Page 30 of Beautiful Vengeance

“Looks that way.”

“Well, take notes. I’m gonna show you how it’s supposed to be done.”

Marcus cracked a grin. “That’s some bloody cheek.”

“Learned it from the best. Anyway, just wanted to say hello before the curtain goes up on this thing. And next time I’m back in the UK, we’re meeting for a pint.”

Marcus could do better than that. “You can come stay with me for a while.”

“An invitation to your fancy big house? I’m flattered.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late.” Someone said something in the background. “Gotta go, we’re wheels up in five minutes. Enjoy the show.”

Marcus handed the sat phone back to Ken. “Can’t believe how much I’ve missed that tosser.”

“He grows on you over time, though, doesn’t he?” Ken said with a fond smile.

Marcus stood a ways back from Kiyomi as the four teams took off from their base, loaded onto two helos. The room went silent and the audio feed began on the headsets.

Marcus recognized Rory’s voice as he issued commands. The third screen on the wall switched to a view from Rory’s helmet cam, the landscape lit up in green by the night vision optics.

Minutes later the lead helo touched down. Rory’s team jumped out, breaking into two assault elements as they rushed up the back side of the hill toward the camp perimeter. An overhead view from the drones showed the heat signatures of the troopers as they got into position.

Marcus’s muscles tightened, his pulse picking up as he waited for the order. Watching from this side of the camera was difficult, highlighting just how useless he’d become.

A few minutes later, Rory’s voice came through the headset. “Execute.”

The men burst from behind cover and converged on the camp. Taken by surprise, the sentries scrambled to fire but were cut down. Seconds later Rory’s team was at the main structure door. The screen went neon with the bursts of light as they breached the doors and rushed in.

An echo of adrenaline coursed through Marcus. Part of him felt like he was there making the assault. If he hadn’t been wounded and medically retired, it would have been him leading the op and giving orders. He knew their every move, anticipated every action and reaction as the team cleared the building.

I should be there.

It killed him to be out of the action, to stand here holding his fucking cane and be forced to watch his former teammates carry out the op without him. Unable to go after the man who had hurt Kiyomi so badly. Although if he hadn’t been wounded, he never would have met her.

The enemy body count piled up both inside and outside the main building. In a matter of minutes, it was all over.

“Main building’s clear,” Rory reported. “Starting ID process.”

Marcus shifted his focus back to Kiyomi. She hadn’t moved, was still standing before the screen showing Rory’s helmet cam, watching intently.

As the faces of the prisoners and casualties began to flood in, analysts ran them through their software. Kiyomi stopped them three times to verify an ID, giving them her insider info about the men she’d flagged.

Ten minutes later, the team was finished searching the camp.

Kiyomi turned to look at him, a frown creasing her forehead as she said what Marcus had already begun to dread. “He’s not there.”

Chapter Nine

Conflicting emotions clashed inside Kiyomi as she stared at Marcus. Anger because Rahman had managed yet again to escape justice. Relief because now she might still have a chance to bring him down personally.

MI6 had been so sure Rahman would be at the camp. Either they’d received bad intel, or he’d been warned in time to escape. She was betting on the latter.

Frowning, the MI6 agent who’d been speaking with Marcus strode forward, scanning the monitor in front of the analyst she had just been working with to identify the enemy prisoners and casualties. “Are you sure?” he asked her.

She shot him a hard look. “Positive.” She removed her headset and tossed it onto the desk beside her. “Someone tipped him off.” She walked straight to Marcus, drawn to him by an invisible force she couldn’t resist. His strength, calm and protectiveness were irresistible.

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