by Rebecca Deel
Joe’s expression hardened as fury filled his eyes.
Although Sam felt as though she would barf any second, if she lost it, so would Joe. If he lost control, he was dead. Sam couldn’t live with that. She couldn’t live without him. Not knowing how else to help him maintain control, Sam signaled that she was okay. A total lie. Joe’s eyes narrowed. Good. At least he was still thinking clearly.
When he neared, more of Flores’s friends aimed their laser sights at Joe. One light centered on his forehead, another at his gut, still another at his groin. The weapon aimed at his heart didn’t waiver.
“Don’t,” she mouthed to him.
“Don’t ask me to do this,” he murmured.
“Please. I have to know you and the baby are safe.” If she was to survive the ordeal to come, Sam needed some hope to hold in her heart. When Kayla’s wails increased in volume, she handed Kayla to Joe.
He wrapped his muscle-bound arms around the baby, covering her head with one hand, anguish burning deep in his eyes. “Hold on for me, baby.”
“Always.”
Flores jerked Sam tighter against his chest and slowly backed away from Joe. His buddies closed ranks and followed their boss, all their weapons pointed at Joe and Kayla. A glance told her the other Fortress operatives couldn’t take out all Flores’s associates without at least one of the thugs’ bullets hitting Joe or the baby.
Vehicles screeched to a stop somewhere behind Sam and Flores. Oh, man. The men had a quick escape worked out. Sam broke out into a cold sweat at the thought of being alone with men who were part of the Maldonado trafficking ring. She knew what lay in store if Joe and the other operatives didn’t reach her fast enough.
Flores tossed Sam inside an SUV and climbed in after her. She scrambled to the opposite door and yanked on the handle, desperate to escape before the vehicle was in motion. The door refused to open.
An ugly laugh from Flores. “Did you think me careless enough to let you escape?”
The driver handed a filled syringe to his boss.
Sam’s heart rate soared into the stratosphere. “No!”
Flores backhanded her. Sam’s head whipped to the left and slammed into the frame of the SUV, stunning her. Her captor grabbed her arm, shoved the needle into her vein, and depressed the plunger.
Sam fought against the effects of the drug. Wasted effort. In less than a minute, the world around her grew hazy. She regretted her own cowardice in not telling Joe that she loved him. Now she might never have the chance.
She slumped against the door. As the darkness closed in, she felt Flores’s hard hand fist in her hair.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Joe boarded the Fortress jet and handed a still-crying Kayla to her frantic mother. He turned to find a wall of operatives. “Move. I’m going after Sam.”
Trent shook his head. “Nico’s orders are to wait for the rest of Shadow.”
“Forget it. Flores has his hands on the woman I’m going to marry. I’m not leaving her with him one minute more than necessary.”
“Going without backup and zero intel is a death sentence. How do you think Sam will feel if you die?”
“You don’t understand.” His gut screamed at him to get off this jet and rescue the love of his life. He couldn’t leave her in the hands of the same trafficking ring that targeted her as a teen. “Would you wait for your teammates if Grace was in the hands of human traffickers?”
“I hope my fellow operatives would be stubborn enough and wise enough to force me to wait and formulate a plan so all of us survive. You’re not thinking straight, Joe. Sam is a trained operative. She can handle herself.”
“This same group took Sam captive when she was fourteen. I can’t leave her in their hands. I swore they wouldn’t touch her again.” And he’d failed. When he rescued her, would she trust him to keep her safe from this point forward? He wouldn’t blame her if she rejected him and his heart. If Sam walked away, she’d take his heart with her.
“Why did she let herself be taken?” Lance demanded. “I’m grateful my daughter is safe, but Sam is trained. She could have fought back and escaped or given you and the others a chance to rescue her. Why would she allow them to take her?”
