“Uncle.” Bailey bent over, hands on her knees, drawing deep breaths into her lungs.
Her brother, Kell, sprinted the few paces back to her, jogging in place. Sometimes she really hated having so many fit brothers. “Come on, sis. Two more miles to go. We’re barely getting started.”
They had already run three miles this morning. Their normal was four. She didn’t love running like her brother did, but it kept her strong and in great shape so she did it. Even on the days she had to drag herself out of bed to go. Running with Kell was different than with any of her other brothers. Kell was relentless. Merciless. And very possibly, a sadist. At least in her mind.
She knew he’d never let her turn back and return to her cute little cabin on the lake where her steam shower waited. Oh, how she longed to let the heat relax her muscles from this workout.
“Two, huh?” She asked, straightening.
Kell grinned. “If you can handle it.”
Bailey narrowed her eyes at the challenge. She’d grown up watching her brothers compete with each other. Her mother used to tell her it was the testosterone that made them play until one or more of them were bleeding. Bailey suspected it was a competition to see who was more alpha. Ridiculous, but she loved them.
“Oh, I can handle it.” She said. Challenge accepted. She’d never backed down and didn’t plan on starting. She was, after all, a Wolff.
Before Kell could sprint ahead of her, she elbowed him in the ribs and took off like a bullet. She heard him grunt then the sound of his light, agile footfalls behind her. Seconds later he fell into step next to her. They finished up the next two miles in record time. When they finally reached their cars, her legs felt like jelly.
They cooled down and stretched. Kell tossed her a bottle of water, looping a towel around his neck.
She took a drink, letting the cool liquid slide down her throat, and leaned against her car. “Want to tell me what’s eating you?”
Kell wiped sweat off his face with the edge of the towel. “What makes you think something is bothering me?”
“Because we just ran five miles in twenty-two minutes.”
Kell took a swig of his own water bottle. “Let it go, sis.”
She took another drink of water and changed tactics. “I think Dani is pregnant.”
Kell’s head snapped up. “How the hell did you find out?”
Her eyes widened. “I knew it! Is that why you took her to the doctor a couple days ago?”
Realizing he’d been outsmarted by his younger sister, Kell sent her a look. “Damn you. She isn’t ready to tell anyone yet. I’m not sure she’s wrapped her head around it completely.”
Stunned, Bailey tried to wrap her own head around it. Dani pregnant? That meant she was going to be an aunt. And Ryan would have been a father.
Tears filled her eyes and she rapidly blinked them away. Life really could be cruel sometimes.
“She’s going to keep it, right?”
Kell shrugged. “I don’t know. She was pretty distraught when she found out.”
Bailey pushed off her car. “She has to. This baby is a piece of Ryan. The only thing we have left.”
“It’s not our decision.”
“The hell it’s not. I’m going over there to talk to her.”
Kell caught her arm before she could swing around and get in her car. “You can’t. You don’t know.” He emphasized the last two words to make his point.
Grief knifed through her heart. She hated showing weakness but couldn’t stop the waver in her tone. “What if she doesn’t keep it?”
A muscle jumped in Kell’s jaw, telling her he’d thought the same thing. That, at least, made her feel a little better.
“We just wait and see. Support her decision. Whatever it is.”
She knew he was right. Their hands were tied. The decision belonged to Dani and Dani alone. That didn’t mean she had to sit back and leave the fate of her future nephew or niece in a grieving fiancée’s hands. Not completely anyway. She knew Dani wasn’t in a good place. Heck, none of them were. Losing Ryan had blown them all away and they were still picking up the pieces. Sleep had become almost nonexistent for her. Almost every night she woke up in a cold sweat calling for her brother and reaching for him. Only to awaken to an empty bedroom that had once been her sanctuary. Losing a sibling stole a piece of you that no one could replace.
“Are you going to tell Mom?” She asked, knowing their mother’s sixth sense about matters of the heart. If Bailey had suspicions, so would Mom.
“Not my place.”
Damn his strict moral code. Sometimes, she wanted to shake him and tell him to react. To feel. Then she remembered how sensitive Kell really was. Much like Quinn. Playing his cards close to the vest. That kind of control needed an outlet. Kell’s was running, putting himself through brutal workouts and in dangerous situations. Whether it be free-climbing a mountain or on a mission. Evan was the one of the few who could keep up with him. And all of her brothers were in top physical condition.
“It’s not yours either.” He added.
Bailey slid into the driver’s seat of her car. “I have to do something.”
Kell put a hand on the doorframe, preventing her from closing it. “Bailey.”
The warning in his tone did little to deter her. He’d be pissed if she went to Dani’s with her knowledge of the pregnancy.
Screw that. He’d get over it. This was their nephew or niece. Ryan’s child. The only one he’d ever have. The only remnant of him they had.
Bailey turned over the key and brought the engine to life. She sent Kell a pointed look. “I hear what you’re saying.”
That telltale muscle jumped in Kell’s jaw. Yep. He knew her well. And he wasn’t happy about it.
He rapped his hand on the frame twice before closing the door and taking a step back. “You’re a pain in the ass, sis.” He said without censure.
She cast him a smile and drove off with a wave out the window. She might be a royal pain but she wasn’t wrong in this. One way or another they would see Ryan’s child brought into this world.
****
The thin material covering the door to the hut rustled as someone came through.
Instantly alert, Nate sat up straighter, hand wrapping around his weapon.
A man stepped inside, lines of strain on his face. “You must go.” He said. “Quickly.”
