Shiva (7 page)

Davidson pulled her into his arms
,
having absolutely no idea of how to comfort her.
“
I don
’
t know, Rebecca
…
I don
’
t know.
”

* * *

Brandt jerked his eyes open
,
then wished he hadn
’
t. The world swam in a sea of reds and oranges. Whatever the fuck they had given him as an antidote, he swore he could see the blood vessels in the back of his eyes. That couldn
’
t be good.

Despite the terror that spiked in his veins, Brandt couldn
’
t move. Not his arms or his legs. Nothing. Even his eyelids were beginning to drift down. It took every effort to keep them open.

A man with a shaved head lowered himself to the floor of the helicopter. His
face pierced with steel and his skin
riddled with tattoos. One especially prominent. The
S
tar of David with a rod through the center. The sign of the Disciples of Moshe.

Fuckers.

“
Where is
s
he
?
”
he asked
almost reverently
.

What
she
?

Last Brandt had seen
,
Rebecca and Bunny were still in the church. Did these ass-bites screw up? Leaving the woman they wanted and taking him instead? But the Disciples were anything but stupid. The capture had been expertly done.

Then what
she
?

“
Do not
worry,
”
the man said.
“
Y
ou will tell us
.
”

Brandt wanted to punch or kick at the guy
—
hell
,
he
’
d settle for biting him
—
but his muscles wouldn
’
t cooperate. It was like his whole body had been injected with Botox. Not a great feeling. Worse
,
it was keeping him from doing the one task he really needed to get done.

He tried to get his tongue to work, but there was no way he could even form a curse let alone pop the false crown off his tooth. Nope. He was going to have to get the Disciples to do it for him.

Brandt was going to have to count on their cruelty.

Summoning up every ounce of energy he had left, Brandt spit in the man
’
s face.

For a moment
,
rage
contorted the inked markings
, but then his captor
’
s face smoothed back into the mask
.

“
You cannot bait me. I walk the righteous path.
”

Really? Brandt got the one Disciple slow to anger?

The man rose and sat back down, his eyes closing in what looked like prayer. Seriously
,
a guy couldn
’
t get kicked in the face around a Disciple?

Then one of the mercenaries hauled back a leg and
kicked Brandt square in the jaw.

Finally
.

His molars slammed together so hard that the crown cracked in two. Brandt could feel his gum bleed, but that was of little consequence. His tracker was now primed. The only problem? He needed to activate the damned thing.

The guys in R&D really needed to take field conditions into consideration. Brandt wasn
’
t complaining
—
fine
,
maybe he was
—
but they needed to seriously factor in curare poisoning into the equation.

Gathering the blood into his mouth, Brandt spit again
,
this time at the mercenaries
’
feet
.

The merc
reared back, kicking Brandt right in Brandt
’
s solar plexus. His mind careened from the pain and lack of oxygen
,
but damn if his jaw didn
’
t clamp down.

Vision blackening, Brandt could only hope that it was enough.

* * *

As Davidson released her, Rebecca imagined what Brandt would be doing right now if it were she
who
had been the one kidnapped. Well, besides saying
,
“
Christ, stop crying,
”
because that was not going to happen any time soon. Her groom had just been kidnapped. She deserved a few tears.

His next admonishment would be to stop feeling sorry for herself
—
again, not going to happen
—
so instead
,
she did the next best thing and took stock of her assets.

Right now, standing in front of a demolished altar
,
she couldn
’
t think of any. Her groom was in the hands of the Disciples, the extreme religious organization who had nearly succeeded in killing them all earlier in the year.

Except
,
unlike most disappointed brides
,
she did have a crack Special Forces team on her side. She sniffled, pulling back in the tears. They also had a getaway driver equal to none other. These brave men hunted where others feared to tread. They had the skills. They just needed something to give them the speed.

And if the kidnappers were in fact the Disciples, they were going to have to move quickly. Because Brandt
had
to be alive. The religious fanatics had staged this kidnapping down to the smallest detail. They wanted Brandt for something. Even as the tears streamed down her cheeks, she couldn
’
t think of why.

