Gladiator Read online

  Wilder turned my way with a smile on his lips. “Attagirl.”

  ***

  We entered the airspace then Wilder prepared for landing. “Your belts are on?”

  “Yes.” I checked them just in case.

  Wilder made a wide turn past the airport before he straightened out and headed to the runway. The lights on the pavement guided us, but there were so many, it was difficult to distinguish where we were going. Wilder explained what the lights meant, that some were for international flights and others were for emergency landings. Those were the ones that were on.

  Without looking even slightly disturbed, he descended to the ground and prepared to land.

  “You’ve done this a lot?”

  He kept both hands on the wheel but looked relaxed in his seat. “You don’t trust me?”

  “I didn’t say that.” Landing was the most dangerous part of a flight.

  “I know what I’m doing, Gray. Never worry about that.” Smooth as butter, the wheels touched the ground and the plane made a swift landing. The plane bounced up and down along the runway, but I hardly felt the wheels collide with the pavement. “What did I tell you?” He gave me a quick wink before he drove the plane to a landing spot.

  “Now what?” My head was back in the game.

  Wilder threw his straps off then grabbed his pack from the back. He opened it and handed me a white Kevlar bulletproof vest. “Put this on.”

  I felt it in my fingertips. “It’s so thin. Does it work?”

  “It’s made out of the strongest and lightest metal in the known world. I forget I’m wearing it sometimes. It’ll fit under your clothes with ease.”

  My fingers kept exploring the material, unable to believe that something as thin as my panties could stop a bullet.

  Wilder placed something deep inside his ear. He did it so quickly I couldn’t see what it was. Then he grabbed another and handed it to me. It was the color of fair skin, and it blended so well with my palm I struggled to see it. “Put it in your ear.”

  I shoved it near my ear canal and slipped it in until it felt snug.

  Wilder pressed his fingers to his ear like he was adjusting it. “Max, it’s me.”

  A man’s voice came over the intercom. “Great. Just when I thought I was going to have a good day.” His voice was full of sarcasm but in a joking way.

  “You know you find my voice sexy.” Wilder zipped up the bag and shoved it under his seat.

  “Sexy in the way a shit looks in the toilet, maybe.”

  I tried not to smile at the exchange. When I imagined two secret agents speaking to one another, I expected their conversations to be much different than this.

  “You’re into some weird shit, you know that?” Wilder said with a laugh.

  “If you consider your mom weird, I guess so.”

  Wilder checked the ammo of his gun. “Asshole.”

  “Thank you,” Max said proudly. “I worked hard for that title.”

  A ghost of a smile was still on Wilder’s lips. “Max, this is Gray.” He turned to me like he wanted me to say something.

  He knew about me? “Uh, hi.” I wish I sounded more confident, but I wasn’t anticipating this.

  “Ooh.” Max’s voice almost came out as a growl. “You sound sexy.”

  I tried not to smile. “Sexy in a way a shit looks in a toilet?”

  Wilder laughed.

  Max did the same. “I highly doubt that for some reason. So, what are you wearing?”

  “A bulletproof vest.”

  “Ooh…and nothing else?” Excitement was in his voice.

  Wilder rolled his eyes. “Don’t chase the new girl away.”

  “Come on, Wilder,” Max said. “Paint me an image.”

  “Picture my fist going down your throat. That’s your image.”

  “Like, the opposite of fisting?” Max asked.

  And these guys saved people?

  “We don’t have time for this,” Wilder said. “We can do introductions later. So, what information can you give me?”

  Within a single heartbeat, Max dropped the jokes and turned serious. “They’re going to land in exactly…three minutes.”

  “They haven’t arrived yet?” Wilder asked with an incredulous tone.

  “The wind was against them the entire way,” Max answered. “There are three men altogether.”

  “Do I need to know anything else?” Wilder asked.

  “They are armed, but they aren’t wearing protective gear,” Max said in a formal voice. “If you ambush them, they won’t be expecting it. The likelihood of success for this mission is high.”

  “Okay,” Wilder said. “Where are they landing?”

  “Let me check the satellite.” Max fell quiet over the line as he typed on a computer. He came back a moment later. “In the same zone you are, judging their coordinates.”

  “Sounds too easy,” Wilder said.

  “What can I say?” Max said. “You were in the right place at the right time.”

  “Thankfully,” Wilder said. “Can you take care of the cameras?”

  “Already did,” Max responded. “They are on a repeat loop. By the time air traffic notices, you’ll be gone.”

  “Good,” Wilder said. “We got it covered.”

  “I’ll stay on the line.” Max went quiet.

  Wilder turned to me. “This is what we’re going to do—”

  “Nice to meet you, Gray.” Max’s voice came over the line. “But I really look forward to seeing you in person.” His wink was somehow audible over the connection. Then the line went quiet again.

  Wilder struggled not to roll his eyes. “As I was saying, this is what we’re going to do. You’re going to cover me from here. I’ll take them down, grab the kid, and then come back.”

  “Whoa…what?” Was I missing something? “You want me to duck and cover the entire time?”

