by Dale Mayer
“Two of my brothers are in the navy … one a SEAL,” Sienna said with pride. “So I understand what you mean.”
A SEAL? “What’s your brother’s name?” Ice asked. “And do they walk all over you?”
“Hell, no,” she said with spirit. “We were raised to be independent. So when life shifted, I had a hard time going to them for help.” She offered a lopsided smile. “His name is Jarrod.”
Ice froze. Could it be? Studying Sienna, Ice realized there was a resemblance. Hell, the red hair was one of them. “Jarrod who?”
“Bentley.” Sienna looked at Ice curiously. “Do you know him?”
“I do, indeed,” Ice said with a smile. “He’s a good man.” She couldn’t leave the sister of any of Levi’s SEAL buddies out here. She knew Jarrod, but he and Levi were tight. Ice had to help Sienna. Who knew? Maybe this could turn out to be a good thing. “Have you met any of his friends?”
She nodded. “Yes, several of them.”
“Great.” Ice wondered if any were the men at home. She hid her smile. It could be interesting times ahead. “Do you have any martial arts or weapons training?” It wasn’t imperative that any new hires had that, but it would certainly help. They’d planned to hire from the military but hadn’t been able to identify any potential hires yet.
“I have a black belt in karate but never held a weapon in my life.”
“Black belt is good.” Actually it was damn good. They could teach her how to shoot faster than it took her to get that black belt. “Don’t suppose you have any medical training, do you?”
“Are you going to war or something? I have basic first-aid, but that’s about it,” Sienna said. “War games were my brothers’ thing.”
Ice laughed. “You never know what we’ll need when. Sometimes the work is dangerous.”
“What kind of an office do you run?” Sienna turned and stared at Ice. “I’m not up for a dangerous job. I’m looking for safe. Like paper cuts are my maximum pain tolerance.”
Ice sent her a laughing glance. “And that’s what you’d be doing. But we travel all over the world, and some of our work is dangerous. Always the chance it could follow us home.”
“That’s the same for any job anywhere. You can never be sure the next person walking into a building won’t be a loony tune and shoot up the place or blow it to smithereens.”
Ice decided she liked Sienna. She spoke with spirit, and, although she might be down on her luck, she wasn’t weak. It would take a strong character to survive the men at the compound. “Then I suggest you get in. You can spend a few days at the compound as my guest and see what you think of it.”
Midstep Sienna stopped and looked at Ice suspiciously. “Compound?”
Ice kept walking forward. “That’s what we call it. Although I tried to call it the center, the name compound stuck.” She shrugged. “We’re a private security company, and we take on contracts all over the world. We’re all ex-military, so we’re heavy into weapons and tactical training.”
“Except you?”
“Nope.” Ice smiled. “I’m a helicopter pilot first and foremost.” On that cheerful note Ice hit the button to unlock the big Suburban and got in. She cranked the engine while the woman stood in front of her, frowning. Ice could understand.
Sometimes people had to make decisions based on their gut instincts. It said a lot about Bentley’s kid sister when she advanced, opened the passenger door, and climbed in.
Ice drove the vehicle to the road and took a left turn. As she went around the corner back onto the main highway, an old beat-up truck pulled behind her. Ice narrowed her gaze, her mind dredging up the description of the truck Levi had seen.
She peered into the rearview mirror and tried to find something identifiable, but the license plate wasn’t readable from this distance. The visor was down as well, making it hard to see the driver clearly. If it was the same truck, was this a coincidence? Or was he following her? Ice drove carefully, her mind searching for the best option.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just curious about the truck behind us. Have you seen it before?” Ice kept her voice casual.
Sienna turned to look through the rear window. “No, I don’t think so.” She pivoted to face Ice. “Is it a problem?”
“Not likely,” Ice said. She shifted lanes, made several turns, weaving through the light traffic, watching to see if the truck followed. It did. “Interesting.”
