Page 34 of Going Rogue
Rogue remained silent. She could only guess what Jordan was up to, but she’d bet 100,000 Iraqi dinars it didn’t bode well for them.
Crane, at least, seemed cautious enough not to move into the open. “Well, obviously, you didn’t either.”
“No.” She heard shuffling as if Jordan had moved something bulky. “Are you two going to come in? I have something you might be interested in.”
Oh, she bet he did. And surely whatever it was would be deadly. Her grip twitched on the Glock, and she ran her trigger finger over the metal of the slide in an unconscious gesture meant to soothe her unease as she tried to determine the direction his voice carried from.
“Why are you still here?”Good, Crane.Keep him talking. She strained her hearing,and more shuffling reached her ears. Did it come from their right?
“I had a job to finish.”
With the comment, she became almost positive he stood to their right inside the next room. She barely resisted the urge to peek past the doorframe.
“What the hell are you talking about?” The big guy was getting frustrated. She glanced at him. The resolve in his eyes told her he meant to face Jordan regardless of the man’s intentions.
Fear for his safety cramped her stomach, and she couldn’t stop the desperate plea. “Crane…”
He gave her a sharp look, but Jordan spoke, “You always were a smart one.”
She could hear the smile in his voice; picturing it made her skin creep with an invasion of ants.
“What the fuck, Jordy?” Anger, confusion, or a mixture of both forced Crane to move. As soon as he cleared his door, her feet compelled her to follow. Self-preservation didn’t enter her mind, only a certainty that she wouldn’t let Jordan hurt Crane if shecould help it. She still wore a bulletproof vest; he didn’t.
They’d entered another open bay, but old furniture littered this one. Ancient metal desks, old military chairs with cracked leather, and three-drawer filing cabinets scattered the floor. Some toppled on their side, others set at strange angles like the wind had transformed into a whirling dervish and whipped through the room.
The same roofline windows let in more sunlight, which shone on Jordan. His dark hair curled under his ears while his piercing black eyes seemed as slippery as a wet fish. He stood next to a chair holding a hooded person. The figure’s posture suggested they were either dead or unconscious. The only thing keeping them upright in the chair was the ropes binding them to it. Black rappelling line wrapped the person’s chest and legs, securing them to the chair’s frame while their head drooped at an angle.
“Who’s that?” Crane crept forward as he asked his question.
“The op was doomed from the start. Those militants knew we were coming. But I figuredthey’d be willing to make a deal.” Jordan grinned and gestured to his hostage. “I get the traitor, and they get a pretty prize.” His eyes cut to Rogue on those words, and the puzzle pieces clicked into place for her. Contemptuous heat roiled in her belly.
This fucking asshole!
Her finger strayed to the trigger of the gun she held at her side. He’d given her up on purpose. For money, probably.
Her breathing accelerated with her rising anger. Jordan was the reason she’d been captured, beaten, and nearly assaulted. The hell she’d endured made her vision narrow to the spot over his heart. She wanted to aim at it. Pull the trigger and allow her bullet to tear through the flesh of this coward’s vital organ.
“TOP still completes the mission, and we get rid of your little distraction there.” As if Crane needed the added explanation, the asshole waved his gun at her. “It was a win-win. Until you screwed it all up.”
She’d been so focused on her own anger she hadn’t realized how rigid Crane had become beside her. With deadly calm, he stated, “You’re the reason Dafi left me highand dry.”
“I paid him a higher price, amigo.” Jordan shrugged. “I hope she was worth it because now you’re both casualties.” He tsked as if he actually regretted that fact; she seriously doubted it. “Caught in the crossfire when I retrieved the package. Unfortunate, but an acceptable loss for the mission.”
He raised his pistol and pointed it at her head. Jordan had been the mouthpiece for her naysayers at TOP. Constantly pushing to get her kicked off the team, but she’d never thought him capable of this.
The double-cross cut deeper than she would’ve liked. Mostly because she hadn’t seen it coming. Too many successful ops together had left her complacent. He’d been a thorn in her side but hardly a poisonous one, or so she’d thought.
“Before you get any ideas, sweetheart, strip the gun and toss it.”
Jordan wanted her to disassemble the Glock but as her only weapon . . .Fat chance, asshole.“And if I don’t?”
“I shoot Crane first, though I preferred having him watchyoudie.” The gleam inJordan’s eye sent shivers down her back.
Not for herself. For Crane, who vibrated beside her. She could almost feel his body tremble with the effort it took to suppress his rage.
“You do that, and I shoot your traitor.” Rogue lifted her gun and trained it on the slumped man. Her threat wasn’t a bluff. She would do whatever it took to get her and Crane out of this situation.
Jordan glanced at the hooded man with a beleaguered sigh. “Our orders were to bring him back alive, but . . . a dead body is better thannobody.” The smile on his face could only be described as lethal. The promise it contained wasn’t lost on her.
