Echoes at Dawn (KGI #5)(14)

She’d survived the night.

She staggered along, tripping and then righting herself before Rio could reach back. It had become important to her not to distract him. He slowed and it irritated her because she knew it was for her he had decreased his pace.

Not now. Not when they were so close. She could taste it. Could feel the sweetness of freedom and safety. Rio had promised to take her away. He’d promised he’d keep her safe. For that, she could fly.

She pushed at him, trying to force him to walk faster, but he halted and slowly turned, his hands framing her arms. His eyes were gentle, his touch even more so.

“It’s okay now, Grace,” he said softly. “We’ve made it. My men are here.”

She stared dumbly at him for a long moment, not comprehending what he’d said. Then she saw movement over his shoulder, Khis as saw Terrence step from behind an aspen. And then the others. The one named Diego and she couldn’t bring to mind the names of the others.

As they neared, it was as if the last of her mental defenses crumbled. Pain screamed through her body, making her gasp as the full shock of it hit her with ferocity

she was unprepared for.

She heard Rio bite out a curse as her knees buckled. She went down hard, blackness wrapping itself around her like a warm, welcoming blanket.

CHAPTER 7

“SHE’S a mess,” Diego said grimly. “I’ve reset her arm. Her respirations are shallow and her breath sounds aren’t good over her right lung. She’s dehydrated, run down, and there’s no way in hell she’s going to make it off this mountain unless we carry her. She’s done.”

“I can’t believe she made it this far,” Terrence muttered.

The two men hunched over Grace as she lay on the ground. Diego had given her a thorough examination and his face said it all. She was in a bad way.

“I don’t know how the hell she’s survived,” Diego said as he rose. “She’s a walking corpse.”

Rio scowled fiercely at his medic and third in command. He didn’t want to hear anything derogatory about Grace. She had more resilience and fight in her than most of the men he’d served with in his years in black ops. His money would be on her any damn day of the week.

“What are our transport options?” Rio demanded.

“I commandeered an old Chevy work truck,” Terrence said.

Rio blew out his breath. “That’s it?”

Diego shrugged. “We’ve had worse.”

Yeah, they had. Only they hadn’t been carrying a woman who was more dead than alive. A woman who needed gentleness and caring, not a bumpy-ass ride down switchbacks in the bed of a farm truck.

“I can make a bed in the back,” Browning offered. “It won’t be the Ritz, but it’ll do.”

“How the f**k would you know anything about the Ritz?” Alton grumbled. “Fucking pretty boy.”

Browning snorted. “You’ve got me mixed up with Diego here. He’s Mr. Suave and shit.”

Rio held up his hands. “We’ve left bodies all over this goddamn mountain. We’ve got to pony up and get the hell out of here. I’m going to try and raise Sam again.”

Terrence slapped his hand to his pocket as if remembering something. “You have a message from Steele. Must be important. It came in code.”

Rio frowned and reached for the handheld unit Terrence pulled from his pocket. He punched in his access code and scanned the tersely worded message.

Resnick involved. Watch your six. Don’t know extent. Don’t trust him. Unsure of KGI status with him. Took Shea. Has history with both Peterson sisters.

Jesus H. Christ. If this didn’t complicate matters. Steele was a cryptic bastard on his best day. What the hell was Rio supposed to do with this?

Rio wasn’t one to give his trust to anyone. He respected Sam and the other Kellys. He wouldn’t work for them unless there was a level of trust there. But he never went so far as to make himself vulnerable to anyone. KGI included.

Now, if Steele’s message was interpreted correctly, Steele was effectively giving the other Nhis snyoteam leader a heads-up that all may not be well within the KGI ranks and that Resnick was a snake in the grass.

It didn’t change that Rio still had to contact Sam, but it made him a whole lot more leery of handing over information on a woman helpless to defend herself.

He’d already decided his course of action anyway, and it didn’t include hauling Grace back to Tennessee. Especially now that Steele had warned him. His gut had already given him a heads-up, and now he knew it was legit.

“Let’s roll,” Rio said in a grim voice. “Where’s this chariot you arranged for us, T?”

Terrence’s teeth flashed and he tossed his head to the west. “Quarter mile. Stashed in an aspen grove.”

Rio knelt beside Grace and put his hand on her cheek. She didn’t even stir. His gaze moved down her body, taking in her tattered clothing, the mix of blood and bruises, the makeshift splint on her bruised and swollen arm.

“One more time, Grace,” Rio whispered. “One more trip. We’ll get you out of here. I swear it.”

“She needs to remain as flat as possible,” Diego said. “I’m worried she’s already punctured a lung. I don’t like her color and I don’t like her respirations. They’re becoming more labored all the time. If we aren’t careful, we could end up doing her more harm.”