Shadow of Doubt (An SBG Novel Book 2)

by P. A. DePaul

  He ripped his gaze away and peered through the little window on the door leading to the skywalk. Clear. Now or never. “Michelle, once I open that door, you can’t hesitate. I know your leg hurts but you have to run as fast as you can. Can you do that?”

  “I got it,” she answered, and he had an overwhelming urge to kiss her.

  Instead of following through with the completely inappropriate response, he yanked open the door and snapped, “Go.”

  Halfway through the glass crosswalk, his comm crackled with the dreaded words from Romeo: “Cappy, we did the best we could but we just heard the Marshals, FBI, and police are all converging on this place.”

  “Fuck. I need exfil, now. Everyone, work the problem. Get us the hell out of here.”

  Chapter 53

  Nacio waited a moment before he entered the parking garage from the skywalk. So far, God had paved the way for his vengeance. He couldn’t screw it up by alerting Michelle too soon.

  Once the pair reached the first car in the row, he exited the crosswalk. Who the hell was the man? Another victim the puta ensnared to help her get away with murder? Did she gain his cooperation by sleeping with him?

  Nacio’s blood pressure spiked. He should have been able to fuck her at least once, especially after all the trouble she caused. Not only had he been ostracized for six years, her deliciously curved body haunted his dreams. Fantasies plagued him and in them he spread her thighs and mounted her every way possible.

  He curled his hands into fists, glad for the tiny shards of pain from his nails to clear his head. He didn’t have time to dwell on that. Worry bit into his anger. The hulking man could potentially be a problem. The guy moved like he had training. What kind, Nacio had no clue, but a hell of a lot more than him. He didn’t come this far to fail now.

  Pressing the Down button on the elevator, he scrambled for a plan to separate the bitch from the brute as quickly as possible.

  ***

  “Crouch down and wait here,” Jeremy commanded, pointing to a spot between an SUV and minivan. “I’m only going to the edge there and scoping which route to take.”

  Michelle complied, though she longed to grasp his arm and not let him leave. Her heart pounded at stroke levels, making it a miracle she could hear anything above the thumping organ.

  Cappy ran to the other end of the level and peered over the edge.

  She peeled the special effect enhancements from her face, balled them together, and shoved them in her pocket. The glue itched and she swiped at the spots to lessen the sensitivity. The wig cap came off next and she almost purred, combing her fingers through her hair until her fingertip snagged on the wire leading up from the throat mic, forcing her to readjust the earpiece for the thousandth time. The receiver didn’t exactly fit right, so it always felt awkward, but at least the thing no longer stood out with her own hair down.

  “And God smiles on me again,” an accented male voice crooned behind her. Before she could turn, a pair of hands grabbed her biceps and jerked her up.

  She twisted to see him but his arms were too quick and clamped around her chest.

  “No, no, no,” he scolded. “I’ve waited six years for this. You’re not going anywhere.”

  She froze. Six years? Dear God, NO! She couldn’t go back.

  Sounds of Colombia invaded her mind and black spots dotted her vision. No! You have to fight, her conscious mind protested weakly as a memory took hold.

  The cartel member dragged her from between the vehicles and she tried to dig her feet in. He tripped, knocking them both against the SUV’s hood, causing the alarm to blare to life. The high pitched sound momentarily deafened her since her ear had landed against the metal, and helped clear her head a little.

  “Bitch!” the cartel member yelled, punching her so hard her head flipped off the truck.

  She instantly forgot why she had been struggling and blinked against the muted lights swimming before her eyes, but it was no use. The memories took hold and she no longer saw anything but the dank room in Colombia. She braced, waiting for Captor Two’s fist to follow his compatriot’s. The sadistic bastards loved to hit as hard as they could, making a game out of who could make her pass out first.

  One of the captors wrenched her against his chest and forced her to move forward. Knowing it was futile to fight, she allowed the man to direct her path.

  “Michelle!” Jeremy’s voice echoed in her head.