“To protect me and Kayla. Seven weapons were trained on us and I’m not wearing a vest. Sam let them take her so they wouldn’t kill me or your daughter.” Joe’s voice sounded thick as he fought to contain the rage and guilt. He had to force the chaos of emotion behind a brick wall to deal with later. If he didn’t, Sam would die. Even if she ultimately rejected him, Joe couldn’t live in a world where she didn’t exist. She owned his heart even if she didn’t know the truth.
He should have told her. Knowing how he felt would have given her more reason to fight to survive until he arrived. Now he might not have the chance.
No. He wouldn’t think that way or he’d be paralyzed. Joe would reach Sam in time. He would accept no other outcome. As soon as their team was out of danger, he would tell Sam he loved her and beg her to give him another chance to prove himself worthy of her love. “Nico has fifteen more minutes. If he doesn’t arrive by that time, I’m leaving without Shadow.”
“I can’t let you do that, buddy.” Trent folded his arms across his massive chest and positioned himself to block the exit.
St. Claire had him by at least fifty pounds and seven inches. Didn’t matter. No one would prevent him from going after the woman he loved. “You won’t stop me. If I have to, I’ll take down every member of Bravo.”
Trent was silent a moment, assessing Joe’s determination. He sighed. “Fifteen minutes. Let’s use the time to come up with a plan.”
The team and Joe met around the conference table and hashed out several ideas. Which plan they chose depended on the set up when they located Sam.
Joe called Zane five minutes before his deadline.
“Heard about Sam. What do you need, Joe?” was his friend’s greeting.
“Activate Sam’s tracker and send me the satellite link to track her movements.”
Zane’s fingers tapped on the keyboard. A moment later, he said, “Done. She’s still on the move.”
“Copy that. Anything you can tell me about the background of Dax and Colt?”
“Dax has quite a few drunk and disorderlies on his record, most of them around the times of his divorces. From all indications, he’s loyal to Mike Hollingbrook and the company.”
“And Colt?”
“On the surface, his background is perfect.”
Joe stilled. “Too perfect?” Who didn’t have a dent or two on their record? He’d had plenty of scrapes and close calls with law enforcement before he joined the military and law enforcement.
“The geeks checked into his background, including school records. None of the schools listed had heard of Colt Riley. On the surface, he’s a model citizen. Dig deeper and you find out Colt Riley doesn’t exist.”
His grip tightened around the cell phone. “Send me everything you and the geeks discovered.”
“Copy. Sam is a tough cookie, Joe. She’ll be okay.”
Joe’s throat tightened again. “Yeah.” He ended the call, praying his friend was right. Sam had to be okay. The alternative was unthinkable.
“News?” Trent asked.
“Zane activated Sam’s tracker. She’s still moving. Riley’s background is raising red flags. The schools he claimed to attend have never heard of him.”
“You have a contact aboard the ship?”
“Chief of security. Ben has Winestock’s number.”
“Have Winestock detain Riley. We’ll chat with him after we spring Sam and deliver a little Fortress retribution.”
While Joe called Ben for the information he needed, Trent and the rest of Bravo suited up.
“Talk to me,” Ben greeted him when he answered his cell phone.
“Colt Riley’s background is raising red flags. I want Winestock to detain him on board the ship. I need his number.”
Ben rattled o
ff the information. “We’re five minutes out. Don’t move from that jet, Gray. We have two SUVs. Curt and Mercy will escort Charlaine, Kayla, and Lance stateside. We have your gear and Sam’s. You can suit up on the way. Four minutes out.” He ended the call.
Joe blew out a breath. He was ready to jump out of his skin. Joe called Winestock. “Find Colt Riley and detain him.”
“Is he behind this mess?”
“Possibly. Won’t know for sure until we interrogate him.” This wouldn’t be an interview. If Riley was guilty, he’d murdered two people and was responsible for Sam’s abduction. The Hollingbrook executive would spill every secret he ever knew by the time Joe and his teammates were finished with him. If Riley was guilty, they would find out. If he was innocent, Joe would move forward in the investigation. He wouldn’t stop until the person responsible was revealed and Maldonado’s group destroyed.
