Phoenix Read online

  Riley shrugged. He had to play this cool. “I’m always up for a great course, but sometimes it doesn’t work out for me to do public courses. Somebody cuts me off with a sandboard and I can recover pretty quickly. Somebody cuts me off on a motocross bike…”

  Omar grimaced and shook his head. “Sorry I cut you off. That was stupid. But I know the perfect FMX course. It’s a private course owned by Mr. El Kadi. He’s also a great rider.”

  Bingo.

  Riley glanced over at Wyatt and Gavin, who were chatting with some of the locals while also keeping an eye on what was going on with Riley. He gave them a slight nod.

  “Why don’t you see if your friend Mr. El Kadi would be open for me and my team to come over? No filming. We’ll keep it casual.”

  The kid had a smart phone in his hands ten seconds later, talking excitedly, this time in Arabic to whoever was on the other line. Riley hoped it was Sayed.

  He wandered over to Gavin and Wyatt. “My friend Omar over there knows somebody who has a private FMX course. Thought we might check it out.”

  Immediately the locals Gavin and Wyatt had been talking to started gushing about Sayed and his course.

  It was setting up to be the perfect cover.

  “Sounds like a great location to me,” Wyatt said.

  Omar came running up. “Mr. El Kadi says he would be honored to have you at his home to ride his course. He looks forward to personally challenging you.”

  Riley slapped the kid on the back. “That can definitely be arranged.”

  The crowd dispersed, and they all started packing up as the sun began to set behind the dunes. Riley kept up an easy banter with Omar and the other riders coming with them to Sayed’s house. Wyatt and Gavin kept their heads down and helped pack things up like they were part of the crew.

  Riley got into the small van with Wyatt and Gavin. They followed the other vehicles, forming a caravan heading to Sayed’s estate.

  The guys got Kendrick on the line once they had privacy.

  “Update us, Blaze. We’re heading into Sayed’s compound.” Gavin put his phone on speaker and set it next to him as Wyatt drove.

  “Satellite footage shows two infrared signatures in the cellar near the barn. My spidey senses are telling me that’s our boys.”

  “Security cameras?” Wyatt asked.

  “Tons, but all pointing toward the outside. Once you’re inside their walls, security cameras aren’t really a problem. Roving armed guards on the other hand…” Kendrick sighed from his end of the phone. “I sometimes feel like a broken record saying this to you Linear guys, but you’re going in there outgunned and outmanned. If things go to shit, you’re going to be in trouble.”

  “Then we won’t let them go to shit,” Wyatt said.

  Kendrick sighed again. “If the guards follow the pattern of the past few days, they’re only checking on the prisoners once a day. So they shouldn’t even notice they’re gone until tomorrow—plenty of time for you to make it to Cairo and out of the country.”

  “Sayed might suspect you had something to do with it,” Gavin said to Riley.

  Riley shrugged. “I’m going to be with the guy the entire time, riding bikes. Based on his invitation, not my request. So he’ll hardly be able to accuse me of anything when I’m kicking his ass at motocross.”

  “Just keep him riding until as close to ten p.m. as possible.” Wyatt caught Riley’s eye in the rearview mirror. “Like you’re having the time of your life and want to stay until the last possible minute. So that when we do finally go, we have an excuse to drive like a bat out of hell toward the airport.”

  Riley nodded. “You guys just be sure to have them in the van by then.”

  “Charter jet is ready, along with private security screening,” Kendrick said. “As long as you guys make it out of the compound and to the airport, you’ll be fine.”

  They disconnected the call as the caravan pulled up to the gate.

  The guard recognized Riley and was a fan, so Riley chatted with him for a few minutes—which was what he would do in a normal situation, and because it didn’t hurt to build up some goodwill—before they made their way inside.

  “Good luck, you guys,” he murmured as they parked next to the huge house and he opened the door. “Keep safe.”

  “You too, brother,” Wyatt said.

  Omar rushed over to Riley, alternating between gushing and playing it cool as only a teenager could. They all walked around the house toward the bike course.

