Page 338 of Wild Mustang Security Firm

“He’s going to kill her,” Reid growled, cheek crushed to the table.

“Like I said, it’s regrettable. These fine soldiers are going to take you to the chopper. If it’s any consolation, I can tell you the Wild Mustangs have located Fariq and your sister on his yacht. Now, I’ve seen the surveillance pictures, and I’m almost positive there was no other woman on board. They’re on their way now to get her. If you cooperate, I am willing to send the Mustangs a message. If they have time, perhaps they can rescue your friend, Aliya, as well.”

Heaving off the table, Reid glared at both officers before giving in and allowing the soldiers to ‘escort’ him from the room.

Fariq was with Finn. On his yacht.

Only Finn was on board?

No, not possible.

Fariq might be pissed at him, but he would never go after any woman over Aliya, not even to get revenge on him. The man was nothing if not stubborn and obsessed.

Finn might well be on the yacht, in the middle of wherever, but she wasn’t with Fariq. She was with the body double.

The Mustangs were going after her with all their fury and all their firepower, but she was a distraction. She was the carrot meant to lure them in the opposite direction of the one Fariqwas running. Why had he eschewed their help? He’d been so confident NATO would have Aliya. Damn, he’d fucked up… badly. If he couldn’t make it right, Aliya, and perhaps his sister, would pay the price.

So, where was Fariq going? Where would he feel safe enough to lick his wounds, deal with Aliya, and recoup?

There was only one place he could think of off the top of his head—a small complex not too far from the fortress, only a hundred miles or so. Fariq had liked the gardens and the remoteness. Although the villa itself had been far too small to suit any other need, he’d bought it. Would he remember Reid was with him and knew its location?

Probably.

Aliya was the carrot, that other building was the stick, and it was waiting to hit him just as soon as he arrived.

He just had to get there.

Seething, every bit as angry at these men, supposedly on his side, as he was with Fariq, he played the cooperative prisoner as he was frisked yet again and his hands cuffed. In front of him, so he could help himself up into the plane. As far as jets went, it was small, comfortably fitting himself, his escorts, and the pilot. Wherever they were taking him, they wanted to get there fast. That suited his needs.

It also suited his needs that the aircraft was only fitted with eight seats in the back, two rows of two seats, side by side. He took the inside, next to the window. One soldier escort sat down next to him, and the other took the seat directly in front of the first.

“I honestly expected a man of your reputation to put up more of a fight,” the guy in front scoffed over his shoulder.

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

The man next to him snorted. “You’ll be eating your own teeth if you try.”

Making himself comfortable, Reid waited. There was no cockpit in small aircraft like this, so he had a full view of the pilot, a man who looked only vaguely familiar, as he cleared their takeoff with the tower and taxied to the runway.

Emboldened by the position of power he thought he had, as the engines powered up and they began to move, the first man said, “I’m curious, how many of our guys do you think you’re responsible for killing?”

“Directly,” Reid challenged, “or merely by association?”

“Funny man. That’s fine. You’re going to need that sense of humor in prison.”

Both agents leaned back in their seats as the pull of takeoff’s gravity seized them. Reid moved to the jostle of the wheels losing contact with the ground, then they began to ascend. The pull wouldn’t last long, but it was all the distraction he needed to take them both by surprise.

He hit the man beside him, his elbow breaking the guard’s nose just as the strong pull of gravity began to ease, and before the other could turn around, he had the man’s gun in his hand, the weapon cocked and aimed at the first guard’s head.

The second guard grabbed his seatbelt but frozen when Reid said, “Move, and you can add another life to that tally you’ve got going in your head.” To the pilot, who’d snapped around in surprise, he added, “Don’t say a word. Just keep going.”

With a nudge of his gun, he moved both escorts to the other row of seats. Uncuffing himself, he had one cuff the other—hands behind his back; he wasn’t stupid—then put his own cuffs on the other. Disarming them both, he made his way to the pilot.

“I’m going to give you coordinates, and you’re going to take me there.”

“Okay,” the pilot said evenly.

“After I disembark, you’re going to take off, then I expect you to place a phone call. Give me your cell.”

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