by Cindy Dees
She’d done it. She’d taken on the biggest, baddest mountain Brian could find for her, and she’d beaten it. Finding her love of skiing again was like discovering a long lost best friend. Would the gifts he gave her never end?
It started to snow, a few gentle, lazy flakes floating down on them as they relaxed in the tub. “Could this be any more perfect?” she murmured.
Brian smiled over at her, but the shadow that had been lurking behind his eyes all day was still there. He was freaked out that now she’d conquered this fear, she’d feel compelled to barge into Sollem’s house come heck or high water. She was no dummy, though. Brian had trained her too well for that. She couldn’t just walk up and knock on Freddie’s front door.
They had yet to find a way to get her in and out without Freddie discovering her, but she had faith they’d figure it out. Brian said over and over that necessity was truly the mother of invention. When faced with a do-or-die situation, they would come up with something. Supposedly these Medusas she was going to join up with were a bunch of smart cookies. Maybe they could come up with something.
She started when a noise sounded behind them. A knock on the door. They hadn’t ordered room service. In fact, she’d hung out the Do Not Disturb sign herself.
Brian leaped out of the tub as fast as a snake and was over by the door, a pistol in hand before she could hardly blink. She jumped out of the tub as well, shrugging into a robe and sliding into the shadows outside as Brian called out casually, “Who’s there?”
“Rip, it’s Scat. I come bearing beer.”
Brian stepped in front of the door to peer through the peephole. He visibly relaxed and unlocked the door. Sophie started as not one, but four, figures slipped quickly into the darkened room.
Until Brian called the all clear, she was staying put out here, hidden and only a few feet from a railing she could jump over in a pinch. They were on the third floor, but at least ten feet of drifted snow below would act as plenty of cushion for the fall. And Brian had taught her how to do parachute-landing falls.
“Where is she?”
Sophie started. The voice was female.
Brian called out low, “Sophie, you can come out.”
She stepped forward into the room, her light Glock pistol still in hand. All four of their visitors immediately made a point of displaying their hands, well away from their bodies and empty.
“Stand down, honey. These are friends.”
She glanced over at Brian and saw sincerity in his eyes. She nodded once and pocketed the Glock, keeping a hand near her pocket, however.
One of the men spoke. The same one who’d called through the door. “You’ve trained her well, Riley.”
Brian shrugged. “I need another year to even come close to having her ready.”
The visitor retorted grimly, “We probably don’t have another week, let alone a whole year.”
Brian swore quietly.
The two men and two women stepped farther into the room, setting down suitcases.
Brian spoke, a subtle undertone of reluctance in his voice. “Sophie, this is Colonel Jack Scatalone. He’s the supervisor of the Medusas. This is his wife, Major Vanessa Blake. She’s the Medusas’ team leader. Captain Karen Turner, Medusa team member, and Oberstløytnant Anders Larsen of the Norwegian Defense Force. He’s been training the Medusas for most of the past year.”
Sophie took in the group before her. They all carried themselves with the same quiet confidence Brian did. Even the women.
She studied them curiously. The ladies looked normal enough. Both of them were pretty, the major a redhead, the captain a blonde. But their eyes…they looked right through a person. On the move constantly, taking in everything and everyone around them.
So. These were the women she was supposed to work with. The fabled Medusas.
The redhead said softly, “It a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Giovanni. We’ve been getting progress reports on you for the past eight weeks. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”
Sophie blinked. “I’ve been hearing a lot about you, too.”
Vanessa laughed easily. “Only half of it’s true. The good half.”
Sophie smiled. She liked this self-assured, contained lady. She seemed totally at home in her skin.
Vanessa looked around casually. “I hear there’s a hot tub around here somewhere.”
Sophie replied, “Out on the deck.”
“If you’ll give me a minute to fish a swimsuit out of my bag, I’d love to join you out there and hear about your training, Ms. Giovanni.”
