Chapter 4 #2
“I don’t like this,” Xander grumbled from the front passenger seat.
“I read you loud and clear, buddy.” Liam sorted through the events of the last couple of days. The mission to find the contractor’s daughter. Getting called off. Discovering Raven in a hut, injured and terrified.
“Car on our six.” Rafe’s calm words almost made Liam chuckle.
“Got it.” Boone sped up.
Liam noted the trailing vehicle’s response. He clutched his HK416 tighter. “Matching speed.”
“Annoying backseat drivers,” Boone grumbled.
Xander nodded. “That’s why none of you are allowed in my cockpit.”
He and Rafe glanced at each other and smiled.
“Our job here is done.” His second-in-command raised his knuckles, and Liam bumped them.
He thanked God every day for these men in his life. Liam had questioned his choice of starting BlackKnight Security, but when he finished forming the team, he knew he’d done the right thing.
“Doing okay back there?” He twisted to check on Raven. Even through the light-hearted banter, Liam worried about their exfil.
“Believe it or not, I’m okay. I’m enclosed inside this SUV. It’s daylight out. And I have five men I trust with my life.”
He glanced over the seat and studied her for a moment. She did look more relaxed.
“But if you could get me on that plane and back home, I’d appreciate it.”
Chuckles filled the interior of the vehicle.
“We’ll do our best.” Liam refocused on Boone. “Lose him.”
“On it. Hold on.” Boone hit the accelerator, and the SUV lurched forward.
Raven squeaked then whimpered as if in pain.
“Raven?” Dax’s concerned tone hit Liam.
A grimace contorted her face, and she held her middle.
“Sorry, Raven.” Boone navigated the curvy roads like a professional NASCAR driver.
“’is okay.” Her words slurred a bit behind her gritted teeth.
Her response sent Liam’s stomach plummeting to the floor. He called out to his medic. “X-Man.” Dax was beside her, but he wanted Xander’s expertise.
“Raven, where does it hurt?” Xander asked.
“I’m good.”
Xander twisted in his seat. “Raven, stop. You know better than anyone that we don’t hide things from our teammates. That can get people dead. You are one of us. The only difference is you aren’t behind a computer monitor at the moment.”
She nodded. “My ribs. When we sped up, my body slammed into the seatbelt.”
“Better. Any worse than before? Or just a jolt to remind you they’re there?”
Liam listened to the back and forth between Xander and Raven. The pain in her voice ripped his heart out. But he stayed quiet, allowing his medic to take charge.
“A jolt, I think. Give me a second.” She breathed through the discomfort. “They’re settling down.”
“Good. If that changes, you let me know.”
“I promise. Thanks, Charlie Five.”
A grin split Xander's face. “Never thought I’d hear my call sign from you in person.”
Same, my friend, same. Liam kept his gaze on the road ahead while Rafe maintained a view of their six.
“Why on earth are these people after you, Raven?” Dax asked.
“I honestly don’t know.”
“Give us the quick version of why you’re here.” Boone’s casual tone belied his intense driving.
“My therapist and I have been working on my agoraphobia. I’ve improved so much that she recommended I take a trip for a new experience. She thought I was ready for the challenge.” Raven’s last words came out in a whisper.
“Did she know where you went?” Rafe asked.
“Yes. I talked with her right before I took a walk on the property.”
Liam exchanged looks with Rafe. Could the therapist have lured Raven here?
“No. Just no.” Raven glared at him. “I see that thought running through your head. Breana is not only helping me, but I trust her completely.”
“We have no idea why you were abducted. We have to look at all angles.” Liam refused to put Raven’s safety at stake by not considering all possibilities.
“I guess. But you are way off base.”
Liam fought the smile, pushing forward. There was his feisty Raven.
The woman in his ear, whose calm, consistent tone got him through several harrowing missions.
His breath caught. His Raven. Not in a possessive sense, but one of closeness.
The woman had intrigued him since they started working together.
If he could get her out of this mess, maybe he’d find the courage to ask her out on a real date. Now that he’d met her in person.
Rafe narrowed his gaze and tilted his head as if to ask what was up.
He smiled and shook his head. No way would he announce that in front of his men.
“The car’s closing in,” Boone commented like they were sitting around shooting the breeze at a picnic.
“Two miles to the airfield. Winding roads with drop-offs oceanside and rocky hills opposite. No room to maneuver if you get in trouble.” Liam rattled off the information.
