A reception committee?
Her heart gave a hard knock. “Is it Daesh?”
“Let’s not find out.”
“What about Hamzad and the men?”
“I’m not here to protect Hamzad.”
“Are we going back to the village?” Jenna wanted to know his plan.
“No—and no more questions.”
Jenna looked back over her shoulder, searching for someplace Derek might be able to hide the vehicle. If they kept going backward, they would end up in the village. What was to stop whoever was blocking the road from finding them there?
Then she saw it—tire tracks through the snow.
There was a road there, heading off to the east.
“Cobra, this is Tower. Good copy, out.” Derek shot past the junction, slammed on the brakes, then threw the Land Cruiser into gear again. He turned left, leading them off to the east.
“What if they follow us?” The words were out before she remembered that he didn’t want her asking questions.
He met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “They already are.”
10
Derek should never have agreed to bring Jenna out here. He’d known it was too damned dangerous. IS and Taliban fighters were roaming the area. Militias, too. It had gone against every instinct he had, and he’d accepted her decision anyway.
You’ve gone soft.
He drove as safely and as quickly as he could, guided by the operatives watching the drone feed. If he slid off the road into a ditch, they would be fucked and beyond help. It would take a helicopter an hour to get airborne and most of an hour to reach them.
“Jenna, you’ve got your sat phone, right?”
“Yes.”
“Keep that on your body somewhere—inside your bra or something.”
“I-I’m not wearing a bra.”
Right. He knew that.
Shit.
“If it looks like we’re going to be taken, hide it in your underwear or socks. Don’t leave it in your pocket. As long as it’s on you, Cobra can find you.”
“Won’t you be with me?”
McManus spoke in Derek’s ear again, his Scottish accent thick. “Tower, this is Cobra. There’s a hill to your left that’s high enough to conceal the vehicle. If you can, pull off the roadnow. How copy, over?”
“Cobra, this is Tower. Good copy, over.” He veered to the left, hoping the snow wasn’t deep.
And there they sat for two long minutes.
He looked over his shoulder, saw the fear on Jenna’s face, and reached back to take her hand. He couldn’t promise her that everything would turn out okay. “If we’re taken, they’ll separate us. I’m doing everything I can to make sure they don’t catch up with us, but if they do, I want you to be prepared to be rescued.”
McManus spoke again. “Tower, this is Cobra. Enemy QRF has passed the intersection and is continuin’ south toward the village, over.”