Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series)

by Justice, A. D.

  “The boat has a GPS-type device that shows us where to go. The men put the information in it and then send us out. We just follow the direction it shows.”

  “Do you know what kind of drugs they are sending you to pick up?” Rebel asked.

  “Sometimes it’s meth, but usually it’s heroin. I’ve heard the men talking about it,” she answered. “They have radios and someone calls out a bunch of numbers. Every time we hear that, we know they’re about to send one of us out.”

  John looked up at Rebel, “Now we know where they’re getting the coordinates to put in the GPS. If we can get one of the radios, we can monitor it and be there to trap them.”

  “Diego left his radio. He forgot about it after he hit the pretty lady,” Consuela said as she pointed to a radio that sat on a shelf littered with garbage.

  That caught Bull and Reaper’s attention. Bull walked over to where they sat, turned a chair around, and straddled it. He smiled at Consuela as he asked, “What did the pretty lady look like, sweetheart?”

  “She had long black hair, pretty green eyes, and she was so nice. She saw Ana and thought she was Aura, her twin sister,” she pointed to Ana. “She helped Ana when Diego was being mean. She took Ana’s place for the run tonight.”

  “She took her place?” Rebel asked.

  “Yes. But I heard Manuel say they are going to Rico’s house first. That is not good,” Consuela said.

  “Why is that not good?” Bull asked.

  “The girls who are taken to Rico’s never come back,” she whispered, as if she thought he would appear just by mentioning his name. Her eyes were wide with fear and her bottom lip trembled with the thoughts of what Rico would do with Chaise.

  Bull swallowed hard to keep his thoughts and feelings under control. He didn’t want to frighten the poor girl with his tirade, but he was going to kill the men who took Chaise. Every one of them would soon face him and he vowed to be the last person they would ever see.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The boat slowed in the blackness of the night and Chaise sat up straighter, trying to get her bearings on where she was. Diego was at the helm and Manuel sat beside him. They put Chaise in the back of the boat so she couldn’t see the modified GPS device or hear what they were saying over the engines.

  As the boat came to a stop, she thought she saw something approaching from the right. There was something sticking up out of the water but her eyes could not make out what it was. Diego pulled out a spotlight and shone it across the water just as a small, semi-submersible watercraft fully surfaced.

  The pipe sticking up out of the water acted as a waterproof snorkel for the craft that allowed air in but a special valve kept the water out. The top hatch opened and a man threw several large packages out into the water. The packages were strung together with a thick cord and floated in the water between the two vessels.

  Diego turned to Chaise and snidely ordered, “Go get them, puta. I hope you can swim.”

  When Chaise didn’t move, Diego pulled his gun and leveled it at her. “Ahora.” Now.

  Chaise stepped up on the side of the boat and dove into the deep, black water. She quickly swam to the packages, grabbed the cord and towed it back to the boat. Manuel reached down and took the cord from her hand and pulled the packages into the boat.

  “Get back in the boat or drown out here, puta. Your choice,” Diego taunted.

  Manuel shot Diego a look that made him sit back down and look away. “You know we have orders to take her to Rico, Diego,” Manuel chastised.

  Looking at Chaise, Manuel commanded her, “Get back in the boat.”

  Chaise swam to the back of the boat and hauled her body out of the water onto the small platform. Once she was back in her seat, Diego gunned the engines and they took off across the choppy waters. Chaise noticed the winds picking up and the waves getting higher. It was the middle of hurricane season in Florida and apparently another storm was about to hit.

  Diego kept the bow straight to run straight into the waves so the boat wouldn’t capsize as the wave height increased. The noise from the boat’s engines, the whipping wind, and the splashing waves made it nearly impossible to hear anyone speak. Chaise could see Diego and Manuel talking but couldn’t hear most of what they were saying. When she made out part of Manuel’s sentence, her heart dropped to her knees. Even though she was wet and the night wind was cool against her skin, she broke out into a cold sweat from her fear.

