The Betrayed Series: Ultimate Omnibus Collection

by Carolyn McCray

  Even though the men barely seemed taxed, Rebecca was winded, trying to catch her breath as Levont tested the door. A strange roar came from the other side. The point man jerked open the door, revealing…well, the crowd that Vanderwalt had promised them.

  All of the missing people were here, at the center of the town. They were shouting and waving Spanish flags in the air. Like she had guessed. It must have been some Spanish holiday. Which clearly everyone and his brother were attending.

  “Time to get lost in the crowd,” Brandt stated, urging her toward the revelers. He then whispered in her ear. “Tell me you know where they are taking her.”

  Rebecca just nodded. There was no time to explain. Just to escape.

  CHAPTER 24

  ══════════════════

  Cuellar, Spain

  6:41 p.m. (CEST)

  Davidson watched through his scope as the sniper took shot after shot at the rounded church. Sure, the guy was good, but he certainly wasn’t the only thing keeping Brandt and the others inside. Davidson would have bet money, even if they couldn’t find the matching cross with the map, that Brandt wouldn’t have stayed inside the church for more than a few minutes.

  Something was wrong. Unfortunately, Davidson had no idea what it was or how to help. Instead, he had concentrated on the conundrum in front of him. The Disciples’ sniper hadn’t bothered with Davidson at all. Of course, Davidson hadn’t fired at him, either. Mainly because it seemed that the other sniper wanted him to, almost baiting him to take a shot.

  And there it was. Davidson found the tiniest glint of metal in a tree across the way. That wasn’t a sniper up there. A sniper’s scope had antireflective gel and the rifle itself a black matte coating. Nope, that was just a plain old mercenary out in those woods. Probably more than one. Probably more like four or five.

  If Davidson had taken a shot, they would have honed in on him, leaving him no room for escape, until the sniper himself took the kill shot.

  Davidson brought his rifle up and prepared for the move. There was no point in staying here. He could give no tactical support, at least not for long. Besides, the chances that Brandt would come out into the hot zone were nil.

  Straddling a branch, Davidson pulled out his sat phone. Perhaps Bunny and the others had an idea of what in the hell was going on in the church. He popped the battery back in and dialed the number Bunny had provided him.

  It rang and rang. No one picked up.

  Davidson checked the battery level, the number he’d dialed, and the connectivity. All showed ready to rock and roll. He dialed again. Still, no answer.

  Fantastic. They were in a ghost town. Brandt and the others were AWOL, and now Bunny wasn’t answering.

  No wonder Levont loved working with this team.

  * * *

  Bunny stared at the phone as the light blinked out.

  “You couldn’t answer it,” Emily comforted. “Not until we know more.”

  Still, it killed Bunny to ignore Davidson. The man she knew and the man who would betray everyone just didn’t jibe. She knew he’d done it before, to tragic consequences, but that was before. Not now. Now he took responsibility for his actions and was making amends.

  “Yeah, um…new problem,” Stark said as another alarm went off.

  “Do we really need auditory prompts?” Prenner asked, wincing at the sound.

  Stark ignored him. “Whether it is Davidson or not, someone has given our hacker some serious intel. They must have been watching Madrid and back-traced my patch into the cameras.”

  “What exactly does that mean?” Bunny asked, knowing without the word exactly in her question the tech would meander off into computer speak for five minutes before returning to his point.

  “My first firewall has been breached,” Stark hurried on, “but I’ve got nine others. We’ve got to figure out the leak, though, or I give us half a day max before they worm their way in.”

  No one spoke. If the enemy could compromise this pristine computer system so quickly, what chance did they have anywhere else?

  A loud buzz filled the attic.

  “Another breach?” Prenner asked, tilting his head to the side while plugging his ears.

  “No, duh,” Stark answered. “That’s facial recognition.”

  Quickly, he scanned the screens, pulling up a series of photos showing Brandt, Rebecca, and Levont pushing their way through a large crowd.

  “Where is everyone else?” Emily asked to no one in particular.

