by Elle James
“Careful not to alert the others,” Hank warned. “We don’t want to give the guys inside any reason to start shooting.”
“Roger,” Jacob said.
Maddog and Ringer were already at the side fence. Ringer cupped his hands, and Maddog stepped into his palms and pulled himself onto the top. Before Jacob or Viking could assist, Maddog reached down and pulled Ringer up beside him. The two men disappeared over the top, landing softly on the other side.
Jacob peered around the corner again.
The men at the door leaned their backs against the wall, their weapons hanging loosely by a strap around their necks. The man nearest to Jacob yawned. His head dipped until his chin touched his chest.
“Closing in on door guards,” Jacob whispered into his mic.
“Closing in on gate guards,” Maddog said.
Viking touched Jacob’s shoulder. “Got your six.”
With one of his team behind him, Jacob hugged the front of the building, treading as lightly as his water shoes could go. He slipped up on the guard closest to him. When he was near enough, he grabbed one of the man’s arms, twisted it up behind his back and clamped a hand over his mouth.
At the same moment, Viking launched himself past Jacob and slammed into the guy on the other side of the door. He hit him so hard, he toppled over, landing flat on his back, the air knocked from his lungs. Viking flipped him over and shoved his face into the dirt. “Move, and I’ll break your neck,” he said, hoping the man spoke enough English to understand his intent.
Jacob pulled out the small roll of duct tape he’d stuffed inside his wetsuit and slapped it over the guard’s mouth. With the zip-ties he carried in a pocket on the side of his calf, he secured the man’s hands behind his back. He moved to assist Viking as he bound his captive and covered his mouth with duct tape. Once their captives were immobilized, they dragged them back around the corner, out of sight of anyone exiting or entering the compound.
Sounds of a scuffle came from the other side of the fence.
“Maddog, report,” Jacob said.
“Two bogeys secured,” Maddog said.
A moment later, Maddog and Ringer opened the wrought iron gate and joined Viking and Jacob inside the compound’s wall.
“Check the other side of the structure,” Jacob said.
Maddog jogged to the other end of the front and disappeared around the corner. A moment later, he reappeared. “Clear. No other doors.”
Jacob squared his shoulders. “It’s show time.” In his mic, he reported to Hank, “Going in.”
“Will await your report or your cue you need help,” Hank said. “Let us know if you need a diversion.”
“Roger.” Jacob placed his hand on the door and eased it open.
The front entrance opened onto a marble-floored foyer with a two-story, cathedral ceiling and a sweeping staircase leading up to the second floor. Through a long hallway to the left, Jacob could see to the end where it opened into the living area where the drama was taking place. No one stood between the foyer and the living room.
A female was shouting in Spanish.
“What’s she saying?” Jacob asked Maddog.
Maddog cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “She’s mad because they can’t get her fiancé to agree to marry her. She wants to know why she has to do everything.”
“I’m not going to marry you, Camila,” Hawk’s voice sounded.
Viking grinned. “I knew he wouldn’t do it.”
“That man would eat glass before he agreed to marry her,” Ringer said. “He loves Kalea.”
“Shh,” Maddog canted his head toward the voices in the living area down the long hallway.
The others fell silent.
Maddog frowned.
“What’s she saying?” Jacob’s chest tightened. “Are they threatening Hawk?”
Maddog nodded. “Yes, but not directly. Camila just told her guys to go get the prisoners.”
“Prisoners?” Jacob’s frowned. “I thought they had Hawk out already. They have more?”
Maddog held up his hand as Camila continued talking. “She says she won’t hurt Hawk, but she will hurt the ladies he loves, if he doesn’t agree to marry her.”
“What does she mean the ladies he loves?” The question was out of his mouth before his brain engaged. Immediately, he knew. “They got Kalea.”
“She specifically said ‘ladies’,” Maddog said. “More than one.”
Jacob’s heart plummeted to his belly. “If she has Kalea....then they also have Casey. We have to do something.” He took off down the hall. “Get ready,” he said into his mic. “We’re engaging.”
