that had suddenly appeared in his throat.
He’d worked solo for nearly a decade. Ryker or his CIA handler would pass along intel and instructions for a job, and he’d get to work.
Alone.
Other than when he had to check in, Adrian spent his time pretending to be what the government demanded. He’d converse with the bad guys, act like he was working for them, and then he’d do whatever was necessary to ensure they were taken down.
Either by him or another team like Bravo.
But in all that time he never had anyone to turn to. Never had someone he could just sit and share a beer with. Someone he could be himself around.
Thanks to Jenna, he’d found himself again. Or rather, he thought he had.
Thought he’d found a way out of the darkness. That he’d found someone to share the light with.
What a fucking fool I’ve been.
Sitting alone, he drew in a deep breath and set his mind back where it needed to be…on the mission.
He’d go in, get Jenna out of that hell hole, and do his damnedest to send Ortiz and whoever else had a hand in hurting her straight to hell. As long as she was safe, he didn’t give a shit what happened to him.
“Here.” Ryker seemed to appear out of thin air. “Thought you might want to look through this.”
Adrian glanced down at the folder in the man’s hand. “What’s that?”
“Basic intel on the Delta team members you’re about to go into bed with.”
“I’ve already met them.” He dismissed the agent and turned away.
“You met them when your ass was beat to hell and back, and you were focused on getting the fuck back home. Given what’s at stake, I thought you might wanna know who’d have your back on this.” He tossed the folder into the empty seat Gabe had previously occupied. “Read it. Don’t read it. It’s up to you.”
With that, the other man returned to his seat at the back of the plane.
Adrian stared at the folder and mentally cursed. He fucking hated when Jason Ryker was right.
Grabbing the file, he began skimming through the contents. There was one paper for each of Ghost’s team members who would be present for this particular mission. The first five were men he’d already met.
Delta Force Captain Keane “Ghost” Bryson was the aforementioned leader of the group and an all-around badass. Cormac “Fletch” Fletcher brought fifteen-plus years military experience to the table, and Beckett “Coach” Ralsten’s eidetic memory was a fascinating asset to his team.
Graham “Hollywood” Caverly got his nickname for obvious reasons. The good-looking bastard could’ve easily chosen a career walking the runways instead of dropping out of planes into the most dangerous parts of the world.
Adrian flipped the page and found the last of the familiar faces contained in the file. A man Adrian remembered quite well.
Towering over them all at six-seven, Ford “Truck” Laughlin was a solid wall of muscle and brawn. The guy was a serious force to be reckoned with, and Adrian was damn glad Truck was on their side.
The other two members of Ghost’s team to draw the short straw for the mission from hell were Troy “Beatle” Lennon, and a guy named Aspin “Blade” Carlisle. Adrian hadn’t met them yet, but he knew enough about the way Ghost ran his team to feel confident in their abilities.
Closing the file, Adrian tossed it back over into the other seat and settled into his. Closing his eyes, he tuned out everyone and everything around him and began mentally preparing for the most important mission of his life.
He’d already lost a loved one at the hands of one Ortiz. He’d be damned Jenna would suffer the same fate as his sister at the hands of another.
Sometime later, a deep, stern voice pulled Adrian from his meditative state.
“Listen up.” Gabe stood at the front of the plane to address the entire group. “I just received updated intel from Ghost. They’re holed up in a cavern about two klicks west of the old assembly plant.”
“What’s the game plan?” Adrian asked.
Ryker answered for the other man. “We’ll land at a secured airstrip just south of Bogotá. I’ve arranged for a van to transport us as close as we can get to where Delta’s located. Barring any unforeseen incidents, the drive should only take about twenty minutes. The off-road terrain there is spotty at best, so the driver has been instructed to drop us off a mile from the road leading to the plant. We’ll trek