“That has to be it, man. I don’t see the SUVs, but there’s a garage,” the driver—AKA Boss Man—said. “There’s a guy out front, one on each side of the villa, and one in the back. And I’m pretty sure I saw someone on the rooftop patio. No rifles, but who knows what else they’re packing.”

“Okay. Park us a few houses up and out of sight,” Ben instructed.

“No. I need to be closer.” Alexa was holding the frequency jammer in her hand, along with some other contraption she had created on the drive over. She’d connected thin, blue and red wires to a microchip board, and these attached to a cell phone she’d deconstructed into . . . well, hell if he knew.

“I can’t have them spotting us—or getting to you.” Jake’s fingers draped over her wrist, his eyes steadying on hers.

She raised her shoulders up, the bulky bulletproof vest shifting as she did. “If we’re going to stop the drone strike, I told you that I need to be within sixty meters of Bekas. Closer would be better.”

“She’ll need to come with us on foot,” the driver proposed. “There’s nowhere I can park the van that close that won’t get noticed. She can take cover behind the house.”

“No.” Jake removed his hand from her wrist and opened his palm. “Give me that thing and tell me what to do.” His body was wrung so damn tight he was going to snap. There was no way he could focus on the mission with her life hanging in the balance.

“You need to deal with Bekas. Let me handle this.” Her voice was stern, and he knew she wouldn’t give in. She was as stubborn as him.

“What is your plan, exactly?” Ben asked as he screwed a silencer onto a Beretta M9 9mm and handed it over to Jake.

“Well, ‘no comms, no bombs,’ right? If they hijack the drone, I’ll block their Wi-Fi. Once they lose communication with the drone, it will override their last directive and the drone switches to autopilot as a default and returns to base. It’s much easier than trying to hack the satellite.” Alexa raised the device in her hand and gave Jake a half-smile. “Taking a lesson from the moves Anarchy used against us in Barcelona.”

“Shit, that’s good. Simple, and yet brilliant,” Ben said.

“But there’s still a problem.” She sighed and reached for the black box Wi-Fi jammer. “While this jammer can block up to eight different frequencies at a time, I’m sure Bekas, or even Jason, has an infinite amount of connections. Every time I kill the Wi-Fi, they will probably flip over to a new one. I’ll do my best to keep up with them, but I may not be able to hold them off for more than five-or-ten minutes. We can’t risk them retaking the drone,” she explained.

“Which is where the guys and I come in. We’ll take them out before that becomes an issue,” Ben said with a wink.

“We’ll cut the power, too . . . at the right time. They probably have a back-up for that, as well. We have to expect the worst case and be prepared for it.” Jake looked over at Ben. “You got the earpieces?”

“Yeah.” Ben rummaged around in a bag by his combat-booted feet.

“We’ll need to split up. I don’t know if they have security cameras or not, but let’s assume that they’ll know we’re there by the time we are inside the building. I want them to think they have us.” Jake shifted his attention in the van to the other men. “I want everyone except Ben and me to stay put here. We’ll take out the guards. Once we’re in position, you guys escort Alexa to a secure location near the house and immediately work on killing their Wi-Fi. Tanner, you’ll stay with Alexa while Tom, Steve, and Pat follow Ben and me inside. When the power goes out, I’ll need you to enter the house for the assist.”

“How will the two of you take out five armed men?” Alexa’s fingers slipped over to Jake’s thigh, and he stared down at her hand. If only she knew he’d been in situations like this more damn times than he could count.

Then again, maybe it was better that she didn’t know.

“Don’t worry about that, we’ve got this,” Ben said. “Here.” He handed her and Jake an earpiece.

Jake tucked it inside his ear and pressed it on. “You got me?” he asked her.

“Yeah.” Alexa nodded, her face growing tight. She had to be nervous. Her best friend was inside and there was an entire cruise ship full of people relying on her.

Jake patted her on the shoulder and reached for her hand, squeezing it tight. This might be the last time he ever saw her again. There was always the risk of death on a mission, but as long as she survived . . .

“Be safe.” Her eyes became glossy, but Ben was pressing a hand over her shoulder.

“Come on, man,” Ben urged.

