by Vanessa Kier
For the first time since Niko had met the man, Alvarez appeared shocked. The look of outraged disbelief on his face as he was led away was almost comical.
Dios. It’s over. It’s finally over. Now all he had to do was make certain Aunt Madalena got safely back to the family.
“Tell your commander that the woman is Pocahontas,” Niko quietly told the DEA agent that stood behind him, using the code word he’d set up to make certain his aunt received the treatment he’d been promised.
The man looked sideways at Niko, but he spoke softly into his lip mike. A moment later, he nodded. “John Smith?” he asked.
Niko gave a slight shake of his head. “Nah. I’m more the Lone Ranger,” he replied, giving the rest of the code phrase.
The man flicked his eyes from Alvarez’s retreating back to Niko. He gave Niko a nod of respect. “Some day, I’d like to buy you a beer and hear how you managed to survive undercover so long. It takes cojones to cross a man like Alvarez from the inside.”
“Yeah, well.” Niko shrugged. “Look me up in another five to ten. By then I’m sure I’ll need a beer.” If he survived prison, that was. Based on the way this had gone down, Niko didn’t think Alvarez or his guards had suspected his role. But all it took was one comment said in the wrong company and he was a dead man.
The thought of being locked up again sent panic zinging through him. But this time he wasn’t an innocent boy of eighteen. He was a twenty-four-year old man. A man who’d survived in one of the most brutal criminal organizations in Latin America.
He’d continue to endure for as long as it took to win back his freedom.
Then he’d work on winning back the love of his family.
“C’mon.” The DEA agent took Niko by the arm. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“Yeah,” Niko said under his breath. “It’s long past time I left.”
Undisclosed Location, United States
It took ten days for Alvarez to accept that he’d been well and truly caught. Ten days and his extradition to a high-security holding facility in the United States. None of his usual allies within the legal community were standing by him. Oh, his expensive lawyer was on board, but the cops and judges Alvarez had paid over the years to ensure that his empire ran smoothly had failed to protect him. It appeared that he’d made a major miscalculation.
At the end of the hall, the door into the judge’s chamber opened. Niko stepped out, flanked by a pair of guards. Strong as always, Niko held his head high despite the fact that he wore a prisoner’s orange jumpsuit and was shackled at wrists and ankles.
On the surface, it appeared that Niko was being prosecuted as a criminal, the same as all of Alvarez’s men. But Alvarez wasn’t fooled. Miguel had been right. Only one man had the systemwide access to take down every one of his businesses.
Alvarez had no idea how Niko had managed it. Despite Miguel’s accusations, there had never been any proof that Niko had been in contact with the authorities.
Yet somehow he’d managed to ruin Alvarez.
“You,” Alvarez spat quietly as Niko drew near. He did not believe the guards spoke Spanish, but he had no wish to be overheard, regardless. “You’re the one responsible for this.”
Niko stopped. His face showed no emotion.
That infuriated Alvarez more than anything. To be treated like nothing by this man was the greatest insult.
“You betrayed me.” He surged to his feet and Niko’s guards shifted forward to protect him at the same time Alvarez’s guards grabbed his arms. He ignored them. They didn’t matter. “After all I did for you, hijo, you repay me like this?”
Niko didn’t answer. Just returned his gaze with a stony stare, as if Alvarez meant nothing to him.
“I will destroy you. Do you hear me? I promise you this, Nikolos Andros. I will destroy everything you hold dear. Tear apart your family until your heart breaks and you have no more tears to cry. You will die regretting the day you even thought about crossing me.”
Niko remained silent. After a long pause, he turned and resumed his walk down the corridor, his chains clinking as he moved.
“Fear me, Nikolos, for I am the devil that will never let you find peace.”
But Niko walked away, his back straight with pride, and Alvarez wondered if his fierce words were all talk.
No. He’d been one of the greatest powers within the criminal world. He would regain that power. All he had to do was find one person within the legal system willing to bend a few rules, and he would soon have his empire back.
