Crossroads 6: Love Undercover (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “But what if they’re coming in for Franco?”

  Falcon watched as the two individuals took out the first two guards and were on route to intercept the next two.

  “They’re doing the dirty work, and then we’ll move in.”

  * * * *

  Sacha and Toro worked side by side to sweep the front entryway of the guards. They were swift and quiet. Toro was impressed with her capabilities. He had a mix of emotions working this rescue mission with his lover. It was hard to focus on his job, his responsibilities, when she was so close to him and doing her part, too. He had to rely on her and trust her to cover him, and she had to do the same for him. But as they took out the three men and made it into the building, he couldn’t help but be impressed with her.

  As they rounded the corner, they heard the moaning. She stepped a little forward, and he placed his hand over her waist to pull her back behind him. He looked down at her and held her gaze with a serious expression, indicating for her to remain still, and she did. She accepted his authority and leadership.

  Then they heard the whisper in their earpiece receivers from Damien.

  “We’ve got company. Four men, watching from the wooded area. Can you two handle the other four individuals inside?”

  Toro glanced at Sacha. She nodded and looked behind them then back in front of them with her gun in hand.

  “Got it,” Toro replied.

  He looked at her as he lowered his wrist. He didn’t want anything to happen to her. But then they heard the cry of pain and something fall over onto the ground. Her eyes squinted, and he saw the anger, the emotion in them. They needed to save Franco. He nodded and signaled for her to go first.

  As they made their way through, they heard some commotion and voices yelling. When they came into view of the large room, there was Franco tied to a chair, bloody, beaten, and slumped over. Sacha moved like lightning once she saw the man in jeans and a dark shirt strike Franco again.

  “Hey, asshole, why don’t you try that with me?”

  The man turned, weapon drawn, and she shot him before he could pull the trigger. Toro turned to the right as one guy shot from that direction and one shot from the left. He and Sacha were nearly back to back as they took out the other three men.

  They cleared the area and focused on securing their position before Sacha ran to her brother.

  “Sacha? What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Rescuing you,” she whispered as she placed her hand against his cheek and held his gaze. Franco looked like shit.

  Toro cut the ropes off of his wrists, and Franco squinted at Toro. “Toro?”

  “Hey, buddy.”

  Then he and Sacha froze in place as they heard the words come through their earpieces.

  “We’ve got company, and you two aren’t going to believe it. Is Franco safe?” Damien asked.

  “He’s safe,” Toro said in his wrist mic.

  “Who is out there?” Sacha asked.

  “Someone who is desperate to meet you, Sacha.”

  Toro saw the concern in her eyes, but then her focus went back to Franco.

  “Can you walk?” she asked him as she tried to help him up.

  “Fuck yeah. We better get out of here. They’ve been talking to others, planning something big, Sacha. I think it may have to do with you and Kabul.”

  “We’ll figure it out. Let me help you,” Toro said and assisted Franco from the room and they headed outside.

  * * * *

  The introductions weren’t immediately made, but one look at Damien and Sacha knew that they had no choice but to follow these men who apparently were waiting to meet her. She focused on Franco and his medical care at some building that looked like an empty office building but actually contained hidden offices and a clinic with medical staff. She was impressed but also on guard because she knew these were some sort of secret agents.

  She stepped closer to Franco after he was cleaned up and patched up. She gently caressed his hair and the small bandage over his temple. He was all bruised up. She felt terrible because she’d caused this, and it was exactly what she hadn’t wanted to happen.

  “Sacha, I’m fine. I’ve been worse off.”

  She shook her head. “This was what I was afraid of. That they would come after you to get to me.”

  Franco took her hand and held it. He stared at her.

  “You and the guys got me out of there. It worked out fine. Let’s not waste time discussing the what-ifs. Do you know who these men are that were waiting on you?”

  She looked behind her. They were alone, but they could see the men standing with Toro, Damien, and Elwood, talking.

  “I don’t know them, but I’m assuming they’re some sort of operatives. They must know about Black Out and perhaps even have an idea about what they’re planning.”

  “I think so, too.”

  Then they saw Damien reaching for his cell phone and answering it. He looked at the other three men and squinted as he nodded but didn’t speak any long sentences. He gave yes and no answers and ended with and “I understand.”

  One of the big men, a soldier, approached.

  “Doctors say you’re good. No concussion, no broken bones, just a bit banged up. You did well, Marine.”

  Franco looked at him and nodded and then looked at Sacha then back at the guy.

  “Who are you, and what’s your interest in my sister?”

  The guy looked over his shoulder at the others who now joined them. Toro and Damien took positions by Sacha. Elwood kept his arms crossed, and Sacha could tell he was concerned. Their protectiveness over her did not go unnoticed.

  “My name is Franco. This is Axel and Brooks. We’re part of a special enforcer team for the government. Code name Strike Force 1.”

  “Strike Force 1?” Franco asked, sounding as if he’d heard of them before. Sacha hadn’t, and she looked at Damien. He remained straight faced.

  “Our commander will meet us at a secure location closer to the city. His name is Chordero. We were sent here to locate you, Sacha. Riley was an agent working for us. Charro was assisting.”

