fast. They hurried for cover again, just in time to see a snazzy sports car slide to a stop beside the other two vehicles. To Emma’s surprise, Nicole jumped from her car, screaming.
“Lan? Lan!” She looked into both of the other cars and then spun around, scanning the trees frantically. “Lan!”
Ozzie glanced between her and Willis. “What the hell?”
“Let’s find out.” Emma stepped from the trees and called out softly. “Nicole? What are you doing here?”
The woman spun, pulling a gun from her jacket. It was tough to say which of them was more shocked. Emma held up her hands as though soothing a crazy person.
“Okay, whatever your involvement in all this is, we can work out a deal. You don’t have to go to prison for something you didn’t do. How long have you been working for Dietz?”
Nicole stared at them, momentarily stunned, then lowered her weapon. “I’m not working for that scumbag! I’m trying to put him away.”
“Come again?”
Sticking the weapon back into a holster in her coat, she brought forth a small black wallet-sized folder and flipped it open.
“Nicole Ventura, FBI.” She flipped it closed again and angrily swiped at a tear that had escaped to roll down her cheek. “It seems we have a lot more in common than we thought. We both want to put away the asshole who took our men.”
“Does Lan know you’re a Fed?” she asked gently.
“No. After I knew he was innocent, I still couldn’t tell him who I really am. The fact that I fell in love with him made it ten times harder. I’m not sure he’ll forgive me.”
“I’m sure he will, but first we have to find him. We’ve got backup coming, and in the meantime we’ll tell you what we can about who we are.”
Nicole frowned. “The FBI has jurisdiction in this case.”
“Um, not really. Our orders come from the president.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “Black ops?”
“Something like that.”
“Fuck me.”
“Yeah. You with us?”
“Try to keep me out of it and see what happens.”
She wouldn’t dare. Shoving down her fear of what was happening to her lover, Emma accompanied her sad little band to the van.
And prayed Bastian would arrive soon.
* * *
Blaze came awake to a dank, musky odor. To the smell of death and decay. Lying on a hard surface, his shoulder and leg killing him. Unbearable.
He tried to move his arms and legs, to raise his head. The attempt promptly made him sick, and waves of misery lapped over him. Was there a bone they hadn’t broken? If so, he had no doubt they’d find it.
Heavy footsteps approached.
A jangle of keys turned in a lock, and then the metallic grate of a door slid open. A holding cell, he realized. Dietz must’ve found a new home for his legion of monsters to operate from. Where he was being kept was anyone’s guess.
He pried his eyes open, then wished he hadn’t. Robert Dietz strolled into the cell with three men on his heels. Those fucking Liberation bastards. In a far corner of the dim space, a fire had been built, adding to the torrid atmosphere in the room. Something had been placed in the flames. He didn’t want to know what.
“Strap him to the table,” Dietz ordered.
The three goons yanked him off the floor, lifted him, and dropped him onto a large wooden picnic table. He gritted his teeth against crying out. He was stripped to the waist, his socks and boots removed, arms and legs spread and tied down with rope. His shoulder and leg had been wrapped, he noted. Probably to keep him from bleeding to death while they had their fun.
Dietz walked to the fire while the others stepped away. This was the boss’s show, and they wanted as little part of it as possible, from their wary expressions. Blaze couldn’t see what he was doing, but the sonofabitch took his sweet time. Stoking his fear.
“Where’s Lan?” he croaked.
“Waiting his turn to experience what happens to those who cross me.” Dietz came to stand by his feet. In his hand was a metal rod, the tip bloodred. “The bottom of the foot is a particularly sensitive area, among many. Did you know that? Scream for me, Agent Kelly.”
Blaze glared straight into the traitor’s cold eyes, showing all of his hatred and defiance. He would not give him the satisfaction.
White-hot lightning seared his flesh, scorched every nerve ending. Clamping his lips together, he threw back his head and strained against the ropes. Breathing hard through his nose, he endured without a sound through the pain in one foot. By the second, he was making animal sounds of pain in his throat.
The hideous torture took on the quality of his nightmares, and as he drifted from himself he thought,
He didn’t scream once.
But he dreamed of a blond angel holding him in his arms, kissing away the pain.
Emma couldn’t cry. Not yet.
Not when there was hope that Blaze could still be alive.
And if she lost it, Bastian would never allow her to fly out with the rest of his operatives. He was pacing now in the huge hangar where everyone had assembled, about to start the briefing. The tall blond was grim, not having much to smile about except that Michael would likely survive, and they had a bead on Blaze’s location.
With any luck, the location of the weapon as well.
Once the group was quiet, Bastian stood before them and ran through the particulars. “We’ve got a signal from Agent Kelly’s tracking chip, which hasn’t moved for the past several hours. The location is marked and locked down, and we fully believe this to be the site of the actual Liberation compound where the weapon is being kept.”
He paused and waited for the excited murmurs to fade.
“We’ve got twenty-four agents of our own, including me and one who’s FBI — Agent Ventura — who was undercover and will accompany us. Does anyone have a problem with that?”
“The FBI might, sir,” one young agent piped up.
“Do I look like I give a flying rat’s ass what the FBI does or does not like, especially since we don’t officially exist?”
The agent reddened. “No, sir.”
Dismissing him, Bastian went on. “We have six stealth helicopters outside, which we’ll bring in low and quiet. We’ll all be dropped in a landing zone at a safe distance from the Liberation compound and hike it. Once there, we’ll split off into the teams we’ve formed and take the compound by whatever force is necessary. Should you find the weapon, get on the radio for backup, secure the fucking thing, and defend it with your life. Is that clear?”
A chorus of shouts in the affirmative echoed in the vast hangar, and Bastian nodded. “One more thing — let’s come back safe.”
Head high, Emma walked out with Ozzie and Nicole, who were on her team.
Nobody was going to stop her from bringing home her man.
