Page 73 of Wicked Suspicion

“This is how you show goodwill?”

“Sorry, Colonel, but no one goes near the rifle until I see my fiancée. I want proof she’s alive and uninjured.”

Ramirez waved his hand, an impatient gesture. “She’s fine.”

“Then you won’t mind letting me see that for myself.”

“You don’t trust my honor?” There was menace in his tone.

Case chose his words carefully. “If I didn’t trust your honor, I wouldn’t have left her behind to take care of business.”

“Then there’s no issue. I will examine the weapon.”

Case shook his head. “I will see my fiancée first.”

Rifles came up, and Case suspected there were men in the trees aiming at them, too. It didn’t matter. They couldn’t let Ramirez near the crate. Not without Nyx on the scene. Once the colonel learned it was the M4 on the boat, Case would need to grab his Fireball and get the hell out of here before they were both executed.

Chapter 30

Nyx felt the energy of the camp change. Something was happening. Her legs shook as she pushed to her feet and went to the window. Nothing she saw outside told her anything, but none of the men were lolling around anymore. Even the dudes who guarded her hut appeared to be more alert.

Her first thought was Case. Had he come back for her?

That was only one option. There were others. Government troops could be in the area, illegal miners or loggers could have stumbled into the camp, or some random fisherman could have pulled up to the dock. The possibilities were legion.

But it could be Case.

She went to the table, dug out the papers she’d taken from Vargas, the ones written by Diego Ramos, folded them, and stowed them in a pocket. If it was Case, she didn’t want to leave without them.

The door swung open, startling her. One of her guards stood there. “You,” he ordered. “Come with me.”

Or maybe the vibe in camp had changed because they weren’t giving Case until sundown. Maybe they planned to gang rape her now and get a jump on the evening festivities. Her hesitation earned her a glare.

“Mueve tu trasero,” her guard said, his voice harsh.

Nyx took a deep breath and followed orders. She cleared her expression, wanting to appear stoic. Let them guess what she was thinking. Let them guess whether she was scared. They didn’t need to know. She climbed down the ladder from the hut to the ground slowly, trying to buy time, but a guard grabbed her arm and pulled her down the final step.

He didn’t release her, and she stumbled as he dragged her along with him. Wherever he was taking her, the man was in a hurry. Nyx was as tall as he was, but her legs felt rubbery and she had a difficult time keeping up with him.

After a couple of moments, she realized he was bringing her to the dock. Were they moving her to a different camp?

As they rounded the curve and cleared the trees, Nyx nearly grinned with relief. He might be wearing a baseball cap over that tousled blond hair of his, but she’d recognize him anywhere. Case. She wiped her delight off her face. Maybe it wouldn’t make any difference, but she didn’t want to chance her expressions giving something away that would help the raiders. Or inadvertently hinder Case.

A man stood beside him. He was the same height as Case and had a similar build, but the guy had short brown hair and tattoos, although she couldn’t make out what they were from this distance. A third man sat in a boat. This one had shaggy hair that was dark, dark brown and he was big. Even though he was seated, she could tell he was tall and his shoulders were broad and muscular. Case had brought some of his team with him. Hopefully, he had more men in the area, surrounding the camp.

All three Special Forces soldiers were armed, and she was sure they had light armor on under their fatigue shirts. Not that it would stop an automatic rifle round, but at least it would protect them from a pistol shot. The problem was that in addition to handguns, all of Ramirez’s men were carrying SCARs with a few AK74s tossed in to break up the monotony.

She didn’t have much time to take it in before she was handed off to one of Ramirez’s personal guards. He didn’t treat her gently either, jerking her up to where the colonel stood.

“As you can plainly see,” Ramirez said to Case, “she is unharmed. I’ll look at the weapons now.”

Case frowned, probably because she was being manhandled. “Not so fast.” He turned to her, his gaze intent. “How are you doing, Fireball? Are you all right?”

Nyx nodded. “I’m okay,” she said, her voice was thick, but the obvious concern for her on his face, in his tone made it clear it wasn’t an act he was putting on for Ramirez. She really meant something to him.

She needed to stop mooning over Case. This situation was precarious. She could make it more dangerous than it needed to be if she didn’t pay attention.

“She says she is fine,” Ramirez said. “I’ll have my men take the crate from your boat.”

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