Flash of Fury

by Lea Griffith

  Allie stepped around quickly, which left her at Savidge’s back with her gun still digging into his side. He’d been unprepared for her move.

  “Well done, Allie. Your father did an excellent job with you,” he said.

  That wasn’t true at all. She’d had bare-bones training. This had been nothing but quick thinking and luck. “Walk down the stairs to the tarmac,” Allie commanded Savidge.

  He did and, when they were at the bottom in the open area by the plane, his remaining men surrounded them. Savidge held up his hand, and they backed off. Before she could blink, he turned full circle, his elbow clipping her jaw and knocking her to the ground.

  Her hold on her gun was lost, and it skittered to the concrete. Savidge was on her then, lifting her by the T-shirt. His face was mottled with rage, spit flying as he pulled her closer.

  “You held a gun on me!” Then he slapped her. Once, twice, over and over until her ears rang and her eyes grew heavy.

  He tossed her to the ground, and she crumpled at his feet. His shadow fell over her. She drew her arms and legs in, preparing for anything, but he just laughed as he straightened his coat.

  “Get up,” he demanded. “Get up right now, or I’ll kill you.”

  The truth was in his words, though he wouldn’t kill her before he had his fun.

  He must have grown sick of her taking so long because he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up himself. She cried out. Her jaw hurt, and her eyes were swelling shut, both of them.

  “More than you’re willing to pay, eh, bitch?” he reminded her.

  She laughed then. It startled even her. Nothing about any of this was funny, but the sound continued to roll out of her. She had to be the butt of the universe’s cosmic joke. She was heaving in his arms, laughing maniacally, and every man, including Savidge stepped back.

  “She’s touched,” one man whispered.

  “Crazy,” another said.

  “Sir,” one man called out, “he is on the phone.”

  Who was? Allie wondered.

  Savidge took the phone, and Allie went cold. The fact that he had the phone on speaker allowed her to hear everything.

  She’d heard that voice before.

  “Yes, yes. I hear you. I’ll have my fun and ship her home to you then,” Savidge said gleefully.

  If Allie lived a hundred years, she’d never forget that voice. It was the same one the terrorist on the plane in Cameroon had been speaking to. The very same. She’d bet her life on it.

  This thought triggered another round of laughter. Bet her life? She was playing the game after all, wasn’t she?

  “Shut up,” Savidge yelled. To his men he ordered, “Bring her.”

  Then he turned and walked to a waiting vehicle. Two men stepped up and grabbed Allie under her arms, lifting her and ultimately dragging her to another vehicle. They pushed her into the car, and she curled into a ball, hugging herself close and wondering what the hell would happen next until her mind began to blank.

  Hold on, Allie, she told herself. Just hold on. King was gone, but he’d come for her. She had no doubts. She’d survive this and be waiting for him.

  Chapter 27

  “Where is he now?” King asked Jude Dagan in a cold, dead voice.

  He’d taken a shot that grazed his shoulder. He’d been impotent in the face of Allie’s danger, Savidge’s two men assuring he made no moves against them. And now she was in that bastard’s hands. She’d been taken.

  “Heading to Dresden’s headquarters in Beirut,” Jude responded. “How are Knight and Black?”

  “Alive. They’ll be fine,” King told him. “I want everyone in Juniyah, Lebanon, by nightfall.”

  “They’re already moving,” Jude replied.

  “I need your head in the game, Jude,” King said firmly. There was no room to fuck up on this op. Allie was at stake.

  There was silence on Jude’s end. “It’s there,” his man said with a sigh.

  “There’s time to figure all this out once Allie is safe.” King ran a hand over his head. He’d left her with two of his best, and Savidge had found out their plans.

  How? He’d told no one, and he knew neither Black nor Knight had. Nobody but Allie’s father had known what King’s plans were. He’d called the man last night so he could prepare for Allie’s safety.

  Allie’s father…CIA…

  Goddamn. There was no other explanation. Loretta was the leak. King had tossed that around before and even asked Jude to investigate.

