by Dawn Ryder
Tonight he was a player. A rich man with a pet and an expensive toy car.
Let people dismiss him as shallow.
He enjoyed knowing he had more to him than what people thought.
Dare Servant wasn’t dismissing him.
Kirkland took a turn and ground his teeth as he hit the wall of traffic cruising along Pacific Coast Highway. It was a mixture of super cars and BMWs.
Dare Servant was a serious problem.
Kirkland had learned business from the Raven. His sire had been a major underworld figure, and there was only one way anyone kept a reputation among those who ran the darker side of business.
He knew what the night would hold for him. A clashing of Titians so to speak. Shadow Ops were the elite. Men who lived on the edge like he did himself.
Kirkland slowly smiled.
He like a good fight.
This one promised to be bloody.
It worked for him.
* * *
Jenna was dropped.
She groaned as she landed on the floor, her bound hands making it impossible to keep from knocking her chin into the hard surface. The smack sent pain through her, but there was already so much swirling around in her body, she didn’t really get distracted by it.
Someone was yanking the sack off her head. Being able to see was much more interesting.
Wherever she was, it smelled wet. She heard the water, a sort of low, constant lapping and realized she must be down on the docks. There was a huge metal shipping container next to her, the side of it forming one wall of her prison.
She rolled over and gasped.
“Yeah, got you a little company,” one of her captors snickered.
Jenna was fighting the urge to throw up. Still gagged, she knew she had to succeed. But gaining control over her emotions only gave her more clarity to see the details of the girl facing her.
She was dead.
Jenna knew it as a fact as she stared into the frozen, lifeless eyes. Life was gone from them, the face motionless and so damned hopeless. Jenna felt tears sting her eyes for how young the girl was. She hadn’t had enough time to do all of the things a life should be full of.
Neither had she …
Her own plight hit Jenna hard as she looked up and got her first look at her captors. They were sitting on a couple of chairs, kicking back, clearly waiting for someone.
What sickened her was the way they looked at her. Like she was of no more concern than the dead girl next to her. Bodies didn’t bother them, so killing wouldn’t either.
* * *
“Trouble.”
Dare didn’t remember falling asleep. He’d been wrestling with the memory of Jenna and somehow dropped off into a deep sleep where he ended up dreaming about her.
Greer McRae startled him by pushing the bedroom door in and slapping it to make sure Dare was on his feet.
It worked.
Not that his fellow agent noticed anything out of the ordinary. Greer expected Dare to jump and was already halfway down the hallway. Dare cussed but admitted being grateful for the moment of privacy. He ran a hand across his face and through his hair. It was enough to help him clear his mind and focus on the case.
Greer was checking his gun instead of looking at the computer screen. Dare felt his body tense. His fellow agent was preparing to go into the field.
“I checked in on the girl and she was gone,” Greer explained. “Someone grabbed her within an hour of you leaving. They were there when you kissed her.”
Dare grabbed a tablet and punched in his clearance code. He jabbed at the link to the video feed of Jenna’s townhouse and scanned the images. The fact that his fellow agent knew he’d kissed Jenna wasn’t important.
He didn’t have time for his personal embarrassment.
Just for the guilt that punched him in the gut as he realized he’d avoided checking in on her when he returned.
“Shit.” Dare grunted as he watched the two men lingering outside the kitchen. They kept tight to the wall, moving around and checking the driveway to make sure he’d left before they reentered the house.
The sight of her being carried out of the townhouse was the only thing that gave him a measure of release.
“The tracking beacon is working.” Greer fed him information right on time. “They’ve taken her down to the docks.”
Dare caught a vest Greer tossed him on his way toward the door. “Recall Thais and Zane.”
“No need to.” Greer was sliding into the truck next to him as Dare started the engine. “They’re tailing Kirkland.” Greer looked across the cab at Dare. “He’s heading towards the docks. I only noticed the girl was missing because I was looking at Kirkland’s feed and you had her still up on one of the screens.”
It was an inexcusable lapse.
Part of his brain tried to argue Jenna wasn’t a primary as far as the case went but Dare shot the argument down cold.
The cases Shadow Ops took weren’t normal. A good agent never dismissed any player as insignificant.
It was the break he needed. Kirkland being on the move at the same time wasn’t coincidence. No. Something about Jenna had flushed him out.
He should have been elated.
Instead, his muscles tightened as dread became a pounding force inside his brain. The detachment he relied on was eluding his grasp as Greer pointed them toward where the beacon in Jenna’s shoulder was sending out a signal.
Problem was, the thing would work even after she was dead.
* * *
Jenna cried out.
She really wanted to be stronger, but one of the men grasped her bound feet and dragged her along the ground and up into a shipping container. He didn’t give a damn for the way her hair was being torn out of her scalp or the agony being inflicted by the handcuffs locked around her ankles as they bit into her flesh.
