by Pam Godwin
“No more crying tonight.” He kissed her lips, softly lingering.
No words were exchanged as he carried her into the bedroom. No second thoughts were voiced as they undressed. No tears fell as he entered her body for the last time.
They’d been here before. Four years ago, he made love to her and left her. But this time, he wasn’t leaving for a job. He was leaving for her, and he wouldn’t be returning. This time, he stared into her eyes, fucked her achingly slow, and wordlessly said good-bye forever.
After, she lay beside him, studying his face, seemingly dazed. She always admired his looks. Her attraction to him had never been in question. Neither had her love.
The woman loved with her entire being. That was the problem. She loved big enough and deep enough to bind her soul to two men.
“I’m grateful I had you to myself for seven months.” He pushed a blonde lock behind her ear.
“I’m grateful for every breath, every dance, every memory you gave me.”
Sharp, incendiary pain lashed through him, leaching the strength from his body. Fire burned in his chest, searing his breaths and watering his eyes. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t let her go.
He wanted to sink into her again and lose himself in her precious warmth. But if he did that, if he stayed the night, he would stay forever. His fragile resolve was splintering. He needed to go.
So he pulled away. Not physically. Not yet. But he pulled his gaze away from her beguiling beauty. He pulled his emotions away from the surface and shoved it all down, growing cold and rigid in the effort.
She seemed to sense his detachment and went still beside him, silent and accepting. There would be no more fighting from her. She knew the score. She would grieve and move on.
Trace was waiting. His best friend would wait for her forever.
As her breathing drifted into the rhythm of sleep, he touched his lips to her forehead one last time.
I love you, Danni Angelo. Be happy.
Without waking her, he slipped the engagement ring from her finger. She didn’t need it anymore, but he did. Christ, he needed every memory of her he could carry.
The tightening in his chest was unbearable, his insides hemorrhaging. He pushed through it and pulled away from her sleeping form.
She had Trace, and Cole had enough job offers to keep him distracted for years. He could do this. He had no choice.
In the dark, he slipped out of bed.
Then he slipped out of her life.
Chihuahuan Desert, West Texas
Present Day
“Ready?” A thrill coursed through Cole as he met Rylee’s eyes.
Huge, silver-grey eyes.
Just like Danni’s.
Sometimes, it was difficult to hold that stunning stare, for it conjured echoes and aches of the one he let go.
He looked away, directing his attention to the kitchen table, which gleamed in an array of guns, ammo, and other weaponry. Amid the gear lay the high-tech GSM bug he’d pulled from Rylee’s house.
The mystery behind who had put it there remained unsolved. After months of investigating, he and his vigilante team didn’t have much to go on. But one thing was certain. Someone had bugged her house to fuck with him.
Rylee was just collateral. A means to lure him into the open. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. They’d already tried.
The question was who?
Who murdered her next-door neighbor, two innocent motel clerks, and put a hit on her life?
The best clue they had was a word uttered by a dying hitman.
Thurney.
During a mission eleven years ago, Cole had faked his death on Thurney Bridge. Since that detail was classified, it meant he was dealing with someone connected to that assignment. And they wanted him alive. Otherwise, they would’ve killed him instead of hunting Rylee.
Most likely, they wanted information. Dangerous, top-secret intel from his work in the activity. Or maybe this was a revenge plot against him, and they wanted to draw out his death, slowly and excruciatingly.
Time to find out.
Outside, his seven vigilante teammates stood by, waiting for him to set the plan in motion. Most had already moved into position around the perimeter of Tomas’ house. The other nine Freedom Fighters, including the Restrepo Cartel’s jefe, were en route from Colombia to provide backup and reunite with their family.
Family.
The Freedom Fighters were an entangled, dysfunctional mix of blood relations, enemies-turned-lovers, spouses, soul mates, workmates, and above all, loyal friends. They protected and loved one another with a ferocity that made them unstoppable. They killed, waged wars, and sacrificed everything for one another.
And over the past year, he’d become one of them.
It was strange to have a team again after being alone for so long. Even stranger to have a family he could depend on and trust. Criminals or not, he’d grown to care about these people. So much so that he didn’t want to put them in harm’s way. Didn’t want to risk their lives. The thought of losing one of them scared the hell out of him.
That made them liabilities. If his enemies knew what they meant to him, they would use them as leverage.
“I thought I was ready.” Rylee tilted her head, studying him. “But I don’t like that look on your face. Are we going to die?”
“Everyone dies, darlin’. That’s a guarantee.”
“Tonight?” Her face paled as she pointed at the high-tech bug. “When you activate that thing and let them know we’re here, what are our chances of survival?”
Fifty-percent chance. Sixty, if he was feeling cocky. Which he wasn’t. But he wouldn’t share those odds with her. This was her first job as a Freedom Fighter, and her fear was palpable, trembling through her willowy limbs.
Nevertheless, she wanted to be part of this. She was committed to the team. More specifically, she was committed to Tomas, one of their longest-standing members.
“You know this is dangerous.” He crossed his arms.
Standing over the table, she braced her hands on the surface and leaned in. “A plan that isn’t dangerous isn’t a plan at all. You can’t scare me away.”
