Page 57 of Her Ruthless Protector

It wasafter sundown by the time they pulled into Taizz. Yemen was always hot because it was always hot, but at least Aden was on the coast. But Taizz was one hundred and seventy-five kilometers inland so it was hot-hot. Kane figured it could have been a whole hell of a lot worse, and that would be sitting where Zed was, on a motorcycle with the hot desert sun beating down on you for five and a half hours.

“Zed? You hanging in there?” Kane asked.

“For the last damn time, quit sounding like a goddamn nursemaid,” Zed growled.

Kane decided that this time he would shut the hell up. Still, he worried about the man. He knew he hadn’t had much hydration.

They were crawling up a back alley behind the SUV, his and Leo’s truck were four blocks back, and Zed was behind them. Luckily, traffic had really picked up at Ar Rahidah so they hadn’t stood out like sore thumbs.

“Do you think she and the kids are okay?” Leo asked.

“Yeah,” Kane said. “She went with them willingly. These have to be her husband’s men. It only makes sense that they wanted to get her out of Aden and not take her back to Ja’ar. It means they give a shit about their safety.”

Leo nodded.

What didn’t need to be said was that the three of them still needed to figure out a way to capture the men and get information from them, without letting any harm come to the small family. They turned another corner and the SUV started a steep climb up a hill in one of the prettier parts of the war-torn city. There was still some greenery on the sidewalk and a couple of the houses had window boxes with flowers.

“I’ll take this, you two fall back,” Zed’s voice sounded tired through the receiver.

“Agreed,” Kane said through the mic.

Near the top of the hill, the SUV stopped. Zed continued on past them, his taillight fading into the distance. “I’ll turn around when I can,” he informed them.

Kane and Leo immediately turned off the headlights on the truck and pulled over. They were far enough back so it didn’t call any attention. Somebody jumped out of the black vehicle and unlocked a gate, and then the driver pulled the SUV inside what Kane assumed was one of the many small courtyards that were used in Taizz.

“Leo, you take the front, I’ll take the side.”

“I’m almost to the back of the place,” Zed said.

“Reconnaissance only,” Kane cautioned.

“Gotchya,” Zed acknowledged.

They were fifty meters to the gate when they heard dogs barking wildly, and it was coming from inside. They heard childish shrieks. Kane and Leo poured on the power. Then there were gunshots.

It didn’t stop the noise—if anything the cacophony increased.

Men yelled, women screamed, all to the backdrop of children sobbing.

“They shot one of the dogs,” Zed said. “It was attacking the girl. They pulled off the other two.”

Leo and Kane were running almost side by side. Kane motioned for Leo to run past the point of the fence so that they were positioned on either side. With the confusion going on inside the courtyard, nobody noticed Leo’s movements.

“Zed, report.”

“I’m on the back wall. I can see into the courtyard. It’s a fucking mess. Three men. Two dogs on Abia’s daughter, two of the three men are trying to protect Abia, her kids, and some other women. That’s why we have the guns drawn.”

“Which one’s the bad guy?” Kane couldn’t make it out. All three men had their guns drawn and the women were huddled together. It wasn’t clear who was on Abia’s side. What’s more, he needed to know who might have the information they needed on the targets in Oman. As much as he wanted to help the woman and her family, they desperately needed the information to save thousands of lives in Oman.

“Red pants is the bad guy,” Zed answered. “Guy with turban, and guy with checkered shirt are protecting the family.”

“Got it,” Leo and Kane said simultaneously.

“Ah, shit,” Zed’s voice was low. “Another one at three o’clock. Not sure if he’s a bogey or not.”

Talk about a clusterfuck of epic proportions. What was worse—could it be that the bad guys knew something too? Who did they need to apprehend?

“Zed, can you hear anything?” Kane whispered.