Brad had his own issues. He took a fist right to his stitches before he slammed the butt of his gun into his assailant’s face. Bone crunched and blood sprayed, but the bastard didn’t get back up.
Pivoting, he and Copper pointed their guns as one toward the woman holding a knife to Gabriel’s throat. Dark eyes glared at him, her attention full of fury. Thick, black hair framed a completely unremarkable face. “You bastard, I knew you were alive. I knew it.” Holding Gabriel’s hair in her fist, she’d jerked his head back to keep his throat exposed to the razor sharp edge of her blade.
Brad searched his memory. The accent, the looks—none of it registered. “You can play this two ways,zhinka, let him go and we’ll talk, or keep the knife right there and I’ll put a bullet between your eyes.”
Upper lip curling, the bitch scowled. “Drop your guns, or I’ll kill him.”
“Not gonna happen.”
The blade pressed closer, and a thin ribbon of blood trickled down Gabriel’s neck. “Then you shoot her.” She jerked her chin at Copper. “If the man means so much to you, shoot her, and I will give him to you.”
Brad paused as though considering the offer. “You want me to shoot her for him? I think you overestimate his value.”
A hiss of sound escaped her lips, but Copper didn’t move, didn’t twitch, didn’t react. “He must mean something, or you wouldn’t come for him…”
“Seriously,zhinka?” Brad gave her a crooked smile, the one most women seemed to swoon for, and winked. “I don’t even know who you are. I’m here because I like the boat.”
The snarl on her face gave him pause as did the pure rage glittering in her eyes. “You don’t remember me?”
“No, bitch, he might not. But I do,” Copper interceded. She jerked her gaze to the woman. “You’re the stupid FSB agent we seduced to get access to your files.”
“Really?” The moment Copper said the words, recognition struck Brad. It had been years ago—the mission before the beach visit, ironically. They’d been looking for someone feeding weapons into one of the African conflicts, arms dealing with a side of espionage. Their leads took them to an FSB agent.
He’d never have put the face to the op. The woman had been a means to an end. It had been one of the first times he’d had to involve Copper in a seduction. He’d hated every minute of the woman putting her hands on what was his, so no wonder he’d forgotten her. A paper pusher, but with her access, they’d gotten what they needed.
“Of course you don’t remember me, but I remember you. I remember what you cost me. So, shoot her, or I’ll kill him. Either way, you lose one of them today.” Triumph echoed in her tone. She’d put him in a check position. Brad met Gabriel’s eyes. Cool defiance and…trust shone in them. Gabriel trusted him to not shoot Copper. The trust staggered him where the woman’s hate did not.
The blade continued to press into Gabriel’s throat, and the blood flowed faster. Any closer and she’d sever his jugular, and nothing they did would save him.Not acceptable.Swinging the gun, he targeted Copper. Gabriel’s captor let out a little hiss of triumph.
“Sorry, babe,” he told her. She didn’t move, didn’t even look in his direction when he pulled the trigger.
“Yes!” The woman crowed with a cruel laugh. The motion pulled the blade from Gabriel’s throat, and Copper fired. A small hole appeared in the center of her forehead, a shocked expression replacing her malicious glee. She fell in slow motion. As a single unit, Copper and Tungsten closed in on Gabriel. Copper checked his throat, and pressed her hand over the bloody wound while Tungsten sliced the tape holding him.
Above them, the steady beat of helicopter blades echoed through the bulkhead. Together they stripped the electrodes off Gabriel’s chest and hauled him to his feet. Bracing him between them, they headed for the stairs…and home.
Chapter 9
Ten hours later…
The Ghosts had descendedin force. Tin and Nickel met them on the stairs with medical supplies. Fortunately, the shallow cut on Gabriel’s throat was the least of his injuries. The electric shock torture had done a bit of a number, but Copper remained a fixture at his side, her expression unreadable.
Letting the team do another sweep and clear, Brad kept watch over Copper and Gabriel. Blood trickled from the tip of her ear, but she’d waved off medical care while they tended Gabriel. The professor put up with it long enough to stand, but when his legs would have buckled, Brad caught him. Leaving the team to do their job, he helped Gabriel up the stairs with Copper in attendance.
Ghosts or not, she remained armed and watchful. The team cleansed the boat, dealt with the bodies, and dumped the computers before they pulled out. Brad and Copper were silent sentinels. Until they were off the boat and home, Brad knew he wouldn’t relax, and he doubted Copper would either. When they’d finally boarded the jet with the team, Zinc had paused at Copper’s side and murmured something in her ear before cutting down the aisle to join Merc. The two men exchanged a wary handshake.
Weird. In the last three years, the Ghosts had been the only team Brad had been allowed, and he’d never felt further away from them. Gabriel had been given the bedroom, the medic wanted him off his feet. Electroshock could have some nasty side effects, and until they got him home to the docs, they weren’t taking chances. Copper didn’t leave his side.
After takeoff, Tin dropped into the chair next to him. “Titanium’s got a hard on for kicking your ass,” he murmured low, but then held up a thumb drive. “Here’s your get out of jail free card.”
“What the fuck is it?”
A slow predatory grin slid across his dark face. “Locations for two of Red Wolf’s estates. Whoever that bitch was, she was in bed with Red Wolf and apparently running from him. Use it, shut the commander up, and get your chick back.”
“Thanks, brother.”
Tin bumped his shoulder, then hit his feet and returned to where Nickel stared out a window. Turning the thumb drive over in his hand, Brad blew out a breath. Yeah, the information was valuable. He shared Tin’s need to stab Red Wolf in the kidneys repeatedly with a spoon…but he had a more important mission at the moment.
Two bottles of water in hand for an excuse, Brad nudged the door to the bedroom open. They’d be back in Dallas soon enough. Gabriel lay propped against some pillows, a sallow color beneath his tan. Copper was sitting like a rigid statue at the edge of the bed, her gaze on Gabriel like a hawk.