She wasn’t wrong. A few months ago, she drove here alone, with a pocketful of audacity and a reckless plan to meet Tomas Dine, fully aware he was a criminal, a murderer, and livid enough with her to shoot her on the spot.
Her chance of survival had been closer to zero then. Yet here she was, alive, in love with the ruthless vigilante, and ready to fight another fight.
Cole should’ve kissed her when he had the opportunity. Four months ago, here in the kitchen while Tomas was in the shower, he’d thought about doing more than feeding her breakfast.
It wasn’t just her enchanting eyes. She was a remarkable woman. Fierce. Smart. Gorgeous.
Where Danni’s hair was blonde, Rylee’s was dark brown. Same long, straight style. Same slender, athletic build and graceful mannerisms. Like Danni, she exuded raw, natural beauty. No makeup. No maintenance. No nonsense.
His kind of perfect.
It had been seven years since he’d seen or talked to his dancer. Of course, he noticed beautiful women since then. He craved sex, obsessed over it, and fucked his hand on the regular. He still had a pulse, for Christ’s sake. But no one had come close to tempting him.
Not even Rylee.
In seven years, he hadn’t felt the luscious curves of a female body. Hadn’t tasted soft, warm lips or smelled the sweetness of a soaked pussy. He hadn’t encountered anyone who compared to the woman he let go.
But he enjoyed Rylee’s company. Perhaps because she looked past his coarse exterior and understood him in a way very few people did. She recognized his pain and seemed to admire him for it.
Her education lent her the ability to see through the bullshit. But he guessed it was her own loss, her ex-husband’s betrayal, that helped her relate to him so easily.
“You’re staring.” She narrowed her eyes. Eyes that made him
long for a life he would never have.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
“Mm-hmm.” She pursed her lips, her expression skeptical. “What’s going on, Cole?”
“Just an observation.”
“Why that observation? Why now?”
“Because Tomas isn’t here to take a swing at me.”
“Fair enough. Thank you for the compliment.” Her cheeks rose. “I’m ready to do this. Are you?”
“Yep.” A rush of energy buzzed through him as he grabbed the high-tech bug from the table. “Going live in three, two, one…”
He activated the device and gave her a nod.
Nothing indicated the bug was on, but the moment it detected noise, it would begin recording. Sound clips would be sent to an untraceable phone, and whoever monitored that phone would be alerted of the incoming recording within seconds.
Basic spy technology, but so much more. This bug had been customized with high-speed transmissions, long-reach WIFI, and battery life that exceeded months—all built into a chip the size of a coin.
That level of cutting-edge tech wasn’t obtainable outside clandestine groups like NSA and black ops. He’d been retired from the activity for so long he wasn’t up to speed on the latest tech. Hell, he didn’t even know how the bug functioned until he’d taken it apart.
What he did know was that this tiny piece of tech was the key that would lead him to the threat.
Or rather, it would lead the threat to him.
“Where are you going?” he asked Rylee, following the script he’d rehearsed with her.
“I’m sick of hiding, Cole.” She stared at the listening device, answering exactly as he’d coached her. “We’ve been moving around, running for months, and you still don’t know who planted those bugs in my house. Now you expect me to sit here in the damn desert and wait for something to happen? You don’t even know if they’re listening to us now.”
While holed up in Missouri for the past four months, he and his team spent that time investigating and planning. Now they were back in Texas, ready to finish this, and she’d just given the enemy their location. On purpose.
“This house is the safest place for us,” he said.
“This house holds too many haunting memories for Tommy. We’re leaving.”
“Where the hell are you going to go?”
“Out of the country. Doesn’t matter.” She moved toward the door, deliberately distancing her voice from the listening device. “I came here for Tommy. I didn’t sign up for this, whatever this is.”
“Rylee, wait.” He followed her out of the house and shut the door behind him, loud enough to be detected by the bug.
The plan was set.
Outside, Tomas sat in a doorless, topless Jeep Wrangler, his arm draped over the steering wheel and his golden stare locked on Rylee. “How did it go?”
“Noticeably contrived.” She climbed into the passenger seat and kissed his rigid jaw. “I should’ve studied acting instead of psychology.”
“You did fine.” Cole stopped beside the Jeep, sweating in the evening heat. “Doesn’t matter if it sounded hokey. They now know where I am, and when they arrive, they’ll believe you’re gone.”
The last part was paramount. Someone tried to kill her once. He couldn’t risk her or anyone else getting captured and used as a hostage to control him.
A glance at the Jeep’s cargo confirmed Tomas had packed everything they needed to camp in the desert for a few nights. He also had enough artillery to take out an army. Van, Liv, Luke, and Tiago were already in position, far enough away to not be seen, yet close enough to be here at a moment’s notice with guns blazing.
Cole turned toward the house and spotted Tate and Lucia sitting in the dark on the flat roof. The instant they heard an approaching car, they would alert the team, aim their rifles, and lie low enough to be undetected from the ground.
If the threat arrived by helicopter, they were all fucked. A view from the sky would mark the positions of his entire team in the desert.
