by Sable Hunter
Patrick O’Rourke and his team were on standby. Noah was surprised to find out that Revel Lee Jones, the man who’d come to see him about Harper was Revel’s best friend and team member. He also was bringing Jayco Johnson and Philip Hawke. Jacob was acting as top gun, but he was relying heavily on Kyle and Beau to coordinate everything.
As much as they wanted to just fly down and carry out the rescue mission, all of them realized they needed to train, plan and re-plan. So as not to alarm the women, they made Micah’s ranch out of Johnson City their headquarters. Beau flew in targets, weaponry, flash grenades, everything they would need to conduct an all-out assault against an armed fortress.
The McCoy cousins joined forces with them, and they decided to split into three teams. Kyle had studied the blueprints and recommended to Jacob that they attack on two fronts. “If we storm the front gate and take out as many as we can, Harley can blow the side wall as a distraction, then I can get Tyson to come in by helicopter and get a team as close to the house as possible. They can enter, occupy the house and rescue Aron.”
“Can we do this?” Jacob asked as he looked at the charts Kyle had drawn. “It’s going to take at least two weeks to get ready.”
“Do we have a choice?” Kyle fired back. “We can’t go down unprepared.”
“No, we don’t have a choice. Bringing Aron home is nonnegotiable.”
***
Galveston, TX
Harper’s heart was breaking. This was so hard. Sometimes you had to put the welfare of another person ahead of your own. “I’m sorry, Revel. I can’t go back to Louisiana. That part of my life is over.” This wasn’t the first time he’d asked. Over the past few days he had relentlessly made his case. Her answer had not changed. “Please don’t ask me again.”
She tried to shut the door.
He wouldn’t have it. Putting his foot inside the door, he forced it open. She stepped back, her mouth gaping open.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He assured her. “That’s one thing you can always be certain of.”
She chose to twist his words. Harper knew exactly what he meant. “And therein lies the problem. You know what I need. You’ve always known what I needed. But you can’t give it to me.”
Revel searched her face. He’d never understand why some people needed the bite of erotic pain. He just wasn’t wired that way. Harper was. His mind raced back to the first time she’d confided this deep-seated craving to him. They had been young and he’d been idealistic. Looking back now, he hadn’t handled it well. He was a man. It was his job to give his woman what she needed, to protect her, yes, but to fulfil her desires.
He had failed. And in his failure, he had pushed her away. It had not been his intention. Revel Lee Jones had never rejected Harper Summers. He would just as soon reject himself. But he had been surprised, he had shown that surprise and she had ran.
Her running had proved to be her downfall. Harper had fled his protection and sought out the affections of strangers, seeking for what she needed.
He took a deep breath and made his offer. “I can give you what need. I can be what you want.”
A bitter laugh rose in Harper’s throat. If only. “Don’t make me laugh. This is what I asked you for before and you turned me away.”
“I did not turn you away. I told you I didn’t understand, that I didn’t know how, that I was surprised, but I did not push you away.” He was emphatic. “If you had given me time, I would have learned.”
“My lifestyle is not something you learn, it’s something you’re born into. It’s something you crave.” Her voice rose, she was glad no one could hear their discussion. She’d been judged enough in her life, she didn’t want to invite more.
She had backed herself into a corner. Revel took advantage, going to her and bracketing her in with his big body. “Give me a chance. I can’t stand the thought of you being alone. You know I love you, I always have.”
Words, beautiful words. Words she’d give the sun and the moon and the stars to hear and believe. And he meant them, she knew he did. But he didn’t understand. “You think you do.”
He crashed his lips against hers, not giving her time to say anything else. For a few precious moments, they kissed. He wordlessly offered her everything he had—his life, his body and his soul.
As much as Harper wanted to take what was offered, she couldn’t. “No.” She pushed on his chest. “I can’t.”
Revel bowed his head. “Why?”
“It’s not right.” I love you, she thought. “We’re not right. We’ll only end up hurting each other. I would disappoint you. I can’t change.”
With one powerful move, he hit the wall above her head, splintering the wood. She jumped. “Don’t you understand?” he bellowed in his pain. “I don’t want you to change.” He face contorted with pain. “I will change. I will be what you want. I will be what you need.”
“I can’t ask that of you.” She looked at his beloved face. “I want you to go.”
“Ask me anything. I’ll give you all that I have, all that I am. But please don’t ask me to walk away from you.” He’d just found her again. Leaving her would kill him.
Harper forced herself to say the words which would take him away from her. Pain unlike anything she’d ever known ripped through her. And it wasn’t the sensual pain she enjoyed. This was a soul-ripping agony and she never wanted to feel it again. “I don’t want you, Revel. You do nothing for me. I need a man who’ll give me what I need and you will never be able to do that.”
Bowing his head, Revel felt her words slice through his heart like the sharp edge of a sword. “I see.”
With a sinking heart, he turned from her. He walked away. Giving her what she asked for. To be parted from him.
***
El Duro Headquarters – Cantanea, Sonora, Mexico – Two weeks later
Esteban and Martina stood at the two way mirror watching Aron McCoy. He hadn’t broken under the pressure. “You’ve tried everything from starving him to seducing him. I say we end his suffering.”
