Phoenix Inheritance Read online

  “We have to assume they’re monitoring frequencies. And that means they’ll be alerted and your passengers will be screwed.”

  “Hell,” Renee said.

  “Yep,” Daz said. “But, like I said, this is what we do. We even the odds. We keep the guards busy with a few surprises and you get the passengers on the truck and book on out of here.”

  She glanced between Gabe and Daz. They sat under a tree, ready to risk their lives against crazy odds. Hell, her too. And Daz understood that. He was making her part of the plan.

  He got her.

  Daz brushed pine needles away from the ground to reveal the dirt underneath and began sketching out the plan. “Here’s what we do.”

  The whole plan seemed organized chaos. “You two have the more dangerous part,” she said. “All I have to do is get to the truck and drive.”

  “It’s all dangerous.” Daz stared at her. “You get everyone on that truck then you go, you go like hell, you hear me? You don’t wait for me or Gabe if we’re not there.”

  “Daz, I can’t—”

  “You go like a bat out of hell and that’s an order.”

  “I’m not under command. I’m not leaving you behind.”

  “You sure are. You agreed to be under my command when we started out. You get those people out. That’s the whole point of all of this. If I’m not with you, I’ll make the camp in two days. I’ve no plans to die today. And, besides, it’s less dangerous than facing a bear with a stick.” He grinned.

  “Bears don’t fire back,” she snapped. She swallowed down a sudden lump in her throat. “But, okay.”

  “Good. Now, the darkness is going to be our friend. I didn’t see anything down there that suggests night vision goggles. We have them, they don’t. Renee, you send back Jake’s dog, giving the hostages some warning we’re out here, we get close enough to make a move and you and Gabe go for the trucks.”

  “But what are you going to do?” she asked.

  “Provide a better, more interesting target,” Daz said.

  They crawled closer to the camp once it was full dark. The passengers had been herded into a circle to rest. Four guards watched over them while two others conferred off to the side. Renee wished she were close enough to hear what they were saying.

  What were these people planning to do with relief camp workers? Ransom them? That happened sometimes, though usually in areas a lot more lawless than this. She dug her fingers deeper into the soil to stop the slight tremor that had developed in the last five minutes.

  What the hell was she doing?

  What no one else was in a position to do. And this was no more dangerous than anything else she’d done. SAR efforts in remote areas, especially at night, were full of hidden hazards. She’d gone into a mudslide area once after Loki had scented someone alive, despite warnings from the firefighters on-scene that the ground could collapse under her feet. That had ended well.

  Of course, mudslides couldn’t shoot at her.

  Beside her, Sirius whined quietly, still straining to get back to his master. She’d swapped the collars but Daz told her to hold off on sending the dog until they were closer to making their move. He was afraid Jake would be questioned if Sirius showed up out of the blue.

  Renee heard Jake speak to Orion, his other dog, who was whining louder. Obviously, Orion knew Sirius was nearby.

  “The dogs are going to start barking at each other soon if I don’t let Sirius go,” she whispered.

  They were flat on their stomachs in a depression off the side of the road, their heads barely peeking out to see.

  “Just a couple more seconds for me to double-check positions,” Daz said. “I count ten. You?”

  “Two,” Gabe answered. “Wait, right, three. One is hidden near the plane. So our count of thirteen was correct.”

  She wished she could see, but they only had the two pairs of night-vision goggles and she definitely agreed that the two men with the guns should have them.

  “Good,” Daz said.

  “Okay.” Daz held out his wrist. “I go one way, you two go for the trucks in exactly five minutes.” He and Gabe put their watches next to each other, synchronizing them.

  “Remember, whatever you hear, you keep to the timetable, got that?” Daz said. “Your priority is hostage rescue. That goes for you too, Wonder Woman.”

  “Sir, yes, sir.” She mock saluted him. “And be careful.”

  “Careful’s got nothing to do with this. We do this right.”

