Mercenary’s Promise Read online

They stopped at the door. Bethany took a deep breath. Xavier would go in first as discussed. She’d count to three and follow.

  Unlatching the door, Xavier stepped inside.

  One. It had been two years. Would Samantha instantly recognize her? Bethany clenched and unclenched her hands.

  Two. Would Samantha forgive her?

  Three. One way or another, it was time to find out.

  She stepped through the door and froze. Samantha was awake, aware and pressed against the wall with Xavier’s hand over her mouth.

  The need to protect her sister was sudden and intense and rocked her to the bone. Bethany crossed the small hut in two steps. “What are you doing?” she asked. Her hand out to grab Xavier’s away from Samantha’s mouth, she stopped just short.

  If it were anyone else…

  “She doesn’t know me,” Xavier explained. “She tried to scream. So unless you want us all dead, talk her down.”

  Samantha looked at her, green eyes wide. No, not at her, Bethany realized. Through her. What the hell had FARC done to her?

  “Sweetie, it’s Bethany.” She touched her sister’s hair, and Samantha flinched, squeezing her eyes shut. Bethany took off her hat to show her hair and used the cloth to wipe her face. “It’s just makeup. This is Xavier Monero.” She tapped Xavier’s arm. “We’re here to take you home.”

  Samantha inched her eyes open and then relaxed in Xavier’s arms. He removed his hand but kept it ready in case Samantha tried to shout.

  “Bethany?” she whispered. Her voice sounded lower. Hoarse.

  Still, Bethany recognized it and hearing her sister brought tears to her eyes. Bethany nodded and brushed her hand against Samantha’s cheek. “It’s me.”

  Samantha leaned into her touch with a sigh. “I knew you’d come.”

  Bethany smiled. She didn’t deserve such trust. She wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulder and pulled her close. Bethany felt her ribs beneath the torn rag of the shirt Samantha wore and eased her hug, afraid she’d snap a bone or bruise her.

  “Save the reunion,” Xavier interrupted, clapping a hand on Bethany’s shoulder. “We need to leave.”

  Bethany tore herself from Samantha. “Can you walk?”

  “I’d run on broken glass if it meant getting out of here,” Samantha responded.

  “Do you have anything for your feet?” Xavier asked.

  “Rags.”

  “It’ll do. Hurry.”

  Samantha grabbed a wad of cloth scraps. Dirty and smelling of old sweat, Bethany tried not to flinch as she helped Samantha wind them around her feet. “When we get back, I’m getting you some proper shoes,” she whispered.

  “I’d settle for a shower.”

  “That, too.”

  “Red team, we have a player in motion.” Sebastian’s voice came over the earpiece and Bethany stilled.

  “What’s wrong?” Samantha asked, her voice trembled.

  Xavier held up his hand, asking for silence. “Location?”

  “Headed toward the camouflaged structure. Orders?” Sebastian answered.

  “Stay put. We give two minutes. If he’s still there, I’ll take care of it.”

  “Counting,” Sebastian indicated.

  Xavier glanced at his watch.

  “Do we have two minutes?” Bethany finished wrapping Samantha’s foot and waited while her sister wrapped the other.

  “I’d rather not have to run for it. If we can get out unobserved, it’ll be better for everyone.”

  “I waited two years. I can wait a little longer,” Samantha said.

  She grabbed Bethany’s hand, and Bethany squeezed her tight. Samantha’s nails were short and broken. A far cry from the woman who considered a mani-pedi a weekly “must do.” She’d buy her a lifetime’s worth once she was safe.

  “I never doubted you’d come for me,” Samantha whispered. “Even when they told me about the money.”

  Bethany tightened. No. No. No. Not here.

  Xavier cocked his head. “What about the money?”

  “It’s nothing,” Bethany claimed, swallowing hard.

  “It’s everything.” Samantha’s green eyes met Xavier’s. “They refused to settle for less than half a million and Bethany didn’t have close to that.”

  Xavier looked at Bethany. Disbelief in his eyes.

