Chapter Eleven #2
Grant set Tara on her feet, then crouched and cupped his hands for Riley. When she placed her foot in the cradle of his hands, Grant boosted her to the top of the wall and turned to Tara. “Your turn. Riley will help you over the wall.”
Seconds later, Tara was up and over the wall, followed quickly by her husband.
“Bogies coming up on your six, Grant,” Teagan warned.
“Keep them off me for 30 seconds.” He stepped back a few feet and sprinted toward the wall, easily grasping the top of the barrier and hauling himself up and over the top.
After dropping on the other side, Grant scooped Tara into his arms again. “Go,” he ordered and followed Riley and Sean across the open terrain. What he wouldn’t give for a few good bushes and trees right now.
Bullets peppered the ground to his right, kicking dirt and debris into the air. He veered to the left. “Move it, Riley.”
She reached back, grabbed Sean’s hand, and tugged him into a faster pace. Soon, they ran through the treeline and into the rainforest with Grant and Tara a few steps behind.
Bullets lodged in tree trunks, tossing bark and leaves into the air. Grant’s cheek stung, and warm liquid trailed down his cheek.
Tara gasped. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing. A scratch from flying tree bark. I’ll take care of it later.”
Grant carried Tara another thousand yards into the forest, then set the woman on her feet. He tapped his comm device. “This is Team One. Phase one complete. Beginning phase two.”
“Copy,” Seth answered. “Team Three will rendezvous with you. All teams begin phase two now.”
After each team acknowledged the order, Grant grabbed his satellite phone, tapped in the number to start his portion of the next phase.
Seconds later, one explosion after another formed a chain reaction of chaos around the cartel compound.
No, it wouldn’t stop most of the soldiers, but it would throw them into chaos and give the Fortress teams time to put more distance between them and the cartel.
He scooped Tara into his arms again and headed toward the rendezvous point.
Based on the chatter in the past few minutes, Rayne and Jake had run into trouble while rescuing the children.
Although he had heard nothing about injuries on Team Two, Grant would be glad to see that Rayne was safe for himself.
Yeah, he knew she could defend herself like he could.
He was still concerned about her safety.
Rayne Weatherly was important to him and quickly becoming the center of his world.
Angry shouts of the cartel soldiers grew louder, as did the sound of limbs breaking and people shoving their way through the flora and fauna of the rainforest. The operatives picked up their pace, encouraging Sean to walk faster over the uneven terrain.
When he stumbled repeatedly, Grant said, “Riley, I need a two-minute break.”
She skidded to a stop and spun to stare at him. While he didn’t need the break, their principal did. He inclined his head slightly toward Sean.
Riley dug a small bottle of water from her Go bag and handed it to Sean. “Sip, don’t guzzle.”
“I can keep going,” the man insisted even as he leaned against a tree, breathing hard.
“You can,” she agreed. “But Grant is carrying your wife.”
A branch broke nearby.
Grant set Tara by her husband and pulled his Sig.
With his other hand, he signaled to Riley that he would intercept their pursuer.
They needed more distance between them and their pursuers.
If the cartel soldier caught up with them, he would inform his comrades of the hostages’ location.
That would end up in a bloodbath because Grant and Riley wouldn’t allow the soldiers to recapture the Whites without a fight.
Besides, every second they were separated from the rest of the team meant greater chances of either the children or the Whites being injured further besides injuries sustained by the operatives tasked with rescuing and defending the family.
Grant melted into the deep shadows of the rainforest, circling around with noiseless footsteps to get behind their pursuer.
He frowned. The soldier made enough noise for a herd of horses.
Did these guys have any training at all other than being instructed to point a pistol and shoot?
They never would have made it on the battlefield in the military.
Drawing the enemy’s attention left you dead.
He closed in on their pursuer, who cursed steadily as he plowed through more rainforest undergrowth. Grant bridged the gap between them in seconds, tackled the enemy from behind, and took him to the ground, hard.
Slippery as an eel, the soldier wiggled and thrashed and finally turned over. He threw a roundhouse punch that Grant easily evaded.
Grant returned the attack with an elbow strike to the temple and a punch to the throat. The soldier went limp.
He flipped the man over onto his stomach and cinched his wrists with zip ties, then slapped a piece of duct tape over his mouth.
No doubt this guy’s comrades would find him, eventually.