  “We’ve been training, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready to be in the field like that.” Wilder watched me from his seat.

  “Then why did you bring me?”

  “You need experience. You have to start somewhere.”

  “I can go with you. Max just said there are only three of them.”

  “Too dangerous,” he said.

  I wanted to scream like a child that wasn’t getting their way. “Wilder, I can handle it. Besides, I have a better plan.”

  “Oh yeah?” he said incredulously. “Let’s hear it.”

  “We hit the plane together. You go straight for the guys, and I go straight for the child. He’ll be stuck in the crossfire. I can get him out while the men are distracted.”

  Instead of shutting it down, he considered it. “Not a bad idea.”

  “See? I’m a lot more skilled than you assume.”

  Wilder’s eyes moved back and forth as he planned out the operation. “This is what we’ll do. We’ll enter through the cockpit’s left side. I’ll go first and take down the pilot—”

  “What if he’s innocent?”

  “Innocent?” he asked.

  “Yeah, what if he was forced to fly it?”

  “He wasn’t.” Wilder said it quickly like he had information I didn’t. “We’ll ambush the cabin and I’ll take out the rest of the guys. You focus on getting that kid to safety.”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “Are you ready for this?” His eyes moved to the window and focused on the bright lights headed for the runway beside us. The plane was descending and preparing for a landing. He turned back to me. “Because if you aren’t, there’s nothing wrong with that. I can handle this on my own.”

  “Of course I’m ready.” I wasn’t scared of anything, not when an innocent life was on the line.

  He searched my gaze for sincerity, and when he found it, he nodded. “Alright. Here we go.”

  ***

  The plane had landed, but none of the passengers had opened the door to vacate it. We
ran across the asphalt near the wing of the plane, staying out of sight.

  Slowly, we inched forward to the door just behind the cockpit. With his gun raised, Wilder spoke into his intercom. “Max, open the door and release the stairs.”

  He worked on his side of the line. “Someone just activated it. Be prepared.” He fell silent again.

  The air pressure changed. A loud beeping sound emitted as the door opened and the stairs rolled out.

  My heart was pounding at a dangerous rate. Fear and excitement burned inside me at the same time. I knew what I signed up for, but I couldn’t believe it was really happening.

  The first person descended, and he wasn’t what I pictured. He wore dark jeans and a black t-shirt. He had dark hair that was slightly curly, and his chin was covered in the same scruff. He had beady black eyes, the kind that would be in a nightmare.

  Wilder snatched his arm and pulled him off the ladder, catching him just before he reached the ground. Then quicker than I could see, he snapped his neck and rolled him under the plane.

  I stood there in shock.

  No one else descended the stairs, and I wondered if they figured out what happened. Our plane was in the distance, so they might put two and two together.

  Wilder beckoned me with his hand as he ascended the staircase with me close behind. His gun was raised with his finger hot on the trigger. He stepped inside first and did a quick sweep of the place. No one was in sight.

  Max’s voice came over the intercom. “They are in the rear and they aren’t moving. I suspect they know you’re coming.”

  We were walking straight into a hornet’s nest.

  Wilder didn’t look the least bit concerned about it. He motioned for me to stay directly behind him. Slowly he approached the rear of the plane, his gun held at the ready.

  I grasped my gun and kept it pointed slightly to the right, just in case I hit the trigger prematurely and shot Wilder in the back. I had intense training and had shot a gun before, but this was different.

  Wilder reached the door then stood to the left of it. I took the right side. He made signals with his hand and told me to kick the door open so he could get in first. On the count of three, I slammed my boot into the door and it flew open.

  Wilder aimed and prepared to fire but he didn’t pull the trigger.

  I stayed against the wall and couldn’t see.

  “A bomb?” Wilder asked. “You guys never change it up, do you?”

  What did he say? I poked my head around him and saw the ten-year-old boy sitting on a queen size bed. He was shaking and crying, his tears falling silently. His arms were duct taped to his sides. A bomb was strapped to his chest, and according to the time, we only had one minute to take it off or to disarm it.

  Damn.

  The man on the right spoke. “Leave now or the bomb will kill us all.” The threat was paramount, and it didn’t seem like he was bluffing.

  Wilder and I exchanged a look, and without saying a word, we decided what to do.

  Wilder rushed for the bomb and I shot at the gunman on the left as I ran to the one on the right. My bullet entered his shoulder and he staggered back. Before the man on the left could correct his balance and shoot me, I kicked him hard in the knee. The crack filled in the cabin, and he cried out in pain. He automatically fell to his knees, and I kicked him in the face. My gun was still trained on the other man, and I shot him again as he fell to the floor. When he didn’t move, I turned my gun on the man beside me. Without blinking, I pulled the trigger and ended his life.

  I didn’t feel any remorse about it. They kidnapped a child and strapped a bomb to his chest. An eternity would pass before I blinked an eye over it.

  Wilder was working with the bomb. He opened the face where the wires were and began cutting. His hands worked quickly and remained calm the entire time.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  “I think.”

  My eyes widened. “You think?”