When the door to the small, closet-like room opened, light flooded into the room and across the floor where they’d been laying when they’d been bound and gagged.
A man cursed in Spanish and stepped through the door.
Casey threw the blanket over his head, like a lasso, grabbed it tight and pulled hard, dragging the man over the threshold.
At the last minute, she stuck out her foot, tripping him.
He fell to the ground, landing hard. Casey jumped onto his back, grabbed the back of his head and slammed it against the tile.
The man behind the first guy rushed in, also cursing.
Kalea was ready for him, swinging the small, wooden tabletop so hard, it cracked over the man’s skull and split in two pieces.
Casey dove to the side as the man fell like a tree, landing on top of his counterpart.
Scrambling to her feet, Casey grabbed the handgun the first guy had dropped on the floor. Kalea pried the gun out of the second guy’s hand. As she was pulling it free of his fingers, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her to her knees, growling a low, feral sound.
Kalea fought to free her wrist, but the man held on, refusing to let go.
Casey took the gun in the palm of her hand and smashed it against the man’s head where he’d already been hit with the table.
He growled and rolled over, backhanding Casey, sending her sprawling on her backside. She pushed to her feet again and came at the guy with one of the legs from the broken table, afraid to fire the gun and make the others in the house aware that their guards were under attack. She cocked her arm, ready to swing when another man appeared in the doorway, with a military-style rifle in his hands, pointed at her chest. He gestured with his weapon and shouted an order in Spanish, “Drop it, or I’ll kill you.”
Casey had to drop the table leg and the handgun, or he’d shoot her. When she hesitated, he aimed the rifle at Kalea, who was still struggling to free her hand from the grip of the man on the floor beside her.
Having heard how ruthless the cartels could be, Casey didn’t doubt for a moment that he would shoot Kalea if Casey didn’t give up her weapons. She could risk bringing up her handgun and firing into the man’s chest, but he was in position with his finger on the trigger. She had at least a couple of moves to get to a point she could fire. By then, he’d have pulled the trigger and killed her best friend.
Casey tossed the jagged table leg to the side, dropped the handgun on the floor and kicked it out of reach of the other men lying on the tile near her. No use giving them more ammunition with which to kill her. It was likely they’d kill her anyway—if the SEALs didn’t get there soon.
They were their only hope for getting out of this situation alive.
The man holding the rifle barked a command.
The guy on the floor released Kalea’s wrist and rolled to his feet with his pistol in his hand.
Kalea stood, squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. When she moved toward Casey, the man she’d hit in the head with the tabletop stepped between the two women. Blood oozed from a break in his skin on top of his head, matting his dark hair.
Kalea had hit him hard enough to bring down a two-ton bull. How could they have known the man had a seriously hard head? He grabbed Kalea’s arm and pushed her through the door.
Casey started after her but was stopped by the
man with the rifle. He waved the gun at her, indicating she should move back into the room.
Kalea was being dragged away down a hallway. Casey couldn’t let them take her friend. She had to do something, and quickly.
Her captor was leaned forward, his weapon tipped toward the ground, reaching for the door handle.
Casey dove for the door, slamming it into the man’s face. He yelped, one hand leaving his weapon to clutch his nose. Blood ran through his fingers and dripped onto the floor. His eyes were watering, and he wasn’t concentrating on her.
Casey leaped over him and out of the room. She turned, planted her foot in his back and shoved hard, sending the man sprawling onto all fours in the room. Then she reached in, snagged the door handle and pulled it close. The key was still in the lock. She twisted it and flung it to a corner. It slid behind a large potted plant.
She looked around, frantically searching for her friend. Voices sounded at the end of the hallway. Casey followed the sound. Without a weapon, she wasn’t sure what good she would be, but she had to do something. They’d use Kalea to get Hawk to agree to marry Camila. Once he agreed, in hopes of saving her life, they’d perform the wedding and then kill Kalea anyway.
