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  “I’ll let Maddox know and put Adam Walker’s team on alert. They’re two hours away from that location.”

  Close, but not close enough to save Shadow if they ran into trouble. “Copy that. I don’t know what kind of injuries Mercy may have at this point. Might be wise to alert Dr. Sorensen.” The veterinarian, Ted Sorensen, used to be one of the finest trauma surgeons in the country and a Fortress operative himself before he’d burned out. Now he was the first stop for injured operatives when they returned to the US.

  “He’ll be ready.”

  After Nico ended the call, he grabbed his phone and checked the infrared images coming from one of four Fortress satellites. Frustrated when he couldn’t find a figure that might have been Mercy, he slid the phone into his pocket.

  One mile from Rio Azul, Trace parked under heavy tree cover. Shadow climbed from the vehicle and closed the doors with a soft snick. Nico signaled his team to turn on their comm systems. Time to get this party started. They had two hours to breach the compound, find Mercy, free her, and escape from Mexico. Piece of cake. If there wasn’t an army of well-armed terrorists guarding the president’s niece.

  A half mile from the encampment, Nico held up his fist. His team froze in place as he moved a step closer to the wire stretched between two trees, glinting in the moonlight.

  The mission clock in his head counted down the minutes. “Ben,” Nico murmured.

  Shadow’s EOD man moved to Nico’s side and crouched to study the wire.

  “How long?”

  His teammate held up his index finger and got to work. At one minute to the second, Ben glanced up and nodded.

  Nico resumed the lead, moving toward their goal. Ben disarmed two more explosives, each stop testing Nico’s patience. Six hundred yards from the edge of the compound, he and the rest of his team crouched in deep tree cover, watching the guards in rotation around the complex of buildings.

  He gritted his teeth. Nico counted at least thirty terrorists in plain sight. No telling how many more in the buildings. He trusted his teammates. Shadow was the best he’d ever worked with. Still, with that many tangos, the sun would rise and Mercy’s stay of execution would be over before Walker’s team arrived to lend a hand. As much as he wanted to follow the president’s orders, he may not be able to rescue Mercy without announcing their presence. Nico refused to let her die on his watch.

  He scanned the area surrounding the compound, looking for guards. Nico frowned at the sight of ten men stationed around the side of the mountain. Two of them were stupid enough to be messing with their phones. The light from their screens pinpointed their locations.

  He turned back to the compound. Not one of the buildings had an extra cordon of men surrounding it. The only thing that seemed off was the contingent of men on the hillside.

  “Hillside,” he whispered. Grabbing a pair of night-vision binoculars from his pack, Nico brought the mountain into focus and studied the terrain. The guards had ranged themselves around the top third of the hillside.

  He checked the right quadrant, almost moved on to the left when he noticed a faint metallic gleam. Zooming in further, Nico spotted the wooden door with a metal lock.

  Touching Trace’s shoulder, he pointed toward the hillside and the door, and handed over his binoculars. The sniper stared through the lenses a moment, then nodded.

  If Nico was a betting man, he’d lay odds on Mercy being inside a cave on that hillside. For Mercy’s sake, he’d better be right. If they infiltrated the wrong defenses, she would be dead in seconds.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Nico moved his teammates deeper into the cover of the trees. “We come at them from the top. The guards are focused on threats coming up the hillside. Take them down before they raise an alarm. We’ll circle around on the right flank. Watch your step. Hector and his buddies probably have other booby traps laid in the area.” He signaled his team to move out.

  Chafing at the further delay, Nico pushed the pace as fast as he dared. He was right. Hector and friends had strung more trip wires. It was a miracle some of the villagers didn’t stumble on one of these and blow themselves up.

  Finally, they emerged from the tree line at the back of the hillside and began the climb to the top. Within minutes, they crested the peak, split their unit into groups of two and three operatives, and began a slow, careful descent on both sides of the hill.

