Page 29 of Wicked Intention

“Turn away from me,” the remaining soldier ordered. “Prisa!”

Fuck, fuck, fuck, but Finn followed orders.

To his surprise, one handcuff was released and then theother. There was shouting from the front of the truck, but the soldier didn’t flinch. “Knock me out and take my pistol, the handcuffs, and keys with you when you run, Sergeant Rowland.”

“Gracias,” Finn said.

After following orders, he vaulted over the tailgate of the truck, landing lightly on his feet, and headed for the forest. As he ran, he glanced over his shoulder. There was a large tree down, blocking the road, and it appeared as if there were three bodies lying alongside the truck. What the—

“You realize if we were bogeys, you’d be back on that truck,” Ski said as he materialized beside him.

“That’s what happens when you go soft,” Griff said, appearing on his other side. Winter was with him, looking amused.

“I didn’t go soft,” Finn growled, voice low. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving your ass.” Ski shoved him toward the right. “Move it, Stony.”

Finn moved. It wouldn’t take long before someone came upon the scene and summoned help. He wanted to be long gone before that happened.

They had a Jeep hidden down the road, and Finn jumped in the back. Winter drove, and Griff rode shotgun because Griff always rode shotgun, which left Ski in the back with him. Finn had known the team was inserting in Puerto Jardin, but they must have gone wheels up shortly after he’d left Tampa.

After they put enough distance between them and the truck, Finn asked, “How’d you know I was in trouble?”

Griff shifted in his seat, turning to meet Finn’s gaze. “Because half the damn presidential brigade was bragging about arresting the notorious gunrunner, Tom Finley.”

“Who was using a fake passport with another man’s name,” Ski added, tone dry.

Finn considered that and then shook his head. “There’s no fucking way they arrested me because of my passport or arms dealing. Something else is going on.”

“Probably,” Ski agreed.

“Does the captain know you’re pulling side quests?”

“Is it a side quest if you’re ordered to go on a rescue?” Kyle Winter asked.

“The captainorderedyou to do this?” Un-fucking-believable.

“Yep.” Winter’s tone suggested he was grinning.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the brigade sergeant Finn recognized had been enlisted to help his three friends with the escape. “Why’d the captain want me rescued?”

Ski’s incredulous look was easily readable even in the dark. “Three guesses, dude.”

“He wants me to work with you on this mission.” The captain had made the offer when Finn was in Tampa, but he’d turned it down.

Instead of confirming his guess, Griff said, “The captain wants to talk to you when we rejoin the team.”

“Shit,” Finn muttered under his breath. Louder, he said, “I don’t have time for this.”

“You’re going to have to make the time. Captain Nguyen wants to know what the fuck you’re doing in Puerto Jardin when you’re supposed to be in Los Angeles.”

Damn, it had to look dubious as hell that as soon as he’d gotten off his flight in LAX, he’d turned around and immediately boarded the plane to Puerto Jardin. None of his friends asked about it, but they had to be wondering themselves.

Quietly, Finn said, “Zo left for Rio Blanco the same day I flew into Tampa. She never got back out. The only reason I’m here is that she’s in trouble.”

The atmosphere changed immediately. “What can we do to help?” Ski asked.

Chapter Eleven