Honor Reclaimed (HORNET #2)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

This was Seth’s team, the men he was supposed to trust to watch his back?

They weren’t what Phoebe expected. While the seven men filed into the courtyard, Zina ushered Tehani back inside before returning to stand guard by the gate like a mama bear. All of the men radiated varying degrees of disapproval as they passed Seth. One guy in a cowboy hat looked on with that assessing gaze doctors used while reading an X-ray as if Seth was a broken bone that needed to be set. Another man with brutally short hair and a lean, mean face sneered like a high school bully in sight of middle school prey, and sure enough, he started right in with the taunting as soon as he cleared the front gate. “Hey, Hero. Thought you ran home crying.”

Seth bore the ridicule in stoic silence, and none of the others said anything to shut the bully up—not even the scowling man with the cane who appeared to be in charge of the motley bunch.

How could he put any trust in these men when they obviously didn’t respect him? Didn’t they realize he already thought of himself as sub-human, and their coolness toward him only served to reinforce that belief?

No, probably not. They were men, after all. And this looked to be a power struggle that Seth had no hope of winning.

Phoebe ached for him.

Head held high, Seth positioned himself in front of the man with the cane like a prisoner facing off with his executioner. “Gabe, I have a lead on Hendricks.”

“You’re so good you can do all of our jobs now, is that it, Hero?” the mean one sneered.

“Okay, Reinhardt,” Seth said. “You want to share what you found out about Sergeant Hendricks first?” He waited a beat. When the only reply he got from the other man was a muscle twitch, he added, “Is that a no? Then fuck off and let me talk.”

Way to go, Seth. Phoebe gave him a mental high five even as a little piece of her heart broke. She’d done this to him, made him an outcast among the very men who should be his support network. God, if only she could go back in time and tell her stupid younger self to burn that article because the notoriety she was going to get wasn’t worth destroying a man’s life.

Seth handed the folder and flash drive to his commander. “If this is correct, and they haven’t moved Sergeant Hendricks yet, then he’s probably being held at an old American outpost in the mountains.”

The man with the cane—Gabe—opened the folder, and his face turned to stone. “Where did you get this?”

“All right,” Zina said, still standing by the front gate, holding it open. “You have your man. Now I’d appreciate it if you left.”

Gabe faced her. “Where did this information come from?”

“A girl here at the shelter gave it to me,” Seth answered. “She’s Siddiqui’s wife and she claims Zak Hendricks helped her escape the compound before he was captured. He could still be there.”

Gabe nodded and turned to Zina. “You need to let me talk to this girl.”

Zina crossed her arms over her chest. Her glare would have skinned a lesser man. “No. And who the hell do you think you are, coming on to my property and telling me what I need to do?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said, but if he meant it, the sentiment didn’t show on his chiseled face. “My name is Gabe Bristow. And you are?”

“Zina Ojanpura. I run this shelter.”

“Ms. Ojanpura, I command a privately funded hostage rescue team, and we’ve been hired to bring Zak Hendricks home. One of your girls knows where he is. We need her help to find him.”

“No,” she said firmly and let go of the gate. It fell shut with a clank. “If what you say is true and Tehani knows something about this missing man, then we’ll take it to the proper authorities.”

“With all due respect, the proper authorities in this country don’t give a shit about a missing American. In fact, we’re pretty sure those so-called proper authorities are the reason he’s a hostage.”

Zina shut her eyes and breathed out in a long, slow exhale. “I understand that, and I wish I could help, but I can’t risk the girls like that. I’m all they have, and they’ve been through enough. So I’m afraid the best I can do is take the information to the embassy.”

Gabe nodded. “It’s the right thing to do, but he still won’t see freedom again anytime soon. The embassy won’t act on your information right away. They’ll sit on it, weighing the pros and cons of action, until something or someone finally forces their hand.” His gaze shifted briefly to Seth. “Which can take months.”

“Sometimes more,” Seth confirmed softly. “And a month in enemy hands is a lifetime.”

So what had fifteen months felt like for him? Phoebe shuddered to imagine.

Zina bit her lower lip. “I can’t get involved. I can’t risk reprisal from one of the local terrorist factions.”

“I understand that,” Gabe said, “but who is looking after Zak Hendricks’s safety? There’s only us.”

