Exclusive. Katherine Garbera

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СКАЧАТЬ thought of Tory and the constant frustration he felt at not being able to get through to her. He thought of his sister and the way she treated him as if he were letting down the family name with his globe-trotting ways. And his mother, who was disappointed that he still hadn’t found himself an heiress and settled down. His personal life was one constantly changing mess.

      “Yes. But only temporarily,” Ben said. He had an image to keep up, especially around his men.

      He palmed open the capsule and removed a tiny microdisc, passing it to O’Neill, who sat in the backseat. His small laptop computer was up and running, receiving information and dissecting it.

      “This should be the coordinates of the rebel camp. Plug those in with Manning’s last known location and the coordinates of the downed chopper.”

      “I’ll have a location for you in a minute. I thought that the Kemenis disbanded after their attempt to take over Suwan last year.”

      “For the most part they did, but the survivors are still ready to fight.”

      “Any idea who the leader of the new movement is?” O’Neill asked.

      Ben didn’t take his eyes off the terrain. “That’s not our mission, O’Neill.”

      “It’d be nice to have the upper hand a time or two. Remember that FUBAR mission on Puerto Isla?” O’Neill asked.

      “Hell, yes. What a fuckup,” Salvo said. “But Slick here got us through with no problems.”

      “That’s what they pay me for,” Ben said.

      They left Suwan, heading south out of town. The lights of the city dropped away behind them as they rode out into the barren landscape. The military unit they were entrenched with was about thirty miles away in the foothills.

      The night closed in around them as they sped along the deserted highway. O’Neill worked on his computer in the backseat while Ben monitored the radio for updates. They’d had an in-briefing earlier in the day and they were still a go on retrieving the marines. The ROEs—rules of engagement—were to stay focused on getting the Marines out, to expect some hostile fire and to engage only if necessary. The CO didn’t expect them to sustain any causalities.

      Suddenly a round of gunfire ripped through the night. Salvo cursed and floored the gas pedal and Ben pulled his firearm and returned fire. O’Neill did the same out of the other window.

      The Kemeni rebels had been driven out of Suwan, but they still patrolled the roads and sometimes shot at cars to make their presence felt. This time they’d get a little more than they bargained for. Ben prayed they’d back off now that he and his men were returning fire. Last week, a group of missionaries had nearly been taken hostage when they’d stopped to change a tire, and Ben and his men couldn’t afford to talk nice to keep their own freedom. It was kill or be killed.

      The car sputtered. Salvo kept his foot on the gas, but they all heard the whine that signaled the radiator had been hit.

      “We’ll dump the car and continue on foot,” Ben said.

      “Yes, sir.”

      Salvo steered them onto the shoulder and all three men got out of the car. The enemy gunfire had ceased, but the vehicle was DOA.

      They fell into an easy formation, Salvo and Ben standing guard while O’Neill packed up his computer. They shot the gas tank and let the car burn, careful to stay out of the light cast by the flames. The car was registered to an attaché at the U.S. Military listening station. They didn’t need for it to be identified until the LASER team was out of country. This way the car could be reported as stolen.

      “Ready to roll, sir.”

      “Let’s move out.”

      As they moved across the desert, all that Ben heard was a series of clicks on the radio. He’d been in a hundred situations like this one, but for the first time, as they made their way on foot back to the military base, he felt a churning in his gut that wasn’t excitement.

      A churning that said that a man could die out here and his family might never find out what had happened to him. A churning that said maybe his luck was finally running out now that he had someone to live for.

      Tory got off the plane in Germany for a short layover, the news from her doctor’s appointment still churning through her head. Her cell phone beeped as soon as she turned it on. She glanced at the caller ID. Her mother seemed to have a built-in radar to know when to call.

      Tory had sent her an e-mail saying she was leaving on assignment but not detailing what she was doing. Her parents tended to worry whenever she left New York. And right now she had news she just didn’t want to spill to her parents yet.

      “Hi, Mom.”

      “Hey, sweetie. Dad and I wanted to invite you to come down to the ranch for the Fourth. Derrick and his family are going to be here.”

      “Just me?” she asked.

      “Are you still with Ben?”

      Tory sighed, not sure she’d ever really make her mother understand the complexities of that relationship. And not knowing how to tell her it had just gotten a lot more complex. “Yes, I am.”

      “Of course we’d love it if he came with you,” Charlotte Patton said.

      She loved the way her mom covered her own dislike of Ben by making it sound as if he’d be welcome. Tory had a sudden picture of Derrick and her dad taking Ben out to a remote area of the ranch and talking to him about commitment. She smiled to herself. There was something to be said for being the baby of the family and being surrounded by their love. Baby. Oh lord.

      “We can’t make it. I’m on my way to Berzhaan to cover a story.”

      “I knew it was someplace dangerous. As soon as I read that e-mail I said to Dad, look at the way she didn’t say where she was going.”

      “Mom, it’s not dangerous. It’s a foreign assignment. The same as when I’ve been to Ireland or London.”

      “It is not the same, Victoria. A news crew was taken hostage there.”

      “That’s why I’m going. I’ll e-mail you when I have a chance.”

      “Be careful, Tory.”

      “I will.” If you only knew…. But this wasn’t the time.

      “Tory?”

      “Yes?”

      “I…I’m sorry I asked about Ben like that.”

      “Mom, it’s okay. I understand why you did.”

      “Love you, honey.”

      “Love you, too.”

      She hung up the phone and entered the VIP waiting room. She powered up her laptop and focused on work, doing what research she could before she got to Suwan.

      She tried СКАЧАТЬ