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She pulled out her cell and texted her husband.I have a bad feeling about this. Watch your back.
Copy that, he replied.Emit is safe. We’re all on high alert. No one’s going to get a jump on us.
She hoped that were true, but the twinge in her gut said there was something they had missed.
Confirmation of that came a minute later when Cal sent another message.RING has Jett.
Her stomach fell. She gripped the phone tight, cursing.
Vivi glanced over. “What?”
No more stepping back on this one. No more allowing the CIA to dictate their next moves. She dialed Cal, everything inside her going still, detached.
He answered on the first ring. “I know what you’re going to say.”
“Good.” Rory turned in his seat and Connor caught her eye in the review. “We have a new mission,” she said to all of them. “Operation Rescue Jett is activated.”
SEVENTEEN
Her wrists were zip-tied, her head pounding. When her abductor had shoved her while herding her to the mine entrance, she’d fallen and acted too woozy to stand. It wasn’t much of an act. She was fading again and needed more electrolytes.
He’d thrown her like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder, and while she kicked and pummeled him to break free, he threatened to hit her in the head. It took all her will to remain passive, but she couldn’t risk being knocked out. She had to stay alert for as long as possible to make sure Moe wasn’t captured.
The tunnel smelled of minerals, mold, and urine. Here and there, she caught other pungent odors that reminded her of dead things. As he jostled her, strutting like a peacock, her vision blurred. She counted his steps and made note of markers that would help her when she escaped his clutches.
He had radioed his comrades using his watch, and now sang a tune under his breath, pleased with himself. Russian wasn’t one of the languages she knew, but she assumed the song was a happy one. His gloating made her want to scream. “My team is on the way. You won’t get far if you try to run, and if you stay here, they’ll have you in cuffs before nightfall.”
He’d chuckled and continued singing, not a care in the world.
They’d come to a turnaround, where the miners would exchange full carts for empty ones. There had been no one present, and as he’d crossed the tracks to the other side to access the opposite tunnel, she’d realized they were headed up. He’d leaned into his stride a bit more, the ground rising minimally, but enough so that when he carried an extra hundred and thirty pounds, it made him strain.
If he had bound her hands in front of her, it would be a different situation. She could have fought. With them restrained behind her, she was completely off balance, and only one of his palms pressing into her butt kept her on his shoulder.
She might be able to negotiate for Lydia’s release, but being trapped with her wasn’t ideal. Parker didn’t want to be a second liability for her team, which she certainly was at the moment.
Her abductor’s song was interrupted when he accidentally kicked the edge of a crate of explosives, a pile of tools next to it. It caught him off kilter and she decided this was it—time to make her final stand.
Using his hand as leverage, she swung her legs upward to make her body rigid. The shift of her weight threw him further askew. Without hesitation, she began to kick and flail, capitalizing on his instability.
He grunted, wobbled, and his side slammed into a wall of rock. He swore.
She rolled and flipped like an alligator, tumbling to the ground. Luckily, she didn’t bang her head, but her shoulder barked in pain when she hit. She looked up to see him raise his automatic weapon above him, ready to bring the butt of it down on her when a silent and deadly whirlwind of movement came out of the shadows.
Moe swung a large pick ax and nailed the man in his temple with the flat side of the metal head. The guy’s eyes rolled skyward and he fell, face smacking a metal track.
Moe was on her in an instant, helping her into a sitting position. Removing a knife from the unconscious man, he cut through her restraints. His voice was as tense as she’d ever heard it. “Did he hurt you? I will fucking kill him.”
“No, but I’ve been better. What’s happening with Lydia?”
“I’ve located her, but this whole thing is a trap. We have to get out of here, and right now.”
“We can’t leave without her.”
“They’re going to blow this place.”
“What?” Her head spun. She watched him strip her attacker of his vest and weapons. “No, they aren’t. They want Emit, not Lydia.”
His frown told her he believed her head injury was messing with her. “What are you talking about?”