“No.” Martina offered no further explanation. She’d said everything she had to say days ago.
“What? Are you going to drug him again? We could give him some Devil’s Breath, that would make him manageable. You could do whatever you wanted to with him then.”
Martina didn’t comment, but she had actually considered it. They had used scopolamine before. It was usually blown into the faces of the victims or put into their drinks. The victims became zombies, coherent, but with no free will whatsoever. Aron would be docile, perhaps even cooperative, but he would no longer be Aron or Austin, he wouldn’t be the man she loved. It was his fire she admired. And Martina wasn’t willing to put out that fire, she would almost rather snuff out his life.
“Have you become soft?” Esteban laughed. “I have seen you beat a female police officer to death with a two by four while her colleagues watched. Wasn’t it you who had three traitors dismembered while still alive? Didn’t you stuff Judge Escobar into a 55 gallon drum and set him on fire because he refused to take your bribe?”
“This is different.” She watched Aron wipe his forehead on his bicep. He was so beautiful and she wanted him so much. Tonight, she was going to try one last ditch effort to win him over. “Give me a little time.”
“You’ve had almost two weeks; he’s not going to break. The man has an iron will.”
“Diosa! Diosa!” Paco came running to get her. “Come, you must come!”
“What’s wrong?” She turned to see what the problem could be.
“Your father and sister have been in a car wreck on the way to the airport.”
***
Tebow Ranch
Jacob decided he had no choice but to tell Jessie what was going on. He had run himself to death between training with the men, overseeing the ranch and checking on BT and Jessie at the hospital. He spent most nights there sitting with his son so his wife could sleep. “I have something to confess.” He’
d told her the very best version of their plans, one that didn’t include the machine guns, bombs and mercenaries. But his wife was no fool.
“Take care of yourself. You have a baby to think of.”
“Yea, I have two.” He held her close. “But I have to do this. He’s my brother.”
“Of course you do.” She clung to him and cried.
Joseph had tried to lie to Cady, but he didn’t get very far. “We’re going on a hunting trip to…” Joseph thought quickly. “Colorado!” His magical wife raised one delicate eyebrow. How do you lie to a woman who can basically read your mind?
“A hunting trip to Colorado?” She stared him down. When he stared right back at her, she relented, kissed him and hugged him tight. “Please be careful. You are my world.”
“I’ll be home in time for the wedding, I promise.”
At home, after they’d seen the men off, Avery and Cady looked at one another. “Where was Isaac going?” Cady asked.
“Wyoming with Joseph.”
“Joseph went to Colorado with Isaac.”
Skye didn’t say anything and they quickly determined she was the weakest link, so they pounced. Libby was upstairs writing, so the coast was clear. “Okay, Miss Blue.” Avery grabbed her arm. “Spill.”
“You might as well. I’m picking up some strong vibrations.” Cady coerced her for information.
“Okay, okay, but you have to promise not to say anything to Libby or to any of the men if you talk to them.”
They agreed.
Skye looked at them solemnly. “They’ve gone after Aron.”
“What?”
“He’s alive!”
“That’s great!”
“Shhhhhh,” she shushed them. “They’re not telling Libby.”
“Why?” Avery asked. “She would be over the moon.”
“Do they want it to be a surprise?” Jessie asked.
“Maybe.” Skye frowned. “I mean, yes, they want to surprise her.” She looked down. “But it’s also dangerous. Aron is being held captive by a Mexican drug cartel. Our men have gone down with guns and bombs and a helicopter to break him out.”
“Good God!” Avery had to sit down.
“They’ll be okay.” Cady sat primly, calmly with her hands folded. “We have to have faith.”
“I agree,” Skye said, but she was nervous as well. “I saw that woman who’s holding Aron prisoner. She’s one cold looking bitch.”
Avery covered her mouth. She wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t funny. “A woman?”
“Yes, did you know there are women drug lords?” Skye led them to the kitchen. “Let’s make some hot chocolate.” She knew they were going to worry themselves to death. They might as well do it over something sweet.
“Wouldn’t that make them drug ladies?” Avery grabbed Cady’s hand, seeking what comfort she could.
“Listen to me, girls.” Cady took control. “Everything will be fine. Our men are McCoys. They’re a special breed. The best thing we can do is keep busy and get ready for Christmas. They’ll be home before we know it.”
Avery eyed her soon to be sister-in-law. “Do you know this?”
“Yes,” Cady said calmly and prayed she was right.
Upstairs, Libby worked on her project. She’d finished the scrapbook; it had turned into a legacy of love. Now, she was writing their story. Wiping a tear, she wrote about the time they’d gone skinny dipping in the pond and the perch had nibbled on her toes. Yesterday she’d related the night they’d first made love after she’d swam in the stock tank. This morning she had laughed about the time Molly threw her and Aron had gotten so mad. “I can’t forget about the bar fight with Sabrina or our wedding.”
Wait.
Libby put the pen down. She realized she was thinking of Aron in the past tense. A trembling began in her knees and worked its way up to her hands. “When did this happen?” She couldn’t let herself give up. Standing up, she went out and stared out the window at a moon so big it seemed to cover half the sky. “Please, please, God. I need him. Send him back to me.”
