Operation Zulu Redemption: Out of Nowhere - Part 2 Read Free Page A

couldn’t even name. An enemy who had somehow taken a bead on them.
    Why not me?
Why hadn’t he been targeted? And Boone. There had to be enough intel for them to figure out he and Boone were implicated. This situation was an exercise in futility trying to figure who rode their backs. And being around Annie again.
    Trace rubbed his knuckles, conjuring up memories and images he thought he’d smothered years ago. She’d been promising, young, idealistic, naive—beautiful. Hiding Zulu, hiding
her
, had cost him everything. And she would never forgive him. He’d accepted that years ago, but hearing her hatred, hearing the venom in her voice was something he hadn’t been prepared for.
    “This doesn’t look good,” Boone’s voice boomed through the stairwell as he descended from the upper level.
    Peeling himself off the stairs, Trace sighed.
    “Let me guess—Quade didn’t go over too well with them.”
    “It’ll get worse,” Trace said as he stepped toward the command center. “They just started.”
    “When do you want me to brush up their firearms training?”
    “Tonight. We can’t afford to be soft on them. Whoever wants them dead is hitting them for all they’re worth.” Trace planted his hands on his tac belt. “How’s Shay?”
    Boone’s face brightened. “Good. Doc said she’s made a lot of improvement. I’m looking into bringing her back here, setting up a bed.”
    Trace frowned. “We can’t bring a nurse or doctor in here.”
    “I can take care of her.”
    “No.” Trace started for the briefing room. “I need your attention on Téya, Annie, and Nuala, not babysitting.”
    “Look, I know you don’t care—”
    Trace pivoted on his friend. “What I don’t care for is that you crossed the line. I knew it was happening. But it didn’t interfere with your job performance, so I kept my nose out of it. You violated code and got intimate with her. Now it’s compromising your position.”
    Boone’s face went dark.
    Trace huffed. “Look, really—I don’t care if you two ran off and eloped. What I do care about is keeping Zulu alive and taking down this piece of dirt trying to nail their coffins shut.”
    “Same here,” Boone said.
    “But Shay. . . ?” Trace shook his head.
    With a narrowed gaze, Boone held out his meaty arms. “What are you asking. . . ?”
    “Not asking. Telling.” Trace swung open the briefing room door. “Shay’s not coming here. Too complicated and too risky. Leave her there. When she’s ambulatory, we’ll give her a bunk. Until then—she’s best situated with medical staff.”

Téya
Lucketts, Virginia
19 May – 1645 Hours
    “C’mon, ladies! Pain is weakness leaving the body!” Quade Henley barked as he paced the “workout” room like a rabid dog.
    “I’ll give you some pain,” Téya muttered as she did her fortieth sit-up. Sweat slid down her forehead and into her eye, burning.
    “What was that, Freckles?” Quade went to a knee, leaning into her face as she continued her repetitions. “Think your attacker is going to—”
    Téya’s fist shot up at his nose.
    Quade caught it. Twisted and turned, flipping her onto her stomach, then hooked her hand behind her. “How’d I do that? How’d I get control of your body?”
    Ignoring the pain it’d cause, Téya swung her free arm backward, her elbow catching him in the side of the head. Knocking him off balance.
    “Good, good,” he said, hopping to his feet and clapping. The guy gave new meaning to
rolling with the punches
. “Never give your opponent an opportunity. Read their body language, watch their eyes.”
    When she reached fifty sit-ups, Téya lay there on the mat, staring at the ceiling. Anger and a sense of futility roiled through her. She did not want to be here in this cement coffin. Didn’t want to be engaged in acts of violence.
    “Alright, ladies. On your feet,” Quade shouted.
    “You realize we’re only a few feet away, right?” Nuala struggled to her feet. “Screaming