Chapter Thirty-One #2
“That’s good to hear.” He said into the comm system, “We’re ready for retrieval. Up or down?”
“Up,” Dario said. “Too many hazards on the way down and less distance to cover going up. Ready on your orders, sir.”
“Copy. Hold.” Cam looked at Sedona. “What do you say we get off this cliff and find a place that sells the biggest and best breakfast in this area?”
She grinned. “If that offer comes with over-the-counter pain meds, I accept. Are we counting this as a date?”
“Absolutely. I’m late to the game, so I’m definitely counting this as a date.” He tapped his comm device. “Ready.”
“Copy.”
Cam moved Sedona into a better position. “Put your arms around my neck and hold on.” When she did as he asked, Cam said, “Haul team, go.”
Dario said, “Ready, pull, reset, pull.”
Inch by inch, Cam walked up the side of the cliff as the haul team pulled them up. Finally, the edge team pulled them over the crest of the cliff to safety.
Spencer knelt beside Sedona and smiled. “You made it. I knew you would.”
“Thanks to Cam. I couldn’t have held on much longer, and the tree’s roots were pulling away from the cliff.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
Cam pulled her into his arms and accepted the Mylar blanket Spencer handed to him.
He wrapped the blanket around Sedona’s back and tucked her against his chest. “Give me a minute,” he said to Spencer.
Although Cam longed to stay right here with Sedona in his arms until he fully believed that she was with him again and safe, he’d settle for holding her long enough for her to stop shivering.
“Let me know when you’re ready,” the medic said.
Five minutes ticked away as Cam’s team put away their gear and settled a short distance away. Close enough to help if needed and far enough to give Cam and Sedona privacy.
He skimmed one hand along her spine, making her aware of his presence but not demanding attention.
When her shivering slowed, he whispered in her ear.
“I’m so proud of you. You could have panicked and made the rescue ten times harder.
Instead, you were calm and logical. You thought things through, and that gave us the advantage we needed. ”
Sedona tilted her head just enough to look at Cam. “What advantage? I don’t know about thinking things through, but I was terrified. It was a toss-up who would let go first, me or the tree. Thankfully, you arrived before I found out who won.”
“The advantage was you staying in control no matter how terrified you were. Because you could think, you could follow orders, and that made the rescue so much easier. So, thank you.”
She stared back at him. “People really become so afraid that they hinder rather than help their own rescue?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Tell her about the time you rappelled down a steep mountainside and found a woman lying naked at the edge of a steep drop that ended in a raging river,” Dario called out.
He groaned. “Did you have to mention that one?”
“You’ve got to admit that it fits the circumstances,” Isaac said.
“Sedona is not Isabella Dunleavy.”
“He’s got you there,” Spencer said. “I can vouch for the fact Sedona has never babbled.”
“That’s a compliment, Sedona,” Dario said. “Isabella will forever be dubbed the Babbler when we talk about her rescue.”
“I’m glad I passed muster,” Sedona said. She bit her bottom lip, looking from Cam to Spencer and back again. “How are Julio, Eddie, and Daisy? You rescued them, right?”
“We did. All of them are okay. You can verify that for yourself when we go to the hospital to have your wrist checked.”
“I hate to ask, but what happened with Mr. Lyons?”
“That is an excellent question, Miss Hart.”
The Thunderhawks spread out, hands raised. Their spacing gave them angles of attack when Cam gave the word.
A red laser light slid across Sedona’s chest. A second light appeared center mass on Cam.
Without thinking, he pushed Sedona to the ground and followed her down, covering her body with his.
Good thing he’d pulled on his bullet-resistant vest. He just hoped the assassin hadn’t loaded armor-piercing rounds into his magazine.
Cam reached for his gun. As his fingers brushed the grip, the same male voice said, “I wouldn’t, Mr. Sims. You won’t like the consequences if you pull that weapon.”
Cam’s hand drifted away from his Sig. Where was the man? He turned his head slightly to look at David with his eyebrows raised. His boss inclined his head to Cam’s left.