Nope, he pulled her up a ramp and into the empty interior of the metal shipping container, dropping her feet once she was halfway inside it.
“Boss won’t be here for another half hour,” the man said looking toward his companion. “There’s still a few of her friends left alive. Let’s enjoy how desperate they are.”
The “her” was the body. The second man had hauled it into the container while his buddy was dragging Jenna.
“Sounds good,” the second man said. “Boss said he wanted this one alive to make her talk. We’d better enjoy our time now. Won’t be much left of this one when he’s done with her.”
They talked as they went back down the ramp. There was a squeal and groan from the large metal doors as they swung them closed and locked her inside.
It was dark.
The container was water tight, made for being transported on huge cargo ships across rough seas. Jenna felt her eyes straining to adjust, even as her brain knew it was a lost battle.
Fuck, she wasn’t ready to die.
She latched onto her anger, using it to float above the fear trying to drown her. It was a fight for survival, making her reprioritize everything. The pain in her body was insignificant compared to keeping a handle on her wits.
If she wanted to survive, she’d have to be able to think.
Jenna couldn’t see her, but she knew the dead girl was there, too. The knowledge was sitting there like a huge tarantula, waiting to jump on her and kill her with its venom.
No …
Just … no …
She wasn’t willing to give up. Wasn’t willing to miss out on everything she hadn’t experienced yet. Half hour?
Not nearly long enough.
And yet, all the time she had.
Jenna struggled, fighting to slip her arms around her hips and down her legs. She ended up rolling around but managed to bring her hands up in front of her.
The handcuffs held though.
She was straining to see them, to find a way to free herself when she heard the door grinding again. Tears filled her eyes as she listened to the door opening, knowing her time was spent.
A meager amount of light filled the space, granting her a glimpse of who was coming at her. She raised her hands, the urge to fight so strong she was lunging forward before she recognized anyone.
The first man caught her. “Jenna…”
Her brain was locked into survival mode. The man holding her clamped his arms around her to still her struggles.
“Jenna,” he repeated more sternly. “It’s Dare.”
She froze, trying to believe what she’d heard.
It wasn’t possible.
And yet, once she stopped fighting, she felt the difference in his hold. It was solid and hard, but without the callous disregard for her pain that her two kidnappers had employed.
In short, she wasn’t just meat.
“Good girl … listen to me, I’ll get you through this,” he said.
There was a confidence in his tone she drank up like the desert did with rain. It was so thick, she would have sworn she could taste it. She started shaking, relief beating inside her like a trapped bird. He smoothed a hand along her back, feeling her reaction.
Damn … it felt perfect.
His touch that was.
Some of her hair was pulled when he released the gag, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was freedom. Her jaw ached as she worked it, watching as Dare unlocked her hands before he moved toward her feet.
“I thought you’d be okay,” he muttered as he fit the little key into the lock and turned it. There was a thick coating of self-loathing in his tone.
“What … do you mean?” She had to swallow because her tongue was so dry it stuck to the roof of her mouth. Looking over to where the gag was laying on the floor, she realized her captors had shoved one of her dirty ankle socks into her mouth.
She really hoped Dare shot them.
The second cuff released before Dare was raising his head and making eye contact with her. The stern expression she’d encountered the first time she’d woken up in his custody was there on his face.
“All that matters is we have you, Jenna, and we’ll keep you safe.”
It was exactly what she wanted to hear. For a moment, she was happily drowning in relief.
“Guess I have to apologize for being pissy about you putting that beacon in my shoulder,” she muttered.
He was helping her to her feet with a solid grip on her bicep. He left her for a moment to take a closer look at the body lying on the floor near them. She watched his jaw tighten as he pressed his fingers to the girl’s throat.
“At least we can tag the body and catch some hard evidence when they dump it.”
The second agent was watching the open door. The dock lights illuminated the gun in his hands. He had the weapon pointed out the opening, his position making it clear he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot anyone who came too close.
They were more than cops.
She liked knowing it, too. There was a sense of justice in the way they didn’t appear to be worried about killing her captors.
Good …
“Wait…” Her brain clicked on like a light.
“No time.” Dare was rising up, the motion effortless. He reached out and caught her arm. “Got to get you clear before…”
He just shut his jaw. Jenna realized he was keeping the details of the case from her.
“Before the boss shows up.” She filled in the blank.
Dare stopped, one dark eyebrow rising.
“They said the boss was coming down to deal with me,” Jenna said.
Dare’s jaw tightened.
“But he isn’t here yet,” Jenna continued.
Dare was taking her toward the door again. Jenna dug her feet in, earning a frustrated sound from him.
“Which means I still don’t have anything to add to your case,” she insisted.
Dare cocked his head to one side, sending her what she supposed was a get-real look.
“Is getting a look at a man who has no qualms about killing you really on your bucket list, Jenna?” he asked her.
