He and Lizzy fanned out, sweeping the area with his phone light and a small flashlight they found in the helicopter.
“Over here!” Lizzy called out. Dalton gave the small mountain one last glance before heading her direction. When he rounded an outcropping, he saw what she found. The helicopter. It was hidden under camouflage material and would blend perfectly into the desert landscape for any drone or helicopter patrolling the border.
Dalton looked over the helicopter. “This is the same one. But I don’t see the GPS tracker anywhere.”
“I couldn’t find it either,” Lizzy said as she slowly scanned the dirt ground around them. Her flashlight moved over the ground and then stopped as it went toward the small mountain. “Dalton, I think I know where they went.”
“Where?”
“Down.” Lizzy’s light had found a metal door in the base of the mountain painted to look like the desert surroundings. It looked identical to the mountain it sat in, except for the heavy-duty keypad lock on it.
“Do you know how to get through that lock?” Dalton asked. His skill with lock picking was minimal. Blowing stuff up, sure. But he didn’t have anything with him to be able to do that.
“I can try, but I don’t have my tools with me.”
“Now we know where they went, at least. We’re practically on the border. I bet it’s a tunnel into and out of one of Manuel’s warehouses in Mexico. Let’s look around more and see what we can find.”
Dalton took off in the night, slowly scanning the mountain and surrounding area. By the time he had covered a half-mile grid search, he’d found three cars, the helicopter, and close to twenty large drums of gas. However, what worried him was that there was an empty space that a fourth car normally occupied. The tarp that would have been covering the car was staked to the ground. Under the tarp was a small oil stain darkening the dirt and sand. Somewhere, there was someone from Manuel’s cartel out in the United States and who knows what they had planned.
* * *
“I’m going to steal it,” Valeria whispered as they watched an old man set his cell phone down on his outdoor table as he sipped his morning coffee.
“Just be patient, lass. Wait and watch. Or do what I thought we should do and let me walk up and ask to borrow it,” Grant calmly replied.
Valeria almost snarled. She didn’t like sitting back and waiting. Of course, that’s what got her in trouble the last time. They’d walked side by side through the night, not stopping once. They seemed to feed off of each other naturally. If she started to slow, he would smile at her and say, “You’re not getting tired, are you?” He knew it would spur her on because if there was one thing Val wasn’t, it was a quitter.
So they’d kept going. Grant never seemed to tire as they talked and walked through the night. It was strange to think the man standing next to her knew her better than Anthony ever did, and she’d dated him for years. Grant had asked about Brock, and so in the darkness, she found herself telling Grant about her best friend. Valeria shook her head and dislodged the feeling—a feeling that appeared to be more than lust when she looked at Grant. A feeling she shoved aside. He might have a physical reaction to her, but no matter how she flirted, he had kept his distance since Brock died.
She knew one way to kill two birds with one stone. She could satisfy her curiosity and get her way with the phone with one little kiss. She’d distract Grant as she distracted Sebastian, then she’d be able to see if there was anything between them. And she’d be able to get halfway across the yard to steal that phone before Grant could stop her.
Grant looked around the shed again and then turned to face her. He lowered his head to whisper something to her, and that’s when she made her move. Valeria grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and pulled his lips toward her. The days’ growth of his thick scruff rubbed against her face, tickling her as his lips greeted hers. Valeria arched into him as his large hands moved up her ribcage to cup her breasts. Being with Grant was wild, heart-racing passion, and he was—gone. Valeria blinked open her eyes. Where the hell was he? “Son of a bitch,” she cursed with a smile still on her face. Grant was halfway across the yard, calling out a greeting to the old man.
* * *
Dalton pulled out the ringing phone as they made their way back to the helicopter. Lizzy hadn’t been able to break the lock so it was time to get some tools and come back. He didn’t know the number, so when he answered he didn’t say anything, opting to listen instead.
“I can hear you breathing.”
“Grant! Where are you? Do you have Valeria?”
“I have her,” Grant said, rattling off the coordinates for his location.