Jake quickly touched his lips to hers, not giving a damn about the other men. When he pulled back, he looked away from her almost immediately, too afraid to see the look in her eyes. He grabbed his rifle and 9mm and followed Ben out the back door. “Call Trent,” Jake said over his shoulder to her, and then he shut the door to the van and rested the back of his head against it for a moment, trying to compose himself.

Ben nodded at him and removed his earpiece, and Jake did the same and clicked it off for a moment. “You good, man?”

Jake pinched his throat and blinked a couple of times. “Yeah.” As they began walking, Jake secured his rifle on his back and kept the 9mm with the attached silencer in hand.

“I like your plan—make sure they underestimate us.”

“If Bekas thinks he has the upper hand, that will give us more time.” Jake stopped walking. “After we take the guards out, I need you to hang back out of sight. That way you can kill the power. If I lose you on comms and can’t give you a signal, then wait about five minutes and shut it down.”

“Like old times, brother.” Ben lightly tapped him on the shoulder and cocked his gun. “I’ll get the guy on the roof, the one in the back, and the one on the left side of the house.”

“Be safe, man.” Jake placed the earpiece back in and inhaled deeply before nodding at Ben. He fell back, taking cover alongside the neighbor’s garage as Ben stealthily crept forward. Once Ben took out the man on the roof, Jake could approach the other side of the house unseen.

A few minutes ticked by. “You’re good to roll,” Ben said into Jake’s ear, and a rush of relief hit him.

Jake started for the villa with slow steps, his head bent to the side, his gun extended in front of him. When he reached the house, he stayed as close as possible to the shadows—noting the dead guard sprawled out on the ground. His eyes were open, his arm above his head, a gun in his hand.

Jake moved around the body and pressed his back to the siding, preparing himself to round the next side of the house. If there was any pain in his body, he didn’t feel it. Adrenaline pumped through him, and his heart pounded in his chest.

He chanced a glimpse around the corner and spotted a man moving fast in his direction, gun in hand. The guards were already on alert. Of course they’d be in communication with each other.

Fortunately, Jake had expected this.

The slug from Jake’s gun tore straight through the center of the man’s forehead, and he fell back fast without a chance to fire or even open his mouth. Jake sprinted alongside the house, dodging the fallen body, and halted where the side met the front of the home, waiting for the next guard to come to him.

It was barely five seconds before the next man crossed in front of Jake. He was only inches away, and he locked his forearm beneath the large man’s jawline and secured his other arm against the back of his neck. He squeezed tight, and the guard struggled against him. The man’s gun fell to the ground, and he gripped Jake’s forearm, trying to lift the pressure from his throat. The guard tried to yell, but Jake pressed against his vocal cords so that he could hardly squeak.

Jake shut his eyes, trying to separate himself from the killer he had to be. With one quick movement, he jerked both his arms and snapped the guy’s neck.

He swallowed and opened his eyes as the man crumpled to his feet.

“Ben, are you good?” Jake whispered hoarsely, knowing Alexa could also hear him. He hoped she hadn’t been too scared, listening to all the commotion.

“I’m in position, but I’m pretty sure they’re waiting inside for you,” Ben answered.

Helping and protecting people—the need to serve—became like water. A necessity. It was hard to turn off the man you became in war. Some, like Jake, Ben, and many of his Marine buddies, had never discovered how.

Once a soldier, always a soldier.

“I know.” Jake tucked his 9mm into the holster at his hip and reached for the AK-47 that he had strapped to his back.

“Be careful, Jake.” Alexa’s words stopped him in his tracks. He wanted to respond, but what could he say? Being careful was not the mission objective. So he kept his mouth shut and tried to drown out the doubts that crept into his mind.

He approached the door and turned the knob. It was unlocked. After all, the house was guarded, and Bekas hadn’t expected to be outsmarted. He’d been five steps ahead of them at every turn.

But not tonight. Not this one damn time.

Jake wondered if either man he’d just killed was responsible for his abduction in Italy and the massacre of his team. The slight tinge of guilt that had roiled in his stomach disappeared. He’d never believed in an eye for an eye, especially given how Kemal Bekas was going about it, but he’d be damned if he didn’t want revenge for the men he’d lost.

Jake opened the door and slowly stepped into the villa. With the nozzle of the rifle pointed forward, he moved through the foyer, grateful for the darkness that masked his presence. At any moment, he’d be confronting the enemy.

