“I can make that happen,” Jasper said. “But it’s going to hurt.”
…
Lucas shrugged on the bulletproof vest Talia handed up from the storage unit hidden behind a false wall in the cabin. The Sparrow hadn’t been wrong. The sound of shots could be heard in the distance. The shooters would make their way here eventually. The cabin was on the way to the dock and the airstrip. If his shitty luck held, one of the Macintosh crew would be by to deliver the bad news about Rolf to the Sparrow and tell him to start sharpening his knives.
Still, even knowing that, he kept his attention focused on the bedroom door, waiting for it to open and Ruby to come out.
“You gonna keep staring a hole in that door, or are you going to pick a damn gun?” The Sparrow pointed at the gun rack filled to capacity.
“I’ll take the Uzi.” If he was going to have to fight his way to his jet on the airstrip in the midst of total anarchy, he wanted something that fired six hundred bullets a minute.
The Sparrow handed him the submachine gun as the bedroom door opened. Ruby walked out with her mom and brother. The moment she spotted him, she went still and two pink spots bloomed on her cheeks. His sixth sense went into overdrive. Whatever was coming next, he wasn’t going to like it.
“Are you ready, Hamish?” Ingrid asked.
The Sparrow nodded. “Yep. You’ve said your good-byes?”
She wiped away a tear and nodded.
“Okay then.” He opened the pantry and pulled a hidden latch to reveal a set of stairs. “Down through the tunnel. Follow me, and we’ll end up at Frihed Inlet. I’ve got a boat waiting.”
Ingrid gave Jasper and Ruby each a long hug, whispering something he couldn’t hear and then followed the Sparrow down the secret staircase, pulling the trap door shut with a final thunk.
Classen pres
sed her finger to the comm unit in her ear. “Copy that.” She turned to him. “Sir, the exfil unit is five minutes out. We have to go now.”
As soon as the first gunshots sounded outside the cabin, he’d known getting to the tarmac with Ruby was going to be too dangerous so he’d mobilized the offsite team commanding them to a rendezvous point away from the tarmac and dock. “Let’s go.”
Jasper shook his head. “And miss a once in a lifetime opportunity like this? The agency is going to love having a double agent of their own with access to everything the Macintosh organization knows.”
Fuck. He didn’t like it, but he understood it. The Americans would have access to information about all of the arms and drug deals happening in Northern Europe that were being used to fund terrorist activities. Turning down that opportunity would be insane.
“Understood,” he said, then turned to Clausen. “Looks like you’re riding solo.”
Clausen’s gaze lingered on Jasper for a heartbeat longer than necessary before she hustled out the backdoor without a word and climbed on one of the ATVs, ready to make a run for the airstrip.
He crossed the room and reached out for Ruby’s hands, but she kept them clasped in front of her.
She shook her head. “I’m staying.”
Two words that hit harder than a heavyweight punch. “Ruby—”
Another round of gunfire interrupted him. This time it was closer and accompanied by shouts.
“I’ll watch out for her. You don’t have time to argue.” Jasper said. “I can slow down the first wave of Macintosh soldiers, but they’ll be looking to sequester anyone who’s not family by any means necessary. You’ll have a five-minute head start, and after that, it’s all up to you.”
Oh, he’d make it out of here, and he’d do it with Ruby on that jet.
“I’m not going anywhere without you.”
She gave him that sad smile he really hated. “You have to go. Stop Gregers. Save Elskov. Be the good guy that I know you are.”
Those were his orders, the ones he wanted to forget he’d ever accepted. He’d ignored them once already when he didn’t have a choice. But Jasper was right, with Rolf out of the picture, the other man could keep Ruby safe, for now. She wouldn’t be totally safe until Henriksen was out of the picture. For Elskov and for Ruby, he’d track the traitorous asshole down and sink him for good.
Your orders are simple.
Track down Henriksen’s yacht.