Heart Strike by M. L. Buchman

Author:M. L. Buchman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2016-05-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The flight to Colombia was silent. Melissa could feel Richie thinking, but he wasn’t volunteering anything, not a word.

She’d followed as quickly as she could but missed what they said to each other. She’d opened the door only to see the massive blow he delivered to Chad’s chin. Despite being twice Richie’s size, having his right leg behind him by chance was the only thing that kept Chad upright. The second blow had winded him so badly that he had tried to speak but didn’t have control of his lungs. He was lucky that Richie hadn’t killed him with the power of that blow.

And Richie hadn’t spoken a word since.

It was her fault. She never should have fraternized with a team member. But Kyle and Carla did. And Richie had felt…perfect. She didn’t have another word for.

She glanced at him again, but he was wholly focused on the flight.

His natural state was nerd, only flipping into warrior when called for. Now he was gone beyond the veil and she didn’t know if that side of him could even speak.

Kyle and Carla had tried asking him some questions, but he hadn’t answered them either. Carla had made a patting motion for patience and Melissa could only hope that it would be enough.

In Colombia, Agent Fred had arranged for two pallets of condoms to be waiting for them.

“Condoms?”

“With the collapse of oil prices, Venezuela is broke,” Fred had explained. “They also top the South American charts for HIV and teen pregnancy. Abortion is illegal, so condoms are a rare, expensive, and highly sought-after import. Over seven hundred dollars a box on the black market. I’ve got a guy in Maracaibo who will take delivery and promised to undercut the competition by a third. The fact that he’ll make a fortune I can’t help, but at least it will help some people in the city.”

“Technically legal, black market, and helpful. You done good for a spook,” Melissa teased him, hoping to get a rise out of Richie.

Though he’d stood nearby, not a word.

The flight back had been even quieter.

After landing back in Maracaibo, everyone was still so tired that the hotel seemed like too much trouble. Besides, it was just now sunrise and they hadn’t posted a phone number. They had to be at the hangar, at least during daylight hours.

Chad and Duane rolled in shortly after they’d handed off the shipment of condoms. The two of them looked as awful as she felt. Chad’s dirty look was acid. Surprising herself, she flipped him the finger and then turned her back on him.

They tossed down blankets on the hangar’s concrete floor for padding and passed out in the cool shade inside. Kyle took first watch. Melissa had made sure that she was on the side of Richie away from Chad before she collapsed.

The loud roar of the rare jet climbing out of Maracaibo didn’t wake her for more than a second or two.

But the approach of a heavy truck engine had her and everyone else rolling to their feet.

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