There was a low rumbling down the hall where light glinted from beneath a doorway. Jake moved in that direction with slow and careful steps.

“Tell me you didn’t really come with only one other guy.”

The deep, throaty voice came from down the hall. Jake remembered that voice from London when he’d been hanging by his wrists, his back being whipped. But he’d never seen the face that matched it. He waited for the speaker to reveal himself, but instead, a door opened in the hall, allowing a splash of light to filter out into the dark.

“It’s over, Bekas!” Jake shouted, securing his rifle tight against the top of his chest and right shoulder blade. “I’m coming in!” He closed in on the room.

“What? No!” Alexa cried into his ear.

He flashed his eyes shut, allowing images of his family, friends, Alexa, to grace his mind. When he opened his eyes, he offered himself as a target in the open doorway.

A gun met his temple the second he stepped into the room. No surprise there.

“Lower your weapon,” the man ordered, but Jake held his rifle steady at the targets across the room. Jason was sitting behind a long, sleek desk, which housed three laptops and a joystick. So, they were planning for Jason to fly the drone, huh? Since his hands weren’t on the joystick, Jake felt a surge of hope that they hadn’t attempted to hijack it yet. Maybe there was still time.

Jake’s gaze slowly moved across the room, accounting for every person.

Xander, Randall, and Seth were tied to chairs in front of a camera mounted on a tripod. Tape covered their mouths, and each of them looked his way. “A little light on security, yeah?” Jake poked.

“Drop your weapon or they die.” It was the familiar voice again. The guy with his gun on him had been in the cabin in London. Jake looked forward to a little payback.

The man standing next to Jason was Bekas. The ring leader. His arms were crossed over his chest. And Jake recognized the other men beside him—Reza and Gregov.

Bekas still hadn’t spoken, so Jake added, “Your desire to show off to the media is how I found you, you know. You only have yourself to blame. But come on, were you that confident no one would be able to find you? Maybe you shouldn’t have relied on that asshole,” Jake said while tipping his head Jason’s way, “to cover your tracks.” Jake tightened his hold on his rifle, despite the three other drawn weapons in the room. He knew they wouldn’t fire without Bekas’s order, and Bekas, who was on the receiving end of the barrel of Jake’s rifle, couldn’t take the chance that Jake would get a shot off first.

Bekas smoothed a hand over his black beard, and his gleaming dark eyes met Jake’s gaze. “Tell me something, do you believe that the things you do for your country are justified? The murdering of innocent lives?” He released a deep breath and took a step forward.

“I’ve never killed anyone innocent so I wouldn’t know. Why don’t you tell me how it feels since you’re so Goddamn familiar?”

Bekas’s lips curved down. “I am sacrificing some lives now to save many lives later. The world will see the danger of your government’s drone strikes. They will know the consequences.”

“Perhaps drones aren’t the best way to kill terrorists.” Jake shrugged lightly. “Up, close, and personal is so much better.”

Bekas narrowed one eye at him and slipped his hands into the pockets of his black slacks, seeming not to have a care in the world. “People will witness your death. And the death of many others. They will be scared, and they will attack what they fear.”

Jake shook his head. “You’re forgetting something,” he said in a low voice as he glanced over the man’s shoulder at Jason, who was working steadily at the computer. Jake realized he was running low on time.

“Oh yeah? What is that?” Bekas asked.

Jake slowly moved into the room and stepped in front of the camera, directly in front of the agents. The man kept his gun on him as he moved, but Jake kept his finger on the trigger and the nozzle pointing toward Bekas.

“We don’t let people like you intimidate us,” Jake said. “You knock us down, and we get right the fuck back up. You’re going to fail because you didn’t consider the strength of the American people. Or of the British. We won’t surrender to you assholes. You want to fight? Bring it,” Jake rasped.

“I think you’re overestimating your people.” Bekas’s lips twitched. “But you and your friend won’t be around long enough to find out.”

Jake looked over at Jason, whose hand swept up to the joystick. His eyes focused on the screen in front of him as he shifted the joystick to the left.

“And your military will be too late. I assume they are on their way, yes?” Bekas raised an eyebrow as he cocked his head.

So, it had been a suicide mission all along. Bekas didn’t care if he got caught, so long as he sent his message to the world.