  “Jude, what did you find out about Loretta Bernstein? Heard any chatter about her?”

  “Not lately. I’ve had my ear to the ground, but there’s silence around her. She used to be Broemig’s enforcer. You went off the reservation, and Loretta was there to haul your ass back in,” Jude responded warily. “Is she the leak?”

  “I’m not sure yet. She told me she was no longer working for Broemig. I’m wondering if she’s freelance now and has thrown in her lot with Dresden. I’ll keep you posted. I’m relying on you to get Chase where he needs to be. He was heading back to Burundi two days ago.”

  “I’ve tried to raise him. I’ll continue to do so, but if he’s deep in-country, it could be days before I get him. Rook is heading to our meet point as we speak,” Jude informed him.

  “Keep trying Chase. I’ll see you later,” King said and hung up the sat phone.

  He turned to Knight and Black. Cisco was stitching them up. Knight had a through and through on his upper arm. Black had taken the most damage—a pretty serious thigh wound.

  Yet it could have been much, much worse. If not for Allie Redding’s brave ass, it would have been. King clenched his fists and closed his eyes.

  “Will they be operational?” King asked Cisco.

  Cisco glanced up from swabbing Black’s thigh, his face grave as he shook his head. “Knight is fine. Black is lucky he’s alive, King. The bullet almost nicked his femoral artery. He’s not going to be able to go.”

  “The hell you say. That pretty woman saved my life, and I’m going in,” Black said viciously.

  She had that effect on everyone, it seemed. Extremes. Allie Redding was all about extremes. But Black still wasn’t going.

  King’s phone rang. “Yeah?”

  “He’s going to hurt her badly, King, if you don’t get there to stop him,” Ella Banning said. “I’m sending you video now—secure link to your email. She’s in bad shape already. The woman likes to live dangerously. Baiting Savidge’s type of crazy isn’t advisable, but damn if she didn’t do it.”

  “How the fuck do you have video of this, Ella? Were you there?” King bit out his question, the need to damage something locking down his muscles.

  “I follow Savidge. He’s mine, and I follow his movements when he isn’t following mine,” she murmured evasively. “You should also know that I’m not the only one who was there. There’s another player.”

  King’s skin went cold. “Who?”

  “I’m not ready to divulge that quite yet, but when I know for sure, you’ll have one of your traitors, and I’ll be free to pursue my main objective,” Ella said.

  “Goddamn it, Ella. I need to know who,” King demanded.

  “Not until I’m sure, King.”

  She hung up and King cursed. It had to be Bernstein.

  Knight was watching him. “Ella’s alive?”

  King nodded.

  “Interesting. You know then that’s why Jude keeps disappearing,” Knight murmured.

  “Yeah. She claims she was betrayed. There are so many entities in this shit that I’m starting to doubt any-and everybody. But I looked in her eyes, Knight. She saved Madoc. Madoc’s alive too,” King told him.

  Knight rubbed his forehead before he shrugged on a shirt. “I don’t understand why Dresden didn’t kill them.”

  “Info
rmation,” King bit out.

  “Well, motherfucker. She is a traitor then,” Knight said harshly.

  “Degrees of innocence and guilt, Knight. We won’t judge her until all the facts are in. She’s been watching Savidge, and she’s sending me…” A ding sounded, and King sat down at his computer. “Video.”

  He pulled up the link and watched as the scene at the airport unfolded. There was no audio, only video shot from a vantage point above the tarmac. The video was high quality, so when the bullets started flying, he saw their trails. He couldn’t see what happened in the interior of the plane, but Knight and Black had filled him in. The mental picture was enough.

  The howl that erupted from his throat couldn’t be contained when he watched Savidge hit her repeatedly, then pull her up by her hair.

  “He’s a dead man,” King said harshly as he closed the computer.

  “Transpo is ready to roll,” Knight said as he closed his sat phone. “Let’s move out.”