  “Charro?” she asked, and she felt instantly sick. Charro was a double agent or something. She felt betrayed, and then the hand landed on her shoulder. She glanced at Toro, who didn’t take his eyes off of Falcon.

  “Let me explain. We had sent them in there to retrieve any information on the names. The leaders of Black Out. Our organization is pretty damn secretive, but when your team was sent in to locate and remove thumb drives copied by our agent, it was done so without our knowledge. Someone from the inside, a government official we’re thinking, had been informed of your mission and wanted to beat us to the punch and get those thumb drives. Your team, Charro, Riley, were all caught in the middle. Plus, Black Out must have had connections to this individual who wanted those thumb drives. We’re getting closer to figuring out who that is.”

  “But if you knew this, why would our team be sent in there? It was a trap. You knew that.”

  “We didn’t know anything. This is what we figured out later. Riley was killed, taken out, his cover blown, but he got those thumb drives copied and placed into that safe. He got word to Charro. Someone on your team was working with Black Out. At first, after you showed up and took out those men before they could kill Charro, we thought you were the rogue.” Axel looked her over.

  Damien placed his arm around her waist and kept his hand on her hip in a possessive manner. The guy squinted and then looked at the others.

  “Me? Why would you think that?”

  “You killed more than sixteen men. You got out of Kabul and somehow got out of the Middle East and into the States. How the fuck did you do it?”

  “She’s a Marine, plus she knew those thumb drives would reveal Charro’s killer and her team’s killers,” Franco stated.

  “Charro had to have trusted you to not ask for those thumb drives and to let you hold them. So many soldiers were part of Black Out that no one expected o
nes planted in the streets waiting on you guys,” Axel added.

  “When we got to the location late because our source gave a different time of action, we found Charro, and then the rest of your team, except two of them,” Falcon told her.

  She felt sick to her stomach as she thought about her team and about Charro.

  “Who?” Damien asked.

  “Well, we thought you all died there, but then our sources located Spence and Anya.”

  “They’re alive?” she asked, shocked as she stood straighter. She hadn’t realized she was partially leaning back against Damien for support.

  “Don’t be happy that they’re alive. They were working for Black Out.”

  “Jesus. What the fuck is with all the double agents and spies?” Elwood asked in frustration.

  Sacha immediately felt pissed off. “We weren’t made aware of any of this. It was like we were set up to take the fall to cover your covert operation.”

  “No. We didn’t know anything about Spence and Anya working for Black Out. Our agent got in there undercover and was able to copy the thumb drives . Our hope was that the drives contained the names of those individuals involved in Black Out. We caught wind of terrorist plots and hoped the drives shed light on their intended U.S. targets. That was the entire point of the operation. But then we find out about your team, and Charro had done work for us in the past. He was a contacted and given a job that would secure those thumb drives. Except the ones you would get would only contain the next hit and not the list of individuals who are part of Black Out,” Axel told her.

  “What other names are on those thumb drives?”

  “We don’t know,” Axel said.

  “Bullshit you don’t know. You must have a feeling, some names that you’re just waiting to confirm. Because one thumb drive gave the plans of their terrorist attack straight out and the other thumb drive needed a password and it wasn’t the one we were provided before taking those thumb drives,” Sacha said to him.

  “It doesn’t matter. As soon as you get those thumb drives to us, we can put in the password and get the list. Then we can start taking these individuals out before they can succeed in killing a whole lot of innocent Americans,” Falcon said to her.

  “Charro died trying to get those thumb drives. My whole team, the true Americans, died trying to get those. My brother was abducted. I had to go through more than a month of hell trying to get out of the Middle East and even sustained a gunshot wound. I want to know who is on that list, and I want to be part of taking them out. And where the hell are Anya and Spence now?” she asked them.

  “Learning the hard way about the consequences of treason and slowly giving up other names of individuals who aided them,” Axel said, and she knew what he meant. They were being questioned, perhaps tortured for information.

  “We need those thumb drives. That way we can use our resources to capture those involved and also save lives,” Falcon said to her.

  She looked at Franco. He nodded. Then she looked at Damien, Toro, and Elwood.

  “We’ll need to head back. What’s the plan, and where do you want us to meet up afterward?”

  * * * *

  “The operation has been compromised. I want to move in on the alternate plan for tomorrow night,” Mahem told Dupree.

  “What in the hell are you talking about? What the fuck happened?” Dupree asked. He clenched his teeth as he held the phone close to his ear and quickly made his way down the hallway and into a private area so no one could hear him.

  “The brother was rescued. A dual operation between that female Marine and a team of other men. My guys are trying to identify them and the group they work for.”

  “Damn it. You said you could pull this off. This hit was three years in the making. Three fucking years of establishing your organization, screwing with heads, taking out people in the way. If you fuck this up any further. I’m as good as dead. My career, my life in politics, and everything we’re trying to do will be finished. You’re telling me Smith’s fucking daughter is responsible for all of this?”

  “Yes.”