“Hold on a minute.” Winestock’s voice was muffled as he contacted the security member who’d been assigned to watch the executive. A moment later, the chief said to Joe, “He’s gone. That’s on me, Joe. I didn’t tell my people to follow the remaining executives if they left the Pacific Star. I’m sorry.”
“So am I. The Maldonado group abducted Sam. If Riley is working with the human traffickers, he may be meeting with them right now.” Riley would know the other men had screwed up and taken the wrong woman. If they learned the truth, Sam was dead.
Feeling as though the walls of the cabin were closing in, Joe strode to the exit and down the stairs to wait for his team. He wasn’t surprised to hear footsteps behind him. One of the members of Bravo was ensuring he didn’t leave the team behind.
His hands fisted. “Hold on for me, Sparky,” he murmured. “Just hold on. I’m coming for you.”
Two minutes later, twin sets of headlights appeared on the access road. Two vehicles raced toward the tarmac and skidded to a stop beside Joe’s SUV. Operatives poured from the vehicles and hurried to unload Mercy’s luggage and Curt’s gear.
Joe ignored the activity. Instead, he found his gear and suited up. He added weapons to the arsenal he already carried on his person plus a second Ka-Bar, more ammunition, and his vest. Last, he attached the webbing for his comm system.
By the time he finished with his preparations, his teammates and Bravo were at the SUVs and the jet was powering up.
Nico held out his hand. “Give me the keys. You’re not driving.” He shook his head when Joe opened his mouth to protest. “We’re wasting time. Keys.”
Anxious to be gone already, Joe tossed his team leader the keys and climbed into the shotgun seat of the SUV. Trent and Liam, Bravo’s sniper, climbed into the backseat as the jet taxied down the runway.
Nico led the caravan from the tarmac. “You’re navigating, Joe. Where is she?”
Joe grabbed his phone and clicked on the link Zane had sent. “Still in motion. Turn right at the next intersection.”
In between Joe’s instructions, Nico and Trent discussed options, finally narrowing down their choices to two.
Joe glared at Trent over his shoulder. “I don’t like either option. Too dangerous for Sam.”
“They’re the best choices we have.”
“If we wait for full dark to fall, Flores and his cronies could hurt her. Maybe kill her.” A full frontal assault into an unknown situation the moment they arrived on site didn’t give Sam much better odds of surviving. An invisible knife stabbed him in the heart at that thought. He dragged a ragged breath into his lungs. “There has to be another way to do this.”
“If you have an idea, I’m open to suggestions.”
Joe wracked his brain for a better choice and come up with zip. “I want to assess the situation before I sign off on either plan.” Listen to him talk as though he had a leadership role in either team. He was a spotter, period. As long as Nico was functional, Joe had no say in the plan chosen. Except this plan affected his life and the woman he needed more than air.
Nico slid him a glance. “You need to think with your head, not your heart. Sam’s life isn’t the only one at stake. The lives of two teams are at risk if we go in daylight. Samantha Coleman is as tough as nails. If we can’t come up with a way to slip inside the building without being seen, we’ll have to depend on her to handle the situation until we can reach her.”
“I’ll agree only if her life is not at immediate risk. The minute I know otherwise, all bets are off. No one will stop me from going after her.”
“We’ll be one step behind you.”
The next hour passed in relative silence as Joe followed the electronic trail from Sam’s tracker. He watched the flashing marker on the screen, waiting for it to move again. It didn’t.
Joe’s stomach tightened into a knot. “Hurry, Nico. They stopped moving.” The operatives were twenty minutes behind the Maldonado group. Terrible things could happen in twenty minutes.
The SUV surged ahead. “Where?” Nico asked.
“Los Lobos.”
“Send Zane the coordinates. If we’re very lucky, one of the satellites will be in position to get us more intel.”
Joe called Zane.
“What do you need?” was the tech guru’s greeting.
“Satellite image of the following coordinates.” He gave Z the information.
A minute later, Zane said, “Got it. I also sent you a map of the area. Looks like you have plenty of cover if you want to try a daytime operation to free Sam.”