  “Cappy! Don’t let them hurt me anymore,” she cried, unable to tell if she had imagined his voice or not.

  “Silencio!” Captor One snarled, pushing her into a closet.

  This was new. What kind of hell had they dreamt up in this small space?

  “Romeo and Magician, continue up to the sixth and fifth levels,” Cappy barked in her head, though his words made no sense. “Talon, take the fourth. I’m headed down.”

  “No, don’t leave me!” she choked, unable to see a thing.

  Crack! Her head slammed against the wall.

  “I said shut up,” the familiar accented-voice ordered.

  She sank to the floor.

  “See this knife? I’m in charge.” The menace in his nasally voice made her cringe and huddle against the cold corner, her eyesight virtually gone in a haze.

  “What. No tearful reunion for your old lab partner?”

  Chapter 54

  Michelle’s whimper in his earpiece almost did Cappy in. Son of a bitch. Pure rage blinded him, causing him to stumble on the steps. He clutched the railing, clinging to the cold metal to help him channel his emotions into something useful.

  “Cappy,” Wraith interrupted, “Sniper on the move. I’ve caught another glimpse.”

  Before he could respond, the whiny voice of the asshole who captured Michelle rang through their comms. “No hug for the man who fell for your act?”

  Please, God. Don’t let this be Raul. Cappy hauled ass down the second tier of steps. By the lack of reaction from Michelle, she had to be experiencing a full-blown episode but instead of fighting she must have gone catatonic. His emotions blitzed again, wanting to tear the bastard apart with his bare hands and at the same time cradle Michelle until she worked through it and at the same time put a new window in the cement wall beside him. Fuck.

  A sickening thud echoed, then the voice yelled, “Get up!” Thunk. “I said get up!” Thud. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know me. I’m the stooge who allowed you to talk him into taking you onto his family’s land to pass our final exam, remember?” The laugh he emitted made the hairs on Cappy’s arms raise. “Only you were a spy using that as an excuse.”

  “Cappy,” Ted broke in. “That’s got to be Ignacio Ramirez. The cartel banished him from their fold and placed a bounty on his head.”

  Cappy wanted to both hug and beat the genius for making him miss a word of the asshole’s rant, but he needed to know this.

  Ted continued. “They believe he allowed an American spy to dupe him into taking her onto their land so she could report back to the military, who they had heard were about to raid their compound.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ.” He missed a step and fell against the wall. “Not only did I fail to rescue her in time, I’m the reason for her torture in the first place.”

  “No, you weren’t, Cappy. Focus.” Romeo’s voice whipped through his comm, as if the operative could see him about to lose his shit.

  “Work the current problem. Don’t get sucked into that vortex,” Wraith chimed in, a slight wobble in her tone. Cappy straightened. His sniper had firsthand knowledge of living in the past and allowing the memories to rule her life. She was living proof someone could overcome them. God, let Michelle be able to do the same.

  “I’ve waited a long time for this reunion,” the little bastard oozed with promised pain.

  “Nacio?” Michelle’s faint voice brought tears to Cappy’s eyes.


  “That’s it, Michelle,” Cappy whispered, hoping his voice sounded soothing instead of scared shitless in her earpiece.

  “Cappy?”

  “Keep fighting against the memories pulling you in,” Cappy continued. “You can do this.”

  “Cappy?” Nacio erupted.

  Thunk.

  “Oomph.”

  “Is that the name of that guy you were draped all over?” Nacio raged. “You think what I did to your father is bad? I’ll carve this Cappy—”

  Crash. “NO!” Michelle screamed. Sounds of banging and fighting filled Cappy with terror.

  “Michelle!” He rounded the corner housing the stairwell and ran toward the elevator fifty feet to his right. “Talk to me. Are you okay? Michelle.”

  The light within the Up arrow flared orange and the elevator dinged.

  He swallowed past the heart lodged in his throat. “Everyone, first level. Now.”

  Cappy thought he’d lose his mind waiting the two long seconds for the doors to slide open.

