by Maya Banks
Hancock regarded him a moment. “No, I suppose that wasn’t an entirely accurate statement. I know about what went down with Brumley and your team member P.J. Rutherford. Or is it Coletrane now? Heard they got hitched. And I know she took out Brumley’s men before killing him in cold blood while you stood by. So yeah, I’d say you have no room to judge me, Steele. You’ve crossed the line, but I suppose that’s okay when you’re the one crossing it as long as no one else does, eh?”
“Fuck you, Hancock. I don’t owe you shit. You protected Maren, but then you could have damn well prevented her being taken in the first place, so don’t expect my gratitude for the weeks she spent in that bastard’s hands, pregnant and terrified. She should have never been in that position in the first place, especially since you supposedly exerted so much control over Caldwell and wielded that much influence. You could have put a halt to his wanting to take Maren, but you didn’t because it advanced your mission. And say what you want about the choices I’ve made, but I’ve never willingly put an innocent person in harm’s way to achieve my goals.”
“Ah, so you didn’t send your teammate undercover in a situation where she was vulnerable and without the backup of her team. Okay.”
Fury seared through Steele’s mind. Blinding rage mixed with guilt, guilt he’d lived with ever since that night when P.J. had been savagely attacked. He lived with that every goddamn day. He regretted that decision and the fact that he’d failed P.J. and the rest of his team. And having it thrown back in his face by this smug bastard made him want to put his fist right through Hancock’s teeth.
“Stop it! Both of you!” Maren cried. “This isn’t helping! I don’t care about what was or is, or what either of you have done in the past. It doesn’t matter! What’s done is done. I just want to know that my parents are all right and that that monster doesn’t have his hands on them.”
Steele turned, regret already registering. She was right. This wasn’t the time or the place, and he was letting his own worry and fear take over. But Maren didn’t need this from him or Hancock. She needed reassurance and she needed his support. He wasn’t going to fail her. He wasn’t going to let someone he was responsible for down again. He’d live with regret for the rest of his life over what had happened to P.J., and he’d be damned if he’d ever let anything happen to Maren and their child.
He ran a hand through his hair and sent her a look of apology. Then he turned back to Hancock.
“So why are you here? Just to warn me and then you’re on your way back to whatever hole you crawl out of when you pull a mission?”
“I’m here because I’m no more willing to let Caldwell get his hands on Maren than you are. Maksimov may have slipped through my fingers—this time—but Caldwell needs to go down. I’ll just have to find another way to take Maksimov out. And I’ll do it. No matter how long it takes, no matter what I have to do. He’s going down. Caldwell is going to take first priority at the moment. He’s unstable, and with his wealth and connections, there’s no telling how far he’ll go to get what he considers his back. He won’t care who he has to hurt as long as the end result is him getting what he wants.”
Maren went even paler until Steele worried she’d drop. Her eyes were huge against her colorless face.
He opened his mouth to offer her reassurance, but he knew they’d be empty words. He had no idea what they were dealing with, where Caldwell was, and as Hancock had said, there was no way of knowing just how far he’d go in his single-minded pursuit of Maren.
“I’ll call Sam. He was going to talk to a local security firm about protection for your family. He was going to have it in place so that when they went home after visiting you they would be protected. But I’ll call him and get him on it immediately. We’ll find your folks and get them here as fast as we can. Once they’re here, we can work out a plan that includes round-the-clock protection for you as well as them.”
She looked a little relieved and then the phone rang, causing her to jump. She glanced down at the phone and then her face lit up. “Steele, it’s my parents’ number! Oh, thank God!”
CHAPTER 36
MAREN yanked up the phone, relief so overwhelming that she had to brace herself on the bar because her knees were shaking so badly.
“Mom? Thank God. I tried to call you. I was so worried.”
“Maren . . .”
Her name came out shaky and Maren knew immediately that something was very wrong. She froze, gripping the bar until her knuckles whitened. Steele immediately became alert and closed in, standing at her side. Hancock frowned at Steele’s reaction and came to stand on the other side so he was facing Maren, and both men stared intently at her.
