Rogue (Book 2) (The Omega Group) by Andrea Domanski

village,” Myrick
said. “She didn’t get feisty until she saw you.”
    His statement was accentuated when Gina tore loose of
Myrick’s grip on her elbow and stomped toward the villagers. “What the hell are
you doing, Carter?”
    “What needs to be done,” Carter said through clenched teeth.
“Now sit down.”
     The flush on her cheeks turned three shades darker as
her temper flared. “Who do you think you are? You can’t —”
    “That’s what I said.” The chief puffed up his chest, ready
to begin his own tirade, until Gina cut him off.
    “You shut up too, Chief. I don’t know what you did to cause
all of this, but I will find out.”
    The spark of anger in the chief’s eyes billowed into
outrage. “You insolent little bitch. How dare you speak to me that way?”
    In a flash, Carter’s hand was wrapped around Istaqa’s throat,
pulling him close as he squeezed.
    “Um, Carter? I think we might be getting a bit off track
here.” Han laid one hand gently on Carter’s shoulder.
    His friend’s words slowly seeped through the rage that
enveloped him, and he loosened his grip, letting his hand drop to his side. The
chief buckled over, hands on his knees, gasping for air. Although Carter
regretted losing control like that, he couldn’t help but enjoy the chief’s
suffering just a little bit.
    Gina spoke up, this time without the indignant attitude.
“What did he do?”
    Carter took a deep breath to calm himself. “That’s what
we’re here to find out. Hikers have been disappearing for hours at a time, with
no memory of where they were or who they were with. Violence has skyrocketed
throughout the area. Something is very wrong here, Gina.”
    “And you just assumed it was us?” Her irritation was
evident.
    “Of course not, but as soon as our plane landed, one of your
guys opened fire on us. A few hours later your tribe raided the Havasupai
village. Then I get kidnapped and dragged here before two more of you tried to
blow us up on the side of the road. It wasn’t real difficult to connect the
dots.”
    The chief started blubbering about his innocence but was
silenced by a glare from Carter that said “speak and I will kill you where you
stand.”
    When he turned back toward Gina, he saw her eyes widen. Not
in fear as would be expected in this situation, but in what looked like shock.
When she finally spoke, she couldn’t even form a full thought.
    “Oh my God,” she said. “I just assumed… I thought the
Havasupai were… How could I have let this happen?”
    Carter walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Calm down, Gina. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
    Before she could answer, a familiar voice came from the tree
line. “Am I too late?”
    Carter stared as Greco walked a stricken-looking Bidzil
toward him. “This guy says he’s a friend of yours.”
    Carter nodded. He could only imagine what the Havasupai
healer was thinking seeing him with his team, all holding weapons on the
Yavapai villagers. “It’s not what it looks like, Bidzil. None of them are
seriously hurt. We’re here to stop them from doing whatever it is that they’re
doing.”
    Bidzil let loose a sigh of relief. “Then I am just in time,
young one. You have been fooled.” He turned his attention to encompass everyone
there and opened his arms wide. “You have all been fooled. Your fight is not
with each other, nor is it with the Havasupai. We are all victims in this.”
    Myrine came forward and introduced herself. “I understand
your wish to prevent any unnecessary violence, sir. I have always had the same
wish. But some, or all, of these people are the perpetrators of unnecessary
violence. They brutally attacked your own village, not to mention their
multiple attempts on my people’s lives.”
    Gina finally found her voice. “The attack on your village
was in retaliation for the kidnapping of four of our men.”
    “But we did not kidnap your men. Just as, I think, you did
not