Page 59 of Rusty's Command

With Soda ghosting his footsteps, Rusty circled the room. Those thunderous booms he’d heard right after the power went out were security doors dropping into position like modern-day drawbridges. Every exit was sealed and locked down tighter than a prison, and there was no way out of there without backup or a damn miracle.

Rusty stationed Soda to watch Tommy again before striding toward Sienna who was wrapped in an embrace with the Colombian woman who’d saved Pickle. They clung to each other, their heads bent together, and they both talked at the same time as tears spilled down their cheeks.

Sienna looked up as he approached, and her eyes glistened with tears. “Maria, this is Rusty.”

Maria captured his hand in both of hers, and her grip was surprisingly strong. “Gracias, señor.You and Sienna saved us all.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “I thought . . . I thought we would vanish forever. Like the others.”

The others?Maybe his hunch about the woman in the basement was right, and she was with these victims. He made a mental note to mention that to his father.

“Thank you for protecting our little dog,” Rusty said to Maria. “That took real courage.”

“I love dogs.” Maria’s smile wavered as her gaze drifted to Soda. “Though yours . . . is terrifying.”

“Nah, she’s just a big softie who takes her job seriously.” Pride swelled through him. “She’s an exceptional soldier doing what she’s trained for.”

Sienna’s fingers found his, sending warmth cascading through his chest. “You’re an exceptional soldier, too. You saved us all.”

“Ex-soldier,” he corrected gently. “And speaking of saving . . .”

He squeezed her hand before releasing it and strode to Wang’s crumpled form. He patted down the dead man’s pockets until he found the phone Wang had used earlier.

He held the phone to Wang’s face, and it unlocked.

“Lucky someone invented facial recognition,” he said, winking at Sienna, and she smiled.

Rusty punched in the first of only two numbers permanently etched in his brain: Ethan from Charlie Team, his brothers in arms, and the man he’d served alongside for nearly a decade.

“Yo . . . you got Ethan.” The familiar drawl brought an unexpected wave of emotion.

“Man, am I glad to hear your voice.”

“Mom? That you?” Ethan’s smartass comments never got tiring.

“Close. “ Rusty moved toward the edge of the stage, scanning the darkness. “Listen, I’m in a situation.” He quickly summarized what happened. “I took Viktor Wang down and a dozen of his men?—”

“Now you’re just showing off,” Ethan said with a chuckle.

“Funny, but I tell you, these assholes are organized.”

“Not organized enough . . . obviously. Any still alive?”

“Yeah, two, and multiple civilians, but listen—” He lowered his voice. “Wang made a call before I got to him. There could be more tangos inbound. These guys are packing serious hardware, Ethan. Military grade. We’re going to need the full team.”

“Copy that.” All humor vanished from Ethan’s voice, replaced by the sharp focus Rusty remembered from many missions. “You can bank on Charlie Team. We’ll be there in two clicks.”

“Roger that. You’ll need to figure out how do get into the underground area, we came in via a very long lava tube.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get in.”

“Good. And, Ethan?—”

“Yeah?”

“Watch your six. These bastards are desperate, and I know for a fact they’re willing to die for Wang.”

“Always do, brother.” Ethan’s gravelly voice held a moment of uncharacteristic softness. “Good to know you didn’t catch a bullet tonight. Kind of got used to having your ugly mug around.”

Rusty chuckled. “You and me both.”

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