  She reached out, grabbed the back of his neck, pulled him closer and kissed him. His lips were cold and she suspected hers were as well. But despite the initial chill, she warmed in an instant. It was all she could do not to curl against him.

  By the time she pulled away, cold was the last thing on her mind.

  “Damn,” Daz said.

  “For luck,” she said.

  “Ho-rah,” Daz said.

  “Man, where’s my kiss?” Gabe asked.

  She turned her head. “You can have one too.” Why not?

  Gabe tapped her shoulder. “Not from you. From him.”

  “Kiss the retired Marine when you’re done if you’re so eager for military tail,” Daz said. “Remember, five minutes.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Gabe said.

  And Daz vanished into the night. Leaving them to wait. The camp voices became muted as everyone presumably began to sleep or settle in. She counted the stars overhead to pass the time.

  “Four minutes,” Gabe whispered.

  She switched to counting seconds. The first sixty seconds seemed like hours. Thor and Loki rested near her feet, content for the moment. After such a long day, they were exhausted. Beside her, Sirius whined softly. She scratched his ears. Such a good dog.

  “Three minutes,” Gabe said.

  “Okay.” She wrapped her arm around Sirius. “So, you’re gay, then, Gabe?” Ack. What a stupid question to ask right now. But it kept her from screaming in terror at what they had to do next.

  “Yep,” Gabe said.

  “And that’s not a problem in the SEALs?”

  “Not in Daz’s command,” Gabe answered. “Two minutes.” He put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Right.” She reached down to tap her dogs and bring them to alert. Thor crawled up next to her. Loki set himself next to Sirius and nuzzled the other dog’s neck.

  “One minute,” Gabe said.

  An explosion of dirt and wood echoed from their left, near the plane, scattering dust over everyone. The guards shouted, swore and scrambled toward the origin of the mess.

  “Thirty more seconds.” Gabe settled himself into a crouch and tapped his helmet. “Daz has cleared them out. All but one guard headed over there. Stick to the plan and this will work.”

  The pop, pop, pop of gunfire echoed from the left. She curled her hands around Thor’s and Loki’s collars. They’d been taught not to react to gunfire. But this was their first real exposure to it, their first real test.

  Hers too.

  Daz, be careful.

  Someone yelled in English. Jake, she thought. A dog barked. Sirius barked back.

  “Let him go,” Gabe said.

  “Go find Jake, Sirius. Go!” She pointed toward the passengers.

  Sirius zoomed away, a big black shadow in the starlight. Gabe tugged on her shirt. “It’s time. Do what I do.”

  They ran for the trucks in a crouch. Her hand pulsed, every instant a new slice of pain from the wound. Thor and Loki stayed at her heels.

  They jumped to the road, next to the front of a truck, using it for cover. She put one hand on the truck’s hood and steadied herself. Gabe peeked inside the cab.

  “Jackpot. Keys,” he muttered. “Time for us to split. Get everyone in this truck. Now.”

  And he vanished into the dark just as another exp
losion split the air.

  “Thor, Loki, go. Retrieve,” she ordered.

  They rushed away, leaving her to creep along the side of the truck, her back flat against it, telling herself not to flinch at the gunfire and yelling that was now a constant refrain out there in the dark. She felt for the back edge of the truck with her one good hand, the cold metal stilling her sweaty palm. Now was the moment of truth. She had to show herself to everyone. She took one deep breath to steady herself and stepped away from the shadows of the vehicle.

  Something pinged into the ground at her feet. A dog snarled and a man screamed but it was cut off in mid-cry.

  “Jake?” she said into the air.

  “Here, kid.” A tall, broad shadow holding a rifle took familiar shape in the dark. Jake. “Loki knocked over one guard and I took care of the other. What’s next?”

  “Everyone in the back of this truck. Now. We’re booking out of here.”

  “Perfect.”

  Jake waved his arm and pointed at the back of the cargo truck. The other passengers scrambled inside, though far too slow for her comfort.

