Free Out of the Shadows (Falcon) by Geri Foster Page B

kill her. He might do it, but she’d go down fighting.
    She took the food and forced it down her throat. She ate everything and as A.J. suggested, licked the tin plate clean before throwing it to the center of the room.
    After drinking some water, A.J. leaned against the bars.
    “Can you walk?” Kate asked.
    “I can, but don’t ask me to run .”
    “Will they feed us again?”
    “They’re like clockwork. Usually the last meal is right before nightfall. No one comes down here late because of the critters.”
    “Did you see what I saw when they brought the food?”
    “Those two idiots aren’t afraid of you.” A.J. grinned. “While with me, they damn well know better.”
    “Right,” Kate said. “ And we need to take advantage of that.”
    “You may be CIA, but you’re not in shape to take on two guys.”
    “Now who doubts?”
    He let out a tired breath. “These men can do a job on a woman before they kill her.”
    Worry laced every word.
    “I know,” she said.
    “We only have until the evening to come up with a plan.”
    Kate stood and began walking around her cell. “I can’t get ready laying in the dirt.”
    “If you get a chance to get out of here, don’t worry about me.”
    “Ha,” Kate said, knuckles braced against her hips. “You go where I go.”
    “Now you’re talking like that damn Brody.”
    “I’m here because of you. And I’m not leaving you behind. If I do, what will Brody’s death mean?”
    “Nothing, ” A.J. whispered.
    Kate had left two men behind on her last mission. She’d never do that again. She’d get A.J. out of here or die trying. Because to leave someone behind was worse than any death.
    Kate’s muscles protested with each step , but it didn’t matter. She had no intention of waiting around to see what Oscar had planned for her.
    She l ooked over and saw A.J. limp toward the bars in an effort to stay upright. Once he got his feet beneath him, he too started hobbling around his cell.
    “You never told me why Brody kidnapped you. What do you have to do with all this mess?”
    “Brody had it all wrong.”
    “How so?”
    “He thought Oscar Chavez and I were once lovers. I think Brody had it in his head Oscar still loved me and would jump at the chance to have me back.”
    “That’s not the way it was, huh?”
    “No, not even close.”
    “So Brody got the wrong information and acted on it.”
    “Several years ago I infiltrated this camp. Chavez and I grew cl ose, but only so I could get the necessary information to put him away for life. I stayed here almost a year. Oscar trusted me completely in the end. When I’d gathered the Intel I needed, I left while Oscar was away on business.”
    “Just like that?”
    “Yes, except while in London, Oscar learned I worked for the CIA and that he was my assignment.”
    “Had you gotten away?”
    “I didn’t think I’d survive.” Kate looked at her dirty hands and remembered that black night when she’d made it to the extraction area. Oscar’s men were right behind her with orders to kill. “Then a Chinook helicopter hovered over-head and snatched me up. I managed to get inside despite a hail of bullets.”
    “How long ago?”
    “Two years.”
    “Brody dragged you right back to hell.”
    “Oh, Oscar has a new vendetta.”
    “What?”
    “I’m the agent who gave your team the details you needed to make the raid against Oscar two weeks ago. I had off shore account numbers, ship manifests, and contact numbers. And a complete layout of the compound. The Intel wasn’t used earlier because of rumors Oscar was amassing enough guns to stage a war.”
    “Damn.”
    Heavy footsteps trotted down the basement stairs. A man came into view. Kate had seen him earlier. He was the one who rode shotgun when Chavez brought her to La Hacienda. She didn’t know his name, but he hadn’t been at La Hacienda during her previous stay.
    The tall , handsome Latino stopped between the two of them. He pressed a thin cigar between