She let out a soft moan as she looked around at the four walls enclosing them. Would she even get that chance to apologize to Brooks? If she never escaped or died, she could only pray that he wouldn’t let her misguided attempts at reconciling him with the children make him feel even more worthless. She prayed he’d find love and happiness that didn’t put demands on him. She loved him so much, and she’d messed everything up. What she wouldn’t give to make it right.
* * *
Brooks stood at the helm of his yacht. They were approaching the third ship of the night. The other two had turned out to be clean. He should feel guilty about waking honest people in the middle of the night, but he could only think of Sydnee. He’d heard all the horror stories of traffickers’ treatment of prisoners and especially women. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone hurting Sydnee, especially …
He growled and focused on pulling as close to the boat as he could. If they didn’t stop, he’d have to ram them and hope he could leap onto their decks.
José held the bullhorn to his lips and barked out, “U.S. Coast Guard. Slow your speed and prepare to be boarded.” It had worked well with the other boats, his accent masked by the sheer volume of the bullhorn. Even in international waters, sailors still feared the Coast Guard and usually complied with their wishes, no matter if they had jurisdiction or not. Brooks got the idea from when he, Zack, and Maddie had been stopped last summer by the Coast Guard in the middle of the night. He’d obeyed, even though it had about killed him to submit and not be the man in charge.
The boat slowed and then stopped, and Brooks heaved a sigh of relief, yet he wondered if their compliance meant they weren’t the traffickers. He grabbed his M249, his favorite light machine gun. His knife and 1911 pistol were already on his belt.
“Be safe,” he muttered to José as he and the other men boarded the boat. There were only a few men on the deck of the outdated yacht, covered with peeling paint and rust spots. One of them started talking to José in rapid Spanish. Brooks only caught part of it, something about them having no right.
“Give him Sydnee’s description,” Brooks instructed.
José did, and the man’s eyes widened. Another man walked up the stairs. Brooks recognized him. The loser who’d kidnapped Sydnee several weeks ago. He had been released. Brooks saw the first man going for his gun and didn’t waste any time.
“Down!” he shouted to his men as he lifted his machine gun and shot the man reaching for his gun in the shoulder. The man screamed and dropped his weapon. Another gun glinted in the overhead light. Brooks sprayed the man with bullets. Mr. Hoffman had always taught him to only kill when necessary. Tonight it might be necessary. The third man who’d originally been on deck was tackled by José. He didn’t put up much of a fight. Disappointing. Brooks was ready to thump someone.
Brooks looked around. The trafficker he’d recognized had disappeared back down the stairs.
“Secure the boat,” he instructed his men, running for the stairs and pumping down them. He might be running straight into a bullet, but Sydnee was down here. He could feel it. He would take that bullet if it meant saving her.
22
Sydnee heard the call from the Coast Guard and felt the boat slow. The Coast Guard was here! That was an answer to prayers she hadn’t even thought of. She’d assumed the traffickers would take them south, not toward American waters.
“We need to be ready,” she instructed Daniel.
“What can we do?”
She woke up the children. “Someone is coming to rescue us. Be quiet and be ready to move.”
They both nodded, their eyes wide with fear. It’d been a miracle they’d fallen asleep earlier. She stood and took the baby from Daniel. Their room was locked from the outside. She didn’t know how she could escape, but she was going to be ready to help if she could.
Shots rang out from above, and she gasped. She handed the baby back to Daniel and ushered them behind her along the wall. Searching around the room, her eyes landed on the lamp. It was all they had. She ripped it from the wall and threw the lampshade away. They were in complete darkness now, but that would hopefully be to their advantage.
Waiting by the door, she prayed when it opened she’d know if she should smack the person or hug them.
The shots stopped, and footsteps pounded down the hallway. She heard the key turn in the lock and waited, heart in her throat.
The door swung slowly inward, and the hallway light silhouetted a man with a gun held in front of him. Sydnee didn’t think the Coast Guard would approach like this. She swung the lamp down on those arms with every bit of strength she had.
