Page 43 of Mission Shift

I smirked. “Are all Americans this nosy?”

“Of course,” he shot back. “How else can I get to know you better? I want to know everything about you. What makes you tick, what lights you up, what makes you sad, your darkestfears…” He tilted his head just a little, studying me like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve. “You fascinate me, Daria.”

I swallowed hard, my stomach twisting.

So I focused on the question. There were so many places I wanted to see. Thoughts of sun-drenched beaches and thick, mysterious rainforests flashed through my mind. But before I could open my mouth to answer—

Dust.

A plume of it kicked up in the distance.

I tensed, tightening my hand around Braxton’s. A second later, I spotted a black SUV barreling toward us, movingfast.

Shit.

I whipped my head around just as another one appeared on the road behind us.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Braxton’s grip became iron-tight. “Oh, fuck,” he muttered. “That doesn’t look friendly.”

It wasn’t.

And we were out in the open.

Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run.

My eyes darted along the stretch of barbed-wire fencing, searching for a break, an opening—anything. But there was nothing. Just more wire.

“Come on!” I yanked on Braxton’s hand, dragging him toward the fence anyway. “Crawl under.”

He barely hesitated before grabbing the bottom wire, but instead of ducking down, he turned to me and pulled the wire up. “Go first.”

“No.” I shook my head. “You go.”

“Daria, go!” he barked, his eyes wild and his muscles coiled like he was ready to throw me over the damn thing himself.

I opened my mouth to argue, but the roar of engines cut through the air.

Too late.

Tires skidded to a stop.

Doors flew open.

“Hands in the air!” a man shouted in Russian.

Men in black tactical gear spilled from both SUVs, raising AK-47s and locking aim onto us.

Braxton’s body went rigid. My pulse thundered in my ears.

I turned to him, my throat tightening as his wide eyes bored frantically into mine. I’d failed him.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, slowly raising my hands.

Braxton hesitated, then stepped away from the fence before lifting his hands in surrender. Together, we moved back onto the road.

One of the men from the SUV that had pulled up behind us barked another order. “Drop your weapons!”

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