  In silence, Nico and his teammates stalked the first two of the ten men stationed around the cave. Nico targeted the closest tango and took him out with a knife to the kidney. He would have knocked the guy out with a sleeper hold, but Mercy’s life depended on the utter silence of this operation. If one of the men raised a ruckus, Shadow would be caught in the open. Mercy needed his unit to stay alive if she had any chance to survive.

  Trace clamped a hand over the mouth of the next target and drew his Ka-Bar across the man’s throat.

  One by one, his team rid the hillside of threats. When the last tango dropped to the ground, Nico hurried over the rocky terrain to the wooden door with the lock. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a set of lock picks. Within seconds, he dropped the flimsy lock to the ground, moved aside the latch, and yanked open the door. “Trace, Ben, Joe, keep watch. Sam, with me.”

  He walked inside the cave, his NVGs allowing him to pinpoint Mercy’s location immediately. She sat up as soon as he walked inside her prison. Once Sam was inside, Nico pushed the door until it was almost closed. Sounds carried long distances at night. He didn’t want to alert the circling guards at the compound to their presence.

  “Who’s there?” Mercy asked. “Miguel, is that you?”

  Who was Miguel? More important, why did it bother Nico to hear another man’s name on her lips? “My name is Nico. Your uncle sent my team to bring you home.”

  She got to her knees. “You’re American.”

  “Yes. My team medic is in the cave with me. Her name is Sam.”

  “Do you have any injuries that need immediate treatment?” Sam asked.

  “Nothing that can’t wait. What happened to the guards?”

  “They won’t stop us from leaving,” Nico said, not wanting to see disgust or fear on her face. “We have to move fast. I brought a change of clothes for you.” He slid his pack off his shoulder. “Hurry, Mercy. The sun will rise soon and we need to be a long way from here before Hector discovers you’re gone. I’ll turn my back while Sam helps you change.”

  “How can you see? It’s pitch black in this cave.”

  Nico handed the cargoes, t-shirt, and boots to Sam, and turned to face the door. “We’re using night vision goggles. Makes it easier to navigate unfamiliar terrain.” And spot trip wires at night.

  “How did you know where to find me?”

  “We ran facial recognition on Hector from the video he sent to your uncle. That gave us a general idea where to start. Then I called in a favor from an informant to help us pinpoint your location.”

  “I’m grateful to you for coming after me. How many people did you bring with you?”

  “There are five of us.”

  “But there must be forty or fifty men with Hector.”

  His lips curved. “A good reason to hurry, Mercy. Our closest teammates are two hours away.”

  A few seconds later, Sam said, “She’s ready.”

  Nico turned, took the clothes and shoes Sam handed him, and shoved them into his pack. “Did they give you water or food, Mercy?”

  “No. Hector was angry that I wouldn’t cooperate.”

  “As soon as we’re in a safe place, we’ll feed you.” He reached into his pack again and grabbed a small bottle of water. “We have to move fast. Do everything I tell you to do without question. All our lives depend on it.” Nico broke the seal on the lid and pressed the bottle into her hand. “Small sips. If you gulp, you’ll barf.”

  “Thanks.” After a few sips, she capped the bottle and slid it into a cargo pocket. “Ready.”

  “Hold out your hand.”
He was afraid to touch her without warning. He didn’t know what happened to Mercy while she’d been in Hector’s hands, didn’t want to contemplate the possibilities too deeply. He needed his emotions in check. When she extended her hand toward him, Nico wrapped his hand around hers. “Don’t let go. If you need to stop, tell me.”

  “But don’t need to?” she asked with a smile.

  “That would be best.” He tugged her forward. “We’re coming out,” he told his teammates on the outside.

  “All clear,” Trace murmured.

  Nico led Mercy outside and up the hill. To her credit, she didn’t question his direction or look around, just did her best to keep up with his fast pace.

  When she stumbled, Nico wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her and kept going. At the foot of the hillside, he motioned for Trace to take point and steered Mercy into the trees.

  He eyed the sky. They were running out of time. Any minute, Hector would send guards to relieve the ten men on the hillside and discover Mercy gone. “Faster, Trace,” he whispered. If Mercy couldn’t keep up, Nico would carry her.

