Page 4 of Forgiving His Past (Eagle’s Nest Securities #5)
“Enough!” Logan’s booming voice echoed off the walls as he regained control of the conversation.
“We’ve done our research, Miss Dawari. We know your mother was Aryana Dawari.
The woman killed three years ago in Kandahar during a shootout between two terrorist groups.
We also know someone out there has led you to believe that we were the ones responsible. ”
A set of brilliant blue eyes found hers as another member of their team—the one who, according to the intel she’d been given, was called Lucky—picked up where Logan left off.
“You blamed us for your mom’s death, so you orchestrated an ambush on our team two weeks later.
Unfortunately for you, the five of us survived. ”
“Everyone except Mr. Garrison.” She nodded sadly. “I truly am sorry for your loss.”
A low growl came from her right as Donovan spoke between a set of clenched teeth. “Don’t,” he warned. “Don’t you dare say his name.”
“I know you think he’s dead because of me, but I am not the one who?—”
A low whistling sound came from somewhere outside. It grew louder and louder with each second that passed.
She and the five men who had been staring her down all turned toward the bedroom window to Kaamisha’s left. The horrifying realization of the sound’s source hit each of them at once.
“Get down!” Logan yelled as he and the other former special forces operatives hit the floor of the bedroom face-first.
A wall of muscle slammed into her, causing her and the chair to go tumbling back. At the same time, a loud crash came from the suite’s other room.
Her ears were filled with a deep male grunt as the weight of her back split and splintered the wooden slats beneath her when she hit.
Kaamisha braced herself, knowing her head would be next, but rather than bouncing off the unforgiving floor as she’d expected, the back of her head was cushioned by a masculine hand.
Donovan’s hand.
In the process of knocking her to the ground, he’d had the wherewithal to protect her head. A hero’s reflex, she assumed, given that he’d made his feelings toward her perfectly clear.
Kaamisha was still trying to process all that was happening when the world around her exploded.
A rush of heat shot over them as flames erupted in the other room.
Shards of glass, chunks of plaster, and several splinters of wood flew through the opened doorway before raining down over where they all lay.
“What the hell?” Lucky’s confused shout cut through the incessant ringing now present in her ears.
“RPG!” Archer announced loudly. “Pretty sure we’ve been made!”
She wasn’t quite sure that was actually the case.
A set of hands began untying the ropes still holding her hostage to the partially broken chair. Kaamisha blinked against the cloud of dust dancing in the air, her vision clearing in time to see Donovan working the bindings around her ankles .
“Try anything, and I won’t hesitate to kill you,” he warned as he moved up to her wrists.
“I won’t.” She shook her head, praying he got her free in time. “You have my word.”
The intriguing man pushed himself to his feet before reaching down and grabbing her hand. He yanked her up from the rubble but didn’t immediately let go. Instead, he pulled her body in closer to his.
“Your word doesn’t mean shit to me, lady.” The grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly. “But if you want to stay alive, you’ll do exactly as I say.”
Since he didn’t trust her words, Kaamisha clamped her lips shut and gave him a curt nod.
“That was a fucking RPG,” Archer growled again as the six of them made their way across the piles of burning rubble.
As the team’s demolitions expert, he would know.
Keeping her hand held captive in his unwavering grasp, Donovan used his other to retrieve the concealed pistol at his hip. She glanced around, realizing his teammates had also done the same.
“Holy shit,” Chase commented as they got their first real look at the damage caused by the bomb.
The entire main area of the suite had been destroyed. Windows were shattered; their curtains ripped to shreds. The furniture that had been there turned into scattered piles of broken wood.
Crackling flames grew larger as a strong breeze blew through the broken windows, and despite the fresh air coming in, the swirling clouds of smoke began stealing the oxygen from the room.
“We have to get out of here.” Logan coughed. “Keep your eyes open and watch your sixes!”
They hurried over the pile of rubble toward the broken door leading into the hallway. Kaamisha felt her hijab slip the rest of the way down, but she ignored it and focused on getting to safety.
Logan exited the room first, followed by Lucky and Chase.
