Page 62 of Maddox

“How did they know the area we were in? We could have gone anywhere. We could have caught a flight from here or headed out on a boat.”

His heavy sigh was an indication he’d already thought about that. “That’s what I’m going to find out. Be ready to leave at a moment’s notice if necessary. I am going to get us the hell out of here. And Charmaine, if you do that again, so help me God, I’ll shackle you to keep you from hurting yourself or anyone else.”

CHAPTER 17

Maddox

The Navy SEAL Team had been overkill.

There’d been no attempts made to stop Charmaine from leaving the country, no soldiers firing off rounds to try to keep the SEALs from extracting us. We’d simply boarded the plane and had taken off with zero fanfare.

A relief? Absolutely, but it also set off red flags.

A man like Alfaro didn’t stop until he got what he wanted.

The fact the assassins sent to hunt her down hadn’t continued searching remained unnerving. Perhaps Alfaro had made a change in plans, including heading to the United States. Whatever the case, there were too many loose ends.

Now we were in the back of an SUV on the way to an undisclosed location for debriefing.

Gray was supposed to meet us there.

I had a bad feeling that wouldn’t go away.

Somehow, I’d been swept up in some government action to capture Alfaro and that pissed me off. It was as if the DEA, the FBI, or pick a law enforcement agency had found the perfect lure.

With no third attempt made on her life, it was possible the bomb placed in the box she’d been carrying had given the impression she’d been eliminated.

However, I doubted karma would be so kind at this point, which was why I’d been ready to get us out of harm’s way.

We’d left the apartment hours later, finding short term refuge in a small restaurant until we received notification the plane had arrived.

She’d remained quiet the entire afternoon, lost in her thoughts, and that had suited me just fine. Even so, I’d still felt her presence. I’d still felt the hunger. All my attempts to shut it down had failed.

When the call from Gray had come in that the SEALs were almost on the ground, we’d left the restaurant within minutes.

“How far?” she asked and glanced over my shoulder out the back window.

“I wish I knew,” I told her.

She looked into my eyes and I felt her anxiety, the heightened sense of uncertainty creating the smell of fear. She needed me to tell her that everything was going to be alright and that wasn’t something I was prepared to do.

At this point, too many things could go wrong. In my mind, there was no number of law enforcement officers capable of stopping Alfaro if he decided to make a run into the country.

Few understood the man’s capabilities.

Or how many soldiers he controlled.

Kage had called, informing me he’d been blocked when attempting to gather information. I’d told him to back off. He’d reminded me about Damon once again. At this point, getting Kage involved any further could potentially destroy his new life. Whatever would occur I’d handle. I wasn’t certain about Charmaine. As strong as she’d been through the ordeal, she was crumbling around the edges because of her guilt.

I shifted in the seat, looking behind us. There were two SUVs behind and one in front. Maybe I should feel safe. Instead, I felt like a caged animal. As if we were on trial for the information she’d obtained.

Which I had stored in my pocket. No one was getting access without probable cause or a good goddamn reason.

I’d even kept the discovery from Gray. The man was completely trustworthy, but I knew when not to lay all my cards on the table, not until I knew what we were dealing with.

And when to look out for myself. That’s how I’d survived during the worst nightmares.

That’s not how I’d reacted when I’d been a member of the SEALs. We’d worked together as a team, ridding the world of enemies that could destroy cities and place countries in economic chaos.

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