Ice engaged the rearview cameras and recorded the truck as he dipped in and out of sight. She shifted left, then, at the last minute, ripped off to the right and took the immediate ramp heading toward the compound. If he came after her again, she’d head into town and get Logan and Harrison to help.
Instead she could see no sign of him. Keeping an eye out, she slowly drove the long way around before turning into the compound.
Feeling better, she headed in through the gate and pointed out the various buildings to Sienna. Directing the big vehicle to the garage, she pulled up into the empty bay and parked close to the door.
No way in hell would she deal with this load on her own. Ice hopped out, walked around, and waited for Sienna to step down. A little nervously Sienna took in the big machines and the security at the gate before sliding her gaze toward Ice. She could tell Sienna had trepidations, but that was all right; she’d held up so far.
At the sound of footsteps, Ice turned to see Levi walking toward her with a group of men coming up behind.
Ice nodded her head. “Levi, this is Sienna. She’s Jarrod Bentley’s sister. I offered her a place for a few days and may try her for one of the open positions we currently have. I like the office.”
Levi’s eyebrows shot up. Ice knew he noted the few bags at Sienna’s feet and the force with which she held onto the knapsack, knuckles white and tense. But he didn’t argue.
He exchanged a look with Ice and nodded. “I think Stone might be very happy to have you around, Sienna.” He held out a hand.
Hesitantly she reached forward and shook it. “Thank you. I appreciate the chance.”
Levi’s grin flashed. “It’s all right. You’re in good hands here.”
Ice turned back to Bullard and the rest of the men and said, “The vehicle is full. I got everything on the list plus.”
Walking over to Levi, she quickly told him about the truck following her. Then she turned and hooked her arm through Sienna’s as she grabbed her bags. “Come on. I’ll take you to your room before we introduce you to everybody else.”
“There’s actually a room for me here?” Sienna asked in surprise. “I can see the place is huge but …”
As it turned out, Ice didn’t get a chance to show Sienna anything. Alfred walked in and quickly took over. While Ice watched in amusement, Sienna was gently cosseted into a cup of tea and a treat before he whisked her away to her new room. In his usual easy manner, Alfred helped make Sienna feel right at home.
*
Levi watched the two women walk away. Ice looked more at peace, happier, as if she’d made some kind of decision. He hoped not because that didn’t bode well for him. Not if she had made the decision while he wasn’t around. On the other hand, maybe she was just happy to have another woman close by. Ice had never struck him as being the type to have girlfriends, but, as he had a lot of male friends, it made sense she would be missing that.
As for Sienna, he wondered what had put her in Ice’s path. Would Ice make a habit of bringing strays home? Still he trusted Ice’s judgment. And Sienna looked like she’d shake things up. Besides he’d just shot Jarrod a text as the women left the room, telling him who Ice had run into. Levi expected to hear back any second.
He wondered if Jarrod had any idea his sister was in a bind. If it had been Levi’s sister, he’d want another man to help her out, so Levi could do no less for Jarrod. If it happened to work out, maybe Jarrod would join them. Jarrod had been on the list of men to bring on board from the beginning.
Maybe this was fate.
Levi turned his attention back to the Suburban full of supplies. The men were already unloading the kitchen stuff. He and Bullard got to work collecting the rest of the parts and pieces they needed to complete the security system. This was cutting-edge equipment, and he couldn’t wait to try it out. They could keep track of everything within a one-half-mile perimeter of the place, and, if anything moved, deer or jackrabbit, they’d be on it.
His phone rang. Jarrod. With a smile Levi answered, stepping away from the others. “Hey, Jarrod.” He quickly explained what little he knew about Sienna.
“Why didn’t she tell me what was going on?” Jarrod asked. “She was always so damn independent. Determined to not need anyone.”
Hearing the pain in Jarrod’s voice, Levi said, “Sorry, Jarrod. Maybe she didn’t want to look like a failure. I’ll keep her safe here. And it’s not charity. I could really use her help,” Levi said. “When can you come?”
“I’m leaving for four weeks in the morning. I’ll be on your doorstep the day after I return.”