“Mom, what is it? What’s wrong?” Maren asked sharply.
A low sob sounded and Maren clenched the phone tighter, willing her mother to tell her what was going on.
“Maren, it’s your father. He’s hurt. There are men here. Tristan Caldwell.”
Maren collapsed onto the bar stool, shaking so badly she could barely maintain her grasp on the phone. Steele reached for her chin, turning it so she faced him, his gaze boring intensely into her in obvious question.
Caldwell, Maren mouthed.
Steele reached automatically for the phone, but Maren ducked and stumbled off the bar stool, avoiding his hand.
“What does he want, Mom? What did he do? Is Dad all right?”
“He said he wants you and his child back,” her mother choked out. “Maren, what is he talking about? You told me you were with the father of your baby.”
“I am. He’s crazy. What did he do, Mom? I need you to talk to me. Pull it together and tell me what’s going on!”
“He demanded to know where he could find you. When we refused, they beat your father. I’m sorry, honey,” she said brokenly. “I couldn’t let them kill him, so I called you like they told me to. I’m so sorry. I’d never betray you. I don’t want to be responsible for any harm to you or my grandchild, but oh God, they would have killed him!”
“You did right,” Maren said fiercely. “Don’t let them hurt him any more. Tell me what they want. I’ll come right away.”
Steele’s hand came around her arm, turning her forcefully, his expression so black that it would have terrified her if she wasn’t already scared out of her wits.
“He wants to talk to you,” her mom said shakily.
“Put him on then,” Maren demanded.
“Put it on speaker, damn it,” Steele whispered.
Even Hancock had advanced and now stood only a foot away. She felt smothered by the two men. Overwhelmed with gut-wrenching fear. That bastard had her parents! They’d beaten her father. Two of the kindest, most gentle people in the world. People who’d devoted their entire lives to helping others. They didn’t deserve this! They didn’t deserve to be dragged into Caldwell’s obsession. There was no way in hell she’d let this happen. Whatever she had to do to ensure their safety, she’d do with no hesitation. She had Steele. Hell, she even had Hancock. And she had KGI. She wasn’t alone and Caldwell had picked the wrong people to fuck with.
She quickly hit the button for the speakerphone option but still held it to her ear so it wouldn’t be so obvious and her voice wouldn’t seem farther away.
“Maren.”
Caldwell’s voice froze her. She went utterly still, her blood turning to ice in her veins.
“What do you want?” she asked hoarsely.
Steele and Hancock both crowded close to her, their expressions fierce as they strained to hear every word.
“It’s obvious what I want,” Caldwell said coldly. “You and my child. Back where you belong.”
“It isn’t your child and you know it!” she screeched.
Steele put his hand on her arm and then put a finger to his mouth to signal her not to do anything to anger him. As if! She was bloody furious. If she could reach through the phone and wrap her hands around the bastard’s neck, she’d do it and squeeze the life right out of him.
“You are mine. The baby is mine,” Caldwell said. “And I want you both back. You have a choice, Maren. You come back to me and I let your parents go. You refuse and they’ll die while you listen on the phone.”
In the background her mother’s scream rose, and every hair on Maren’s neck stood up.
“Stop!” she yelled. “Don’t you hurt her. I’ll do whatever you want, but don’t hurt her or my father. Tell me what you want. Just stop it!”
“That’s more like it,” he said smoothly. “I want you here, Maren. You have exactly twelve hours to arrive or they both die.”
“Where?” she asked desperately. “You want me to just walk into their house and I’m supposed to believe you’ll leave them and take me?”
“You won’t meet me at their house. They won’t be at their house. I’ll give you the location once you’ve landed in Florida. As for you believing me, I don’t see that you have an alternative. It’s your choice, Maren. Get on a plane and get here. I’ll call this number in eleven hours and tell you where to meet me. Once you arrive, I’ll make the call for your parents to be released. If I don’t place that call in exactly twelve hours and fifteen minutes? They die. So don’t even think about fucking me on this. If anything happens to me and I don’t make that call, they will die a horrible death. I’m not bluffing, so don’t try to call me on it.”
