Page 49 of Digital Desire

He slowed and pulled in behind Aubrey at the rendezvous location, his eyes never stopped moving, and they left both engines running. He tapped the comms to check it was working, and it suddenly came to life.

“This is alpha seven, please respond,” the sound of Jace’s voice was a welcome one.

“Alpha seven this is control, come in.”

“We’ve lost contact with alpha one’s team. I’m moving my position and going in.”

Will went still not knowing what to do but feeling this was the wrong call. Jace had so much field experience, but Will could not shake the feeling this was the wrong thing to do.

“Negative, stick with the plan,” Will said and heard dead silence. He had no idea if his cousin would take the slightest bit of notice of him in this situation or if he even had the right to order anyone to do anything.

“Received,” Jace said.

Smoke was billowing from the hacienda now, and it wouldn’t be long before it attracted attention from the nearby town. He had to have faith that Jack would get him and his men out of there, the alternative was not acceptable.

Minutes ticked by and he watched until he thought he would go mad and then through the bushes walked Alex, with Liam thrown limply over his shoulder. Behind him, Drew and Jack carried a barely conscious Flowers.

A tsunami of relief barrelled over him at the sight of them all, instantly replaced by fear at Liam’s limp body and the stern looks from Jack and Alex. He saw Aubrey exit the vehicle and move to open the rear door. Jumping down, he rushed to help Alex as he manoeuvred Liam inside. The bloody gash to his leg and the open compound fracture where his thigh bone was sticking out was severe, but nothing compared with blood that poured from Liam’s face.

Jace ran over and shoved him out the way as he went to work helping Alex secure Liam.

“What the fuck happened?” Will asked Jack, shaken by the sight of Liam so injured and ignoring Flowers who was being dragged by Drew towards the second SUV.

“Shit fucking happened, that’s what,” he replied. “The place was rigged, it would have killed us all if Liam hadn’t been able to disable it. Unfortunately, it also had a second, smaller bomb which Liam took the brunt of. We need to get him to a hospital and fucking fast. Aubrey, you drive this vehicle while Alex and Jace stabilise Liam. Will, you and Drew are with me and the scum bag,” he said as he slammed the back door on the lead car and moved towards the second, a look of murderous intent on his face.

Will climbed in and pulled out behind Aubrey as Jack got on his phone. He glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw Drew had gagged and blindfolded a barely alive Flowers. Will wondered what had happened to Flowers after he’d left the embassy and hoped the fucker lived long enough that he could ask him why he had done all this.

“Zack, we have a problem, and I need a favour or Liam is going to die,” Jack said into the phone from his place sat beside Will.

The words were like a dash of cold water thrown over him.

* * *

Cunningham Estate

Zack paced like a caged beast as he waited on word from the other side of the world about Liam. It had been four hours since he’d spoken to Jack and offered his assistance. He glanced up at the knock on his study door.

“Yes, come in,” he called as he lifted the tumbler of cognac to his lips and took a sip, letting the warmth seep down and warm him from the inside out. The door opened just a fraction, and Celeste walked in with Samson, her German Shephard and constant companion.

“Did you hear anything yet?” she asked as she moved towards the Chesterfield sofa and sat down as Samson lay at her feet, his back to her. A silent warning to anyone trying to get too close, that they would have to go through him first.

“Not yet, but it shouldn’t be too long now,” he replied as he observed the woman who had banged down his door at two yesterday morning and demanded to talk to him. Celeste Bourdain was his best friend’s sister. And Zin, his most lethal operative, had decided she was the love of his life, but Celeste was no ordinary woman, not least because she had tamed the wildness in Zin ‘The Viper’ Maklavoi. No, she was unique because she could read people’s thoughts just by touching them, but she also had visions of the future.

Those came few and far between but were never wrong, and last night she had seen Jack, Alex, Drew, and Liam walk into a building and Liam come out barely alive after a massive explosion.

Zack had taken her warning seriously and tried to reach Jack to warn him but with no luck, he’d done the only other thing he could and that was to send back up. Zin and Kanan had already been en-route when Zack had spoken on the phone with Will, but he hadn’t known the threat at the time so couldn’t warn him.

Zack had decided against admitting Zin and K were on their way, not wanting Will to argue against it. The thing with Will was that he didn’t accept help very well, so Zack had always found presenting him with a fait accompli was the best course of action. An hour later after Celeste had managed to give them the location from landmarks that had subsequently been confirmed by Will’s watch, he had called Zin and K to tell them.

Zin had secured a chopper and Kanan had used his contacts to have a doctor fly in with them from a Doctors Without Borders programme that was running in the vicinity.

“What if they were too late?” Celeste asked, and Zack saw the worry and responsibility her visions placed on her small shoulders.

The woman had been through so much this year and had proved herself to be stronger than she knew. Her desire to sacrifice herself to save so many had been admirable, but she still had a softness that endeared her to everyone she met.

“They would’ve called in by now if they’d missed them. They’re probably just helping the team secure things before coming home.”

“I hope so. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Liam or any of them.” Zack wasn’t so sure Zin would see it that way if he heard her so worried over another man but kept his counsel. “Liam is still grieving for Ambrose you know. He blames himself for his death,” she said sadly.