Smiling, Levi put away his phone and returned to the unloading.
The two men worked quietly together until Bullard asked, “What did you decide about Ice?”
Levi frowned. He didn’t answer. He knew full well, if Bullard tried hard enough, he could possibly take Ice away from here in a heartbeat. Particularly as Levi hadn’t expected Ice to be as unhappy as she appeared to be. Damn that woman anyway.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” he admitted softly.
“Have you asked?” Bullard asked. “Ice is a hell of a woman. She needs to be challenged. She’s obviously at a crossroads in her life. Maybe it’s not the way she thought it would turn out to be.”
Again Levi didn’t answer. What was there to say? They were just getting busier, with multiple teams operating on separate jobs at the same time. If Ice wanted to go out on missions, she could. If she wanted to stay home and coordinate from here, she could. What he didn’t know was what Ice really wanted.
“Not to mention her biological clock is ticking away.”
At that Levi shot Bullard a sharp look. What did he know? “Meaning?”
“Most women see themselves having a family at some point in their future. And, over the last several decades, women have been having babies later in life, so Ice has to be considering where she’s going from here. She spent a lot of years getting to the top of her game. And then she walked away.”
“Not quite. She followed me here,” Levi reminded him.
Bullard nodded. “You asked her to come,” he said quietly, “and she chose to follow.” With a slight hook to his lips, he added, “At least for the moment.”
Levi straightened. He knew how close Bullard and Ice were. They always had been. He just didn’t know how close right now, when Ice was obviously unhappy. He grabbed the last set of boxes and carried them to the workbench. He didn’t know what to say. Ice had another option if she didn’t want to stay. Bullard was better set up, had more money, with a beautiful place for her to live in security. Levi, on the other hand, had a new not-yet-stable business, was a bit of a mess physically, and was still having nightmares.
All in all, Bullard was a hell of a lot better deal.
Damn.
“You know what to do.” Bullard smacked him on the shoulder and turned to walk back out.
Levi’s phone rang. Logan, calling from town.
“I’m sending you images from a new arrival. The camera in the hardware store picked it up. I think you might recognize the face.” And then his voice disappeared.
His gut knotting, Levi walked to the electronic workbench and hooked up his phone. He could look on the small phone screen, but it was much easier to see the images on the high-tech monitors he used here. They were setting up a large R&D section in the garage workshop, and CAD work was important. That program required decent computers, but, more than that, having these bad-ass monitors meant they could see a pinhead in the middle of the street.
As soon as he had the phone hooked up, with a few buttons the images downloaded onto the main computer connected to the servers inside the house. He clicked on the first one. Instantly the monitor filled with the image of his old nemesis, Rodriguez. Anger mounting, Levi stared at the man laughing back at him.
He snatched up his phone and texted Logan.
Is he still there?
Logan responded immediately.
Not sure at this moment in time. We’re running surveillance—haven’t seen him come out of the hardware store.
Levi wanted to race over, pull the asshole out of the hardware store, and punch his face into the ground until nothing was left. That man had betrayed Levi’s unit and damn-near killed Levi and his men. That they were all up and in ass-kicking shape again was not the point.
Acid churned in his gut at the thought of this man still walking around and how he had now turned up too close to home. When Jackson had first mentioned this cell, it was one thing for Rodriguez to run it from Mexico, not getting his own hands dirty here in the day-to-day terrorist activities. But the asshole was here.
Rhodes, feeling better after having been knocked out, walked up behind Levi and snapped, “Where the hell did that picture come from?”
“Logan just sent it. He’s watching the hardware store.”
Rhodes unlocked the weapons cabinet.
“Hold on,” Levi said. “I feel the same way you do, but we have to make sure we take him—and his whole cell—down.” Even if it meant going off script. There was intel gathering then there was problem solving. Levi knew exactly which he was after.
Rhodes turned, but he now wore a shoulder holster and sidearm. As Levi watched, Rhodes tucked a clench piece into an ankle holster. Far from thinking Rhodes was overreacting, Levi approved.