“How do I know you won’t kill them anyway?” Maren asked, her voice rising with hysteria.
“I have no reason to kill the grandparents of my child. Not unless you continue to keep my child from me. I want you and I want our child. I see no need to have their murder between us for the rest of our lives. And if you prove cooperative and don’t fight me, I’ll even allow you to see them on occasion.”
“I’ll be there,” she choked out.
The phone went dead and Maren fell to her knees, sobs erupting from her chest in painful bursts. Steele’s arms came around her, pulling her up and against him as he held her firmly, stroking her hair, kissing the side of her head.
“Shhh, Maren,” he whispered. “You have to be calm. We have to think this through. I need you with me on this. You have to be strong for your parents. Do you understand? Pull yourself together so we can figure this out.”
“He’s crazy!” she said, her voice rising precariously. “Oh my God, you heard him, Steele. He actually expects me to just leave with him and if I’m a good girl, he’ll let me see my family every once in a while. As if we’re some married couple visiting relatives.”
“I told you, he’s unhinged,” Hancock interjected. “Completely lost his shit. I admit, I never saw this coming. I knew he had a thing for Maren, but he’s focused on business. He’s ruthless. I would have never imagined that he’d fuck over Maksimov. He’s signed his death warrant. When I got Maren out of there, he just lost it. She became his obsession. Getting her back. That became his single-minded goal. Nothing else mattered. And the hell of it is, I think he’s actually in love with her. He’s pissed that she got away, no doubt. But this isn’t about a power play and him seeking revenge for being thwarted. The fucker is actually in love with her and he’ll do anything to get her back, not even realizing that even if he’s successful and even if there were no KGI or Titan to take him down, Maksimov would take him and Maren both out. He’s living on borrowed time and he’s fucked from all directions.”
“Jesus,” Steele muttered. “Goddamn it.”
“Call in your team,” Hancock said to Steele. “We’re going to have to move fast.”
“We?” Steele demanded. “There is no we here, Hancock. You stay the fuck out of this.”
Hancock regarded Steele with a steady gaze. “I’m going in too. You need all the manpower you can get.”
“Just stop the arguing!” Maren said, anguish tearing at her insides. “We don’t have time for this. We have to go!”
Steele strode to the living room, picked up the radio and barked a terse order for his team to return to the house on the double. Then he came back to Maren and gripped her shoulders.
“There is no way in hell you’re going with that bastard, Maren.”
“What choice do I have? You heard him. We can’t trick him and send in KGI with me to take him down. If he doesn’t make that phone call, my parents die. And I believe him! He’s just crazy enough to do it.”
Steele’s team poured in from the back door and the front and within seconds they’d congregated in the kitchen, their stances rigid, completely alert and awaiting Steele’s orders.
“I’ll keep this brief because we have to hit the road. I’ll put a call in to Sam on the way to the airport and have him pull in whoever he has. We don’t have time to pull in Rio and his team. They all flew out yesterday, so Sam, Garrett, Donovan and the new team are going to have to be it.”
Then he quickly went over the situation in clipped sentences and in the end there was a room full of pissed-off, ready-to-go-in-and-kick-ass people.
“I’m going,” Maren said, staring down the entire team. “There’s no way you can do this without me. He’s calling me and if I don’t answer, my parents die.”
“Yes, you’re coming,” Steele said, each word dragged painfully from him. As if he recognized the inevitability of her having to go and had no choice but to place her in harm’s way.
She touched his arm and locked gazes with him. “I trust you, Steele. I trust KGI. We’ll think of a way out of this. But for now we have to go and we have to play it his way.”