Then, when they were both out of prison, he would fulfill his promise to Niko.
And get his Madalena back.
In the meantime, Alvarez would keep silent regarding Niko’s betrayal and put the word out that the man was not to be hurt. This was personal. He wanted to watch Niko suffer, not learn about his death at the hand of some overly aggressive inmate. And he could not afford to have his compatriots believe him weak because he’d been betrayed by his closest employee. His intended heir.
Yes, in order to maintain his reputation and to further his revenge, he would tell no one the truth. But one day soon, he would make Nikolos Andros pay dearly for his betrayal.
One Week Later
“Twenty-five to fifty years? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Niko stared in disbelief at his DEA contact. He’d known that he’d have to serve some jail time, but not that much.
Fear tightened his throat. Niko stood frozen, unable to think straight. He’d been moved into this solitary holding cell yesterday, but he’d thought it was for his own protection. Not a sign that they were going to throw the book at him.
“I’m sorry. The powers that be want to set an example,” the DEA agent said. The sympathy in his voice didn’t do anything to calm Niko down. “They’re pushing for maximum sentences on everyone involved. The good news is that your cover is still solid. There’s been no talk that you had anything to do with the raid.”
I can’t do it. I can’t last that long without seeing my family.
“Because you were so young when you started, and because you’re the one who is responsible for us capturing Alvarez, I’ve managed to work out a potential deal.”
“What?” Niko choked out.
“They’ll reduce your sentence to five years.”
Dios, even five years seemed too long.
“Under the following conditions,” the agent continued. “First, you will assist the DEA and other law enforcement agencies in dismantling Alvarez’s organization, by giving them all the data they require.”
Niko nodded. That was a no-brainer. He wanted Alvarez completely destroyed.
“Second, upon your release, you must agree to work undercover as a full-time DEA employee for a minimum of three years. They’ll—”
“Why the fuck would I want to work for the DEA? All I want is a normal life.” Niko clenched his fists and told himself it would be stupid to reach out and strangle his handler. Or to take the man hostage and demand to be let go.
Damn. He really was on edge. But he hadn’t realized how desperate he was to see his family until the prospect got taken away.
“If you’ll let me finish?” the man snapped.
After taking a deep breath, Niko nodded.
“Agree to work for us, taking on other assignments in the Latin American underworld, and we’ll request that the year you spent in prison five years ago be credited toward your new term. We’ll also arrange for your sentence to be reduced by the three years of service to the DEA. That means you only need to serve twelve months.”
Christ. Another year. He rubbed the scars on his biceps. It wasn’t as if he had a choice, was it? But it sounded like the DEA wanted him to maintain his cover, which meant he still wouldn’t be able to tell his mamá the truth.
“Plus, you’ll get weekly visits.”
“Huh?”
“Look, I can tell that you’re not happy about serving more time, but you knew before you joined Alvarez that we w
ere going to have to prosecute you.”
Niko shrugged. Yeah, his mind understood the situation. His honorable self knew he had to make reparation for the things he’d done. But his heart and soul just wanted to slough off his La Mano Derecha persona and return to being Niko Andros.
Whoever the hell that was anymore.
“As part of the deal, I’ve arranged for weekly visits from your family. Anyone who knows your parents will understand that no matter what they think you’ve done, they’ll support you and try to convince you to redeem yourself. So it won’t weaken your cover for them to visit.”
Relief loosened Niko’s muscles, but he refused to betray such weakness. “All right. I agree. What do I need to do?”
To his surprise, the man reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a folded set of papers. “Sign these, then our lawyers will talk to the judge tomorrow.”
Niko read through the papers carefully, but everything was as the man had said. He scribbled his signature where indicated, then handed the papers back. The agent then countersigned the documents. Huh. The man must have more clout within the agency than Niko realized.
“Leave my copy with my father,” he said.
