Page 1 of Covert Vengeance

Chapter One

The bitterness of betrayal was still as fresh as the healing bullet scar on her left side, but Amber had to overcome that if she was going to get this done. People were depending on her. Family, by blood and creed—and having blood family at all was still an unexpected gift she was coming to terms with.

She pulled the edges of her headscarf tighter around her face and adjusted her sunglasses as she left the bus station on the outskirts of Damascus. Hot, arid air blasted her, the September sun beating down on her as she moved through the crowd of passengers toward the rental car facility.

The latest intel indicated that her target was here. Whether or not she was still alive, Amber wasn’t sure. Given the people involved with the woman’s capture several days ago, that chance dwindled with each passing hour. Amber had to act fast.

She stayed alert as she moved, on the lookout for any threat that might have managed to follow her here despite all her precautions. She was deep in enemy territory now, and her technological expertise was a double-edged sword. It allowed her to find those who wanted to stay hidden—while it also made her a target.

She was the hunter for now, but she was also prey. There were so many unknowns, and every time she made a move, she wore a target on her back.

Her rental vehicle was waiting for her, attained with fake ID under a new alias. She checked it with a critical eye, subtly looking for any signs of tampering before hiding her equipment in various spots in the interior and sliding behind the wheel to crank up the air conditioning. She’d managed to stay off the grid and evade everyone looking for her thus far. Now the most dangerous part of her journey began.

Amber prayed she wasn’t too late. If she was responsible for the capture—and much worse—of an innocent fellow Valkyrie, then she was honor bound to do whatever it took to try to rescue her. Up to and including giving her own life. It was the only way she could clear her conscience.

The roads were crowded, especially on the approach to the city center. Security was tight. She breezed through the first checkpoint in a matter of minutes. At the second, right on the edge of the old capital, the way the armed soldiers looked at her put her instantly on edge.

The soldier at her window checked her passport with the computer in his booth, then turned to stare at her for a moment too long. Unease crackled along her nerve endings.

“Get out of the car,” he commanded in clipped Arabic, adjusting his grip on his rifle.

Did they somehow know who she was? She kept her expression impassive. Running the checkpoint wasn’t an option if she wanted to live. So she had no choice but to comply.

She stepped out into the midday heat, posture and expression relaxed but her hands ready to dive for the pistol or blade strapped to her ankles, hidden beneath the loose lower legs of her cargo pants. A few men watched with interest from outside a nearby café. The slight bulges beneath their shirts told her some of them were armed.

The first soldier stared at her while his partner searched her vehicle. She didn’t move, didn’t react even when the second tossed her bag into the dirt and began rifling through it. She’d come prepared for this. Anything sensitive or mission critical was hidden in the vehicle or on her person somewhere.

Not finding anything of interest, the guard left her clothing and toiletries lying in the dust and shook his head at the first man. Amber held his stare as he approached, his expression hard. She tensed and shifted her stance slightly, mentally choosing an escape route that might allow her to flee on foot because if this asshole thought he was going to perform a body search, that wasn’t happening.

The soldier stopped a foot from her, tall enough that she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes. “What are you doing in Damascus?” he growled.

None of your fucking business.

If her picture had triggered something in his database, he would have tried to arrest her by now. Key word,tried. Because she wasn’t going to prison.

“Visiting family,” she answered in Arabic. He was hassling her because she was a single female traveling alone and thought she was easy prey. But if he thought he and his friend might make a victim out of her, they wouldn’t live long enough to see how wrong they were.

The soldier sneered before raking his cold, black gaze over the length of her and back up again. “You’re lying.”

Amber refused to cower or look away. Bullies thrived on fear and weakness. He would find neither in her.

Try me, asshole.She’d killed men a lot scarier than him in the line of duty.

Taking him out would cause major hassle because she’d have to kill the other soldier too, but if he tried to attack her it would almost be worth it to put a bullet in his ego-inflated head.

Seeming frustrated that he hadn’t elicited the reaction he’d hoped for, he stepped back with a disgusted sound. “Get out of here,” he snarled.

With pleasure.

She knelt to gather up her strewn belongings, aware of exactly where both men were positioned in case they tried anything. Even as she drove off she kept her eye on the first guard in her side mirror, prepared to react in case he decided to take a parting shot at her. He was on his radio, gaze locked on her vehicle as he spoke to someone.

They would have eyes on her in the city now. Adding more pressure to this high-stakes mission.

Her shoulders relaxed a little when she put a safe distance between her and the checkpoint. Traffic was light, yet it was hard to say if anyone had followed her. She focused on her surroundings, heading for the apartment she had secured. This area of Damascus was still very much a warzone.

Several buildings were nothing but piles of rubble. Others were marked with scars from shells and bullets, windows blown out and several floors destroyed. Unsupervised children ran through the streets chasing one another or playing soccer while mostly male adults stood around talking.

Curious, somewhat unfriendly stares followed Amber as she drove to the small apartment building and parked around back. Given the security situation at the moment, a single female traveling alone made her both a curiosity and a target.

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