  It was already dark outside, but the industrial, stadium-strength lights provided more than enough illumination. Riley let out a whistle now that he could see the course clearly. Impressive.

  “See?” Omar was grinning, obviously delighted that Riley was impressed. “I told you. I told you Mr. El Kadi has the best course, maybe in the entire country.”

  “Omar.” A voice rang out behind them. “Our American friend has eyes. Let him judge for himself.”

  Riley turned and found a dark-skinned man, definitely of Egyptian descent, in his late forties, and already dressed in motorbike-riding garb. “Mr. Harrison, I am Sayed El Kadi. Salām ‘alaykum. Welcome to my home.”

  “Hell of a course you’ve got here.” Riley shook the man’s hand.

  He smiled. “That’s because I’m a hell of a rider.”

  Riley grinned. He was never going to be friends with a kidnapper tied to terrorists, but he could respect someone who knew his own strengths. Although the man looked more like a businessman than a motocross rider. “What a coincidence, so am I.”

  “Then shall we have a little go at my course? You can change clothes in here.” He pointed to a small building.

  Riley was changed and on the bike they’d rented in Cairo in no time. Sayed hadn’t been lying about his FMX abilities. He was good. And in riding the course purely for speed, especially with home-field advantage, he was even better than Riley.

  But when it came to stunts and showing off, Riley had him beat hands down.

  Riley knew how to work the crowd, knew how to perform stunts. After all, they’d gotten him millions of views on YouTube. Riley knew what flips looked harder than they actually were, and that a fall every now and again made everything seem much more dangerous and immediate.

  For three hours, Riley made sure the attention was on him while doing his best not to irritate his host too much. Sayed didn’t like to be beat and was used to being the best rider on the course.

  Riley didn’t have to downplay his own skills nearly as much as he would’ve thought. Sayed was that good.

  Meanwhile, Riley trusted Gavin and Wyatt to get the job done. Because there was nothing he could do to help them besides play ringmaster at the circus.

  He kept track of every minute, but as it neared ten p.m., he acted like he was caught by surprise. “Holy shit, Sayed, I’ve got to go. I’m barely going to make it back to Cairo for my flight, and I’ve got to be in Sri Lanka tomorrow.”

  Sayed took a sip of his water, as did Riley. Both of them had their hair matted to their heads from the sweat under the helmets.

  “No, stay. Eat with us. I insist. Then we’ll have another few goes at the track and see if you can finally beat me in a speed test. I’ll personally escort you and your friends to the airport tomorrow and you can take my private jet to your next location.”

  Riley smiled tightly. This was an unexpected offer. If Riley hadn’t known Sayed was a terrorist asshole, he might have taken the older man up on his offer. “I can’t.”

  “Come on, Phoenix. Since when have you ever turned down a challenge in order to make a flight?” This came from one of the other guys who’d been hanging out and riding with them all day. Someone who thought he knew Riley because he’d watched all the Phoenix videos over and over.

  He didn’t know Riley.

  But, then again, in this case, the guy wasn’t incorrect. Riley would never back down from a challenge like this just to make a flight. Of course, Sayed didn’t need to know that.


  Riley shot the guy an easy smile before turning to Sayed. “I hate to sound like anybody’s mother, but my team and I have responsibilities in Sri Lanka.”

  Sayed gave Riley a smile of his own. “How about we race for it? If you beat me in a speed test on the course, you go tonight on your flight. If I win, you stay until tomorrow.”

  Turning this down would draw much more attention than they could afford. Riley took another sip of his water and winked at Sayed. “You got yourself a deal.”

  Cheers lit up all around them. Riley still didn’t see Gavin or Wyatt. He sure as hell hoped they had Andre and cousin Josh already in the van.

  Riley hadn’t been able to beat Sayed in a speed test on the course. If he didn’t do it now, they were going to have to think way outside the box on how to get out of here.