That brought Nate to his feet. “What is it?”
“No time. There is a car outside.” He tossed Nate the keys. “Take it. Go now.”
Nate pocketed them, then tucked his gun in his waistband. “Thank you.”
The man nodded. “Hurry.” He ducked outside.
Wasting no time, Nate grabbed Macy’s clothes and dressed her as quickly as possible. She didn’t rouse, her limbs limp as noodles, slowing the progress. He didn’t bother with undergarments or shoes. Then he shrugged on his pack, lifted her into his arms and moved swiftly to the waiting car. To say he was surprised they had a running vehicle didn’t cover it. As he laid Macy in the backseat of the tiny car, he wondered what else they had hidden in the village.
It was sweltering inside when he climbed in the driver’s seat. Nate rolled the windows down before giving a two-finger wave to the people who had helped them. They had saved Macy’s life. Possibly his. He owed them more than taking their transportation and leading an army to their doorstep.
The man waved him off before turning and running down the hill. Nate gunned the motor and shot forward down the narrow road. In the rearview mirror, he saw a dust cloud form behind them, enveloping the village until he could no longer see it.
Slowing for a curve, he glanced back at Macy. She slept soundly, but still looked like hell. She was far from being out of the woods. The village woman had helped, but Macy needed a hospital.
He scrubbed a hand down his face. It would take days to reach China. And that’s if he drove straight through, without trouble.
His gut clenched. The odds of that happening weren’t in his favor. Besides, Macy didn’t have the kind of time.
There was one thing he could do. It would be risky but he saw no other option.
Digging his satellite phone out of his vest he took a deep breath and punched in an encrypted number. One he didn’t dare share with his brothers. He refused to ask Quinn to keep anymore secrets from Avery. And Avery didn’t need to know about Macy’s condition until she was out of the woods. Avery had been through enough. She didn’t need the added stress.
There was one person in country that had the connections to get him and Macy home.
And he could never tell Kell he called her.
****
Shea Morrissey rubbed her aching temples and closed her dry, gritty eyes. She’d been going through video for hours and was still no closer to finding Ramil Diakameli than before.
Stifling the urge to throw something she reached for the bottle of whiskey in her desk drawer. Just as she unwrapped the lid her cell vibrated. Thinking it was the director finally calling to ream her ass for their latest failed attempt to extract intel from a source, she picked up the phone and glanced at the number.
She sat up straight, staring at the screen. Encrypted number. One she never thought she’d hear from. Had something happened to Kell?
Heart in her throat, she answered, “Morrissey.”
“Shea? It’s Nate.”
A cold sweat washed over her. “Is Kell all right?” God, she hated the tremble in her voice.
“He’s fine. I need your help.”
Relief flowed through her like a dam being released. Thank God. Kell was fine. But, if Nate was calling her asking for help he must be desperate.
This was the second time in two months a Wolff brother had called her asking for help. It was starting to freak her out. She was the last person on earth they would turn to after what she’d done.
“What can I do?” She asked, praying it didn’t involve coming face to face with Kell. With everything going on right now she couldn’t handle that.
“I need to get myself and a woman out of the country.”
She leaned back in her chair. “Who’s the woman?”
“Macy Gibbs.”
Her back went ramrod straight. “Holy shit. You took her?”
“No time for details. Can you help us?”
Mind reeling, she tapped a key on her computer. “It isn’t going to be easy. They have a country-wide manhunt in force.”
“I know.”
“Where are you now?”
He gave her his coordinates and she typed them in. Not a good position. Too far from China to reach safety and too close to the border to go on.
“Geezus, Nate.” She murmured, bringing up another window.
“Yeah.”
“You’re doubly landlocked. Dammit.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard. “Water travel is out. Let me try…” Aware she was talking more to herself than Nate, she leaned closer to the screen. “I might have a way out. But, it’s going to be dangerous. And uncomfortable. And you’ll be going into a hot zone.”
“What kind of hot zone?”
“I’m going to get you to the Persian Gulf by train. I’ll send details. Iran is stirring up trouble in the Strait of Hormuz. Unfortunately, that is where the ship you need to board will be. They threatened a couple U.S. naval ships a few days ago. No shots were fired and no one was injured, but the threat remains.”
She heard Nate curse.
“I can’t tell you much, but the ship you’ll be stowing on is bound for the U.S.”
“Stowing on?”
“Sorry, no one can know you’re there.”
“Understood. Just get us the hell out of here.”
“Working on it.” She pulled another couple screens. “Sending locations to your phone now. If you follow my directions to a tee and don’t stray you just might make it home in one piece.”
She sent the information to his sat phone. “It’s going to take you some time to reach the first destination. I’ll have everything in order by the time you get there. Just follow my instructions. Exactly.”
“Copy that.”
She paused. “Nate, I mean it.” The Wolff brothers were known to go lone wolf at the drop of a dime. She’d experienced it first-hand. Nate couldn’t afford to go off script. If he did, they would all be dead.
“You have my word.”
And that was as good as gold. One thing about the Wolff clan; if they said they were going to do something, they damn well did.
“Godspeed.” She said a tight ache in her chest. If anything went wrong and caused harm to another Wolff brother, any chance she had of Kell forgiving her would be eradicated.
“Shea?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
Anything for the family of the man I once loved.
She didn’t say the words out loud. Instead, said, “Anytime.” And quickly disconnected. After a couple shaky breaths, she punched in another number and set her plan in motion.