“Not this morning it wasn’t,” she cut back. But her burst of sarcasm only left her with an empty feeling. Her home was no longer safe. Her life was no longer secure. It was like being stripped down to her skin and tossed out of a moving car into noonday traffic. The only thing left to clutch at was her dignity. “But it doesn’t look like much of anything is up to me at the moment.”
“I’m sorry, Jenna.”
He was, too. She heard the sincerity in his tone.
“We’re going to get you some place safe, I promise you that,” he continued.
Not her home though. She didn’t have to ask the question because she realized she didn’t feel safe returning to the place where she’d been kidnapped from. Her own damned bed, and it wasn’t the safe haven she’d worked so hard to carve out for herself.
“I want to matter, be more than a victim,” she said.
Dare had reached for her arm again. She’d only whispered, but the metal sides of the shipping container made sure he heard her.
“Jenna…” he began.
She cut him off because she just couldn’t take being pitied.
“I want to do something more than be a casualty of the situation.”
He started to argue with her. She watched him clench his jaw tight as he thought through her comment.
“If I see the guy, it will help your case,” Jenna looked back toward the body of the girl. “Maybe get justice for her.”
“That would mean leaving you here,” Dare muttered.
“I got that part,” Jenna replied as she tried to keep her confidence from deserting her.
“Can’t do it.” Dare gripped her arm. “Too dangerous. This case isn’t the type you toy with.”
Jenna refused to walk, her feet slipping before Dare grunted and faced off with her.
“What is your plan, Jenna? Just going to stay here and hope you don’t end up like her?” He jerked his head toward the body. “This guy has no problem laying you out next to her.”
“I know,” Jenna snapped. “But I also get that you were bugging his house to gain evidence on him. Only he’s coming down here to do his dirty work. You need a witness.”
He knew she had a point. Jenna watched the understanding flash through his eyes. His expression never eased though. “You’re leaving.”
Dare didn’t reach for her arm. He caught her wrist and jerked her toward him as he lowered one shoulder. He straightened up with her hanging over his shoulder like a dead deer.
And that image was just too much of a helpless one to bear.
“I am not a coward,” she hissed, turning her head so he could hear her.
He carried her outside and behind a stack of shipping containers before he set her on her feet. His jaw was locked, making it plain he was done discussing the matter.
Jenna reached out and hooked her hands into the vest he wore.
“Listen to me.”
He clamped his hands around her wrists. “I heard you, Jenna, but you don’t understand what you’re dealing with.”
“I understand I can’t go home. Ever,” she said.
He drew back.
“What? You think I don’t understand what happens to the people you save from mega bad guys like this one?” she offered. “Maybe I don’t know the terms, but I’m pretty sure I’m never going to sign Jenna Henson as my legal name again.”
“Relocating you is the only thing that will safeguard your life.”
He didn’t like telling her that fact either. There was a cold detachment in his tone, which drove a spike through her heart.
But it also fueled her determination.
“So let me make it worth it,” Jenna exclaimed softly. “Put me back in there. Let this asswipe show his face to me. Whoever that girl is, she deserves more than me letting her killer go when I can do something about making sure you and your team can keep him from killing again.”
There was a pause. She got the feeling Dare di
dn’t rethink his position often.
No, the guy oozed confidence.
“He’s shredded my life,” she finished. “If my only option is to take the opportunity to strike back and make some sort of difference, don’t deny me that. I’ve got to have something to build a new life on, and pity isn’t my style.”
Dare let out a soft grunt.
“She’s got a point,” his fellow agent muttered. “Much as I don’t care for the circumstance, I can’t much blame her for wanting a shot at … him.”
“This isn’t going to be pretty, Jenna.” Dare gripped her chin and raised it up so their gazes locked. “I can’t promise to protect you. This situation is unpredictable, too many variables. You go back in there, you might die.”
“Guess you’d better give me a gun,” she said.
And she needed to dig deep because she was going back.
The metal container was sitting among a thousand other ones just like it but there was an eerie feel to it.
Yeah? That’s because you know there’s a dead girl inside it.
Jenna shied away from thinking about just what her chances were for joining the unknown girl.
The facts weighing on her mind were the ones that included starting a new life knowing she might have made a difference but chose the coward’s way.
Fine, it might be safer but life was measured in the moments that stole your breath.
“Let’s do this,” she said as she held her hand out for the gun.
“I don’t like it,” Dare said, glancing back toward the container.
“Good,” she replied. He snapped his attention back to her, a frown on his face. “Just a little happy to hear you don’t make a habit of using bait.”
He grunted and looked around again. She could feel him weighing the situation and coming to the same conclusion she’d already decided upon. His fellow agent was watching him, the expression on his face grim but set.
“It might as well be me,” Jenna argued. “He had his goons bring me down here. If I don’t go back in there and give you the chance to catch him red handed, you’ll be stuck waiting for him to select another victim. One you don’t have tagged.”