“That’s not far from where we are.” Dalton could tell Lizzy was trying not to yank the phone away from him as he gave her the thumbs-up to let her know everything was okay.
“I’m borrowing a phone from a nice man. Could you pick us up a mile west of town? There’re wide open spaces there,” Grant told him.
“You bet. Be there soon.”
Dalton hung up and turned to tell Lizzy about the call when his phone rang again. This time it was Humphrey. “Why isn’t anyone answering their phones?”
“I’m answering my phone.”
Dalton didn’t think Humphrey found it amusing. “Gene tried to kill Birch.”
“So, finally, the butler did it.” It spewed from Dalton before he could stop himself. Humphrey was deadly silent on the other end. Dalton cleared his throat. “Since you said ‘tried,’ I’m assuming he’s okay?”
“Yes. I was able to take Gene down, and now he’s with Jason. Gene has a drug problem and was arrested a while back. A very expensive lawyer with no name came in and had all records of the arrest erased so Gene wouldn’t be fired. In return, he was to spy on Birch.”
“Shit, he was the mole who informed on the location of Birch’s date with Tate. I am also assuming he’s with Mollia Domini.”
“We think the lawyer was. Alex is working on the phone Gene used,” Humphrey explained. “I tried calling everyone, but you’re the only person who answered.”
Dalton filled him in on the night as he pulled the hose from one of the gas drums out of the helicopter. “We’ll be back this afternoon.”
“Not so fast,” Humphrey said. “One of you needs to make a little detour to Mexico first.”
* * *
Grant whistled as he walked across the backyard of the man’s house. He could practically see smoke wafting up from behind the shed as he walked around it only to be grabbed by Valeria. She tried to shove him, but Grant held his ground.
“What the hell?” She growled as she poked him in the chest with her finger. Only this time he knew what was under all that bravado.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you think you could kiss me into getting your way? You’re free to try again, lass.” Grant’s smile widened at the outraged look on her face. “But first, I think we need to clarify something. You don’t have to kiss me to get your way. Especially right after losing your boyfriend. No matter how much I enjoyed it, don’t mistreat his memory like that.”
Valeria blinked in confusion. “How am I mistreating Brock’s memory by kissing you?”
“I’m sure you kissed him before he died. That should be your last memory of him.”
Valeria shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”
Now it was Grant’s turn to blink in confusion. “Then what did you do with your boyfriend if it wasn’t kissing?”
“Brock and I broke up after college. Years ago. My last boyfriend was Anthony, the creep that kidnapped me. Did you think Brock and I were still together? Is that why you haven’t—?” Valeria trailed off, suddenly looking shy.
“Fuck,” Grant cursed as he realized what she was saying. He’d gotten the order of her boyfriends mixed up. She’d been waiting on him to make a move, and now he couldn’t make one because they had a helicopter to catch. And by the look she was giving, she was expecting him to make that move now. “We have to move. Lizzy and Dalton
are picking us up.”
Grant grabbed her hand and practically dragged her out into the open area behind the town. The town disappeared until only the sound of their angry footsteps hitting the hard ground was heard. He’d been so freaking stupid. What was it about this woman that caused his brain to shut off?
“For fuck’s sake,” Valeria finally muttered before yanking on his arm, bringing him to a halt.
When Grant turned around, he saw she had worked herself into a real lather. Her eyes were narrowed and her mouth was set in a tight line. “You don’t go storming off after something like that. Shouldn’t we”—Valeria looked wildly around as she gestured with her hands—“I don’t know, talk about it?” she asked as if she’d just taken a bite of spoiled food. Her face held such dread at the idea of talking about their feelings that Grant laughed.
“Ah, lassie, I have a better idea.” Grant stepped up close to her, and she didn’t step back. He knew she wouldn’t. She’d never back down from anyone or anything. He’d seen Valeria take on groups of armed men. He’d seen her kill the man who betrayed her. And yet, this was the first time he’d actually seen her nervous. But what he loved was she didn’t run from those nerves. She faced them head on, like she faced everything else thrown her way.
