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“Okay, I’m ready,” she says softly.
Zig takes that as our cue, stepping around us and drawing his weapon. I wait for him to signal before moving in close behind him. I keep my ears open and listen to the sounds around me. I don’t like that nobody is behind me to protect Salem. Normally, we’d have her between us. I blow out a breath as my mind thinks of another way we could have her between us, but I quickly shake it off. This isn’t the time or place, and who knows what the fuck this poor woman has been subjected to?
It’s eerily quiet down here, which makes me antsy. This is not my first recovery job, and it sure as shit isn’t my first one from cells as grisly as these. What is unusual is the lack of noise. Well, that and the dead bodies. Don’t get me wrong; prisoners die, especially when kept in these conditions. But these prisoners were murdered, most likely within minutes of each other, and the sole survivor is the person on my back. Why not kill her too? What makes her so special?
Something else is going on here. I just have no idea what it is.
Zig signals behind his back for me to stop. I halt. The only sound is Salem breathing next to my ear. I wait for the all-clear, and then we’re off again. We make it almost to the perimeter of the compound before we encounter trouble. Two guards walk around the corner just as we do. They hesitate for a minute in shock. It’s that minute that costs them their lives because Zig never hesitates. He fires two bullets into each man’s skull before signaling for me to run. Someone will have heard the shots.
As we get to the barbed-wire-topped fencing, Zig switches positions and covers our backs as I pull open the section we cut through to get in here.
I lower Salem to the ground before bending and lifting the wire for her. “Go. We’ll follow you through.”
She drops to her belly and army crawls her way through. It takes her longer than it would take Zig and me, but she doesn’t complain, even though I know she’s hurting. Once she’s on the other side, I tap Zig’s shoulder, and he follows Salem through. Holding the fencing from the other side for me, I drop and crawl after them.
We all stand and take a breath for a minute before I lift Salem onto Zig’s back. “I’ll cover our backs.”
Zig nods and takes off, sprinting across the rough terrain as if he has been here a thousand times before and knows these mountains well. Neither is true, though. The man just has no damn fear. I’m just hoping he remembers that he’s carrying precious cargo because I don’t want to have to carry them both out.
We run for two miles before we switch, and I take Salem once more. It’s two more miles before we get to the plane on the small landing strip.
“Is it just me, or did that seem too easy?”
Salem huffs at my words, but Zig turns and narrows his eyes, something setting off his finely tuned senses.
“What is it?” Salem asks as she lifts her head.
Zig places his finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet. He pulls his knife, and with a gesture for me to stay put, he disappears into the trees.
I wait, straining to hear anything out of the ordinary, when a thud sounds from my far left. A rustle of some leaves follows before Zig appears from the trees with blood coating his blade and a streak of it splattered across his cheek.
“Sniper,” Zig grunts.
“You had to say it was easy,” Salem grumbles. “Everyone knows that’s a curse.”
Zig’s lips twitch, but he doesn’t say anything.
We need to scope the area, and I want to check out the plane before we take Salem anywhere near it. I nod, sliding Salem to her feet.
I pull the Glock that’s strapped to my thigh and hand it to her. “I want you to lie down on your belly and stay down. If someone comes for you other than me or Zig, you aim and shoot.”
“But what if they’re innocent? We’re miles from the compound.”
“Trust me, little one, there are no innocent men in these parts. Point and shoot,” Zig orders before disappearing.
“Have you ever shot a gun before?” I ask her as she gets down on her stomach. I assume she was an agent, all of which usually have some kind of field training. But this woman is either the world’s best actress or has zero knowledge of guns. Even the way she’s holding it makes me want to snatch it back from her.
“No. I’m a mix between a pacifist and a klutz. Neither are all that compatible with guns.”
“Grip it firmly and, if needed, squeeze hard.”
She pauses before looking up at me, the lightening sky making it easy for me to see the red tinge to her cheeks. I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face.
“Not sure what you’re thinking, naughty girl, but red looks good on you.” I wink before I leave her alone. Harmless flirting is one thing, but I don’t want to give off any predatory vibes.
I make my way quietly through the trees until I see an orange glow up ahead. I pause and tilt my head until I realize it’s the ember of a cigarette burning. These guys can’t be this dense, surely.
Taking stock of the area to make sure it’s not a trap, I’m shocked to find that, no, this idiot is just dumb. So dumb, in fact, that I manage to sneak up behind him and snap his neck before he even senses he’s not alone.
