Page 74 of Wicked Suspicion

Shaking his head, Case said, “First we negotiate.”

“Negotiate what? The price of the weapon? How you leave with your fiancée?”

Something in the way Ramirez spoke had the hair on her nape standing on end. She’d spent enough time with the colonel over the past few days to realize he was angry. Nyx had also overheard enough to understand the man lashed out first and thought about the repercussions later. She tried to think of some way to alert Case, but she didn’t know what kind of gesture she could make so that he’d understand.

“Yes to both.”

Boats were still going by on the river, but the people steering them were moving farther away from this bank. Would someone report there were men in camo gear standing around with assault rifles? Or would they simply reach their destination and forget about it? In Puerto Jardin, it could go either way.

Ramirez’s voice was sharp, jerking her gaze from the water and back to him. “Enough of this. Felipe, Lorenzo, get the crate.”

The two men moved to follow orders but stopped when Case and his buddy brought up their pistols. Ramirez’s small army of guards responded, aiming assault rifles.

“I can kill you and take the weapons,” Ramirez said it conversationally, but Nyx could see the man vibrating with fury.

“You kill me, you get one crate. A handful of the rifles. If you want more, you need me alive.”

Nyx tensed. Case may have only brought one crate of the weapon, but Ramirez might not need more. If he sold the high-tech weapon to the Russians or the Chinese, he could make a fortune and they wouldn’t care if there were only half a dozen rifles. They’d want it to reverse engineer. She knew firsthand there was at least one Russian oligarch interested. Maybe he’d be satisfied with a few, too.

She couldn’t figure out how to convey this to Case either, and frustration welled. She didn’t want him overplaying his hand, thinking he was safe because he was the supposed conduit to the weapon. He wasn’t safe. What was on the boat might be all Ramirez needed.

“Lorenzo,” Ramirez said, “get the crate.”

Case and his friend clearly weren’t about to let the raiders get to the boat and the guns. Ramirez must have thought the same thing. Nyx saw him make a small gesture. It was almost imperceptible. An instant later, she heard the small snick of a magazine being seated in an assault rifle.

“Ca—” Nyx didn’t get to finish his name. A hand went over her mouth, choking off the sound. She didn’t fight. Instead, she let her gaze sweep the area, searching for the gunman. She found him, locked, loaded, and ready.

Shit! He had a bead on Case’s head, and that baseball cap wasn’t stopping anything.

The shooter was waiting for another signal.

Nyx tried to bite the hand over her mouth, but she still didn’t struggle. It would distract Case. He couldn’t afford to focus on her.

Where the hell was the rest of the team? Why weren’t they watching out for Case and the other two?

Ramirez waggled his hand.

Noooo!

A red-haired man seemed to appear out of nowhere. Nyx hadn’t seen him.

He brought up his rifle, aimed at the sniper, and fired, taking out the shooter. The man was hit, but as he went down, he squeezed the trigger. The shot was wide, missing Case.

Nyx started to relax, but before she could manage so much as a deep breath, all hell broke loose. Raiders were shooting. Men were shooting back, including Case and his friend.

And her? She was standing in the middle of a firefight.

Case wanted to get to Nyx. He wanted her behind cover. But she stood close enough to Ramirez that she wasn’t under direct fire. If he went toward her, that would change.

But fuck, all it took was one ricochet, one bad shot.

A bullet hit the ground near him, and Case swallowed a curse. Nyx was okay for now. He better worry about his own ass.

Baggs took cover behind a building on the pier, but it wasn’t going to stop much. The corrugated metal listed dangerously. Rusty had a stand of trees off to Case’s right, and Ski moved the boat out into the river. He was within range, but the rebels weren’t bothering with him.

Case timed his movement to when his teammates were firing at the enemy, working his way toward the metal structure Baggs was using.

Keeping his eyes on Nyx, he returned fire.

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