The man cursed in Spanish and the gun flew across the room. Sydnee’s eyes widened when she realized it was the trafficker who had attacked her and Daniel originally and tonight had come back for them. He turned and grabbed for her. She tried to dodge, but he wrapped his hands around her neck and in one quick movement, slammed her face first onto the carpeted floor. Sydnee cried out, pain ripping through her face, elbows, and knees. Her head was cloudy and her stomach rolled. The man jumped on top of her, pummeling her with his hard fists in the back of the neck and head.
“He came for you,” he yelled, “but I’ll kill you before he finds you!”
Sydnee gasped. The world spun one way, then another as successive punches landed from both directions. She was disoriented and dealing with too much pain to clear her head. Who had come for her? Brooks? The hope gave her strength she didn’t know she had. She bucked her body like a wild steer and threw the man to the side. Rolling onto her stomach, she vomited.
Every part of her wanted to lose consciousness and sink to the floor, but her children were defenseless. Slowly pushing to her knees as if she were underwater and trying to surface, she saw Daniel gouging his fingers into the man’s eyes and Alejandro pulling the dude’s hair.
A large shadow appeared at the door. Sydnee glanced up, and all the air whooshed out of her. “Brooks,” she whispered. He looked fiercely handsome in his black clothes, with weapons strapped over his chest and around his waist. The fury on his face was palatable.
He grabbed the guy and yanked him to his feet, then slammed him against the wall, leaving an imprint of his body in the old paneling. Daniel and Alejandro backed up. María held Tomás, who howled his protests. Sydnee struggled to her feet, bracing herself against the bed frame.
Brooks held on to the man with one hand and punched him in the face. The man whined and raised his hands, trying to deflect the barrage. But Brooks was like a machine, a black belt in action. With hands, elbows, and knees he pounded on the man as if he was nothing more than a practice dummy, then easily tossed him headfirst into the other wall of the room.
Brooks’ eyes immediately focused on Sydnee. She self-consciously pushed the hair back from her face, wiped her lips clean, and at the pounding in her head. She must look horrible, but who cared? Brooks had come for them.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice unsteady.
“No, but you’re here now.” Sydnee stumbled into his arms. He caught her easily and pulled her into a hard embrace before giving her a kiss that would’ve won a blue ribbon at the county fair. Passion, safety, and love wrapped around her. She probably tasted horrible, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Meester!” Daniel screamed.
The trafficker launched himself onto Brooks’s back and wrapped his arms around his neck. It was the same hold Sydnee had used to choke out the other trafficker, so she knew a smaller, weaker person could do some serious damage with it.
Sydnee grabbed at the man’s hands and tried to unlatch them. Brooks spun away from Sydnee and dropped backward to the floor, smashing the man beneath him. He ripped the man’s hands away and flipped over. Jumping up, he pulled the man to his feet and gave him a hard uppercut to the jaw.
“You want to go again?” Brooks asked.
“No!” The man shielded his face with his hands.
José appeared in the doorframe.
“Can I take that garbage from you, boss?”
“Thank you, my friend.” Brooks shoved the trafficker out the door. José wrenched the man’s hands behind his back and dragged him up the hallway.
Brooks exhaled and turned back to Sydnee. “Where were we?”
Sydnee laughed, relief coursing through her body and the pain in her head lessening. “Well, you’d just saved me and I was giving you a kiss of gratitude.”
“Let’s try the kiss again.” Brooks winked, hugged her to him, and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
“Oh, Brooks, I’m so sorry.”
“You’re sorry?”
“I was so wrong to demand you be with the children, when you obviously needed me to understand what you’ve been through and not push you into something you’re not comfortable with.” It was too much to explain and apologize for, so she simply said, “I choose you, Brooks, always you.”
He smiled down at her. “I choose you too, love.”
She kissed him again.
The crying baby drew Sydnee back. She reluctantly pulled away from Brook’s arms. “I’ll take him,” she told Mariá.
