LITMIR.BIZ

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that. Unless she was playing dumb.

      He didn’t take his eyes off Logan when he answered her. “Logan recruited me for ICE from the army.”

      “I trained you, too. Don’t forget that part of the story.”

      John shifted the aim of his rifle to Logan’s face. “Then how is it that there are five of you and only one of me, and yet we find ourselves in this position? This must be one of those times where the student surpasses the teacher.”

      “I wouldn’t bet on it.” At the first movement of Logan’s gun, John engaged the muscles of his trigger finger, but didn’t take the motion any farther. Instead, he schooled his features against the bolt of panic that hit him as the butt of Logan’s gun found Alicia’s throat. “Where are my manners? I owe you my thanks for leading us to Alicia. She was our target all along and I knew you’d be the one to help us neutralize her.”

      Steady, man. Loyalty is your weakness, remember?

      Odds were that this was just another ploy to manipulate him. Keeping his focus on Logan’s trigger finger, he noted in his periphery that Alicia’s hands were behind her back. A bruise was forming on her cheek and he saw abrasions on her neck. Her shirt was dotted with debris, as if she’d been flung on the ground. In fact, the more he studied her, the more beat up he realized she was.

      So much for his theory about her and Logan teaming up against him. Alicia wasn’t here of her own free will and clearly someone, probably Logan, had roughed her up pretty good. And that made John want to do some killing in a bad, bad way.

      Steady...

      “What about Rory?” he asked. “How does he factor into this grand plan of yours?”

      “Don’t you worry about him. There are only two ways off this island—by boat or air. The airports are on lockdown and the island is surrounded by navy, ICE, the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI—you name it, they’re here and all trying to be the ones to take Rory down first. He won’t be leaving this place alive. Bringing Alicia into custody was my crew’s one and only mission.”

      “I’ll help you find Rory,” Alicia said. “Think of how it’ll boost your careers if you find him first. I can track him better than anyone.”

      “Why would you help us capture him? You’re the one who broke him out of prison.”

      “You have no proof.”

      “Don’t I?”

      Alicia swallowed, which looked as if it took effort given how hard Logan had his gun jammed against her neck. Bastard.

      While Logan and Alicia kept up a back-and-forth about proof and being set up, John assessed his options. The van was shot to hell, its tires and windshield destroyed. At some point they were all going to have to get out of the vehicle because this stalemate they were in couldn’t go on indefinitely. John knew they’d try to get out of sight before the authorities showed up. Sure, Logan and his crew were law enforcement officials, but there wasn’t a black ops agent alive who wanted a bunch of uniforms slowing them down or mucking up their operation.

      The question John needed to answer in the next thirty seconds or so was how did he get Logan and his crew out of the van, their threat neutralized without killing them, and all while maintaining his position of power? Problems, problems...

      “What about me?” he asked, interrupting Logan’s snide response to something Alicia had said.

      Logan huffed. “What about you? You’re free to walk away. And I suggest you do so before I change my mind.”

      In other words, Logan thought he was harmless. How insulting. Did he not notice John had disabled their van and was holding them all at gunpoint?

      “You haven’t left yet.”

      “Keen observation.”

      “Don’t get ideas about saving your lady love here. Consider this a lesson in who not to give your loyalty to...because it sure isn’t this one. If your positions were reversed, would she save you?”

      Not in a million years. She’d already deserted him in the middle of the ocean. He probably could’ve forgiven her for that, except for the minor detail that she still clung to the belief that John was a traitor to his country and helped plot her murder.

      The hard truth was that John’s most strategic move would be to walk away, leaving Alicia in Logan’s custody. Since Logan and the rest of the Feds didn’t perceive John as a threat, and with Alicia out of commission, John could hunt down his quarry unencumbered. He had no doubt he could find Rory faster than any of them. The truth was, Alicia being captured and ICE’s underestimation of John’s abilities worked in his favor in every possible way...except for John’s conscience.

      Alicia’s life was on the line here. The thought of her languishing in a prison cell for the rest of her life made John’s heart race with panic. No matter what disgraces she thought him guilty of, her opinions didn’t change who John was, with his weakness for loyalty and all.

      Rory’s accusations had stripped him of his reputation, his career and the woman he loved, but no one could take away John’s integrity. All he was now was the soldier and man he and his Maker knew him to be. And a soldier didn’t walk away from a teammate in trouble, just like a man didn’t walk away when his woman needed him—even though he wasn’t her man anymore and his days as a soldier were nothing but a fading memory.

      Besides, John had never been a big fan of taking the easy way out.

      He took his finger off the triggers of his guns and held them up, aimed in the air, like he was surrendering. Really, though, it was a great ruse to get the guns over the top of the van’s roof and out of sight. “All right. Here I go. One question—are you going to shoot me in the back while I walk away?”

      “You’re not worth the bullet.”

      “Gee, thanks.”

      “You’re welcome.”

      Alicia hadn’t reacted to the news that John was walking away. Not that he’d expected her to—she was too much of a professional. Keeping his expression passive and his eyes on Logan, he squeezed the trigger of his rifle, spraying the teetering balcony post with shots until it gave way and collapsed onto the passenger side of the van with a loud crack.

      John dived off the van, out of the way, just before impact.

      The force of the falling balcony tipped the van onto its side in a clatter of metal parts and broken glass. It hit the ground hard, dust billowing all around.

      John scrambled to his feet and leaped onto the side of the van, to the broken window.

      Alicia was grappling with Logan and the woman from the front seat. He’d get to them in a sec, but his first order of business was taking out the man in the back of van. He was partially covered by a fallen beam but still had command of his gun and was shooting wildly. John smashed the butt of his gun into the man’s face.

      He stopped shooting and his eyes rolled back before he crumpled, passed out.

      John grabbed the man’s gun and tossed it out the window, then transferred his own gun to his left hand, seized Logan by the shirt with his right and hauled him up.

      Logan came up swinging and clipped John in the jaw. “What happened to walking away?”

      John returned the favor. The impact of his fist on Logan’s cheek felt good. Like when he’d let his fists do the talking with Rory on the speedboat. “Did you really think I could?”

      He ducked out of the way of Logan’s next hit, then slammed his shoulder into Logan’s chest and punched him in the gut, knocking him off the side of the van into the ground.

      The woman from the front seat had crawled to the back. She and Alicia were going at it in a messy, opportunistic fight, both clearly prevented from making use of their close-combat training given the tight confines of the vehicle.

      John

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