  The sniper picked up his pace. They continued the silent trek until a shout sounded in the distance.

  “Go,” Nico ordered his team. He scooped Mercy into his arms and broke into a run as his team surrounded him, providing a wall of cover for their principal.

  A quarter of a mile from the SUV, Trace signaled his unit and they scattered to deep cover. Nico carried Mercy behind a cluster of trees. He pressed his finger to her lips for an instant, then motioned for her to sit with her back against the trunk. He crouched beside her, Ka-Bar in his hand. If one of Hector’s men stumbled upon them, he would take care of him as quietly as possible. The last thing he wanted was to bring down a pack of terrorists on their position.

  Two minutes later, a stick snapped and muttered curses reached his ears. Nico motioned for Mercy to lay flat as he shifted his gaze to his left. There. A hundred yards away, one of Hector’s men approached, the beam of his flashlight beam crisscrossing the dirt.

  Nico removed his NVGs, handed them to Mercy, and waited. The thug moved past their location, his gaze glued to the ground. He crouched to study scuff marks. As Nico stood, the other man’s hand shifted to the gun shoved into his waistband.

  No choice but to handle the problem. For reasons he couldn’t justify, Nico didn’t want Mercy to view him in a bad light. How could she do otherwise with bloody proof that he was a trained killer? Resigned, he slipped out from the stand of trees while his target’s attention focused on the shoe prints of Nico and his teammates.

  He considered and discarded options as he stalked Hector’s man, irritated with himself for even considering non-lethal choices because Mercy was close. The president sent him and his team for Mercy because they were lethal. If he wanted to get her and his teammates home in one piece, he couldn’t change who and what he was now.

  His target turned toward the trees where the president’s niece hid. The man stood, pulling his weapon free. Nico moved in, clamped a hard hand over the man’s mouth as he plunged the knife deep into his kidney.

  He activated his mic. “Report,” he whispered.

  Ben, Sam, and Joe reported they were clear. A moment later, Trace answered Nico’s order with two clicks. “Ben,” Nico whispered.

  “Copy.”

  If the odds were better, Nico would let Trace hunt the two men searching for Mercy. His friend was more than capable of taking on two opponents. Right now, Nico was more interested in getting Mercy and his teammates to the SUV without attracting attention.

  Nico returned to Mercy and helped her to her feet. He slid his arm around her shoulder. “Look straight ahead,” he murmured, and moved them forward to meet his teammates.

  Finally, Trace murmured, “Clear.”

  As the sky lightened to twilight, his teammates rejoined him and Mercy. Nico scooped the president’s niece into his arms again, and the operatives ran.

  Mercy leaned close to Nico’s ear. “I’m sorry you have to carry me.”

  “If you were well hydrated, you could run.”

  She gave a short, soft laugh. “Not even on my best days. I hate running.”

  He flicked a grin at her. The rest of the run through the woods was completed in silence. When they reached the SUV, Ben dropped to the ground and rolled under the vehicle as Joe walked around it, checking for trackers.

  “What are they doing?” Mercy asked.

  “Making sure Hector didn’t leave us surprises.”

  Joe and Ben finished their perusal. “Clear,” Ben said.

  Nico opened the back door and lifted Mercy to the middle row of seats, then joined her. Joe and Sam slid into the back while Ben climbed into the shotgun seat with Trace behind the wheel. “Go.”

  As they sped down the road, Nico and his teammates stayed vigilant, expecting trouble to materialize at every bend in the road. Five miles from Rio Azul, Joe said, “Company coming up on our six, fast.”

  “How many vehicles?”

  “Two.”

  “Get on the floor, Mercy. Sam, change places with me. Joe, take the vehicle on the left. I’ll take the goons on the right. Ben, be alert in case there are more ahead.”

  Trace snorted. “We’re heading into an ambush. There are only a handful of roads leading away from Rio Azul.”

  “This province is owned by the Scorpions,” Ben added. “I hope we have enough ammunition.”

  “Here they come.” Joe climbed over the seat into the cargo area, twisted, and kicked out the hatchback glass. Sam handed him his AR-15, grabbed her own, and clambered into the seat near Mercy.