All Casey could hope to do was provide a distraction to keep things stirred up until the Navy SEALs arrived to save their asses.
Please, Jacob. Hurry.
Chapter 12
Jacob barreled down the hallway, emerging into the open living area where half a dozen armed men stood guard over his friend, who wore the sleek black tuxedo intended for his marriage to another woman.
Everyone came to a screeching halt when they realized Hawk and Kalea had large, wicked-looking knives pressed to their throats.
Camila stood in the middle of the room, dressed in a long white wedding gown, cut low in the front. She shook a bouquet of blood-red roses at Jacob and his crew. “Get back, or I’ll have my men kill them both.”
“You can’t mean that,” Casey burst into the room. “They’ve done nothing to hurt you.” Two men grabbed her by the arms. She fought to free herself, but they held tight.
“No?” Camila gave a bark of laughter. “You call a broken heart nothing?”
“You don’t love me, Camila,” Hawk said. “You’re in love with the idea of being married. You could care less if it was to me.”
“You’re wrong,” she said, her voice rising to a squeaky screech. “I love you, and you love me. That’s how it’s always been.”
“I don’t love you, Camila,” Hawk said. “You don’t want me to marry you. I could never love you.”
“You’ll marry me to save your precious prometida.” Camila jerked her head to the side. One of her bodyguards grabbed Kalea by the hair, yanked her head back and pricked her throat with the razor-sharp tip of his knife.
Blood oozed from the wound.
Hawk broke free of the man holding him and lunged toward Kalea. Three men converged on him and dragged him back in place. His face flushed a ruddy red, and his eyes narrowed to slits. “I could never marry a woman who is so desperate, she has to threaten a man in order to get him to agree to marry her,” he said, his tone low, carefully enunciated and filled with rage. “Even if you made me say yes, you could never sleep at night. I’d kill you. And I’d take great pleasure in making you hurt.”
Camila’s eyes flashed. “You would not. You’re an honorable man. That’s why I chose you.”
Jacob stepped forward. “You want an honorable man…” He jabbed his thumb at his chest. “I’m an honorable man, a Navy SEAL, and I’m not scheduled to get married tomorrow.” He lifted his chin in challenge. “Why not marry me instead of Hawk?” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Casey’s brow dip.
Camila scowled. “I am not in love with you. I will marry Hawk. We will be muy contenta.”
“We won’t be muy anything,” Hawk said. “What part of I. Don’t. Love. You. do you not understand?”
Camila’s scowl switched to a twisted brow. She shook her head and turned back to Hawk. “You will learn to love me. I am very loveable. Is that not so, mis hermanos?” She looked to her brothers.
They nodded, although their expressions never lost their fierceness and their grips remained tight on their captives.
Camila faced Hawk. “You will marry me.” Her chin lifted. “If you continue to refuse, I will have my men kill your friends, one at a time, until you agree. Starting with her.” She pointed her finger at Casey.
Jacob’s pulse leaped. With his men pointing their weapons at her men, and her men pointing at his team, it would be a blood bath should anyone let loose the first round. They had to keep that from happening. No one would win that fight.
He inched closer and spoke loudly. “Camila, you don’t want Hawk. He’s not nearly as manly as I am.” He pounded a fist to his chest. “I’m a decorated war hero. I’ve fought many battles and saved his life on so many occasions, I’ve lost count. He’s nothing.” Focus on me, he willed her and her brothers silently as Hank, C-Note and the Deltas slipped into the room.
“Why are you talking? You don’t even belong here.” She jerked her head toward him. “Kill him,” she said to her cartel minions.
The men who weren’t employed holding onto the captives turned toward Jacob and his team. Jacob’s team raised their weapons as well.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Jacob said. “If your guys shoot, mine will be forced to return fire. I’ll be the first to aim at you, Camila. Are you ready to die?”
All focus was away from the windows and the patio entrance.
Hank and his team chose that moment to slip through the door and inch closer to Camila’s men.
