The voice growled, “You will die if you hurt them.”

Buck shrugged. “I don’t want to hurt them. Really. But here’s what I do want. Lilly Chase.”

“You kidnapped my family because of Sugar?”

“I’m not even asking you to hand her over. I only want intelligence. I suspect Titan will be on the ground before GSI plans to mobilize. If you want to see your family again, all I need is the where and when after you have hands on Lilly Chase. Then—presto—you’ll get your family back. Unharmed. And I’ll even throw in a couple hundred grand for your worries.”

Ensuring Buck’s victory before nearing the finish line, the voice again growled, “I’m going to find you, slit your—”

“You might, but your family will die. So it’s a lose-lose for everyone. Don’t bother bringing Titan in on this one. I know how great your cocksucker boss thinks he is, but do you believe he’s better than me? Would you stake your family’s life on it?”

“Why do you want Sugar?”

“I took you for a smarter man.” Did the world not see she was the one thing that could crumple his empire? Women talked more than they should. She would certainly come back to the States and tell the world what he was actually doing in Afghanistan. Buck shook his head. He was betting that she wouldn’t mention what a great entrepreneur he was. No, her focus would probably lie in the terrorists he was aiding in exchange for cash. “It’s better not to ask questions.”

“Jared will come after you. Me. Both—”

“Titan’s days are numbered.” Buck gestured nonchalantly. “Jared and I have a not-so-friendly game of Annihilation running. Stems back from our Ranger days. This is more personal than you realize.”

“Probably not.” The man’s voice was harsh and knowing.

The man’s comeback was unexpected, but men under duress rarely behaved as they should. “So, do we have an agreement?”

“You take my family, return them at your leisure, then I let you live another night?”

Feisty son of a bitch. Too bad this guy works for Titan. Buck sighed, uninterested in explaining himself, but needing to shore this up. Time was ticking. “No one will take me out. Not you. Not Jared Westin. Not a rogue ATF agent who should’ve minded her own business and died in the Middle East. You’ll always know in the back of your mind that I took them once, and I could do it again.”

Silence. Silence was golden. It meant: “Yes, sir. I’ll do it, sir. You’ve got me by the balls, sir.”

Just the way Buck liked his friends and enemies. “We’ll be in contact. And until then, know everyone is safe. Temporarily.”

***