Enforce (The Force Duet Book 2)

by M. Malone

  She flushed and ducked her head. "I didn't mean to make anyone worry. I just — I just thought I could—"

  "Thought you could trade yourself for the baby?"

  JJ brought her head up and her eyes were grave. "She's a baby. She's never done anything to anyone. And all he wants is me. I can do that. I can do that for my friend. I can get her baby back."

  Jonas took her shaking hands in his and dropped his forehead to hers. "Yeah, but at what cost? What would I do without you? What would Lucia do without you? Noah, Matthias, Oskar, Ryan, Dylan? All of us. You’re family. And no one's sacrificing themselves. We fight. We don't give up. And you walking into that asshole's lair, volunteering yourself and not telling anyone where you're going… that's a sacrifice. We're not doing that. Besides, I will attest that you are no virgin. Not after what I’ve done to you.” He winked. “Only fighters in our camp. Do you understand?"

  She nodded but didn't answer.

  Jonas slammed her door shut and tried to calm his temper while he walked around to the driver’s side. Jesus Christ. Had he ever been so fucking scared in his life? That maniac could have taken her.

  He could have killed her on the street, and they'd still be no closer to finding Isabella, and JJ would be gone. That woman was the most infuriating, stubborn, love of his life, and he’d almost lost her. Shit.

  Before opening the driver’s side door, he took a calming breath and then spoke into his comm unit. "All secure. She's in the car, we're heading back."

  "You got it." Even Matthias sounded calmer. And he was almost always calm and efficient. Why couldn't JJ see how much they all cared about her? Why couldn't she understand that if she was lost, none of them would survive?

  Jonas climbed under the wheel and patted her knee. "You ready to go home?"

  She nodded, but her eyes were still distant. He understood. It was that feeling of being completely impotent; of knowing that you needed to do something, but having no idea what to do. Yeah, he knew that feeling all too well.

  Jonas wove effortlessly into the traffic downtown, ready to make a turn and head back up to the penthouse when Matthias's voice was crisp and clipped in his ear. "All hands. All hands. Chamaeleon spotted leaving his apartment. He's wearing a baby carrier and what looks like a baby. Headed east on 14th Street. All hands, I repeat all hands."

  Jonas tapped his comm. "Roger. Turning around.”

  Noah's voice came over the comm unit clearly. "Rafe and I are closer."

  Next to Jonas, JJ stiffened. "What's happening?"

  Jonas whipped the car around in an illegal U-turn and headed back in the direction they'd come. "Chamaeleon left his place. Wearing a baby carrier."

  Her mouth dropped open. "I knew it."

  Jonas had nothing to say. She had known it. She’d gone there to get the baby back and he'd stopped her.

  No. You stopped her from getting herself killed. There was no way to know he had Isabella for sure.

  "I know. We’re going to get her back." The words sounded empty to his ears. But what else was he supposed to say? How else was he supposed to soothe her? Traffic came to a complete standstill, and he cursed before whipping his car into oncoming traffic, swerving to avoid collision with the cars and taxis that blared their horns at him.

  When he whipped back into his appropriate lane, he'd cut out at least 10 car-lengths of traffic. When he arrived back on 16th Street, Noah whizzed by him and he followed, giving chase. "Matthias, where is he now?"

  "He's turning left on Liberty Street. Zuccotti Park. No cars. Only pedestrians, you're gonna have to get out and run."

  Jonas slid a glance at JJ. "What are the chances if I parked the car and asked you to sit here, that you'll listen?"

  "Probably about as high as you letting me cut off your dick and carry it around in my purse."

  "Fair enough. In that case, keep up. Be aware. Don't let him catch you."

  "What's happening?" She already had her seatbelt off.

  "He's turned left up above."

  In his ear comm he could hear Noah panting. "Giving chase. Rafe is headed around to cut him off."

  Jonas pulled right up to another fire hydrant, not giving any fucks that he’d parked illegally, and he was out of car in a flash. JJ yelled, "Right behind you." He was desperate to get to Noah and find Isabella. But he was also desperate to keep JJ safe. He knew how these guys thought. Well, at least he'd been told snippets by Noah. This could all be a trap. And he wasn't letting JJ out of his sight. Eventually he just gave up and took her hand and dragged her behind him.

