Page 80 of Her Defiant Warrior

Jase made another sweep and — There was the motherfucker.

Jase pushed through mothers and fathers, old and young, avoiding women with babies and the elderly until he could put hands on Ely. One well planted hit to the side of his head, and Ely went down like a sack of potatoes. Jase felt the burn of the knife as it cut through his jacket and shirt into his bicep. He elbowed the man who’d come at him with a knife, aiming for where he hoped his face was.

He heard people yelling for the police in Arabic.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bull trying to pull Ely up off the ground. Jase twisted and landed a hard punch in the jaw to the man with the knife, then kicked him in the stomach. When the man double overed, he dropped the knife. Jase picked it up, felt the grip, then threw it at Bull, where it caught the big man in his eye.

He felt another man coming up from behind, but then he was gone. When Jase turned around, he saw Kostya standing over a dead body.

“Hold it!” what seemed like over fifteen men in military uniforms surrounded them. “Get down on the ground. Hands behind your head.”

Kostya and Jase immediately went down to the ground, with their hands behind their heads.

* * *

It took five days, five long days before Jase and Kostya actually saw blue sky again. Until that time, they were held apart from one another, in a place that had no name. The American Ambassador met them before they were ushered outside. He explained that the C-4 had been confiscated, and all the other members of Omega Sky were accounted for and had left the country four days ago. He said before they could leave the country, they needed to meet with one more person and after that, they were to leave Dubai and never return.

Kostya and Jase looked at one another in confusion as they were led to an armored limousine where they were asked to get in. They were then handed black silk bands and told to blindfold themselves. They both shrugged and did as they were told. All in all, this did not have the earmarks of an execution.

They were driven for over an hour before they were escorted out of the limousine and taken into an air-conditioned residence. When they were told to remove their blindfolds, they found themselves standing before the young prince of Dubai.

“Welcome,” he said in English. “I wanted to take this time alone with you to express my gratitude.”

Kostya and Jase both nodded. After all, what else was there to say or do? Up close, Jase could see just how young the prince really was.

“I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my family.”

He really was a kid, and his thanks were heartfelt. Jase wanted to tell him that if he really meant it, he’d keep it in his pants from now on.

“We were happy to be of service,” Kostya finally said.

“My people have told me that there is nothing I can offer you,” the prince went on. “They tell me you are like my country's elite military, and you would not take any rewards. But is there not something I can do for you or offer you?”

“No, there is not. We just do our job,” Kostya answered.

“And you Mr. Drakos?” The prince said as he turned to Jase.

Before Jase shook his head, he looked deep into the young kid’s eyes.

“Does the name Sergei mean anything to you?” Jase asked.

Kostya shot him a hard look.

For just a brief moment, the prince looked rattled. He quickly masked it.

“The name Sergei now means nothing to anyone in the world,” the prince answered.

Jase nodded with satisfaction.

“Al-salaam ‘alaikum.” The prince said to them solemnly.

“Peace be with you as well, sir,” Jase responded.

* * *

As they flew back to the United States in first class on Emirates Airlines, Kostya looked over at Jase. “You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you?”

“Nope,” Jase answered.