Advance to the Rear (Strike Force Book 3) Read online

  “I understand.” In case we change our minds at the last minute, but that isn’t going to happen. We are committed.

  He was fine with this. Now looking forward to it, in fact. After all the trouble they’d had getting to this point, he welcomed the opportunity at last to martyr himself for Allah and bring honor to his family. He would be in heaven where he would receive his glorious reward.

  Rafiq walked over to the map of the rodeo grounds taped to the wall. Despite the fact that Jamal told him how much time they’d trained for it at the camp, he insisted on spending a portion of each day going over it again, drilling them on the locations of everything.

  “You cannot be too well prepared,” he said over and over. “You will have one chance to get this right. If you forget where you are, or go to the wrong place to retrieve the equipment, all will be lost. We have set this up to make a bold statement, Jamal. We cannot fail at this.”

  He meant I cannot fail. Or Kasim.

  “There will be no failure,” he assured Rafiq. “We are well-trained and one hundred percent committed.”

  “Fine. Then you will appreciate the continued attention to detail. Now.”

  Rafiq circled two places in red.

  “These are the most optimum spots to set them off. The Freeman Coliseum will be filled by that time with people trying to escape the other explosions. Same thing for this little cluster of buildings here. Tomorrow Salman will accompany you to the rodeo. You will all enter separately but then meet together past the gates. Salman will personally show you where you’ll be retrieving the supplies and vest and where you will be planting them. The map is a guide, but seeing it in person is better.”

  “Yes,” Jamal said. “I agree.”

  “I will also be at the rodeo that day, waiting for everything to be in readiness. I will give you a cell phone, Jamal, with one number programmed into it. Once all the pipe bombs have been placed, call that number. It will alert me. Salman and I will then call each of the numbers on the phones affixed to the bombs to generate a series of explosions. Then, while everything is mass confusion, go quickly to these two locations. Open your vests, offer your prayer to Allah and hit the detonator switch.”

  “Will they have security precautions against bombs?” Kasim asked. “I mean, even after they are planted?”

  Good question, Jamal said to himself. He should have thought of that himself. And why hadn’t they been alerted to the possibility?

  “No more than the usual security methods are being employed,” Rafiq assured them. “We have checked with the people bringing your equipment onto the rodeo grounds and they have paid careful attention to every briefing. If they hear something, they will let me know. But since we won’t be bringing anything through the regular gates and the materials will all be hidden and disguised, there will be no way for them to detect anything.” He gave Jamal a hard look. “Especially since you assure me that no one knows of these plans.”

  “Just to repeat.” Salman walked in from the kitchen. “You said you never mentioned your assignment in front of the woman at the cottage?”

  “That’s correct.” Jamal hoped to hell he was right. He was pretty damn sure they had avoided the subject, although his stomach knotted at the possibility something had slipped.

  “Then they have no reason to be on alert any more than normal. We will keep in touch with our contacts, but so far there has been no word of anything. Also, there is nothing on the news about the man you shot. Perhaps that is in an area of no news importance.”

  “The man who killed your friend must also be of no significance to us or there would be chatter everywhere. We are hooked into all the pipelines and things are silent. You seem to be off the radar. Just keep putting those vests together.”

  I am going to die, Jamal thought. Am I prepared to do this? The tiny thread of fear disappeared as once again rage at the infidels coursed through him. Yes, he was more than ready. It would be the ultimate revenge and assure him his place in heaven.

  “We understand,” he told Rafiq.

  “Good. Good. Then the two of you had better get to work preparing them.” He sighed. “It is unfortunate that your two friends are not able to be there with you. The impact would have been doubled.”

  Yes. Too bad that Farid had been killed by an infidel’s bullet and that Malik was now dying from a similar cause. There was no glory in that. But he and Kasim would avenge them and send a strong message not to fuck with his people.

  “Breakfast first,” Salman told them, coming in from the kitchen. “While we eat, we will go over the final arrangements for delivering you to the rodeo and the security process at the gate. You will have to memorize where the knapsacks with the bombs are being held.” His smile was more arrogance than friendliness. “It is obvious we cannot write it down for you.”

  “We can remember,” Jamal snapped. He was really tired of the man’s attitude.

  “Fine. Let us get to breakfast then.”

  Jamal ate quickly, food being the last thing he was interested in. Excitement curled inside him as the hour of their mission approached. He would finally be able to honor his family and the friends he had lost. He ate sparingly then hurried to the dining room to begin preparing the vests. Flexing his fingers, he went to work.

  * * * *

  Nikki was silent as they headed toward her apartment complex. She had so much going on in her mind. She had deliberately said nothing while they toured the rodeo grounds and discussed the details of their plan. Instead she’d absorbed everything and let it run around in her head.

  She was well aware of what Delta Force did and the dangers the men faced. But somehow, when it was remote, the dangers didn’t seem quite so real. The one thing she hadn’t considered when she’d moved forward in this relationship with Marc was how life-threatening his career was. But listening today as they all discussed optimum locations for shooting, making sure no one walked around with a bull’s-eye on his back, all the little things that went into this, it really hit her hard that she could lose him at any time.