  Manuel had just told Diego that they were to kill Chaise when Rico was finished with her. She knew they were taking her to Rico but she had no idea what he planned to do with her. She only knew she wasn’t going to stick around and find out. While they were busy battling the wind and waves to keep the boat straight, Chaise eased up to sit on the back of her seat.

  When a high wave rolled underneath them, Chaise leaned back and intentionally fell off the side of the boat. She let the surge of the wave propel her forward as she swam as hard as she could away from the boat and her captors. She knew there were other barrier islands that were close to Madden Island. She just hoped she was going in the right direction.

  The sheer terror of being out in the open ocean at night was enough to render her immobile but the threat of being caught and tortured overtook her. She swam harder and faster until her foot brushed against the sandy bottom. Breathing hard, she slugged through the breaking waves until she reached the beach. She fell flat on her stomach, exhausted from the swim and the nearly debilitating fear. Within moments, she had passed out from exhaustion.

  The sound of a speedboat engine woke Chaise from her slumber. She pushed up to a sitting position and tentatively looked around to get her bearings. She was momentarily lost until she remembered she swam up on the beach to escape Diego and Manuel. The sound of the motorboat caught her attention and she scrambled behind the cover of the vegetation behind her.

  As the boat passed by, she recognized the outline of Bull as he stood in the middle of the boat. He was with several other men and they were headed toward several lights that appeared to be just across the channel from her. From the look of the area, she decided she was on Lauren Key and they were going to Madden Island.

  From the northwest tip of the barrier island, it was only about a hundred yards across the channel. She was exhausted, not thinking clearly, and only wanted to reach Bull. She jogged along the shoreline until she reached the island point and then swam across the channel.

  In the distance, she could see the boat coasting to the shore. They had obviously cut the engines before they got too close. Chaise started to run toward them when she was suddenly grabbed from behind and yanked backward. A menacing voice growled in her ear, “You caused me a lot of trouble tonight, puta.”

  Diego twirled her around to face him. The sound of his hand hitting her cheek made a loud thwack and sent her flying to the ground. She grabbed her already bruised cheek and cried out in pain. He yanked her up by her hair and then dragged her behind him.

  When she stumbled, her hair was painfully yanked by his tight grip. Diego turned and kicked her several times in the back and legs while telling her to get up. She struggled back to her feet as he grabbed her upper arm to push her toward a mansion that was partially hidden by the beach foliage.

  When they reached the door, Diego shoved her up against it as he ground his erection into her abdomen. “You are mine now, puta,” he hissed in her ear. Chaise fought against his hold, pushing him with all her might. He stumbled back a step or two but was instantly back against her with even more force. She was just about to scream when she heard a familiar voice.

  “Diego, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Rico asked coolly.

  Diego quickly jumped away from Chaise to put distance between them but he knew he’d been caught. He looked down at the ground in shame and embarrassment. He didn’t dare try to give Rico a lame excuse so he kept quiet.

  Rico looked at Chaise and his face registered his surprise. His eyes grew wide at first and the
n narrowed as he inspected the damage to her face. “Who did this to you, mi amor?” Rico gently eased his hand across the angry bruise and swelling on her cheek.

  His fingers brushed down her arm and stopped at the bruises in the shape of fingers that were forming on her upper arm. His eyes narrowed more but he said nothing as he continued his perusal of her body. Rico took Chaise’s hand in his and gently twirled her around to find the bruises beginning on the back of her legs. He lifted her shirt just enough to see the marks on her back from Diego’s kicks.

  As he turned Chaise back to fully face him, his voice was calm and reassuring as he spoke to her. “Chaise, I’m very sorry for the way Diego has treated you. I promise you, mi amor, he will never touch you again.” Before Chaise could respond, Rico drew his gun from its holster and shot Diego in the head point blank.

  Rico didn’t bother to look at Diego as his body fell limp onto the lanai. Chaise screamed and backed away from Rico in shock. “Shhh, mi amor, I said he would never touch you again and I meant it. Come inside with me.” He took her hand in his and forced her inside his beachfront mansion.

