"No," Ryan and MacKenzie immediately answered in unison.
Grandma's face fell a little as she switched her focus back to Candace. "There. See? I'm just going for a little ride, and maybe a night hike to find the entrance if they need me to."
Dammit … "Then I'm coming too."
The instant she said it, a bolt of uncontrollable, visceral fear sliced through her. Without warning, images of that hellish mission gone wrong in eastern Afghanistan flashed through her head like a high-speed slide show.
Her heart seized, then shot into a sickening gallop, turning her hands cold and clammy. It was like she was right back there again, trapped in those mountains while a blizzard raged and the enemy hunted them.
Everything inside her froze, her lungs, her blood. Her crewman's face was so vivid in her mind. Dover stared up at her from the edge of the cliff he dangled from, the sheer terror in his eyes sending a shudder through her now. He'd been trying to help her up the mountain when he'd slipped.
She'd watched, helpless, unable to do a damn thing for him. A moment later he'd lost his grip and fallen, his chilling screams scraping over her psyche. The sound of his body hitting the rocks was something she'd never be rid of. No amount of time or therapy could ever erase something like that.
She'd sat with him in the cave after they'd retrieved his body, sat by uselessly as he'd slipped away. Had zipped the body bag closed over his face, knowing he'd never see his wife and child again.
Ryan had been there with her. He'd been her rock, her anchor and safe haven. Losing him would kill her. It terrified her to think of the dangers he would face when he climbed out of that helo tonight.
Shaking off the harrowing thoughts, she forced herself back to the present, then clamped her hand around her grandma's forearm and started toward the guys. She did not want to get on that helo. The very thought of doing so made her skin crawl and her stomach pitch.
But she would go along if it meant protecting her grandmother and helping Ryan.
She started for the Blackhawk.
More heel digging. Grandma struggled and pulled them to a stop, twisting her arm free. "Don't be ridiculous! You're wounded, and I need you here to take care of the guests. You were a Bradford longer than you've been a Wentworth, and I need you to take charge right now."
Clenching her jaw, Candace glanced toward Ryan. He was jogging toward them now, and she knew with one look at his hard expression that he'd insist she stay put. They didn't have time to argue. Every second the helo sat on the ground gave March and his men time to escape.
I hate this. "Fine." She put her right hand on her hip and shot Ryan a warning glare. "You better take care of her," she shouted over the increasing noise of the Blackhawk's engines.
"Like she was my own sweet grandma," he called back, and held a hand out to beckon Ruby forward.
Candace stood there watching while Ryan jogged her grandma over to the waiting helo and lifted her inside it. Everything in her screamed in denial, demanding that she go with them. It wasn't an option, however.
Stuck here and helpless to do anything to keep her loved ones safe, Candace stood shivering in the cool night air and watched the Blackhawk lift into the inky darkness above the resort. Guilt hit her hard as it flew away. Her stomach sank, and she immediately regretted not being on board.
"Ace, the fire captain needs a word with you. I told him you were the woman in charge."
Heart heavy with worry, she made herself turn around to face Devon, who was standing with Erin and a firefighter in turnout gear by the front entrance. The only thing she could do now was take care of things here on her grandmother's behalf.
"Coming," she called out, and headed toward them.
* * * *
Pulse thudding in his ears, Eric thrust the last of his electronic equipment into his duffel, zipped it up, and hurried to the tunnel entrance. The diversion op had begun more than twenty minutes ago and he hadn't heard a word from Lyle.
Trying one more time to reach the team, he grabbed his radio as he ascended the stairs toward the surface. "Specter, report."
No answer. Just dead air.
Either his men had been captured, or they were dead. Didn't matter which one it was, because he had to get out of here right the hell now.
He hefted the heavy ruck onto his back and picked up both duffels holding enough supplies to get him through the next few days, until he reached the safe house. The perimeter alarm went off just as he neared the upper hatch. He paused, then shoved the heavy steel door upward, because he had no other choice but to run.
