The Mercenary by Katherine Garbera Read Free Book Online Page A

wrists, but she figured right now that wasn’t important. Getting to safety was. And there was something about Kirk Mann that made her feel safe.
    Maybe it was the way he’d taken out those two men. She didn’t know. She only knew that for right now she was glad he was at her side. He would keep her safe, she knew that. She trusted that.
    The fact that Burati had come after her like that made it clear to Olivia that Ray realized she had seen something today. She had no idea if he knew she’d witnessed him killing a man, but she did know that he seemed to want her dead.
    “We are going to need to move quickly when I open this door. Laz is waiting in the arrival car park. He will have a dark green Mercedes,” Kirk said.
    She nodded.
    “Take my hand.”
    “I can’t,” she said, lifting her bound wrists.
    He took a knife from his pocket and cut her free. He pocketed the knife and took her hand in his. His bigger one engulfed hers. But as he slid their fingers together she couldn’t help but notice how strong his grip was. He wasn’t going to let her go. It was an oddly comforting thought as they emerged into the regular airport traffic.
    She had that feeling of her life becoming some kind of surreal foreign movie. When she’d watched those films it had always seemed a bit daring and exciting to think of her ordinary boring life being shook up. But the reality was that she was scared and had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next.
    As nice as it was that Anna had sent these men for her, Olivia realized she had noplace to go where she would be safe. But then Kirk tugged on her arm to keep her by his side, and she thought she was safe with him.

Chapter Eight
    A UGUST 1, P RETORIA , S OUTH A FRICA
    K irk wasn’t distracted by the woman. He kept a weather eye on their back trail as Laz maneuvered the car through the airport traffic. He heard a ragged sigh and glanced over at the woman.
    She had a bruise on one cheek and her eyes were a bit wide. She started to talk, but he shook his head.
    “Keep quiet.”
    Laz didn’t need the distraction from his driving and Kirk wanted to concentrate on keeping her safe. The same concentration that had served him well on his last job came to the fore now.
    Her breathing was loud and ragged and he spared another glance at her. She had her arms wrapped around her own waist and was rocking back and forth.
    “Don’t think about it,” he said. “Try to picture something pleasant, one of your favorite things.”
    She nodded. He put on his shooting glasses. They looked like sunglasses and were good for reducing glare and sharpening images. There was someone in the car three behind them that he didn’t trust.
    “Watch that black Land Rover, Laz.”
    “I am. Can you read the plate?”
    He could and did, giving the plate number using the phonetic alaphabet.
    “Got it,” Savage said. “We’re running the plate now.”
    “Should we lose them?” Laz asked.
    “Affirmative.”
    “Raindrops on roses,” Olivia said.
    “What the hell?” Kirk glanced over at her again.
    Her face was white, pale white. She was in shock. Damn.
    “Stop singing.”
    She didn’t pay attention to him. “Whiskers on kittens.”
    Laz was doing a good job of getting them through the traffic and away from the Land Rover.
    “That car checks out,” Savage said. “Find a safe area and get rid of everything that she has on her. Lambert’s guards came after her, so that means he might have a GPS tracking system in her mobile phone.”
    “Will do, boss,” Kirk said.
    Laz consulted his GPS navigator and Savage said something else, but Kirk couldn’t hear him over Olivia’s singing.
    “Shut up,” he said, making his voice harsh and low.
    She looked up at him with wide eyes. He wasn’t being mean, just doing his job. They couldn’t save her and keep her safe if they were distracted.
    “Sorry…you said think of my favorite things,” she said.
    “Think, not sing.”
    Without warning, she