By minute degrees, Cam turned his head. Despite Simpson’s ability to use camouflage to hide his position, his voice came from the same place, which was a surprise.
Simpson was too much of a professional to make that mistake.
He must know the backgrounds of the teams working on this mission. Underestimating them was foolish.
He scanned the clearing again. Where were Elliot and Owen? His gaze caught David’s. Forming hand signs with his fingers on the side of his thigh, Cam signaled David, asking about Elliot and Owen.
The answer? They’re close. Stall.
Well, that was vague enough. Stall, huh? Easier said than done with a man not known to tolerate fools.
“Where is Lyons, Mr. Sims?” Simpson demanded. “I want him. Now.”
Cam hesitated for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet, arms away from his body, empty hands spread toward Simpson. He casually stepped in front of Sedona. “Did you really think a man as paranoid as Lyons would stay in his home when an identified threat is coming to his doorstep?”
“He never leaves his home.”
“Ordinarily that’s true, but your reputation precedes you, Simpson. You should take that as a compliment. Lyons accepted an offer of a temporary safe house.”
Simpson pushed through a handful of his cronies despite their attempt to keep him behind them. “Where is he?” he ground out through gritted teeth. “Tell me, or there will be consequences.”
Cam studied the other man. “What’s in it for me?”
Simpson blinked. “You might get to live if I’m in a merciful mood.”
Yeah, he knew better than that. Simpson already had a bullet in the chamber with Cam’s name on it. “What else?”
Simpson gave a bark of laughter. “That’s not enough for you?”
“Frankly, no, it isn’t.”
After a lengthy pause, Simpson said, “All right. I’ll bite. What do you want?” He held up a hand. “Oh, wait. I bet I already know. You want my word that I won’t touch your girlfriend.”
“I want your word that you won’t touch Sedona or any of our friends.”
“You drive a hard bargain.” More staring by Simpson, then, “All right. If you give me Lyons, then I will leave the beautiful Miss Hart and your friends alone. Now, where is he?”
Cam smiled. “Quantico.”
“The FBI training academy?” The assassin spat out vile curses. “That was not part of our bargain, Mr. Sims.”
“You gave me your word, and I gave you honest information in return. It’s not my fault you don’t like the answer I gave you.”
Dario inched sideways during the exchange with Simpson, pretending to adjust his footing.
Isaac lowered his center of gravity, preparing to jump on Cam’s signal.
Simpson flicked his gaze toward the movement of the two men.
Almost time. Cam hoped Elliot and Owen were in place because this would go down with or without them in the next few seconds.
Cam stepped half a pace forward, drawing Simpson’s aim. “Put the weapon down and surrender, Simpson.”
Another bark of laughter. “Why should I? My assistants are in control.”
“You’re running out of time.”
“Are you insane? There are only six of you, and I have ten men with me.” A gust of wind kicked dust into Simpson’s eyes. He flinched for a fraction of a second.
Sedona moaned, drawing Simpson’s attention. The assassin automatically adjusted his aim.
Dario lunged from Simpson’s blind side at the same time as Isaac dove toward the killer. Dario went high, while Isaac went low.
David, Spencer, and Rhys drew their weapons and aimed at the crew Simpson had brought with him.
Elliot and Owen identified themselves as police officers, then said, “Drop your weapons, then put hands on your head,” Owen ordered Simpson’s remaining employees.
One move by Isaac, and the assassin’s weapon skittered across the rock, stopping near the cliff edge. Spencer kicked the weapon farther out of Simpson’s reach.
In seconds, Simpson was face down on the ground, arms pinned behind his back. He cursed them all and threatened Cam and Sedona.
Nice.
Now that the assassin was in custody, David helped his brothers search for weapons and restrained Simpson’s men.
“Did you hear that threat, David?”
“I not only heard it, I recorded it.”
“That’s worth another couple of charges, don’t you think?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
More loud, vicious curses from Simpson prompted Dario to bend down and stare directly into Simpson’s eyes. “If you say one more ugly word in Sedona’s hearing, I will gag you. Am I making myself clear?”