Priscilla took her seat, choosing the one nearest the aisle and Brenden."Sleep well?" His voice was the same as before, deep and rough, only now it was the sound of safety. He didn't look at her. In fact, with his eyes shut he appeared to be on the verge of sleep himself."Not really." She turned her head.He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I find I sleep very well on planes."Priscilla chewed her lip. Was she being a conspiracy theorist?"What's wrong?" Brenden asked.She got up, tucked the paper under her arm, and gestured to the window seat on his other side. "May I?"He stood by way of an answer, allowing her to take the seat next to him. She spread the paper out over her knees and gestured at it."Did you know the warehouse burned down? Melody said the cops aren't looking into the kidnapping.""I saw the news." He grimaced and buckled his seatbelt."You don't think it's a coincidence either, do you?" She didn't want to be alone in this."I could see one

Friday. Friday. El Paso, Texas.DAMIAN STARED AT THE tracking data on his screen."Fuck," he snarled.The plane had begun its malfunction half an hour ago, right on schedule. By then the auto-pilot had swerved off path. The pilot's communications were cut off, rerouted to Damian who had a series of prerecorded loops to play."What?" Victoria sat from where she'd been lounging on the sofa.Damian tapped through the readings.This had to be wrong.Only, it wasn't."What is it?" she demanded.His body went cold, his emotions numb. It was time to work. "Load up. We're heading out.""You fucked it up, didn't you? God, Damian, I told you-"He whirled to face her and grabbed her by the throat, forcing her back down on the cushions. Her wide, fearful eyes were all he saw."Do what I tell you," he snarled. "Do you understand?"She gripped his arm, her sharp little nails digging in even as her face began turning red.He let go and turned back to the computer."Fu

Friday. Somewhere in Gila National Park, New Mexico.BRENDEN FOLLOWED ALONG BEHIND Priscilla as the team walked single file, picking their way through the dense brush surrounding the crash site. He didn't like leaving the flight crew behind, but there was no arguing with them. The best they could do was as Grant said. Get to high ground, keep watch, be ready and do their best to protect both their asset and the crew.At least they'd been able to get into the luggage hold and retrieve much of their gear. With what they carried with them they could fend off a small army and self-sustain for forty-eight hours. When they didn't check-in tonight and their flight was MIA, Zain would begin looking for them.The night air in the desert was chilly. They were still getting a lot of warmth from the rocks and sand. Soon enough that would dissipate and things might get serious.He watched Priscilla inch along ahead of him carrying her two boxes despite Grant's insistence she leave the ev

Friday. Somewhere in Gila National Park, New Mexico.BRENDEN STAYED LOW TO the ground, his eyes locked on the shooter pelting the belly of the plane with bullets.He and Vaughn had been staring at the crash, watching for movement, when the first shots fired. They hadn't seen anyone. Their attackers had eluded their detection and now the innocent lives of the flight crew were in their hands. If they died, it was on their team.Spiny plants picked and snagged his clothes, but he kept going. The rocky ground made for uncertain footing, but he didn't let that slow him down.It was unusual to not hear the whispering voices of his team in his ear. He'd gotten used to that. And now, the only thing he heard was gunfire and cries for help.Whoever these people were, they were trying to get into the plane. The shooter was simply a distraction. The real threat would come if or when one of their attackers got up into the cabin. Brenden couldn't see the hatch from this angle, but his g

Friday. Safe House, Albuquerque, New Mexico.BY THE TIME BRENDEN plodded up the stone walk to the safe house it seemed as though a month had passed in one night. He hadn't seen or heard from Priscilla since putting her in the ATV. No one had mentioned her in all the back and forth with cops and first responders, so it stood to reason she was fine. And yet, he'd be lying to himself if he didn't own up to that anxious part inside of him that needed to know she was okay.What he wanted was to hold her, reassure himself it was all another bad chapter. But he couldn't. There was still too much to do before anyone could rest. According to Nolan the first half of the team had only arrived at the house half an hour ago. Which meant they still had to brief, set up surveillance, make a plan, figure out who the hell those people were. Just because they'd reached a waypoint in the journey didn't mean they were safe, that they could let their guard down, or anything.God, what he wouldn't