Zina faltered, visibly torn between wanting to help and knowing she shouldn’t take the risk. At last, her shoulders straightened. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

“I can,” Phoebe said into the following silence.

Seth’s gaze cut to her, a clear warning, though she didn’t know why he cared. She ignored him. “Tehani once mentioned the compound she escaped from is only a few miles farther up the mountain from her village. I took pictures of the surrounding area as we left.”

Gabe considered her. Damn, the man was intimidating even when she got the feeling he was trying to dial it back. “Who are you?”

“Phoebe. Phoebe Leighton. I’m a freelance photojournalist.” She held out a hand and prayed he didn’t see how nervous he made her. “I focus on human interest stories—women’s rights mostly, which is why I was at the village with Zina. I’m working on a photo essay about child brides.”

“Okay,” Gabe said. He had a strong grip and his hand all but engulfed hers. “Phoebe. Did you have contact with Hendricks?”

“No. Neither of us did. We’re only now just hearing about him from Tehani. She hasn’t said a word about this since she got here. I think she was too afraid of her husband to talk to anyone but an American soldier. She was adamant it had to be an American soldier, so when she saw Seth…” She shrugged. “And you know the rest. Here you guys are.”

Finally, a softening showed in the big guy’s features. “Can you protect the girl?” he asked Zina.

“We do our best,” Zina said.

“Do you ever face retaliation?”

“If her husband found out we were keeping her from him? Yes, he’d come after the shelter,” Zina answered calmly, belaying the constant state of worry Phoebe knew she lived in. “And I can’t count on the government to protect us like they’re supposed to. Men like Jahangir Siddiqui have deep pockets and use them to pay off as many government officials as possible. The key to keeping Tehani safe is to make sure he doesn’t find out she’s here. Now do you see why I can’t risk involvement with your mission?”

“Yeah, I get it. But that doesn’t negate the fact my team and I still have a job to do.” He rubbed a hand over his face, and for the first time, Phoebe realized how exhausted the entire lot of them looked. They were all bleary-eyed and sluggish, and if they tried to go up against someone like Siddiqui now, they’d get themselves killed.

“Listen,” Gabe said, “I know you want us gone.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Zina nodded.

“And I understand, but I have a proposition for you. Our local contact has been compromised, and we don’t have a safe place to work from.”

Ah, that explained why they looked like a casting call for a zombie movie.

“So,” Gabe continued, “if you let my men stay here long enough to plan our mission, I’ll make sure your shelter receives a sizable donation.”

Zina’s eyes narrowed. “From…?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does if it’s blood money. I know your intentions are noble, Mr. Bristow. However, no matter how you and your team bill yourselves, you’re still mercenaries.”

“We only rescue people. That’s all we do.”

“And turn a profit while doing it?” Zina challenged, but Gabe was undaunted.

“No, not really,” he admitted. “We’re completely funded by our parent company, HumInt, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Quentin Enterprises. I’m sure even over here, you’ve heard of Tucker Quentin.”

Phoebe laughed. “Who hasn’t?”

Zina stared at her blankly.

“Okay, apparently you haven’t. Where have you been for the last fifteen years, Zee? Mars?”

Zina sniffed. “Busy. Who is he, and why should I care?”

Phoebe took a second to call up details about the man from her memory. During her stint as a tabloid writer, she’d written plenty of stories about him and his troubled family life. “Tucker Quentin is the son of an action film star and a former model. He did some acting as a kid but started getting in trouble early in his teens. He turned his life around in college, joined the military, and had a short but illustrious career as an Army Ranger. When he left the military, he started his first business and is now a gazillionaire with eyes on a political career.”

“Okay, Ms. Tabloid,” Zina said with a roll of her eyes.

Heat bloomed across Phoebe’s cheeks, and she very carefully avoided Seth’s gaze. If she looked at him now, she was liable to blurt out that she’d also written unflattering stories about him for that same tabloid. “I, uh, assume when Gabe says ‘donation,’ he means it’s coming from Quentin.” She glanced at Gabe for confirmation.

“I do,” he agreed. “Tuc has set aside a hefty expense account for my team, which I’m able to put to use at my discretion.”

“For bribes?”