  Jake was the last. “Go,” she said. “I’m driving.”

  He gave her a quick hug. “What the hell, Renee? You turn a real superhero on me?”

  “No, the real heroes are out there still. Just get in the back and tell everyone to hold on!”

  He grabbed her forearm. “Won’t they follow in the other truck?”

  “We got that under control. Get in!”

  Jake jumped in with his dogs. She ordered Thor and Loki inside with him too.

  She sprinted to the truck’s cab. The driver’s side door was slightly ajar and she leapt inside. Her hand hovered over the ignition. No sign of Gabe or Daz. Dammit. Daz had said to run like hell. But…

  No, she couldn’t wait. She had a responsibility now to Jake and the others now. She took quick stock of the stick shift and the dashboard. Yeah she could do this.

  Something tapped on the passenger side window. She flinched and smacked her head on the back of the seat.

  “Easy, Wonder Woman,” Gabe said. “Let’s roll! Go, go!”

  “Daz?”

  “Go!” Gabe said. “I’ll provide covering fire from out here. Go!”

  She turned over the ignition, shifted and wished she could go right into fifth gear. Unfamiliar voices screamed in a language she didn’t recognize. The pop of gunshots joined the screams. Something pinged off the passenger door. She kept accelerating, shifting gears as fast as she could without risking a stall.

  The truck rumbled forward. The speedometer needle crept higher and higher. The roar of the engine drowned out all other noises. They lurched sideways as she hit a pothole. She gripped the steering wheel with two hands, yanking it back to solid ground. Agony blossomed in the bandaged left hand. She ignored it.

  Please, please, don’t break down.

  She flicked on the high beams, kept her eyes glued on the road, her hands tight on the wheel and pushed the speed as high as she dared on this rough, twisty road. Escaping the bad guys would do them no good if she drove the truck over a cliff.

  Sweat drenched the back of her shirt as they roared down through the hills and out of the valley. The speedometer hit the red area. Careful, back it down. There had to be some nasty twists and turns coming up on this mountain road. Her focus narrowed to the road, her hand on the wheel and her foot on the gas pedal.

  Every now and then, she caught sight of Gabe, standing on the ledge outside the passenger door. She thought about stopping to let him in and dismissed it. He was out there for a reason.

  She checked the time on the dashboard. Twenty minutes had passed since she began this wild ride. She wished for water, swallowed hard, and kept going.

  Another fifteen minutes and Gabe opened the door and fell into the cab.

  “Are you okay?” But she kept her eyes on the road and the darkness ahead.

  “Swallowed too much dust.” He spat out the window. “Other than that, okay. I never saw any pursuit after the first five minutes.”

  “Daz?”

  “Probably still leading them around by their asses in the dark.” Gabe grinned.

  He could grin. His job was over. Hers wouldn’t be until they were safe at the relief camp. She rolled her shoulders. Up, down, around the turns. Watch out for cars coming her way on the narrow road.

  A car. That meant they were getting closer to civilization.

  Hours, days maybe, she drove on. Okay, it only felt like that long. The dashboard clock told her only sixty-five minutes had passed.

  She wiped sweat off her forehead with her sleeve.

  The sun was breaking over the mountains behind them as she entered the valley and caught sight of the relief camp. She pumped her fist in feeble triumph. The right tire hit a rock and she had to grab the wheel to steady the vehicle.

  So much for celebration.

  But, damn. Sonofabitch. They were here and alive. She slowed, parked among the other relief vehicles at the outskirts of the camp, and slumped back into the seat.

  Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as her mother would have said.

  Gabe stirred.

  “We’re here,” she said.

  “Fucking A.”

  “Yeah.” She should get up, check on her dogs, check on Jake and the others but not moving felt so good right now. Behind her eyes, her head pounded with tension. Her injured hand had gone numb sometime around the last downshift.

  Gabe opened the door and saluted her. “Nice driving. But one favor.”

