A moment later, they lifted into the air and the ground spun dizzyingly below her. The helicopter swept over the treetops, nearly clipping the tops as they flew away.
A shiver overtook her and she was glad he’d told her to bring a jacket. Though the temps were plenty warm, the night air had a crisp chillness to it the higher they lifted into the air. With the sides open, the wind blew straight through the interior, turning her nose into a block of ice.
She clutched her free hand over her belly in an automatic protective measure.
Armand looked down at her, his gaze inquisitive. She shook her head to let him know she was fine. Scared and nervous as hell, but she was okay. She just wished she knew where they were going. If he was planning to go back to Tristan, then he evidently planned to dump her somewhere and leave. Which meant she’d be going it alone.
That filled her with utter panic. Her only option would be to find a U.S. embassy and hope they believed her crazy-ass story of being abducted. Or she could try to find a way to contact Sam so KGI could come get her. She imagined that by now, Sam rued the day he ever met her. She’d been a source of trouble, no matter that she’d provided medical services for his teams.
If she got out of this unscathed, she was seriously going to rethink her career path. She had a baby to think of now, and working in parts unknown in isolated, rural areas of the world was no longer something she could consider.
An hour later, the helicopter began to descend. As she looked out, she was surprised to see they were in the mountains, and it looked as though they were landing in a small valley between two jutting peaks. Her guess hadn’t been wrong about being close to the mountains.
As soon as the helicopter set down, Armand reached over to unfasten her seat belt and urged her out. He ducked low and urged her to do the same, shielding her with his body as he pulled her into the trees a short distance away.
When they were far enough away from the helicopter for him to be able to hear her, she asked in a trembling voice, “Where are we? What do I do now? If you’re going back, then how do I know where to go?”
He touched her shoulder and then squeezed reassuringly. “Don’t worry. You won’t be alone. Someone is coming for you.”
Relief made her unsteady and her knees nearly gave out on her.
“Thank you,” she choked out. “I don’t know why you risked doing this for me, but I’ll be forever grateful. If there’s ever anything I can do to repay you, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
He grinned that sardonic grin and his eyes flashed with amusement. “Oh, I’ll collect, Maren. Just not from you.”
With that cryptic statement, he urged her forward again.
“Can you make it or do I have to carry you again?”
“Depends on how far it is to wherever we’re going,” she muttered.
“It’s not far. Half a mile or so.”
“I can make it.”
“Then let’s make tracks. I’m on a strict timeline here. I have to be back at the chopper in forty minutes, so I don’t have time to spare.”
Nodding, she quickened her step and fell in behind him so she could follow his lead.
Several long minutes later, her breaths coming rapid and short and puffing from her mouth in a visible cloud, they stopped. Or rather he came to an abrupt halt and she collided with his back.
He put his arm back to steady her and remained stock – still, his entire body rigid and wary, like he expected someone to jump out of the trees at them. With his free hand, he drew the gun from his shoulder harness and held it up and at the ready. Her heart jumped and began to beat double time.
“Stay still and remain absolutely silent,” he said in a low voice.
She went just as rigid as he was, locked against his broad back. He was big enough that she couldn’t see around him, and even better, it meant no one would be able to see her.
“We wait for your rescuer to show,” he said. “No matter what you hear, or what you may see, you do not move a muscle. Don’t say anything until I tell you to, no matter what happens, and do not react to anything that’s about to go on. We clear? Nod, but don’t speak.”
She nodded against his back and he relaxed, but he still had a tight grip on his gun as he scanned the area, staring intently into the darkness.
She wanted to ask him who the hell was coming for her, and if he trusted them to get her out of the country or where they were taking her for that matter, but he’d been very exacting in his requirements of her, and as he’d mentioned, she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She’d sort out the details, hopefully when she was miles away from Kosovo and Tristan Caldwell.
CHAPTER 22
STEELE gathered with his and Rio’s teams a quarter mile from the appointed rendezvous point. It still chapped Steele’s ass to let Rio go retrieve Maren alone. He didn’t trust this Hancock guy, especially when it was clear he had his own agenda and he’d do whatever necessary to achieve his goal.
Hancock had already proven in the past that nothing came between him and the successful completion of his mission. He wasn’t above using any means necessary and he didn’t care who got hurt in the process.
Which made it highly suspect that he was handing over Maren out of the goodness of his heart and because Tristan was close to making a move on Maren.
“Are you sure you can trust this guy?” Steele demanded.
Rio shook his head. “I don’t believe I’ve ever said I trust Hancock. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. But I don’t see that we have a choice here. If we want Maren back, we have to play it by his rules. He’s very exacting and he’d absolutely back out and take Maren with him if I don’t do this his way.”
“I don’t like you going in alone,” Steele said stubbornly. “You have no idea what he has with him or if this is just a way to fuck with you and KGI. How the hell do we even know if he has Maren?”
Rio sighed. “Look, I don’t like it any better than you do. I’d much rather be at home in bed with my wife than out here in Bumfuck, Kosovo, on some wild-goose chase led by a former teammate who damn near got Grace killed the last time we crossed paths. But if he does have Maren and if he’s willing to hand her over, then I have no choice but to do what he said and come alone. You and my team will be close by. If things go south, you can be there quickly.”
Steele stood down. He didn’t like it. But he couldn’t risk Hancock backing out and Maren ending back up in Caldwell’s hands, or even worse, at Titan’s mercy. She wouldn’t survive a minute with Titan. They’d dispose of her because she’d be a hindrance to them and any objective they were trying to accomplish.
“Okay, but if you’re not back in twenty minutes, we’re coming in,” Steele said grudgingly. “Get in, get Maren and get the hell back out.”
“Watch your six,” Terrence said to his team leader.