  She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She wanted Xavier to know the truth. He deserved the truth, but not here and not from her sister. Neither could she tell her sister to shut the hell up.

  Bethany glanced at her watch. A minute to go. Crap.

  “How much did she have?” Xavier asked.

  “I don’t know,” Samantha said. “But it didn’t matter. She came for me. I knew she wouldn’t leave me here.”

  “It matters to me.” Xavier’s gaze bored into Bethany.

  Bethany worried her lower lip as her gaze flickered between Xavier and Samantha. There was no running away from the truth now. Location and timing be damned, he wouldn’t let it go. He simply wasn’t that type of man.

  Taking a deep breath, she braced herself for his anger. “I don’t have the money,” she whispered. “I never did.”

  For a beat Xavier stared at her, but there was no anger in his eyes. There was a flash of disbelief and disappointment and then, nothing.

  Cold, cold nothing.

  She knew that’s what she was to him now. Nothing.

  And the pain of losing Xavier almost drove her to her knees. Shaking, Bethany prayed that she could make him understand that she had no choice. That she didn’t mean to hurt him or Eva. And, while she might have lied about the cash, what she felt for him was real.

  “Um, what’s going on?” Samantha asked. “Is there a problem?”

  Bethany pressed her lips tight at hearing the fear in her sister’s voice. As much as she wanted to explain her actions, Sam had already been through enough, and she would not burden her sister any more than necessary.

  Not now. Not when they were all so close to success.

  Her apology and explanation would have to wait.

  She turned to Samantha. “Everything is fine, but we should be quiet,” she said. “There’ll be time to talk later. Once we have you safe. Right now, we need to focus.”

  “Of course,” Samantha said, squeezing her hand again. “I want to hear everything. About Mom. Your life. Everything.”

  Their mother. Another sensitive subject and one best left for when she could tell Samantha the entire story. “You will. I promise.”

  Bethany snuck a peek at Xavier. He watched the entrance, waiting for word from Sebastian as to their next move.

  He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting hers.

  There was more than anger there. There was a fury so deep and dark it cut her all the way to her core. He turned back to the door, and it took everything in her not to reach out to him.

  Instead, she focused on the warmth of her sister’s hand in hers. Two years of worry and waiting were over.

  Let him be angry. Holding Samantha’s hand in hers was worth the price of his wrath.

  Xavier glanced at his watch. Ten seconds and he’d go take care of the problem of the player. A part of him hoped the FARC soldier stayed put. A stupid wish, but the desire to do something destructive was undeniable, and as angry as he was with Bethany, he wasn’t going to take it out on her sister.

  He’d made a promise, after all, and he’d be damned if he was going to break it. Bethany might be a Judas but he wasn’t.

  He looked at the sisters. Samantha glowed with happiness. Not a shock considering the rescue. Bethany, when she looked at him, at least had the sense to show shame.

  Good.

  But when she looked at Samantha, her happiness at having her sister back overrode the lies. She was happy, and he hated her for that. Hated them both for having what he’d never have—a happy reunion.

  Bethany had taken that from him.

  Bitch.

  He looked again at his watch.

>   Time’s up.

  He tapped his earpiece. “Status?”

  “Still in play.”

  Most of all, he hated Bethany for putting himself and his men in this position. “I’ll take care of it. Cover me.”

  “You got it.”

  “What are you going to do?” Bethany asked.

  Unable to look at either sister, he holstered his weapon and pulled his knife from its sheath. “What I have to.”

  He edged the door open. It was as clear. “If it goes south, you do what Sebastian says. Do you understand?”

  “We understand,” Bethany said.

  He slid out and closed the door behind him. Keeping low, he pushed Bethany to the back of his mind and hurried toward the netted hut.

  He stopped shy from entering and pressed himself against the wall, listening. There was rustling and the clink of metal on metal. Weapons? Readying the gear to move? Sorting cooking pots?

  There was no way to tell.

  What he needed to know was the man’s position. Did he face the door or away from it? He looked for a gap on the boards that wasn’t blocked by the boxes on the other side.

  There wasn’t anything, and the day grew brighter every minute.

