Page 120 of Her Selfless Warrior (Omega Sky)
Why does every Uber driver drive a Prius?
“Hi!” she shouted as she bounced down the front steps.
The driver didn’t even look up from his phone, not even when she opened the back seat door and got in.
“You’re going into town?” he mumbled into his phone.
Lark rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Starbucks.”
* * *
Kostya lookedaround the room at all of his men. It was damn near five weeks since all fourteen members of Omega Sky had been together in one room. If he had to guess it wouldn’t be fourteen members much longer. He would bet his bottom dollar that Sebastian Durand would not be signing his next contract. Kostya grinned. He knew the man wasn’t planning on getting into Louisiana state politics, that was for damned sure, but he also knew who was trying to recruit Sebastian and he didn’t think that Durand would be able to hold out much longer. Especially since it would allow Sebastian to live anywhere he wanted and that would mean he and his wife Gianna could move closer to her family.
“Okay, you’re dismissed. I want everyone back here at oh six hundred. Some of you are looking a might sickly, so I’m thinking a couple of tours around the obstacle course in the morning might just be the pick-me-up you need.”
There was the obligatory groaning, then there was the jesting as to who would fare better. Kostya unbuttoned the pocket on his cargo pants and pulled out his phone. It had gone off a couple of times, but he knew if it was a true emergency, his Commander would have found someone to come down the hall to the ready room.
His blood froze as everyone started filing out of the room. He re-read the text, then saw that Lark had left him a voicemail.
“Lieutenant, I got a text from Lark,” Ryker said as he came to the podium.
“So did I,” Gideon came up from behind Ryker.
“Shut up.” Kostya waved his hand at the two of them. He ignored both men and a couple of others who had remained when they saw Kostya’s demeanor change.
Kostya listened to Lark’s voice, and the acid in his stomach turned to lava. After the first two sentences of her complicated story, he turned to Gideon.
“Call Lark,” he barked.
Kostya continued to listen to Lark’s voice. His heart clenched when she mentioned fuck-me heels, but then…but then, she said she loved him. He knew she did. He just didn’t think she realized it.
“She’s not answering,” Gideon said.
Kostya ended the call and tried calling her from his phone. It rang and rang until it went to voicemail. He looked around and saw Ryker, Gideon, Nolan, and Jase surrounding him.
“I want two vehicles, and you on your motorcycle,” he said, pointing to Ryker. “We’re going to my house. I can’t get ahold of Lark. It’s possible that we’ve got a terrorist group after her. If we do, know that they have had no problem torturing and killing people for what they want. Gideon, you’re riding shotgun with me, bring whatever comp or tablet you can. You’re going to find Lark, these terrorists, and the fucking president if I need you to, got it?”
“On it,” Gideon answered.
Kostya stormed out of the ready room with his men on his heels.Gideon better fucking hurry with his electronic toys.
* * *
They’d shot him.They’d just shot that kid in the head like he was nothing. Lark still had some of his blood splattered on her.
When she’d seen the big Escalade roaring down the driveway toward them, she’d shoved her phone into her shirt, deep in her bra until it hit the underwire. She knew that it was on silent because she’d felt it vibrate, but no sound had blasted. Gideon would be able to track her from her phone, wouldn’t he?
“Where are you taking me?” she asked again. She hadn’t been pestering the men because they were scary, and they had killed Dawn. She was stuck in the backseat between two of them.
“Don’t talk,” the one on the right of her rumbled.
Lark shut her mouth. Never in her life, not even in those dark cages in Afghanistan, had she been this scared. At least then, there had been Nic, Cullen, and Kostya with her.
The man on her left spoke to the driver in Arabic. She caught the words money, woman, and plane. Did they plan to take her on a plane? That didn’t make any sense. Why hadn’t she bothered to learn more Arabic? She’d always meant to.
“Uhm,” she started.
The man on the right yanked her hair and twisted her head so they were face to face. “No talking, unless you want me to start cutting you right now. Or maybe I will anyway.” He grinned. He pulled a knife out of his suit jacket and drew it down Lark’s arm, slicing through the fabric of her Henley, and cutting deep into her skin.