Brooks reached for Tomás before Sydnee could. The little one calmed almost immediately, staring up at the huge man as if he wasn’t sure if he should be scared or comforted. Sydnee blinked, not certain if she was seeing this correctly. Her heart beat faster, and she kept telling herself not to get her hopes up.
Brooks smiled down at the baby and bounced slightly. “It’s okay, little one. I’ve got you.”
Daniel and Alejandro watched Brooks with worshipful gazes. Mariá looked terrified of the entire situation. Sydnee pulled her against her side. “We’re safe now, sweetie. This is Mr. Hoffman, the man who provides the money for the orphanage.” She glanced up and noted that Brooks watched her, seeming to consider her every word. “He’s the best man I know, and he’ll make sure no one hurts us.”
Brooks swallowed and smiled at Mariá. “That’s right, love. You’re safe now.”
Baby Tomás took to Brooks immediately, exploring Brooks’s strong jaw with his chubby fingers and cooing at him.
“Meester Hoffman, sir,” Daniel said.
“Yes?”
“You are a bad a—”
“Daniel!” Sydnee cried out.
“I mean a tough guy.”
Brooks threw his head back and laughed. “Thank you, son.” His eyes widened as if he’d just realized what he’d said. “You were doing a good job of taking care of everyone without me, though.”
Daniel puffed out his thin chest. Alejandro patted his friend’s shoulder. “You’ll never be as tough as Meester Hoffman.”
They all laughed. It felt so good after the fear of the past few hours.
“Would you train me, Meester Hoffman? To be tough like you and to fight like you?” With all seriousness, Daniel raised his fists as if ready to fight.
Brooks looked over the young boy, then made eye contact with Sydnee. She waited with bated breath. Was this the step Brooks needed, or would it send him into a panic? He seemed calm and ready to try. “Yes, son. I will.”
“Sweet!” Daniel and Alejandro bumped fists.
Sydnee released a sigh. She leaned closer to Brooks. “You’ve never been more attractive to me.”
“Really?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Hold a baby and you want me, eh?”
“You have no idea.”
Brooks pulled her into his side, bent down, and kissed her lips. “Merry Christmas, love.”
“I forgot all about Christmas! I don’t even have a present for you.”
“I’m sure it’s impossible to find the perfect present for the perfect man. I just want an hour alone with those lips.” Brooks winked at her.
“That sounds good, but …” She licked her lips and admitted, “I do like presents.”
He chuckled. “Then we’re both in luck. I have a pile of presents hidden away just for my girl.”
Sydnee smiled. She liked the sound of that.
“One question, though.” His brow furrowed. “We aren’t going to see that Jace guy again?”
Sydnee batted her eyelashes. “Someone’s jealous.”
“Do I need to be?”
“No, love.” She kissed him. “We won’t see him again until we go visit my family in Alabama.”
“Introducing me to the family?” Brooks’s eyebrows lifted. “Hmm, somebody’s serious about this relationship.”
“You have no idea.”
“I might have a little.”
He bounced the baby slightly and ushered the rest of them out of the door, up the stairs, and to the safety of his yacht. Relief and love swept through Sydnee. She glanced over at their handsome rescuer giving instructions to his men, securing the traffickers, and holding a baby. He’d forgiven her so quickly for being such a pigheaded brat. She’d spend as long as it took showing him that he was worthy of love and so much more. By his side was where she belonged.
23
They were able to rescue ten other children. José took them to the authorities while Sydnee and her four—and Brooks—returned to the orphanage in time for Christmas morning. Brooks and Sydnee sat cuddled on a couch, watching the children unwrap the huge pile of presents he’d bought for them, and then the children dove into the much smaller pile Sydnee, Camila, and Rosmerta had been assembling for months.
The children all took turns thanking Brooks. Sydnee noticed he was a little reluctant, like a puppy who splashed in a puddle for the first time. He liked it, but wasn’t ready to go dive in the big pool. She made sure to stay close and direct the focus off of him when he seemed uncomfortable.
