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“By pulling out the blasting cap or cutting the det-cord.”
“What color wire is that?”
“It could be any color,” Jericho says. “It’s an improvised device so the most important thing to remember is that it's unstable and to have a steady hand.”
“And to get to Sailor without Atkins seeing,” I add. “He’s using a cell phone as the detonator and he’ll blow it early if he thinks we’re trying to stop him.”
“Fuck,” Jericho hisses. “You need to take him out first, then stop the timer. Do you have any idea how long she has?”
“She said until she gets to the middle of the market,” I reply. “And he’s with her. For now, anyway.”
“The marketplace has 200 stalls and that should give you…”
While Ryan does a quick calculation, I’m sweating bullets. This is all going to come down to me. I need to wait until they separate, go after Atkins and take him out, then run through a crowded market full of locals and tourists, find Sailor and then figure out how to pull the blasting cap or cut the detonation cord before we all blow sky-high and infect the country.
No pressure.
And I need to do all of that in…
“Less than five minutes,” Ryan says.
My heart sinks in dread.
I yank the wheel to the left and slam on my brakes, skidding the SUV to a halt and nearly ramming into a barricade. “I’m here!” I announce and jump out of the car.
Fuck me.
“There are a million people here!” I yell, leaping over the cement block and running through the crowd. “How am I supposed to find them?”
“Sailor’s got her camera on and I’ve been tracking her,” Ryan tells me. “She’s in the market. Just passed a stall selling second-hand books. About a block away from you. Atkins is still with her.”
One block. My Warrior Woman is only one block away.I shove through a group of people and my boots pound on the pavement as I race up the closed-off street. “Move!” I yell, shouldering my way through the chaotic shoppers and vendors. It’s a madhouse and I plow through a group of chattering tourists.
Charging forward, heart in my throat, I run through every possible scenario in my head. If I tackle the asshole, he could pull the trigger. If I shove a gun into his back, he could pull the trigger. If he sees me coming at all, he could pull the trigger.
Christ.Sweat drips into my eyes and I swipe a hand across my brow. I haven’t been this terrified since my SEAL team and I were ambushed in the mountains of Afghanistan and I was taken prisoner.
“Do you see them?” Dash asks.
After racing past the stall selling the second-hand books, I pause and squint, looking over several stalls before finally spotting them on the sidewalk just ahead of me. Atkins has a hold of Sailor's arm and is hustling her forward. I duck down, staying low and moving fast. “Affirmative,” I answer.
Breathing hard, I wait for them to separate because Atkins clearly won’t want to be in the blast radius. Then I’ll sneak up and use the element of surprise to quickly overpower and take the fucker out.
They stop walking and I slip closer, closing the gap.
“He’s talking to her,” Ryan says. “I think they’re about to separate.”
“Yeah. I see them,” I say in a low voice. I can’t wait to get my hands on Atkins.I’m going to wring his fucking neck.Fear and fury pound through my veins as I creep forward, staying out of sight.
Atkins lifts his hand and I see the cell phone. After punching in some numbers, he says something to Sailor and she turns and slowly continues walking. “Atkins must’ve initiated the timer’s countdown,” I report, watching him back away and disappear into an adjacent building. All I want to do is run after Sailor and rip that vest off her, but I can’t. I need to get that trigger first.
“Move it, Maddox,” Dash hisses in my comms. “You have less than five minutes.”
I ignore the urge to go after Sailor and instead follow Atkins. The only thing I have on my side is the element of surprise. Being as quiet as possible, I sneak into the office building and listen closely.
Footsteps.They’re pounding up the emergency staircase to my left. I assume Atkins is headed to the roof to get a good view of the horror he’s about to unleash.Asshole.Following him, I move up fast, the noise from my boots partially drowned out by his own heavy footsteps. Luckily there are only three floors and I’m able to make up ground quickly.
Carefully, I push the door leading to the roof open and catch Atkins walking over to the edge. I waste no time and jog after him.
