off the side. Her stomach did a somersault as she fell. Her still-tingling legs didn’t catch her, and she crashed to the ground, going to her knees. Grunting, she braced herself and sucked down air.
It was a precious moment to waste, but her body wasn’t cooperating. She’d been twisted into a pretzel for far too long.
A rough hand grabbed the back of her jacket and another her left arm.
“No!” she screamed. Panic welled up inside of her and she struck out with her knife wildly. “Help! Fire! Help!”
This couldn’t be how it ended.
WEDNESDAY. RONALD REAGAN Washington National Airport. Washington, DC.
Logan leaned against the hangar and peered back toward where the others were. He didn’t want to return to them. That was too much distance between himself and where Kelsey was potentially.
“What makes you think he’s here?” Zora asked.
“I’ve seen one Everest Security guy here making rounds. There’s also at least four men guarding the plane. The front hatch is open. It’s like they’re waiting.”
“Pull back and let’s make a plan.”
Logan bit the inside of his mouth.
Did he go with his gut? Or did he follow orders? Could he rely on himself to make the best decisions right now?
“Logan?”
“I hear you. Zora, I can’t trust myself right now.” He tipped his head up and stared at the horizon with its thin line of gray light.
“What do you mean?”
“Kelsey and me, we got close. You were right.”
“I know. Well, I suspected. You care about her. That’s good. Healthy even. And so long as I can keep counting on you to do your job, I don’t care what you two do. But, I need you to follow orders. We have to do this right or he’s going to slip out of our grasp.”
Logan glanced toward the plane and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Everything Zora said made sense, and yet his feet were rooted to the ground.
One of the men jumped up off the crate he was sitting on.
“Something’s happening,” Logan said.
A single gunshot ripped through the relative stillness of the early morning. His blood went cold and the burner phone slipped from his grasp. He was running before he realized it, arms pumping at his side.
The maroon colored plane came into view with the hatch open. Only crouched in the shadow of the stairs was a small figure. A man grabbed the bit of shadow, hauling it to its feet. Only, it didn’t have far to go. The shadow was sort, petite even.
“Kelsey!” he bellowed. Her name was ripped out of him.
Logan had enough presence of mind to yank his gun out of the holster.
Two of the men turned toward him, reaching for their weapons.
“Down, now! FBI,” Logan yelled. He wasn’t, but at this point he’d say what he needed to.
The two men didn’t stop. They both aimed guns at him.
“Logan, get back,” Kelsey said.
One of the guards had Kelsey by the hair and a gun pressed to her side.
“Let her go,” Logan demanded.
“Skilton’s on the plane. Logan, get—”
Her words cut off in a strangled choking sound as the man holding onto her gave her a shake.
“You get your fucking hands off her,” Logan demanded. “Right now.”
He didn’t dare edge closer. The four men were speaking, but not in English.
Fuck, if he didn’t do something they’d turn the tide on this. Logan could end up alongside Kelsey.
Footsteps pounded the pavement.
Was it...?
“Back up. Back the fuck up,” Harper shouted as he skidded to a stop alongside Logan. “Fuck, TL, what’s with you?”
“What about the Everest guy?” Logan asked.
“Zora’s sitting on him,” Tucker said far more calmly.
Evan and Jamie spread out, moving to flank the group.
“We’ve got you surrounded.” Logan figured that sounded good. “Put your guns down now and no one gets hurt.”
The one holding Kelsey said something to the others. His eyes grew larger as he spoke and he shook Kelsey by the hair.
Logan focused on that man. “Let her go.”
Something electric buzzed. There was a click and then a hum.
“What’s that sound?” Jamie asked.
The jet engines whirled to life, drowning out other noise.
“Skilton’s trying to leave,” Logan shouted.
The guards must have realized that at the same time Logan did, and what that meant. Skilton wasn’t sticking around to make sure all his people got on board.
Logan saw the muscled guy push Kelsey away from him. Logan’s instinct was to dive for her, hold her close and make her promise to always stay by his side. But his training kicked in. He wouldn’t be who he was if he