  To her credit, she followed quickly, didn't ask too many questions, and ran like there was some kind of sample sale.

  They cut up to Noah who was spinning around in circles. "Matthias? Where the fuck did he go?"

  "He cut across the grass. To your right. Blue baseball hat."

  They saw him and sure enough, he was wearing a baseball cap and the damn baby carrier.

  Noah had his gun out of the holster in a second, and Jonas had to remind him, "Noah, I know, but fucking civilians."

  "You don't think I have a head shot?"

  "I think you do, but things happen all the time. And this could be some kind of trap. So put the gun away, and run your ass off."

  JJ was panting so hard Jonas was afraid she might fall. But she kept up, and the two of them ran. Then up ahead, Chamaeleon stopped. He turned right before the pond in the park and then took the baby out of the carrier. When they were within thirty feet of him, he held the baby over the Koi pond.

  Noah screamed. "Don't. She's a baby. She's done nothing to you."

  The fucker smirked. "I don't give a fuck. It's not her I care about. It's her." His gaze locked on JJ. And next to him Jonas could feel her stiffen.

  JJ ran forward. "You can have me." Jonas tried to grasp her hand, but her palm was sweaty and slipped right out of his. "I'll come with you. Just put Isabella down. I'll come with you. Whatever you want. Just leave the baby alone."

  "No. Not like this. Not while your friends have shooters aimed at me. You'll come with me eventually. You and I are going to be together, but I'd rather us have our conversation without an audience. So you can come after me, or you can save the baby." And then he tossed Isabella into the pond.

  "No!" JJ screamed as she Jonas and Noah all ran straight for the baby.

  Jonas knew they were making the wrong choice. One of them needed to go after Chamaeleon. He tapped his comm. "Rafe. He's headed West. Through the park. You go after him. We have Isabella."

  Noah was in the pond faster than any of them, lifting his legs and wading through the water until he reached the baby. Then he screamed so loud and so low that Jonas was pretty sure the earth shook.

  "Noah. Noah, is she alive?"

  His friend lifted his head, the anguish drawing all his features down. "No." He shook his head. "It's not even her. It's another doll. But this one is fucking animated.”

  Jonas cursed under his breath "Son of a bitch."

  JJ dropped to her knees inside the pond, the water coming up to her waist. "This is on me. He wants me. And I don't know how to help."

  chapter 4

  Jonas had never felt more helpless in his life.

  Watching JJ break down, falling to her knees right in the middle of the pond, took him to a dark place. One he wasn’t sure he could crawl back from. He’d been down this road before, watching a woman he loved being terrorized and broken down, piece by piece.

  But fuck that. He’d be damned if he’d just watch as JJ slowly lost everything that made up her ballsy, flat-out, fearless self. Maybe that was what gave him the idea to approach Noah with the most insane idea ever.

  Once the team had returned to the penthouse, Jonas pulled Rafe and Noah aside and floated his idea. He was met with are-you-fucking-kidding-me glares.

  “You want us to go to the head of ORUS and ask for his help apprehending one of his own agents?” Noah shook his head, like he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly.

&nbs
p; “I know it sounds crazy,” Jonas muttered.

  Noah glared at him. “It doesn’t just sound crazy. It is crazy. Normally I’d approach Ian with an offer, maybe some information he needed in exchange for a favor. But this is one of his guys; an active ORUS agent.”

  Everything his friend was saying made sense. Hell it made perfect sense not to walk right into the fucking lion’s den and announce your presence, but Jonas was done sitting around and waiting for that fucker West to make a move. So far David had been the one calling the shots, arranging them all where he wanted them like chess pieces on a board. They needed to turn things around, pull him out of hiding on their terms.

  Noah made a frustrated sound. “Even if he believes us when we have no proof, there’s no guarantee that he’d help us. Ian is better than most, that’s why we installed him as the head of ORUS. Better the enemy you know, right? But I’m not sure I trust him that much. We could be walking right into a trap. For all we know, this is exactly what Chamaeleon wants us to do.”

