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Lucy faced me. “Tell me what?”
Before I could find the courage to share the ugly truth, a voice from Grayson’s radio echoed through the room, “You have incoming. Three ATVs carrying eight tangos. Two guys on foot. We’ll take out as many as we can and slow them down. But the fact they keep finding you means someone with you is tagged.”
“The backpack,” Carter snapped out in anger.
“Someone from the show is definitely helping them,” Mason noted.
“It’d make sense for the show to track every team’s backpack in case of an emergency,” Mya tossed out.
“But someone from the show is clearly feeding the cartel our location,” Carter said, sounding irritated that he hadn’t considered we were being tracked sooner. But from where I stood, given how fast everything had happened, no one needed to be blaming themselves.
“Maybe we don’t run,” Oliver suggested, his tone calm. “If this place is going to fall, and they think we’re hiding in here . . . we let it fall on top of them. Pick off any survivors.”
“And save one for questioning.” Jesse nodded. “Good thinking.”
Jack reached for my hand. “I’m not risking having Charley and the women here in case shit goes wrong.”
“Oliver and I will hang back with Jesse and Gray,” Carter said. “You and Mason take the women away from here. Once we get answers and take them out, we’ll find you.” He took the radio from Grayson and tossed it, and despite the shit lighting, Jack caught it with his free hand.
Mason stepped forward. “Oliver’s got medic training. If something goes wrong, he should be with the women. You’ve still got the jungle to deal with out there, not just these pricks. I’ll stay back.”
“You sure?” Mya asked, her tone soft as she reached for his arm.
Mason looked over at Lucy, then pulled his arm free from Mya’s touch. “I’m sure.”
Jack brought the radio near his mouth and asked, “What’s our timeframe?”
There was static, followed by gunfire in the background, before an answer came back. “Five minutes tops.”
“Get out of here,” Grayson ordered as Jesse unstrapped a gun from the side of his leg.
Jack let go of my hand and took it from him. “Don’t die. Any of you.” He set his sights on Grayson. “I made a promise to your family, okay?” After Grayson quietly nodded, Jack grabbed hold of my hand again.
Once the six of us were back outside, I sucked in the fresh air, only to startle at the sounds of gunshots somewhere in the distance.
“You good?” I reached for Lucy’s hand with my free one, deciding not to let go of Jack’s as we ran.
“Not really,” Lucy shot back without facing me, keeping her eyes on the uneven ground. “Who’s after us?” she pressed again, the humor now absent from her tone. “The kidnapper?”
Before I could find the courage to tell her the truth, I stubbed my toe and then connected with an exposed tree root on my next step. I dropped her hand, so she didn’t go down with me, but Jack didn’t loosen his grip, and he kept me from face-planting with the ground.
“You with the falling, you’re starting to remind me of Gray’s wife. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.” I hooked my arm with Lucy’s and pushed forward as if nothing had happened.
It had to be around seven at night, and while there was still light out, being cocooned by the trees and their sprawling branches made it hard to see the sun in the sky. The sound of engines and gunfire were no longer present, but in its place a chorus of bugs orchestrated a private symphony as we moved. Thank God for the long-lasting bug spray and sunscreen we’d applied before our journey that morning.
“Wait, I think . . .” Oliver stopped and held out his arm. Not paying attention, Mya slammed right into it. He whirled around as she began rubbing her chest in small circles. “You okay?” Why was he mouthing that question? What fresh hell were we about to step into?
Gwen came up alongside Mya, just as Mya whispered, “Yeah, those arms of yours are lethal.”
I’d swear I’d spied a sheepish grin from him, even in the shit lighting.
“What’s up? You hear or see something?” Jack asked him.
“I think we just stumbled upon one of the cartel’s sites.” Oliver waved us off, motioning for us to step aside as he approached whatever it was he’d noticed that none of us had.
“Stay here,” Jack demanded, his tone soft but decisive. “Give us a second.” He retrieved the gun from the back of his cargo shorts and kept his head low, joining Oliver.