“Call me Sophie.” She flashed Brian a laughing glance. “Ooh, a girls only tell-all. Sounds like fun, Major.”
“Call me Vanessa, or Viper if you prefer. C’mon Karen, let’s go change. I can’t wait to hear the dirt on Pretty Boy Riley.”
Sophie’s smile faded into a frown as the two women carried suitcases down the hall to a couple of the bedrooms like they were moving in. And then it hit her. They were moving in. No doubt Major Hollister had sent them as extra protection for her…and maybe even to prevent her and Brian from taking off.
Brian. He must be furious that these four had shown up like this. He was so determined to talk her into running away with him. She looked over at him and thought she detected a certain tightness around the corners of his mouth and in the hunch of his shoulders. The colonel was deep in quiet conversation with him, too quiet for her to hear. She shrugged. Later, when she and Brian were alone in bed, she’d get it out of him. He couldn’t resist her when she straddled him and rocked just so….
Vanessa and Karen emerged, wearing bathing suits. Sophie managed not to stare at their spectacular bodies, but it was a close thing. They weren’t nearly as muscular as female body builders, but managed to blend extraordinary fitness and feminine grace surprisingly well.
She showed the other women out to the hot tub. As the winter’s cold bit her all over with sharp teeth, she eased into the almost unbearably hot water, shivering in delight at the contrast.
The two Medusas slid in beside her.
Karen commented, “This is a far cry from twenty-four hours ago, isn’t it?”
Vanessa laughed quietly. “No kidding. It’s my first bath involving water in over a month.”
Sophie stared. “A month?”
“We’ve been on a hide in the desert. We don’t have enough spare water for wet bathing. We’ve been using dry shampoo. It’s not bad. Kills bacteria on your skin and gets off the worst of the sweat and grime, but doesn’t offer much by way of comfort.”
“Brian didn’t tell me about that.”
Karen laughed. “I bet there’s a lot he didn’t tell you. He didn’t want to scare you off.”
Oh, how wrong the tall blonde was. He’d done everything in his power to scare her off, the sweetie.
“So tell me about your training, Sophie….”
Inside, Brian watched Scatalone settle onto one of the deep, leather couches and say, “I’ve been reading your reports on your girl. So tell me about it. Fill in the holes for me. Where is she in her skills?”
Brian restrained an urge to throw up. Hollister knew him too well, damn him to hell for all eternity. His boss had sent in this team of operatives to make darn good and sure he didn’t grab Sophie and make a break for it. The net had closed around Sophie and him and they were well and truly caught now.
He had completely, utterly failed her.
She was doomed.
Chapter 14
Sophie adjusted the gauze scarf across her face and squinted against the blinding glare of the sun, grateful for every step Brian had made her run in the sand in San Diego. The sand here in Bhoukar was softer and deeper, but her muscles were used to its frustrating give with every step. Jack Scatalone led the way at the moment, followed by Vanessa and Karen. She was next, with Brian behind her and Anders bringing up the rear. The others regularly shifted the order they hiked in, but she was always kept in the middle of the pack.
; The others also carried backpacks of gear, but she was spared the additional weight. It didn’t even begin to equalize her ability with the others’ but every little bit helped. They let her set the pace and assured her it was okay to go slow, but it was a matter of pride to push herself as hard as she could.
Thankfully, Jack stuck a closed fist up in the air just then, signaling a stop. Without any ceremony, Sophie sank down to the ground, panting. Would they never get where they were going? They’d been walking for nearly five hours. And to think, Vanessa had called it a short hike. Ugh.
“How’re you doing?” Brian murmured as he squatted beside her.
“Honestly? Ready to stop. But I can keep going.”
He smiled warmly at her, but that constant shadow at the back of his eyes was still there. It had been there ever since Canada, gradually growing darker and more melancholy.
“That’s my girl. You’re doing great.”
Sophie grimaced at him. “You’re just saying that.”
“No, I mean it.”
