CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Brent scowled as he stared through the windshield. “Don’t suppose you brought a rocket-propelled grenade.”
“In my Go bag.”
With the exception of Jon, the Fortress men chuckled. Of course Jon had brought an RPG. The sniper believed in being prepared for the worst because that’s usually what they faced.
Reaching into the cargo hold again, he chose the largest Go bag and hauled it onto the seat beside him, passed it to the sniper. Jon pulled out the launcher and grenade, rolled down the window. “Right target, Eli.”
“Yep. Don’t miss.”
“Ha ha.”
Eli grinned at his partner’s dry tone.
Brent grabbed his rifle. “Raise the hatch,” he said to Adam. The Marine slapped the button and the hatch slowly raised. “Baby, cover Alexa’s ears. It will be loud in here.”
After a whispered conversation with her niece, Rowan said, “We’re ready. Take care of these guys, love. I’m ready for that date with you.”
He blinked in surprise at the endearment from her, the first of many, he hoped. “Yes, ma’am. You heard the lady, Jon. Let’s take care of business and go home. Adam, I’ll take the truck on the right. Fire when ready, Jon.”
The sniper readied the launcher, then shifted to sit in the opening of the window. He lifted the launcher to his shoulder, aimed, pulled the trigger. The vehicle on the right exploded as Eli took evasive maneuvers to avoid the still oncoming vehicle and the fiery wreckage.
The sniper ducked inside the cab of the SUV, reloaded. “Hold it steady,” he told Eli. Despite the other vehicle coming straight at them, his teammate kept the SUV moving at a constant clip. Two seconds later, Jon pulled the trigger and the last remaining attack vehicle in front of them exploded in a ball of fire.
Eli maintained course and speed until his partner had ducked inside, then evaded the mess.
“Our turn,” Brent said. He and Adam would have to take out the pursuing vehicles without an RPG. Brent raised the rifle to his shoulder and fired off several rounds, as did Adam.
The trucks behind them weaved, almost hitting each other before renewing their pursuit. “This road is terrible,” he groused as he fired off another round.
“What road?” Eli said. “More potholes that anything else.”
True enough. The Mexican government wasn’t wasting money on roads in this province. As much traveling as Garcia did over the years, Brent was surprised the cartel leader hadn’t applied pressure in the right places to have the roads taken care of for his own convenience. Drug money bought privilege and power in this part of the world.
He fired a volley of shots. This time, his target vehicle veered off the road and slammed into a stand of trees. Excellent. The vehicle wasn’t going anywhere. A moment later, the other vehicle was also out of commission, thanks to Adam.
“Nice work,” Eli said as he sped up. At the next right, he turned to avoid a federale checkpoint set up a half mile in front of them. More than likely, the checkpoint was manned by men and women sympathetic to the cartel.
“We’re clear,” Brent said to Jake. The medic nodded and backed away from Rowan and Alexa. He’d hovered over top of them during the firefight to protect them as much as possible. “You can sit up, baby.”
Rowan climbed onto the seat with her niece and gifted him with a brilliant smile.
Man, he loved this woman. Brent needed to tell her soon. The next twenty miles, he and his operatives kept a wary eye on their surroundings. Thankfully, they arrived at the airstrip with no further confrontations.
“Stay inside until we’re positive it’s safe,” Brent said. He and the others exited the vehicle, weapons in hand, and scanned the surrounding area. When he was reasonably certain no threats lurked in the darkness, Brent opened the door for Rowan and Alexa. Alexa lifted her arms to him. An invisible band squeezing his chest, he gathered her in his arms, ignoring the pain from his ribs, and held out a hand to help Rowan from the vehicle. Eli fell into step beside her, weapon ready, scanning as he walked with her toward the plane.
As they reached the stairs, another SUV raced onto the airstrip. Jon, Adam and Jake formed a wall between the others and the approaching vehicle. Brent tucked Alexa closer to his chest and covered the back of her head with his palm, preparing to sprint up the stairs, when he recognized the occupants of the SUV. The second Fortress team.
Within five minutes, both teams were aboard the plane as well as a unit of PSI trainees. Brent ushered Rowan to a row of seats in the back. He’d planned to shift Alexa to Rowan, thinking she’d want to sit on her aunt’s lap. Instead, the little girl clung to Brent, refusing to let go.
Rowan smiled. “You make her feel safe.”
He blinked away the mist clouding his vision and settled into the seat beside Rowan. Pressing the intercom button, he told the pilot, “Get this bird off the ground.”
“Yes, sir.”
A moment later, the engines powered up, and they raced down the runway. Once airborne, Brent called Zane. He’d rather talk to Rowan, but the questions he needed to ask her would have to wait until Alexa was asleep. He didn’t want to upset the girl if it turned out Garcia or his men had hurt Rowan.
“What do you need, boss?” Zane asked in greeting.
“St. Claire?”
“Successful rescue. They also killed several cartel members in the operation. The ambassador met his family along with the Fortress teams at the plane. They’re airborne, headed home.”
“The third plane?” The one carrying Durango and the PSI team.
“Also in the air. The Shadow unit will be on the ground in less than an hour.”
Brent settled deeper into his seat and shifted Alexa enough to take pressure off his ribs. “Anything else I need to know?”
“Carstairs hasn’t crawled out of his cave yet.”
“Have my home checked. I’m taking Rowan and Alexa home with me.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
