Silver Fire (Guardians) (31 page)

“Can you pan closer?”

“Definitely the place.” Derek was sure of it. Two men with assault rifles were patrolling outside.
 

“So they decided to build the bomb here,” Tim said. “Gutsy.”

“It makes sense,” Derek said as he grabbed control of Tim’s track ball, ignoring the glare that the analyst shot him. He selected the area of the barn and enlarged it. “Bald man in a lab coat.”

“Too grainy for facial recognition,” Tim said.
 

“Keep the satellite on them,” Derek instructed. “See if we can gauge how many hostiles we’re up against and where they are patrolling. I’m getting Viktor to approve a strike team.”

A rescue, Derek thought quietly. For the first time in days, he felt hope.
Hold on Angel, I’m coming for you
.

***

Sweat trickled down her neck as Sophie stood outside the barn flanked by Yuri and his lab assistants. The sun had just begun to set, and the day had been warmer than usual. A controlled blast shook the ground beneath her feet as Sophie watched the dummy bomb explode. If circumstances were different, she would be ecstatic, but now she was just feeling beat down and hopeless. Beth had gotten worse. Her friend had a fever and there were no signs that anyone was taking her to the hospital.
 

There was a commotion earlier, but she had no idea what it was because she was quickly escorted to her room and locked in until she was called out to witness the test. Morgan armed the trigger according to Sophie’s instructions. Judging from the smile and the relief on Justin’s face after the bomb test, he was satisfied with the result.
 

He walked up to her now, a look of pride on his face. “You did well, Sophie.”

“Thank you,” Sophie said. “I want you to bring Beth to the hospital. At least, please do this for me.”

A look of regret passed through Justin’s eyes. “We’ll see what we can do.”
 

The blunt rhythm of a helicopter echoed off in the distance. Sophie saw the tiny speck of a military style chopper approach.
 
Justin turned to one of his henchmen.

“Take Dr. Leroux to her room.”

“What’s going on?”

“We’re leaving.” Justin turned around to talk to some of his men.
 

“What? We can’t leave. Where are you taking us?” Sophie struggled against the man who held her. She was tired of being kept in the dark regarding his plans.
 

Justin spun around, fury scoring his face in harsh lines. “I’m taking you with me. Ms. Turner, I’m afraid, will be left behind.”

“What’s going on?”

“Enough with the questions, Sophie, you will do as I tell you!” Justin shouted at her. Turning to the man who held her, he said, “Don’t tell me you can’t handle one little woman.”

Without another word, Sophie was lifted bodily and hauled into the house.
 

“Where is he taking me?” Sophie demanded. Of course Justin’s man wouldn’t answer her. “I can’t take this anymore, damn it! Someone tell me what’s going on?”

The henchman lowered her to the floor and dragged her down the hallway, opening the door to her room, he shoved her inside and locked the door.

Screw this
, Sophie thought angrily. She scrambled to the mattress and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper. This held a crucial section of the research. The two days she spent at the makeshift lab, she had managed to determine the working habits of Yuri and his lab assistants; even the guard that was watching them got bored sometimes and dozed off. The most critical part of the research would be proper enrichment levels of zefinium and since Yuri and his crew never performed this part, they wouldn’t miss it. Regarding the trigger design notes, she simply made them more confusing. Yuri couldn’t figure it out the first time, he certainly wouldn’t figure it this time. She tore up the sheet of paper with firm resolution and marched to the bathroom to flush it down the toilet.
 

After what felt like hours, the noise of the chopper finally receded. Sophie was hungry, she was tired, and she was hot. It seemed quieter than usual. She heard faint conversation outside, but no longer the loud shouting of people moving equipment around.

Finally the doorknob turned, and Justin walked in holding a tray.
 

“You must be hungry, beautiful.”

Sophie immediately sat up on her makeshift bed, hugging her knees as she warily eyed Justin sitting down beside her. She ignored the food but drank the ice water.
 

“You need to eat.”

“Not unless you tell me where you’re taking me.”

“I’m taking you to South Africa.”

Sophie felt her heart jump to her throat. What?
What?
“You can’t just take me out of the country!”

