Her Secret Pirate by Gennita Low Page A

broadcasted the news all over the channels. So now they’re making threats and looking for the A mbassador.
    “We know he and his aid have hidden themselves in the safe rooms but they were somehow separated. The Ambassador has radioed in that he’s okay but he’s more concerned a bout his daughter. He said if they find his daughter, he’ll give himself up. Needless to say, your job is to make sure you find both of them when you get on board.”
    “How many on board, sir?” Cucumber asked.
    “We see four securing the crew and we think eight searching the ship. The firefight took out two of the hostiles. The ambassado r’s men and the crew’s shots have sunk their skiff, so they’re angry and getting angrier, and they’re starting to feel anxious waiting for their main ship to pick them up. Now, whether my crew and I succeed in delaying the other ship, you four have your orders. Unless they surrender, shoot to kill.”
    “Yes, sir!”
    “It’s dark. They’ve purposely killed the lights because they know about the possibility of snipers and they’re using human shields. Study the map and photos, locate the safe rooms , and search them. Be aware they’re searching too so the ones in danger won’t know you aren’t the bad guys. Only the ambassador knows because he has the means to communicate. As far as we can tell, the rest in hiding know nothing so you have to exercise caution who you’re taking out.”
    “Yes, sir!”
    They did last minute checks of their equipment going into their waterproof packs and pouches. Cumber came over and slapped him on the back.
    “Knew you wanted in,” he said.
    “Yeah.”
    “Damn reporters just don’t think who they’ re endangering, broadcasting who’s on board and telling everyone she’s the Ambassador’s daughter. ”
    Zone shrugged. Too late for that now. “Maybe you can tweet them the third finger salute,” he suggested wryly.
    Cumber snorted. “ I don’t tweet, I shoot. Look, man, I know you have things on your mind. I got your back, you know?”
    “Thanks, man. My head’s screwed on r ight. I’ ll get the job done .”
    “Good.” Cumber nodded, threw him a thumbs-up before heading back to his gear.
    Zone looked down at the map, studying all the areas outlined in red. Swimming to the ship and slipping on board were the easy part, even though their usual eight-man team had been divided in half. Taking out four hostiles? Hell, he could do that with one arm tied around his back. His finger touched Rebecca’s photo taped to the inside flap of his pouch , tracing the outline of her face. But making sure his woman wasn’t harmed? That part made his ches t area ached like never before.
    Where the hell was Rebecca hiding?
    * **
    Rebecca had never been so afraid in her life. This morning, she’d been so excited about taking part in the international food aid treaty, knowing she was doing something about which she was passionate instead of just working the red tape. She was finally about to see, with her own eyes, the food and aid , which had taken months to finalize, finally reached the people who needed them most instead of being “lost” or confiscated once they reached port. Their entourage had boarded from the Seychelles Islands and started their goodwill voyage after signing the treaty, partly political publicity stunt and partly a sincere wish to see a good start to the food program. They were going to meet up with a navy shi p, flying off from there , and then later in the month, fly to India to meet the ship as it arrived at port . Ev erything had been planned to the last detail , from meeting the VIPs to publicity shots to map routes to handing out the food to the villagers.
    But that was this morning. All the planning hadn’t covered this. Never in her life had she imagined that by dark, she would be hiding in the bowels of the ship being chased by pirates.
    They had shot at them. She shuddered at the memory of the blood from an injured sailor.