by Jenna Jacob
“Five to base,” Cole’s voice came through clear and strong.
“Go ahead, five,” McCoy answered.
“Got a silver pickup coming down the gravel road. Lone driver…gray hair, flannel shirt beneath bib overalls.”
“Copy. Is the vehicle slowing down?”
“Negatory.”
“Keep eyes on him. Let me know if his speed or direction changes.”
“Ten-four.”
“Probably just a farmer who lives down the road,” Quinn murmured.
Repeating his words in my head, I dragged in a deep breath.
Lucia, carrying a couple of bottles of whiskey and a tray of short glass tumblers on a tray, strolled to the table past Ruben and McCoy.
“What are you doing?” Quinn gaped. “You should be downstairs with the others.”
She set the items on the table with a heavy thud, then slapped her fists on her hips. “I’ve got an eighteen-pound brisket in the oven that I’ve been marinating all day. I’m not about to walk away and let it dry out because of one demented man who gets his jollies torturing women.”
Clearly impressed by her courage, a slow smile curled the edges of Quinn’s mouth. “Fair enough. Thank you for the whiskey.”
“You’re welcome.” Lucia nodded before opening one of the bottles and pouring herself a shot.
After watching the fiery woman refuse to back down to Quinn or the threat looming over our heads, I glanced around the table. There was no way one man, one demented man could harm us all. Oh, he’d like to. He’d love to take me out and end my life for knocking down his perverted house of cards. But as McCoy had so succinctly stated, he’d have to get through him, five other bodyguards, and the heavily armed family gathered around the table.
The terror pinging within began to sputter out as it morphed into conviction. When I locked eyes with Mia, I could see the same conclusion, the same rationale churning in her head. A wide smile speared her lips as she nodded at me.
“Lucia,” I said lifting my chin and squaring my shoulders. “I think it’s time we slice that brisket.”
“Mujeres valientes unidas.” She grinned.
“What’s that mean?” Syd asked, clearly confused at the change in my demeanor.
I shrugged.
“Brave women unite.” Lucia laughed.
“Mujeres valientes unidas,” Mia repeated raising a fist in the air.
Sofia, Tori, and Harmony raised theirs, too.
“Hell yes.” I giggled, thrusting mine up as well.
“What the hell were you ladies drinking on the porch?” Ozzy scowled.
“Empowerment.” I smiled.
“I don’t get it.” Syd shook his head.
“One twisted sack of shit isn’t going to get through all of us,” I explained. “Oh, he might get a shot off, but he’s going to end up swiss cheese, like Sonny at the toll booth in The Godfather.”
“What’s The Godfather?” Harmony whispered.
“It’s a movie, where they kill a guy with machine guns, princess,” Ross replied. “Machine guns shoot a lot of bullets all at once.”
“Like all of us unloading our guns at the same time.” Sofia patted the holster clipped to the waistband of her jeans.
I glanced down at mine and Syd’s. Funny, I’d been wearing the weapon for so long it felt like a part of me now. Turning, I cupped Syd’s cheeks and kissed him hard. Then I delved deep into his chocolate-brown eyes and made him a vow.
“If Zattman tries to lay his hands on me again, I’ll make sure he gets all of me, starting with the barrel of my gun.”
“You go, girl,” Mia cheered.
“Trust me, angel.” Syd slid his strong fingers around my nape and drew me in until I was a scant hair away from his lips. “Zattman’s not going to get a chance to try.”
He sealed his vow with a powerful, potent, and possessive kiss that made me hot and dizzy.
“Amen, brother,” Ross hailed.
And as Ozzy and Darren echoed the same sentiments, I could feel the tension in the room lifting. No, it didn’t completely evaporate, but we were able to fill our plates and start eating our dinner.
Chapter 19
Syd
Caris’s entire demeanor changed before my eyes. The combative defiance that ruled her when she was young had been reborn. I could feel it in the air around her, taste it in her kiss, and see the flames of rebellion in her eyes again. My little warrior woman was back, sword ready and dripping with attitude. God help Zattman. If he showed up now, my little hellcat would delight in stripping the flesh off his bones.