  He edged around to the door. There was the groan of hinges inside the hut but nothing more.

  Knife in hand, Xavier opened the door and stepped inside. The FARC soldier stood at attention facing away from the door. In front of him was an open weapons box.

  He’d called it right. It was good to see he hadn’t lost all of his instincts.

  In the time it took for the soldier to turn, Xavier crossed the span between them. The man opened his mouth to call for help and reached for a gun. Before he could do either, Xavier clamped a hand over his mouth and pushed his knife into the man’s neck, slicing the carotid artery.

  In seconds, he went limp and Xavier lowered him to the ground. “Damn,” he whispered, closing his eyes. This wasn’t a man. It was a boy with a sparse mustache and skin still red with teenage acne.

  Young or not, he’d sided with FARC, and there were few happy endings for a FARC soldier.

  Xavier tapped his earpiece. “Status?”

  “No other players in sight,” Sebastian said. “It’s getting late. Time to move.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Bethany?”

  “Here,” she replied.

  “I want you and Samantha to get to me. Sebastian will cover you.”

  “On our way.”

  Xavier frowned at hearing how normal her voice now sounded.

  Standing by the door, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Why did she do it? Why hadn’t she told him the truth before it came to this? It wasn’t as if she didn’t have the opportunity.

  The door to the hut opened, and the two women rushed in with Samantha in the lead. Both stopped mid step, their attention on the body and the blood that pooled around the dead man’s head.

  Clamping her hand over her mouth, Bethany turned away and tried to turn Samantha away as well, but her sister shook her off.

  Xavier didn’t miss the glint of satisfaction in the younger girl’s eyes. He couldn’t blame her gut reaction. This boy helped keep her captive.

  To her, he’d received what he deserved.

  But then, leaning over, Samantha placed her hands on her knees, and Xavier realized that she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. He frowned. Her feet might be okay, but this wasn’t about her feet. Samantha was sick. There was no doubt about that. “What’s wrong?”

  Samantha shook her head. “I’m not sure. Bronchitis, I think.”

  “She had asthma when she was young,” Bethany relayed, her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s come back.”

  “I wasn’t asking you,” Xavier snapped.

  Samantha straightened, palms pressed against her lower back as her breathing calmed. “What’s going on with you two?” she asked, looking at Xavier and then her sister.

  “Nothing,” Bethany replied.

  Xavier tried not to sneer.

  “It sounds like something,” Samantha corrected. She tried to take another deep breath then bent over to muffle a cough.

  “It’s not,” Bethany argued. “It’s nothing. We need to hurry.”

  Nothing? Xavier stared at Bethany, willing her to feel his pain and admit her transgressions, but she looked anything but contrite and his anger at her betrayal spiraled. “It’s not nothing. Eva is not nothing. What you did is not nothing.”

  Bethany paled at his disclosure, and a bitter satisfaction rushed through Xavier. Bitter or not, he embraced it.

  “Who’s Eva?” Samantha asked, head cocked.

  “My sister,” Xavier answered. “She is also a FARC hostage.”

  “Please.” Bethany crossed her arms over her chest, begging him without words.

  Xavier took a deep breath. As much as he wanted to hurt her, to make her feel his pain, he couldn’t do it. Not again. He didn’t take his eyes off Bethany. “Bethany was supposed to help me rescue her as well, and let’s just say that isn’t going to happen.”

  Thank you, she mouthed.

  “Eva Monero,” Samantha interrupted. “About my height? Has a tattoo of a broken heart on her left wrist?”

  Xavier whirled to face Samantha. The tattoo was in memory of their brother, Miguel. “Yes,” he replied, the words sticking in his throat. “You have seen her? Is she here?”

  “I have,” Samantha replied, dragging the words out. “She’s not here. She’s at the camp at the end of the gorge. A full day’s walk up the path. Maybe a little more.”

  His anger towards Bethany fell away beneath the hope that surged through him. A day’s hike was close enough for him to get to Eva and that was all he needed. Xavier grabbed Samantha’s shoulders, already formulating a rescue plan. “When did you see her last? Is she okay?”

