by Apryl Baker
The morning had rushed by. Between another CT, the police detectives, and the general nonsense of getting released from the hospital, Angel had been about ready to scream.
Security was yet another hassle at the airport. TSA held her up, doing one of their random searches and chemical tests. Just her luck to be the recipient of the special attention. It wasn’t until they were in the air and on their way that she’d relaxed.
Conner met them when they landed. The what-the-fuck look on her face prompted Kade to explain his brother had driven down last night. Conner wouldn’t have been able to transport weapons on the plane. They’d have tossed his ass in jail.
“Get in. We have company.”
Shit. Angel glanced around, but she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Then again, she wasn’t trained for that. She hustled and got in the back seat with Kade. Conner tossed their luggage in the back then climbed in the vehicle.
“How many?” Kade kept his voice low and calm, but Angel could see his white knuckles.
“At least four, maybe more. I spotted them about five minutes before your plane landed. You’ll find guns in the duffle bag back there. Yours should be on top.”
Angel hated guns. Hated them, but she wasn’t about to complain this second. Kade pulled out some kind of large handgun and tested it out.
“We don’t want to shoot up the freeway with an automatic.” Kade tossed the bag onto Angel’s lap after extracting his personal Beretta. “Go straight to the police station. Some of my team from the BAU will be waiting for us there.”
“I figured. I already have the GPS set for it.”
“No.” Angel looked at the route on the GPS and shook her head. “That will take you straight into the heart of the traffic. Cut off on the next left and go straight through seven lights, then turn left. The police station will be three lights after that.”
“She grew up around here. I’d trust her.”
Conner shrugged and did as she told him. Angel had no wish to get stuck in traffic and not be able to defend themselves if the cartel decided to make a move while they were stalled.
“I forgot how fucking humid it is down here.” Kade wiped his brow. “Is the AC on?”
Conner turned the AC on full blast, and the cool air hit Angel in the face. While it was still technically spring, the heat in Florida had kicked in full force. It would be even hotter come summer. She turned her attention to the streets they passed. Kids played outside in the small suburb they were going through. Sprinklers were turned on, and several children were squealing as they ran back and forth under them. Palm trees swayed in the wind the closer they got to the beach. She’d missed this place so much.
Angel had liked Boston well enough, and New York was…well, it was New York. Nothing truly compared to it, but Miami had been her home for the first twenty years of her life. She loved it from the unbearable humidity to the overcrowded beaches. The ocean at night had been her favorite place. Her mom used to take her and Peter to play on the beach at night. She’d sit beside her mother and listen to the sound of the surf hitting the rocks. It had been the most soothing sound she’d ever heard.
It was the memory of her mother she cherished the most. After her mother died, she’d sneak out of the house at night and go to the beach and listen to the waves crash against the tide wall. It scared Peter senseless when he figured out what she was doing. He forbade her to do it again unless he was with her. She hadn’t been wise to the world back then, not knowing what could happened to an unchaperoned kid late at night on an almost deserted beach.
And then there was Kade. She’d met him here. Granted, their first meeting had not gone as she would have expected. She’d just come in from changing the oil in her car, her face and hands streaked with motor oil. God only knew what he thought the first time he’d seen her. She’d been so embarrassed she’d run to her room and stayed there until she was sure he and Peter had left. She laughed softly to herself thinking about it. She’d been such a child back then.
But she hadn’t been a child when he’d walked into the strip club where she worked. In fact, Angel was pretty sure she’d blown his mind when she danced that night. She’d been dancing just for him, wanting to prove the dirty little grease monkey wasn’t who she really was.
It had been a while later when he’d found her on the beach, lounging with Jasmine and some of the other girls from the club. He’d grinned with such confidence and said, “Hi.” That had been the real start of their relationship. She’d met him in Miami, fallen in love and married him here, and lost their child. She’d been devastated by him in a hospital and learned to hate him here. Miami held the best and worst memories of her life.
It was home.
“You okay?” Kade nudged her, concerned.