The conversation humming in the room came to a screeching halt when McCoy’s radio crackled again.
“Five to base,” Cole repeated.
“Go ahead, five,” McCoy replied.
“Subject’s rental is a black Escalade, right?”
“Ten-four.”
“Well, we got one heading this way, driving real slow.”
“Keep eyes on him.”
“Oh, I am.”
“Two to base,” Tony called out a couple seconds later. “We got movement, east end of the tree line.”
“That’s behind us,” Ozzy murmured.
Caris tensed as my heart lodged in my throat. Zattman couldn’t be inside the SUV on the road and in the tree line behind us unless he’d recruited a team of his own.
“Is it a deer?” McCoy asked.
No one at the table said a word or took another bite. We were zoned in on McCoy’s exchanges with his men.
“Not sure yet. The blip on my infrared was quick, but it definitely had a heat signature. Whatever’s out there is tucked behind a tree…a really big tree.”
“Base. Vehicle stopped approximately fifteen yards from the driveway.”
“Two, keep painting that tree with infrared. Five, I want to know if that vehicle so much as farts. Stay frosty, boys, and keep me posted,” McCoy drawled.
The lead agent turned and leveled his concerned expression on Caris, then Mia. “You two need to get tucked away.”
Snagging her pistol from its holster, Caris placed it on the table—barrel pointed to the wall behind her—and lifted her chin. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Angel, you need—”
“I need to deal with the bastard, once and for all.”
“I’ll let you put the second bullet through the cockbag, angel, but the first one is going to be mine.”
“Let me?” Caris screeched, flames shooting from her narrowed eyes.
“That’s what we’re hired to do,” McCoy reminded.
“No offense, but you and your men weren’t drugged, raped, cut, burned, and mind fucked. Mia and I were the ones who had to endure days of torture at the hands of that cockbag.”
“That’s right,” Mia said, slamming her hand on the table. “We get to help… No. We get to take him out.”
Quinn stood, shaking his head. “I understand the vengeance you two want to dole out, but—”
“There are no buts, Quinn,” Mia countered.
“He’s one man. He can’t kill us all,” Caris added.
I couldn’t lie, a part of me admired their bravery. But the sheer horror of losing Caris, after finally getting her back in my life, obliterated my tendrils of pride.
Pinning Ozzy with a sidelong glance, I subtly darted my eyes toward the ceiling. He pressed his lips together and issued a subtle nod. I was relieved that we were both on the same page. Though we’d likely end up in the doghouse with Caris and Mia, I’d gladly eat my dinner from a petfood bowl if it meant keeping them both alive.
Leaning over her plate, I lifted her revolver off the table and slid it safely back into her holster.
“What are you doing?” she asked with quizzical scowl.
“Ready, brother?”
A sardonic chuckle rolled off the back of Ross’s throat. Clearly the big drummer had figured out our plan. Ozzy didn’t even respond, he simply stood and plucked Mia out of her chair and tossed her over
his shoulder. Her yelp of surprise was still bouncing off the walls as I stood and hauled Caris up and onto my good shoulder.
Their indignant, high-pitched cries reverberated through the room as both women kicked and punched at us like wild animals. The murmurs and muffled laughter erupting around the table were drowned out by the screams, curses, and death threats pealing off Caris’s and Mia’s lips.
“Good job.” McCoy smirked as Ozzy and I strode from the dining room.
Gripping the back of Caris’s knees tighter, I took the stairs two at a time, ignoring her curses and claws scoring my back.
“Dammit, Mia,” Ozzy hissed. “You punch me in the kidney again, I’ll tie you down and fire up your ass with that paddle you hate so much.”
“I’m going to bust it over your Neanderthal head if you don’t put me down this instant,” Mia growled.
