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“Jase?” Linc asked.

“I’ve got my eye on two.”

“On my mark.”

“Three. Two. Fire.”

Linc only heard five shots. There was momentary silence, then he heard the sound of an automatic rifle.

“Who’s being fired on?” Linc demanded to know.

“Not me,” Leila answered.

“Not me, either,” Jase answered. “It’s coming from the east woods. I’m heading that way.”

Linc grimaced as he moved to the north side of the roof so he could provide cover for his teammate.

Jase went in with his automatic rifle, lighting up the night.

Linc spotted the source of the return fire. He took careful aim and shot. The rifle fire continued.

He’d missed.

Jase was almost to the east woods and Linc didn’t want him in there. He took five more rapid shots in a tight circle. The rifle fire sputtered out. Jase ran into the woods.

“You got him,” Jase told Linc.

“I’m going for the guy in the truck,” Linc said as he shimmied off the roof. “Jase, you check in with Leila.”

“Already on my way.”

Linc took to the side of the road, staying in the shadows. He really hadn’t expected to see the truck, but there it was. He was on the phone, speaking in Arabic. He was sweating bullets. Linc needed to take this guy alive. He would be their way to finding Vugar.

He pulled out his Sig Sauer and crept up behind him. Linc understood three words. Sir. Sorry. Death. Yeah, this guy was talking to Vugar, and he was a dead man walking. Their team needed him. Jase needed to question him.

“I’ve got the guy from the truck. He’s alive for questioning. We can use him to find Vugar,” Linc said into his mic.

When he got close enough, he hit him on the side of the head with the butt of his gun. Hard enough so that he’d go down, but soft enough that he wouldn’t be unconscious for long. Linc used zip ties on his hands and feet, then threw him in the bed of the truck and drove up to the house.

“Just got the word from Gideon,” Jase said as Linc hopped out of the truck. “He’s five minutes away. He’s bummed he missed all the fun.”

* * *

Leila tried to be polite to the new men—Jonas Wulff and Mateo Aranda—but she was bone-tired and just wanted to sleep for twenty-four hours. Linc was staying close by, which was great, because she didn’t think she could manage if he wasn’t.

She’d been so scared that Jase or Linc would die, and the fact that they still hadn’t captured Vugar made her stomach turn.

Kostya came out to the back porch where she and Linc were sitting.

“I’ve got some good news.”

Leila lifted her head off of Linc’s shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Jase has gotten this guy to talk. He wants an American prison instead of being out in the cold where Vugar can get to him. He actually met up with Vugar yesterday in Washington DC, so that’s good news. Means he’s nearby. We can get a lock on this guy, take him down, and hand him over to DHS.”

Leila perked up. “I like that. With his ties to the CIA, he probably would have escaped, but Homeland Security will know what to do with him.”

“Exactly,” Kostya smiled.