  “I don’t think so,” Jonas said softly. His mind flashed back to the way West had looked at JJ. It hadn’t been calculated at all. He’d been wearing an expression of utter obsession, one that made Jonas’s skin crawl even as he remembered it.

  “You didn’t see the way he was looking at her. He wants JJ, and he’s willing to do whatever is necessary to get to her. I seriously doubt Ian wants a loose cannon like that out there possibly putting ORUS at risk. He might not want to help us, but if he can rein West in, he might help us inadvertently.”

  Noah stood, his face a blank mask. He left the room and returned a couple of minutes later with Matthias and Oskar.

  “This is the deal. Jonas thinks we should get Ian involved.”

  Matthias opened his mouth to protest but Noah held up a hand.

  “Believe me, I know. But he has some good points. Ian might be the only one who can actually control West, and we think that might give us the opening we need to figure out where he’s keeping Isabella.”

  No one spoke for a few moments, and Jonas knew they were all thinking the same thing. It might help them, or it might piss David off. And if that were the case, who knew how he’d react?

  Matthias acted as a voice of reason. “Maybe we shouldn’t—”

  “This is the only thing we can do,” Noah cut him off. “The longer he has her, the less likely it is that she’ll still be alive when we find her. This has to work.”

  Rafe’s voice was calm but deadly. “You know me. I’m behind you all the way.”

  For the next hour, they discussed strategy and then armed themselves to the teeth from the armory room. Ryan and Dylan were going to stay behind to protect the women, something Jonas was sure he’d get an earful about later. JJ hated it when they went off leaving the “little women” behind but Jonas wasn’t sure how she wanted them to handle it. He didn’t want to shut her out, but he for damn sure wasn’t going to bring her into a dangerous situation.

  He’d noticed Noah had been taking more time to reassure Lucia lately, telling her what he was doing before leaving, which was unlike him. Jonas smiled thinking of how stoic and unbending his friend had been before finally admitting his longtime feelings for Lucia.

  They took three separate vehicles with Rafe on his own, Matthias and Oskar in one of the vans they used for surveillance, and Jonas and Noah in the SUV. When they left New York, Jonas glanced over at Noah.

  “He’s meeting us at the X.” The X was the location that ORUS used for mission prep. They never ever discussed details of black ops in their shiny office uptown. The X’s location changed monthly.

  Jonas shrugged. It was an odd meeting place but he knew better than to ask too many questions. It had been years before Noah had confided in him about his past with the borderline-legal, government-sanctioned, shadow organization known as ORUS. He’d figured out on his own that Matthias had been in, too, and with the things Noah had mentioned about Rafe, he was pretty sure Lucia’s older brother was also a former agent. It made sense given the timeline of when Noah said he’d come into the DeMarco’s lives. Plus, the way Rafe fought indicated he was either an ORUS agent or former special ops. The dude had beaten the hell out of Matthias and Oskar and had almost blinded Jonas. He rubbed his eyes absently at the memory.

  Not that he was still bitter or anything.

  When they pulled up outside of the X, Noah parked and got out immediately. Jonas followed, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Rafe appeared silently at his side. Matthias and Oskar climbed out of the van.

  “There’s no one stationed to the East or the South.”

  Jonas nodded once just as Rafe appeared.

  “Looks clear. Let’s get this shit over with.” Rafe’s hand hovered close to the piece in his waistband.

  They climbed over the metal guardrail and made their way down closer to the water. Ian stood next to a trashcan where a fire burned. Anyone looking would see nothing more than a random bum warming himself by a fire.

  Not the head of a secretive and lethal organization. Maybe that was part of the lesson they all had to learn, Jonas thought. Not to judge too easily because nothing was truly as it appeared.

  Noah stood next to Ian, stretching his hands out to the heat of the fire. Ian didn’t acknowledge him in any way.

  “One of your dogs is off his leash,” Noah finally said.

  Ian grunted. “My dogs don’t have leashes, they have microchips. If there’s a problem, I’ll take care of it. Not sure why that warrants a trip to this shithole so I can freeze my ass off.”

  “It warrants a hell of a lot when my daughter’s life is at stake. You brought a predator into my home, and now I need you to help take him down.”