Grant slid his large, rough hands over her cheek to cup the back of her head as he pulled her lips toward his. “You have no idea how badly I want you,” he whispered against her lips before taking them in his. The kiss started with a graze of the lips, but didn’t stay that way. Grant used one hand to control the kiss and the other to pull Valeria’s hips against his. They moved together as if they were naked. The kiss went from soft to hard in a heartbeat. The kiss was as wild as Valeria was. It was no gentle caress of tongues; it was a battle of passion, each giving way completely to their desires as they ravaged each other.
His heart beat hard, and he let her take control of the kiss. He dropped his hand from her head and shoved aside the draped material of her dress, baring her breasts to him. Valeria arched forward, telling him exactly what she wanted. Perfect handfuls of firm breasts filled his hands as he rolled her nipples between his fingers, capturing her moans with his kiss.
It took everything he had to not take her completely in the open desert, not caring for anything except making her come. But that was not in the cards as the sound of a helicopter had him breaking the kiss and dropping his hands from her breasts. Placing his hands on the curve of her hips, he kissed her quickly one last time. “We’ll continue our talk very soon.”
Valeria smiled up at him, keeping her hands flat against his chest. “I like the way you communicate, Macay.”
They shielded their eyes as the helicopter landed and then jogged toward the open door. Lizzy was already opening the door by the time they reached it. She held out her hand for Valeria and helped her up. She was hugging Val as Grant got in.
“So, how do you two feel about a trip to Mexico?” Dalton asked as soon as they were strapped in and taking off.
“Do I get to kill Manuel?” Valeria asked in return.
“No, you need to rescue two college girls,” Dalton told her, filling them in on what had happened at the White House along with what they’d found out about the tunnels and Sebastian’s GPS disappearing.
“Then it could pop back up when they make their way through the tunnels,” Grant said.
“If Manuel doesn’t have his compounds carefully scrubbed that is,” Lizzy pointed out. “But if he has jammers and such, we’re not getting anything until Sebastian is heading back home.”
“So, where are we going?” Valeria asked. He could understand her anxiety about heading back into Hermanos de Sangre land.
“A fancy resort outside Tijuana owned by one Sebastian Abel,” Lizzy told them. “You don’t even need to make contact with the girls. You just need to take out those watching them and make sure they get on the plane day after tomorrow. Alex got you a reservation in the penthouse. We will be there in a bit and drop you on their helicopter pad and then take off so no one gets a good look at us. Then take the plane with the girls back to DC. Alex has that all taken care of as well.”
“I don’t have any identification,” Valeria told her.
“Alex said it will be waiting for you at the hotel along with a credit card.”
“What will you and Dalton be doing?” Grant asked.
“We’ll head to San Diego, ditch the helicopter, fly back to DC, and wait for Sebastian to show up,” Lizzy answered.
Dalton turned around to shoot a quick smile at Grant. “I was thinking of joining Jason for a little chat with Sandra.”
“Good idea.” Grant put his arm around Valeria and let her rest her head against his shoulder. Her eyes closed almost immediately. They had a full day ahead of them, and they both knew it was necessary to catch a couple hours of sleep whenever they could find it. In seconds, Grant drifted off.
18
“What do you think?” Tate asked as she watched Birch read over the speech for later today.
“When are Elizabeth and Dalton getting back?” Birch asked instead of answering.
“Five tonight, why?” Tate asked, suddenly worried her speech was too much. She hadn’t held anything back. She was ready to go after Mollia Domini.
Birch closed the laptop and looked up from his desk in the oval office. Tate was sitting on the couch, and Humphrey sat across from her. Her wheelchair was parked next to her. Two more days and she’d be on crutches.
“And Grant and Valeria?” Birch asked Humphrey instead of answering her.
“They are at the resort already. They are catching the red-eye back to DC and will be here with the girls the day after tomorrow around noon if all goes well.”
“What are we going to do with them?” Birch asked to no one in particular as Tate began to fume.