Steele nodded, but he looked tortured. Then he turned to his team. “Let’s roll. We’re going to have to do all our planning in the air. We don’t have time to map it out with the others at the compound. I just hope to fuck that Sam and the others are available and can meet us at the airport.”
CHAPTER 37
AN hour and a half later, they were in the air. Hancock’s presence had been contentious, and it was clear that no one wanted him there and that they didn’t trust him. But at the moment, Steele didn’t give a fuck who came as long as it meant keeping Maren out of Caldwell’s grasp.
She was sitting on the end of the couch in the lounging area of the jet, feet curled underneath her, silent and pale as she listened to the strategy being discussed.
Sam, Garrett, Donovan and even Ethan had come, as had Nathan, Joe, Swanny, Skylar and Edge. Plenty of muscle. If only they knew what they were up against.
Hancock had taken the floor, giving what information he had on Caldwell. It was his opinion that Caldwell wasn’t operating with a lot of manpower. Only two of his men had disappeared with him the morning Maksimov had lost patience and had moved to take Caldwell out. So if Caldwell had hired more men, it wasn’t likely he’d been able to recruit the most qualified of candidates on such short notice.
It had been only days since Maren had been taken from Caldwell, even though it seemed like weeks had gone by. Caldwell had disappeared only two days before, and finding hired muscle that quickly, while not out of the realm of possibility with the wealth and resources at Caldwell’s disposal, was difficult for a man who’d gone off the deep end.
One point in their favor. Hopefully they were dealing with subpar lackeys who were only looking to score a few quick bucks off Caldwell.
“If we knew where Caldwell was going to have Maren meet him, it would make things a hell of a lot easier,” Donovan muttered. “We’d know if it’s open or if there’s room for us to move in and take position, surround him on all sides.”
“But we can’t do that,” Maren broke in, her tone desperate. “If anything happens to him and he doesn’t make that call, my parents die. I can’t trade my life for theirs. I can’t! It’s obvious he doesn’t want to kill me. He’s talking a long-term relationship here.”
A visible shudder worked over her shoulders. Skylar was sitting beside her on the couch and reached over to squeeze Maren’s hand. Maren clung to it, as if desperate for that connection. Shared strength. So far she was holding up well, but Steele could tell she was teetering on the
edge and could lose it at any moment.
“We know, Maren,” Donovan said, his voice low and soothing. “But if I can get in close enough to lock on to his cell signal, I can trace the call to the location where your parents are being held.”
“But he’s not going to make that call until he has Maren,” Sam said grimly.
No one looked pleased with that statement. Steele barely controlled his own reaction. He had to turn it off. He had to think of this as any other mission. Focus. Turn off emotion. Turn off the fact that the thought of Maren being in Caldwell’s possession for even a minute made him want to lose his mind.
Edge sat forward and cleared his throat. Everyone turned in his direction. The man never said much, but it was clear he had something to add.
“Look, I know this isn’t ideal, but as Maren said, he’s not planning to kill her. He’s obsessed with her. And he thinks of her child as his. So he’s not going to do anything that would risk her or the baby unless he feels threatened and decides to take them both out with him.”
Steele scowled, the words evoking images that had his insides so twisted up he could barely breathe.
Turn it off. No matter how many times he told himself to do it, he couldn’t manage the feat. His tightly leashed control that had never failed him, the tight rein he had on his emotions at all times, was frayed and at its breaking point.
“So we send Maren in just long enough that he makes that call. We wire her up, have her demand to speak to her parents. If we keep that line open long enough, Donovan can do his magic and lock onto that location. We split teams. One with Maren, one ready to move out the minute we get a bead on where her parents are. The minute that call ends, we go in, take Caldwell down, and the other team takes out the fuckers who have her parents.”
“Gotta say, that’s not a bad idea,” Donovan said.
“I don’t want her in his hands even for a minute,” Steele ground out.
“We don’t have a choice,” Maren said. “It has to be done, Steele. I trust you. I trust all of you. You’ll have my back. You won’t let him get away with me.”
