“Have some faith,” he said calmly, as gunfire raged yet again.
Sierra couldn’t understand how in the world Grover could be so composed. They were about to be overrun by Shahzada and his followers. If he thought what they’d done to him before was bad, he was wrong. Shahzada wouldn’t take their escape attempt lightly. And he’d take it out on Grover and his friends. And her.
“Breathe, Bean,” Grover ordered. “This’ll be over in a minute.”
She opened her mouth to tell him that was nuts—then she realized, amazingly, that the number of shots coming from the Taliban fighters was lessening.
She peeked around Grover—and blinked in surprise. There were almost a dozen bodies lying in the dirt. Even as she watched, another man fell to his knees, then to his face.
“They’re not well-trained. They’re shooting blindly and without precision. We’re making every shot count,” Grover told her.
He wasn’t shooting, but his team was. Even handicapped as they were, trying to stay behind the dubious cover of the mountainside, it seemed as if every shot fired by Trigger, or Doc, or any of the others, hit its mark.
“Don’t kill Shahzada,” Grover said. “He’s mine.”
For a second, Sierra thought he was talking to her.
“Moving in ten,” Trigger said.
Sierra felt Grover tense against her.
“Moving? Moving where?” she asked.
“To take care of Shahzada once and for all,” Grover said simply.
Her adrenaline was already out of control, but hearing that made her entire body begin to shake.
“Easy, Bean. It’s okay.”
She wasn’t shaking out of fear, but couldn’t unclench her teeth long enough to tell Grover. She was mad. Furious. So fucking pissed off that she couldn’t control her muscles.
“I’m going with them. I’ll be back in a minute. Stay here with Doc,” Grover told her.
“No.” It was her turn to be succinct with her response. “I need to know he’s dead.”
Sierra was ready to fight Grover if he refused, but he met her gaze and whatever he saw there made him acquiesce. “Okay, but you stay behind Doc at all times. Understand?”
She nodded, more grateful than she could express that he wasn’t going to force her to stay behind. She needed this. Needed to know the man who’d kidnapped her was truly gone. Needed to see he could never come after her again. Or anyone else.
She wasn’t an idiot. Knew there would be others like him. More people who had hate in their hearts, who would take it out on others. But knowing Shahzada was dead would go a long way toward making her able to put this entire nightmare behind her when she went home.
And for just a second, the thought of going back to the US was suddenly overwhelming.
Could she go back to her regular life? What was her regular life? She’d accepted the job with the contractor because she’d wanted a change. Well, she’d certainly gotten that. She was twenty-eight years old. She didn’t want to move back in with her parents, but had no idea where to go, what to do now.
“We’re moving,” Trigger said in a low tone.
Sierra had no more time to think about her future. She was behind Doc, holding on to the pack on his back and heading toward where they’d last seen Shahzada.
As they passed dead and dying terrorists, Doc picked up weapons and threw them over the side of the mountain road. Someone would definitely retrieve them at some point, but at least no one would shoot them in the back after they passed.
“There he is,” Sierra heard Grover say.
She peeked around Doc and saw Shahzada attempting to crab-crawl away from the advancing Delta Force team. Trigger walked up to the man and put his boot on the bullet wound in his leg. Shahzada howled in pain.
Lefty reached down and ripped the AK-47 out of his grasp.
Brain, Oz, and Lucky surrounded them, making sure none of the men lying in the dirt regained consciousness and tried to interfere.
“We don’t have much time. Finish this, Grover. Fast,” Trigger ordered.
Doc kept Sierra from getting any closer than twenty or so feet from what was about to happen, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
Grover pulled a knife out of a small holster she hadn’t noticed on his thigh. She supposed his team must’ve given it to him when they’d freed him from his cell. Without a word, he leaned down and slit Shahzada’s shirt open. He said something that Sierra couldn’t hear, but it made the man in the dirt thrash violently. He threw an arm out, trying to punch Grover.
Grover just laughed humorlessly and batted Shahzada’s hand away.
Then he slashed his chest with a movement so quick, if Sierra hadn’t been watching so intently, she would’ve missed it.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be watching this,” Doc muttered, moving as if he was going to turn her away from the scene.
“Touch me and die,” Sierra hissed.
Doc froze, and she was grateful he heeded her warning. She knew she couldn’t overpower the other man, and she’d never attempt to hurt him, but she needed to see this. Needed to see Shahzada die. If that made her bloodthirsty, so be it.
She watched as Grover slashed the man’s chest a few more times. He was fucking with him. Giving him a little back for what he’d dished out for so long. Grover spoke again, more low words that Sierra couldn’t hear.
Time seemed to stand still. Sierra couldn’t take her eyes off Grover. She should be disgusted. Horrified. Scared to death.
But she wasn’t. It was morbidly cathartic to see the man who’d caused her so much pain, terror, and heartache feeling some of the same emotions she had.
Killing him wouldn’t make what he’d done go away. It wouldn’t bring back the other contractors who’d died while in captivity. Wouldn’t make her hair grow back any faster or give her back the year he’d stolen from her. But it would still make her feel better.
A hell of a lot better.
“Company’s coming,” Sierra heard Brain say.
Grover didn’t need the warning. He’d obviously heard the commotion of reinforcements coming up the mountain road. He reached down, putting his hand behind Shahzada’s neck, forcing him to look him in the eye, then plunged the knife into his chest, right over his heart.
The infamous terrorist—or rather, the bully who longed to become famous for his evil deeds—jerked once, then went limp in Grover’s grasp.
Without fanfare, Grover pulled his blade from Shahzada’s chest, wiped it clean on the man’s pants, then sheathed it. He nodded at Trigger and, as one, all six men turned and headed back in her and Doc’s direction.
Sierra kept her eyes on Grover. When he got to her side, he gave her what she didn’t even realize she was waiting for. “He’s dead and can’t hurt you, or anyone else, again.”
“Thank you.” The words seemed inadequate for all that this man had done for her. He’d come for her. Literally gotten himself kidnapped in the hopes he’d be brought to where she was being held captive. He didn’t even know she was alive. Didn’t know anything about her, really, and yet he’d still moved heaven and earth to find her. From what she understood, he’d done so within a month of receiving the letter she’d sent him that had been lost in the mail. Once he’d had confirmation that she hadn’t gone AWOL, and really had been kidnapped, he’d acted.