“Any clue how many people are in the area?”
“She’s in a warehouse district. Looks like most of the warehouses are abandoned. In fact, the only building with vehicles nearby is the one Sam was taken to. Tell me you aren’t going in there alone, my friend.”
“Shadow and Bravo are working this as a joint operation.”
“Excellent. What about Curt?”
“On the jet with Mercy, Kayla, Charlaine, and Lance. By the way, Charlaine and Lance love the beach.”
“Great. I’ve already arranged for them to have a condo for a week in Gulf Shores. I’ll book them seats on a commercial flight leaving from Nashville International Airport this evening.”
“Thanks for arranging everything, Z.”
“Yep. The Murphy Travel Agency is happy to be of service.”
Joe gave a huff of laughter despite the growing anguish in his heart and ended the call after promising to keep Zane updated. He clicked on the first link in his email, then shared it with the members of Bravo, Nico, Ben, and Trace.
Liam and Trace conferred and chose high ground on two nearby warehouses that looked like the snipers would have an excellent line of sight into the building where Sam had been taken.
The last few miles, Nico and Trent refined the strategy they had chosen.
“Z said we would have plenty of cover.” Joe checked his weapons one more time as Nico slowed and hunted for a safe place to park, one that wouldn’t alert a passerby to their presence in the area.
“As long as the Maldonado group doesn’t have surveillance cameras to pick up our movement, we might be able to go after Sam sooner. No guarantees, though.”
Joe gritted his teeth to hold back the scathing retort on the tip of his tongue.
Nico parked inside one of the abandoned warehouses three blocks from their target location. The other two SUVs were parked in nearby abandoned warehouses. Wouldn’t be smart for them all to park in the same location in case the hiding place was discovered.
As soon as Nico turned off the engine, the operatives left the vehicle. The rest of the teams joined them. “Shadow will take the right flank, Bravo the left. Liam, Trace, report in when you’re in position. The rest of us will hold until then. Go.”
The two snipers checked that the area outside the warehouse was clear, then melted into the shadows. Joe’s body practically vibrated with tension and the clawing need to go to Sam. He shifted to the entrance of the warehouse to keep watch.
Five minutes later, Trace’s voice came through the comm system. �
��In position.”
Before long, Liam reported in, confirming he was also in position.
“Copy,” Trent murmured to his teammate. “We’re moving.”
Finally. Joe fell in behind Nico with Ben at his back.
Shadow’s leader glanced over his shoulder at Joe, a silent warning in his eyes. “Assessment only unless I say otherwise. Clear?”
He clenched his jaw as he nodded. The teams were taking too long. Who knew what was happening to Sam? He had to get to her before it was too late.
Joe silently willed Nico to move faster even though he knew fast movement drew the eye. One block from Sam, Nico held up his fist, signaling Ben and Joe to stop.
The team leader hugged the shadows as he crept closer to the corner of another abandoned warehouse. He peered around the corner, then eased back against the wall. He signaled his teammates to do the same.
Joe frowned until he heard a vehicle approaching. With his back pressed to the wall, he watched as the silver luxury SUV slowly crept past their location. From this angle, he couldn’t see well enough to know the identity of the driver. The sticker on the bumper declared it a rental. The vehicle passed out of sight and the team resumed their careful approach to Sam’s location.
Two minutes later, Trace’s voice came over the comm system. “We have a problem.”
“Sit rep,” Nico snapped.
“Colt Riley just climbed out of a silver SUV and is heading into the warehouse.”
Adrenaline poured into Joe’s veins. “Nico.” His voice came out strangled. The seconds were literally ticking away on Sam’s life. If the Fortress teams waited any longer, Sam would die.
Shadow’s leader ignored Joe. “Bravo leader, is your team in position?”
“Roger,” came the immediate response from Trent. “Bravo team is ready to roll.”
“Security?”
“No surveillance cameras,” Liam said.
“One guard at the front and back entrances,” Trace added.