“Of course, I’m not ready to die. I’m getting married.” She patted her beautifully coifed updo with the veil affixed to the back. “But you forget…I have his prometida. My men would shoot her first. Hawk would not want his fiancée killed,” she smiled at Hawk, “would you, mi amor? So, back to my demands. Hawk will say ‘I do’, or I will kill the other woman first. Then I will kill you,” she said, her finger now pointing at Jacob. “Then I will kill this woman he professes to love. If he truly loves her, and if he cares for his friends, he will agree to marry me.” She nodded to the man holding Casey. “She will go first.”
Jacob met Casey’s gaze. He wanted to go to her, to hold her and protect her from the man who held a knife to her throat. His heart clenched in his chest. He was almost afraid to breathe, lest the man slip and dig the sharp metal blade into her soft skin.
Casey gave him a hint of a nod and shifted her gaze to Kalea. “God, I wish I was in Panama.”
Kalea’s eyes flared. She returned her nod. “Me, too.”
Jacob frowned. Why would Casey say that at a time like this?
While his little wedding planner’s gaze connected with Kalea’s, she cocked her arm and counted silently, moving her lips. Three…Two…One. At the same time, Kalea and Casey jabbed their elbows hard into their captors’ guts, then stomped on their insteps, ducked, twisted and shoved their palms hard at their captors’ noses and then grabbed an arm and yanked them forward fast, twisting the arm around and shoving it up between the mens’ shoulder blades.
Everyone in the large room moved at once.
Jacob rushed toward Hawk and his armed captors.
While all attention was on Jacob, Casey and Kalea, Hank and his men moved in from behind. On cue, they swept in and took out the men holding weapons pointed at Jacob and his guys.
Jacob reached the man holding a knife to Hawk’s neck and punched his fist into the man’s kidney. The man loosened his hold. Maddog dove for the man on Hawk’s other side, hitting him like a linebacker going for the quarterback. He knocked him backward. The man let go of Hawk to save his fall. He hit the floor flat on his back. Maddog pinned him.
Hawk broke free, though his hands were still tied behind his back.
Jacob wrestled with the guy still holding the knife.
Cowboy and Ringer took over for Kalea
and Casey.
Shots were fired somewhere in the room.
With his attention on his fight to gain control of the knife, Jacob didn’t have time to figure out where the bullets had gone, or who might be injured. The man refused to let go of the knife.
Tired of wrestling him, Jacob pushed him backward across the floor until he slammed up against a wall. Then he beat the man’s hand into the wall until his hold loosened and he dropped the knife. Once the knife hit the floor, Jacob pulled his hand down, twisted him around by the arm and shoved his face into the wall. Quickly securing his wrists with zip-ties, he knocked the man’s feet out from under him and sent him sprawling across the floor. “Move, and I’ll shoot you.”
The man remained on the ground.
Jacob looked around and froze.
Kalea was with Hawk, but Casey was being held at gunpoint by Camila.
“Stop this madness at once!” Camila cried out.
All fighting ceased, and every man looked toward her.
“Out!” she yelled. “If you don’t want this woman to die, you will get out of here. Now.” She shoved the barrel of the pistol against Casey’s temple and had her other arm looped around Casey’s throat.
“Don’t do it,” Casey said. “Get Hawk and Kalea out of here. I’ll be fine.”
Jacob’s heart swelled at Casey’s selflessness. At the same time, he clenched his fists. He wanted to shout out, No, Casey. You can’t do this. You promised me a date. But he kept his mouth shut, knowing that if he showed any affection toward her, Camila would use it against them.
Camila’s nostrils flared, and she looked down her nose at Casey. “You will not be fine. Not if I kill you.”
“You won’t kill me,” Casey said. “It’s not how you work. You have others do your dirty work. Killing might ruin your nails. And my blood will make a complete mess of your wedding dress.”
Jacob almost laughed at Casey’s logic. The woman held a gun to her head, and Casey was talking fashion? Only a wedding planner would say something like that.