Karen came over and held down a water skin to Sophie. “He’s right. Vanessa and I were just talking about how impressed we are that you’re doing this well. We figured the hike in would take seven or eight hours with you along, but we’re only about fifteen minutes away from our surveillance post.”
Sophie smiled up gratefully. “You know darn good and well I’m dead weight around your necks, but it’s nice of you not to say so.”
Karen laughed and sank down easily beside Sophie, stretching out her long legs. “When the Medusas started their training, we weren’t in much better shape than you’re in now. Brian’s done a good job bringing you up to a very high level of fitness. But we’ve had two years of constant physical challenges to harden us.”
Vanessa plopped down nearby. “Yeah, and most of those challenges were named Jack.”
Scatalone sat down, looping a casual arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Do I hear my name being taken in vain?”
Karen laughed over at him. “Absolutely, you miserable old tyrant.” To Sophie, she said, “Jack nigh unto killed the six of us in our initial training. Hopefully, Brian was a little more compassionate with you.”
Brian piped up. “I was the soul of compassion.”
Sophie snorted, enjoying the easy camaraderie of this team. The mutual respect among them was a tangible thing. No way could she rip Brian away from this closeness and these people. They were his family.
“Everyone rested up?” Vanessa asked, looking straight at Sophie. “It’ll get dark soon.”
Sophie laughed. “By everyone, I assume you mean me? Yes, I’m ready to go. And no, I’m not afraid of the dark. Certainly not with all of you nearby.”
The group rose as one. The marching order shuffled again, and this time Anders’ broad shoulders were directly in front of her. He was some sort of champion cross-country skier, and he’d commented earlier that walking through sand was a great deal like skiing. He certainly made the going look effortless. Sophie gathered he and Karen had some sort of thing for each other, the way they looked at each other in quiet moments.
They didn’t walk too much farther before Vanessa, who was in the lead now, held up her fist for a stop and gave a signal for silence. Vanessa flashed a flat hand, palm down, pushing it toward the ground. Obediently, Sophie sank to the sand. What was going on? Was someone out there?
Brian crawled up beside Sophie and breathed, “We’ve arrived at the hide. It’s at the top of that ridge ahead of us. Sollem’s compound is on the other side of the rocks.”
Adrenaline screamed through Sophie. This was it. All those weeks of training, all the preparation, all the angst. Could she do it? It was awfully late in the game to consider backing out now. Especially after all the effort these people had expended to get her here. But then, maybe that was the point. Major Hollister was no fool.
She sighed. The thing was, his tactic had worked. After meeting and getting to know these remarkable people, she felt obligated to go through with the mission, no matter what the risk to herself.
As they neared the top of the east-west running ridge, the team went down onto its hands and knees, and for the last few yards, all the way down onto their bellies. Something pressed against the bottoms of her feet, and she looked back to see Brian reaching forward with his hands to give her something to push off against. It made the going immeasurably easier. In a few moments she lay near the top of the ridge, catching her breath. Brian slithered up beside her.
“Wanna get your first look at Sollem’s compound?” he asked under his breath.
She nodded.
“C’mon.”
She and Brian moved past the rest of the team who were conferring in hand signals. It was only a body length until her nose was right up against the summit of the rocks concealing them.
She’d seen dozens of surveillance photographs of the compound over the two days and knew the layout of the place inside and out, but anticipation buzzed in her gut to see the real thing. Brian rolled over on his side, pulled a field telescope out of a pocket on his utility vest and passed it to her.
Slowly and carefully, like he’d taught her, she lifted her head just enough to peer over the rocky spine. A long wall came into focus with a half-dozen roofs sticking up above. Something moved at the top of the wall and she zoomed in on it. A figure of a man with the distinctive outline of a machine gun in his hands. A chill flowed over her. That man, and dozens more just like him, would kill her without a second’s thought.
Fear started low in her belly and expanded, consuming her entirely in a few seconds. She fought a visceral need to flee this place and keep running until she was far, far away from it.
