Page 11 of Rush

“I didn’t need the support, but I’m damn grateful for it,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.

“I can’t think when you do that,” she frowned. “The car is that way.”

They walked down the back road of the zoo, behind all the enclosures, and saw her car. As they approached, four men were standing, peering in the windows. She released Rush and quickly moved away from him.

“Hey! What are you doing? That’s my car, and I have to get to Istanbul with the others. Don’t open that door.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” smirked the man.

“Fine. Your funeral. There are four cobras in the backseat. I trapped them there earlier.” The men stepped back, looking at the car, then at her. One of the men started to walk toward her.

“Maybe I’ll just show you my snake,” he laughed.

Caroline felt the panic in her throat, then the sounds of bullets fired through a silencer whizzing past her head. All four men dropped. Turning, she looked at Rush, who was reaching for her.

“Are you alright? Did they touch you?” he asked.

“No,” she whispered. “No. They didn’t touch me.” He held her tightly, kissing her forehead.

“I was so frightened for you,” he murmured into her hair.

“Rush? I don’t think I responded to you earlier.” He looked at her with a confused expression. “I love you too, Rush. I always have.”

“I know, baby. Come on. Let’s get to Istanbul.”

CHAPTER FIVE

“Any word from them?” asked Luke.

“Nothing, but Caroline’s trackers are working. She’s driving toward Istanbul, so she must be heading to the zoo there. That’s a good sign. Maybe her phone got damaged or something,” said Ace.

“What about Rush?” asked Noah. “Has he called in?”

“No. Nothing yet, but Michael is checking to see where he was sent.”

“I know where he was sent,” said Trak. They all stared at the man, his face dark with concern. “He was sent to kill Grigoryan. In Turkey.”

“Fuck,” said Eric. “You don’t think he and Caroline are together, do you?”

“I don’t know, but I know there’s a way for us to get there,” said Trak. “They need dogs to sniff for bodies. We send Sniff and the team with the dogs, and we’re along for the ride.”

“Trak, you can’t, brother,” said Cam.

“I can.”

“I know you can, but you shouldn’t. We can send Joseph and Nathan and a few others, but you shouldn’t.”

“I’m going. Delta doesn’t leave its men behind. He shouldn’t have been sent on his own.”

“He was sent on his own to kill Grigoryan?” said Luke. “Why the fuck would they do that to him?”

“He’s the best,” said Trak. They all stared at him, open-mouthed. Nathan and Joseph smirked at the men’s expressions. “He is better than me. He doesn’t operate with as much hate and anger. He is focused and trained beyond comprehension. They have been sending him on solo missions almost his entire career. Even my sons were allowed to be together, work together as a team. He has no one. We will find him.”

“Yes,” said Noah. “We will.”

“Shit,” muttered Hex. “Just how many men are we sending over there?”

“I’m going, obviously,” said Sniff. “I have Monster, Beast, Lucy, and Ranger. I think with the four of them, and Red and Moose, it will be enough. We won’t look like we’re overwhelming them.”

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