Fingers shaking, she made an executive decision and placed an emergency call to Bastian.
* * *
Augustine Kosta braced his hands on the edge of the desk, seething with rage. How dare that son of a bitch come in here issuing threats?
How had things gone south so quickly? First that newcomer, Chase, appearing so conveniently, and then the weird scene in the conference room…
“Fuck!”
He’d been so stupid! He’d be lucky if Dietz didn’t have him eliminated. But he had no choice except to do damage control. Picking up the phone, he punched in Dietz’s number and waited, sweat rolling down one temple.
“Another call so soon? What’s going on?”
“The new investor, John Chase, is an undercover operative,” he said without preamble. “He was here in my office yesterday posing as a lost caterer. I might not have known except for those weird golden eyes.”
“Golden? What does he look like?”
“Big. Long dark blond hair streaked with all sorts of highlights. Probably a disguise, except for those eyes.”
“I have a couple of ideas about who it could be, and if it’s who I think, he bugged your office,” Dietz hissed, voice deadly. “Which means they’re listening! I’m mobilizing a unit. Catch them before they get to Bastian Chevalier! I’m on my way — and this Mr. Chase? Save him for me.”
Goddammit, he was a businessman, not a mercenary.
Even so, he grabbed the pistol from his desk and raced out of the office.
“Dietz and Kosta are onto Kelly!” Ozzie shouted. “Go, go!”
Willis floored it and yelled, “Call Blaze and let him know!”
Bracing herself, Emma made the call, and her blood chilled to hear the message declare service was not available.
As they careened toward their destination, she kept trying, palms clammy.
He’d fought his way out of tougher scrapes. He just had to do it one more time.
Blaze sped along the gravel road to the wooded end of the park, a secluded place where he could give Lan instructions on what to do next. Like get the hell out of Dodge.
He spotted the man’s car next to a copse of trees and breathed a sigh of relief. How the fool had gotten out of Kosta’s building in one piece was a mystery. Throwing his own vehicle in park, he strode to where the man paced, body strung taut as a bow.
“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?” he shouted, grabbing Lan and shaking him hard.
“I didn’t know what else to do! I wanted a confession and I got it, right?” His turquoise eyes were wide.
“Not exactly, because he didn’t actually admit anything. But what you got was damning. It’ll probably be good enough.”
“Probably? Shit, I just risked my neck for nothing?”
“No, I didn’t say that. Listen, the main thing is to get you out of here ASAP to someplace safe. I’ve got clearance to send you to our compound until Dietz and his men are either brought in or terminated. You’ll be safe there.”
Lan paced a few steps from his car and turned — just as a dozen or so armed men in fatigues burst from the trees.
“Get out of here,” Blaze shouted, going for the gun under his shirt.
A pop sounded, and another. The bullets caught him in the shoulder and leg, flung him backward. The impact took him down, but he didn’t feel the burn. He knew only that he wasn’t going to make it, and Lan had to get out of here.
Pushing to his hands and knees, he raised his arm and popped off a few shots. Had the satisfaction of seeing two men go down before dizziness overtook him and he slumped to the ground.
God, this was it for him. He prayed they’d kill him quickly instead of taking him to Dietz.
“You bastards!” Lan screamed, dropping to his side. “Why?”
The men surrounded them both, laughing and taunting. With his cheek pressed against the earth, Blaze had a great view of their boots as they began kicking him in the ribs. Grunting, he curled into the fetal position, but it was no use. He couldn’t protect himself from the relentless blows. One man delivered a hard kick to his head, and the world spun crazily.
He heard Lan yelling and wondered what they were doing to him. Wished he could help.
Then oblivion took him, and he knew nothing more.
Sixteen
Still no answer. Emma was in a state of near-panic, desperate to reach him.
“Are you sure we’re on the right road?” she called to Willis.
“I’m sure. We’ve got to approach with caution, though. I’m going to park in the trees about a mile from his meeting point. Then we’ll walk it.”
“That will take too long,” she protested.
“We don’t have a choice. You want to get caught?”
She clamped her lips shut before she became a hindrance and they left her behind, though it wasn’t easy. After they left the van in a relatively secluded spot, they struck out through the woods toward the parking lot where Blaze should’ve met Lan.
When they were halfway there, the noise of several vehicles coming down the road toward them broke the stillness.
“Get down,” Ozzie yelled.
They dove for cover. As the vehicles passed, Emma chanced a peek, and her pulse stuttered. “Military style,” she said, voice shaking. “Oz, they’ve got them.”
“We don’t know that for sure.” After the last one was gone, he rose. “Let’s go.”
They hurried now, pushing on almost at a dead run. When they broke through the trees, the sight of two abandoned vehicles brought them up short.
As did the pool of blood next to Blaze’s car.
“Dammit, no,” Ozzie yelled to the heavens.
“Oh, God. We’re too late.” Dietz had them. “But Blaze has on a camera, and a tracking device, right?”
Willis answered grimly. “Yeah, let’s just hope Dietz’s men don’t think to look for it until we lock down their location. We need to get back and call in reinforcements.”
“I already did,” she confessed. “Had a bad feeling and called Bastian right after Blaze left to come here.”
“Good girl,” Ozzie praised. “You should’ve gotten clearance from us, but I’m glad you didn’t, this once. I would’ve told you to wait.”
They’d just started back for their van when they heard an engine coming up the road. The car was moving