With her fingers curled around Donovan’s masculine grip, she did her best to keep up as Archer fell in line behind her.
Others staying in the hotel had emerged as well, and she and the team had to push their way through the growing crowd in order to make their way past.
As they moved, she noticed the looks on the other guests’ faces. Some were shocked, some confused. But most looked around with fallen expressions of acceptance.
Violence was so commonplace in their country that even a late-night RPG strike on a hotel wasn’t all that surprising. It was one of the things she’d grown up wanting to change, and it was the same reason her mother and father were both dead.
Another explosion rocked the entire building, sending Kaamisha and the others stumbling a bit to their right. She threw out a hand to keep from hitting the wall with her entire body, but neither she nor the man leading the way missed a beat before continuing down the hall.
When they reached the stairs, they were already packed as guests ran in search of safety like a herd of wild animals.
The men she was with didn’t stop to consider manners or any sort of polite etiquette.
Instead, they barreled their way through the tight crowd until the six of them finally reached the bottom step.
“If this is about us, they’re probably waiting outside, ready to pick us off the second we step through the doors.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m the one they’re after.” Kaamisha spoke up. “Anyone standing near me is in danger of becoming collateral damage.” She tried pulling her hand free of Donovan’s grip. “You should leave me and go.”
“Not a chance.” He pulled her forward once again. “For all we know, you set this whole thing up.”
Me ?
“You can’t be serious. That bomb could have easily killed me!”
“Or you planned for it to appear that way.” He shrugged. “Regardless, we’re not letting you out of our sight until we have the answers we came here to find.”
“And in the meantime?”
“In the meantime”—the angry SEAL looked at her from over his shoulder—“we do our best to keep our asses alive.”
Kaamisha watched as Logan and Chase held their weapons at the ready. A woman screamed, but they paid her no attention before opening the door leading to the narrow drive located directly behind the hotel.
Logan stopped just shy of walking outside, turning to Archer with his free held out palm up. “Keys.”
Archer didn’t hesitate before digging a set of keys from his jeans’ front pocket and tossing them to the man who was in charge.
“Boyer and I will go get the car and bring it around.” Logan’s intense gaze landed on her before sliding to Donovan with an added, “Keep her with you, and…make sure she doesn’t end up dead.”
Not dead. Yes, that sounds like a rather perfect plan to me.
Another bomb struck, and Kaamisha began to wonder how many more the building could take before it collapsed. She closed her eyes and began to silently pray, not only for herself but for the two men risking their lives to get them a means of escape.
Minutes ticked by much slower than seemingly possible. The lobby became filled with a mob of terrified people, both guests and employees of the hotel.
Her nostrils filled with the smell of burning wood as everyone around her moved frantically in every direction. A man bumped into Kaamisha so hard as he ran past, the collision nearly sent her tumbling to the ground.
With a low curse she could barely make out over the noise of the chaotic scene, Donovan moved quickly to help keep her steady on her feet.
“Thank you,” she offered sincerely as her eyes lifted to meet his.
He simply grunted and looked away as the sound of tires squealing to a halt came from the other side of the door. In the blink of an eye, Kaamisha felt herself being pulled forward, her feet rushing over the metal threshold on her way outside.
She looked up and saw a black SUV waiting less than five feet away.
“Hurry the hell up!” Logan yelled from the partially lowered driver’s side window.
Lucky ran around the vehicle’s back bumper as Archer hurriedly opened the door behind where Logan sat. Donovan stepped up and slid his large form all the way over before turning and offering her his hand.
“Get in,” he ordered gruffly, the harshness of his tone the complete opposite of the kind gesture.
You don’t have to tell me twice.
Kaamisha took his hand once again before attempting to climb inside. She tripped on her dress but made quick work of her long hem, gathering up enough of the flowing material to finally get herself to relative safety.
As she slid to the center of the leathered bench seat, Archer climbed in after her and slammed the door shut.
“Go!” Van barked with Lucky settled in the third-row seat behind them.
A second later, the tires squealed again as they took off, driving as fast as they could as the building they’d just escaped exploded into a giant ball of flames.