I started to grin when Caris’s toe slammed the inside of my thigh. At the same time, her fist landed a hard blow to my left kidney. Biting back a curse, I tried not to piss myself as I reached the landing. As I staggered against the wall, my balls escaped the mayhem and shrank up deep inside me.
“Stop,” I bellowed.
Landing a firm spank on Caris’s ass, I wasn’t startled by her yelp or the way she instantly stilled but worried I’d slapped her too hard as the sharp sound echoed in the hallway. Mia let out a howl of pain. I realized then that Ozzy and I were on the same page in more ways than one.
“Mozart,” Mia ground out angrily.
“Your safe word doesn’t count right now, sweetheart.”
“Why not?” she huffed. “This isn’t consensual.”
“We’re not engaged in a scene, either. I didn’t spank you for pleasure. Your life is on the line. Our love is on the line. Without you, I got nothing left to live for.”
“Oh, Oz,” Mia mewled before a sob tore from her throat. “Don’t say things like that.”
I couldn’t miss the shiver rippling through Caris’s body.
One tigress tamed, one to go.
“Put me down, Syd,” she pleaded as I entered Ozzy and Mia’s room.
“Are you done?”
“Yes.”
Cupping her nape, I lifted Caris off my shoulder and followed her down onto the other couple’s bed. Her dark eyes sparked with self-righteous fury. I pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “Ozzy’s right. Your life and our love are on the line, too, angel. I got nothing left to live for if I lose you again.”
Guilt and pain crawled across her face.
“What?”
As Caris opened her mouth to answer, a gunshot sounded from outside the lodge. Panic exploded in my veins as I hauled her up from the mattress, and I shielded her with my body as I ushered her into the closet, alongside Ozzy and Mia. Below us, the cacophony of shouts and stomping feet filtered into the room. Pulsing with anxiety, I watched Ozzy punch in the code for the lock with trembling fingers.
As he yanked the door open, Mia threw her arms around his neck. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she kissed him hard. “Don’t you dare die on me, Oz.”
“I won’t, sweetheart. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“The same goes for you. Don’t you die on me either, Syd.” Caris’s voice cracked.
“I won’t, angel. And I promise the next time you see me, Zattman will be dead.” I cupped her cheeks and sealed my vow with a potent kiss containing all my love for her.
It took all the strength I could muster to release her. Sending up a silent prayer that I could keep my promise, I kept my gaze locked on Caris’s until Ozzy closed and locked the two most precious pieces of our lives safely away.
“It’s time to end this. Let’s go kill that motherfucker,” I snarled, yanking my .44 Magnum from its holster.
Ozzy gripped his Smith & Wesson as we bounded down the now darkened hallway and stairs.
“Find that fucking sniper,” McCoy barked into his walkie-talkie as we rushed into the equally dark living room.
From the muted light of the dining room, I could make out Ross and Darren, crouched at each corner of the large plate-glass window, in the front room. Quinn was tucked in tight against the wall beside the screen door.
“I’m working on it, bossy. Dammit…Tony’s not moving.” Al’s voice was rife with worry and frustration for not being able to get the sniper who’d wounded his teammate in his crosshairs.
“We’ll get to him as soon as we can, T. Focus on the sniper,” Cole’s calm voice came through the com.
As Ozzy and I rushed to our designated spots in the kitchen, none of the other women were at their assigned locations. I slid to a stop along the wall framing the sliding glass door and watched over my shoulder as Ozzy sprinted past Burk—stretched out on his stomach atop the marble countertop and weapon aiming out the window above the kitchen sink, past the past the stainless-steel appliances, before skidding to a halt beside another back door in the mudroom.
“Tony got shot?” I asked Burk in a stage whisper.
“Yeah. In the leg, but it knocked him out of the tree stand, and Al said Tony’s not moving.”
“I heard that, but that doesn’t mean he’s dead.”
“I know, but it does mean we have more crazies besides Zattman to deal with.”
“Where’s Sofia, Tori, and Harmony?”
“Ruben took them downstairs. He’s locking them up with Dustin and the grandparents.”
