Page 20 of Lucky Charm
Carter pushed the speed, handling the large vehicle with precision considering the rocky “road” was little more than a two-rutted track. They traveled back the way they’d come. Cait bounced and shifted her hold to keep herself in the seat.
“We’ve got company.” Baxter yelled, pointing forward. “Another fucking pickup. Fifty yards down the road.”
“Predictable. Dammit,” Hunt muttered.
Before she’d registered the sound, she ducked, some unidentified survival mechanism kicking in. Several metallic pings hit the vehicle.
“Fire from in front.” Baxter called. “Want me to return fire?”
“No. Save the ammo,” Hunt shouted. “Move this rust bucket, Carter.”
“Foot on the floor, LT.” The vehicle surged ahead a bit.
Several more pings hit the vehicle.
“Alpha Two, Sit-Rep.” Hunt listened for a minute and swore. “They’re behind us too, coming fast.”
“That truck is going to block us in.” Carter’s terse tone upped Cait’s tension.
“Get to that side road,” Hunt ordered.
“We don’t know where that road goes.” Carter downshifted and the engine whined.
“As long as it gets us closer to those foothills.” Hunt pointed out the window.
Carter wrenched on the wheel to navigate a rocky surface. “We going to bail?”
The words hit her like a physical smack down. Her breath squeezed roughly out of her lungs.
“Get out of the vehicle?” Cait stared at the back of Hunt’s head, willing him to turn and answer her.
He didn’t.
Then her brain caught up. They’d planned for this. In Hunt’s contingencies. He’d told her they’d do what they had to. They had plan A through Zmapped. Whichever one worked to keep her safe is what they’d do.
Two more shots pinged the vehicle. The front truck was close to cutting off their avenue of escape.
Hunt finally turned to her, and she struggled to blank her face. No way was she showing this man any fear.
“We’re going to do what we do best, Doc. We’re bailing out of these vehicles and disappearing into the mountains. Trust me.”
She nodded, not thrilled but cognizant that these men’s missions included stealth, successful execution, and disappearance. He hadn’t waited for an answer, but she muttered “understood” anyway.
On foot? Shit. How the hell she was going to keep up?
Theonly easy day was yesterday. The SEAL motto flashed through her brain. She clamped her mouth shut on a hysterical laugh.
The malice in the small man’s eyes washed over her. Already tight with apprehension, she wrestled the resulting anxiety under control. She would do whatever was necessary. Whatever Hunt asked of her. That determination wasn’t pride or some Hoo-yah! piece of crap attitude.
She simply didn’t want to be in the hands of Ali Haquiri or get any of these men killed.
Chapter Four
The first snowflake struck his face, then another and another. Hunt gripped Doc’s hand and increased his pace up the narrow goat trail. Rocks and more rocks, some scrub, a bit of snow here and there. This was a secondary foothill to the higher peaks far off in the distance. In minutes, the trail would be covered in wet stuff. They had no climbing gear, which would make this escape a bitch, but thank God for bad weather – even if it would slow them down. No helicopter was going to fly with a snowstorm in progress. Not in these mountains. As a cover, falling snow was stellar.
His earpiece clicked softly. “Alpha One, they are on us like locust on Egypt. At least thirty men, maybe more,” Tommy reported.
Tommy and Doogie had hung back to get the scope of what they had coming behind them. Normally at this point, Hunt would shift into search and destroy mode, but Doc’s delicate fingers and strong hold were messing with his ability to think. He was in protective mode and not acting like a commander with an elite, super-skilled team. They weren’t safe – even in these hills with the meanest, most creative good guys around.