  “I’m not going to take it easy on you just because you’ve been a great host.” Riley kept an easy smile plastered on his face as they walked over to their bikes.

  “You wouldn’t be in the record books for so many different sports if you did.” Sayed grabbed the helmet off the handlebars. “I know why you’re here, Phoenix.”

  Oh shit. “Is that so?”

  “I’ve known from the moment you first drove in here.”

  For the first time Riley glanced over to where Gavin and Wyatt would be, trying to figure out a way to signal them if necessary.

  “Oh yeah? What’s that, Sayed?”

  “To win. You always chase the win—I’ve seen it in your videos. Too many people here are too afraid of me to truly give me a challenge.”

  Riley relaxed.

  That’s because you’re a tyrant, asshole. “Trust me, I’m not afraid of you.”

  They got their bikes to the top of the hill and situated themselves. Riley took a deep breath, pushing all thoughts of Wyatt and Gavin and the mission from his mind.

  When the large red light turned green, Riley didn’t hold back.

  Sayed was right. Riley was here to win. Phoenix never started a race he didn’t plan to win.

  Sayed knew the course better, but that wasn’t as much of an advantage anymore after the past couple of hours, during which Riley had become familiar with it too.

  And Riley was much more familiar with the art of riding itself. And it was an art.

  True to his word, Riley didn’t take it easy at all; he raced like his life depended on it—which it might. In Sayed’s defense, there were a couple of times the man could’ve cheated, an ugly cutoff he could’ve made a la Omar, but he didn’t. He stuck to the race rules. Clean.

  Amazing how a criminal with blood on his hands could be so scrupulous in other areas.

  In the end, Riley crossed the finish line a wheel’s length in front of Sayed. It was close, but it was enough.

  He was a little afraid he was going to have a fight on his hands, but when Sayed took off his helmet, he was smiling. “You gave me a fair fight. That’s all I can ask for. Although, if you had seen my luxury jet, you might not have pushed so hard to win.”

  Riley shook Sayed’s outstretched hand. “I always push hard. Like you said, chasing the win.”

  Fifteen minutes later, ten minutes past when they were supposed to have left, Riley was back at the van. Wyatt and Gavin gave him a silent nod as they helped him load his bike into the vehicle. That meant Andre and Josh were secure and hidden in the two large storage boxes near the front.

  They drove out of the gate, Riley once again talking to the guard and distracting him from searching anything too thoroughly. As they left, he gave a little salute to the group waving them off near the gate, including Sayed.

  Nobody said much, none of them daring to breathe until they finally reached the airport. They got Andre and Josh out of their hiding spot and cleared the private security area. Within minutes, they were all on board the plane and speeding down the runway.

  As they took off and the lights of Cairo became smaller and smaller, Riley looked over his shoulder at Wyatt and Gavin. They were smiling. So was he.

  Another win, chased and captured.

  Chapter 3

  “Riley, girl, I hope to hell we don’t need all this stuff.”

  Riley Wilde studied the boxes of medical supplies stacked up in the RV camper. This would be her home for the next week.

  It was, in fact, a shit ton of stuff.

  “We’ve got fifty people racing over a hundred miles through some of the toughest Wyoming wilderness, hurling themselves through obstacle courses, rappelling down cliffs, kayaking through white water, and doing whatever else your fiancé has cooked up for them. All while trying to beat each other to the finish line.” Riley looked over at her friend Anne Griffin, one of Oak Creek’s best emergency physicians. “We probably don’t have enough supplies.”

  The Wild Wyoming Adventure Race, or WAR, was starting tomorrow. What had started out as a multiday training exercise for the Linear Tactical guys five years ago had turned into a popular multistage race among endurance and adventure athletes—people looking for something challenging.

  After all, who knew how to push athletes better than a bunch of former Special Forces soldiers?

  “I’m just glad Zac is in charge of it this year instead of racing,” Anne said about her fiancé. “Nearly gave me a heart attack last year, watching him. This entire thing is insanity.”