“How’d you talk the girls into doing that?”
“We took a vote,” Burk answered dryly. “They could either go willingly, or…”
I chuckled thinking about all the choice words Sofia probably unloaded on him.
“We’ll be on Social Security before any of us get laid again.”
“Not me, fucker,” I gloated. “Caris is up there counting down the minutes till she’s riding my anaconda again.”
“Found him,” Al barked a split second before another gunshot split the night air.
“Status?” McCoy bellowed.
“Neutralized,” Al answered jubilantly. “I’m heading down to check on T. I’ve got my first-aid field kit and—” A third shot cut the man off in mid-sentence.
Though the mic went silent, Al’s cry of pain seeped through the sturdy log structure of the lodge.
“Goddammit!” McCoy bellowed. “Base to one, report. Repeat, base to one. Report!”
“I’m here, boss,” Al replied, gasping in pain. “Took one to the thigh that took me out of the tree. I’m trying to get back to the stand—”
“Negative. Stay down. I repeat, stay down.”
“Five to base,” Cole interrupted. “Second sniper’s in the trees north of the studio.”
“Ten-four, five. You get a bead on the son of a bitch, you take him out. Copy?”
“Already working on it, boss.”
“McCoy inhaled deeply. “Al, if you can retrieve T, do it. If not, I want you to hunker down and stay undercover until we can pull you both out. Copy?”
“Ten-four,” Al bit out.
McCoy shoved his walkie-talkie into the case on his hip and yanked out his cell phone. After a short but explosive conversation with the FBI, he ended the call and keyed his radio again.
“Five and six, you got a location on the second sniper yet?”
“Negatory,” Cole replied.
Then a few short seconds later, he announced, “We got movement. The Escalade just turned into the driveway, heading toward the lodge, nice and slow.”
“Copy. Do me a favor, Cole.”
“Anything boss.”
“Line that cocksucker’s head in your sights and blow his fucking brains out the first chance you get.”
“Be my pleasure.”
McCoy pressed his lips to a thin, tight line as he strode to the other end of the patio door. Lifting his gun, he slowly inched the edge of the curtain back. As he started to lean forward to get a visual on his men pinned down behind the lodge, another gunshot rent the night, and the patio door exploded, sendi
ng shards of glass and curtain fragments into the air.
As McCoy twisted his body away from the carnage, a startled shout tore from my throat. Dropping to my haunches, I tossed my arms over my head as glass and bits of fabric rained down over us.
“Syd!” Burk yelled, his tone dripping in fear.
“I’m good, brother. But Quinn’s gonna have to buy a new patio door.”
“Not a problem,” the man himself replied from somewhere in the living room.
“Base, we got a slight issue out here,” Cole announced with a barely perceptible hitch in his normally placid tone.
“Go ahead.”
“Brad and I just got lit up like a couple kids with the chicken pox. Multiple laser sights locked on us.”
“Yes. And the only thing keeping your men alive, McCoy is me,” Zattman’s voice, gloating in victory, came through the mic.
“What do you want, Zattman?”
“I want the girl you and your little band of misfits are hiding from me.”
My blood turned to ice, but the rest of my body was blazing with fury.
How the hell had Zattman found us? Funny, it was the one question none of us had thought to ask in all the excitement.
McCoy glanced at his watch and frowned before lifting the mic to his lips. “What girl are you talking about? We have several…visiting here.”
“Several, you say?” The prick let out a demented laugh that made my stomach churn. “Well, then be a good man and send them all out. I’ll choose the ones I want to…play with.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Then I’m afraid your men will have to die.”
“Let’s not get hasty, Zattman.” McCoy was doing his best to mollify the madman. Though I’d never dealt with a certifiable lunatic before, I had tangled with a few less-than-rational junkies in Detroit. “It’s going to take a few minutes for me to get the women gathered up.”
I waited for him to release the mic and launched to my feet. “Keep him talking.”
“Why? What are you doing?”
“I’m going out the back and then I’m sending that motherfucker to hell.”