“Fuck. I’ve already lost control of the drone.” Jason’s hand slipped free from the joystick as he began tapping at keys.

Thank you, Alexa.

“What the hell happened?” Bekas kept his eyes on Jake, glowering at him, as he came around behind the computer to see what Jason was doing.

“Someone is jamming the frequencies. It’s going to take me a minute to get us online again,” Jason answered, flicking his gaze up at Jake for one brief moment, a darkness in his eyes.

“We don’t have a Goddamn minute,” Bekas said while looking back at Jake, eyeing the nozzle of Jake’s rifle.

“You did it, huh? You hijacked the drone. I’m impressed. I didn’t think Jason was smart enough.” A smile met Jake’s lips. “Too bad you couldn’t hang onto it for more than a second.” Jake could no longer hear any sound coming from his earpiece so he assumed he’d lost the signal.

“Is it your pretty little spy doing this?” Bekas directed his attention to the man who was holding the gun to Jake’s temple. “Why don’t I send my men out to go get her?” He shrugged his shoulders, but the sweat on his brow beneath his dark hair, and the strain in his throat indicated the guy was rattled. “Git,” the man commanded in what sounded like Turkish. “Şimdi.”

Hell, no. Jake dropped to his knees in one fast movement, prepared to shoot—but darkness flashed through the room, stealing his chance. Only the glow from the computer screens at the desk—running on damn battery power—allowed for a little light.

“Get him,” Bekas said, but Jake wasn’t sure who he was ordering.

She’s protected, Jake reminded himself as he tried not to lose focus.

Jake remained low on the ground and lifted his gun, angling it in the direction of the computers—then he quickly clipped off two powerful rounds, shredding the monitors.

“Motherfucker!” Jason shouted as flickers of light popped from the screens as the CPUs died. Too bad he hadn’t hit Jason, too.

“Get the power back on,” Bekas grumbled, and based on the sound of his voice, he was probably on the ground—hiding in fear. Good, it was where Jake wanted him to be.

Jake reached for the night vision goggles he had stowed in his cargo pants pocket by his shin. He slipped them on and grabbed the 9mm at his side.

Through the green tinted goggles, he could count the figures in the room. Bekas and Jason were crouched down near the desk. And the guy who’d first had his gun on Jake was now hunkered down with his gun clutched in both hands. At least he hadn’t gone for Alexa. That was something.

But two men were missing—Reza and Gregov.

Jake army crawled across the floor, trying to get to Xander and the others. They were sitting ducks in what would soon become a shit storm.

He lifted his gun as the guy by the doorway started in Jake’s direction, and he pegged the man in the head. His shoulders rolled before his body slumped forward.

“Hold your damn fire,” Bekas urged with terror in his voice. Not so much a death wish now.

Ben and the others would be there any second. Jake just needed to keep everyone alive until then.

He secured a knife from the holder at his side and slipped it between the duct tape that was wrapped around Xander’s hands. Xander couldn’t see Jake, but he pressed a hand to Jake’s shoulder as Jake sawed at the bindings that tied Xander’s feet.

The room was dark, but Jake had to assume Bekas’s vision had adjusted now—and at any moment Bekas could become a threat once again.

When Xander was free, Jake gave him his 9mm and the knife and looked up to see Ben edging inside the room, a pair of night vision goggles strapped to his face.

Ben raised a hand into the air and clenched his fist, signaling for Jake to hold his position. He slowly moved toward the desk where Bekas was hiding.

“You’re surrounded. Put your hands over your heads,” Ben instructed.

“Not on your life,” Bekas answered.

“Fine. Have it your way.” With zero hesitation, Ben sprayed fire at the desk, adding additional damage to the software.

Jake moved off to the side, coming around to engage with Bekas and the others from another angle to cover Ben. As he approached, the lights in the room came back on, which prompted his goggles to automatically turn off, saving his eyes. As he yanked them free—Jake hissed, gritting his teeth as a bullet caught him in the vest, knocking the wind out of him. As he adjusted to the light and shook off the pain, not sure where the enemy fire was coming from—another bullet, like a breath of fire on his neck—grazed him.

More shots fired.

Reza and Gregov were back and engaging with Ben, but also with the rest of the team. Thank God.

