Page 91 of Keeping Laryn
Laryn’s gaze went to Altan, who was lying motionless, blood slowly pooling around him. She looked back at Tate. “Is he dead?”
“Yes. No way in hell was I leaving him alive to come after you again.”
“You were going to kill him all along?” she asked.
“Of course. Officially, that’s the reason we’re here.”
“What were all those questions about? Why didn’t you guys shoot him as soon as he showed up on the roof?”
“Intel,” Edge said, answering her question. “We didn’t think we’d get much, but if there was anything he could tell us about how he’d found his moles in our military, we needed that info.”
Laryn wrinkled her nose. “Did you get anything out of what he said?”
“Plenty. Come on, let’s get the hell out of here, yeah?” Tate didn’t sound irritated or anxious. He gestured toward the chopper. “Our ride’s here.”
Edge got on one side of her while Tate was glued to the other. Chaos was close on their heels as they hurried toward where Pyro and the chopper waited. Buck and Obi-Wan hadn’t landed on the roof. One skid was resting on the very edge, and they were hovering in the air. She was impressed all over again at the skills of these pilots.
Pyro and Tate lifted her into the back of the chopper, and she quickly moved to the side. It was a matter of seconds before the other men had joined her and they were rising into the sky. Buck and Obi-Wan gunned it, and they shot away from the hangar.
The last thing Laryn saw was the dark shape of Altan Osman, lying dead in a pool of his own blood on the roof.
Tate placed a pair of headphones over her ears before putting a pair over his own.
“Should we expect any kind of retaliation?” Buck asked in a tense, serious tone.
“Negative. Osman was rogue. Working outside the government,” Edge told his friend. “I mean, they knew what he was tasked with doing, and were probably giving him money to get those choppers retrofitted, but it seems pretty clear they have no idea he’s been kidnapping, threatening, and blackmailing his workforce.”
“Fuck. Seriously?” Obi-Wan asked.
“He said you guys being here is going to cause an international incident. That his government wasn’t going to be pleased you’d come here without permission. Did I cause a war?” Laryn asked, terrified to hear the answer.
To her surprise, the men around her chuckled. She was takenaback for a moment before Pyro explained. “He was talking out his ass, sweetheart. If anything,hewould’ve been the one in deep shit. I’m not saying the Turkish government hasn’t done some sketchy things, but everything Osman did to draw attention to them won’t go over well.”
Tate’s arm went around her shoulders, and he pulled her against him. Laryn immediately melted into his side. The last ten minutes or so seemed like a blur. One second, she thought she was about to be assaulted, and now she was back in Tate’s arms and hopefully on her way to safety.
Her entire body began to shake. “D-d-delayed reaction,” she said, closing her eyes and doing her best to curb her body’s response to the adrenaline dump. “I’m okay.”
“I’ve got you. We’ve all got you,” Tate reassured her.
With her eyes shut, Laryn let go of some of the control she’d been using to keep her body upright. Every part of her hurt. She was exhausted. Could sleep—on a nice soft bed, with a fluffy pillow—for days. But she had no doubt there would be debriefings she’d have to attend once they got to the ship. She’d need to explain what happened to her and what military secrets she might have exposed.
She’d do whatever was necessary, because deep down, she recognized that she’d brought some of what happened to her on herself, just as Altan had accused. If she’d simply stayed quiet and hadn’t thought to escape her feelings for Tate by taking a new job… If she’d gotten out of the helicopter after fixing the FLIR the first time…
“No,” Tate said sternly.
Looking up at him, she frowned. “No, what?”
“This wasn’t your fault.”
Her eyes widened. “How could you possibly know what I was thinking?”
“Because I know you. This was all Osman’s doing. All of it. Paying off people in Virginia and on the ship to find out yourmovements. To orchestrate that kidnapping. He got what he deserved, and you shouldn’t feel a second of regret.”
“For Altan? I don’t. Not at all. He was a dick,” Laryn told him.
The men around her all chuckled.
“Right. So what are you feeling guilty about? And don’t say nothing, I can tell you’ve got regret swirling behind those beautiful brown eyes of yours.”