The man nodded and turned to go. Just before he opened the door he hesitated, then glanced over his shoulder at Niko. “You’ve done a great service to society, Niko. Not many men would have lasted as long as you did with Alvarez. But you had the strength and the courage to endure. For that, I admire you.”
Niko gave a one-shoulder shrug, unable to think of any response.
With a little smile of acknowledgment, the agent left the room. Once the door had clicked closed behind him, Niko sat down heavily on the room’s single chair. He put his head in his hands and concentrated on regulating his breathing.
I can do this. What’s four more years after what I’ve gone through?
Unfortunately, now that the raid was over, the reservoir of strength that had kept him moving forward seemed to be empty.
Dios, please give me courage.
Chapter Four
Ten Years Later
A Village in Afghanistan
Niko tossed feverishly on his bed.
They’d been betrayed. His team had gone into the mountains to speak to a supposed informant. Instead, they’d discovered a burned-out village. The charred bodies of women and children lined the streets. Before Niko’s team could begin to bury the dead, they’d come under automatic weapons fire.
One of Niko’s teammates on the joint SSU/DEA task force went down. Niko grabbed him in a fireman’s lift and started down the mountain. But he didn’t get far before a bullet tore into his thigh and his leg gave out. Niko stumbled, then collapsed, watching in horror as the skull of his teammate exploded under the impact of another bullet.
Niko woke up with his throat sore from screaming and someone’s hand on his shoulder. Weak as he was, he still twisted free and sent a fist flying toward the intruder.
“Niko. Whoa. Relax, bro. It’s me, Rafe.”
The Greek words penetrated Niko’s brain fog like nothing else could. “Rafe? What the fuck?”
He glanced around. Yep. He was still in the storeroom at the back of Yousef’s father’s house in the middle of the mountains of Afghanistan. Last he’d heard, Rafe was headed out on assignment to South America. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Niko sat up on his straw pallet, biting back a groan as the room spun and the wound in his thigh pulsed with pain. But at least his fever seemed to have broken. Now that he was awake, he felt clear-headed for the first time in days.
He took a moment to study his brother. Rafe sported several days worth of beard and Niko saw combat fatigues sticking out from underneath the traditional Afghani robe he wore. His brother looked like he hadn’t slept for days and, shit, were those tears in his eyes?
“Rafe, what’s wrong?”
Rafe reached out and grabbed Niko’s shoulder. “Pop’s dying.”
The room spun again. “What?” Niko tried to climb to his feet, but his wounded leg wouldn’t support him and he fell back on the pallet. “How? Why?”
“Pneumonia. Mamá said he’d been working long hours on a new case and she thinks his immune system was weakened.”
Niko stared into his brother’s eyes. “He can’t be dying. It’s just pneumonia, right?”
Rafe shook his head, the bleakness of his expression telling Niko all he needed to know. His brother was the optimist. If he’d lost hope, then the situation was bad. “So what the fuck are you doing here? You should be with him.”
Rafe nodded. “I know. But he told me to get you. Said he wanted both his sons together. So Ryker helped me track you down.”
Christ. Dying. It would take them days to get back to the States. Even if Ryker, their boss and the director of the privately run special operations group the Surgical Strike Unit, managed one of his famous miracles and had private transport waiting for them, there wasn’t any guarantee they’d make it back in time.
Still, Niko had to try. “Help me up and we can go.”
Once Niko was on his feet and not wobbling too much, Rafe said, “That’s not all.”
“What?” Niko growled.
Rafe gave Niko a wary look. “Jaime Alvarez just got out of prison…”
Niko’s story continues in Vengeance, Book 1 of the Surgical Strike Unit series. Keep reading for an excerpt.
Excerpt from Vengeance
by Vanessa Kier
Wednesday, Late Afternoon
Surgical Strike Unit Training Compound
Oregon
Jenna Paterson had five minutes to rescue the hostage.
