by Rebecca Deel
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
About the Author
SHADOW GUARDIAN
Rebecca Deel
Cover Design by Melody Simmons
Copyright © 2018 Rebecca Deel
All rights reserved.
To my amazing husband. This would be impossible without you.
CHAPTER ONE
Mercy Powers stood with the rest of the funeral attendees and watched in silence as the casket bearing the body of President Enrique Soldado’s grandson was taken from the church, followed by a procession of the president’s mourning family. Her heart ached for the teenager’s grief-stricken parents. Fourteen was much too young to die. Carlos had fallen in a hail of gunfire in the street outside his home a few days earlier, a message to his grandfather who cracked down on illegal gun trade between Mexico and the United States.
Carlos’s mother wept in Mercy’s arms before the funeral began. Helpless to alleviate the woman’s pain, she held Maria as she grieved. There were no words she could offer to comfort Carlos’s mother. Instead, Mercy held her tight and cried silent tears with Maria as memories of her own loss assailed her.
Once the processional cleared the church, the crowd dispersed. Some would follow the hearse to the cemetery. Others would return to their normal lives, eager to push the sorrow from their minds.
Roger Jones, head of Mercy’s Secret Service detail, leaned close. “You have ten minutes before we leave for the airport. The restrooms are through that door.” He inclined his head toward the right.
“Thanks, Roger.” She slipped into the aisle and walked toward the door. Only a handful of people noticed Mercy didn’t join the stream of humanity exiting the building.
With the security detail flanking her, Mercy walked down the corridor to the women’s restroom. After using the facilities, she took a minute to decompress. On the whole, she didn’t mind attending state functions in her uncle’s stead. President William Martin rarely called upon Mercy unless other dignitaries or Charlotte, her cousin, were busy with other responsibilities. This was one of those times the other department heads were committed elsewhere, and Charlotte had a new baby and couldn’t get away. That left Mercy to represent the United States at the Soldado funeral.
Since she had already offered the condolences of her uncle to President Soldado and his family, Mercy and the security detail would leave from the church to go to the airport. Her lips curved. She’d reach home much faster if she left the bathroom.
Mercy wadded the paper towel she used to dry her hands and tossed it into the trash can. With a quick glance in the mirror, she pivoted toward the hallway door. A peculiar coughing sound reached her ears.
She frowned. Was one of the agents sick? Mercy approached the door. Before she took more than a few steps, the door flew open and three men dressed in black and armed to the teeth rushed inside. One of the men grabbed her while a second moved in with a syringe clutched in his hand.
Mercy fought against the first man’s hold. “Let me go. I’m an American diplomatic representative.” Where was her security detail? This couldn’t be happening. She wasn’t anyone important. Why would someone want her?
The second man snapped something in Spanish at the third who then grabbed Mercy’s head to hold her still. A moment later, the second thug plunged the needle into the side of Mercy’s neck. She flinched at the initial bite of pain as the needle pierced her skin.
Mercy’s terror faded. Her tongue felt thick, her vision blurred. Although she fought to stay alert, Mercy lost the battle. She wondered what her uncle would say when he learned she was dead.
Darkness closed in.
CHAPTER TWO
Nico Rivera rolled over and sat up before grabbing his ringing cell phone. “Rivera.”
“It’s Maddox. My office with your team in thirty minutes.”
“Yes, sir.” He glanced at the clock and sighed. At least he’d slept three hours this time. Nico called each of his teammates, then hurried through a shower. From the sound of his boss’s voice, his unit would be deployed again. So much for enforced time off.
Five minutes later, he dressed in his work uniform of black cargo pants, black t-shirt, and combat boots. After he strapped on his weapons, Nico grabbed his Go bag and left his home. At three in the morning, he didn’t have to worry about Nashville traffic. A good thing. Brent Maddox, Fortress Security’s CEO, wouldn’t call in Shadow unit unless the mission was urgent. His team wasn’t schedule for deployment rotation for another month.
Nico arrived at Fortress headquarters with five minutes to spare. He swiped his card through the scanner and parked in the garage under the building alongside his teammates’ vehicles. Trace Young, his sniper, leaned against the side of his SUV, waiting for Nico.
“Know what’s going on?” his teammate asked.
“Nope. I hope I have time to grab coffee before we’re briefed.”
“I thought Maddox said we were off deployment rotation for a few weeks. We need downtime, Nico.”
“He wouldn’t have called unless it was an emergency.”
Trace frowned. “Next time we’re off rotation, I say we leave town for at least a week.”
Nico grinned. “I hear you.” He didn’t have an argument with that. He wanted time on a beach to bake in the sun with nothing more urgent on his mind than shedding the stress that was his constant companion on the job and off.
As they exited the elevator and walked down the hallway. Nico glanced into the communications room, noting that Anderson, Zane Murphy’s trainee, was working tonight.
