CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“On my signal,” Deacon said.
They’d cleared the brush away and stared down at a thick iron door, approximately three feet by three feet. It was going to be a tight fit, but it was the only way to get the girls from their prison below ground.
“Shape charge is in place,” Elias said. “Hold onto your balls.”
The shape charge was molded around the lock, a blasting cap placed inside, and Elias unwound the detonation cord from a spool until he stood a few feet away. Deacon, Axel, and Levi took a couple of steps back and Elias handed him the detonator.
“Fire in the hole,” Deacon said, and everyone plugged their ears. He’d already put his own earplugs in.
“Fire in the hole . . .”
“Fire in the hole,” he said a third time and pushed the button. There was a muffle pfft as the charge exploded, and they moved in quickly, he and Axel each placing a hand in the hole that was now in the door.
“On three,” Deacon said. “One, two . . .”
They lifted the heavy door and tossed it to the side. Levi had the flashlight ready and shined it below. Five little girls huddled together, their hands over their eyes as light hit them for the first time in a long while.
Gunfire erupted from all over the island, and Deacon wasn’t sure who was firing at who. Between the mercenaries, drug lords, and arms dealers, it was a toss up.
“Let’s make this quick,” Axel said. “Levi and I will cover.”
“Damn,” Elias said. “I wish I’d have called it. There’s no way I’m fitting in that little hole.”
Deacon rolled his eyes. “We’re the same damned size.” And then he got down on his belly and leaned into the hole, his shoulders just fitting in the space. The girls were terrified, but there wasn’t time to try and calm them.
Deacon spoke to them in Russian, and then he began lifting them, one by one, handing them off to Elias. There were five in total, and Elias took the oldest, carrying her in a fireman’s hold, and Levi took the two smallest, carrying each in an arm. Deacon and Axel took the other two, and then they ran for the extraction point.
“That’s the sexiest damned woman I’ve ever seen,” Elias said.
Miller stood on the deck of the ferry, a machine gun slung across her chest, while she waited for them to arrive. When she caught sight of them, she smiled in relief.
“There’s a Zodiac waiting for us beneath the dock,” Elias said.
Just before they stepped foot on the dock, Dante and Tess came running out of the trees like demons were hot on their tails.
“Tess,” Deacon said, reaching for his wife and bringing her in close.
“Time for that later,” Dante said. “The guys with guns are not going to be far behind us. Where’s Liv?”
“We haven’t seen her,” Deacon said. “She said she’d meet us here.”
“Shit,” Dante said, looking back at the island. Then he checked his magazine in his weapon. “I need extras,” he said, holding out a hand. Two magazines were immediately slapped into his hand.
“She knows the risks,” Deacon told him. “But we won’t sacrifice the team for one.”
“Understood,” Dante said. “But I recall a mission not too long ago where you stayed behind to make sure we all got out alive.”
Deacon nodded. “Be fast. We’ll hold them off as long as we can from the boat. Thank God Trident has a little extra unexpected firepower in everything they make.”
Dante slapped Deacon on the shoulder and pocketed the extra magazines, running back into the line of fire to find Liv.
HE STAYED AWAY from the bungalows and buildings, knowing that everyone had taken their positions for ultimate cover. Those who hadn’t made it or who were too unaware of the danger they were in lay dead among the vines and grottoes.
The humidity was thick, like walking through lukewarm soup, and moisture covered his body, making his clothes stick to his skin. His movements were fast and sure, and years of training kicked in as he saw even the smallest movements from the corners of his eyes and was alerted to sounds where there shouldn’t have been sound at all.
He saw the flash of a wristwatch from behind a grouping of ferns, and then noticed the height of where the fern was shaking. Whoever was taking cover was too tall to be Liv. And then he saw the flashy watch glint again as he moved his arm. It was then he noticed the weapon raise and shots were fired in the direction opposite of where Dante was standing. Return fire was given, and Dante was able to see exactly where both of their positions were.
He took out the first shooter quickly and then moved quietly to a new position so he could get a better glimpse at the other shooter. He didn’t want to kill Liv by mistake. And then the thought slipped into his mind before he could control it. If she was still alive.
He’d almost taken another step when something had him holding back. He didn’t breathe, or take the chance of moving his head for a visual. All he could use were his eyes and the senses he’d been born with.
His heart thudded and sweat dripped from his eyelashes, stinging his eyes. And with every ounce of his ability as Simon Locke, he slowly squatted down so he was closer to the ground and in thicker cover. A split second later, tree bark exploded where his head had been.
He inhaled deeply, and then let out a slow exhale, taking in everything around him. What belonged. What didn’t belong. And then he saw them, as if they were painted in Technicolor all of a sudden.
It was an ambush. There were four of them. Two up in the trees and two more at his ten and three o’clock. And almost exactly parallel with him was Liv. He saw just the slightest flash of red hair from the corner of his eye. She’d gotten to the exact conclusion he had, and had stopped and taken cover before walking into the trap.
He slowly turned his head, and breathed out a sigh of relief when he found her gaze on his. She’d already seen him and was waiting. With just one of them it would’ve been almost impossible to take them on and win. But with two . . . with the two of them together they might have a fighting chance.
He made careful movements with his hands, alerting her that they should kill the two in the higher positions first, because once they fired they’d be easy to spot. Then he indicated that she should take the other guard on the left, and he’d take care of the right.
Dante had never had the occasion to see her shoot in a scenario such as this one, and if he hadn’t studied her file so extensively he would’ve been worried about her capability of hitting two such difficult targets. But he knew she was an expert marksman, almost as good as Elias, and that was saying something.
He held up three fingers and then started the countdown, and when he only held up one finger he took aim and fired. He heard a second shot sound just slightly before his own, and then he smiled as two bodies fell from the trees they’d been hiding in.
His second target was taking aim in Dante’s direction, but Dante was faster, hitting him center mass.
“Let’s go,” he said, noting Liv had taken care of her second target as well. “They can only hold the boat for so long.”
She stared at him for a long second, her lips twitching in amusement. “Well, Lord Malcolm. I believe this is the first time I’ve ever seen you sweat.”
And then she took his hand and they ran back to the extraction point, hoping to God the boat was still waiting for them.
“There she is,” Liv said, as they broke through the cover of trees and their feet sunk into white sand.
“Thank God,” Dante said. “I need a shower and an excellent glass of white.”
“What if I offered to scrub your back?” she asked as they stepped onto the dock and ran toward the end.
“I’d say I can do without the wine for a few more hours.”
Elias waited for them at the end of the dock in the Zodiac, the motor running and a machine gun in his lap.
“Good timing,” Elias said as they lowered themselves inside.
Dante looked back to see the plume of black smoke rising from the south end of the island. Fire.
“Elizabeth,” Liv said, moving to stand up, but Dante put his hand on her leg in warning.
“Shiv has things under control,” he told her. “They’ve got an escape route. I talked to him before I came back to find you. Elizabeth is fine. I saw her.”
Liv let out an audible breath and nodded, and then she purposefully looked away. “The past can’t be changed,” she said.
And he wondered if she was talking about her sister or him.