No Place to Run (KGI #2)(77)

Ethan gave a slight smile. “Haven’t gotten over your fear of heights, flyboy?”

“I like heights just fine. In an airplane. Or helicopter. I don’t like dangling from a rope.”

“Let’s go.” Garrett broke in. “Save the chitchat for later.”

Sam was already in the process of securing the hook around the steel beam that framed the shaft. After he was securely belted and had tested the hook’s hold, he stepped off into darkness and began a rapid descent.

“Goddamn it, Sam, slow your ass down,” Ethan growled.

He estimated they were thirty feet down when his boots knocked against a hard surface.

“Throw a beam down here, Ethan,” he called.

Just a few feet above him, Ethan turned on the flashlight and directed it down. He landed beside Sam a few seconds later and flashed the light across the surface. They were on top of the elevator.

Donovan and Garrett landed on either side, and while Ethan held the flashlight, Sam bent down to pry open the hatch. As he pulled upward, Ethan shined the light inside the elevator, and Donovan and Garrett pointed their rifles downward.

“Clear,” Garrett said.

Not waiting for more, Sam threw the strap of his rifle over his shoulder, then knelt and angled his lower body through the opening. He dropped down and waited with seething impatience for his brothers to join him.

“Goddamn, it’s dark,” Donovan said after they pried open the elevator doors. He left the others, and Sam could hear him sliding his hands over a surface. “We’re in a damn tunnel.”

Ethan raised the light, but Sam put his hand out and pushed Ethan’s arm down. “Douse the light.”

They moved stealthily down the corridor. Sam pressed, almost at a run. When they rounded a bend, he blinked as a distant light source came into view. He held up his hand and motioned silently for his brothers to fan out.

They inched toward the opening, and Sam strained his ears to hear something, anything. As they got closer, the hum of fluorescent light tubes filled the space. Otherwise it was quiet. Too damn quiet.

Sam and Donovan on one side of the tunnel, Garrett and Ethan on the other, the two pairs faced each other, guns up. Sam held up one finger and then two. On three they burst into the opening.

Sam pulled up short at the sight that greeted him. A black Hummer was parked several feet away, and to the side lay Alex Mouton. Or what was left of him.

“Holy f**k,” Donovan breathed. “Someone blew half his head off.”

Garrett cocked an eyebrow. “Our girl?”

Sam looked around and then in the direction the Hummer was pointed, to see another tunnel. “Tomas must have her. If she shot Alex, where is she now?”

Ethan moved in front of the Hummer and stared down at the concrete. “There was another vehicle here. There are tire marks. Looks like whoever left was in a big hurry.”

“Sam, I have a relay from Resnick.”

Sam cupped a hand over his earpiece.

“Go ahead, Steele.”

“Resnick’s in the air. Currently tracking a Hummer driving balls to the wall off road toward Del Rio. Kicking up a dust trail and evidently not too worried about being seen. He thinks he saw Sophie in the passenger seat. He’s going to stay on it.”

Sam’s pulse kicked up. Nervous energy plowed through his veins and made him jittery. He hadn’t felt this kind of adrenaline rush since his first mission.

“Copy that, Steele. We’re on it. Are you and Rio okay?”

“P.J. and Cole are kicking some mercenary ass. We’re laying low and letting them clean up the stragglers. We’re good. Go get your woman.”

Sam looked over at Donovan. “Time to show me your skills, tech guy. Get us the hell in that Hummer.”

Donovan raised a brow, walked around to the driver’s seat, opened the door and stuck his hand in. A second later, the jangle of keys sounded, and Donovan held them up with a smirk.

“Too easy, drill sergeant.”

SOPHIE bounced and pitched forward as they hit another rise. Tomas was single-mindedly focused on the path in front of them, and she watched closely while the gun inched lower as his attention became less focused on her.

She didn’t say anything. Didn’t make a sound even when her head smacked the side of the window. The last thing she wanted was to draw his attention to her. As haphazardly as he was driving, it probably wouldn’t take much for that damn gun to go off, and right now it was still aimed at her.

Where were they going? What could he possibly hope to accomplish? He didn’t have the key. All his “protection” was back at the house, hopefully getting their asses handed to them by Sam and his men.

Which left her with Tomas. A suddenly scary thought given the fact that he’d just manned up for the first time in his life and stood up to his brother. The last thing she needed was for him to be high on adrenaline and confidence.

She glanced nervously at Tomas when he juggled the gun and tried to reach into his pocket, all the while holding his finger way too damn close to the trigger. She was going to die because this idiot was an inept fool.

He swerved, hit a rock, and his hand fell off the wheel. For a moment they careened dangerously to the right. He swore and yanked the wheel back to the left. Miraculously, the vehicle righted, and they continued on their haphazard trek across the rugged terrain.