how he ever got through basic training. He doesn’t take orders for shit.”
“He got through because he’s a goddamn machine,” Garrett muttered.
He got up to follow Sam, and the two walked out the side door and trudged across the grass in the dark.
“You ever consider how ridiculous it is to carry the sat phone from the house to the war room in the middle of the night?” Garrett asked in an amused tone as Sam punched in the security codes to the door.
Sam glanced down and shrugged. They kept the phone on them at all times when their men were pulling a mission, but he’d prefer to take report here where he had access to all their equipment.
A few seconds later, the fluorescent tubes along the ceiling lit up and flooded the interior with light. Sam checked his watch again as he took a seat behind the computer.
Donovan would be landing in Texas in another half hour and would check in once he met his team. From there they’d take the short hop into Mexico for what was supposed to be a quick in-and-out extrication.
Sam yawned. “Might as well stay up for Van.”
Garrett nodded as he studied the information Donovan had left behind.
“I should have pushed to go with him,” Garrett said.
Sam leaned back in his chair and lifted an eyebrow in Garrett’s direction. “Like you pushed to go with me into South America?”
“I gave in to Van because he could handle that mission with both hands tied behind his back. Your trip to South America with Rio is a whole other ball game, and you damn well know it.”
Sam held his hands up in surrender. Garrett was getting all lathered up again, not that it took much.
The sat phone beeped, signaling an incoming call. Sam reached for the receiver.
“Sam here. Go ahead.”
There was interference on the line that made Sam frown. Damn bad time to be out of position.
“Bad news, bossman,” Rio drawled. “Someone got here behind us.”
“What do you mean behind you?” Sam demanded.
“We tagged your boys, set up surveillance, did a recon several miles to the north to set up an entry point for you. When we returned, the entire village had been wiped. It was professional and it was bloody. Message sent, I’m thinking.”
Sam’s blood went cold. It was too pat. The timing too close to Rachel’s accident on the bridge.
“Son of a bitch,” he breathed as he sat forward in his seat. “Pull out and get your asses back home. Immediately.”
“There’s more. We found one guy alive. Said he tried to help Rachel. Protected her while she was in captivity.”
“Protected her my ass,” Sam snarled.
“He was working undercover. No sacrificing the mission for the good of one and all that bullshit. He was the one who sent Ethan all the info, hoping her family would mount a rescue.”
“You’ll pardon me if I don’t offer him hero status,” Sam said nastily.
“Wouldn’t expect you to. Just relaying our findings. And, Sam, he said to be careful that he’d be after her next.”
“Who?” Sam demanded.
Rio made a sound of disgust. “Bastard had the bad manners to die before we were through talking to him. Just wanted you to be aware of a possible threat to Rachel that still exists.”
“Yeah, we know that now. Get your team the hell out of there. I don’t want you in any cross fire or some fucking war between the cartel.”
“You’re the boss.”
“And Rio . . . be careful.”
Rio didn’t answer and the line went dead.
“What the hell is going on?” Garrett demanded. The veins in his neck bulged, and his jaw was so tight Sam thought his teeth might pop out.
He briefly explained Rio’s findings and then added his own suspicions about Rachel’s accident.
Garrett leapt to his feet. “We have to go after her and Ethan. Son of a bitch, Sam, she said she’d been run off the bridge. She told us that and we blew her off.”
Sick fear welled in Sam’s stomach.
“I’ll grab the keys.”
They ran back to the house, and when they entered, the phone was ringing. And Sam knew . . . he knew it wasn’t good news.
CHAPTER 37
HOLDING her broken arm tight to her chest to immobilize it, Rachel concentrated on making a wide circle through the woods. She was on the wrong side of the highway. She needed to head to the lake. No one would expect her to go for the dead end, right?
Her head spun, she wanted to stop and puke. Her sides were on