Chapter 691 Chapter 691
Hopefully, he was one of Taggart’s, and she hadn’t just agreed to work with someone who was with the men threatening Taggart. Taking a deep breath, she blew it out and stepped around the corner, gun raised and aimed at the back of the man bitching at Taggart. “I don’t remember inviting friends along, Taggart.” She chanced a quick glance at him to see he was not impressed.
“You know,” he lifted his shoulders and let them drop, “I am friendly man.”
The man holding the gun on him stepped back so he could see her. The gun was still pointed at Taggart.
The other man turned around and gave her a quick assessment. “You go, girly. This is no for you.”
Deva quirked an eyebrow at him. “Girly?”
“We’re coming around the other side, Deva,” Amari said in her ear.
Deva sidestepped so the corner was visible without having to look at it. “I have no problem going, but Taggart comes with me.”
The insulting one shook his head. “We take long time to find Taggart. He come back with us.”
“Sorry to disappoint, boys, but my friend has her heart set on taking him with her.” Amari stepped around the other corner. A gun pointed at them.
Tripp walked around it behind her, a gun pointed at them as well. “I suggest you don’t argue with my lady, gents. She doesn’t take to it well.”
The man who had been behind the sign walked out from behind a windbreaker wall. Whatever he said was in another language.
Taggart gave the rude man a snide look and lowered his hands. “I tell you that I no alone. You no believe.” He shrugged.
Tripp gave them a wide berth and then walked up to the one with the gun in his hand. He jerked it out of his hand.
Deva moved forward and went right up to the one that had called her girly. She pointed the gun at his chest. “On your knees. Hands in the air.” He continued to look down at her. The man she knew now was one of Taggart’s team walked up behind him and knocked his knees from behind, making him drop to the ground.
“The lady talk to you.” He said a few more things in another language, and she could only assume he told him off in their own language. He inclined his head to her, telling her that he had him. Turning, he looked at Taggart. “I was in area.”
Taggart touched the blood on his head and said something she didn’t understand. “This is Efem, one of team.” Taggart looked at her. His eyes were shining with some sort of mischief. The fact that she recognized that from him now surprised her and made her wary of what he might do.
Clicking the safety on her gun, she went over and reached up to move his hair out of the way and check his head. “That’s pretty deep.” She held his look for a second and then turned to see Tripp talking on the phone as Amari frisked one of the men.
Efem pulled out his phone and nodded. “Is good. Taggart’s Deva save him.” He smiled at her.
Amari paused and gave Deva an amused look.
Efem nodded again and put the phone in his pocket. “You go. I have situation now.” He said to Taggart.
Tripp put his hand up. “Hold on.” He lowered his hand and looked at Taggart. “Devin wants to know if these two are working for that ambassador you and he were discussing.”
Taggart gave the men a quick appraisal. “Ja.”
Tripp lifted the phone to his ear. “That’s an affirmative.” He nodded a few more times. “Amari and I can hang back until he gets here.” More nodding, and then he put the phone in his pocket. “Calder is heading this way to get them.” He gave Efem a once over. “Can you go with him?”
Efem glanced at Taggart, who nodded. “I will, ya.”
Deva huffed out a breath. “One of those vehicles has to be theirs. He can load them up and wait somewhere less visible.”
Tripp nodded. “I’ll go get some wire from my bag.”
Amari straightened up. “I got it.”
“I have to pay for the fuel and clean up this cut.” She looked up at Taggart.
“I got the gas. You go stop him from bleeding.” She smiled at Deva as she moved by her. “Nice work, girl.”
Deva tucked the gun into the back of her jeans. “Saving him seems to be my hobby now.”
Taggart tisked. “Is no true.” He smiled at her and then turned and said something quickly to Efem. The other man nodded. Taggart started walking to the corner of the building. “I just want those crunchy chip things.”
Deva wasn’t sure what he was referring to but followed him. “Did you know they were here? In this country looking for you?” She glanced over her shoulder to see, Efem push the one man to lie on his stomach on the ground.
“No. I know they want to get me very much, but I did no know more were here.”
“More?” She went over and opened the door and grabbed her backpack. She had a small med kit in it. “How often does this happen?”
Taggart came over and leaned in against the seat. “A few time. More before I stay in this country.”
Deva blew out a breath. “You must have really pissed off someone if they’re chasing you across continents and oceans.”
Taggart’s mouth quirked like he wanted to grin but didn’t. “I liberate many.” He tilted his head down so she could dab at the blood and find the injury site. “I may have burn some of the camp and place they have our people.” He lifted a shoulder and let it drop.
“Some of their camps? How many?” The cut wasn’t as bad as she pictured it being when the blood was flowing down his face.
“In what country? There were many.” He did grin this time.
“I see. So, you’re a wanted outlaw to them.”
“I break no laws. They are the one that break laws and harm many.”
She turned to see Amari coming toward them.
“How’s the patient?” She had a bag of gummies in her hand.
“It’s not bad.”
She came over and leaned against the open door. “Did you know your guy was here?”
Taggart moved just his eyes to look over in the direction Tripp and Efem were. “I know he was to come over when he finish his task across the waters. Lars probably tell him that he was no close to me.” He flicked his eyes to look at Amari and then down at the ground. “We no be alone. Always close by.”
“Because he’s being hunted on every continent for sabotaging the criminal ambassadors.” Deva supplied in a sarcastic tone.
“So, what task was he finishing?”
“To bring more over. I will talk to him to see how it go. He was to come to talk to your king,” he looked up at them, “the one that missing now. He have questions about hyena, so Efem come to talk about the rats of his clan.”
“He’s from a hyena clan?” Amari straightened up. “That’s cool. Tomas has been using a lot of them lately.”
“Ja. Efem know and he no like it. He come to find and end it.”
“Sweet.” Amari motioned to the other van that she had been in. “I better get that fueled up, so we can get heading soon.” She walked away.
Neither of them spoke while she cleaned and put ointment on the cut. There was no way to bandage it without shaving the hair around it, and she didn’t travel with a razor.
“You have line.” He touched her forehead with one finger. “I try to think if it happen from anger or worry.”
She wiped the ointment from her finger and put the cap back on the tube. “Both.”
“Ah, my Deva, you no have to worry.”
Deva snorted. “You’re being hunted, Taggart.”
He straightened up and turned his head in one direction and then the other. “We all our kind are hunted, my beauty is just more aggressive for Taggart because he made bad ones angry.”
She studied him. He wasn’t wrong. “Why don’t you go hide somewhere now that your men and our teams are working together? You could coordinate from a safe location.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “You think I be good secretary? Answer phones and give instruction?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
He stood there with his hands on his hips and looked at her for a moment before he sighed and came over to her. “I retire when all our people free. Everywhere.” He touched her chin and smiled at her. “Then we have babies and grow old in big house in the forest.” Leaning down, he kissed her mouth softly and then stepped back. “I go talk to Efem to see how his task go.”
She watched him walk away. Have babies and grow old in a big house in the forest? She scowled at his back. He didn’t seem to understand he had to be alive for that to happen. Did she want babies and a house in the woods? She had no idea. Right at this moment, she couldn’t get past the fact that many countries A-holes were hunting him, and they had no issues crossing the ocean to find him.
Jamming the kit back into her bag, she tossed it between the seats. It was infuriating. If it had been her, she would have packed up and been gone to somewhere completely off the grid. She was no hero. Turning, she watched him talk to his friend. Efem was smiling at him like he was the best thing he’d ever seen. Tossing her bag back in the van, she closed the door. He was a hero. A dark, dangerous, sexy hero. Idiot.