The two men strode into the conference room where the rest of their teammates waited. “I don’t know any more information than I told you when I called,” Nico said, forestalling the barrage of questions sure to come.
“Next to nothing,” Joe Gray, Trace’s spotter, muttered.
“Can’t be good, whatever it is,” Ben Martin commented.
Nico’s eyes narrowed. Their EOD man looked tired. His whole unit was exhausted. Trace was right. They needed downtime before they reached the breaking point. He didn’t want to lose a teammate because of mistakes from fatigue.
Sam Coleman, Shadow unit’s medic, handed Nico a mug of coffee. “It’s fresh and strong enough to peel paint,” she said.
He nodded his thanks and sipped the steaming liquid. Perfect.
Brent Maddox, a buzz-cut blond SEAL, entered the conference followed by Zane Murphy in his wheelchai
r. “Take a seat,” Maddox ordered. “Videoconference in one minute.”
“What’s the mission?” Nico asked.
“Hostage rescue. HVT.”
High value target? His eyebrows rose. “Who and where?”
Before Maddox could answer, Zane said, “The call is coming in.”
The large television on the far wall lit up and President William Martin’s lined face appeared on the screen. Nico sat up straighter as did his team members.
“Shadow unit is here, sir,” Maddox said. “As requested, they know nothing about the mission.”
“I apologize for keeping you and your team in the dark, Nico,” President Martin said. “Any breach in security would mean the death of someone I care for very much.”
Nico stiffened. “Charlotte?” He hadn’t heard of any threats against the president’s daughter. Wouldn’t Martin have called in Durango to protect Charlotte and her family? The Delta team had a special friendship with her. Their team medic had delivered Sam, Charlotte’s son, while rescuing her from a terrorist.
“She and her family are safe. My niece, Mercedes Powers, was attending the funeral of President Soldado’s grandson on behalf of the United States. Her security detail was murdered and Mercy was taken.”
“Do you know who took her, sir?” Nico asked.
“The Scorpions.”
His hands fisted. Not good. “Are you sure?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Why call us?”
“They threatened to kill her if I sent in a Special Forces team.” A scowl from the leader of the free world. “They claim to have contacts inside the Pentagon. I can’t take a chance on word leaking that I’ve authorized a team to rescue my niece. I can’t send in Durango since Alex Morgan has a newborn and Josh Cahill’s wife is due to have a baby any time now, and their team is on leave for another month. Plus, Durango has completed several operations in the region where you’re headed. I’d prefer not to send them back in for a while. I don’t want their families in danger.”
Maddox stirred. “What else can you tell us about the abduction, sir?”
“I’ll send you an electronic file with everything you need to know. I want my niece back in one piece, Nico.”
“Restrictions?”
“None except I want it done quietly. When you bring her back to the US, I want to know you’ve returned, but not where you hide her.”
Hide her? Usually when Shadow rescued a hostage, their responsibilities ended with a safe return to the family. “What’s the Scorpions goal? Why kidnap Mercy?”
“They want me to release their leader. The group planned to abduct the person I sent to the funeral. It’s a bonus for them the US representative they nabbed is related to me.” Martin dragged a hand down his face. “Just the thought of those vicious killers getting their hands on Charlotte or my grandchildren makes me want to vomit. I want Mercy out of their hands yesterday, Nico.”
“Yes, sir.”
The president looked at Maddox. “I’ll send the electronic file in a moment. I owe you one, Brent.”
Nico’s boss grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll collect.”
With a flash of a smile, the transmission ended.
Maddox looked at Shadow unit. “Grab whatever supplies you need. The jet leaves for Mexico in an hour. Nico, I need to speak with you.”
After his teammates left the conference room, Nico waited in silence for his boss to speak.
“I assume you caught the president’s reference to hiding his niece when you return to the States.”
“Yes, sir.”
“There are rumors on the dark web about Scorpion expanding their reach.”
“They want to move into the US.” Nico dragged a hand through his hair. Not what he wanted to hear. The members of Scorpion were ruthless. They didn’t blink an eye at collateral damage.
“Martin wants Mercy off their radar for a while. The terrorist group should move on to another objective if they can’t locate her.”
A nod. “We’ll make sure she’s protected. Do we have a safe house set up?”
“I talked to Rod Kelter, the detective in Otter Creek. He’s given us permission to use his cabin outside Murfreesboro for this op.” Maddox smiled. “Fortress rebuilt his cabin with several new improvements. I’ll send you a list of the safety features.”
“Panic room?” he guessed.
“Among other surprises. Ms. Powers will be comfortable and Shadow will have backup if you need it.” His boss handed Nico a set of keys and rattled off the code for the alarm system. “The jet will take you to a private airfield where you will have an SUV waiting for you. Take enough supplies to camp for a few days.”