Although Levi would prefer a couple semiautomatic rifles any day, a handgun was elegant and sneaky. It could be hidden in all sorts of places, and, right now, with Rodriguez in town, no good would come out of this. On the other hand, Levi might get that last bit of revenge he’d been looking for. He could finally put down the man like the murdering dog he was.
“What’s the plan?” Rhodes asked, standing at Levi’s side, his gaze locked on Rodriguez’s face.
“Waiting on more intel from Logan,” Levi admitted. “Like you, I want to run in there and blow his head apart, but we can’t afford to do that. If he’s here, he’s planning something nasty.”
“Agreed, but we also have to move fast. No way in hell is he leaving this town.” Rhodes reached out and fiddled with a couple dials, zooming in on the bottom quarter of the image. “Is he carrying some kind of a large bag with him?” Rhodes zoomed in closer to see bits and pieces of what appeared to be a large rifle case.
Levi was stumped. It wasn’t like Rodriguez to do his own killings. The weapon could be in exchange for something else, or maybe he decided to do a little bit more hands-on work now. Levi frowned. That was not the Rodriguez he knew. That man hired as many people as he could to keep his hands clean and his dirty work done.
“Looks like he has a new scar across his throat,” Rhodes announced. “Hope we’re responsible for that.”
Levi leaned forward. He could see the scar coming around the left side of Rodriguez’s throat on a downward slant. It was nasty looking. The photograph didn’t let them see how old the wound was. Levi was not at all bothered to see the man getting a little beat up. After all, they had taken the hit; why shouldn’t he?
Inasmuch as they studied the rest of the photograph, it yielded nothing new. He appeared to be standing with the hardware store counter behind him. The camera Merk had placed on the nearby shelf was tiny and actually fit into a hole where a hook belonged to hold up a shelf. So it was limited in scope. But, since it showed the front door, and the second camera showed the back door, it gave them a great deal of information.
Texting Logan, Levi wrote:
Keep an eye on the store. We need to know if he leaves. One of you w
atch the front, the other rear, and, for God’s sake, watch your backs. This guy is the king of bastards.
Levi thought back to how many doors he’d actually seen inside the hardware store. The front and back, yes, but were there any others?
These old buildings didn’t exist as far back as any of the world wars. Not like there would’ve been passageways for smuggling or anything like that close by. He frowned. He didn’t know that though. “Rhodes, any smuggling known in this area? We’re looking at any kind of underground railroad or bootlegging-type operation. I’m just wondering if some tunnels are there that we aren’t aware of.”
Rhodes shook his head. “I don’t know myself, but I will get on it. However, if that were the case, then we should never have actually seen Rodriguez in the store. I’m sure, with a face like his, he’d want to keep it hidden.”
“Except if he knows we’re here. Plus he doesn’t know we hid our cameras inside,” Levi snapped. “And he’s just arrogant and egotistical enough to think he can get away with anything he wants.”
Rhodes nodded. “Think we should get more eyes on the situation?”
Levi studied the monitor. “Yes,” he said slowly. “But from the sky.”
The two looked at each other, grinned, and raced toward the security room. The computer and security rooms together were one large space with a wall of monitors. They had limited access to satellite imaging. If they wanted, it’d be easy enough to hack into the military databases. But what they’d found out the minute they left the military was how the private sector was already way ahead. Accessing information the government thought was secret and theirs alone was easy—and fun.
Levi had a private investor, a man who’d be forever grateful for the work they’d done saving his daughter from kidnappers in the Middle East. Flanders was one of the wealthiest of all Americans. He owned several communication companies, and he’d given Levi and his group access to some of the best satellite imaging systems.
And then there was Bullard’s system.
Not to mention Mason’s fiancée, Tesla, who had also devised a pretty amazing software program for the military. Levi had hoped, at one point in time, that Mason would join them and bring Tesla with him. She was one hell of a computer specialist. Just because she created programs for the military didn’t mean she couldn’t help develop and tweak their system. He’d like to have the best of the best.
