Relentless (Benson Security 2)

Ryan and Joe stilled, both of them looking down. There was no blood.

“Did they get the plastic part, Callum?” Ryan asked sweetly.

“Shut up.”

Of course, Ryan didn’t shut up. “I’d think you’d be happy that they didn’t hit the bit that’s still attached to you. The bit that bleeds. Remember that bit?”

“If I didn’t only have one leg, I’d kick your arse.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Ryan put his shoulder under Callum’s arm and took his weight. “Isn’t there a really bad joke about a man with one leg?”

“Do. Not. Go. There.”

“Maybe once this is all over we can stop off in the States on the way home and grab some dinner at IHOP?”

“You want to be fired, don’t you?”

“I’ve just thought of something else,” Ryan said with a wide grin. “Shouldn’t a guy in your position have bulletproof legs? Oh! Wait! You could get them made with compartments and store stuff in them.” Ryan looked awestruck. “Dude, you could be the Bionic Man. Or even better—Inspector Gadget.”

“That’s it, you’re fired. Consider yourself out of a job.” From the ferocity of Callum’s growling voice, Ryan was lucky Callum didn’t just shoot him.

“Boss, you fire somebody during every one of our ops. We consider it a sign of affection.”

“This is only our second bloody op!”

“Yeah, and how many people have you fired and rehired so far? I’m the fifth.” He patted Callum’s chest. “You have issues. You might want to see a counsellor.”

Joe tuned them out as they walked towards the road, leaving a field of death and a man who’d been a friend, behind them.

He dug his phone out to see who’d called. It was Julia. Joe put the phone to his ear to hear the voicemail she’d left. It started with, “We’re okay, don’t worry,” and went downhill from there.

“We need to speed things up. The women were attacked at the hotel. They got out and they’re hiding in plain sight with the other tourists. You two get a move on and I’ll get us a car.” He ran towards the dirt road and the small village beyond.

Nothing mattered to him more than getting to Julia. She needed him. And Joe desperately needed her.

Chapter 23

Julia, Elle and Patricia were sitting in a dark booth in the back of Cusco’s Irish bar. The place was crowded with tourists who were seeking food from home and like-minded travellers. There was a soccer game playing on the massive screen behind the bar, and the patrons were very vocal in their support for each team. Through it all, the women sat with one eye on the doors and the other on Elle’s laptop, where they were working to decode the last of the images on the mummy’s textiles.

After listening to her gran and Elle talking about the decoding process for hours, Julia had come to a few conclusions. First, Patricia was never going to decode the map by the time Esteban called the following morning. Second, Ed had probably told Esteban about their plan to con him with fake treasure, rendering that option useless. And third, they no longer had a mummy to trade.

Basically, they were stuffed.

“Stop worrying,” her gran said. “He’ll be here soon.”

“I know.” Joe had texted her to say he was on his way, but had to get cleaned up first.

Julia hadn’t shared the last part of the message because she feared that he didn’t mean he had to wash off a little mud.

Her eyes drifted towards the door again, although it was getting hard to see the entrance now that the bar was filling up. They’d been watching for Esteban’s men since they sat down, which was ludicrous, because none of them knew what the men looked like—except in the surveillance photos Elle had dug up online. But Julia figured that anyone who came into the bar and wasn’t wearing Gore-Tex and fleece was probably suspicious.

She saw the door open. The crowd parted for the newcomers, as though a sea parting for Moses. And Julia knew. Her heart sped up, her nerve endings tingled and she knew. Then the bodies thinned and he was there.

“Joe!”

Julia was out of her seat and running to him before she could think. For once in her life, she wasn’t afraid about being the centre of attention. All she cared about was that Joe was there and he was safe.

She launched herself at him, her arms going around his neck, her legs wrapping around his waist. He caught her without hesitation and held her tight.