as the pilot pushed for speed in an effort to escape the unexpected melee.
Colombian army, Gus realized, recognizing the distinct uniforms of the soldiers who had hidden in the grass. His astonishment mingled with rage. “No!” he ground out, his guttural cry drowned out by the firefight.
The army had nearly jeopardized the start of this mission. Now they were wreaking havoc on its successful resolution. Why? Of course they resented the release of the ten FARC officers, but would they risk the lives of UN peacekeepers just to keep those officers from reintegrating?
Get in, Lucy! With his heart in his throat, Gus watched as Lucy helped Jay into the helo.
Thank God the army’s ammunition was being aimed at the building. For the moment, the FARC inside were pinned down, unable to return fire. The helo stood a fair chance of taking off, if Lucy would just get in!
Carlos, kneeling in the doorway, reached out a hand to pull her up. She’d helped everyone else, making herself last to board. But Lucy hesitated, throwing one last look over her shoulder.
With a pang of insight, Gus realized she was looking for him. Go, Luce! he wanted to shout. Go! But between the roar of the rotors and percussion of artillery, she would never hear him.
Movement within the building caught his eye. Suddenly, the muzzle of an AK-47 poked through a shattered windowpane, and Gus’s blood turned to ice water. Even before a crack shattered the staccato of continuous gunfire, he knew that Lucy was the target.
She crumpled where she fell.
Gus stifled a hoarse shout. No! He watched helplessly as Carlos leapt from the doorway to snatch her up, but the weapon that had fired upon her discharged again, spewing rounds that clanked into the side of the helicopter. Struck by a bullet, Carlos reeled and dropped. The helo began to rise.
Carlos groped for a running board. He reached for Lucy, but with only one good arm he couldn’t pull her with him. As the Huey made its ascent, Carlos was clinging for dear life.
Slowly, slowly it gained altitude. Bellini and Fournier reached out hands to grab him, and Carlos eventually climbed back in.
They’d left Lucy on the fucking ground.
Every instinct shouted at Gus to run to her.
But common sense kept him pegged to his hiding place. He gasped for breath, battling the impulse to vomit.
Jesus, God, don’t let her be dead, he prayed, his gaze fixed on her unmoving figure. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was her partner. He was supposed to keep her safe. But she had looked to her own safety last, using her training to save the others—the very people who’d left her to fend for herself.
Through eyes filmed with tears, he watched the helicopter rise higher and higher, out of range of rifle fire. Its shadow streaked across the golden grass, then it listed sharply to one side, shaking the earth beneath him as it thundered toward the mountain and disappeared behind the sharply rising canopy.
WITHIN THE HUEY, CARLOS SCOOTED to the middle of the grooved floor and gasped his thanks. “We have to go back for her!” he shouted to Fournier.
The Frenchman’s lips thinned. “No,” he refuted, his expression flat and guarded. As Bellini crawled to the rear, Fournier leaned forward to add, “You played me for a fool, Carlos. Luna and Gustavo de Aquiler were never one of us. But you already know that,” he accused, sitting back.
Stunned, Carlos gazed up at him, still trembling in the wake of his close call. He sent an uncomfortable glance at the other team members. Together with a prison guard, they hovered over the freed hostage.
“For your sake, I will say nothing,” Fournier added, “for I have long considered you my friend. But I will not put my people in jeopardy to return for two imposters. They are CIA, aren’t they?”
Carlos refused to answer.
“Let the CIA get them out,” Fournier decreed, veins appearing beneath the transparent skin on his forehead.
Swallowing convulsively, Carlos turned his head to look through the helicopter’s open door. From this altitude, La Montaña had never looked more darkly menacing. With the sun sinking behind its mass, this side was a wall of dark vegetation, hostile and obscure.
And Gus and Lucy were both alone down there.
God help them both, Carlos thought.
CHAPTER 15
The field fell suddenly and inexplicably quiet.
Staring at Lucy’s prone body through the lingering smoke and tear-filled eyes, Gus realized the Colombian army had ceased firing on the little building. Standing vulnerable to counterattack,