“Copy that.”
He noticed the others prepare for the worst-case scenario. Liam trusted Dax, but man, it was hard not to be the one protecting her.
“Dax.”
“I’ve got her.”
The car rammed into the bumper of the SUV.
The SUV fishtailed. Boone wrestled with the steering wheel and won.
The car struck them a second time, throwing the large vehicle onto the gravel edge. The tires skidded and caught the edge of the road, causing Boone to overcorrect. Charlie Four fought the pull across the road, the back end sliding wide, but he gained control.
When the car hit their SUV, it had been thrown off course and ended up stopped at an angle on the two-lane road.
“Hit the gas.” Liam tapped the back of Xander’s seat. “X-Man, get that plane ready for takeoff as fast as you possibly can.”
“Fifteen minutes. Twenty tops. I want to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with.”
“Dax, you’ve got Raven. Boone, you’re with me on perimeter, but first drop the gear at the luggage hold. Rafe, store the stuff and help Xander if he needs it. Everyone go to comms.”
A round of Copy filled the SUV.
“Raven. Charlie Three will get your bag and backpack. Get yourself on board and buckled in. Once Charlie Five gives us the ready for takeoff, we’ll join you and get out of here.”
“I’ll do my part.” Raven held her ribs, but the determination in her gaze eased Liam’s concern.
Liam drummed his fingers on the stock of his rifle. When the SUV turned into the entrance of the airfield, he scanned the surroundings as Boone sped toward the plane.
“Coming up on the airstrip,” Boone announced.
Liam eyed the distance and silently counted down. The SUV skidded to a stop. “Charlie Five, go.”
Xander jumped from the SUV and hit the ground running.
Boone slammed the vehicle into Park, and the rest of the team filed out.
“Mr. McKnight, the gate to the field is closed. I’ll return the SUV.” The man who owned the airstrip, and who they’d paid quite nicely for help, held out his hand.
Boone dropped the keys into the guy’s palm.
“Thank you, Marco,” Liam said.
“Anytime, sir.”
His team executed his orders while he finished the quick conversation with their connection. Liam jogged the gear over to Rafe and joined Boone on lookout.
The plane engines cranked and hummed to life. He’d give Xander ten minutes to get the thing warmed up.
Weapon across his torso and finger close to the trigger, Liam swept his gaze along the perimeter.
The more he thought about the whole debacle with Raven, the more he worried.
Especially after the mission in Syria. According to Raven, she hadn’t uncovered who leaked the equipment codes and had received nasty emails from an unknown source.
He hadn’t read any of them. Maybe Raven had downplayed them, and the messages hadn’t simply been unkind words, but threats. He tucked that question away for later.
“Charlie One, Charlie Two.”
“Go ahead, Charlie Two.”
“I’m not liking this. I recommend a safehouse until we get to the bottom of Raven’s abduction.” It was as if Rafe had read his mind.
“I concur,” Charlie Four added.
“Charlie One, shouldn’t we ask before making that decision?” Charlie Three had a point.
He’d never force Raven to do anything she didn’t want to. But he’d make sure she understood the severity of the situation. “Charlie Three, go ahead. Explain it to her.”
“Thanks a lot, Charlie One.” He could hear Dax’s eye roll from here.
After a couple of minutes of silence, Dax returned to the comms. “She’s in agreement. Although fair warning, she’s glaring at me. Raven does not like to be excluded from our discussions.”
Now, that was the Raven he knew. “Copy that, Charlie Three.”
“Charlie Five to all. Ready to roll.”
Liam and Boone dashed to the aircraft and hurried aboard. Rafe closed the door and locked it in place. The wheels rolled as they found their seats. He took one near Raven. Having her out of his sight for the last fifteen minutes made his skin crawl.
The eight-passenger Cessna lifted off. Liam shifted to face Raven. “Did Dax explain our concerns?”
She nodded. “I don’t like it, but I’ll agree to the safe house.”
“Thank you.” Liam exhaled with relief and texted his buddy in Colorado, requesting the use of the man’s property. The answer came back immediately. He tucked his phone in his pocket. “Charlie Five, process to safe house six. Use of runway approved.”
“Copy that, Charlie One.”
Liam rested his head on the seat and closed his eyes. If he hadn’t gone with his gut, what would have happened to Raven?