by Jana Leigh
“Wait and see what?” Jessie demanded.
“If one of you join us for the final journey. It is unclear yet,” Marie said sadly.
Thane stood straight and looked at his men, his family. Alex had Slone and Sable waiting on the island with his family. Sable was pregnant and they had already begun to make plans for expanding the spread in Wyoming. Gage had David and Jolie, the three raising Ted and Marie’s daughter, Sammi. David and Gage made up practically the whole police force in Healing, Wyoming. Mason had Arden and West, and West was still healing from the gunshot wound that almost took his life. Jessie had Brin and Grant, plus baby Marcus, and they were going to open up a vet practice in Healing when they got home. Drake had Harper and Joel, granted they were both in the room and looking at him like he was nuts, but they had plans beyond this situation. Thane had only them, no one else and he would give his life to make sure that each of them got to do every single thing they planned. It was not acceptable to think that one of them would not make it through this situation.
“That is not going to happen,” Thane said firmly and looked at each of the members of the team that were still alive. He wanted them to know he would give his life for them before he would allow any of them to die.
“LC,” Gage said slowly and looked at the rest of the team. “We are all in, you know that.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Thane said. “Everyone wears a vest and makes sure we have each other’s backs, no one goes in anywhere without MY okay.”
The team shifted and then nodded. “Aye, LC,” they all murmured. Thane relaxed a little, he knew what he was going to do if the time came to make a choice, and he would not share that with anyone.
Sam was shaking his head, he heard his thought and Thane glared at the apparition until he stopped shaking his head.
“I will go in first to get Dario and Mel, everyone else make sure you have your spots and do not make a move until we know for sure what we are up against,” Thane continued and then they began to map out where everyone would be. Thank goodness they had back up. Harper was creating a new independent team, she had a skeleton crew set up by Alex’s family. They were trained and ready to help them.
Chapter Three
Diego looked around the office he had taken over. His mother called and ordered him back to the embassy yesterday when he was going to leave the country. Someone had caught on to him, and they didn’t know who yet. Being in San Diego, the border was close enough if Diego had to, he would make a run for it and then hide in Mexico until he could get out.
His fucking half-brother had betrayed them. Of course, he had no clue yet what the hell Diego had done or why, but he would soon. It was inevitable, the documents were all there and had been accessed, the idiot just needed to put one and one together. Who knew if he was smart enough though? Before he reached somewhere safe, Dario and the bitch who ran with him, needed to be caught and dealt with.
“Mother, my men are looking and have been looking all night. We almost had them, but they had help. However, there are only so many places they are going to go and we have eyes everywhere,” Diego said confidently.
At least he was not lying about that. He had contacts everywhere in the US, powerful men who owed him more money than a normal person would be able to imagine. Blackmail was a lucrative business if you hired the right people to dig up the dirt. Many of the powerful men and women who owed him were arrogant enough to think their power and money would buy the silence from people who witnessed their indiscretions. Not so, anyone who could be bought once could be bought for a higher price. Diego knew every dirty secret he could dig up of some powerful men, and he would use them to get what he needed or they would go down with him.
“We need to get them under our control again before more damage is done. Right now I can cover it, the more people begin to look though, the more likelihood they will find out. We can’t let that happen,” his mother, the Ambassador of Rhutain, said. “Your father is counting on us.”
Of course, Diego didn’t know the truth; it would have given the arrogant young man too much power. Only Amani knew the whole truth and she would never reveal it. The Americans had not known they had eyes everywhere, and several mistakes were about to lead to their downfall. Hatred was something Americans thought was a simple emotion, but it was tangible, something she and her husband could hold on to. The American’s thought they were the World Police. It was laughable to think they should be able to destroy families in the name of peace. Javor and Amani met and formed an unbreakable bond over their hatred, and she would not fail her husband, even if it meant fulfilling the deed on her own. At least he would be there to avenge her.
The government had no clue the commitment it took to be a true leader. The years it took to set up the correct scenario in which to strike. Some factions waited lifetimes for the perfect storm; she and her husband had only waited a decade for the situation to be right. Now all of it was at stake because of her idiot son, who for some reason never understood what their family stood for. Diego told his mother they should have killed Dario at birth.
Diego thought she had wanted to use Dario against his father, a tool to get what she wanted. It had not worked out and he was stuck with the bastard. Soon he would rectify it all. He had not known that Dario was actually one of the cruel tricks Amani intended on using to get information she wanted.
“Mother, I will handle this,” Diego said impatiently.
“Fine, I will let you try, but if you mess this up, we are both through,” his mother warned and slammed out of the office.
“Don’t worry, Mother, I will settle this once and for all,” he said grimly and picked up the phone. Time to call in the big guns.
Chapter Four
They had been in a hotel by the airport, so the drive to Coronado was not long. Just a few miles down the road, past the pier and they were almost to the bridge when Dario noticed a car sitting in a parking lot at a stoplight.