“Do we know where she’s being held?”
“In the Chiapas Province.”
Nico scowled. Fantastic. He hated that place. “That covers thousands of miles, Brent, some of it the Lacandon Jungle.”
“I’m aware,” his boss said dryly.
“I’ll scour the dark web and try to narrow your search,” Zane said. “By the time you have boots on the ground, I should have more intel for you.”
“What about Charlotte, Griff, and the kids? If the Scorpions can’t get their hands on Mercy, they might make a run at Charlotte and her family.”
“They’ve been moved to Camp David. No one will touch them.”
“Temporary solution,” Nico pointed out.
Maddox inclined his head. “We’ll stop the Scorpions in their tracks.”
Easier said than done.
“If you need anything, let me know. You’ll get it, no questions asked.”
“Once this mission is finished, you have to give my unit time off. We’re pushing the edge, Brent.”
“Your team will have two weeks uninterrupted time off without training or mission prep. You have my word.”
“I’m holding you to it.” With a nod to his boss and Zane, Nico spun on his heel and left the room.
He took the elevator to the lowest level of the Fortress building, a subbasement with vaults of weapons to choose from. Nico restocked his Go bag with flashbangs, grenades, ammunition, another Ka-Bar, and two more handguns. He moved to another secured room at the end of the hall and grabbed medical supplies to flesh out his already well-packed first-aid kit, then added several MREs and a packet of wipes.
He started to return to the elevator and stopped, frowning. If Mercy was kidnapped at the funeral, she wouldn’t be dressed for an outdoor trek through rough terrain. As he backtracked to the room filled with Fortress uniforms in all sizes, he texted Zane and asked him to find out the woman’s sizes. Within two minutes, the communications tech sent back a reply.
Nico walked into the wardrobe room and grabbed two pairs of cargoes and long-sleeves t-shirts, one pair of combat boots with thick socks to protect Mercy’s feet from blisters. He glanced at his screen again and turned to the shelves on the far wall. He wasn’t exactly comfortable choosing women’s undergarments, but Mercy would have to have foundation garments to change into in case they had to camp. Hoping he didn’t make a mistake, he shoved a couple of each into a zipped compartment of his bag.
Hoisting the Go bag over his shoulder, Nico strode to the elevator and joined his team in the parking garage. “Let’s move.”
Thirty minutes later, Shadow parked their vehicles in the private parking lot near the airfield and boarded the plane. Once they were inside, Nico informed the pilot that they were boarded.
When the jet was airborne, Nico pulled out his laptop and checked his inbox. Zane had forwarded the file sent from the president. “File’s up,” he told his team. “Review it along with the second file Zane sent on the Scorpions. Once you’ve done that, we’ll formulate a plan of attack. We need to grab Mercy and leave Mexico. Fortress doesn’t have many friends in Chiapas Province.”
As his team settled back to review the files, Nico opened the document the president sent. By the time he reviewed both files, his gut was in a knot. If Mercy Powers wasn’t alr
eady dead, she soon would be if Shadow didn’t get to her, fast.
CHAPTER THREE
Mercy woke to complete darkness with a massive headache, nausea, a dry mouth, and the bone-deep knowledge she was in deep trouble. She didn’t know where she was or who abducted her. In truth, Mercy hadn’t expected to wake at all.
Made sense to merely knock her out. What was the point of killing her when she was a valuable prize alive? But why take her? She wasn’t important on the stage of world politics except to her uncle. William Martin loved her as much as he loved his daughter, Charlotte. But these clowns wouldn’t know that. Mercy had intentionally stayed out of the limelight over the years. She wasn’t a fan of the media, not after they ripped Uncle William and his family to shreds during political campaigns. No question, politics was brutal, and it was a blood sport she preferred to stay away from.
Besides, she’d learned to avoid the media and the spotlight when she was married. Her husband’s safety had depended on secrecy. Old habits were hard to break.
Mercy became aware of dirt under her cheek and frowned. Where had the gunmen taken her? She listened for sounds to indicate her location and heard absolute silence. No traffic, no blare of sirens, nothing. As a city girl, this kind of silence wasn’t normal for her, almost oppressive.
She rolled to her stomach and rose to her hands and knees. When she swayed, Mercy sank back down to her stomach. Man, whatever had been in the syringe had been strong. How long was she unconscious? With no windows, Mercy didn’t have a way to estimate the passage of time.
While she gathered her strength to try rising again, she glanced around, hoping for a pinprick of light. Nothing. This was almost like being buried alive, Mercy thought, and shivered.
She shoved her morbid thoughts aside. Steeling herself, Mercy rocked to her hands and knees. This time, she was successful in staying upright. Good grief. She was weak. If she had the opportunity to escape, Mercy wouldn’t be able to run far. Hiding was her best option because she would never outrun her kidnappers.