  King nodded. No one had ever meant as much to him as Allie Redding. He hadn’t even known her a full week, and yet she was entrenched in his mind and body. It was what it was, and there was nothing to be done for it.

  They skirted Bilbao, traveling to an airfield on the southern end of the city, and within an hour, they were on their way to Juniyah.

  He’d meet his team. Then he’d go hunting. It was one of the things King did best. Leading and hunting were in his blood, and never had he been more grateful that he was Thomas Sacco Sr.’s son than he was right then.

  His father hadn’t done much besides beat the shit out of him, but in between those lessons had been the ones that taught King how to hunt and how to kill.

  He was going to put those lessons to good use tonight.

  Chapter 28

  Allie’s head was pounding. She woke slowly, not moving lest she give away the fact that she was awake. She took stock of her surroundings. She was on a fairly soft bed, the feel of silk beneath her cheek soothing. The air smelled of sea and wind, and in the distance she heard gulls and the lilting sound of a muezzin calling Muslim believers to prayers.

  Muffled voices drifted closer, but as she tried to focus on them, her vision dimmed and blackness threatened. He’d beaten the heck out of her. Her eyes were swollen, and as she valiantly tried to open them, she found she couldn’t. The sun shone on her arm, and the skin felt raw there. She’d burn, not that this would be the worst of her injuries.

  Where was she? What did Savidge have planned? Could she manage to escape him? Probably not, she thought. Not as banged up as she was.

  Were Knight and Black safe? She shied away from thoughts of King. She feared she’d go mad if she contemplated his death. Even though Savidge had told her he was still alive, there were no assurances and King had had a lot of blood surrounding his head.

  Instead, Allie concentrated on surviving. Was her father waiting for her in Virginia? What would he do when she didn’t show up?

  This could start a major international incident. Gray Broemig was not just going to let his only daughter be kept by a terrorist. She knew next to nothing about Vasily Savidge. He was a horrible man who had no compunction about hitting women. His employer was Horace Dresden. Should have just put a bullet into Savidge’s heart when she’d had the chance. Now she might not get that chance, and the thought was both sobering and frightening as hell.

  “Is she awake yet?” Savidge’s voice called into the room.

  “No,” a woman’s voice, sounding frail and small, said from beside the bed.

  She wanted to kiss the woman, thank her, and hug her, but Allie realized doing so would give away the fact that she was indeed awake.

  “The minute she’s up, I want to know,” Savidge bit out.

  Mentally, Allie flicked him off. A soft, cool, wet rag brushed her brow, and Allie sighed.

  “You are awake, but I will not tell that devil,” the woman whispered. “He hurt you badly, habiibtii. He is a bad man, but I will help you feel better.”

  Allie remained silent, but tears leaked from her eyes, stinging her cheeks and rolling into her hair. The woman wiped her face softly, then wet the rag again and placed it on Allie’s eyes.

  A long time later, she removed the rag and wiped some type of poultice over Allie’s eyes. Immediately, the swelling began to go down. The woman wiped the poultice off and once again washed Allie’s face.

  Tentatively, Allie opened her eyes and saw the tiny, old woman. Her black hair was spun with gray, and her white hijab was slightly skewed. Allie smiled when she saw that. It would take a crazy woman wearing a skewed hijab to go against Savidge’s wishes.

  “They will be coming for you, habiibtii. Tonight, the big Americans will come and you will be safe,” the woman whispered.

  “Thank you,” Allie said softly. “For helping me, thank you.”

  The old woman snorted and gathered her things before placing them in a pouch. “You listen to me. Bad men are here, and it is no place for one such as you.”

  Allie tried to sit up, but the woman hurried to her and pushed her shoulders down. “No, he will know you are awake, and that cannot be yet. The big Americans come, and then you can get up.”

  Confusion swam through Allie. “Big Americans? I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Allie whispered.