“Fuck, they are watching the bridge,” Dario muttered and slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “Get down on the floor.”
Mel didn’t question just slouched and slid until her butt was on the passenger side floor. Thank goodness, her seatbelt had been loose. They knew this was a risk. Coronado had one way on and one way off if you were driving—the Coronado Bay Bridge. Of course, there is a ferry, but Dario thought it was too out in the open. Melanie pulled her handgun from her purse and laid it on the seat.
Dario looked down with a surprised look and said, “What are you doing with that?”
“I told you I had one, and knew how to use it.” Mel laughed and looked Dario in the eye. She knew Dario had a firearm; it was in his waistband, he took it from the embassy when they left.
“Well yes, but…” Dario sputtered and swore under his breath when she pulled another clip from her purse and set it next to the gun.
“Yes, but what? My cousin was a SEAL, we only had each other in the world so when he had time off, I hung out with his friends. They taught me stuff, I liked it, and learned more,” Mel shrugged, “I tried to tell you, but so far you have been all ‘me man, you woman’.”
Dario snorted, “So many surprises yet to discover.”
Mel rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I am an onion.”
Dario looked at her confused but then had to focus on the road, he drove around the block and saw the SUV still sitting there, they had to make a decision.
Coronado used to be strictly a military base. It was strategically located in addition to being one of the most beautiful places in the city. Since the SEAL training was still there, it also held awesome security. This is why Mel and Dario had chosen this place to meet. They would be surrounded by places they could run to if things went wrong. They just had to get there. The bridge arched over the bay, and there was no walkway or pull off, once they were on the bridge, they had to keep going, that would mean whoever was watching would know where they were going. Coronado was not that big, there were too many things that could deta
in them from getting to the place they needed to be.
“We don’t have a choice, we are going to have to try to make it,” Dario said with determination. Mel closed her eyes and nodded.
Dario took the turn he needed to, and the SUV that was watching followed, they had seen him. He didn’t want them to know he saw them so he drove normal. Not speeding, just going with the flow of traffic. The view was gorgeous and on a normal day Dario would have enjoyed the drive, this time though, all he could think of was how far the fall would be in the SUV forced him off the road while on the bridge. The fall would kill them, thankfully their boss’s orders must have been to capture them because they only followed, not too close but close enough to make Dario feel them breathing down their neck.
They finally passed the older guard station that was once the blockade for the military, in the past you would have to show IDs in order to actually get on the small island. Now they stood empty as a reminder of what the island was once used for.
Dario wound his way down the streets, knowing full well the SUV was behind him, shadowing his every move. They were no longer being covert in their pursuit and Dario pushed on the gas a little. If they had enough of a head start when they stopped, they could make a run for the ice cream stand. He said his plan aloud for Mel who was nodding and then she checked her gun again and put the extra clip in her waist where she could get to it quickly.
Thane stood on the sidewalk in front of the ice cream stand and waited. His team was around him, watching and waiting. There weren’t too many tourists out today. Thankfully, the day had been cloudy and windy, the skies threatening rain, which had helped them a lot. The normal crowd of people who would be at the beach was well below normal.
The island was so thin they didn’t have the normal boardwalk that South Beach had. No thin walkways to the beach and no small little shops for people to stop into. It made it easier for them, on one side was a small parking lot to the marina, and the other held the small walkway to the beach. It was in between two buildings, one an apartment building the other a hotel.
Thane looked around and scoped out the area. A small group of teens were laughing and pulling on their wetsuits. Because of the weather, the waves were perfect for surfing. He felt the first drop of rain on his forehead, so did the few stragglers who were trying to have fun at the beach, he saw them begin to gather their things to make a run for it.
The heavens opened and dropped the heavy rain that had been threatening all day long. The guard between the public beach and military beach stood at attention, in the rain, in his uniform. Thane smiled, he remembered those days when the man standing post drew the short straw.
Hopefully, Mel and Dario would be here on time, sometimes when the rain hit the traffic increased from people who were going to the mainland to find something to do. Thane reached under his jacket again and felt the firearm he was hiding, he didn’t want to use it but would if trouble came their way. He heard the small crackle in the earpiece he wore. Harper came on the COM link and said quietly.
“There are two SUVs coming, the first has a man with our description driving, no sign of the woman. The second has at least two men inside, they are following the other SUV closely, if I had to guess I would bet it was someone who doesn’t want them to get to us.” Harper finished and Thane let out a breath, of course it wasn’t going to go like planned.
“ETA?” Thane said.
“Three minutes. The front car is picking up speed and weaving in and out of traffic now, they are trying to bide their time,” Harper replied. She was laying on the roof of the lookout tower that sat on the edge of the base.
“Commander is aware of situation,” Jessie said firmly, they had back up on the base.
“Locals are with us,” Drake said. “They have the hotel lobby shut off and someone is in the apartment complex as well. No one will be coming out of the buildings.”