  “You’ve been very hard to keep up with, Chaise. If I didn’t know better, I would think you’ve been intentionally avoiding me,” Rico continued flirting with her as he led her to a beautifully adorned kitchen. He stopped at a large island with bar stools and motioned for her to sit.

  “What do you want with me?” Chaise asked with more courage than she felt.

  “You will be my consort for the foreseeable future. I’ve chosen you and you should feel honored,” Rico explained. His tone of voice indicated she should be happy about his decision as his eyes held a glimmer of insanity mixed with pure evil.

  Chaise shook involuntarily as a shudder ran down her spine. Just the thought of him touching her turned her stomach and made her long for Bull even more. She had to keep Rico talking for two reasons: to keep his hands off of her and to give Bull more time to storm the house.

  She knew Bull and Noah were outside somewhere, along with several other linebacker-sized men. She could picture them drawing a map in the sand to plan their attack. Stalling sounded like her best option since Rico had already shown how fast he was with his gun.

  “What does being your consort entail?” she asked, feigning interest.

  He smiled warmly at her and she had the fleeting thought that he was pleased with her question, as if he believed this is what she wanted. “Anything and everything that pleases me, Chaise. Don’t worry—I will make sure you are pleased as well. But first, we need to get you out of those dirty, wet clothes and into something more suitable.”

  Pulling her up from her seat, he led her up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. He pulled out a thigh-length, satin nightgown and matching robe before escorting her to the bathroom. After giving her a towel, he instructed her to shower and dress and then come to meet him in the den. Before he left her alone, he turned and gave her a pointed look before issuing his warning.

  “Don’t bother trying to run, Chaise. You can’t outrun a bullet.”

  She stayed in the shower as long as she could to stall and give the guys time to put their plans into action. Dressing in the nightgown Rico had given her, she tiptoed into the hall. None of the upstairs lights were on but she saw the glowing light filtering into the foyer below her.

  The storm was rolling in even more. The rain had started and lightning flashed across the sky. If the thunder rumbling in the distance was any indication, the storm would get much worse before it passed. The wind whipping outside blew the light rain sideways. The raindrops sounded like pebbles tapping against the windows.

  Slowly walking down the stairs, she strained her ears to listen for any sounds—voices, movement, or even gunfire—but there were none. Rounding the corner, she saw Rico sitting on a large, sectional sofa with a drink in his hand. He smiled lasciviously at her as he raked his eyes over her body.

  “You are so beautiful, Chaise. I think you may be my best choice yet. Come sit with me.”

  “Your glass is almost empty. Can I refill it for you first?” she asked, trying to buy more time for herself and for her rescue.

  “That would be nice,” he said as he extended his arm to hand the glass to her. When her fingers grasped it, he intentionally dragged his fingers across hers and his eyes darkened with desire. Keeping her face neutral as much as she could, she asked what he was drinking.

  “Evan Williams Bourbon,” he responded as he watched her. “Pour yourself a glass as well.”

  Chaise turned toward the bar that sat to the side of the picture window. As she approached the window, her eyes landed on Bull’s as he sat crouched outside. He put his finger over his lips, telling her to be quiet, before giving her a single, slow nod. In that gesture, she knew he was telling her everything would be all right.

  Chaise poured two drinks and walked back to Rico. Knowing Bull had probably already moved, she couldn’t help but use her body to block Rico’s view of the window. She fought to keep her nervous energy under control as she handed Rico his drink. She took a small sip of hers to keep her hands and mouth busy.

  Rico’s laid his hand on her knee, drew lazy circles on her skin, making each one bigger than the last. His eyes were glued to her legs and where his fingers met her skin. Chaise couldn’t keep her breathing under control. Her chest heaved from the ragged breaths she drew in. Rico no doubt thought she was affected in a good way when she actually wanted to claw his eyes out and bleach her skin clean.

  The shrill sound of Rico’s phone filled the room. Rico looked at the display and it showed a blocked number. His eyes, full of lust, met Chaise’s as he said, “I’m so sorry, mi amor. I said no interruptions tonight. This must be an urgent matter for my father.”