  ***

  Michelle dug her knees into the metal floor and gripped the bastard between her thighs. “No one,” she snarled, hauling her fist back, “touches Cappy but me.” She nailed Nacio in the face again.

  A faint ding got drowned out by Nacio’s yelping. He threw an arm up to protect his head.

  Her mind continued to conjure images of Captors One and Two strapping Jeremy to a chair, then working their sadistic magic on him. Never!

  “You tell the cartel”—she pulled back—“he’s off limits.” And she threw another punch, this time glancing off his forearm. “I’m done with you all.” Jab. Jab. “YOU HEAR ME! Done!” Right hook. “You get no more of my time and you especially don’t get Jeremy.” Left hook.

  “Stop! Para!” Nacio wheezed, trying to curl into a ball.

  The serrated knife lying in the corner kicked off another vision of it nearing Cappy’s face. Terrified rage consumed her and she leaned forward, growling, “You can never have him. He’s mine.” She sat up, then hammered the side of her fist straight down onto Nacio’s chest and rode his hacking and bucking.

  “Damn, Cappy,” a smooth baritone voice said behind her, full of awe. “That’s seriously hot. What the hell did you do?”

  “You broke her,” a familiar sarcastic man quipped.

  Michelle whirled. Agents Stiles and White, Talon, and Cappy huddled within the opened elevator doors, gawking. The red haze overlapping her vision slowly receded and her lungs strained for air. She stared down at her red knuckles and gulped in as much air as possible, pushing past the feral fog, and slowing the rapid rising and falling of her chest.

  Dear God. She blinked back a set of mortified tears. She had acted like a crazed animal.

  You can never have him. He’s mine. She closed her eyes. He had already stated that would never come true.

  The blood in her swelling hands pulsed in time with her racing heart. Bruises were already forming on her fingers and knuckles as if to boast her psycho moment. Son of a duck.

  No one moved. Great. Now they were sizing her up for a straitjacket.

  Hated, weak tears fell against the backs of her hands.

  She risked a peek at Cappy out of the corner of her eye and jolted. Part of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin and his eyes burned with . . . pride?

  Pride? Not revulsion or grim determination to see her carted to a padded room or out of his life as fast as possible? A spark of hope flared in her chest and she lifted her chin to meet his gaze.

  Talon jostled Cappy, but the man continued to stare at her with the dopiest expression on his face.

  “I didn’t break her,” Jeremy finally said, his voice filled with admiration. “She healed herself.”

  Michelle ducked her head, the heat already encompassing her face ratcheted into an inferno. Cappy swooped in and lifted her up, carrying her into the parking garage. He twirled her once, shouting, “Hot damn! You did it. You broke out of the memory and fought back!”

  Michelle wrapped her arms around his neck. She had, hadn’t she? She laughed.

  He set her down, then stole her breath when he sealed his mouth to hers.

  Chapter 55

  How could I miss such a sweet shot? Griffin ran across the grassy landscape and slammed into the three-foot cement wall surrounding the South parking garage. Fucking hand spasmed again! He frantically searched the first level.

  Goddamn Wraith had almost gotten him back in the office he had set up in. If he hadn’t seen that beam of light reflecting off her scope at the last second, she’d have punched his card. Surprising someone as seasoned as her would make such a rookie mistake not shielding her scope, but she’d been out of the game for too many months. Head case from what he heard.

  Nothing moved. Fuck! The garage spanned almost a whole block, so either they slipped by him or were in a section he couldn’t see. He jogged along the perimeter, his empty backpack hanging limply against his back while his rifle stayed assembled but away from the street.

  The hair on the back of his neck stood. He searched over his shoulder. Nothing visible, but that didn’t mean a thing. He kept running. Wraith could be anywhere. He needed to either take another shot or disappear. Hanging around too much longer would only get him dead.

  ***

  Cappy entangled his hands into Michelle’s glorious mane and deepened the kiss. The need to consume her, to know with certainty she was okay, ruled his mind. Christ, he almost lost her. His fingers twitched and he smoothed them down her back and pulled her even closer.

