CHAPTER 19
ZACH HAD JUST zipped his BDUs when he saw it out of the corner of his eye—the glint of starlight on gunmetal. “Natalie, get down!”
Wearing only her T-shirt and panties, she dropped to the sand.
Still shirtless, he grabbed his rifle and got into position, scanning the hillside below through the weapon’s night scope. And there they were—a unit of Shadow Wolves. Judging from his height, the man leading them was Chiago.
Zach’s first emotion wasn’t relief—it was soul-deep disappointment.
It was over.
The thought hit him like a body blow, leaving a dull emptiness behind. He wasn’t ready to let her go—not yet.
She was never yours to hold on to, McBride.
He got back to his feet, brushed the sand off his chest. “Better get your clothes on, angel. We’re about to have company.”
“Company?” She grabbed her BDUs and scrambled into them. “Drug runners?”
“There’s a unit of Shadow Wolves making their way up the hill, rifles at the ready. It looks like we’ve been found.”
“Really?” For a moment, she gaped at him, smiling. Then her smile faded, a shadow passing over her face. “You should run. Just leave me here and go. I know you can do it. You can get away. I won’t say anything. I promise.”
He drew away, removed his shoulder harness, and set it, with his two Glocks, aside. “Relax. I have no reason to run.”
“But—”
“Natalie, listen to me. They are going to treat this like any other raid, so be ready. No one’s going to hurt you, but they will come in strong. For all they know, I could be a trafficker orbajador, and you could be my accomplice. They’ll want to secure the scene.”
“Secure the scene?” She looked confused.
He knelt down and removed the Ka-Bar rig from his ankle. “We want to make this easy on everyone, so put down the AK. I’m just going to disarm and sit here on my knees with my hands behind my head. You might want to do the same, though I doubt they’ll be as aggressive with you as they’ll be with me.”
“Zach, please go! I couldn’t stand it if you—”
“Freeze! Federal agents!”
But Natalie did the opposite of freeze. She ran over and knelt down in front of Chiago, words streaming out of her. “I’m Natalie Benoit. I was kidnapped by the Zetas, and this man helped me escape! He’s not one of them!”
If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Zach might have laughed out loud. “Natalie, they’re not going to hurt me.”
“Put your hands on top of your head!” Agents swarmed into the little alcove, moving toward them, weapons drawn.
“He didn’t do anything! He helped me escape!”
Zach leaned forward. “Natalie! Put your hands on your head!”
She finally did as he asked, but that didn’t shut her up. She kept pleading with the officers not to arrest him.
And Zach realized that at least in one respect he’d been looking forward to this, because now he could finally tell her the truth about his identity.
In the next moment, he was being patted down.
But no one touched Natalie.
Then Chiago was there, kneeling down in front of her. “What’s your name?”
“I-I’m Natalie Benoit from Denver, Colorado. I’m a reporter with theDenver Independent. I was kidnapped off a bus in Juárez, Mexico, and held captive by the Zetas until this man helped me escape.”