“You okay?” Brian murmured.
“No. I’m scared to death.”
He closed his eyes for a pained moment, and when he opened them, the ever-present shadow lurking in them had almost overtaken his blue gaze. “Let’s back down the ridge. We need to slide a little to our east to get to the Medusas’ camp.”
The entire group moved perhaps thirty yards to the east and approached the top of the ridge again. This time a cluster of beige camouflage nets stretched over a miniature campsite. Vanessa quickly introduced her to the other Medusas—Jamaican Aleesha with a warm, infectious smile; Katrina, a reserved and delicate-looking Korean woman; Misty, blonde, tanned, and gorgeous; and Isabella, dark-haired and striking—and listening intently to a headset.
Yet again, Sophie was struck by how normal these women seemed. If she met one of them on the street, she would never in a million years guess they were trained killers. Of course she knew now, compliments of Brian, that Special Forces soldiers were a whole lot more than that. Still, it was daunting to be in the midst of so many incredibly dangerous people. Even odder was the sense of acceptance as one of them they seemed willing to afford her. It made her desperately want to live up to their expectations.
The next couple of hours were spent choking down a pouch of freeze-dried casserole and taking a nap. And then Brian’s hand lightly over her mouth woke her up. “There’s movement. We need you to man the binoculars and see if you can spot Freddie.”
Everyone was hoping she’d be able to pick out her old classmate from here and point him out for Katrina, the team’s sniper. Sophie crawled up beside the small woman.
The sniper murmured, “A group of men are exiting the compound. They’ll walk out to the edge of the road and greet whoever’s incoming in that convoy of Land Rovers.”
Sophie looked to her right and barely managed to make out a puff of dust in the blinding sunlight. “How in the world can you tell those are Land Rovers?”
Katrina smiled briefly and pointed to her right, where Isabella crouched in front of a computer screen and Misty appeared to be playing a computer game. “Sidewinder’s flying an unmanned surveillance drone with a camera on it, and Adder’s looking at the video imagery.”
Sophie didn’t have all their various snake names sorted out yet, but the women
used them interchangeably with their actual names. On the radios, they only used the snake nicknames. She peered through a powerful set of binoculars at the cluster of men walking across the sand. The light was brilliant, almost unearthly in its intensity. One by one, she examined the men, doing her best to recall the kid who she’d played and eaten and fought with.
Reluctantly, she announced, “I’m pretty sure none of those guys is Freddie.”
Katrina murmured emotionlessly. “If anyone gets out of the Land Rovers, have a look at them.”
“I thought you said Freddie was in the compound.”
Katrina replied without taking her eye off her sniper scope. “I have no idea if he’s in there or not. We assume so, since all his top advisors and both his wives are in there right now.”
“He has two wives?” Sophie exclaimed under her breath.
“Yup, and about ten kids.”
“Wow. I guess he got busy early.”
Katrina snorted. “Keep two women barefoot and pregnant in the harem, and the kids stack up pretty quick, I guess.”
Sophie shook her head. The puff of dust resolved itself into three white vehicles. They pulled to a stop in front of the standing men, and a half-dozen more men got out. Sophie examined each one of them carefully. “Nope,” she said regretfully.
Katrina sighed. “Too bad. We were really hoping not to have to send you in there.”
Sophie muttered, “You don’t know the half of it.”
Vanessa, who’d come up beside her with a pair of field glasses, murmured, “How so?”
Sophie sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Vanessa muttered to Katrina, “Give us a holler if any more guys show themselves.” To Sophie she said, “Come with me.”
Sophie turned around awkwardly on her stomach and followed the team leader down the slope to one of the low tents.
“Step into my office, Sophie.”
Brian, whom they’d passed on the way down the hill, made to follow them. Vanessa flashed him a hand signal to hold his position. He frowned, but complied as Sophie followed the woman into the tent.
