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“For today.”
“My pleasure.” He flashed a cocky grin. “Definitely.”
8
The minute they hit the outskirts of the city—putting them back in range of the cell towers—Spencer’s phone blew up with texts from Kyle demanding to know where the hell he’d been and asking him to call ASAP. He sighed and slouched in his seat, glancing at Toni before hitting the call button. The last few hours had been like a dream, a perfect fantasy, and he was reluctant to leave that behind so soon. But when duty called, Spencer answered.
“Where the hell have you been?” Kyle said by way of greeting.
“Always nice talking to you too.” He gazed out the window at the city skyline in the distance. Several police vehicles, lights and sirens going, zoomed past their limo, and he frowned. “What’s going on?”
“Guess you haven’t seen the news. Things just went from bad to worse, that’s what’s going on.”
Spencer straightened and pointed toward Toni’s purse on the seat, then mouthed for her to check the news feeds on her phone. She tapped at her device, then gasped, holding the screen out for him to see too. The headline made his stomach lurch.
Terrorist Attack on Jubailian Elementary School—24 Dead, More Injured
“Dammit!” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. One day. No—less than that. He couldn’t take one goddamned hour for himself without the whole world going to hell. “The training village?”
“Yep. Based on the codes Hayley found embedded in Natalie’s book, SHEEPSKIN was targeting Miles Arrieta. It looks like the training camp was his. Typical Arrieta, putting it next to a school so that even if the location was discovered, no one would be willing to target it, to avoid collateral damage. Except for SHEEPSKIN, apparently.”
Every muscle in Spencer’s body clenched. He should’ve taken that asshole out when he’d had the chance back in Afghanistan, but pity had gotten the better of him. The guy had been half dead from starvation and torture, and Spencer couldn’t bring himself to put a bullet in the bastard’s head. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Forcing words past his constricted vocal cords, he growled, “Where is Arrieta?”
“Gage and Scotty have been going over the NSA intel for the past few hours, checking for his last known whereabouts. They’re still trying to pinpoint his exact coordinates. After the attack, though, I’d imagine he’d stay pretty close. Initial estimates say the death toll at his training camp was in the double digits. That’s got to set him back, fighter-wise. Now, answer my question.”
“What question?”
“Don’t give me that insubordinate attitude, Lieutenant Nixon.” Kyle paused to let the weight of his tone sink in. “This mission is too important to compromise. Where the hell have you been?”
Spencer considered lying, then decided to go with the truth. Considering the apocalypse that had erupted while he was gone, he was in enough trouble already. Might as well come clean and deal with it all at once. “I was with Toni. She wanted to get away from the city for a while, so we went to this oasis in the desert for a couple hours.”
“I see.” Kyle’s disapproval rippled through the phone line. “So while you were lounging around beneath the palm trees, SHEEPSKIN could’ve easily taken out your little heiress too.”
“No, dammit. It wasn’t like that,” he said, rubbing his eyes while guilt chewed a hole through his chest. Itwaslike that, but he would never admit it to Kyle. “Look, I’m sorry. I had the situation under control at all times, all right?”
“You’re sorry. Maybe you can tell that to Toni Williams when she takes a bullet to the head. Tell her you’re sorry you dropped the ball.”
“I didn’t drop the goddamned ball.” He glanced over at Toni and found her avoiding his gaze. “I had my target close and protected at all times.”
“Oh, for… Did you screw her?”
Hearing Kyle reduce what he and Toni had just shared to something so base and crude had Spencer ready to punch his fist straight through the car door. He lowered his voice to a menacing whisper. “That’s none of your business.”
“It’s very much my business when it puts the rest of your team at risk, not to mention the civilian under your guard. I excused your behavior back in Kandahar, the day I ordered you to take out Arrieta and you took pity on him instead. I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll take him out myself this time—and I won’t allowanyoneto get caught up in distractions when we need to be laser-focused on this mission. Now, could you please start thinking with your brain instead of your cock?”
“I am fully focused,” Spencer insisted through gritted teeth. “My involvement with Ms. Williams is strictly business.” He looked over at Toni and met her dark gaze, saw both the question and the hurt in her eyes before he turned away. “I’ve got a plan to draw out Coran Williams. And we’ll get Arrieta. Don’t worry.”
There was silence through the line for so long that Spencer checked to make sure they were still connected. “Hello?”
Kyle exhaled slowly. “Oh, I’ll get him all right. If it’s the last thing I do. Bet on it. But if your involvement with Toni Williams compromises this mission in any way, I will pull you out. Understood?”
“Understood.” A muscle ticked near Spencer’s jaw as they approached a police checkpoint at the city limits. One of the officers knocked on the back window of the limo, and Toni gave him an anxious look before opening it.
“Hang on, Kyle,” Spencer said, then leaned forward and forced a smile. “How can we help you today, officer?” he asked in Arabic.
“We’re searching all vehicles going in and out of the capital, sir. Can you step out of the vehicle, please?”
They stood on the road while the police searched the car and the driver, then each of them. Toni looked scared as an officer patted her down. The same officer frisked Spencer, then asked to see his credentials for his weapon before they were allowed back into the car to continue on their way.