  Ian froze and then turned slowly to look at Noah. “Chamaeleon?” The word was barely a whisper, but Noah nodded curtly. “Why would you think it was him? He’s been overseas for years and just got back. If he was after you, why would he wait this long?”

  “It’s not me he’s after. It’s a friend. Isabella just got caught in the crossfire.”

  Ian glanced behind him at Jonas and the others then barked out a laugh. “Well, you certainly came with a show of force.”

  “This is my daughter, Ian. I need your help. I made you Orion because I thought you’d be different.”

  Ian scoffed. “Like that was some favor. Might as well have painted a permanent target on my back.”

  “Don’t fuck with me, Ian!”

  Noah’s outburst took them all by surprise, Oskar shifting restlessly while Matthias clenched his fists. Jonas wanted to put a hand on Noah’s shoulder but under the circumstances, his friend was likely to bite it off. The only one who didn’t move was Rafe. He just stood staring at Ian with the blank visage of a man who had no trouble killing to get what he wanted.

  Jonas shook his head. It was Rafe’s niece at stake, after all. The dude was a stone cold killer, but the only people he ever looked at with love were the grandmother who’d raised him, Lucia, and the mischievous baby girl who’d brought them all so much joy.

  Chamaeleon had no idea what he’d started. Things had escalated from a skirmish to a full-scale nuclear war the moment he’d taken Isabella.

  Ian finally spoke when it seemed they’d settled a bit.

  “I’ll handle this. He’s still in contact so I can have someone bring him in. Alive.”

  Noah let out an anguished sound that hit Jonas right in the chest. It was the sound of a man who was close to losing it. They needed to get out of there before he did something to make Ian take back his tentative offer to help.

  “Let’s go. Maybe one of the boys has something by now.”

  Noah nodded silently but his pain hung in the air between them, so thick it was choking them all. They turned to leave but before they got more than a few feet, Ian’s voice floated from behind them.

  “I’ll handle him this time, Leo. But if you ever come at me like this again, be prepared for your funeral.”

  Noah turned and na
iled the other man with a dark stare. In that moment, Jonas realized he was seeing the true Noah, the killer ORUS had trained him to be underneath the civilized mask he wore everyday.

  “If anything happens to my daughter, we’ll all be dead. Because that’s the only way I’m not getting her back.”

  JJ rolled over and buried her face in the pillowcase. Even after a hot shower and wrapping herself in one of Jonas’s shirts and a huge robe, she still couldn’t seem to get warm. This was a different type of cold, the kind that got into your bones and made you feel like you were being punished.

  Maybe I am.

  JJ pulled the covers up to her chin and tried to sleep, only because she’d promised Jonas that she would. A tear slipped over the bridge of her nose to dampen the pillow. She bit her lip to make sure she wasn’t making any noise. The last thing she wanted was to raise Lucia’s suspicions even more.

  Noah had asked them not to tell Lucia what had happened. They’d only told her that JJ had gone to confront him and that he’d pushed her. Although she was pretty sure Lucia wasn’t buying their story anyway. Even though she didn’t agree with Noah’s decision to keep Lucia in the dark, a small, secret part of her was thankful. She wasn’t sure she could bear to look her best friend in the eye and admit that she didn’t think David was going to give Isabella back.

  She shivered remembering the satisfied look in his eyes when he’d seen her standing outside. He was getting off on this, on the power to draw her to him against her will. It was terrifying and humiliating, but she’d have gladly borne all of that if it brought Izzy back.

  There was a quick knock on the door before Lucia stuck her head in. JJ sat up, wiping her tears on the sleeve of her robe.

  “Hey, you can come in. I’m not sleeping anyway.”

  Lucia shut the door behind her. JJ moved over so Lucia could sit on the edge of the bed.

  “I wanted to check on you and see if you were really okay, not just pretending so Jonas wouldn’t worry.” Lucia’s gray eyes roamed over her as if looking for bruises.

  It only made JJ’s stomach churn harder. Her friend was so loving and nurturing, they’d always joked that Lucia would have all the babies and JJ could just be the crazy aunt who sneaked them candy and told them inappropriate stories about men once they were older.