Ah, that was Zina. Always suspicious. But given the current state of the country she’d adopted as her own, a little suspicion was healthy. Expected, even.

“For expenses,” Gabe corrected. “Which, I’m not going to lie to you, can sometimes include bribes. But that’s not the case here. This arrangement will be more like a donation as thanks for lodging—with the bonus of a built-in protection force. We’ll provide security for the shelter as long as we’re in-country.”

“How much of a donation are we talking about?”

“Let’s say…” His gaze traveled over to the shelter, traced the side of the building. No doubt those sharp hazel eyes noticed the sagging roof and chipping, sun-faded mud walls, and he had to know if he priced it right, Zina would be helpless to say no. “A hundred thousand, American. That sound fair?”

“Oh my God.” Zina actually swayed backward in shock like he’d dealt her a physical blow. “Oh…my God. How long will you need to stay?”

“Just a day to gather supplies and intel. We need to get up to that compound as fast as possible. Zak Hendricks is living on a very limited watch.”

“It’s an amazing deal, Zee.” Phoebe couldn’t believe she was hesitating. “Think of what you can do with that money. Hire the shelter a full-time security guard. Buy more books and clothes, new bedding. Medical care. Fix the roof.”

“Damn you,” she said to Gabe and lifted a shaking hand to her temple. “You can stay if you pay the first half up front.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

“But if you bring danger to my doorstep, the deal’s off. I don’t care if you paid me a million dollars, understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He motioned to the guys standing behind him. “Let me introduce you to the team. Zina, Phoebe, this is Quinn, my second-in-command.”

A solemn-looking man with short, dark blond hair nodded at them. “Ms. Ojanpura. Ms. Leighton.”

Oh, so serious. Did he ever smile? From the hard line of his jaw, the grim set of his mouth, and his direct gray stare, Phoebe guessed not. Even so, he’d make a fantastic model, and she itched to take his photo.

Gabe continued, “And Marcus, our hostage negotiator.”

“Ladies.” Marcus aimed a killer smile at both of them and yet, somehow, he made it seem like it was meant solely for her. She wondered if Zina felt the same way and glanced over. Nope. Zina was not impressed.

Nor was she impressed with the linguist, Jean-Luc—the blond man who had been with Seth at the market. He looked a little worse for wear, his face bruised, his lip split, but he still swept into a delightfully charming bow over Zina’s hand.

Gabe went through the rest of the team. Jesse, a true and blue cowboy who apparently served as a medic. Ian, the scary man with the constant sneer, was their bomb expert—and why did that both terrify and not surprise Phoebe? He said nothing when he was introduced, which didn’t break her heart. She’d seen the way he attacked Seth every time he opened his mouth and would rather not be on the receiving end of his bite.

Frowning at the thought, she glanced over at Seth. She’d rather he not be there, either. He didn’t deserve that kind of treatment after everything else he’d already survived.

Phoebe felt eyes on her and shifted to find a young guy with glasses watching her. Crap. He’d caught her staring at Seth, and he’d probably seen all kinds of emotions cross her face in that moment. But instead of making a deal of it, he pretended like he hadn’t seen anything and turned on a wholesome grin when Gabe formally introduced him as Eric Physick, the tech specialist.

“Call me Harvard,” he said and shook Zina’s hand, lingering over hers for a moment longer than necessary.

Figures , Phoebe thought with an inward sigh. All the guys falling for the pretty blond—it was high school all over again. However, she had to admit that if she was going to pick a guy for her friend, Harvard seemed like the better fit than Marcus or Jean-Luc. Obviously smart, a tad geeky judging by his “come to the nerd side, we have pi” T-shirt, and completely adorable. Actually, he was the kind of guy she’d pick for herself because she so wasn’t into tall, broody, built-for-sex-and-fighting types.

She really wasn’t.

She oh so casually slid a glance in Seth’s direction, and a jolt of awareness made her catch her breath.

He was watching her, and there was an indecipherable darkness in his gaze. Lust? Maybe anger? Or probably a mixture of both. He made eye contact without shame or apology. The same way, she imagined, he stared through a sniper scope before pulling the trigger. And she was his target.

Distance, she reminded herself as her pulse gave an unwelcome flutter. She had to keep her distance.