That only left the small group of teens who were already in the water, and with any luck they would stay there and never know the danger they were in this day. Thane glanced to the shore and saw Gage and Joel standing there ready to protect the kids, it looked like they were with the kids since they were standing by their pile of clothes. Only their dark pants and hoods made them stand out. Hopefully the idiots who were following Mel and Dario would just back off when it was clear Mel and Dario had made it somewhere safe.
There were two problems from where they were. One, the base was right next to them, but since the whole place was secure, they didn’t have the fence usually needed, it was a training facility, the men didn’t live there. The actual base was a few miles away yet. Second, Thane wasn’t sure how far the men who were following them would go to make sure they didn’t reach somewhere secure.
“We have gunfire,” Harper said in the ear wick. Well that answered the question; this was going to turn into a shootout at the O.K. Corral.
“Fuck,” Thane said under his breath and ran down the sidewalk to where Dario should be parking the car. They were coming in hot, and Thane needed to make sure they made it to safety. They had information they needed to piece this together.
Dario looked in his rearview mirror again. They were still there, the first drop of rain hit his window when he turned on the long stretch of road he needed to take to get to the beach. It was narrow, like the majority of the island; on either side, you could get a glimpse of water, one side the bay, the other side the ocean.
There was enough room for Dario to maneuver and put at least one car between him and the SUV, not enough room to actually make a difference, he needed more room to give them time to get out of the car.
“What is going on,” Mel said from the floor next to him, he refused to allow her to get up at all.
“They are on our tail and we have about four minutes to the beach. I’m not sure how the hell we are going to get from here to there without getting killed,” Dario admitted.
The first shot rang out and hit the back of the tailgate. “Fuckers are shooting at us,” she said indignantly and popped her head up. He cursed again as the cars in front of him seemed to move right in his way, leaving him blocked from behind.
Dario looked in his rearview mirror again. The cars behind them that separated them were disappearing, hearing the gunshot they slammed on their brakes and got out of the way.
“Dario, swing left,” Mel said. She eased herself up and looked over the back seat. When Dario turned the wheel, she responded to their warning and shot out their front window. Mel heard the screech of wheels as the SUV behind them corrected its path so it was no longer a clear shot for her.
“They are coming back again,” Dario yelled. “To the right this time, I rolled down the side window you will only have a second.”
Another shot rang out, and this one burst the back window of the SUV they were driving. When Mel looked over the seat though she saw the windshield of the other car was spider cracked as if a bullet had hit it.
“Someone else is firing on them,” Mel yelled and Dario laughed.
“It seems they are rolling out the welcoming mat. The good thing is you can use the back window now,” Dario said loudly. He pushed on the gas and swerved around a car that was going too slow.
Mel got up again and shot through the back window, hitting the hood of the SUV before it swerved. “Damn it,” she swore and ducked again.
“Shit, the police are going to be here soon. I hope they are ready,” Dario said and saw the parking lot where they were headed. If the locals showed up it would be a clusterfuck, he was not an American citizen. This could get a little messy if they asked for ID. He had his paper that he always carried with him but they would contact the embassy to let them know of the incident. Somehow, he was going to have to stop them before the call was made.
“Dario?” Mel said. “How far?”
“Coming up, they are too close, we don’t have a choice, I will have to floor it and see if we can get the team to come to us. There are too many people,” Dario said g
rimly.
She nodded and reloaded. Dario gripped the steering wheel and gunned the engine when he turned, causing the SUV to lean hard to one side. Mel hung on for dear life, hoping the men who were chasing them would leave once they saw that backup was close.
Everyone was yelling into their mikes as they watched the dark SUV turn suddenly and enter the parking lot. Thane heard the gunfire, but it didn’t stop him from running. The hip that had been injured burned as he pushed the weak muscle but he pushed the pain back. He had to get them to safety. That was all that mattered.
He heard Harper take a shot; at least he hoped it was his team.
When he saw the car turning, Thane sucked in a breath and skidded to a halt, they were going fast, and headed right for him. Fuck, he thought and jumped to the side as he heard more gunfire from his team covering Dario and Mel. When the car hit the pole barrier at the beginning of the sidewalk, Thane finally took another breath.
Harper and Jessie were giving them updates, but the only thing Thane saw was Dario in the front seat leaning his head against the steering wheel of the SUV he drove. Smoke billowed out of the bottom and it was sitting at a weird angle.
“LC,” Gage said loudly. “The following car has left. They had no plates.”
Thane ran to the driver’s door and wrenched it open and yelled, “Dario, where is Mel.”
“Here,” he heard a woman’s voice from the other side of the car. Dario leaned back breathing heavily and Thane could see Mel on the floor of the passenger side of the car, smiling at him while hanging on to her sidearm. “I’m here.”
“Fuck a duck,” Thane said and put a hand on Dario’s shoulder. “Way to make an entrance.”
“Well, I wanted to make sure we weren’t turned away at the door,” the NATO soldier drawled. Thane shook his head and snorted, they had a lot to talk about.