  “A few days ago. She’s fine.” Samantha took a step back, out of his grasp. “But she’s not a hostage. She’s a member of FARC.”

  Bethany stared at her sister. Had she heard right or were the two years in captivity messing with her head, making her see and say things that weren’t right? “What?”

  “She’s a member of FARC. She dropped off two prisoners just a few days ago.”

  “Liar.” Xavier’s forced the word through gritted teeth. “Just like your sister.”

  “Samantha doesn’t lie,” Bethany shot back, stepping between the two. “Say what you want about me, but Samantha has been through enough without hearing your accusations.”

  Xavier stared at Samantha, and Bethany wondered what was running through his head. Finally, he gave a curt nod. “That doesn’t make her right.”

  Bethany frowned. “It doesn’t make her wrong either. And I—”

  “Are you three going to hang out there all morning?” Sebastian broke in on her headset, cutting her off. “Do you have a death wish?”

  “Of course not,” Xavier replied, without a hint of the anger from seconds ago. Now he was professional. All mercenary. “Status?” he asked Sebastian.

  “Minute.”

  They waited.

  “Hold position,” Sebastian instructed. “We have a player. He’s heading toward what looks like an outhouse.”

  Xavier gave Samantha a once over. “It isn’t far to the bridge. Can you make it?”

  Bethany knew what he was thinking—that she might be too weak to run. Samantha nodded. “What about the guards?”

  Xavier held up his knife.

  Samantha smiled, and for a heartbeat, Bethany saw bloodlust in her sister’s eyes. Samantha liked the thought of her captors being killed. She wanted them dead.

  Then the glimmer of hate faded as quickly as it had appeared, making Bethany wonder if it ever existed.

  “What happens once we’re over?” Samantha asked. “How do you plan to get out of here after the bridge? Jeep?”

  “On foot,” Bethany informed.

  “Sounds great.”

  Now S
amantha was a liar as well.

  “What’s to keep them from following us?” Samantha continued. “It won’t take long for them to find out I’m gone.”

  Xavier responded. “Once we’re over the bridge, we’ll blow it.”

  “Good, that’ll hurt them,” Samantha remarked. Then her sister frowned. “But what about the others?”

  “The other prisoners?” Bethany asked.

  “My escaping is going to make it harder for them. If we blow the bridge, it’ll make it worse.”

  “No choice,” Xavier declared.

  “He’s inside.” Sebastian’s voice broke over the earpiece. “Get out. We’re burning daylight.”

  Taking Samantha’s arm, Xavier guided her to the door.

  “Promise me you’ll come back for them,” Samantha insisted. She looked to Bethany. “Promise me.”

  “Get moving,” Xavier ordered.

  “Promise me.”

  Xavier didn’t say a word.

  Two years in captivity hadn’t changed her sister’s stubborn streak. But her bravery and compassion was unexpected. Bethany admired it, and it shamed her as well. “I promise,” Bethany vowed.

  “Him too.”

  Xavier clenched his jaw tight. “I promise. Can we go now?”

  Bethany felt sorry for anyone that tried to stop him. He looked ready to cause damage. Opening the door, he pointed toward the top of the rise. “You’re going that way. Keep to the trail and stay with Bethany. I’ll be right behind you. Sebastian and Tomas will meet us at the bridge.”

  “I’ll keep up,” Samantha assured.

  “Just go,” Xavier growled.

  Bethany grabbed her sister’s hand again and pulled her into motion. Xavier ran as silent as a predator but his presence behind her, protecting them, was undeniable.

  In seconds, they stood at the base of the hill they’d rolled down. She glanced at Samantha. Her sister was already breathing hard, but she’d get a chance to catch her breath once they were on the other side of the bridge.

  Halfway up, Samantha’s breathing rattled and she slowed.

  Come on, Samantha. You can do this.

  “Heads up,” Sebastian’s voice cut over the radio. “We got company.”

  Bethany pulled on Samantha, forcing her to move faster toward the tree line. Almost there.

  Safety and freedom.