  And, of course, there was the necessity of protecting her. She had agreed, against Marc’s objections, to serve as their spotter, riding around in a golf cart pretending to take event pictures. And since he wouldn’t allow anyone else to serve as her protection, he was putting himself in harm’s way for her. Her rational mind knew he did things like this on a regular basis, but her emotional one didn’t want anything to happen to him.

  It had taken her so long to get past losing Jon. Of course, part of that was her despair at not having been able to nurse him back to health. Never mind that he’d had a debilitating disease that hadn’t been discovered until it was too late. She had carried the burden on her shoulders for a long time. Not until Marc had come along and the two of them, wounded souls, had begun to heal each other had she thought she was ready to embrace life again.

  He was fast becoming everything to her—lover, friend, companion, confidant—and the sex was beyond anything she could ever have imagined. But it wasn’t until that morning that she’d realized the constancy of the danger he lived in. Marc shooting up the car, Slade and Beau arriving in the helo, Beau with his sniper rifle, had brought home to her with clarity that on a mission their lives were on the line every single minute.

  Faster than she could have imagined, she was falling in love with this man. What if something happened to him while he was off protecting the world? Could she live through it again? Was she becoming a coward now? But what was the alternative? Was she willing to give up what they had now because it might end too soon, and never have it at all?

  “All right, darlin’.” His warm voice broke into her thoughts. “Out with it.”

  She shifted in the seat next to him. “Out with what?”

  “Whatever’s been on your mind since we started touring the rodeo grounds.”

  “It’s…I’m fine.” She had to get her act together. The last thing she wanted to do was serve as a distraction to him because of
her wimpy attitude.

  “No. You’re not.” He reached over and took her hand. “Answer me this. Do we trust each other? Can we tell each other things?”

  “Yes,” she answered after a long moment. It stunned her to realize how open they could be with each other, but even so, she couldn’t tell him this. He had to focus on what he was doing, not on her.

  “Then tell me what’s on your mind, or I’m stopping the car on the side of the road and telling Slade we’ll be late.”

  She plastered what she hoped was a real smile on her face and looked over at him. Think fast, she told herself.

  “I guess it’s just this is the first time something like this has really hit home with me. I mean, the fact that there are people like this who deliberately come to this country to kill as many people as possible.” She swallowed a sigh. “I know 9/11 was the ultimate and we’ll never forget it or recover from it. But this is up close and personal for me. I have to be honest. Those men yesterday scared me to death. They aren’t rational.”

  “No kidding. God. I hate the fact that you had to go through that. If I hadn’t been in the shower, or been more suspicious of them, or—”

  She leaned over and put her hand over his mouth.

  “Hush. That was not your fault. I should have been more aware.” She managed a smile. “And in the end, you saved me, right?”

  Just as she’d known he would. It was all that had kept her going during her time in that cottage and when she’d been tied up in the car.

  “Nikki, we’re going to get these guys.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and placed a light kiss on her fingers. “This is what we do in Delta. Get bad guys like these. Then everyone will be safe.”

  Yes, but will you?

  She found a smile from someplace. “I know you will. I believe in you. And don’t worry about me. I’m still processing it all.”

  Suck it up, girl.

  The very last thing she wanted right now was to give him a hint of her misgivings. She hated that she was such a coward, but her feelings for Marc had intensified so fast and were so deep that if she lost him she wasn’t sure how she’d recover.

  When she’d lost Jon, she’d been sure she’d never dare to risk her heart again. Then she’d met Marc, a lost soul like her, and, unbelievable as it was, the darkness had faded. They were so perfect together in every way that she kept waiting for something to go wrong. On the one hand, she wanted this more than anything. On another, she wondered if she had the courage to really take the next step. She hadn’t really thought much about the constant danger Marc was in until today. But riding in the cart with Marc and Slade, listening to them all discuss containment of explosives, minimizing targets, examining the necessity of kill shots, had brought the reality of it home to her. And Marc would be in twice as much danger because he would be out in the open with her, protecting her while she tried to lay eyes on the terrorists.

  “You’re quiet again.” He deep voice pierced her thought cloud. “Should I be worried?”

  Not when you need all your concentration for the job ahead. This is my problem. I’ll deal with it. But not until after we get past this crisis.

  “Not at all.” She squeezed his hand again. “I read once that men going into battle abstained from sex because it drained their energy and concentration.”

  Marc chuckled. “That’s an old wives’ tale, and we don’t have any old wives around here. In fact, I think I read somewhere that good, hot sex stimulates your nerve endings and makes you more battle-ready.”

  “I think you just made that up,” she teased.

  His chuckle was low and sexy, and just the sound she needed right now.

  “But it sounds like a good idea.” He glanced over at her. “Right?”

  Yes. If nothing else, they could lose themselves in each other’s bodies.

  “Yes,” she agreed. “It does. But are you sure?”

