Page 43 of Raven's Claw
Kash pushed to his feet just as Mac flared into the space, somehow fitting her helicopter into the clearing without chopping down trees or burying the tail rotor into some brush.Zain went to one knee, laid down suppressive fire — kept the rest of Rook’s men diving for cover.He didn’t budge until they were already on board.Then he sprinted for the side, all but diving in as Mac lifted the chopper while banking over — skimming across all those trees then peeling off toward the ocean.
Mac glanced at them over her shoulder, banking hard to the left.“Buckle in.This isn’t going to be pretty.”
Kash sighed.She’d definitely been flying with Foster too long.Was starting to sound like him.“Is there more than one attack chopper?”
“There were two, but…” She shook her head.“Is Foster always that intense?I mean, I knew he was but damn, you get another chopper in the mix, and he becomes someone else — something else.I swear that man has hollow bones.”
“You realize, the rest of us think you’re both equally crazy.”
“I’ve picked up a few tricks.”A ping sounded through the cockpit.“Looks like our friend’s back.Or maybe this is a new one.I have no idea how many choppers Rook Donovan has at his disposal.”
Jordan grunted.“As many as he deems necessary.This is why I ran.Why I didn’t want to ask for help.He has the full backing of Scythe.”
Mac shrugged, tipped the aircraft forward and picked up speed.“And you’ve got the best damn team I’ve ever worked with.Zain.Bodie.If I do this right, sooner or later I’m gonna serve this asshole up on the starboard side.Feel free to use extreme prejudice when I do.”
Zain checked his weapon, readying the doors.“And here we didn’t get you anything.Just count it down.”
“Roger.We’ll head for the ocean.Let’s see how well our friend does five feet off the water as we slalom around some rocks.”
Some tracer fire lit up the night left of the chopper, but Mac simply shoved the nose forward — got the helicopter screaming over the trees.Not quite as low as Foster pushed it, but damn close.She wove toward the water, mimicking the undulating landscape until they hit the cliffs.Then, she was all-in.Pegged the bird that five feet she’d talked about, weaving it along the shoreline, narrowly missing rocks and outcrops as she skimmed the cliff, then banked over — headed for a large rocky island just offshore.
She climbed over the top, then dropped in behind, bringing the helicopter into an aggressive hover, before backing it around the towering stone — lining Zain and Bodie up for that kill shot.“Less than ten…”
The Apache roared around the rock, banking hard to the right in an effort to avoid a collision and opening up their side just like Mac had promised.
Bodie and Zain didn’t miss a beat, hitting the engine and rotors as the machine sailed past.Smoke poured out of the cowlings as the chopper limped back toward shore, vanishing into the night.
Mac peeled off, heading back toward the hangar.“Foster just took care of the other helicopter.He’ll be sweeping behind us — ensuring there aren’t any more surprises.Though, this won’t be close to over until you decrypt that intel, Jordan.I just hope it’s as damning as you thought, because I have a bad feeling your handler isn’t going to take this loss sitting down.”
ChapterTwelve
Jordan reran the evening’s events, the night rushing past the window in a ghostly blur, as Mackenzie started her approach to the hangar landing pad.A layer of fog hung above the water, the thick clouds gathering on the horizon promising more rain.
Unease slithered down Jordan’s spine, roiling through her stomach in nauseating waves that had nothing to do with Mac tossing the chopper around or the firefight she’d left behind.
Something was off.
Despite their apparent victory, Jordan couldn’t shake the scratchy feeling between her shoulder blades.That voice in her head nattering that it had been too easy.
Or maybe, too predictable.
Sure, Rook was meticulous and exacting, and she’d been running missions for him long enough to know his different strategies intimately.And this one wasn’t sitting right.Especially if he’d known about the cabin.In fact, the more she replayed everything, the more it struck her how little Rook had accomplished, other than assuring the intel had been downloaded.That it was now on a piece of tech he could acquire, instead of stuck on her server.
Kash nudged her, Nyx at his feet.He brushed a few wisps of hair back from her face, his knuckles lingering against her skin.“Hey.You okay?I kinda thought you’d be a bit more relaxed now that we have the intel, but you look as if you might crawl out of your own skin.”
She could lie.Tell Kash exactly what he wanted to hear.That it was leftover adrenaline.Or having to work as part of a team.Give herself time to figure out what was eating at her and how to fix it.
Except, where he’d trusted her.Had her back with little more than his gut instincts that she wasn’t the one with the deadly agenda.
That she wasn’t the monster.
“Okay, now you’re scaring me.”He inhaled, started patting her down.“Were you hit?Are you bleeding?—”
“I’m fine.You’re the one who shoved me to the ground when that Apache started firing.If anyone got hit, it was you.”
Kash frowned as he straightened.“Vest, sweetheart.I’d already told you I’d be jumping in front if bullets started flying.So, what’s wrong?And don’t tell me nothing because your nose gets these adorable creases when you’re trying to figure something out.”
“It’s nothing concrete, I just…” She huffed and ran her fingers through her hair.“What’s his backup plan?”