  The image of the serrated knife lying in the corner of the elevator . . .

  The bullet hole right beside his head . . .

  They both almost died today. He growled. While that piece of news wasn’t a new experience for him, he had never been in love with anyone before.

  She stroked his tongue and he moaned. Who the hell was he kidding? Did he really think he could give her up? Just pat her on the head and wish her the best, knowing some other man would taste these lips and hold her after her nightmares? He growled again, though this time the sound was promised pain to the man who would touch her.

  “Ah, yeah, call me a dick, but we don’t have time for a Hallmark moment.” Talon’s voice penetrated the vision of hauling Michelle inside the elevator and—

  “We’re in deep shit,” the operative continued.

  Cappy ripped his mouth away and peered over Michelle’s shoulder, breathing heavily. Romeo and Magician each gave him a knowing expression while Talon scowled.

  It took a bullet and knife to make him realize he had already made his choice but hadn’t understood it until now.

  Michelle turned and he made sure to stay behind her, not wanting the others to witness just how hard he was . . . But they probably already figured it out for themselves.

  “You’re right,” Cappy replied, his eyes drawn to the bastard crawling out of the elevator.

  Talon marched forward and grabbed Nacio’s hair just beyond the closing doors, then grinned, the image gruesome with all his bruises. “I got this. You guys go.”

  “You’re not going to kill him, are you?” Michelle asked, lifting a hand to rub her ribs.

  The molars in Cappy’s jaw lost a centimeter in his grinding. A quick bullet would be too good for the son of a bitch.

  “You telling me not to after he beat the crap out of you?” Talon asked, his eyes icing over. “Granted, you also beat the shit out of him, but not enough for my taste.”

  Well, what do you know? The coldhearted bastard might just be warming up to her.

  Michelle frowned and bit her lip.

  They didn’t have time for this and she didn’t need that kind of decision weighing on her for the rest of her life.

  “We can’t risk him staying free to come after you again, nor his family to s
top their in-fighting enough to properly deal with him,” Cappy stated.

  “Fuck you all,” Nacio yelled, surging to his feet. He unsteadily lunged for Talon with the serrated knife gripped in his hand. “I will have my vengeance!”

  Talon grabbed the guy’s wrist and twisted, forcing the knifepoint back toward Nacio.

  Cappy pivoted Michelle and slammed her face into his chest just as Talon overpowered the weasel and rammed the knife into Nacio’s abdomen.

  Nacio cried out, then gargled. Talon hugged the guy closer and muscled the knife higher, finding the bastard’s black heart.

  The sudden silence thrummed louder than the scream.

  Michelle wailed something and tried to break free, but Cappy held on. She didn’t need to see the bloody aftermath and have that nightmare on top of the others. Her fist thumped against his side but she had no power behind it.

  Pain sliced his arm and the side-back window of a Hyundai exploded.

  “Shot fired,” Cappy yelled, throwing his wounded arm across Michelle’s shoulders, hustling her behind a cement column. “Everyone, head to the rally point. Go silent.”

  Multiple clicks filled his earpiece, letting him know the team heard. Adrenaline surged through his veins, helping to keep the pain at bay. He dipped his head and whispered as softly as he could, “Michelle, we have to be as quiet as possible. Follow my lead.”

  He crouched below windshield level and scurried from car to truck. A set of fingers dug into his back pocket, assuring him she stayed right behind him.

  A second shot exploded a windshield, two cars from their hunched position.

  “Cappy.” Wraith broke the silence command. “I got him in the trigger hand. It was the only thing exposed from my angle. He’s gone. Go now. Police are on the way.”

  Fuck. “Get out of here, Wraith. Don’t get caught. Grady would kick my ass.”

  “Damn straight,” Grady snarled, then turned all-business. “The closest backpack to you is in the apartment complex across the street. In a copse of trees on the east wall of building M.”