  “Sure as I am of my own name.” His voice had deepened to that timbre it always did when they made love. “I say we lock down all the details in this meeting right now then spend the rest of the day forgetting about anything in the world except for the two of us.”

  “Sounds good to me.” And it did. She wanted every minute of intimacy with him they could squeeze in, just in case…

  No. She wouldn’t think about that. Not yet.

  Slade, Beau and Trey were leaning against Slade’s pickup in the parking lot of her apartment complex. Slade was balancing a large box that she knew had to be from Dough Ray Me. That had been her favorite place from the day someone had recommended it to her. She was always grateful that she didn’t have to watch her weight so carefully, because her willpower where their goodies were concerned was nonexistent.

  “Consider this our rent for using your apartment.” Slade grinned as he showed her the label on the box.

  “Sold. And thank you.”

  Nikki made coffee as soon as they walked into the apartment, and plated the pastries, which she carried to the dining room table where they’d all gathered. She started to walk toward her bedroom, but Slade called to her.

  “You should sit in on this, too, Nikki. You’ll be an integral part of this, and it’s vital that each person on the core team knows exactly what’s going on.”

  “Thank you.” She slid into the empty chair next to Marc. “I think.”

  “Yeah, you may not be so ready with the thanks when this is all said and done. But let me say first, we are all pissed off at what happened to you yesterday, and more grateful than we can say that you are willing to be a part of this. Marc has seen these guys, but not as up close and personal as you have. You may be the only person who can pick them out for us.”

  “If it will get them off the streets and save people’s lives,” she told him, “then it’s worth it.”

  He nodded. “Okay, then. Let’s get down to business.”

  Despite herself, Nikki was fascinated listening to them as for the next hour they plotted the most intricate details of how and what and when. She understood why they wanted to do this without the rest of the people around. There were parts of a Delta Force op that no one else was trained for, no matter how good they were, and Slade and his men wanted to prepare for even the tiniest details.

  By the time they’d gone through two pots of coffee and all the pastries had been eaten, Nikki’s head was spinning, but it was clear to her that every eventuality had been discussed. The problem would be preventing the dispersal of bombs before any one of them could be detonated.

  “Again,” Slade said, “top of the list is anyone wearing a backpack. That’s the accepted method of transport for improvised explosive devices. IEDs. Also, the weather is predicted in the high eighties, so look for anybody who is wearing a bulky jacket or heavy shirt that can conceal a suicide vest.”

  “Trey and I are going to scope out everything ourselves tomorrow morning,” Beau interjected. “We’d really like to have a helicopter do a flyover for us so we can get a bird’s-eye view of everything and also take photos. It will help us decide where to plant ourselves.”

  “Good idea,” Slade agreed. “I’ll have Teo get you in the ranch helo at whatever time you say. Where do you want the pickup?”

  “Someplace where we won’t have a lot of people watching and asking questions.”

  “Okay. Let me ask Teo. He usually knows where to find those places. I’ll call or text you as soon as I get back to the ranch.” He sat back in his chair. “I’ll be bringing plenty of ammo in the truck, and hoping to fucking hell we won’t have to use it. Anything else?”

  He looked around the table and everyone shook their head.

  “Then I guess we’re all set. Nikki, thank you for the use of your apartment. And most of all, thank you for putting yourself out there to help us catch these guys.”

  “It’s okay. I have a vested interest here.”

  Once the others were gone, Marc turned to her and cupped her face with his big, warm hands.

  “You are the bra
vest woman I know.” He brushed his mouth over hers.

  “Oh, I’m scared.” She gave a little laugh. “But mad, too, at what they did. And what they’re planning. But I can only get through it because you’ll be right there with me.”

  “That’s a given, darlin’.” Another butterfly kiss. “But didn’t you forget something?”

  She frowned. “Like what?”

  “Like you only have four days of vacation time left before you have to go back to work.”

  “Oh, that.”

  “Yes,” he chuckled. “That.”

  “I’m calling my supervisor in a minute to tell her I had an emergency come up and I need the next three weeks off. I’ve hardly ever taken vacation time since…” She stopped. “Well, since forever. And they won’t fire me. Trust me. No one else is crazy enough to work all the shifts for everyone else the way I do.”

  “And that’s something else we need to talk about, but not now.”

  “Oh?” She quirked an eyebrow. “What are we talking about now?”

  “Some physical therapy I think we both need.” He licked her mouth. “Then I want to go over every detail of what’s going to happen just relating to the two of us for the next however many days it takes to get these assholes.”

  She smiled. “I can for sure get on board with that.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “No tub?” Nikki asked as Marc led her to the shower and turned on the spray.

  “Uh-uh. This time I don’t want anything between us but water.”

  He was out of his clothes before she could blink, and in seconds had added hers to the pile. He wanted them both naked. Now.

  “In a hurry, are we?” she teased.

  “To shut out the big, bad world and think about two things—us and pleasure?” he growled. “You better believe it.”

  He adjusted the spray so it was soft and fine, like a rain shower.