Tomás hadn’t left his arms, and after the baby had downed a bottle, he’d fallen asleep. Brooks held on to him, and Sydnee caught him several times gazing down at the baby with a look of wonder. She really did think Brooks looked amazing with the innocent baby cuddled in his strong arms, but she hoped they weren’t pushing too fast. The trauma from his youth wasn’t going to be healed quickly, but she was beyond grateful that he was willing to try.
The gathering room was a mess of wrapping paper and toys, but nobody seemed to care. The children played happily until Camila insisted they all needed to eat the Christmas breakfast Brooks’s cook, Valentina, had prepared. Brooks and Sydnee stood. Tomás’s head lolled to the side.
“He looks as tired as I feel,” Sydnee said. “Let me go lay him down.”
“Okay.”
Brooks handed over the baby. Did she dare hope he was a bit reluctant to do so? Sydnee carried Tomás to the nursery and laid him down with a kiss on his soft cheek. He needed a bath almost as much as she did, but they could worry about that when he woke up.
She turned, and Brooks was leaning against the doorframe, watching her. Smiling, she walked straight to him, stood on tiptoes, and kissed him. “I love you, Brooks.”
He pulled her against his chest. “I love you, Sydnee. Let’s agree from now on that I’m always right so we never have to fight.”
Sydnee laughed. “That sounds like a plan … in your dreams.”
Brooks groaned. “Okay, you can be right, but you have to always kiss me better.”
“I can do that.”
He wrapped his arm around her and walked with her down the hallway. “Camila told me to get you out of here for a little bit.”
“She did?”
“I might have mentioned you haven’t opened your presents from me.”
Sydnee bit at her lower lip. She could hardly wait. It took almost twenty minutes and many promises that they would return quickly to say goodbye to the children. Daniel and Alejandro’s droopy faces made Sydnee feel like they were deserting them. She caught a glance at Brooks and could sense he didn’t like seeing them uncertain or unhappy. His palm against hers was sweaty.
“I promise I’ll be back by lunchtime. You have fun with your toys,” she tried.
Daniel kicked at the floor. “I’m too old for toys.”
Brooks’s brow wrinkled. S
he wondered if he’d ever been given toys. Hopefully from Mr. Hoffman, but she didn’t know that. How could she comfort Daniel while still showing Brooks that he would come first for her?
Brooks took a deep breath and stepped forward, releasing her hand and bending down to Daniel’s level. “Remember how I promised to teach you how to fight?”
Daniel nodded.
“I’m going to give you your own knife too, but you’ll have to use it at my house.”
Daniel’s eyes widened. He flung himself against Brooks. “Thank you!”
Brooks jumped, but awkwardly patted the boy on the shoulder. Daniel and Alejandro said their goodbyes and went to fill their plates with sausage.
Brooks escorted Sydnee to his Hummer, then drove quickly to his house. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, and his leg bounced.
“You okay?” Sydnee asked. “You seem … nervous.” She didn’t know if she’d ever seen Brooks nervous.
“Daniel is happy, isn’t he?”
“I believe so. He takes the responsibility of being the oldest very seriously, but he’s doing good at school and he smiles a lot. You should see him play soccer. He’s really lit up then.”
“You’re a little angel with a bite, you know?”
“Not sure that was a compliment.”
“It was. You help and love everyone, but you aren’t a pushover.”
He reached over and took her hand, kissing her knuckles, then resting their clasped hands on his muscled thigh. Sydnee reclined her head against the headrest. She was exhausted, but being with Brooks kept her awake and then some.
They pulled into his house, and several of his staff were waiting with questions, hugs, and reassurances that they’d been praying all night. Brooks treated them like his best friends, taking the time to make each one feel important. Sydnee wondered why she’d ever doubted this man. His goodness and sincerity shone through. He took her up to his bedroom, and she was a bit in awe at the massive suite.
Cozumel Escape (Destination Billionaire Romance) Page 12