  “Max,” Wilder said into the intercom. “I need some help here.”

  I eyed the clock. We had thirty seconds.

  “Give me two seconds.” Max fell silent as he worked on his end.

  “Wilder, how is Max going to help us?” I asked.

  “He can see the bomb.”

  I looked around and didn’t see any cameras.

  Max answered my unspoken question. “There’s a camera in my lens.”

  They made them that small?

  Max came back. “Cut the yellow wire and the red wire. But make sure you cut the red wire first.”

  “Are you sure?” Wilder asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Max snapped. “Now do it.”

  “You were sure in Tijuana,” Wilder said.

  Max sighed into the phone. “Dude, that was a training exercise, and I was sleep-deprived. Let it go already.”

  There was only five seconds left. “Cut the goddamn wire.”

  Wilder moved the pliers around the insulated wires. “Max, if you’re wrong, I’m kicking your ass in the next life.”

  “Meet you in hell, buddy.”

  Wilder cut both wires, and the clock stopped.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Max.”

  Now that the danger was over, Max returned to his former self. “You’re going to have to give me some sugar for that.”

  “I’ll let Wilder handle that.” I tried not to smile.

  “Gross,” Max said. “I’d rather kiss a camel.”

  “A camel?” Wilder asked. “Those things drool.”

  “I know,” Max said “And I’d still take one of those over you.”

  They continued to bicker back and forth.

  The child was still scared, so I sat beside him on the bed and wrapped my arm around his shoulder. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. You’re going home.”

  The tears were on his face even though he stopped crying. “Home?”

  “Yeah.” I rubbed his back then played with his hair.

  “I miss my mom. I miss my dad.”

  “You’ll see them soon.”

  Wilder removed the bomb from his chest and pulled the duct tape off.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Daniel,” he whispered.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Daniel. I’m Gray.”

  He nodded.

  “And this is my friend, Wilder.” I pointed to him. “We’re going to get you home safely.”

  “Okay…” He bowed his head and stared at the floor.

  “You did great, champ,” Wilder said. “Very brave.”

  “I was scared…” His voice came out shaky.

  “It’s okay to be scared,” I said. “How can you be brave if you aren’t scared to begin with?”

  Daniel shrugged.

  When the bomb was completely removed, Wilder set it aside. “Let’s get out of here before people realize what’s going on.” He turned to Daniel. “Can you walk?”

  Daniel nodded. “I can run. Just get me out of here.”

  Wilder gave him a smile before he patted him on the shoulder. “Then let’s go.”

  ***

  I sat in the rear of the plane with Daniel beside me. He still looked shaken up over the ordeal, not that I blamed him. This event would haunt him for the rest of his life.

  “Why don’t you get some sleep?” I sat beside him, rubbing his back and trying to make him feel comfortable.

  “If I sleep, will you leave?”

  That broke my heart all over again. “No. I’ll be here the whole time.” I was tired myself, but the adrenaline still pounded in my veins. I wouldn’t be able to sleep even if I tried.

  Daniel laid his head on my thigh and extended his feet to the other seats. His hands were pulled to his chest and he looked so small. Within minutes, he was asleep. My hand rested on his back, feeling it rise and fall with every breath.

  A few minutes later, Wilder joined us.r />
  “The plane is going to fly itself?” I asked.

  “It’s on autopilot. We’re just cruising right now.” He sat beside me and looked down at Daniel. “You’re good with kids.”

  “I think he’s just scared.”

  “Poor guy. But he made it through.”

  My fingers moved through his hair.

  Wilder stared at me like there was something else he wanted to say.

  I pulled my eyes away from Daniel and met his look, giving him my attention.

  “You did great today.”

  “Thank you.” It was nice to get a compliment instead of a question.

  “That would have been much harder to do if I were alone.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “You were quick on your feet and made the right decision at every turn.” He held my gaze without blinking. “I think you’re going to make a great agent.” He glanced at Daniel before he looked at me again. “And you care about people, not money.”

  I lowered my gaze because the look was too intense. I watched Daniel, finding comfort in something so small and innocent.

  “Looks like you’re ready for the next step.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “Meeting the team.”

  I turned back to him with a smile. “You mean, I get to meet Max in the flesh?”

  Wilder chuckled. “He jokes around a lot, but he’s a great guy. You’ll like him.”

  “I already do like him.”

  “And you’ll like the rest of the team. We’re family to each other because we don’t have any family of our own.”

  That sentence made me sad, but I tried to hide it. “What’s next?”

  “We’ll deliver Daniel to his father. After that, I’ll take you to the agency.”

  “The agency is in America?”

  “Yep,” he answered. “It hides in plain sight.”

  “Is it in D.C.?”

  “You’ll see,” he said vaguely.

  “After everything we’ve been through, you’re still going to be secretive?”

  He smiled. “I’ll always be secretive. Don’t expect that to change.”

  I pulled my hand away from Daniel’s hair and rested it in my lap.

  Wilder remained by my side. “You know, this isn’t the mafia. If you ever want to leave, all you need to do is say so.”