His resolve strengthened. He’d told her that if she didn’t like where she was, he’d come get her. Having been kidnapped by a maniac, she’d sure as hell want to leave. He’d find her and bring her home.
Home? The thought struck him. He didn’t know where home was for her. There were so many things he didn’t know about her that he wanted to know now. He wanted time with her to discover more about the woman.
The rumble of the engine ultimately dragged his eyelids downward. As he drifted into sleep, Priya’s words in their last phone conversation echoed in his mind.
Love is a powerful motivator.
“Damn right, it is,” he murmured as if responding to Priya over the phone.
For the first time in his life, he was in love.
Sleep took him before his thoughts could shock him back awake. Instead, he dreamed.
Marta leaned over a microscope, her auburn hair pulled back in a messy bun, a little girl tugging at her shirt, while a toddler boy raced past. Both children had flaming auburn hair like Marta. She lifted her chin and met his gaze, a smile curling her lips. When she spoke, she said, “Together, we can save the world.”
God, he loved her intelligence, optimism and absolute certainty. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her deeply. This was home.
* * *
Hours later, the pilot announced over the intercom that they were coming in for a landing at a small airport on the outskirts of Zurich.
Immediately awake, Crusher sat up and checked his seatbelt. Once on the ground, he and his team would finally move into action.
As the jet taxied to a stop, a black van pulled up beside the plane. A man and a woman stepped out and met them at the bottom of the steps.
Crusher was first on the ground.
“You must be Jack Bailey,” the man said. “I’m Ace Hammerson, head of Brotherhood Protectors International. Hank sent me to greet you and take you back to our headquarters.”
“I’d rather go straight to Helvetic BioSolution’s facility,” Crusher said as he took Hammerson’s hand. “And they call me Crusher.”
“We’ll get there soon enough, and you can call me Hammer.” Hammerson’s lips twitched.
The beautiful, black-haired woman touched Hammer’s arm and rolled her green eyes. “Oh, please...don’t say it.”
Hammer grinned. “Between the two of us, we’ll nail the bastards.”
“You couldn’t resist, could you?” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Jaz, Ace’s wife.”
“She’s not just my wife.” Hammer’s chest puffed out. “She’s a former member of the Israeli Sayeret Matkal and part of our team here in Zurich.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Crusher said and meant it. Though he’d trained with male Sayeret Matkal, he’d never met a female Israeli special operations soldier.
Her grip was firm, the muscles in her arm tight and toned.
Hammer shook hands with the rest of the men coming off the plane. “Now, if you’ll follow me, we need to brief you on what we’ve found and come up with a plan.”
After they loaded into the van, Hammer drove them into Zurich and parked in an underground parking garage. He led them to an elevator with a biometric reader and stared into the scanner. The door opened, and they all entered and were whisked up to the third floor of the building.
They stepped out into a large open space with modern furniture and a large black conference table, with an array of monitors mounted on the wall at one end.
Four men and a woman rose from their seats at the conference table.
“I’ll let you introduce yourselves,” Hammer said to Crusher and his team.
They each gave their names and waited for Hammer to introduce the rest of his team.
“We’re a mix of nationalities here,” Hammer said. He nodded to a tall man with dark red hair and hazel eyes. “Fearghas Gordon, former UK SAS from Scotland.”