“I’m fine, just thinking about the past.”
His forehead creased with his frown. “Don’t get lost in the past, moye serdste. We’re only focusing on the future, remember?”
“Yes, I know, but it’s good to remember the past. I was thinking of the first time you saw me strip and the look on your face.”
“Strip?” Conner turned his head to look back at her for a moment, curiosity all over his face. “You worked as a stripper?”
“Exotic dancer,” Kade clarified, and Angel laughed out loud. Stripping was stripping.
“I danced, but I was a stripper. Kade hated it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a stripper.” Conner turned his attention back to the road. “Strippers make more money than some executives do.”
“See, your brother gets it.” Angel settled back and went to move the duffle bag off her lap, but Kade stopped her.
“I might need to change guns quickly if these guys decide to start shooting. Leave it in your lap.”
There went that idea. “Are they still following us?”
Kade nodded. “Three cars.”
“Four.” Conner pointed to a car barely visible between the houses on their right side. It was driving down a parallel street. “My guess is they’re going to try to box us in at the end of this street.”
“I really don’t want to get into a gunfight here.” Kade checked his weapon, noticing how pale Angel was. He knew she despised guns. It was a bone of contention between them from the moment they’d met. She’d always nagged Peter about his, and then Kade when he became a permanent fixture in both their lives. She’d told him she’d give up stripping when he got rid of his guns right after they’d gotten engaged. Wasn’t happening then and sure as hell wasn’t happening now.
“Yeah, too many kids who can get caught in the crossfire.” Conner kicked down on the gas, and Kade and Angel were thrown back at the sudden burst of speed.
“Hey!” Kade shot his brother an angry look, while trying to keep Angel from face-planting against the seat in front of her.
“Sorry, we need to go. There’s five.” Conner leaned forward, and the car went faster.
Kade barked at Angel to put on her seatbelt while he got ready in case gunfire erupted. This was one of KS&I’s SUVs, which meant the windows were bulletproof, but that meant shit if their tires got blown.
The sound of motors revving reached him. The cartel’s cars were older models, muscle cars meant for racing. He didn’t know as much about cars as Nik did, but he’d seen enough of his brother’s racing cars to recognize what the ones behind them were. They could outrun this SUV in a heartbeat. He’d need to look into finding ways to make these things faster.
“We’re not going to outrun them.”
“I fucking know that!” Conner spat. “Let me think.”
He twisted the car at the end of the block, barely missing the Mustang that came around the corner the same time he did. Fuckers. Kade looked back to see all five cars following them. How the fuck were they going to get out of this one?
Damn, he was a stupid fucker. He called Jeremy Bradford, the FBI agent waiting for him at the police department.
“Bradford.”
&nb
sp; “Jeremy, we have five cars on our tail. They followed us from the airport.”
“Location?”
Kade looked around and spotted a street sign. “We just turned onto Northwest 20th, heading to Perimeter Road.”
“Stay on that heading and I’ll have cruisers intercept you.” The phone disconnected, and Kade tossed it at Angel.
“Backup is on the way. Stay straight until you get to the turnoff for Perimeter.”
“Gotcha.”
Kade noticed the cars behind slowed just a fraction. Conner must have noticed it as well, because his grip on the steering wheel should have broken it in two.
“They might have a listening device.” Conner didn’t let up on the gas.
“They can’t have bugged the car.” Kade craned his head to watch the vehicles behind them. “Unless they followed you down here.”
“That’s possible, but they don’t have to have bugged the car. There are devices that will allow you to listen from a certain distance away. They magnify voices.” Conner turned on the stereo and maxed out the volume. “You should know this, brat. You’re in private security.”
Fucker would have to point out a shortcoming, wouldn’t he? The brothers were notorious for that, though, so Kade didn’t hold it against him. Truthfully, he should have known. Just one more thing to get up to speed on.