“Get out of here.” He tapped the hood and stepped back, watching Tomas drive off.
As the taillights faded into the shadows of sand and desert buttes, he switched on the transmitter in his pocket. “We’re live. Do you copy?”
“Loud and clear” came through his earpiece eight times, once for each of his teammates.
They all carried receivers with sensitive microphones and wireless nano earphones that operated over a radio frequency like walkie-talkies. They would sleep in shifts, check in every hour, and wear the earpieces at all times.
“Out.” He muted his mic.
Now, they waited.
Cole returned to the house, keyed up and primed for battle.
He lived for this shit—the tremor of looming danger, the rush of adrenaline, and the thrill in fighting for something meaningful. That was the reason he’d enlisted to become a Navy SEAL all those years ago—a decision that had hurdled him through the ranks and landed him in a unit so covert and off the record that it didn’t exist. At least, not to those who didn’t have the clearance.
In the kitchen, he holstered a 9mm in the waistband of his jeans. A blade went into his boot. The rifles he set by the door. He left the listening device on the table to record his movements around the house.
It could be days before someone showed up, depending on how far they had to travel. While he was in Missouri for the past few months, he assumed his pursuers had stayed in Texas, waiting for him to reemerge. They wouldn’t be far.
He lowered onto the couch and measured his breathing, taking on the cold, competitive mindset that had accompanied him on every mission over the past fifteen years. He was nothing if not a soldier rooted in grit, preparation, and confidence.
Grit rose from a place of deep purpose. Preparation came only through patience and tenacity. And confidence? That had been drilled into him through experience, training, and resilience.
Kill or be killed. Didn’t matter what he faced or how badly the odds stacked against him. He believed in his ability to overcome.
In most missions, he knew his enemies inside and out. But not this one. From this point on, anything could happen.
A retrieval team would likely be sent for him. A few armed men. Maybe a dozen or more. That was the best-case scenario. If an army of thugs tried to take him by gunfire or physical force, the Freedom Fighters would rush in and wipe them out, save one. One breathing man was all they needed to torture for information.
But if only one man showed up, that would mean his enemy wielded something more powerful than bullets. If he had any fear, it lay in that unknown variable, a potential misstep he hadn’t calculated, like an unforeseen hostage.
Everyone he cared about was accounted for. Trace Savoy had Danni locked up in the tower of his St. Louis casino, claiming his security was as impenetrable as Cole’s safe house in Missouri. It wasn’t. Which was why Cole had demanded they stay at his house. Trace’s refusal to do so was infuriating and unfounded. Evidently, the uptight bastard didn’t trust Cole around his wife.
Was it a valid concern? Maybe. Cole had no idea what he would do if he saw Danni again. Right now, all he cared about was keeping her safe.
As for the rest of his friends, he’d spoken with Matias an hour ago. The cartel boss affirmed they were safely on his plane and on their way to Texas. When they arrived, they would wait at an undisclosed location until Cole gave them the go-ahead to approach.
He hoped he wouldn’t need Matias’ assistance, but he wouldn’t reject it. Give help and get help. It was a crucial motto in his line of work.
An hour rolled by, and radio check-ins were made. Then another hour, another check-in.
With the use of a dedicated frequency and encrypted communication, their conversations transmitted over secure lines. As an added layer of protection, everyone used nicknames.
Just before the third hour, Tate’s voice came through the earpiece. “Come in, chief.”
Co
le lurched from the couch and closed himself into the bathroom, where the bug couldn’t hear him. “Go ahead.”
“Eyes on incoming movement. A single light approaching from the east. Looks like a headlight.”
“A motorcycle?”
“Affirmative.”
“On it.” His pulse kicked up. “Stand by.”
“Copy.”
One motorcycle.
That wasn’t a goddamn retrieval team. It was something far worse.
Returning to the front room, he peered around the window curtain, his neck tense and senses on high-alert.
A bright light bobbed over the horizon and headed straight toward him.
Only one.
Goddammit. His gaze darted to the rifles by the door. Useless. Whatever the biker was armed with couldn’t be defeated with gunfire.
His heart rate escalated as he stepped away from the window. Perspiration formed on his brow as he chambered a round in his pistol and returned it to his waistband.
Bullets wouldn’t save them. Not from this.
A tremor rippled through his fingers as he removed the necklace that hung beneath his shirt. He couldn’t risk losing Danni’s engagement ring.
It went into the pack he kept in the back bedroom, safely stowed. Then he drew in a deep breath and stepped outside.
The mic on his transmitter remained on, his team silent and listening, waiting on his command.
The rumble of a single-cylinder engine vibrated the air as a BMW motorcycle approached, taking its time. The rider wore a black helmet and appeared small in stature, at least half his size. He realized why as the bike rolled up beside him.
Slender hands gripped the handlebars, connected to feminine arms sleeved in more tattoos than he had on his entire body. In the moonlight, vivid colors of ink formed so many artful designs it would take him hours to make out all the images.
The biker shut off the engine and left the headlight on, illuminating the desert behind him. No visible weapons. No immediate threats on the horizon. She appeared to be alone.