  Dupree ran his hand along his chin. He was panicking. They weren’t going to be able to kill Campbell, Lewis, and Roland. This Marine and her friends probably knew about the explosives.

  “Listen, even if they got wind of the explosion, it’s still not near the location of the ones we want taken out. They’ll be up to their ears in dead bodies and the media making accusations of terrorist attackers while they hunt some Middle Eastern assholes down. I’m certain one of the real terrorist groups will take responsibility. We’ll be covered and you will be, too,” Mahem told him.

  “Not if our names are on those thumb drives.”

  “Yours isn’t on there. Mine is. I want you to transfer that money to my account we set up. I want it done before the morning because, now, we have a new plan. One that will not only take out the competition for your election but will also complete that revenge you want over Devan Smith and his two pain-in-the-ass Marine kids. The teams helping them will die, too.”

  “What is your plan?”

  “You’ll hear about it on the news. Transfer that money.”

  Dupree put his cell phone away and thought about the situation. He had trusted Mayhem with so much. He wasn’t sure he would pull this off. Dupree thought about Devan Smith. That fucking guy had nearly caught him all those years ago and fucked his whole career. Now, here he was, his fucking daughter in the middle of this shit and potentially capable of ruining this three-year plan. If shit went wrong, and the hit was a bust, Devan was going to die and so were his daughter and son.

  * * * *

  Franco watched how attentive and in tune Damien, Toro, and Elwood were with his sister. He caught the exchanged glances, the light caresses, and how protective they were of her. They had feelings for his sister. And by Sacha’s acceptance of their caresses and exchanged glances, it seemed she had feelings for them, too.

  She sat next to Franco in the truck as they headed out toward Wellington. Elwood sat beside her as Damien drove and Toro sat in the front passenger seat. They were all quiet.

  Once they arrived at the house in Wellington, everyone ventured into the house after Damien disarmed the alarm.

  “I think we should keep the perimeter alarms up and the home alarm, too,” Damien said, and they all agreed.

  “We need to bring the equipment into the armory. Want us to take your stuff so you and Franco can talk?” Toro asked her with his hand on her shoulder.

  “I can help you,” she said.

  “No, talk with Franco, and we’ll take care of things,” Damien said and she nodded and then looked at Franco.

  “Come this way,” she said, and he caught how the three men looked at her with concern in their eyes before she left the room.

  His body was throbbing, and he couldn’t wait to hit the bed but knew it would be quite some time before that happened. They had planned on meeting Strike Force in an hour.

  He looked at Sacha as she took some cold bottles of water out of the refrigerator. She passed him one as he took a seat at the large counter in the kitchen.

  “How is the gunshot wound? Healing well?” he asked.

  “It’s fine.” She took a sip from the bottle.

  He looked around the place. He hadn’t been here in years. He’d came over one time with Charro and a few guys. They’d done some hunting and some fishing together then caught up on some much-needed sleep.

  “They took good care of you, huh?” he asked.

  She avoided his eyes and looked down at her water bottle.

  “Yes. It’s been fine,” she whispered.

  “Seems more than fine. They’re good men. Charro’s best friends, like brothers.”

  “I’m so glad that you’re okay. I was worried,” she told him, changing the subject.

  “I appreciate you figuring things out and coming in to get me. I guess we have our work cut out for us dealing with Strike Force and trying to stay abreast o
f the situation.”

  “I just want this all to be over. Whoever these men, these terrorists from Black Out are, I want them captured or dead. Enough is enough.” She eased away from the counter then looked at him.

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m good, Sacha. God, I can’t believe what they said. That you killed that many men, got out of there, and survived for over a month’s time. Jesus. This is a fucking mess.”

  “You’re telling me. Charro was working for them, too. I mean, what the hell is that?” She came closer to him.

  He took her hand. “You could have died out there.”

  “I didn’t though.”

  “No, but you shouldn’t have been in the middle of that shit. How the fuck did you wind up a special operative in the fucking Middle East? In Kabul?”

  “Long story, and it wasn’t supposed to be so hands-on, technically. I guess it doesn’t really matter. That team no longer exists.”

  He held her gaze as he released her hand. “So what’s with you and the three Vancouver men?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, pressing a strand of loose hair behind her ear and avoiding his gaze once again.

  “They care about you.”

  “I care about them. They’re good men, and they’ve risked a lot to help me.”

  He snorted. “They’re in love with you.”

  She looked at him and held a straight, non-emotional expression. He didn’t have to wonder how she did that. Dad had taught them so well.

  “It’s okay to like them, to want to get involved with them, Sacha.”

  “Franco, please. This isn’t the—”

  She started to turn to walk away from him, but he grabbed her hand and held her there.

  “No, Sacha, don’t make the same mistake Dad did. The same mistake I made with Liz.”

  She squinted at him as if not understanding what he meant. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m talking about Dad with Mom. Always thinking that he could never fully love her because it would hurt her too badly if he died in combat. We were taught to hold back our emotions and never fully give all of ourselves to someone. It isn’t right. I fucking did it with Liz, and I lost her to a man who could give her full attention, love her completely.”