Page 132 of Fatal Intent

Tainted goods? “You don’t know what you’re missing.” Her watch vibrated twice, a silent signal that help was coming. The tension in her body dissipated. All she had to do was survive until Fortress arrived. But how long would that take? She didn’t know where Gino and his pals had taken her, much less how far away she was from the fishing camp.

She couldn’t be that far. The GPS tracker near her shoulder blade was still warm, which meant her tracker was still active.

“How long do you think it will take Bowen to come after his woman?” Barry asked.

“He’s already on the road,” Gino said. “Didn’t you see the way he looked at her? Bowen is gone over her.” He turned to Rayne. “Isn’t he?”

She remained silent.

He chuckled. “That’s what I expected from the girlfriend of our EOD man. She’d have to have nerves of steel. You do, don’t you, Rayne?”

Again, she said nothing.

“Her silence is telling,” Chase muttered. “What will we do with her? She’ll have served her purpose within a few hours.”

Ellis grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back. “She comes with me.”

The men froze.

“What do you mean she’s coming with you?” Gino demanded. “We talked about this when Donovan told us what he used as leverage. Leverage serves a purpose. A hostage with no value doesn’t.”

Ellis trailed a finger down her neck. “I see plenty of value in beautiful Rayne. She’ll be my guest for the foreseeable future or at least until I tire of her.”

Rex cursed viciously. “You plan to keep her prisoner? You saw what she did a few minutes ago. Do you want to take a chance of her escaping and talking to the cops?”

“We’ve been living off the grid for weeks.” Barry shoved a hand through his hair, leaving rumpled locks behind. “Your plan will bring us all to the attention of the authorities.”

“We can’t afford that,” Gino said.

“Too bad,” Ellis snapped. “She’s mine, and I won’t let her go. Bowen doesn’t deserve her. She should know how a real man treats his woman.”

Chase laughed. “And you think you’re the man to teach her? Man, you are so messed up about women, you should live in the Stone Age.”

Ellis glowered at his teammate. “Shut up, Chase. This isn’t your decision. It’s mine. I want her. I’m taking her. The rest of you can get your own women.” A haughty smile curved his mouth. “Maybe you can take the women involved with Echo unit. Talk about poetic justice.” He laughed. “Oh yeah, I like that idea.”

Rayne laughed. She couldn’t hold back the laughter. Seriously? These soldiers planned to kill the members of Echo unit and take members of Artemis prisoner? The idea was absurd.

Ellis and his buddies stared. “What’s so funny?” Ellis demanded.

“You don’t know who we are, do you?”

Gino folded his arms across his chest. “Guess not. Care to inform us?”

“We’re members of Artemis, a black ops team. We have as much training as Echo unit.”

Barry snorted. “No way.”

She shrugged. “Believe me or don’t. I’m just warning you now. If you take us prisoner, you better have your affairs in order because you’ll wake up to a knife in your gut and another at your throat one day.”

Ellis yanked her head back even farther and pressed a knife to her throat. “Not if I take you out first. Is that what you want, Rayne? Do you want to die?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

GRANT PUSHED HIMSELFto run harder, ignoring the searing pain in his side where the bullet had traveled through his body. The mission clock ticked loud and clear in his head, making him more aware of the borrowed time Rayne lived on.

He tapped his earpiece. “Sit rep, Z.” Yeah, he knew he’d asked the same question two minutes before. A lot of bad things could happen in two minutes.

“I was hoping to give you good news, man.”