  Bunny’s heart fluttered thinking what could have happened in that stone church. What could still be happening?

  “Wait,” Stark announced, “I’ve got Lopez.”

  He showed the corporal nearly flying down the road in a stolen car, speeding back toward the church, only to slam on his brakes and do a U-turn in the middle of the intersection.

  “That was two and a half minutes ago.”

  None of this made any sense. How had Brandt and the others gotten all the way to the heart of Cuellar from the church? Where was Talli? Where was Davidson?

  They watched the flickering, disjointed footage of Brandt play across the screen. Suddenly, he stopped and it looked like asked to borrow someone’s phone. Almost immediately, another buzz emanated from the speakers.

  “He’s using the text drop box,” Stark stated. “They must really be in trouble.”

  Bunny looked to Emily, whose frown echoed Stark’s statement. “It is a dummy text account we have set up for emergency contact. It is only supposed to be used in the most exigent of circumstances since it leaves both them and us open to exposure.”

  Well, given everything that had happened, it was no wonder Brandt was willing to risk it.

  Stark read aloud as the text showed up on the screen. “Vanderwalt has Vakasa and not in the good way. Disciples on tail. Talli traitor.”

  Not Davidson. Davidson hadn’t betrayed them or anyone. Bunny’s pulse pounded against her ears. “Yes!” she shouted. “In your face!” she said, pointing to Prenner, who seemed almost disappointed it wasn’t the sniper. “I told you it wasn’t Davidson.”

  “Vanderwalt?” Emily said, her voice sounding distracted and tinged in pain.

  Bunny calmed herself. Davidson might be free and clear, but some serious stuff had gone down.

  “Talli must be the one feeding the Disciples information.”

  “Guys,” Stark announced, “we’ve got a bigger problem than that.”

  Really? Because Talli and Vanderwalt teaming up together to kidnap Vakasa seemed like a pretty big problem.

  Then Bunny looked up at the mosaic of snapshots tracking Brandt.

  “Is that Frellan?” she asked.

  “Yep,” Stark confirmed, then scanned to the left. “And there’s Monnie and Benedicto.”

  The trio was making their way through the crowd in the direction of Brandt. Stark split the screen, showing Vanderwalt, Talli, and Vakasa moving toward the east side of town, away from Brandt. The Disciples, though, they were heading straight for the remnants of Brandt’s team.

  “Except, that isn’t the problem I was talking about,” Stark corrected, bringing up a completely new screen.

  Bunny took a step back. No. No, that couldn’t be.

  But as Stark opened up the search criteria, giving them a panorama of Cuellar’s town center, not only could it be. It was and it was happening right now.

  “Text him back,” Bunny urged. They had to warn Brandt.

  “He’s moved on,” Stark said, bringing up the latest images.

  Everyone sucked in a breath as Brandt helped Rebecca over the boards that lined the street.

  “They’re never going to make it,” Prenner said.

  * * *

  The crowd booed as Brandt hopped the barricade. The Spanish took their celebrations a bit too seriously. Even Lopez, though, in the car across the alley, was waving his hands in the air, yelling something.

  Then Levont swiveled sharply. “Bull, he�
�s saying bull.”

  Fuck. Brandt didn’t wait for clarification. If Lopez said bull, he meant bull. Then a cheer went up from around the corner and the sound of stampeding hoofbeats followed. They couldn’t get over the other side or back over their side in time. Not as a bull, with three-foot long horns, came charging at them.

  Levont must have figured out the same thing, as he sprinted down the street, away from the enraged bull. Rebecca and Brandt followed, but there was no way they could outrun a pissed-off bull. Then Levont, moving way too agilely for such a big man, parkoured his way against the barricade, got enough momentum to hit the side of a store’s facade, and then launched himself onto a fabric awning.

  He lay flat against the material, shoving his hand down. “To me!”

  Running at full speed, Brandt urged Rebecca to the side. “Jump!”