  “Anything.”

  “We were never here.”

  “What? How do I explain what happened?”

  Gabe gestured her closer to him. “You tell everyone that a couple of locals saw what those guys had done and offered to help. You never got their names because you didn’t speak the lingo. Got it?”

  From the back of the truck, she heard raised voices, yells and the sounds of triumph as it became apparent they’d stopped at the relief camp and were safe. Thor and Loki barked happily. They were okay, too. She swallowed back a lump in her throat.

  “But you guys were heroes.” She grabbed his arm, afraid Gabe would disappear before she made him promise. “You have to let me know if Daz is okay.”

  “If I can.”

  She curled her hand around his sleeve. “I have to know, Gabe. Please.”

  “Okay.” He nodded, turned and vanished out the door.

  She climbed out of the cab. Her back and leg muscles screamed at her. That was what happened when muscles locked up from tension.

  Thor and Loki rushed up to her, tails wagging, barking happily. She hugged them, they kissed her and she was quickly enveloped by Jake and the rest of the rescued passengers, including Kim’s fiancé.

  It seemed like everyone wanted a piece of her, to thank her, to hug her. Warmth soothed her aches and pains. I love these people.

  “Fucking damn,” Jake said. “You shoulda been a Marine.”

  “I had to do something,” she stammered out. Wonder Woman, Daz had called her. All she felt was tired and drained.

  Jake lifted her off her feet and spun her around. “You did great, kid!” Everyone cheered.

  She laughed punched his shoulder. “Put me down! I was terrified the whole time, you know.” Daz and Gabe had taken the bulk of the risks.

  “Everybody is terrified when they do something like this.” He set her down, grinned and kept his arm around her shoulders, shielding her from some of the more enthusiastic hugs. She relaxed under his protection. Jake, barrel-chested and sturdy, had always been a rock. He’d taught her all she knew. He was the toughest there was, or so she’d always thought.

  Until she’d met Daz.

  “Who was it helping you and causing the distraction that allowed us to get away?” Jake asked.

>   “C’mere.” She pulled him aside as people from the camp, alerted by their celebration, rushed over. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kim drape herself all over her fiancé.

  Once they were away from the group, Jake tilted his head down to her. “What’s wrong, Renee?”

  “I can’t say who helped, Jake. I can’t. Okay?”

  “Ah.” A pause. “You know, the explosions were caused by U.S. military-issue grenades.”

  Is that what the explosions had been? She hadn’t asked Gabe and she’d no idea Daz had grenades with him. There had been no time to go over those details.

  “My helpers were your type of people but not exactly authorized to do what they did, if you know what I mean.”

  “Ah,” he said again, nodding. “Got it.”

  “Good.” She nodded. “As far as anyone knows, it was two locals who joined me during the hike because they’d seen the plane and the armed guards and wanted to help. I couldn’t understand their language, so I never got any information about them.”

  “I read you, five by five.” Jake clapped her on the back. “Now, let’s go to the med tent and get your hand looked at. What’s wrong with it anyway? Did it happen when Thor was injured? Because his wound looked like some sort of animal scratch.”

  “Uh, would you believe a bear?” She held up the hand. “While we were hiking out there.”

  “No shit? And how did you stop it?”

  “With a big stick.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, you’ve got a helluva story. Not sure I believe it but it’s a helluva story. I want more.”

  “How about you tell me how that plane landed in the mountains and who the heck was holding all of you hostage, and we’ll call it even.”

  “Deal.” Jake put his arm around her and they joined in the celebration.

  Hours passed before Renee found the way to her tent and the enticing comfort of her cot. She’d offered to vacate the tent for the night so Kim and her fiancé could have the place to themselves for a reunion but Kim insisted their “hero” needed to sleep somewhere quiet. Since Kim seemed like she had another private place in mind to spend time with Butch, Renee agreed.

  After the last twenty-four hours, she wanted silence and calm.