By that time, hopefully Grant and his teammates would be out of the rainforest with the Whites and on the way home.
Scrambling to his feet, Grant hurried back to where he’d left Riley and the others. When he walked into the small clearing where the others waited, Riley had her pistol aimed at his chest.
She lowered her weapon to her thigh. “Ready?”
He gave a curt nod, appreciating that Riley didn’t ask if he had handled the problem. No need to traumatize the Whites further.
Grant crouched and picked up Tara. “Time to go,” he murmured.
“Have you heard anything about our children?”
“They’re out of the compound and on the way to our rendezvous point. You’ll see them soon.”
“Oh, thank God,” she whispered. “I was so worried.”
“They’re in excellent hands, Tara.”
They set off again with Riley in the lead, Sean trailing her, and Grant bringing up the rear with Tara. Fifteen minutes later, Riley held up a fist. She motioned to Sean to get on the ground.
Grant crouched with his upper body covering much of Tara’s torso. He quartered the area, looking for signs of imminent discovery.
Riley held up two fingers, then indicated the directions where she heard the soldiers.
While Riley could handle both men, it would take more time than Grant wanted to wait. The longer they delayed arriving at the rendezvous point, the greater the risk of them being discovered.
He eased Tara onto the ground beside her husband. “Don’t move,” he whispered. Palming his Sig, Grant signaled to Riley that he would take the soldier to the right.
After a nod, she disappeared into the shadows to their left.
Once again, Grant circled around behind a cartel soldier. This one, however, was not as noisy as the first man he’d taken down.
He finally spotted his quarry minutes later. The man crept closer to the Whites’ location.
Grant approached the soldier. Seconds before he closed the last of the gap between them, the soldier spun and saw Grant. With eyes widening, he raised his pistol. Grant pulled the trigger first.
The other man dropped his weapon, shock in his eyes. He sank to his knees, then slumped to the ground. He didn’t move.
Grant closed the distance in a few strides and checked for a pulse. There wasn’t one. He regretted that taking another life was necessary, but if he hadn’t, the Whites would have been back in the cartel’s hands.
He returned to the Whites and found Sean standing with his back to his wife, a large stick in his hands. “You can stand down, Sean.”
The other man relaxed and tossed his stick aside. “We’re safe?”
“For now.”
Riley returned, a cut on her cheek.
He frowned. “You okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” She sounded disgusted. “Didn’t see the blade before he swiped at me.”
Grant settled Tara against his chest. “Have Jake look at it when we’re wheels up.”
“Planned on it. You good?”
“Yep. Let’s go. The gunfire is like a beacon on a dark night. We need to make tracks.”
“Copy that.” She urged Sean to follow her and set off again for the coordinates where they would meet their teammates.
Fifteen minutes later, Riley came to an abrupt stop, grabbing Sean’s arm to stop him. She looked at Grant, her expression grim.
Stomach twisting into a knot, he walked closer to Riley and set Tara on her feet.
Riley inclined her head to the left.
Palming his Sig again, he eased through the foliage and underbrush in the direction Riley indicated.
In Spanish, a man said, “Come to me now or I will shoot you.”
“Not going to happen.”
Rayne. Grant’s heart skipped a beat. He picked his way through the foliage to get closer to Rayne.
Taking cover behind a large tree, he peered around the trunk. Rayne stood with a little girl in her arms.
The soldier scowled and aimed his weapon at Rayne. “Do it now, or I will shoot you.”
“You won’t. You might hit the girl. Then you’d be in trouble with your cartel leaders.”
Grant took aim at the soldier. “Hey,” he yelled.
The soldier spun in his direction, weapon up and ready.
Grant fired two shots to center mass. The soldier dropped to the ground, motionless.
Rayne smiled. “Good timing.”
He shoved through the foliage. “You ladies all right?”
“We’re fine thanks to you, right, Jenna?”
The girl nodded.
“Where’s Jake?”
“Right here.” The medic pushed through the foliage on the other side of the small clearing. “I had to find a safe place for the boy.” He approached the downed soldier with his weapon at the ready, checked for a pulse, and shook his head.
Seth and Andre joined them in the clearing. “Need a hand?” Seth asked.
“Riley is with the Whites.” Grant motioned to the east, where he’d left the couple under the other operative’s protection.
“I’ll go.” Andre loped off without waiting for Seth to agree.
Seth activated his comm device. “Teagan, report.”
