Page 47 of Fatal Intent

“I’m sorry.”

He glanced at the woman in his arms. “Don’t be. You’re doing what you can. No one could ask more of you.”

“But I’m holding you back. You could find a place to hide me, then go after my babies. I’ll do anything to get them back.”

“Sacrificing yourself is not an option, Tara.” He closed the distance between them and the concrete barrier seconds after Riley and Sean arrived.

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 theirpursuers. 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.