  “No matter. They saved my son a year ago, and I owe them a debt. Mr. Rook and my Vivi are diamonds in the sky. They will bring big Americans and save you. Maybe they will kill the devil too, eh?” The woman began to whistle softly.

  Allie lay back and noticed where she was. The room was an older one, made entirely of stone, the light-brown color of the sand in the stones reflecting the light and making it seem like she stood in the middle of the sun. Big window-like openings had been cut out of the far wall, and elaborate silk curtains flowed in the breeze.

  “Where am I?” she asked.

  “Beirut,” the woman responded as she brought Allie a cup and motioned for her to drink.

  Allie did, suddenly thirsty beyond all reason, and drained the cup in just a few swallows. The woman took the cup and pushed again at Allie’s shoulders.

  “Lie down, habiibtii. Rest,” she crooned.

  Allie’s eyes were growing heavy again, and she rubbed her chest. She missed King. She missed her father. She was scared.

  But now she was sleepy. Too sleepy.

  “You gave me something?” she asked and heard the slur in her words.

  “You must stay asleep. Otherwise, he will do bad things to you,” the woman whispered and then proceeded to pet Allie.

  Allie focused on the old woman’s dark eyes, drowning in the black and feeling at peace. “Be safe, old woman. Do not get yourself into trouble for me.”

  “Trouble comes to us all, habiibtii. Trouble comes to us all.”

  Chapter 29

  “Dresden’s palace is off the beach. There’s no moon tonight, but there will be several guards. Dresden isn’t here, but Savidge is, and he’ll have upped the number of guards, anticipating us,” King said to his men.

  He strapped on his thigh holster and slid in a SIG Sauer P226. He buckled the holster and then inserted a Kimber into the holster under his arm.

  The sounds of his men preparing their weaponry for battle was soothing.

  “My contact has left the compound but assures me that Allie is still out, helped along with a sedative. She’s in bad shape, according to the old woman, but she’s alive and decidedly spirited,” Olivia Granger said from the back of the room.

  She met King’s gaze over her bank of computers and smiled. “Spirited, huh, King? You got a live one or what?”

  “Be quiet, Vivi. And you too, Rook,” King said, cutting off Vivi’s husband before he even opened his mouth.

  “There’s chatter in the city, Your Highness,” Jude Dagan said from his perch beside the window
. Jude was already loaded down with enough firepower to take out an entire city block. Adam Babic had come through once again. Jude had met a boat earlier and retrieved the weapons the man had procured for them.

  King almost winced. His munitions expert would definitely feel no compunction about taking out an entire city block and not looking back, just reloading for more and starting all over again.

  Jude’s gaze was flat, his tone equally so. His man was struggling with some heavy shit—mainly finding out that the woman who’d stolen his heart wasn’t dead. Jude had assured King that he was all in on this mission, and while King didn’t doubt him, he did wonder if Jude would be the same once all this shit was over.

  Not just tonight’s shit—all of it.

  “Oh, Knight?” Jude called in a falsetto voice. “Heard you got a scratch today.”

  “Fuck you, Jude. Your mama said she’d kiss it and make it all better later,” Knight said with a grunt.

  “That’s only after she’s finished kissing mine,” Black said with a smile as he grabbed his thigh and laughed.

  “Fuck both of you. My mama wouldn’t kiss either one of you,” Jude said ferociously.

  “Girls, girls, girls, we’re all teammates here,” Rook said patiently. “But there’s a hierarchy, and if anybody’s getting kissed by Jude’s mama, it’s me. I don’t want anyone’s sloppy seconds.”

  “My mama ain’t sloppy,” Jude said airily.

  Rook chuckled and ducked as Vivi threw a pen at him. “Asshole,” she muttered, but there was a smile on her face.

  She knew she had her man on lock. No way was Rook letting anyone kiss anything when he had Vivi.

  “Chase isn’t gonna make it. We’re two men down,” King said into the silence. “Everybody clear on the mission?”

  “Get in, get Allie Redding, and get the fuck out,” Black intoned.