“Sean’s father just arrived at the compound. Orders?”
“He’s not our problem. Get out of there. We’ll meet you at rendezvous site two.”
“Copy that.”
“Team three, report.”
“Surprises placed,” Iona said. “Will rendezvous with T in one minute.”
“Copy.”
Jake retraced his steps through the foliage and returned with Will. Seconds later, Andre walked into the clearing with Tara in his arms, her husband and Riley close behind.
“Mom, Dad.” Will broke away from Jake to throw himself into his father’s embrace.
Rayne carried Jenna to her mother and let the little girl hug Tara.
“Sorry to break up the reunion, but we need to go.” Seth organized the group so the operatives surrounded the family in a loose circle. Jake took Jenna from Rayne, and Andre continued to carry Tara. The group moved quickly through the rainforest, their movements nearly silent.
Twice, Seth held up a fist to warn of trouble ahead. He melted into the deep shadows each time and returned minutes later.
In half a mile, the group stopped near a thick stand of trees with rock outcroppings scattered around the second rendezvous site.
While they waited for Teagan and the others, Jake checked on the Whites.
Finally, Teagan, Iona, and Elias arrived.
Seth dropped a quick kiss on his wife’s mouth.
“We need to move out,” Iona murmured. “We had to evade several soldiers still searching for the Whites. They’re headed this direction.”
Jake scooped Jenna into his arms as Andre picked up Tara again.
“If you need to switch off carrying duty, sing out.” Seth signaled the group to move out. He led the group through the rainforest, picking up the pace to put as much distance between them and their pursuers as possible.
Thirty minutes later, Elias scooped Will into his arms and continued jogging through the rainforest.
A quarter of a mile later, Sean stumbled and fell. Grant helped him to his feet. “You hurt?”
The father shook his head. “I think I’m tapped out.”
“Not surprising.” He draped one of Sean’s arms across his shoulders.
Seth draped Sean’s other arm across his shoulders, and they set out again with Grant and Seth practically carrying Sean across the uneven terrain.
The operatives set a faster pace, determined to escape the jungle without further encounters with cartel soldiers.
Two miles from the coordinates where they left their SUVs, Seth pulled his satellite phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Frowning, he held up a fist. The group stopped, and Seth tapped his comm device. “Go ahead, Z.”
His voice came through all their earpieces. “Hold for the boss.”
“Seth, sit rep.”
Grant’s forehead furrowed. Something was up. Brent Maddox never called in the middle of a mission in a hot zone. He wasn’t one to micromanage his people. So what prompted this unusual contact?
Echo’s team leader gave Maddox a concise report.
The Fortress CEO sighed. “I hate to do this, but Martin called in a favor.”
Seth groaned. “Let me guess. He wants us to rescue Gerald White too since we’re in the neighborhood?”
“You got it. I’m sorry, Seth. White had a team of five bodyguards. He’s down to one. The cartel killed the other four. White and the remaining bodyguard are on the run. They’re heading straight for you with bogies on their tails.”
“Orders, sir?”
“If you can spare a couple operatives, send them to intercept White and Hilliard. They won’t be able to hold off the soldiers much longer.”
“Send us the coordinates.”
“Copy that. I owe you, Seth.”
“Don’t worry,” their leader said cheerfully. “We won’t let you forget.”
Maddox gave a short bark of laughter. “I bet. Watch your backs.”
“Copy that, sir.”
Sean White looked from one operative to another. “What’s this about my father?”
Iona folded her arms. “Your father arrived at the compound with five bodyguards in tow and a boatload of money to buy your freedom.”
Tara gasped. “Oh, no. What happened?”
“About what you’d expect,” Seth said. “The cartel stole the money and took out four of the bodyguards. Gerald and his remaining bodyguard are on the run in the rainforest with soldiers hot on their trail. They’re heading in this direction.”
“We have to help them. We can’t leave them to face the cartel alone.”
He turned to the operatives. “You heard the boss. I need two volunteers to intercept and provide help.”
“I’ll go,” Grant said. He had a few more bombs left that might even the odds.
“I’ll go with Grant,” Rayne said and handed Jenna to Iona.
Seth gave a curt nod. “Thanks for stepping up. Z is tracking White and the bodyguard. He sent all of us the link to intercept.”
Grant turned to Rayne. “Ready?”
She nodded.
“Let’s go rescue a billionaire.”