***
La Dura Headquarters – Sonora Mexico
Aron stared out the window at a moon so big it seemed to cover the sky. “Please, please, God. Help me. I don’t want to die without remembering her face.” He had been chained up so long his arms were numb.
Earlier, something had happened; he had heard an uproar in the hall. Martina had screamed. Honestly, he hadn’t thought her capable of remorse over anything. What she could have been suffering over so, he had no idea. How much longer she would let him live was another mystery. There was no way she was going to let him go. These thoughts were torturing him, so when the door opened and he looked up to see her standing there, he was shocked.
The look on her face was different. She walked in slowly. Moving gracefully, she came to within a couple of feet from where he was tied. He saw she was wearing a silk robe. Slowly she began to unbutton it. And she began to speak. “Tonight, I realized something. I’ve been wrong. My father and my sister were almost killed tonight.”
“I’m sorry.” He was. He liked Tomas and Alessandra. “They are too good for the likes of you.”
She lowered her eyes. “My priorities have been different.”
Aron could see she was naked beneath the robe. Then she slid it off her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. Her body was graceful, sensual and perfectly formed. Leaving him absolutely cold. “Cover yourself.”
She was not deterred. Coming to him, she moved a hand down his chest, tracing his muscles. He knew he had to smell. Regular baths had not been part of his torture regime. But she acted as if she did not notice. “If you will have me,” she offered. “I will leave El Duro. We can start anew, somewhere else.” Stepping closer, she kissed him on the chest.
Aron felt as if an icepick was being thrust into his heart. “No.”
“Please.” She moved her hand down to cup his cock, trying to coax it to life. She molded it and massaged it.
Aron gritted his teeth. He wasn’t made of stone. But he refused to respond. He didn’t want to respond. “No.”
“For you, Aron. For you, I will change. For you I will become like other women. Like your wife.”
She looked into his eyes and he looked back. “You could never be like my wife. I know you’ve stolen my memories of her, but I know I would never choose anyone like you. I don’t want you, Martina. I wouldn’t have you and all your money tied up in a neat little bow.” She stepped back, withdrawing her hand as if she’d been burned. “If that’s what you’re keeping me far, you might as well kill me.”
***
Operation Aron
Two planes and a helicopter winged their way from Texas to Mexico. They belonged to Chancellor Industries. Inside were friends who were willing to place their own lives on the line to bring one of their own home. Harley LeBlanc was one of those friends. She sat drawing a diagram.
“Do you have your plan finalized, cher?” Her husband sat beside her. Beau had stepped up to the challenge, furnishing enough firepower to take down a small country. He’d also worked tirelessly with the McCoys to make sure they all felt comfortable handling the weapons.
“Yes, I do. Jet and I have this part covered.” She lifted her eyes and smiled at her new friend. He was an intimidating looking man. Of course, during her time in the Navy she had met her share of tattoo-covered muscle men.
Everyone knew their place. Everyone knew their role. There were some more dangerous jobs than others. Aron’s brothers had demanded to be on the front line. “Has anyone talked to Brock, again? Do we have any idea how many men will be at the hacienda?” Joseph asked. He’d been keeping up with everything, but he was getting married in a few days, so his thinking was fragmented.
“We’re still waiting. There’s been a set-back. He says the old man and the sister were in a car accident. Brock has been at her side and he also had a run-in with Martina. Apparently, she’s decided she doesn’t approve of Alessan
dra’s low-class boyfriend,” Jacob stated. “His words, not mine.”
“What time do we arrive?” Isaac was nervous, fidgeting in his seat. He wasn’t scared, he just wanted this over with and for them all to be back at Tebow—Aron with them and this whole nightmare to be nothing but a bad dream.
“In half an hour,” Roscoe answered. “We’ve sent everything to Cisco, and if our timing works out, they’ll be arriving right about the time we’re through. Clean up crew, I guess you could call it.”
Joseph couldn’t help but ask. “How are they going to feel about a group of Americans coming into their country and waging war?”
“Well.” Roscoe laughed. “I don’t know. This could turn into an international incident. They ought to be grateful, though. We’re doing their job for them. The info Brock gave us is enough to shut down El Duro and their suppliers.”
“Good.” Noah nodded. “No use letting Aron’s information go to waste.” He looked out the window at the wispy clouds passing by. “I wonder if he’s remembered more.”
“I don’t know.” Micah put his food tray aside. “I do think you ought to be the one to approach him when we find him. At least he’ll recognize your face and you can explain things. We don’t want to have to fight him once we turn him loose.”
“I wonder what they’ve done to him.” Bowie didn’t want to alarm anyone, but he was familiar with the cold, sadistic practices of the drug cartels. Frankly, the fact he’d survived this long was testament that he meant something to the Delgado woman.
“I’m afraid to see,” Jacob spoke lowly, echoing the same sentiment everyone else was feeling. “I’ve got a doctor alerted back home, in case any of us or Aron is injured. I’ve also contacted a neurobiologist in case his memory is still fouled up from the drugs or the operation. His name is Scott Walker, he comes highly recommended.”
