The Mercenary: The Savage Seven. Katherine Garbera

airport and the crowd. This many people made him cranky. And something that Savage had said on the phone a few minutes ago was making the back of his neck itch.

      Regardless of whether they had wanted to do this extraction, it was their mission, and the Savage Seven never failed. And until they got to the girl, the situation wasn’t in his control. He didn’t like that.

      “The line isn’t going to move any faster no matter how much you glare.”

      “It might. I want the girl with us so we can relax.”

      Laz snorted. “You don’t know the meaning of relaxation.”

      “That might be true, but I do know the meaning of a locked door in a secure room. That’s what I want.”

      “Should be a piece of cake,” Laz said.

      Kirk nodded. Laz was fine, but Kirk needed to process the job he’d just done and find his center. Jack would laugh his ass off if he knew that Kirk did that after each kill, but it was the only way he could move on and stay sane. He had a ritual and this was messing with it. He was edgy and ready for a fight. Not the best way to be when he had to protect a friend of Anna’s.

      They edged forward in the line. “What the fuck is taking so long?”

      “Who knows?”

      Kirk took a deep breath. “I’ll get the girl while you get the car. We’ll meet you out front.”

      “Fine. We can’t test our earpieces until we clear customs,” Laz said.

      “What do you think of everything she saw?” Laz asked. “I know that the fiancé threatened her with a gun, but…”

      Kirk shrugged. “That doesn’t have anything to do with our job here.”

      “Yeah, I know. But that had to throw her. My sister’s husband turned out to be a pedophile. Maureen freaked out.”

      Kirk shook his head. “I’m sorry, Laz. That had to be rough. Does she have to see the bastard?”

      “Not anymore. I took care of that problem for her.”

      Kirk didn’t ask any other questions. He knew what Laz meant and that was enough for him. He would’ve done the same if he’d had a sister. Despite the fact that he was a loner, he did take care of his own.

      Of course the only family he had were the men of the Savage Seven. The line inched forward a few more feet. And Kirk couldn’t take another second. The walls were closing in around him. He needed fresh air.

      “You okay?” Laz asked.

      He nodded. “Yeah, great.”

      They were waved up to the customs agent. Kirk pushed past Laz to go first, knowing his friend wouldn’t care. He handed the form he had and the weapons permit to the man.

      “What’s the purpose of your visit?” the agent asked.

      “Work.”

      “When will you be leaving?”

      “In twenty-four hours,” Kirk said.

      “You have to claim your weapons with our agent.”

      Kirk nodded. “Welcome to South Africa, Mr. Mann. Enjoy your stay.”

      “Thank you.”

      Kirk took his passport and walked to the area where he knew he’d be able to reclaim his weapon. He wondered if that wasn’t part of his problem. He felt damned naked without his gun.

      Laz was right behind him. They collected their weapons and radio communication earpieces, which they both donned immediately.

      “Check, check,” Kirk said.

      “Gotcha,” Laz said.

      “Savage? You on here?”

      “Sure am. Where are you two?” Savage asked.

      “Just outside bag claim,” Kirk said. “Where is the girl?” Now that they were here, he was ready to get this mission rolling.

      “She’s in a café waiting for you,” Jack said. “Laz, there is a car waiting under your name. I think we need to check out Olivia’s car. See if it’s where she left it and put a tracking device on it in case the fiancé comes to get the car.”

      “I’ll do that,” Laz said.

      “I’m on my way to find the girl. I have her photo. Does she know to expect me?” Kirk asked, reviewing Olivia’s photo on his BlackBerry.

      “Affirmative,” Jack said. “Anna’s been on the phone with her since she arrived at the airport.”

      “Good. I’ll let you know when I’m in position,” Kirk said.

      Laz left to find the car and do his tasks. Jack was on the line but not talking and Kirk didn’t let any of that bother him. One of the things he really liked about his team was that they all pulled their own weight and could be counted on to do their jobs.

      He entered the airport departure area where the restaurants were and walked toward the café where Olivia was waiting. He saw a group of students standing in the entrance area as two men who looked like professionals in his line of work pushed past the students.

      “Dammit. Someone else may be interested in our girl,” Kirk said.

      “What? Anna, get me the footage from the airport on my screen.”

      Kirk didn’t wait around for Savage to tell him to get in there. It stood to reason that her fiancé may have already sent a team to take her out if she saw too much.

      “Hold up, Kirk,” Jack said.

      Kirk kept moving. He heard Jack talking to Anna. The other man’s voice was completely calm. And then he heard a scream and the sound of a table being overturned as he walked into the diner.

      “Shit,” Jack said.

      “I’m on it,” Kirk said, taking off after the men who were dragging Olivia Pontuf out of the restaurant.

      Chapter Seven

      AUGUST 1, SANDTON

      Olivia screamed. She yelled as loud as she could, hoping for help. She clawed at Burati’s arms, trying to reach his face. He held on to her with surprising strength. She was almost numb with fear. The only thing that kept her going was the fact that she didn’t want to die.

      “Let me go!”

      “Shut up,” Burati said.

      The kitchen staff all looked the other way as he dragged her through the back of the restaurant. The kitchen wasn’t that busy at this time of the day and no one looked at her.

      Burati said something in Afrikaans and the other men laughed. Olivia knew that no one would be coming to her aid.

      “Hurry up, Leon. We need to get out of here before the authorities come.”

      Burati grabbed her hands and held them together. “Use that duct tape to fasten her hands, Barack.”

      Barack did as he was told. Olivia struggled and kicked but Burati held on to her tightly. “Stand still.”

      “No. I’m not going to make it easy for you to kidnap me.”

      Barack had her bag and her phone and she could only hope that Anna had figured out what was going on, that maybe her friend would send help…but a part of Olivia knew she could only rely on herself.

      Olivia kicked out, trying to get Burati or Barack, but both men stepped out of her reach. She spun on her heel and ran as fast as she could. She sprinted all out through the kitchen and through the back door, which led to a hallway.

      She hesitated, not sure which way to go. That hesitation cost her.

      Burati’s heavy hand fell