A cold breeze whipped over his face as he climbed through into the darkness. The sound of a helo's blades somewhere overhead froze him.
Tipping his head back, he searched the skies and his disbelieving gaze spotted the outline of a Blackhawk against the silver moon as it sped toward him. What the hell? The diversion had only begun a little while ago. There was no way any government agency would have had time to respond this fast, let alone pinpoint his location. So who the hell was coming after him?
Fuck. His heart rate shot up. No time to run, and someone might already have seen him. They might track him using his body heat signature. His best chance now was to hide down below, where he knew every inch of the system, and barricade himself inside.
"Specter, I'm pinned down at HQ. Need immediate rescue, over," he said as he climbed back down and secured the steel door overhead. With any luck no one on that helo had seen him. The upper hatch was exposed now, but it couldn't be helped, and nobody knew the location but him and Lyle.
Another perimeter alarm went off when he neared the bottom of the staircase. The area was too heavily wooded for anyone to land a helo near here. Whoever was coming after him must have fast-roped from the helo.
His heart thudded hard in his chest as he knelt and unzipped the duffel, removing grenades and a few blocks of Semtex, then got to work. As of this moment he was trapped like a gopher with a pack of hungry wolves waiting above.
If he was going to die tonight, he would do it fighting for the cause he believed in. One he was prepared to give his life for.
But when the wolves came, they'd find a few unexpected surprises down here. And if he took out enough of them, he just might be able to get out of here, lose them, and win the chance to live and fight another day.
Chapter Eleven
Well, this op was already one for the books and they hadn't even reached their objective yet.
Ryan sat with his back to the wall of the helo with the M4 MacKenzie had given him across his lap, the vibration of the machine familiar and almost soothing. He still didn't know how the guy had pulled a Blackhawk and kit like this out of his damn pocket in the middle of the night. Wade said MacKenzie worked missions like this with the Feds all the time, and Ryan wasn't complaining if it meant the chance to get the man responsible for this attack tonight.
Except for his right shoulder and upper arm hurting like a bitch.
The bleeding had mostly stopped now, but there were areas of numbness down the back of his arm and hand that told him he'd suffered some kind of nerve damage. He flexed his hand, curling the fingers into a fist, noting the diminished strength in his grip.
Fuck it. He could still hold and fire a weapon. This wasn't going to stop him from going after March and his followers who might be hiding out here.
There was just enough moonlight to make out the shape of the land, the thick band of forest as they flew over it. Ruby sat next to him, her short, white hair whipping in the wind, watching the darkened scenery pass by underneath them out the open side door.
He still couldn't believe they'd brought her along, but he understood the logic behind it. If they couldn't find March's guy, they might have to use her to find the bunker entrance, but only as a last resort. They'd put her in a ballistic vest, just in case, and he could practically feel the excitement humming through her at being included on this op.
She was an odd bird, that was for sure.
"I see the ATV," Cam said, leaning forward to point out the door.
Declan MacKenzie said something to the pilots, and they circled the area. Craning his neck forward, Ryan made out the shape of the ATV left abandoned on the hillside. They used a searchlight to scan the vicinity, but there was no sign of March's second-in-command, Lyle Coventry. Using him to locate the bunker was out.
MacKenzie leaned forward to shout at Ruby. "You're up. Can you get us to that bunker entrance?"
"Yes," she yelled back.
MacKenzie shot him a look, eyebrows raised, and Ryan shrugged. She was the only one of them who knew where the entrance was and she'd actually been there, so she could save them time hunting around. "Worth a shot."
Ruby jabbed him high in the ribs with her elbow, right underneath his wound. He winced and growled in pain. "Sorry," she yelled in his ear, rubbing a hand over his arm in apology. "I forgot."
Breathing deeply until the pain passed, he stared out the open door as the pilots flew them to the rock formation she had mentioned. There was no room for the helo to put down around here, however.