  Nico checked to be sure Mercy was still on the floor and shifted into the cargo area with his rifle. “Cover your ears, Mercy. No matter what you hear, don’t get up until we tell you it’s safe to move.”

  “Do what you need to,” she said.

  Amazing. Taking Mercy at her word, he settled down to do his job.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Mercy flinched as gunfire echoed inside the SUV. She pressed closer to the floor as she waited for her five rescuers to eliminate the threats to her life. When a hail of return fire sounded, Sam slid from the seat and sprawled over top of Mercy.

  “Sorry,” Sam murmured. “I’ll get up as soon as we’re clear.”

  “Please tell me you’re wearing protective gear.”

  A pause, then, “We wear it on every mission.”

  Tension lessened in her muscles. “Good.” She didn’t want anyone injured or dead on her account, although the odds of escaping the conflict unscathed were slim.

  A loud crash made Mercy jerk. What was that?

  “One down,” Joe said.

  Another crash. “Two down,” Nico peered over the seat. “Doing okay, Mercy?”

  “Just peachy. Can’t remember when I’ve had more fun.”

  He gave a short laugh as he peered through the front windshield. “Two incoming. I’ll take the vehicle on the left.”

  “RPG?” Ben asked.

  Mercy’s eyes widened. Her rescuers had rocket-propelled grenades on them?

  “No need for stealth. By now, Hector knows where we are. We’ll take out of these vehicles and try to outrun the ones sure to follow.” Nico scrambled over the seat and lowered the window. Grabbing his grenade launcher, he levered himself through the opening to sit on the window frame and hefted the weapon to his shoulder.

  A moment later, the grenade deployed. Within seconds an explosion ripped through the early morning, followed quickly by a second.

  Nico ducked back into the vehicle. “There’s probably a roadblock ahead. Take us off the main road, Trace.”

  “Copy that.” In less than a minute, the SUV veered to the right and accelerated.

  “You can get up, Mercy.” As soon as Sam rose and slid back into the cargo area with Joe, Nico helped Mercy into the seat. “Don’t get comfortable. You’ll be back on the floor if we run into more trouble. Any new injuries?”

  She
shook her head. “I’m fine.” Aside from the tremors setting in. Ticked her off, too. Nico must have noticed because he thrust his hand into his bag and pulled out a lightweight silver blanket, shook it out, and wrapped the cover around her.

  “The adrenaline’s bleeding off,” he murmured. “The shakes will pass soon.”

  Not soon enough. Nico and the rest of his team weren’t having a problem with adrenaline. They’re used to it, she reminded herself. Her world was boring and sedate compared to the one they worked in.

  She wasn’t cut out for that world. Not much danger in her line of work. Most of the time, she labored in seclusion, her greatest dangers paper cuts, dry skin, and ink stains.

  As the sky lightened enough to see the landscape, Mercy realized her earlier plan to escape and find a phone to call for help would have been doomed. The area where she’d been held was remote and barren. Miguel had mentioned a village nearby. Maybe Nico’s driver had zoomed past it while she’d been on the floor. Since this area was under the control of the Scorpions, chances were high the villagers would have been too afraid to aid in her escape.

  “Activity ahead,” Trace said.

  Mercy stared through the windshield. Several vehicles were arranged across the road, blocking their passage.

  Nico scowled. “Evade. I’d rather not engage again and confirm where we’re headed for Hector.”

  Trace turned down a side street on the left and sped through residential neighborhoods where a few lights shone in windows. He took turn after turn until they emerged onto a main thoroughfare.

  “Have you been here before, Trace?” Mercy asked the operative.

  “No, ma’am. I have a knack with maps.” He shrugged. “I’ve always loved them. When I study one, the map stays in my mind.”

  “I’m directionally challenged. Can’t find my way out of a paper bag no matter how many maps you give me.”

  Nico pulled out his cell phone and made a call. “It’s Nico. We’re ten minutes out and coming in hot. Have the jet ready.”