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Captor moved closer, looking her up and down. Sweat pooled at the base of her spine, at her temples. The clamminess of her skin reeked of fear. She was completely helpless and vulnerable. It was the worst feeling she’d ever experienced in her life. Without warning, he backhanded her across the face.
For a moment, she simply sat there, absorbing the pain exploding in her cheek, jaw, and temple, throbbing in time to her accelerated heart.
“You will talk to me.”
She worked her jaw and glared, lifting her chin. Dread spiraled through her, but she took a hard breath, her resolve steadfast, her fortitude stronger than ever. She hadn’t gotten through life shrinking from confrontation or allowing anyone to coerce her into backing down from something that mattered to her.
She’d learned the valuable lesson of being strong and determined at a young age, through loss, uncertainty, addiction, and unbridled fear. She wouldn’t compromise what she believed in, what she’d vowed. To defend her country against foreign and domestic enemies. She believed in what Isabelle was doing, believed in the might and fighting force of the SEALs, and had been privileged to see their world and fight alongside them.
He didn’t like her defiance. He looked at Biceps, his gaze shifting and on the barrel in the corner. Her mouth went dry, her insides liquid. “Get the jug.”
* * *
Blitz watchedthe land blur past, the darkness making things even less distinct. He wrestled with his thoughts, working to organize them like a rational human being, instead of this wild primal instinct surging through him. The chilling discovery that the man he’d detained was Z Militia reverberated through him.
His fear for Bree increased and he had to push it to the back of his mind, let his training take over. Thoughts of her in danger would compromise any effective thoughts in his head. He took a deep breath and let it go.
Z Militia was tied directly to Leonid Olenska. What was he doing guarding the foreign minister and his family? What was it that Aleksei Volkov was keeping close to the vest? What other secrets did he have in his playboy head?
The blip on the GPS continued to pulse steadily. He wasn’t far. He faced the fact that he wasn’t firing on all cylinders where Bree was concerned. Gator had tried to stop him, but he had grabbed his bag of gear and jumped out of the van. They had no choice but to leave. He could see Gator struggling with the CIA operative, forcefully keeping him inside before shouting to the driver to go, and Blitz was grateful. They had that special bond of being on their own when he was wounded, and each minute had been a life-and-death struggle.
Gator had saved his life. Blitz could return the favor.
It was ingrained in them from the moment they’d stepped on the Grinder in Coronado for SEAL training. Everything was done as a team. They ate together, trained together, worked out together, learned together, and did missions together.
Gator’s first and foremost thought would have been to make sure Blitz’s back was covered. He wouldn’t be able to help himself, no matter how wise the decision was. Gator would never have voluntarily let him face this one on his own, but even though he was forced to leave, Blitz knew Gator would have faith in him that he could face incredible odds and accomplish his goals.
They had already succeeded in getting the Volkovs out, now it was onto goals that he would absolutely not fail in achieving.
Get Bree back. Get them out of Russia.
That was all he had in his head right now. They could sort out the rest once he got her back. He pulled off the road not far from her location, hiding the vehicle in the trees. His passenger stirred and with a hard elbow to the temple, he slumped unconscious again. With a length of cord, he wrapped it around the man’s neck and tied it to the head rest. This fucker wasn’t going anywhere.
He exited the car, grabbed and shrugged into the backpack of gear, and walked through the dense trees until he reached an open field. Across the wide expanse was a barn, lights on and several men walked the perimeter. He went down to his belly and crawled, setting aside his fear for Bree. Just knowing she was this close was enough to make him crazy, but he slid into his training.
Dressed all in black, he was invisible to whoever was watching as he approached the barn, wind blowing across the fields and covering his movements. The walls were stone, two windows that were at least six feet above the ground. He did recon around the whole structure, noted where the guards were and that there was only one exit. Sweet. Something he could breach and an area he could easily control.
He crawled from the field onto the dirt of the road, taking cover behind one of the vehicles. He rolled underneath, set one of his charges, and rolled back out. A little diversionary Centex and a remote detonator. He watched and waited until it was clear, then he ran to the corner of the building, working his way to the doors. He set another charge, then stood back into the gloom of the overhang and blew the vehicle.
There was shouting and yelling, and the three men conveniently moved into his line of vision. Blitz took them out with one shot each. They crumbled to the ground. He ducked to the side and blew the doors.
* * *
Bree was sothankful for the first blast. It stopped Biceps from putting that towel over her face and pouring that full pitcher in his hand over the towel. She knew it as waterboarding, and she was sure it was something she never wanted to experience.
They all turned toward the explosion, Biceps running for the door. He was in the blast radius as a second earsplitting explosion sounded at the entrance, driving one of the wooden doors into Biceps who flew across the room and lay still.
Captor and Driver turned back to her. Stupid move as a figure slipped around the door jamb.
Captor pulled his sidearm and pointed it at her. “They are too late to help you.”
The next moment was a blur as the two men crumpled almost simultaneously to the stone floor, both with head shots.
Her gaze shifted to the figure as he came closer, the smoke clearing.
“Bree.” He rushed to her, pulling his knife, cutting her bonds.
“Blitz?” She swallowed hard, overcome that he had risked everything to come for her. He pressed his mouth to her temple. The warmth of his body engulfed her.