  And Rebecca did, hitting the barricade with her feet, giving her enough height for Levont to catch her by one hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the point man use Rebecca’s momentum to swing her up onto the awning. The fabric ripped from their weight, but she was safely out of the bull’s path.

  Unfortunately, Brandt could not say the same thing for himself.

  He could feel the damn bull’s hot breath on his back. The beast was way too close for Brandt to try Levont’s stunt. And he hated to admit but he was too old to try it. And too injured. Instead, he just hauled ass down the street, trying to keep at least a few inches between himself and the bull.

  Brandt had seen too many news clips of people trying to escape by running to the side. That was how you got gored. Of course, trying to outrun a bull was the way you got trampled.

  But wait. What if he…?

  Without giving it any more thought, Brandt veered to the side. The bull took the bait and lunged toward the wall. Only, Brandt wasn’t there. Brandt had tossed himself to the center of the road. The tip of the bull’s horns narrowly missed Brandt’s shoulder and he got one good hoof to the hip, but then the bull was off, running his two tons of weight down the road, scraping the barricade with his horns.

  Brandt rolled up, intending to get the hell out of the road, when a cry from the crowd warned him. Three bulls, side-by-fucking-side, charged toward him.

  Without even bothering to curse, Brandt just ran for it.

  * * *

  Davidson crept along the game trail, scanning for trip wires. The sniper’s perch was nearby, and he would never leave it unprotected. There. The slightest bend to a leaf and Davidson found the wire. The sniper was good, but Davidson wasn’t new to the game.

  Lifting one foot over the wire, Davidson felt the sat phone vibrate against his hip. He forgot to take the damned backup battery out. Fumbling for the phone, he nearly stepped on a secondary trip wire. No, not just a secondary, but a third and even a fourth. The entire trail was crisscrossed with them.

  Shifting his weight, Davidson startled a bird, who squawked, fluttering up, barely skimming past his head. If the sniper hadn’t heard the sat phone, he definitely heard that. So it was no great shock as Davidson felt a bullet tear through his sleeve. His only recourse was to throw himself backward, past the trip wires, then scramble for cover.

  Swinging his gun up, Davidson let off a few shots. High up in the tree, he got a fleeting glimpse of the sniper jumping from one tree to the next. Davidson would have loved to track him on the ground, except for the honeycomb of trip wires.

  Finally, he lowered his gun and answered the phone. “Not exactly the best timing, Bunny.”

  He didn’t even have time to process her words. He just secured his gun and set off at a run, in the opposite direction of the sniper. In the direction of the town center.

  * * *

  “Brandt!” Rebecca screamed as he disappeared around a corner, but Levont pulled her toward the alleyway. “No,” she protested.

  “We’ve got to get to the car,” Levont said. “It’s his only chance.”

  Yes, the car. Lopez. He could outrun a bull. And the car was right there in the alley. Perfect. Levont helped her slide down the wall until her toes touched the roof of the car. She landed there, slid down the windshield, onto the hood of the engine, onto the pavement, and then into the backseat. Levont was right on her tail, loading into the passenger’s seat.

  Lopez didn’t even wait for the point man to close the door as he hit the gas, speeding them backward down the alley.

  “Leave you guys alone for five minutes and look what happens,” Lopez joked as he slammed on the emergency brake, spinning them into a tight ninety-degree turn. He then released the brake and hit the gas, nearly slingshotting them down the street.

  “So is Talli taking care of Vakasa?” Lopez asked.

  Levont went to answer, but Rebecca overrode him. “Something like that.”

  They needed Lopez’s attention focused on one thing and one thing only.

  Catching up to Brandt.

  * * *

  Frellan gave a rare smile as the sergeant hurled himself down the street, desperately trying to stay ahead of the bull. Perhaps it was time to put the man out of his misery. Prove this soldier was no god.

  He gave the nod, and Ugudo raised his gun, setting his sight on Brandt’s chest, when a loud honking interrupted him. The crowd on the other side of the street dove to get out of the way as a car careened toward them. It broke through the wooden barricade just ahead of Brandt. The sergeant flung himself up onto the hood of the car as it accelerated in front of the bulls.