Bullets rang out of nowhere, hitting the glass and sounding like a hail storm. Angel yelped, but didn’t scream, much to Kade’s relief. He had no time to calm her down between trying to find a good angle to shoot from and tune out Conner’s cursing and the blare of the music. He needed to focus.
He rolled down his window just enough to get the muzzle of the gun out and aim at any car that rolled up beside them. He didn’t have to wait long. The old yellow Mustang appeared in his line of sight first. Kade ignored the driver and aimed at the wheels. Two shots, and the tire blew, spinning the Mustang out of control. One down, four to go.
The roar of another engine muffled the sound of shattering glass. An old model Dodge pulled alongside them and got off a shot before Kade could. The glass held, and he aimed at the guy hanging out of the passenger window. Three short shots, and he smiled tightly when the fucker dropped his gun on the pavement. Kade prided himself on his aim. He practiced daily.
He hit the car’s back wheel on the first shot. This driver must have been expecting it because he controlled the spin and kept the car alongside them. The gunman had a new gun in his hand, which was dripping blood. He took his cues from Kade and shot at their wheels.
Conner was zigzagging now, probably having seen what was happening through his side mirror. His brother was quick on his feet and stomped the brakes, letting the Dodge get in front of them. He then rammed the car and drove it into the clump of trees on the edge of the street. Whipping the car around, he shot forward on the connecting street that led to Perimeter.
“Where the fuck did you learn to drive?” Kade hissed when his head bounced against the window. That was going to hurt later.
“Afghanistan.”
Police sirens sounded, but Conner made no move to slow down. He just put his foot on the gas and sped up. Kade didn’t blame him. There were still three cars following them, albeit a little more cautiously. Conner never stopped when they met the four police cruisers that converged on them. He just kept driving, listening to Angel’s directions.
A police cruiser pulled in behind them, his blue lights flashing, but still Conner kept driving until they parked in front of the Miami Police Department. The officer got out cussing, but Conner ignored him.
“Everybody okay?” He looked over Angel, very aware she was pregnant. Kade suspected he’d not driven like he’d wanted to for fear of doing something to harm the baby.
“We’re fine.” Kade got out of the car and waited for the officer to finally calm down. “Are you done?”
That only incited the older man to another round of cussing. Kade understood they’d technically fled the scene of an accident, but he wasn’t giving the cartel the opportunity to murder them. He sent a text to Jeremy to come collect them before they were arrested. Conner got out of the car and opened Angel’s door, helping her out. Kade knew he was hiding the bag of weapons in one of the secret compartments in the vehicle. Letting the police know they were packing illegal weapons wasn’t the best move.
Jeremy Bradford walked out into the noon sunshine and squinted before putting on his shades. He was tall, his skin a creamy caramel. He knew Jeremy’s mother was white and his father black, which attested to the man’s light hazel eyes. Angel called him drool-worthy, gorgeous eye candy, which never sat well with Kade.
Kade handed over his weapon to Bradford. “I shot out tires, and I think I nicked one of them on the hand.”
“Officer, thank you, but I’ve got this.” Jeremy collected Kade’s weapon. “You can go now.”
“The hell I will. These people were the cause of a major accident! They need to be arrested.”
“These people were the ones you were sent to protect from the cartel following them.” Jeremy lowered his glasses and stared the man down. “Kincaid is a former FBI agent who’s been reinstated for this case. Do you really want to cause a pissing match between your division and the FBI?”
The officer looked like he wanted to argue, but his common sense was catching up to him. He closed his mouth and stomped back to his vehicle.
“That went well.” Conner leaned against the vehicle, watching Jeremy. Kade knew that look. It always made him uncomfortable knowing his brother liked both men and women, but he accepted it because he loved his brother. He’d support him as long as his choices made him happy.
Angel leaned in toward Conner, and Kade heard her whisper, “He’s single.”
“Is he, now?” Conner’s grin came out full of the promise of dark things. Jeremy cleared his throat. Kade had no idea if Jeremy was gay or bisexual or straight, but he knew his brother could make a straight man want to experiment. He had, in fact, done that to a few men Kade knew of. If he set his sights on Jeremy, this could turn out to be an interesting trip in more ways than one.