“Fuck. Stop firing.” Bekas threw his hands up in the air. He went to his knees and cupped a hand over his bleeding shoulder, wedged between two crumpled bodies. Reza and Jason’s lifeless bodies were in front of him. Gregov was moaning on the floor, holding his hand against his abdomen.

“Screw your shoulder. Put your hands back over your head,” Ben ordered.

Jake clutched his chest where it throbbed from the bullet, even though it’d hit the vest. He started to approach Bekas, but scanned the room for a head count, ensuring all of his men were safe.

When his eyes cast down onto Xander’s body on the floor, a new pain crushed him. “Christ!” He rubbed a hand over his face as he saw Xander gasping, making a loud sucking sound. He had a GSW to the chest, and based on the way he was breathing, the bullet probably pierced his lungs.

Jake quickly looked back at Ben who was securing Bekas’s hands behind his back. Knowing that the situation was covered, he rushed around the fallen chairs and moved to Xander’s side, coming up next to Seth who was covering the hole with both his hands. “Find me some plastic,” Jake said to Randall who was over his shoulder, watching. “We need to cover his wound with it to keep air from getting inside.”

“Got something,” Randall said a moment later and thrusted something at Jake.

“Move your hands for a second, Seth,” Jake said as Xander continued to gasp for air, a spurt of blood starting to come from the edge of his mouth. Jesus, stay with me, but he thought the words instead of saying them as he pressed the plastic over the wound. “You’re going to be okay, man,” Jake finally said to Xander just as his gray eyes slowly closed.

“Keep this pressed over the wound while I do CPR,” Jake ordered to Seth as his hand slipped up to the groove of Xander’s throat, checking for a pulse.

They were losing him.

“Won’t that make it worse? He has a bullet in his chest.” Seth raised his brows, his hands coming back over Xander’s wound.

Jake’s hands were slick with Xander’s blood as he started compressions. “We don’t have a choice. He’s in cardiac arrest. We’ve got to keep blood flowing to the brain even if it causes more damage to his lungs.” Jake was thankful for the medical training he’d had in Iraq—but he hoped to hell it would pay off right now.

“Hold your hands over that plastic—keep it tight,” Jake said to Seth as he continued to push and pump—trying to keep Xander alive. Please, God. For Alexa. She’s been through too much.

“I think he’s gone,” Randall said a minute later, his hand reaching across Xander’s body to touch Jake’s shoulder.

“No. Screw that. We can save—” Jake cut himself off when he heard what sounded like blades above. A Black Hawk?

Then Jake looked up for a brief moment, his jaw going slack as he caught sight of Alexa standing across the room. Her eyes landed on his and filled with a brief glow of relief to see Jake alive. Their light turned to horror at the sight of Xander lying bloody and motionless in front of him.

“No!” she screamed as she rushed their way.

Jake didn’t remove his hands. He kept them there, but his eyes stayed on Alexa. His heart tearing apart at that moment. “Alexa . . .” he said in a hoarse voice.

Randall went for her, wrapping his arms around Alexa, pulling her back, trying to turn her around so she wouldn’t have to see.

“No,” she cried again, struggling against him, fighting for her friend.

“He’s gone, Alexa,” Randall said.

Jake continued CPR. He refused to accept Xander was gone.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she sank to the floor. Jake saw something in her eyes he had never seen—never wanted to. Her gaze drifted to a pistol on the floor just a few feet away from her. “You deserve to die, Bekas,” she yelled as she extended her hand in the direction of the gun.

“Fuck.” Jake stopped the compressions, grabbed his 9mm from beside Xander’s body, and lifted it into the air in one smooth movement, shooting Bekas in the chest before Alexa had the chance.

Ben’s brows pinched with surprise as Bekas fell back, his skull banging uselessly against the desk.

Alexa was still holding the gun tight in her hand, breathing hard. Then she pivoted on her knees to face Jake. He set the 9mm down and went back to trying to keep Xander alive as if the moment hadn’t happened.

He hadn’t just killed a man whose hands were tied . . . Jake wouldn’t do such a thing.

“Why . . .?” Alexa crawled on her hands and knees over to Jake, coming up next to Xander. Emotion choked her words as her gun slipped and clanked to the ground. Her hands came over Xander’s body, and she lowered her forehead to his stomach, tears breaking down her cheeks.