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“Three, I think. But listen, you can hear him.”
He stilled, hearing only the footfalls of his teammates as they materialized out of the darkness behind them. Grace startled in his arms, then immediately relaxed. Carrigan demanded her attention, thrusting his face close to hers.
“Where’s Zorra?”
“You mean Lena? She’s still inside. You must be Jake.”
Instead of answering, he tabbed a switch on his headset. “Copy. Go ahead?”
Amos had already noticed Carrigan was getting intel and orders from some other source than Southern Command. His tall frame stiffened, and his eyes swung with alarm toward the building. “How far out? Four minutes. Copy that.” He lowered his arm. “The Rebel Army is firing long-range missiles at this depot. We have four minutes. I’m going in for Zorra. You three fall back to the fence line.”
Before Amos could even respond, the lieutenant bolted on them, in a way no normal SEAL ever would. Teamwork had been instilled in them.
“That door’s locked,” Grace protested as Jake ran up to it.
But apparently, Carrigan knew the code, for he punched it in and slipped inside.
The distant shriek of a child made Grace stiffen. “It’s Mateo. Did you hear him?”
Amos met Theo’s and Bambino’s watchful gazes. Gripping Grace’s arms, possibly for the last time, he grated, “Listen to me, Grace, and for once in your life, do as I say. Run for the fence, in that direction, right there.” He pointed to the opening. “Don’t trip over Ben. We’re going after Mateo.”
The realization that he was about to pit his four-man squad against a small army turned her eyes enormous. “Amos,” she started to protest. But her need for Mateo kept her from trying to stop him. “I’m sorry, and I love you.”
“It’s okay. Now, run!” He pushed her in the right direction before gesturing for his men to follow him. Her words sprouted wings on his feet as he sprinted along the warehouse’s long wall, past the empty cargo doors, toward the convoy of vehicles pulling away from the immense structure.Idiot! What’s wrong with you? You should have said, I love you, too.
* * *
“Lena!”
The warehouse, with its cargo bay doors standing open, had been practically gutted. The rebels would profit very little from blowing it up. Worse, if they bombed it any earlier than they’d said they would, Lena might end up dead.
Why wasn’t she answering? Surely, she could hear him, for his voice literally echoed in the huge metal hull. Taking the stairs two at a time, he bounded toward the second-story offices. One of the doors was cracked open. He opened it farther, peering cautiously into the darkness. “Lena?”
“Jake?” She materialized from the shadows almost instantly. “I thought you were Oscar.”
To his immense satisfaction, she threw herself at him, holding him fast, the way she had back in college when their love was simple and pure. He forced himself to focus on their objective. “Do you have the intel?”
She stiffened and stepped back. “Sort of. It’s on a thumb drive that I hid under the desk lamp. But then Grace knocked it over on her way out the window and sent the thumb drive flying. I’ve been looking for it.”
Alarmed, Jake consulted his watch. “We have one minute to find it and thirty seconds to get clear of the building.”
“Can we turn the light on?”
“Sure.” At this point, their presence in the warehouse wasn’t a secret to anybody.
* * *
The convoy, consisting mainly of armored trucks and cargo transport vehicles, was pulling away. Even running his fastest, Amos would never catch up. With his teammates right behind him, he tabbed his mike. “Ben, I need you to stop the last truck. Take out their tires.”
“The lieutenant won’t be happy.”
“I know. I’ll take full responsibility.”
A second later, Ben’s long-range rifle discharged. The rear tires exploded, making far more noise than Ben’s suppressed weapon.Bam, bam, bam, bam!Brake lights flared, and the truck squealed to a stop, allowing the four SEALs to gain on it, while the rest of the convoy continued on ahead.
A wail like the sound of a cat floated out the truck’s cab.
Amos glanced over at Bambino. “That sound like a kid?”
