Targeted (Firebrand Book 1) by Sandra Robbins

mountains behind them and motioned to his two bodyguards who stood behind him. “Get rid of this body.”
    The men nodded and stepped around their boss. They picked the body up and headed around the side of the shack. “Where are they going? Can’t we just bury him?” Victor asked.
    El Jefe shook his head. “No, we’re in the desert. When the rains come, there will be a small flood come down that mountain. Anything buried around here will be uncovered.” He pointed up the mountain. “They have to carry him up there and find a hole where the coyotes have dug out, stuff him in there, and pile rocks over the opening. That way no one will ever find him.”
    Victor nodded and stared at the truck for a moment. “I guess there’s not much we can do about that.”
    El Jefe shook his head. “If the body’s not found, the man’s disappearance will just be another mystery of the desert.”
           An hour later the men returned from their task. They gave a quick nod to signal that the job had been completed, and one of them opened the back door of the vehicle for El Jefe to climb inside.  “Let me know what happens tomorrow.”
    “I will.”
    “And remember to use a throwaway phone when you call me. Don’t leave any kind of trail to me.”
    “I won’t.”
    Victor watched as the Jeep turned and drove down the path that led back to the main road before he climbed into his car. He glanced up at the mountain once more and shook his head. The man was really only trying to be a good Samaritan, and it had ended up getting him killed. Too bad he didn’t just go on by like most people would have. He would still be alive if he had.
    “Oh, well,” Victor said aloud as the car’s engine roared to life. He had other things to worry about today, and it all centered on Ash DeHan.
    Smiling, Victor turned the car around and headed back toward the main road. As he drove, he glanced in the rearview mirror and laughed out loud. The last thing he saw before he turned the corner was the flag atop the pickup truck waving in the breeze.
     

Chapter 6
    When Ash entered the kitchen the next morning, Casey was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. She glanced up when he walked in and smiled. “Good morning, sleepyhead. I wondered if you were going to get up today.”
    Ash chuckled, walked over, and poured himself a cup of coffee before he sat down at the table across from her. They’d been friends ever since she’d been patched into Firebrand, but he still found it hard to believe that a petite woman like Casey with her sparkling blue eyes and warm laugh possessed the skills to hold her own with the toughest of adversaries. But he’d seen her in action, and he would trust her to watch his back on any mission.
    She wasn’t dressed in her usual fatigues this morning but wore a black pants suit with a white blouse that made her look as if she might be a young executive ready for the day in a downtown office.
    “I guess I did sleep in later than I meant,” he said. “Did you make it all right last night? The bedrooms at this house are a bit on the girly side, thanks to Lainey. Not what we’re used to.”
    She sniffed and lifted her chin. “In case you haven’t noticed, I am a girl, and I like girly things. I can’t help it if the guys I work with don’t appreciate the finer things in life.”
    He laughed. “You mean all the guys, or are you speaking of one in particular? Whose name happens to be Reese Alexander?”
    Casey’s fresh-scrubbed complexion turned a deep pink, and she set her cup back in the saucer. “I wasn’t speaking of any one in particular.”
    Ash bit down on his tongue and wished he could recall the words. Everybody in Firebrand, except Reese, seemed to know how Casey felt about their leader, but she guarded her actions closely. This was the first time Ash had made mention of it to her, and he now regretted it. He took a deep breath and searched his mind for something to say that would