Free Unmasking the Mercenary by Jennifer Morey Page A

approached.
    “Remy,” the man greeted. “I glad to see you.” He leaned in for a masculine hug and a couple of hard pats on Rem’s back.
    “Thanks for coming through for me,” Rem said, when the man withdrew. He pulled out a wad of cash from his wallet. He counted several hundred. The man laughed and nodded his excitement. “It is easy to help you, Remy. You save my family this year. Most of my people, too.” He indicated toward Haley with his head. “You no mention bringing a lady.”
    “Sorry. We don’t have time. I’ll be in touch as soon as possible.”
    The man nodded again but looked curiously at Haley. Rem took hold of her hand and pulled her toward the helicopter.
    Climbing in, she dumped the duffel in the pod and lowered herself onto the copilot’s seat. Rem started the bird. It was stripped of everything but the essential instruments and controls for the guns. The rotor roared loud after a few minutes. And pretty soon they lifted into the air.
    Haley watched the jungle canopy pass below, numb to this incredible turn of events. She should have seen it coming. Should have known the diamonds were all that interested him. Was that how he’d have his revenge? By taking Ammar’s diamonds? It was a huge blow. It would set the terrorist back substantially. If Rem got away with it. And judging by the direction they were flying, he wasn’t going to. They were headed north toward Sierra Leone.
    Rem began speaking into a radio. An accented voice answered, “Come ahead.”
    The canopy opened and a rudimentary landing pad came into view. Several buildings were scattered across roughly a ten-acre compound, with signs of ongoing construction. One of the buildings was of a fairly good size for this part of the world.
    Seeing the massive wall that enclosed the compound and its gnarled barbed-wire topping, she tracked it to the gate, where armed guards stood outside a small building. More guards waited at the earthen landing pad. Unease churned into something living inside Haley. There were too many. She felt trapped. She’d felt the same when she’d seen the insurgents coming toward her.
    “Rem.” She no longer tried to hide her growing fear. She met his gaze across the space of the helicopter, hoping she wasn’t so wrong about him that she’d let him drag her into something terribly dangerous.
    He turned his head and met her gaze. “Just stay with me. You’ll be fine.”
    Something in her expression must have clued him to the chaos building in her.
    “I won’t let anyone hurt you. You have to trust me on that.”
    “Who are these people?”
    “I’ll die before I’ll let anyone hurt you. Do you understand?”
    She hated how she had to pant for air. What if he did die?
    “Haley.”
    Armed dark-skinned men surrounded the helicopter. She felt herself falling back into Iraq. In the armored vehicle. Gunfire. The insurgents coming toward her. She rolled her head back and forth against the back of the seat, trying to control her snowballing panic.
    “Haley.” Rem moved closer to her, kneeling by her seat and sliding his hands beside her face, his fingers curving to the back of her head and neck. Gently, he held her face still. But kissed her hard.
    Then his eyes blazed energy that fired through her haze.
    “Be strong,” he said in a deep, gruff voice.
    “Rem.” Oh, God, she was wrong to think she could do this. To think she could be an operative like Travis. He’d been right all along. So had Cullen. She wasn’t cut out for this. Not after Iraq. Her mind reeled out of control. She couldn’t stop it. She panted more.
    “Listen to me,” Rem hissed, his hands giving her a firm but gentle shake. “You’re my girlfriend. You speak French and no English. Don’t say anything unless they ask you a question or address you in French. Leave all the English talking to me. Okay?”
    She could only stare at him.
    “How fluent are you?” he asked in French.
    “F-fluent,” she managed to say.
    “Don’t