“Comms down?” Erin asked.
“They’re jamming us. All I’m getting is static.”
“What?” Erin’s face scrunched up, and she glanced at him.
“Yeah. I know.”
He rolled the window down. They’d surrounded the house, spacing themselves out around it. They’d hoped to flush people out with the flash grenades and maybe catch Erin. If Riley had to guess, the kidnappers had poured out of the house like a bunch of angry fire ants and swarmed the others, backing them into a corner. He tilted his head and listened for the sound of more gunfire.
“Where am I going?” Erin asked.
“Turn right here, then we’re going to go left, but I’m not sure where. They’re...that way.” He pointed diagonally, through several buildings where the sound of gunfire had come from earlier.
“Where are we? How long have I been here? Two days? Three?” Strain broke her voice.
“Pull over. Let me drive,” he said. She was the asset. It wasn’t her job to drive.
“I’m fine,” she snapped.
Damn, but he liked her fire. Riley couldn’t help but grin at her prickly response.
“You’re better than fine. Most people in your shoes have to be carried out. Turn!” He pointed at the intersection just ahead.
Erin yanked on the wheel. The rear tires skidded, and they swung a bit wide, but they made the turn.
“I see them.” She leaned forward.
Thirty yards down the street, two men in white took cover behind a car, their guns aimed at a broken-out storefront.
Riley leaned out the window and aimed. He didn’t relish taking these shots. His finger tightened on the trigger. The closest shooter went down, clutching his leg. The second shooter fled before Riley could get off another shot.
“Riley? Riley!” Grant bellowed in his ear.
“Fuck. I hear you. Get in.” Riley dropped to his seat.
Erin hit the brakes, and the SUV slid a good five feet before coming to an abrupt stop.
A man in green gear leapt through the shop front and went to a knee, rifle up, eyes on the road behind them. The three others followed, getting into the SUV. In moments they were loaded, and once more Erin laid on the gas, sending them shooting out of the small village into the desert alone on a long stretch of lonely road.
“Everyone, meet our chauffer, Erin. Erin, this is everybody.” Riley unbuckled his helmet and set it in his lap. The sun might have set and temperatures were dropping, but the gear was still damn hot.
“What the hell happened back there?” Grant demanded.
Riley winced, his TL’s voice coming in even louder through the headset. He pulled the comm out and let it dangle against his shoulder.
“Where am I going?” Erin’s voice quivered. Just a touch. If Riley hadn’t heard her speak evenly, he might not have noticed the tremor. She was strong, but she was also human.
“Pull over. Let me take it from here,” Riley said.
Besides the village behind them, they were miles from anything. The two-lane road stretched on for what looked like ever. The clear sky stretched out overhead, unbroken by a single cloud. Millions of stars twinkled at them under the crescent moon. If they were going to be followed, they’d see the headlights or hear the engine long before another vehicle got to them.
Erin eased the vehicle to the shoulder. She was at the end of her rope. She’d done as much as she could, and now she needed to collapse. Riley got out before she’d brought the SUV to a complete stop. He circled the front and pulled the driver’s door open.
She slid out, moving slower. This was the clearest look he’d gotten at her yet. He didn’t spot any wounds, no blood. Her features were tense, lips pursed. She’d served with the military. For a woman in combat heavy situations that meant becoming one of the guys, having to act tough. He was willing to bet the act was a defense mechanism. Despite rescuing her, he and his team were still an unknown.
“You okay?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
“Yeah.” She straightened her spine.
“Thanks for driving.” He held up his hand. “Go team?”
She frowned at his hand for a moment. Yeah, it was silly, but he wanted to break the ice. She smacked her palm to his with a nice amount of force. She might be shaken, but she wasn’t doing too bad
If he had to guess, Erin wasn’t accustomed to being the one needing help. She was the one who did the helping. Having the table turned on her had to be a strange and unwelcome experience.
Riley got behind the wheel and peered in the rearview mirror.
Still no vehicles headed their way. Whatever the kidnappers’ resources were, they didn’t extend to a car chase across the desert.
They got back on the lonely road headed toward Mosul, though they didn’t intend to go that far. A safe house awaited them a little way up the road, along with Erin’s bodyguard they’d been told to bring with them.
“Erin, I’m Grant Anderson. Glad to see Riley was able to get you out of there.” Grant extended his hand to Erin who gave it a little shake.
“We did the rundown already, boss,” Riley said.
Erin didn’t appear to want to talk, and he doubted she’d appreciate Grant’s form of talking at her.
“Good.” Grant eased back in his seat. “We’ll be at the safe house soon and we can address any injuries there.”
“Water?” Riley grabbed an unopened bottle from the cup holder and offered it to her.
“Thanks.” She twisted the cap off the bottle. “Do you mind if we crack a window? You guys smell a little ripe.”
Riley laughed and slapped his hand on the wheel.
Man, he liked her better in person. The picture didn’t capture that personality.
Forty-five minutes later they pulled into a small town at the intersection of two major highways. It wasn’t very big. Hell, Riley didn’t even need to pull up the directions to find their way back to their safe house for the night. Sometimes
