Echoes at Dawn (KGI #5)(15)
“If we don’t move her, she’s going to be dead,” Rio said bluntly.
Diego nodded his acknowledgment.
They didn’t have time to secure her as they’d done before to Rio’s back. They didn’t have time to do anything more than hoist her up and hope for the best.
Rio waved off his men. He was taking responsibility for Grace. It was he who’d promised her he’d get her out of this alive. It was he who’d pushed her, bullied her and demanded that she give what she couldn’t spare. He alone would carry her.
As gently as possible, he slid his arms underneath her body and lifted, rising to his full height, bearing her weight with him. He cradled her against his chest and then fixed his gaze on Terrence.
“I’m depending on you to get us out of here.”
Terrence nodded and then motioned for the men to take position around Rio and Grace. Guns up and ready, they moved as one, taking a fast clip in the direction of the waiting truck.
The sun had just peeked over the horizon, a burnt orange glow lighting a pink sky, when they reached the grove of aspens where the truck was parked.
Rio grimaced. Terrence hadn’t lied when he said it was a work truck. But as long as it got them the hell down the road, it would do.
As they neared the vehicle, movement caught Rio’s attention. He dropped like a rock, instinctively positioning himself over Grace. His men reacted, forming a barrier between Rio and the potential danger.
“Don’t shoot. I have business with Rio.”
The words reached Rio’s ears, and every hair on his nape prickled with apprehension. He eased Grace onto the ground and then jerked a thumb at Diego. Diego dropped to hover over Grace while Rio rose, his gun up, pointed at the man in the distance.
“What the f**k are you doing here, Hancock?”
This w
as bad. Worse than bad. Hancock being here in these mountains could only mean one thing. Titan was after Grace or at the very least had been sent to recover her.
Fuck.
CHAPTER 8
EVEN though Hancock didn’t so much as twitch, Rio kept his gun up as he circled warily to get a full view of the other man. Hancock watched coolly, his arms loose at his sides as if sending Rio a clear message that he wasn’t a threat.
Which was pretty damn funny because anyone who ever thought someone from Titan wasn’t a threat was deluding themselves. Rio should know. He’d been one of them for ten years.
He’d lived and breathed those shadows. He knew what Titan was, what they were capable of. What their purpose was. They weren’t black or white. They were so gray that it was easy to get lost in the different world they lived in. A world where there were no rules and the law didn’t apply.
He and Hancock had served together. Rio had saved Hancock’s life in what would be Rio’s last mission with Titan. Rio had walked away, never looked back. He hadn’t wanted to look back. Only now his past was staring him right in the face, and he had the sinking feeling that past and present were on one hell of a collision course.
“What are you doing here, Hancock?”
But he knew. He knew exactly why Hancock was here, but he wanted to hear it from the man himself. And then he was going to let Hancock know that it would be a cold day in hell before he ever touched Grace.
“Put down the gun, Rio. I’m armed but you’d have me before I could ever draw. I’m packaged up. See?” He held up his arms so Rio could see the strap of the rifle and the pistol that was holstered just below his armpit.
“I like my gun just where I have it. Now talk.”
“I’m repaying a debt. You get a free pass. This time. My job is to bring Grace Peterson in regardless of how. My team is at least two miles away. They’ll stay there until you’ve had time to move out.”
He lifted his head a notch so he stared Rio in the eye.
“Next time? All bets are off. I’ll bring her in even if I have to go through you.”
A growl rose from Rio’s throat, and it took everything he had not to lunge at the man he’d once called friend.
Then he turned sideways to look at where Grace lay on the ground, broken and so very fragile. Then he stared back at Hancock. “Take a good look, Hancock. See what you’ve done. Is this what it’s come to now? Preying on innocent women?”
Hancock didn’t so much as flinch. “It’s a job. Just like all the other jobs. You know the drill, Rio. Don’t act like a f**king choir boy. You may have joined up with Captain America and crew, but it doesn’t change a goddamn thing about who you were and where you came from. Your hands are just as stained as mine, and you’ll never wipe them clean. I owe you. You saved my life. That’s the only reason why you’re walking out of these mountains. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating me or of ever thinking I’ll look the other way again.”
Rio took a step forward. Then another. Until he was nose to nose with Hancock and could feel the other man’s breath on his chin. His voice was cold, so chilled that it made the air around them seem warm. “You don’t need to underestimate me. You stay the hell away from Grace Peterson. I’ll take you out, Hancock, and I won’t have a single regret.”
“Guess we know where we stand. I’m coming after you, Rio. This’ll be your only warning.”
Hancock took a step back, turned and then melted into the trees, gone before Rio could say or do anything further. As questionable as Titan ma [e a a sy be, they had a code and they lived by it. It would have been easy for Hancock to take a stand. Make a grab for Grace. He could have pinned Rio and his men in the mountains. With an injured Grace, it would have been next to impossible for Rio and his men to escape, at least not without getting themselves or her killed.
Maya Banks's Books
- Maya Banks
- Undenied (Unspoken #3)
- Overheard (Unspoken #2)
- Understood (Unspoken #1)
- Highlander Most Wanted (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs #2)
- Never Seduce a Scot (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs #1)
- The Tycoon's Secret Affair (The Anetakis Tycoons #3)
- The Tycoon's Rebel Bride (The Anetakis Tycoons #2)
- The Tycoon's Pregnant Mistress (The Anetakis Tycoons #1)
- Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)