  Chaise nodded, happy for the interruption. Rico answered the phone and within a minute he suddenly shot to his feet. His face contorted in anger as he started spewing curse words in Spanish. Pacing back and forth, his tirade ended with, “Come get me then, asshole. I’m waiting.”

  ****************

  Bull watched Chaise walk into the den wearing the flimsy nightgown and robe. His eyes shot to Rico and his hand instantly went to the Glock .40 on his side. Reaper stilled Bull’s movements and slowly shook his head from side to side. Bull wanted to kill the man for the blatantly lustful way he looked at Chaise. When she didn’t sit down, Bull took a huge risk by letting her see him, but he had to let her know he was there.

  He noticed she wasn’t overly surprised to see him and kept moving toward the bar as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. The team had already made all their preparations to enter the house and search for Chaise. Seeing her had confirmed their suspicions and made their Plan B go into effect.

  That was exactly what Bull wanted.

  When Rico put his hand on Chaise’s leg and kept moving his fingers up her thigh, Reaper and Shadow had to physically restrain Bull to keep him from going through the window. After they convinced him to stick to the plan, they moved into position and Bull used the secure phone to call Rico’s number.

  “You took someone tonight. She. Belongs. To. Me. Let her go now and I will think about not taking everything in your life away from you,” Bull told Rico in a low, menacing voice.

  Rico’s response was to curse at him in Spanish and pace around the room. When Rico told Bull to come and get him, Bull smiled as he said, “I was hoping you’d say that. You just wait right there for me.” Before Rico could answer, Bull disconnected and nodded to the other guys.

  This was the part of the job Bull loved the most. The thrill of the covert operations, the excitement of one-upping the bad guys, and the success of a job well done were his rewards. But this time, it was much more personal. This time, his heart was involved and, even though that was foreign territory for Bull, he had to admit that he wanted Chaise for himself.

  The storm that was building around them couldn’t begin to match the rage that Bull had inside him. He moved into position to cove
r his assigned area of the house. He still had eyes on Chaise and wouldn’t hesitate to take Rico out if he touched her again. Bull was sure he had effectively killed Rico’s libido with his phone call.

  Rico was yelling into a two-way radio but no one was able to answer him. The team had already made sure that all of Rico’s men were indisposed and unable to respond. Bull watched as Rico’s apprehension rose to astronomical levels and chuckled to himself. Rico had no idea what was coming to him.

  Whispers from Bull’s earpiece told him that all the men were in position and ready to finish what they had started. While Chaise had stalled Rico, the men from Steele Security had already infiltrated the house, disarmed the security system, and made the appropriate adjustments to the house to carry out their plans.

  Bull’s muscles contracted and he prepared for a fight to the death when he saw Rico snatch Chaise up by her hair and drag her toward the stairs. He angrily whispered into his communication device, “He’s hurting Chaise. It’s time to move now.”

  Reaper gave the word and each man stealthily moved into the house. Bull rushed in the same direction he saw Rico taking Chaise. Slowing only to check around corners, Bull took the steps two at a time to the top. He heard Chaise’s screams and rushed to find her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  The intense pain and stinging in Chaise’s scalp was sudden. Before she realized what was happening, Rico had yanked her from her seat in a fit of anger and was pulling her up the stairs by her hair. She tried to fight back but he only further twisted his hand, increasing the pressure and his grasp.

  “He says you belong to him. We’ll see who you belong to by the time I’m finished with you.” The disdain dripped from his words as he spat them out at no one in particular. He was mumbling, swearing under his breath, and spouting various obscenities as he ignored Chaise’s cries.

  Once inside his bedroom, he tossed her on the bed while he paced back and forth across the floor. As if he suddenly remembered she was there, he stopped and gave her an evil smile. Chaise instinctively moved back as he advanced on her. He crawled across the bed, grabbed her by the ankle and roughly pulled her toward him.