She nodded and her partner rammed open the door. With steady hands, Jenna pulled the pin on a flash grenade and lobbed it into the room. She quickly turned her head away, closing her eyes to protect her vision against the brilliant explosion. Then waited for her team leader to give the signal to enter. Thankfully, the shock of the grenade had startled the hostage inside into silence. Jenna had been afraid that one more minute of listening to the woman’s terrified screams would throw her back to the night two years ago when she’d been attacked.
Don’t remember, she warned herself. It’s not the same. You’re not the victim this time. Your job is to save this poor woman from further abuse at the hands of the terrorists.
Yet her body wasn’t buying it. Her stomach tightened in dread and her mouth was as dry as the paint on a da Vinci. She pressed her back tightly against the cheap plasterboard wall of the hallway. Inhaled the scent of the grenade’s fumes and underneath that, the nauseating mixture of fresh paint and fresh blood. She tightened her grip on her automatic rifle and hoped the team leader would give the go-ahead before her nerves got the better of her.
Stick to the plan, the voice inside her head chanted. These are not the men who attacked you. That’s not Kai in there.
Jenna clenched her teeth. She was better now. She was. She hadn’t frozen during action since the last time they’d rescued a female prisoner in the middle of being raped.
“Go!” The voice of her team leader came clearly over the headset. At a nod from her partner, Jenna drew in a deep breath and counted to five. He went through the door first, high and to the left followed by Jenna rolling low and to the right.
The next minutes were a surrealistic blur. Muzzle flashes turned the lingering smoke from the grenade into a multicolored cloud. The hostage cried out in fear, not realizing she was being rescued. The terrorists grunted in pain, writhing in grotesque death dances as the bullets from Jenna’s teammates found their targets.
Then, suddenly, silence. Jenna lay on her stomach, panting, her heart racing as she searched for another target. But the room was still.
Three short bursts from a whistle signaled the end of the exercise. The house lights came up and the experienced Surgical Strike Unit operators who’d been playing the terrorists rose to their feet, laser tagged vests glowing where they’d been “hit” by her team’s fire.<
br />
One of the terrorists pulled off his baseball cap, revealing sweat-stained blond hair. For a second he looked so much like Kai that Jenna turned her weapon toward him before reality returned. Reeling from the close call, she quickly lowered her weapon.
Thank God the man hadn’t noticed her targeting him. She never would have lived that one down. As she pushed hastily to her feet she snuck a glance at the rest of the room to make sure no one else had seen. And met the fierce chocolate eyes of Niko Andros.
Her heart stuttered. Didn’t that figure? The one person who’d observed her slip was today’s guest trainer, the man her classmates spoke about in awed whispers. The man who, with the predatory stillness of his body and the wary intelligence in his eyes, reminded Jenna of a falcon.
Jenna did her best to act casual, like nothing had happened, but Niko glanced from her weapon to the guy she’d almost shot and raised one eyebrow. Damn. She shrugged and forced a slight smile, hoping Niko would chalk her edginess up to adrenaline.
After holding her gaze for an uncomfortable moment, Niko’s expression shifted from questioning to a banked heat that caused an alarming frisson of sexual awareness to shoot through her. Feeling her cheeks flush, she quickly turned away.
Her stomach churned with nausea. She couldn’t handle this. Not now. Yes, she’d worked hard since the rape to get over her fear of being the object of a man’s sexual interest. She couldn’t train with guys and not expect to receive a few suggestive looks or comments. But until today she’d never felt anything but revulsion in response to a man’s attention.
The doctors would say that her appreciation of Niko as a male was a positive step. Yet even as a brief image of her running her fingers through his short dark hair flashed in her mind, panic began a familiar beat in her veins.
She had to get out of here. Had to—
“Hey, you okay?” her partner Elliot asked. She nodded, unable to meet his eyes. Afraid he’d see her fear. Hoping he hadn’t seen the look Niko had given her. What could she say? “I’m scared to death because for the first time in two years I’m actually feeling attraction toward a man, but all I can remember when I think of sex is pain and blood?” Yeah, that would go over well.
