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Her blood froze in her veins, and she felt the surge of that panic that had sent her into a shantytown lick at the edges of her mind. She took a hard breath. Panicking now could get them both killed, and she trusted Easy. She would always bet on him.
“What are we going to do?”
“Give them a response,” Easy said, his eyes going flat and deadly. She looked to the river and could see little more than flickers of movement. Reflections on the water, or Ramos’s men, she wasn’t sure.
“Let’s keep moving.” Easy angled toward the river as Jack hugged his fine backside. “We’re not going to be herded like cattle,” he murmured, then suddenly stopped. She could hear only the rush of water, the roar of a motor, and he hurried toward the river, then went to ground. Jack slid down beside him. Through binoculars, he followed the movement of the rigid inflatable boat as it motored toward the bank. Then he curled back and from his pack, drew out a small canister.
Jack smiled. She knew he had explosives in there. “I see you were top of your class.”
He grinned. “Move back and stay low.”
She obeyed, hunkered down, and watched as he crawled on all fours closer to the water and out from under the shield of trees. He kept himself behind some huge rocks and she could barely see him in the dark. Then he lobbed the charge and scrambled back to her. They ran several yards before the charge dropped into the Kodiak, flashlights waving as they frantically searched, but it was too late.
The thunderous explosion ripped through the night. All chittering and howling were drowned out by the ear-splitting roar as fire erupted in tight clouds, the smoke pale in the dark. The force blew a man out of the boat, the others jumping after him as the machine gun tipped, sinking through the bottom. Jack was impressed.
“Amazing what a little homewrecker can do,” he said, smiling as he gripped her hand, pulling her with him as he hurried over bush and rocks. The river twisted right, widening, and Easy crouched, drawing his weapon.
The boat sank swiftly. He searched the water for targets and spotted a figure frantically reaching for the rocks and debris to stop the wild ride. He aimed, and she could feel the strength radiating off him, the focus, the intensity. He pulled the trigger and a short clack emanated from the muzzle of his weapon. Seconds later he ended the guy’s life as he sank below the surface.
“Fucking Ramos. He’s not sure where we’re going, but he’s going to try to work us to wherever he wants us to go and scare the hell out of us while he’s at it. The man has many resources. We’ll just have to hurry. There’s a whole team of SEALs landing not far from here in fifteen minutes.”
“I’m scared as hell,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry. I’m twice as mean, twice as fast, and twice as motivated.”
“You’re having a good time. Don’t try to snow me.”
He smiled slightly. “It feels good to do what I’m trained to do and save your pretty Queen Damsel ass in the process.”
“There’s that Prince Charming charm,” she muttered.
Easy stiffened, and she caught the sound. The thump of footsteps came fast and Easy looked back.
“He’s coming in hot and he’s looking for payback. Move.”
She had to lift her legs high to get over the vegetation and she followed close behind him. He reached back for her once yet kept advancing. Then he pushed her to the left, pointing, and she shook her head.
“Use this, go north, then west. I’ll meet you. I’ll intercept.”
Her gaze rocketed over his face. It was a telling moment for her. They’d managed this far with someone on their tail, but the thought of separating from him cut her deep. She was out of her league with these guys, and she wouldn’t be nearly as good at evading as he was. She was scared for him but shouldn’t be. He was so capable, yet nothing had gone as planned.
“Easy,” she whispered.
He drew her close to him and covered her mouth with his, a brief, hot slide of lips and tongue that drove a thick spill of desire, and she clung to him, forgetting the danger and drinking in his kiss. He drew back and stared into her eyes, then kissed her again, so tenderly it made her throat tighten. She wanted a chance for more.
He wrapped her hands around the binoculars and forced her to go, then turned to run in the opposite direction, leading the man off.
Terrified for him, she took a gasping gulp, realizing that Easy could take care of himself. If anyone was going to get her out of this, it was going to be him with a little help from his buddies.
She took off, following his directions to the letter, skidding down a slope, then feeling it rise again. Brambles caught her skin, her clothes, as she tried to get ahead of Easy. He was somewhere to her left. She saw a brush of movement, the twist of fronds. It wasn’t Easy.
The man from the river, and he was closer to her than Easy. She let him get a few yards ahead, then she went laterally and approached from behind him. A black chill swept over her when she saw Easy, behind a tree, poised and ready. Her gaze locked on him.
The guy walked past where Easy was concealed, and she saw him move like he was part of the night, slipping behind the guy silently, quickly.
Something must have alerted the guy because he countered Easy’s attack and fought back, blocking Easy’s first strike.
She wasn’t naive about what he was going to do with that knife. She’d seen him at the prison before all that blood and death had gotten to her. But now she was hardened and knew what would happen if Ramos caught them.