It had been she and Bunny who had decoded the tablets that held the Ten Commandments and so much more. Why hadn
’
t the bastards taken either of them? Sure
,
the Disciples would want Brandt dead for the major blow he
’
d delivered them, but alive? His abduction made absolutely no sense.

Those thoughts could wait as the skies darkened above her.

A helicopter. Not the one with Brandt, but a helicopter nonetheless.

Davidson raised his gun, but Rebecca shoved the barrel down.

“
It
’
s Lopez.
”

The corporal must have tracked down the helicopter that had dropped the men off at the church in the first place. Or he stole one. Or a little elf delivered it to him. With Lopez
,
you were just never certain.

Ropes being flung out the sides confirmed her suspicion
,
though.

Lopez had gotten them the speed. Now they just needed to take advantage of it.

As sirens sped toward them, Rebecca gathered her skirt. Davidson put a hand up.

“
I
’
m going,
”
Rebecca stated, daring him with her look to argue. Nothing could stop her from getting on that helicopter.

* * *

“
Duh,
”
Davidson answered.
“
I
’
m helping you attach to the line.
”

“
Oh,
”
Rebecca demurred and accepted his help.

After he got the bride situated
,
he turned to Bunny
,
but she backed away.

“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
she said, her red curls loosening from the pins that tried to keep them contained.
“
I can
’
t. I just can
’
t.
”

The other men secured their lines and zipped up toward the chopper. Davidson took Bunny
’
s hand.

“
It
’
s all good,
”
Davidson said
,
cupping her face in his scarred palm.
“
I
’
m glad you are staying.
”

Bunny cocked her head.
“
Don
’
t lie.
”

She was right. His protective instincts should be taking over, wanting to keep her safe, but he couldn
’
t help himself. He was going to miss her.

“
No one is going to blame you for staying behind.
”

Snuffling back a tear, Bunny put her hand over his.
“
Like I said, don
’
t
lie
.
”

Again
,
Bunny was correct. There was going to be some judgment about her bailing, but if Bunny
’
s heart wasn
’
t in it, there was no getting around that fact.

As police officers burst into the back of the church, Davidson kissed her gently on the lips. It was amazing how well the body could heal if given the right incentive. A few months ago
,
Davidson couldn
’
t feel the entire right side of his face.

Now? He enjoyed every moment of their PDA.

He didn
’
t want to break off the kiss, but they did have an audience.
“
They are going to want some answers.
”

Bunny gave him a peck on the cheek.
“
Which I
can
’
t
give them. Don
’
t worry,
”
she said
,
shooing him away.
“
Go.
”

Davidson grabbed ahold of the rope, wrapping it around his good wrist as the zip line jerked him upward. He watched his peach
-
colored girl as long as he could. She rushed forward
,
informing the cops that the men fleeing were not terrorists. Just as Lopez angled the helicopter away, Bunny looked up.

A sad smile on her face.

He would have smiled back if he hadn
’
t nearly been impaled on the huge cross that topped the church. The other men helped haul him up into the chopper as Lopez really lay on the throttle.

“
Took you long enough,
”
Lopez grumbled.

Davidson ignored him and prepped his rifle.
“
Any luck?
”

Lopez nodded.
“
Got a ping hauling ass north by northwest.
”

“
Wait,
”
Rebecca said over the roar of the rotors
,
“
y
ou mean we
’
ve got a location on Brandt?
”

“
Had
,
”
Lopez corrected.
“
The ping was a few minutes ago.
”

Rebecca looked from Lopez to Davidson.
“
What does that mean?
”

Davidson encouraged Rebecca to sit down and strap in.
“
After our last mission
,
we all got fitted with intra-dental tracking devices.
”

“
That
’
s good,
”
Rebecca said, pushing her veil to the side.
“
That
’
s great, right? We can find him.
”

He glanced to Lopez
,
though. It would be great if the signal
were
continuous
.

“
Only
,
we haven
’
t gotten anything since that original ping,
”
Lopez stated.

Rebecca tugged on Davidson
’
s tuxedo cuffs.
“
Tell me what the hell is going on.
”