“I can. And I will. Eat—Your—Food!” Justin bit out, glaring at her.

He was asking her to eat after he had just dropped some life-altering news. He was taking her away from her life. Her heart clenched. Away from Derek. Fury overtook her better judgment as she swept the tray off the mattress. The plate and glass crashed to the floor.

“You eat it!” Sophie screeched at him. “I’ve done what you wanted me to do. I built your damned bomb. Let me go. I don’t care if I have to hitchhike with Beth out of here. You cannot take me away! You can’t!”

Justin looked at the mess on the floor. He was pale, his skin stretched taut over his face. When he trained his gaze back at her, she knew she had pushed him too far. His eyes were dark with unbridled anger.

“You have defied me for the last time.” His voice was low and ominous.

He began to unbutton his shirt. Sophie felt her anger dissipate into gnawing fear. She tried to get away from him, scampering to the other end of the bed, but he grabbed her leg and yanked her toward him and he fell on her.

“No!” She yelled, striking out at him, her nails scratching his face. With a roar,
 
Justin reared back and struck her across the face. Sophie felt the right cheek explode with pain. In the few seconds it took for her to recover, Justin had unzipped her shorts and tore them away from her, taking her underwear with them.
 

Oh god
, Sophie screamed silently in horror.
He is going to rape me
. Pinning her down again, he unzipped his pants and pulled out his erection. She felt it nudge heavily against her thighs which she had kept clenched together.

He kissed her ruthlessly. Sophie kept her mouth closed. Growling in frustration, Justin gripped her chin and said, “Kiss me back, damn you!” Sophie stared up at him in defiance even as her tears blurred her vision. “Damn you,” he repeated and started frantically kissing her all over her face. “Kiss me. Love me,” he muttered over and over. His hand went under her tank top, slipping under the shelf bra to squeeze her breasts. He groaned into her neck and Sophie felt his erection hardening rapidly against her thighs.
 

She had to think fast. She could do this. She had prepared for such a situation ever since he had ordered her to strip. Maia’s voice echoed in her head, remembering the impromptu self-defense training the red-haired Guardian taught her.
In a fight where your strength is at a disadvantage, use distraction, look for a weapon and go for the carotid artery if you can.

Sophie moaned, pretending to be aroused. Justin stilled and looked at her, wonder in his eyes. She parted her lips, and her tormentor immediate crushed his lips on her, kissing her hard.

“I want fucking inside you,” Justin growled as he started kissing her neck at the same time yanking her legs apart and settling between her thighs. She felt bile rise to her throat.
Concentrate Sophie!
She stroked his back with her right hand while her left hand searched and found the small screwdriver she had stolen from the lab under her pillow. She felt the tip of his cock nudge at her entrance. “Finally,” he gasped as he shifted his hips back preparing to thrust.
 

Fueled by adrenaline, Sophie bucked her hips and shifted her thighs higher around Justin’s waist and squeezed, scissoring tightly. As his chest lifted away from her, freeing her shoulders, she swung her left arm, her hand holding the screwdriver with a death grip as she plunged it into the side of Justin’s neck.

Blood gushed out, spraying her all over her face and chest.
 

“You bitch!” Justin choked out as he gripped his neck, trying to stem the flow of blood. Sophie untangled her legs and scrambled off the bed.
 
Justin tried to grab her, but she managed to evade him.
 

Sophie started retching over the floor, disgust and horror at what she had done overwhelming her. She was pulling her shorts on, watching Justin writhing on the bed when the door crashed open. Morgan stood forbiddingly at the entrance. He took in the scene. His face was a blank mask.

Glancing at Sophie, he said, “Take your friend. Use the kitchen door and go through the fields. It will lead you straight to the road.” He unhooked a key from his key ring, handing it to her.

“No, no, Morgan, what are you doing?” All Justin could manage was a rasping whisper.

“I did not sign up for this, Bishop,” Morgan told him. “My job is to make sure the bomb is delivered. Not abuse women.” Shifting his gaze back at Sophie, he said, “Go! Before I change my mind.”

