Be Careful What You Wish For(5)

“I didn’t expect that,” Sean said, shaking his head. “We always said that if one of us got caught, the other shouldn’t look back. That was the plan.”
“Fuck the plan,” Valzar said, grinning broadly. “I enjoyed tricking the gringo prison guards. It was worth it just to see their stupid pig faces on the television set while we waited. They still have no idea what hit them.”
“How many men escaped?” Sean asked.
“Couple hundred?” Valzar said, giving another fluid shrug. “They probably aren’t even sure that you’re gone yet. There’s still plenty of confusion at the prison. They’re rioting, you know.”
“How did you arrange that?’ Sean asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Valzar had always been ruthless when it came to getting what he wanted.
“I didn’t have to,” Valzar said. “Our mutual friends took care of everything. All they want in return is some consideration down the line, which I was planning to give them anyway.”
Sean nodded, not wanting the details. The less he knew about CIA operations the better.
“How long will it take us to get out of U.S. airspace?” he asked. “Will that be a problem?”
“You’ve been in prison a long time, amigo,” Valzar said, flashing his playboy’s grin. “I guess you haven’t heard. I have diplomatic immunity now. This plane belongs to my government. If they try to stop us, they’ll create an international incident.”



Chapter Three
Sandra watched closely as the two men walked ahead of her, talking in what seemed like friendly enough tones. Del marched next to her, face sullen. Her eyes darted around, looking for ways to escape. The rain was falling harder now, and she wondered for a moment if it would be too dangerous for the plane to take off.
Of course not, she realized in disgust. These were men who weren’t afraid to commit murder and kidnapping. Why would they let the weather stop them?
Of course, the weather might serve her purpose. If she found just the right moment to break away, the darkness might provide enough cover to escape. She stole a look at Del, who seemed to be ignoring her.
Lightning flashed again, and a thunderclap hit so hard the very ground seemed to shake beneath their feet.
It was her shot.
She took off running as fast as she could, deliberately heading for the darkness along the side of the runway. There were no buildings there, only a few lonely-looking crop-dusters tethered with worn ropes.
Beyond them were trees and cover. If she could just make it that far she’d at least have a chance to escape.
She heard Del shouting behind her. It took him a couple seconds to register her escape, and then something made a cracking noise.
Shots.
Holy Mother, he was shooting his gun at her! She’d thought she was already going as fast she could run, but suddenly she found more speed. The noise cracked again, and then once more. She heard more shouts from behind, and then a thudding sound. Holes appeared in one of the planes ahead of her and she gulped, terrified. She made it past the first of the planes, ducking behind it and pausing for a moment to catch her breath and clutch her side.
Big mistake.
Her captor, the one they called Sean, was right behind her, all but plowing her over when he came barreling around the plane. She lurched away from him and took off again, ignoring the terrible stitch in her side. Why hadn’t she signed up for that aerobics class? She’d been meaning to do it for weeks now.
Mom had been right, laziness really would be the death of her.
The pavement beneath her feet abruptly disappeared, and her feet sank into sandy gravel. It threw her off and she fell forward, hard, hands hitting the ground with enough force to tear off the skin. She heard him coming. She crawled forward, trying to push herself to her feet. Moving was hard, she’d knocked the breath right out of her lungs when she fell.
He hit her with the force of a train, slamming her into the ground as he came down. He was hard, wet, angry, and for one moment she wondered if he’d kill her right on the spot. Instead he just held her there, panting hard and muttering under his breath.
“That was stupid, girl,” he said roughly. “Very stupid. You made me look bad in front of my friends and they aren’t the kind of people to forget something like that. Neither am I, for that matter. You’ll be sorry you did this.”
She had no doubt he told the truth. She was sorry already. Her legs were already cramping, and she knew she’d ache in the morning. If she survived to see the morning.
“I’ll do what you say,” she muttered quickly. “Please don’t kill me. All I want is to live. Please.”