Page 26 of Hero's Heart

“Do you have someone going in or not, Dustin?”

“Did you just hear my need-to-know speech?—”

“Yes or fucking no?”

There was a beat of silence before Dustin answered. “No. Getty will continue negotiations for Sloane’s release.”

Callum slowed down further. “That’s a death warrant for her, probably with torture and rape thrown in for good measure. We both know that.”

“You’ve got Marissa. Get her to the extraction point. That’s it. Your job is done. I’ll wire the money upon your arrival.”

Callum’s grip tightened again, the plastic creaking under his fingers. “I don’t care about the money. I’m not leaving that woman with those bastards.”

“Sloane wasn’t part of the contract.” Dustin’s voice hardened. “This isn’t personal. Don’t make it personal. Just get Marissa to the drop site.”

Callum’s laugh was bitter and cold. “It’s always personal when someone’s life is on the line, Dustin. You think I’m going to sleep at night, knowing we left her behind? Forget it. That’s not how I work. I’m going back for her.”

Marissa shrieked, her voice shrill enough to pierce his skull. “Why are you all so obsessed with Sloane? She’s fine! She’s tough—she always gets out of trouble. I’m the one you were hired to save, so do it! She made her choice to stay behind!”

Callum’s glare could have set her on fire. “Somehow I doubt it.”

Marissa shrank back in her seat, her lips trembling as she crossed her arms defensively. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. That man touched me. Groped me. I couldn’t stay there.”

Callum fought for an ounce of compassion but couldn’t find it. Crystal-blue eyes floated in front of his vision. What was Sloane going through right now? What would she go through if no one went back for her?

Dustin’s voice erupted over the line. “Callum, if you go back, you’re on your own. Do you hear me? The client isn’t covering this, and I’m not sending reinforcements. And if you’re not theone to deliver Marissa, you won’t get paid. If you go back for Sloane, you risk everything.”

“Then I’ll fucking risk it.”

Callum disconnected the call before Dustin could respond, tucking the phone back into his tactical vest. The car rumbled along the uneven road, the tension inside thick enough to choke on.

He met Bear’s eyes again in the rearview mirror. “I’m going to?—”

“Shit.” Theo cut him off. “We’ve got company.”

Sure enough, there was a car in the distance behind them. This road was basically deserted, the only thing it led out to was a few farms like where they’d been. It had to be the Kozaks’ men coming after them.

They were riding with their headlights off, but any vehicle with the slightest bit of horsepower was going to catch them before they got to the main road. They’d chosen this vehicle because it would fit in with the locals, not because of its speed.

Bear grabbed his shoulder. “Stop. Theo can take Marissa to the rendezvous point. You and I will go back and get Sloane.”

Callum slammed on the brakes. “No. You two deliver Marissa. You’re both going to be needed to get away from whoever is in that vehicle. And I can’t justify risking the lives of three people when we don’t even know…”

If they’d already put a bullet in Sloane’s head.

Callum didn’t want to say the words, and he didn’t have to. Both Theo and Bear knew the rest of the sentence.

Theo nodded. “We’ll get Marissa to safety. Get back there and get Sloane out. Sorry we don’t have any weapons to offer you. Touch base as soon as you can.”

“Wait!” Marissa whined. “You can’t leave me. You can’t?—”

Ignoring her, Callum and Bear both jumped out of the car, Bear running forward to get behind the wheel. “Good luck, brother.”

“You too.” The car was back on the road a few seconds later.

Callum began running back toward Sloane, praying he wasn’t already too late.

Chapter 10

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