it over her nose and mouth, then pressed on the edges so no contaminated air could seep in.
She risked a peek down. Smoke hovered over the bodies of Kai and his friends.
No! Kai couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t.
She leaned so far forward, scanning the ground for life, she forgot to keep a firm grip on the tree. She slipped. Her stomach leapt into her throat as she fell a foot before she caught herself on another branch. Taking a deep breath, she tried to steady her heart. But she needed to reach Kai, so she lowered her foot and felt around for a strong branch below her. Then froze as a group of men burst into the clearing. They carried automatic weapons and wore camouflage uniforms. Gas masks covered their faces.
The first four men who arrived took up positions around the edge of the small clearing. The final two men walked from Kai to his friends, turning the unconscious figures over and prodding them with the butts of their guns.
Kai groaned.
Susana bit her lip so her cry of relief wouldn’t escape and give her away.
When the mercenaries reached the woman, one of the men
bent down and snapped old-fashioned metal handcuffs around her wrists. Then he removed the bandana from around his neck and gagged her. He slung her over his shoulder and nodded to his companions. As quickly as they’d arrived, they disappeared back into the jungle, heading toward Boa Vista.
The last man turned and threw something into the center of the clearing. Then he bolted after his comrades. Seconds later, the clearing burst into flames.
“No!”
Susana scrambled down the tree. She kicked the backpacks free from their hiding place, then jumped the last ten feet.
She yanked the survival blanket out of Kai’s backpack and slapped it against the nearest flames. When they were low enough, she tossed the entire silver square on the fire, then jumped on it to eradicate the flames.
But the fire just shot out the other side, moving closer to Kai and the other man.
“Kai! Wake up, damn you.”
She was rewarded by coughing.
“Susana? Wha—? Oh, fuck.” Kai’s scratchy voice was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard.
“Niko, wake up, man.” Kai was sitting up now, trying to wake his friend.
Susana returned her attention to the flames. The fire underneath the blanket was smothered, the blanket melted in several spots. The rest of the fire burned dangerously close to Kai and Niko.
Susana pulled the mosquito net out of the backpack. It was fire retardant, wasn’t it?
“Where’s Jenna?” Kai asked.
“The mercenaries took her,” Susana said.
Kai and his friend were on their feet now and headed toward her. “Forget fighting the fire,” Kai told her. “Move.” He grabbed his backpack and pulled her to her feet.
Her hand snagged the strap of her pack as Kai hustled her into the cool relief of the trees. A moment later Niko followed with the man he’d tied up slung across his shoulder.
Susana glanced behind them with an odd sense of déjà-vu, watching the flames devour a tree. But Kai didn’t let her linger. He yanked on her arm and once again she ran behind him through the jungle.
Betrayal (SSU Trilogy Book 2) (The Surgical Strike Unit) Page 22