“Let’s get you lot inside before more Los Muertos decides it’s open season.” Jeremy turned and walked into the building a little faster than he’d emerged.
Kade saw his brother grin and his dark eyes glow with the intent of a predator.
This was definitely going to be interesting.
Allison Bentley waited for them in the conference room that had been set aside by the police chief. She already had whiteboards full of known Los Muertos hierarchy. Kade zeroed in the picture that stood by itself at the top. Tomás Rivera. He looked mean as sin. In the movies, the leaders of the cartel always looked handsome and dangerous. Not Tomás. He wasn’t even slightly handsome. His ugly mug promised pain to anyone who brought harm to him or those he cared for. Or his business.
“Hey, Ally.” Kade gave her a quick hug. She’d been his partner the last year he’d been with the bureau. Allison was more than pretty; she was beautiful, but she didn’t realize it. It was the same kind of beauty Angel had, and it made them both more attractive for their lack of knowing how stunning they were. “Let me introduce you to my wife, Angel, and my brother, Conner.”
“Charmed.” Conner took her hand and kissed the back. He was laying on the charm. Jeremy shook his head and settled into one of the chairs around the table. Maybe he was grateful Conner’s attention had shifted from him to Allison, but Kade knew his brother well. He would go after them both if he really wanted to.
Allison blushed and quickly pulled her hand away. She was a no-nonsense kind of girl who would put his brother in his place if he came on too hard. As far as Kade knew, she wasn’t in a relationship, but he hadn’t seen her in months.
“It’s good to meet you both. Now, if you’ll sit, I’ll show you what we’ve come up with.”
Conner’s lips quirked at her dismissive tone, but he ambled over and sat beside Jeremy, his big frame dwarfing th
e chair. He adjusted it, and in the process, inched it closer to Jeremy, who shot him a sideways glance.
Angel was trying her best to hide her smile. She’d gotten to know Jeremy a little in Boston. Kade doubted she knew his sexual orientation, though. He had to admit it was a little funny. Conner was making no secret about his interest in Jeremy, who seemed to be trying to run from him.
Before she could start, Dylan and Max came through the door, followed by their new hire, Cole Daniels. He wasn’t what Conner expected. He was lean, built, and had a carefree look about him. Very casual in jeans and a Bob Dylan t-shirt. His shaggy brown hair leaned more to someone who’d just rolled out of bed than either a police officer or a security consultant. Not a great first impression. He hoped Viktor knew what he was doing when he hired him.
“This is the rest of my team.” Kade motioned them to take their seats. “Max, Dylan, and Cole.”
Introductions were made, and Max tossed a file folder on the table. Inside were photos of Matthew playing in a garden behind a gated fence. “He’s at Rivera’s compound. Security is tight, armed guards every four feet no matter where you are on the property.”
“That’s why we’re here.” Allison picked up the photos and looked through them, her voice melodic and soothing. Kade suspected she had a lovely singing voice, though he’d never even heard her hum. “You need to be legally able to enter the compound.”
“But that’s the problem.” Jeremy took the opportunity to inch away from Conner by pretending to lean forward and adjust his chair. Conner only followed him, his arm brushing against Jeremy’s. “The DNA test you ran…” Jeremy cleared his throat, clearly rattled. “The DNA test isn’t valid. It was illegal. You didn’t have permission from the child’s legal guardian, who we’ve discovered is Tomás Rivera.”
“And there’s not a shot in hell he’ll give that to us.” Kade sat back, his mind going to plan B. Conner might be their only shot at getting the boy back, but then how did they manage to keep him when he wasn’t legally theirs?
“Afraid not.” Allison nodded. “But I have had a warrant drawn up for his DNA, providing all the information you gave me as well as the photos you texted. The kid looks like you, Kade. There’s no denying that, but I don’t know if that’s enough.”
