Page 8 of Protection for Nichole

Cara nodded as Elizabeth stood and stretched. “I’m going to do yoga. Anyone want to join in?”

Nichole stood and stretched her arms over her head. Doing something active, even gentle yoga would help relieve some of the soreness. “Sure.”

Angie joined them, and they all moved through a few poses before Cara started whispering. “Look for anything we can use to escape.” She moved into downward dog, her gaze finding Nichole’s. “We need to get a message to the men.”

Nichole didn’t know how that would be possible. Any chatting with the guys would only draw attention. They needed to hide their interactions. Their captives didn’t need to know they were planning on escaping. They would have a hard enough time getting out but if their captors thought they were colluding, it could make it so much worse.

Before they finished doing their poses, the door opened, and the angry man who’d forced her to make the statement stepped in.

“Follow.”

He wasn’t talkative, that was for sure. Then again, he wasn’t trying to be friendly. This man had a mission, and they were only important as long as he could use them to manipulate a government to do his bidding. Once they were no longer useful, they would be in real trouble.

The path to the area where they were allowed to sit and eat was shorter than it had seemed the night before. Of course, it had all been new then. Now, she was trying to inspect every inch, looking for something she could use to get the hell out of this prison.

There wasn’t much that would be useful. There were no weapons lying around, no random poles or shovels. Nothing of note that she could grab and use to attack one of the guys. Of course, there were plenty of people guarding them, and those people had guns. The odds of them escaping were very low. If she tried to jump one of them, she would get people killed.

She didn’t know the men being held captive and couldn’t say what one pointed look meant versus another. If they wanted to escape together, they needed to work together. But that would take them communicating, which the guards kept them separated, making it impossible to plan.

Again, the food was decent. It tasted good and made her feel better. She was allowed to use the restroom and clean up a little. Just that small amount of washing and refreshing her body gave her hope. They were led back to the room they’d been in, and she wished she could have chatted with one of the men, but there hadn’t been any opportunities.

The door shut behind them, and Angie started speaking. “I think we can get out the next time we eat. I saw a door at the back of the room, like where they were getting the food from. When the door opened, I think I saw the outside. We can get out of here.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t know. They have guns.”

“We can overpower them.”

Cara shook her head. “What if they?—”

The door opened, and they all jerked around. Elizabeth let out a small yelp, fear making her eyes wide.

“You,” the man said as he pointed at Angie.

Two other men came in and took hold of her arms. She screamed and fought, trying to escape, but they had hold of her.

Nichole took a step toward them, but another man was there with a mean-looking gun. She could do nothing to help Angie. These men would think nothing of destroying them for just trying to help out their friend.

Angie was dragged out, kicking and screaming. Before the door shut, the angry one met their gaze. “No talking!”

Nichole stepped back from the vitriol in his voice. Fear worked through her as she realized they wouldn’t be able to plan an escape. They were stuck here and would be until the bastards decided to kill them. She had no assurance they would ever let them go. If these people were evil enough to take them captive and use them to get prisoners set free, they would think nothing of killing them.

Chapter 9

Jay wasthankful for the cloud cover that hid them in the deep shadows of the trees surrounding the compound. Apple was fifteen feet to his left, and Squat was to his right. They had the place surrounded and were just waiting for Griz to give the signal.

Nothing good was ever easy. He prepared himself to move, getting ready for the resistance they would face.

“We’re set,” Shine said.

“It’s time. Go.”

Griz’s command was exactly what he’d been looking for. Jay stepped away from the tree he’d been hiding behind, moving slowly and steadily toward the compound. They weren’t expected, and he hoped the assholes didn’t have lookouts who were hidden. They hadn’t seen any indication of people watching from the roof of the building, and none of the scans showed any heat signatures for people set up to watch the area, but with more surprises happening to SEAL teams, they had to stay vigilant. Their scans didn’t reveal any cameras or other recording devices.

It shocked him that the enemy had set up blind inside a building without good views. Some people were just too secure in their own abilities. Though he trained, worked hard, and had skills, he knew he had to use every tool he had to stay ahead. He was glad this group seemed kind of incompetent and had left things like surveillance to chance.

He and Apple made it to the door at about the same time and placed the charges that would allow them entrance to the compound. “Ready to breach,” Jay said.

“Ready,” Shine said.

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