Free Search and Destroy by James Hilton Page A

to kill Clay and Danny too. So they are prepared to do anything to achieve their goal. Four: whoever went to the trouble of employing a fire team to capture you will not just give up. Whoever is behind this probably has the resources to send out more teams.”
    Andrea brushed her fingers distractedly through her dirt-encrusted hair. “I still don’t understand why this is happening to me.”
    Danny finished the dregs of his coffee. “Well, if we come across any more of these fuckers I’ll be sure to find out.”
    “You can all lie low here for as long as you need. You can get cleaned up and Danny and I will go into town and get some new clothes for you all. It’s probably best if the pair of you—” he nodded at Andrea and Clay “—stay here.” Andrea saw Tansen eye Clay’s considerable bulk and was suddenly keenly aware of her torn and dirty clothing. “You two are more noticeable.”
    Danny smiled. “Are you saying that I’m a plain Jane?”
    “No, I’m saying that people are more likely to notice beauty and the beast if they wander around in Castillo.” That made Andrea feel a little better.
    Tansen pointed the way to the bathroom, handing her a towel and first-aid kit. Accompanied by the steady timpani of running water, Andrea let the last of her tears fall to mingle with the blood and dirt. The water was the colour of weak tea as it swirled down the plughole. She rubbed scented shampoo deep into her hair, enjoying the smell of apples, rinsed and repeated. She examined her scrapes and cuts, which stung sharply as the hot water and shower gel made contact. The wounds on her leg and ribcage were still so painful she could barely touch them. The torn skin on her ribs was red and puckered and her leg burned in a strange numb way. After long minutes of standing immobile, head bowed, she turned off the water.
    She towelled herself dry, taking extra care around the more painful areas. She delved into the industrial-sized first-aid kit Tansen had provided and wound a new length of bandage around her leg, then added a couple of large Band-Aids to her ribs. Her thoughts crept to her parents back in England. Had the news of Greg’s death reached them yet? Probably not. How would they cope when they did hear? Her mother cried at Red Cross commercials, for God’s sake; this would break her. Maybe she could phone home and at least let them know
she
was still alive. She decided she would ask Tansen later.
    She didn’t want to dress in her soiled clothing but had no alternative. Everything she’d brought with her was in the rental Jeep. All she had left was her MacBook, which was probably broken anyway, and thirty bucks plus change that had been stuffed in her trouser pockets. She didn’t even have her phone, for God’s sake.
    Shit. What a nightmare. Again she found herself looking down at her countless scrapes. She would have been dead for sure if she hadn’t found the Gunn brothers. The two men had proved very resourceful.
    Yet what did she know about them? Next to nothing. They called each other brother yet Danny was clearly Scottish and Clay was Texan through and through. Even when they’d had time to talk they had not revealed much about themselves. All that she’d gleaned was that Danny had recently been in the Middle East. He hadn’t elaborated as to which country. Her journalistic instinct stirred. Maybe she’d get more information now they were safe at this strange ranch.
    Which was another question in itself: what the hell was a Nepalese Gurkha doing out in the American desert, miles from the nearest town? More questions than her mind had patience for.
    The long shower had revived her somewhat and she realised how hungry she was. She hadn’t eaten anything for over twenty-four hours. The breakfast buffet in the Vegas hotel seemed so long ago. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled.
    A light knocking at the door brought her back to the moment. Tansen’s voice enquired, “Are you okay in