Spy Games (Tarnished Heroes #1)(90)

Was it really him all along?

“Why?” she asked.

“Stand up for me, please.” It was Charlie.

It’d always been Charlie, and not in a good way.

“Sarah, don’t make me ask you again, sweetheart.” His smile was…smooth. Even now, it put her a little more at ease.

He was ready for her to do something.

She put her hands on her thighs and pushed to her feet.

“Good girl.” Charlie glanced down, the gun drifting off target. “Don’t get all caught up in good guys and bad guys. It’s not about the right side, it’s about the right price, Sarah. It always has been.”

The right price for killing people?

Sarah kicked the case. Charlie howled as his fingers were caught in the sharp edges, and sat back. The gun went off, the sound too loud in the metal box-like room. The bullet pinged off the walls.

She fell on the case, shoving it closed. She groped for the buttons, any combination would work, but Charlie snatched it from her.

He roared and kicked her in the shoulder, then rolled onto his back with the briefcase clutched to his chest.

Two men rushed through the door, descending on her with unkind hands, hauling her to her feet.

“Peterson,” Wei barked. “Did you get it?”

“No, she closed the damn thing.” Charlie flung the briefcase across the room and shoved to his feet.

“You can’t handle one job?”

“I at least got her to open it. Fuck.”

“We have to go. Now.” Wei glanced up as more thunder shook the boat.

“Who is it?”

“Who do you think?”

“Oh, fuck. That one.”

“And he brought friends. We’re leaving. Now.”

That one?

Rand?

He’d come for her. Or the case. Right now, she’d take either.





Chapter Twenty


Rand watched the clouds rolling in fast and heavy, blocking out the early morning light. Both Andy and Noah were moving into position, bits of silent shadow closing in on either side of the waterfront. Rand hadn’t even spotted Andy. Noah had broken cover to get closer while the guards had their backs turned.

“You got the shot?” Rand asked.

“Waiting for your signal.” Matt’s tone was easy, relaxed. Not a care in the world.

That worried Rand.

Matt hadn’t been in combat in over eight years. He had kids. This sort of thing changed a man. Rand didn’t want Matt to suffer because of their fuck-up, but Rand also knew they needed a fourth guy.

A bit of movement caught Rand’s attention. “Noah’s in position.” He scanned the other side of the dock, but Andy was still a phantom.

“That rain’s about to start any second,” Matt said softly.

“Yeah, I’m worried about that.” About slippery footing. About the chances for escape. There were a dozen factors that could change all because the skies opened up. “There’s Andy. When you’re ready.”

Rand pulled out his longer knife and handgun. Armed and ready, he shifted to the very edge of their shelter and crouched, ready to run.

For a moment, everything went quiet. The waves and seagulls seemed to pause, as though they, too, knew what was going to happen.

Matt sucking down a deep breath was the loudest thing. Rand tensed, inhaling with him.

He always liked to fire on an exhale. Rand had forgotten that until now.

The rifle blast was muted due to the silencer, but in the calm before the storm, there was no mistaking the report of the gun for anything but what it was.

An attack.

Rand bolted forward, leaping off the stacked crates they’d zeroed in on for their sniper’s nest. He kept his head down and charged toward the docks.

Another and another shot fired off from behind him.

Noah and Andy darted forward, out of the shadows in unison. They took the two dock guards down without warning.

Rand sprinted down the dock. The small cargo ship was mostly cleared off, giving the men on board little to nothing to hide behind. With Matt’s elevated position, they were easy to pick off.

The first fat drops of rain splattered on the dock.

Footsteps pounded behind him.

Rand spared a glance over his shoulder to ensure it was Andy and Noah, then zeroed in on the narrow plank leading to the ship. Bullets pinged off the metal surface ahead.

There weren’t any of the guards in sight now, at least none that were vertical.

Rand crossed the gangplank in three long strides before his boots touched the boat. The rain was coming down harder now, the footing slippery.

The cover fire stopped. No doubt Matt was being cautious now that he couldn’t discern which dark figure was on what side. At least, Rand hoped.

“Watch out,” Noah yelled.

Rand ducked and turned. A fist glanced off his shoulder. He slashed with the blade, raking it down his attacker’s arm. Both Andy and Noah were engaged in hand-to-hand.

Every moment they spent on the deck was another second Sarah’s kidnappers had on them.

He kicked the man, lifted his gun and fired. Another shot from across the deck answered his. Rand dove sideways, taking cover behind the above-deck structure.

“Go.” Andy waved at him. He and Noah were pinned down behind a smokestack-looking pipe easily four feet across.