Out of Sight Read Free Page B

wouldn't have missed," she said. Like an abscessed tooth, AJ's guilt throbbed relentlessly.
    "Damn straight," Wright said tightly.
    There was nothing to say to that. Savage, too, was a T-FLAC legend, but the more experienced T-FLAC agent was in a leg cast and stuck in a hospital in South America. Savage would not have missed that shot. Raazaq had been right there in AJ's crosshairs. Right there. And she'd bull's-eyed a nearby lantern instead, setting off a small fire, and alerting them to her presence. It was FUBAR of gigantic proportions.
    "Can we save the postmortem for later?" AJ shouted over the gunfire and the rattle and clang coming from what was passing as an engine. She kept her weapon trained on their trail, but Raazaq's people hadn't closed the gap sufficiently to waste serious firepower. Yet.
    "Sure," Wright said in her ear. "Right now, it would be nice just to stay alive. Tomorrow—damn it," he whipped the car around a small dune, "you go home with Escobar. Struben and I will finish the mission."
    "I'm sure T-FLAC will recall me as soon as you file your incident report. Until then, I'm still part of this team."
    "I don't need someone who's gonna freeze."
    His voice was its usual controlled and chilly calm, tinged with just a hint of sarcasm. AJ felt as though he'd whipped her with live electrical wire. If she didn't admire him so much, she'd hate him for being so perfect. But she did admire him. And damn it, he was right. She bit her tongue on a smart-ass comeback, and did a quick swipe other hand down her damp cotton pants to get rid of the clammy sweat on her palm. She had plenty of experience with forceful men. She'd been around them all her life. Her father and brother were just the first of many. But Kane Wright wasn't a man she could wrap around her little finger. Neither did she want to.
    Anyway, this was neither the time nor the place to use the womanly wiles she so despised. She'd joined T-FLAC to put her brain and training to use. It was a refreshing change to have a guy not look at her as a sex object. Even if that guy happened to see her as a particularly inept field operative.
    "Aw, man! I'm going back?" Manny complained on the mic. He sounded pissed.
    "How bad's the arm?" Kane demanded.
    There was a long drawn-out silence. "Bad," Manny admitted reluctantly.
    "Your woman can kiss it all better when you get home," Kane told him.
    "I'd rather—"
    "Get your sorry butt off the floor and help cover our ass," Kane finished for him.
    Manny scuffled around, then levered himself up beside Struben to give her a clear shot. AJ winced empathetically when he readied his weapon. His arm must hurt like hell. He'd have cold sweats, be feeling light-headed, sick to his stomach… but he'd do what he had to do.
    Not like her.
    Live with it. Cooper. Live with it.
    She saw a flash of light, a quick flare behind them. There. Gone, in the thick darkness. A bullet hit the dash behind her, missing her by inches. She bit her lip to keep from screaming. "Closing in," she shouted, unnecessarily, blinking back fear-induced sweat from her eyes.
    "Deal with it." The engine whined in protest as Kane demanded more speed. A rooster tail of sand fanned out on either side of the wheels.
    They were close.
    Too damn close.
    Faster vehicles.
    Weapons blazing.
    "Go. Go. GO! Rocket launcher. Incoming!" Heart in her throat, AJ identified the blast as light and heat flew over their heads and disappeared into the night.
    Jesus God. A rocket launcher? This close?
    They were toast.

CHAPTER TWO
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    She was able to fire off a volley of shots by hanging over the door, using the window frame for leverage. She wouldn't hit anything important. Not at this distance. Not with the car bouncing and jostling hard enough to loosen her teeth, not to mention all the nuts and bolts in the rusted-out vehicle.
    Suddenly Manny obstructed her next shot as he slumped down across the backseat.
    Oh, God, oh, God. "Was he hit?" she yelled into the lip