“Thank you,” Sophie whispered, taking the proffered key, and racing down the hallway to Beth’s room—she had not even bothered putting on shoes. Unlocking the door, her heart broke when she saw her friend curled up in a ball and shaking from her fever.

“Come on, Beth,” Sophie said quietly.
 

“What? What are you doing here, girl?” Beth muttered, in a state of delirium. Sophie hauled her friend up, hooking Beth’s arm over her shoulder.
 

“We’re getting out of here.”

“I don’t know, Sophie. I feel too hot to drink tequila.”

“I know where we can go to cool you off,” Sophie replied, playing along.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally made it to the kitchen, Beth was stumbling over herself, almost taking Sophie down with her.
 

“Stand up,” Sophie hissed, trying to keep Beth upright as she fumbled to get the backdoor open. They lurched through, like a pair of half-drunk women. There was no one guarding the back. And from the darkness that enveloped the farm, it appeared almost everyone was gone.
 

Halfway to the fields, she heard the chopper again. She figured they were their last pickup and wherever they were heading she was glad she was not going with them. To avoid going to South Africa, she might have killed a man. Shaking those morbid thoughts away, she concentrated on Beth. Her friend was starting to drag her to the ground.

Suddenly she heard shouting and gunshots amidst the deafening roar of the chopper’s rotor. Instinctively, Sophie dragged Beth faster into the field and winced as rocks pierced her bare feet. “Come on, Beth. Keep up, damn you,” Sophie muttered.

“Baby girl, run...leave me be,” Beth whispered in her ear in what appeared to be a moment of lucidity.

“Never. Fight. You’ve always been a fighter.”

“Leave me be,” Beth said once again as she got heavier and heavier.

“No. No. Don’t you dare give up on me, Beth Turner,” Sophie said through the beginnings of a racking sob. Sophie was getting weary, her shoulders and back were killing her. And when her foot caught on a protruding rock, she felt them both falling and falling. She hit the deck with Beth on top of her. Exhausted, Sophie closed her eyes as fatigue overtook her.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“God fucking damn it!” Derek shouted as he watched the chopper disappear into the horizon. The Guardians couldn’t indiscriminately shoot at the helicopter because Sophie and Beth might have been onboard. It took forever to get the right people together for the mission. It took all of Derek’s willpower not to go suicidal and attempt the rescue alone, although he knew Jack would go with him in a heartbeat.
 

And then there was another delay because satellite images captured a small thermal blast in the area. AGS had to make sure they weren’t sending their people into a contaminated zone so they had to run some radiation readings before going in.

Derek was ready to jump out of his skin when their convoy finally made the trip to Culpeper. He normally had enough time to decompress and find his calm center before every mission, but the stakes involved were too personal this time. They caught sight of the UH-60 Blackhawk when they were about five minutes out on route 522, and he had a sinking feeling they were too late.
 

And now it looked like Bishop had managed to escape with Sophie.
 

“Search the house!” Maia ordered the Guardians who were with them. “And be careful—it might be booby-trapped.”

His friend walked up to him, regret on her face. “I’m sorry, Derek,” Maia said quietly.

She was gone. He failed her. And she could be gone forever. The files Brett pulled out of Opperman’s system indicated they had a chartered flight out of the country, but there were no details of location and route. “Fuck!” Derek growled. “Fuck!” he repeated. His gaze drifted to the darkened barn, the overwhelming hope he had felt snuffed out so cruelly in a span of a few minutes.

Suddenly, Manning strode out of the ranch house, his stony face alluding to a grim discovery, the urgency of his strides indicating Derek would be very interested in what he had to say.

“Pierce, Lockwood, you need to see this,” Manning said. The agent’s gaze flicked to Derek. His heart slammed into his chest as he took off in a dead run, charging into the house like a madman. His one thought and prayer in mind:
don’t let her be dead
.

Derek paused at the beginning of a seemingly endless hallway. Tunnel vision. All he could see was another Guardian, Edmunds, standing in front of an open door, hands on hips and keenly observing the scene before him. It felt like an eternity before Derek made it to the room as he shouldered past Edmunds in his attempt to get through the door, but he stopped short in disbelief.