Someone Like Her(78)

 God, she was so worried about Jake and wanted this to be over and done with. Quiet descended again, but then she realized this time there was the sound of heavy breathing. Logan tilted his head as if listening closely and frowned, which didn’t help Maria’s nerves.

 Because they had a diagram of the house, she was able to close her eyes and imagine Jake and the guys searching the ground floor, night-vision goggles turning the scene a watery green. All was still quiet, so that meant there were no bad guys waiting to ambush them. Now, they would be creeping up the stairs, cautiously placing their feet to avoid making creaking noises.

 Still, the only sound was one of the men’s heavy breathing. She guessed it was Rick Bayne. The thought that one of them might be on the edge sent her worry up another notch.

 The speakers crackled to life. “Tennessee, stay here and watch our backs.”

 Jake’s whisper was so soft she had to strain to hear him. Maria thought they were at the top of the stairs and wondered if he was positioning Rick there to keep him from bungling the room search. Suddenly, the video sputtered on, and everyone in the conference room focused on the screen. It was too dark to see much, but Maria was still comforted that they were getting the feed. As long as that camera on Jake’s helmet stayed upright, he was safe.

 A door was opened—she assumed by Jake—and because of the moonlight coming in a window, they could see that there were three beds occupied by sleeping men. Jake eased the door closed.

 The screen went blank. Damn, they lost the feed. Maria went back to watching the clock, the ominous ticking hand sounding like something out of a Stephen King novel. Three long minutes passed before she heard Jake’s whispered voice again.

 “We’re here to take you home. Don’t talk, okay?”

 She imagined Jake’s hand over Chad Sinclair’s mouth followed by the kid’s nod. The man Maria took to be CIA let out a puff of air. Good to know she hadn’t been the only one about to come out of her skin. Although her brother appeared to be sleeping, she wasn’t fooled and knew just where to look to know how tense he was. A quick glance at his index finger tapping hard against his knee said it all.

 The rustling of covers and the faint sound of bare feet hitting the floor sounded in the room. Realizing she was holding her breath, she exhaled. They had the kid and it should take them only a few minutes to get out of the house. As soon as Logan’s finger stilled, she’d rest easy.

 “Mother fucking bastards!”

 Oh, God, that sounded like Rick Bayne. The expletive was followed by the sounds of chaos as a voice yelled in a foreign language. Gunfire erupted, and Jake’s voice could be heard calmly issuing orders to his team. Her eyes glued to the clock, for three minutes—what felt like hours—a battle raged. Bodies could be heard hitting the floor and slowly the gunfire tapered off.

 They were going to be okay. They were going to be okay. Please let them be okay.

 And then she heard Jake’s voice. “Tennessee’s down! Get the kid out of here, Elaine.”

 Silence, heavy and ominous, descended. Maria dragged in a ragged breath. Say something, Jake. Please say something so I know you’re okay. A gun shot exploded in the silence and, startled, Maria reared up from her chair.

 “Easy,” Logan said and grabbed her hand, pulling her back down. He didn’t let go of her, and she held on to him for dear life.

 Another shot sounded, followed by an oomph, from Jake. “I’m hit,” he said.

 Oh, God. Maria swallowed bile and closed her eyes, praying harder than she ever had in her life.





CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO




They’d gotten the kid home safe along with a handful of thumb drives the CIA man had just about drooled over. Somehow, they’d managed to get Rick Bayne’s body out of Egypt and home without causing an international incident. Maria figured the new Egyptian government probably wouldn’t have appreciated a clandestine operation by Americans carried out under their noses.

 Today was Rick’s funeral and the first time she would see Jake since he’d returned three days ago. If he bothered to show up.

 Logan hadn’t told her when the team was landing, and had taken Jamie with him to the airport to meet the midnight flight. They’d apparently gone back to K2 for a debriefing. All her brother would tell her was that Jake had been shot in his leg—a clean shot in and back out—and even so, he had carried Rick’s body out of the house. After giving his report, Jake had requested and been granted a leave of absence.

 He’d not once tried to contact her.