Page 135 of Rescuing Rebecca
The saliva in his mouth soured as bile rose to the back of his throat, and he once again wished he could have left Becca at home, safe at the lodge, and nowhere near her sister. He breathed deep. Exhaled hard. Clenched and unclenched his fingers where they hovered over his keyboard.
Sweat beaded along his hairline and rolled down the back of his neck as he watched the whirling blades slow. The side door slid open, and a team of masked operators in unmarked tactical gear disembarked, their movements precise and coordinated as they set boots on the ground.
Two broke right, peeling off toward the front of the Venom. Rifles up, scanning their sectors. Another two moved left, taking a low crouch behind the helicopter, securing the flank while maintaining a clear line of sight on the landing zone.
The last two remained near the open door, one stepping forward to scan the immediate surroundings while the other lingered by the deck. “Operators in play. Six-man fire team, well drilled.” Adam said from his vantage point. “Two securing the perimeter, two covering approach, two on the door. Keep your weapons tight and eyes on. Do not engage until HVT is clear of the bird. Call your marks.”
The team called their various targets, and then they waited. Waited. Waited some more.
“What is she doing?” Becca whispered, her eyes glued to the screens for any signs of movement.
“Hold positions,” Adam ordered at the appearance of a man in plain clothes, his identity hidden by the black cloth covering his head. The closest soldier grabbed him roughly and assisted him to the ground. He stumbled and then righted himself.
“What the fuck?” Doc said. “Looks like we have a hostage situation.”
“Didn’t see that one coming,” Chase replied.
“Is it Tak?” Gray asked.
“Negative,” he responded, total assurance coating his response.
Hands bound behind his back, the man stood stooped over as Maya finally appeared and dropped to her feet beside him. At the sight of her sister, Becca inhaled a sharp breath, and next to her, Jay’s skin turned cold and clammy despite the oppressive heat.
“HVT is armed,” Doc said, pointing out the pistol strapped to Maya’s hip as she grabbed the mystery stranger by the arm. And fuck him, Jay hadn’t even noticed the weapon. He needed to get his shit together and his head in the game before he got one of his teammates killed.
After issuing orders to the operatives around her, Maya shoved the man forward, and together they walked toward the hangar, an armed escort beside them. At a little past the halfway mark, she stopped and shoved her captive to the ground. He pitched forward, his chest slamming to the pavement.
“Becca,” she hollered as the armed assaulter hauled the hostage back up to his knees. “Get your ass out here. We’ve got some business to take care of.” She reached out and ripped the hood from his head, dropping it to the pavement beside her.
“What the fuck?” Becca yelled as she bolted for the front of the hangar.
He caught her before she cleared the stacked crates, offering protection and hiding them from sight. “We can’t help him, Bec!” She fought his hold around her waist as he dragged her back behind the table covered with monitoring equipment.
“This is what she wants. How she plans to separate us.” He got a hold of her wrists and spun her around until they were face-to-face. “You go out there, she’ll use you to get to me, and I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t let that happen.”
“But it’s Nik,” she cried, and the fear in her voice damn near broke him in half. “He’s my friend.”
“I know, baby, I know.” He grabbed her by the cheeks and used his thumbs to brush away her tears. “But he’s also your enemy. He chose his side. Just like you chose yours. Nothing about this situation changes that reality.”
“Tick-tock, I’m getting hot,” Maya chanted in a sing-song voice that raised the hairs on his forearms. “Let’s go, Bec. Bring Jay out to play, and I’ll let you and Nik walk away.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Oh God! Becca’s insides twisted at the sight of Nik’s bruised and battered face, the sharp pain in her belly a reminder of the damage her sister could inflict without a moment’s hesitation or an ounce of remorse.
Despite the sweltering heat, Maya wore a long-sleeved shirt underneath a bulletproof vest, and looking cool as a marble, not a drop of sweat marked her brow as she stood on the tarmac like she owned the shredded pavement beneath her feet.
Meanwhile, Becca’s heart beat like she’d run a marathon through a sauna, and the painful thumping made her head spin. About to pass out, she swallowed and swallowed and swallowed.
“Look at me,” Jay said. “That’s it, now slow your breathing.”
She couldn’t. Oh God, she couldn’t! Her eyes flicked back to the surveillance screen, and the sight of Maya standing over Nik—her expression bored and devoid of humanity—made her knees weak. She’d seen that deadly look before.
How? Why? What did Maya gain by dragging Nik into this? It didn’t make sense. None of this made any sense.
“I’m losing patience. Stop annoying me, and show yourself, or better yet, give me Jay, and I’ll let you and your lover boy here go off into the sunset together. Just like you planned when you lured Jay to Big Diomede.” She brushed her hand over Nik’s head, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and lifted his chin with a hard yank.
The duct tape over his mouth pulled tight, and his eyes went wide with fear. “He told me all about it, you know. About how you pretended to be me. About how you seduced him. How you made him fall for you, just so you could get revenge.”
