Page 5

God damn it.

“Black SUV. Rear, middle seat. They’re pulling out.”

“Copy. We’ll close the distance to the gate.”

“Vehicle closing in. 600 meters to your three. The drainage ditch should give cover to your approach.”

In the distance, we hear tires crunching on gravel and the sound of the SUVs engine. Through the trees, we see it speeding down the mud and gravel road. Levi vocalizes my own realization.

“We’re not gonna make it.”

“Hunter, can you take out the driver?”

“Affirm. Driver’s exposed. Wind’s holding steady. Target at 400 meters and closing.”

“Take the shot, Hunter.”

A suppressed shot echoes softly in the distance.

“Driver’s down.”

A blink later, we’re watching the SUV drive straight into a tree.

“Two Hostiles on the move. Target’s with them.”

“Where’s the third?”

“Immobilized in the car. Think he might have bumped his noggin in the crash. Wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.”

“Take him out. We’re goin’ loud.”

As one, we rush forward, still unseen by the fleeing hostiles, dragging the target with them and using her as a shield. They’vegot a black sack tied over her head and have her bound at the wrists and ankles.

God knows what this woman has been through. As the daughter of a politician who does not have this cartel’s best interests at heart, I can’t imagine they’ve been kind to her. She isn’t the first hostage we’ve rescued from a situation like this either, and I can’t fathom any of these women leading normal lives after experiencing the trauma they do at the hands of cruel men.

The sound of her muffled screams from whatever gag they must have in her mouth is fuel to my fire.

In their haste, one of the hostiles trips. It’s in that fleeting window of opportunity in which his vital organs are now far enough away from our target that I can fire a short burst from my HK416. It gives away our position, but there’s only one hostile left, and his odds of survival are abominable. The remaining hostile yells, holding a gun to our target’s head, as she sobs in terror.

“Two hostile vehicles incoming at your nine.”

“Take out the drivers.”

Levi sprays the ground near the lone hostile’s feet with bullets. The hostile leaps backward, creating enough space for Riggs to take a shot, turning the guy’s gun-wielding hand into ground meat. The target tumbles to the ground on top of him, quickly scrambling away, giving us another window, and Levi takes a headshot.

I’m already lifting the hostage into my arms when Beau’s voice is a tense growl in my ear. “Negative. I don’t have eyes. I’m moving down to engage.”

“Negative. Stay where you are. We need eyes.”

Barking a command to my team, we move to the tree cover just as we hear the roar of engines in the distance. I don’t have time to be gentle, so with an unceremonious thump, I drop thehostage on the ground before turning back toward the road just as two hostile vehicles screech to a halt behind where the first vehicle crashed, and ten armed men begin firing at the tree line.

Riggs, Mal, Levi, and I fire back.

Too fucking messy.

Two hostiles go down as the rest take cover behind their SUVs.

“Hunter, contact front. Two vehicles, multiple dismounts. They’re using the trucks for cover.”