“Why don’t we send them on another trip? They don’t have to be back until school starts. Tell them they won something and ship them to Saint Thomas or something,” Tate said agitated.
“That’s a great idea. Humphrey, make it happen.”
“Birch,” Tate said with warning in her voice. “The speech you’re supposed to give tonight?”
Birch shook his head. “It’s too good. I can’t do it tonight.”
Tate felt her mouth fall open. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, your speech is perfect, but we need all our ducks in a row before I give it. Tonight you release a generic press statement saying we’re back at the White House and settling back in. Tell them I’ll give a live primetime talk on all the networks soon. More information will be forthcoming.” Birch paused and held her eyes. “Once I read this, there’s no going back. Mollia Domini will know we’re talking about them and the threat level will increase.”
“I know. I thought about that, but it’s time to challenge them head on.”
“I agree, but it’s still a matter of timing.”
Tate let out a breath. “You’re right. I’ll make it happen.” Tate stood up on one foot as Humphrey hurried to her side and helped her into her chair. Birch stood up and slowly made his way around the desk. His left hand never left the desktop as he used it for balance and support.
“Get an advanced copy to Flint. Tell him he can publish it as soon as the speech is over. I’m sure he’ll have something to write about by then,” Birch said about the blogger who had been brought into their fold.
“Should I tell him about Sandra?” Tate asked.
“Yes,” Birch agreed. “But wait until we talk to Jason. I’ll have Dalton check on him. The man is walking on a precipice, and I don’t want him to fall. I thought giving him a mission to focus on, but—”
Tate knew exactly what Birch was worried about. Jason was blank. He had no emotion left but anger. It would be beneficial when it came to interrogation, but deadly for Jason if he decided there was nothing else to live for.
“Good idea. I’ll send everything to Flint as soon as I hear. I’ll see you at dinner. Don’t
push yourself too much,” Tate chided as Humphrey pushed her out the door and handed her off to Jessica, Birch’s private secretary.
* * *
Birch slowly shuffled back to the desk. The pain in his side started once again, and he just wanted to sit down. Humphrey didn’t say anything as he came up and offered his arm for support.
Birch slowly lowered himself back in his chair, closed his eyes, and took some deep breaths. The pain began to fade, and he opened his eyes again. Humphrey was standing by the desk, looking at his phone.
“Sebastian is back,” Humphrey said with dread. Having your best friend involved in trying to kill you and take out the government wasn’t a subject he liked to talk about. “Alex said his GPS came on at a private airfield in Mexico. FAA records show his private plane just landed and has filed a flight plan to DC. He’ll arrive at five-thirty.”
“Pick him up at the airport. Take a couple agents with you if you think you can’t handle it. Although, after seeing you in action, I believe you could.”
“We all have our secrets, don’t we?” Humphrey joked, although it was true. “Mine just happens to be I enjoyed working out with the cadets I taught.”
“And I’m glad you did. Bring Sebastian to me, and let’s put an end to whatever game he’s playing.”
Humphrey nodded his bald little head and shoved his round wire-rimmed glasses up his nose with his finger. “You’ve got it.”
Birch watched him leave the room and closed his eyes. He didn’t know if they had time to wait or not. This mission with Gene’s kids had blown his timeline, but he couldn’t let them die. By saving them, he was defeating Mollia Domini. He didn’t know if this small battle was important to the war cause or only a distraction.
* * *
Valeria scanned the group on the beach from behind her dark, oversized sunglasses. It was the first time they had a moment to scan the guests. The second they had arrived, they’d been presented with the fake IDs in a sealed envelope that Alex had said one of his hacker friends had delivered, and immediately headed to the boutique to buy clothes. From there, they went to their room. Valeria had almost gasped as their concierge had shown them around the massive suite. There was a kitchen, a full bar, a living room, and a balcony that ran the entire length of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living area. That was before they went back to the king-sized bedroom with electronic blackout shades and a separate balcony.
Shattered Lies Page 13