  Riley chuckled. “All the Linear guys are half insane. Why do you think Boy Riley gets along so well—”

  She stopped talking, throat closing up in pain. She couldn’t keep talking about Riley as if the two of them were still together.

  What she could do was ignore the fact that her heart was in a million pieces on the ground, her life was falling apart, and her future was uncertain at best.

  She could concentrate on medical supplies and a race that would, fortunately, require all her attention.

  “You’re allowed to talk about him, you know. I may not agree with what you’re doing, but you can always talk to me about any of it. You need to talk to someone, Riley.”

  She shrugged off Anne’s gentle hand at her back and moved to organize the boxes, even though they were fine the way they were. “What’s there to talk about? I have multiple sclerosis, I’m eventually going to end up in a wheelchair, and that doesn’t really jive with the lifestyle of the world’s premier adventure sport YouTube star.”

  Not just YouTube. The Adventure Channel had contacted Riley about hosting his own weekly show, Phoenix Rises. He’d be traveling to even more remote and exotic locations than he already did. More excitement. More adventure. More of everything that Riley, Phoenix, was good at. He loved it, and people loved him for it.

  Including her.

  There was no fucking way she was tying him to her and this fucking condition.

  She was already not adventurous enough for someone like him. Throw in a deteriorating central nervous system in a body that was attacking itself…

  The best thing she could do for Riley was to get out of his life.

  Anne let out a sigh. “We’ve been over this. Every case of MS is different. You may not need a wheelchair until you’re seventy, if you even need one at all. All the indications—”

  “I know what the research says, Anne, but you and I both know there are no guarantees either way. Breaking up with Riley was the right thing to do.”

  She’d done it three days ago, when the confirmed MS diagnosis had come through. For weeks she’d been hoping otherwise, but deep inside she’d known. She’d been a nurse for too long not to figure it out.

  The involuntary muscle spasms, dizziness, loss of balance, fatigue… Her body was turning on itself. The MRI had confirmed it.

  She and Riley had been supposed to video chat the next day, but she’d canceled, telling him she had to work.

  Her entire life had just been turned upside down. She couldn’t face him—even from thousands of miles away, he would’ve known something was terribly wrong. Would’ve gotten the truth out of her.

  So she
’d called him the next day—he’d just been getting back from some unscheduled stop in Egypt—and told him their relationship was over. Some bullshit about distance and changing and growing apart. She had hung up before he could ask too many questions. She had been curt with, or ignored, his many texts since.

  She hadn’t quite been able to breathe since then. Or sleep. Or eat.

  She couldn’t go on this way. So she was glad to have WAR to focus on. Riley was in Sri Lanka, then heading to some other parts of Southeast Asia—a problem for another day.

  “I just want to concentrate on the race and getting everyone through this safely.”

  “Okay.”

  She turned to face her friend. “Okay? That’s it?”

  Anni-e gave her the quiet smile she was near famous for. “Like I said, I may not agree with you not telling Boy Riley, but you’re my friend, and I’ll support you in whatever way I can. If that means avoiding the issue for a little while and watching grown-ass adults do ridiculously dangerous and stupid things for fun…I’m in.”

  Riley would be with the racers all week as medical support. Anne would be here off and on to provide backup as needed.

  Anne went back to her list, and Riley turned back to the supplies, grabbing a box of gauze to move to the other side of the table. But she twisted the wrong way and knocked over a stack of ibuprofen.

  “You okay over there?” Anne asked.

  “It’s not the damn MS, okay?” Riley snapped. “I’m just clumsy.”

  A pause. “Clumsy is allowed too,” Anne said softly.

  Riley scrubbed a hand down her face. She was being a bitch. Anne hadn’t said anything about MS. Riley didn’t even know if that was what the woman had been thinking.

  But pretty soon it would be. Soon it would be all anyone thought when they thought of Riley. Her MS.

  She refused to let it be all Boy Riley associated with her too.

  Anne came over and silently helped her restack the fallen boxes.

  “I’m sorry.” Riley reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’m a bitch.”