  No, this could not be happening. God could not be so cruel. Ugudo fired, his shot ricocheted off the hood, slicing Brandt’s temple. The car swerved as it pulled around the next corner.

  “The car,” Frellan barked to the men standing next to him. They turned and ran down the side street. The doors were already opened by Monnie. Once loaded, Frellan ordered, “Go!”

  Everyone gripped their seat as the car leapt forward. Well, everyone but Benedicto, who smiled congenially. “Spain. Such a rich cultural history.”

  The hardware on Frellan’s face jingled as his facial muscles twitched. “You could have warned us.”

  “And miss the look on your face?” Benedicto responded. “I think not.”

  * * *

  Brandt clung to the front of the hood as his legs swung back and forth behind him. It wasn’t helping his grip to have Lopez squirting down the windshield, trying to wash his blood off of it.

  But they were good. They had pulled away from the bulls, dodged the Disciples. All they needed to do was get far enough ahead and he could get into the car and they would be on Vanderwalt’s six.

  Then, through the windshield, he saw Lopez’s eyes dilate. Anything that caused the corporal’s eyes to dilate was something serious. Brandt risked a glance over his shoulder, to find the lone bull standing in the middle of the street, facing them. Apparently, he wasn’t done with Brandt.

  With a pawing motion, the bull prepared to charge.

  Lopez, of course, didn’t slow. Instead, he started honking, angling toward the next barricade. Townspeople leapt for safety as the corporal gunned the car through the wood. Splinters flew up, adding to the debris already lodged in Brandt’s hair.

  They had nearly made the sharp turn when the bull hit their rear end. Brandt was nearly thrown clear as the car swerved to the left. Then Lopez course corrected, pushing Brandt’s body back onto the car.

  That had been too fucking close.

  Lopez accelerated again, putting some serious distance between them and the bulls that charged behind them.

  Brandt looked up to find Rebecca smiling at him. He grinned in response. They were home free.

  That’s about when the other car hit them.

  * * *

  Rebecca’s head hit the windshield as the other car slammed into their side. The two cars were locked as they raced down the alleyway. Metal screeched as Lopez tried to get them untangled.

  “Gun!” Levont shouted as he raised his own, aiming at the other car. Lopez leaned back
as Levont fired past him.

  Rebecca ignored the gunfire and looked to Brandt, whose left hand was slipping off the hood. He was falling. And that wasn’t the worst of it. A huge dumpster, heaping full, blocked their side of the alley.

  “Roll down your window!” Lopez yelled.

  Rebecca didn’t even question the order. Not as Lopez slammed onto the brakes. She hand-cranked the window, even as everyone was tossed forward. The brakes screaming in protest. Brandt flew up the windshield, then onto the roof and down the back window. His hand lashed out, catching the rear doorjam.

  The two cars separated as Rebecca reached out and grabbed Brandt’s hand. Levont leaned over the front seat, helping her haul Brandt inside the car. Lopez cornered around the dumpster, hitting the gas.

  “Now let’s see how you like it,” Lopez growled as he steered toward the car ahead of them. Only, they didn’t move forward. In fact, they started tilting forward.

  “That bull really wants a piece of me,” Brandt groaned. Then Rebecca saw what he meant. The bull had used its horns to pick up the back of the car. Their wheels spun useless in the air.

  “Four-wheel drive!” Levont shouted.

  Lopez ground the gears as bulls surged around them. The smell of burning rubber filled the air. Finally, the front wheels found traction, grinding into the cobblestone. Brandt used the butt of his gun to break open the back window. He fired, but the bull didn’t seem to mind in the least.

  * * *

  “Let it go!” Brandt yelled at the beast.

  Whether it was his appeal, the multiple gunshots, or the fact that the front wheels finally got some purchase, the bull dropped the car and the rear wheels hit the ground spinning. The car popped up, racing forward amongst the other bulls. One slammed the side of its horn into their side, denting the car.