Crossroads 6: Love Undercover (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  She stared at him, and he saw the flash of realization in her eyes.

  “You love them, too, don’t you?” he asked.

  “I do, Franco, but I’m a Marine first, and this mission isn’t complete. Not until these terrorist assholes are behind bars or dead.”

  “And if these thumb drives don’t reveal their identities, and if you don’t catch them, then what? Are you going to chase after them, leave these guys behind, and lose the chance to be happy, in love, and safe?”

  She took a few unsteady breaths. “Like you said. We’re trained to not give up our full emotions and let go. I’ll do what needs to be done. But I’ve already decided that it ends here. It ends with bringing justice to Charro and the others. We stop this terrorist act from occurring, and Strike Force can handle the rest.”

  He gave her a nod and looked around the place.

  “I always liked visiting here with Charro and the guys. It was a safe haven, a resort for us military guys. The hunting, the fishing, the catching up with sleep for days.” He smiled. “You’re going to love it here,” he whispered and gave her a wink.

  Her cheeks turned a nice shade of red. “Don’t go jumping the gun, Franco. They haven’t asked me to.”

  “Asked you to do what?” Damien asked, entering the room along with Elwood and Toro.

  “Nothing,” Sacha said and walked back around the counter.

  Toro was pulling water bottles from the refrigerator.

  “To move in with you guys,” Franco said.

  “Franco,” she stated firmly, and Toro wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and hugged her.

  “You told him about us?” he asked.

  “I figured it out.” Franco looked at them as they gathered around his sister.

  “And?” Damien asked, looking for a reaction, an opinion on it.

  Franco smirked. “Crazy fucking Charro. He knew exactly what he was doing.” He took a slug from his water bottle.

  “What?” Sacha asked.

  “He wanted this. He hoped for this, for his brothers and for him to settle down and be like their friends. To have a woman to love and share and provide for. He talked about it, and the next thing I know he’s with you on that mission and you two are working together and getting to be such good friends. I knew he trusted them with his life and obviously with yours. So when the shit hit the fan and you called needing help, I knew exactly who would be the right ones for the job.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Toro said, and they all chuckled.

  “Charro,” Elwood whispered, and they were all silent.

  “So, how fucking pissed off will the old man be about this?” Toro asked him.

  Franco chuckled. “Beats the shit out of me. But good luck with that. Even know she’s a Marine, she’s still daddy’s little girl.”

  They chuckled, and Toro turned her around and kissed her. As he released her, smiling, Damien’s cell phone rang.

  “We’ll be there in thirty.” He disconnected the call.

  “We got the meet-up spot. Let’s grab the thumb drives and some more guns and ammo. It’s time to end this shit once and for all.”

  Chapter 8

  “Are you fucking kidding me? They’re Americans,” Chordero said as they viewed all the information Riley had encoded in the thumb drives. They had a list of all those belonging to Black Out.

  “Holy shit. This was all a fucking scam to throw us all off and make us believe they were Middle Eastern terrorists. The other hits in Kabul and Iraq were all setups for this big hit. We’ve been thinking they were from the Middle East, but really they’re rogue military from the states,” Falcon said.

  “Holy shit,” Franco added as they started going through each individual and their history.

  Mahem, Dawsen, Valen and Hazeil were all American soldiers turned rogue agents and terrorist operatives.

  “Jesus, Riley and Charro uncovered everything. They busted this case wide open. We need to get information out on these men. They have to be here in the United States and ready to strike,” Chordero said and started giving out orders.

  Sacha was listening to everything and going through more of the material on the thumb drive.

  “What about these coordinates and phone calls? Who is this person that initiated this hit on the two senators and the congressman?” Sacha asked as she looked through the printed documents next.

  “I’ve got something here. Looks like our four rogues arrived yesterday, and some kind of money transfer went through to an account hours ago. It was sent from Senator Dupree’s home computer.

  “Senator Dupree?” Sacha looked at Franco.

  “Could this be a political move to ensure that Campbell, Lewis, and Roland do not get re-elected?” Franco asked.

  “It could very well be. Chris, can you go through all this information? We’re going to need all this after we stop these men from trying to kill two U.S. senators and a congressman,” Chordero said to one of the other agents helping.

  “We have a location and a plan in action here. Looks like they plan to hit them at this campaign event in a week,” Axel said to them.

  “I don’t think so. Not with us getting this close and having these thumb drives. They know that we know what the plan is. They had to be aware of Riley adding their names and all this shit to the thumb drives. They’ll move up the date of this hit,” Damien said to them.

  “Where else are these four people supposed to be together? Can we get some sort of schedule of activities? It’s obvious that they travel in groups. Look at all these events the congressman and senator have planned. They’re easy targets like this.” Sacha said, pointing at the sheets of paper with schedules of appearances on them.

  “I got it. Oh shit,” Toro said as he looked at the information.

  ‘Today. In less than two hours, they’re supposed to be at the stadium for a concert and fundraising event.”

  “Let’s move on this fast. This will be the only opportunity we may have. Chris, you take a team and intercept Dupree at his house. I want him arrested and brought in for our personal interrogation.”

  “Yes, sir,” Chris said and organized a team.

  “Okay, let’s call everyone in and get some people to that stadium. Thanks to Charro and Riley, we have the blueprints of the place and the points of interest that the bombs have been planted. We need a special team to go in and disarm Falcon,” Chordero said to hm.

  “I’ll grab the team with Axel. We’ll disarm that bomb.”

  “We’ll provide support to take out any shooters,” Damien said.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” Chordero said. The men started to leave the room, and Sacha looked at Franco.

  “I’ll stay here and keep in touch with you through it all.” She gave him a hug. “This ends today, Franco.”

  He nodded at her. As Sacha headed out of the room, Damien grabbed her hand and pulled her into another room.

  He pressed her up against the wall. “I don’t want you near the bomb location. I don’t want you going in there.”

  “What? How can you ask me not to?” she asked, feeling her anger begin to boil. She started to argue, and he pressed a finger over her lips.

  “It’s fucking killing us to see you in this danger and to know how intense this asshole is and how badly he wants you dead. But we understand your position. We love you and want you safe, Sacha. When this is over, we’re going to have to have a serious discussion about your career and the choices you make in missions.”

  Before she could reply, he kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. Someone knocked on the door, and they pulled apart.

  “Be careful.”

  “You, too, Damien.”

  When they opened the door, Toro and Elwood appeared. They kissed her, too, and then they headed out of the building and toward the SUV.

  * * * *

  Mahem had everything in place. He was in position, and so were his men. This had been easy. A piece of cak
e. He sat in the seats at the stadium with a clear view of the three people who were going to die today. It was the perfect plan. They would set off the one explosion in the left side of the stadium, and everyone would run to the right side to escape through the exit doors. But as the senators and congressman were escorted out by security, the second explosion would occur while the snipers took their shots. There would be so much debris and fire that no one would know they’d been shot at first. It was the perfect plan.

  As he looked at his watch, he waited for three more minutes. His heart was pumping fast, and a smirk formed on his face. He was three million dollars richer, the money safe in the account, and he was all set to leave the country within the hour.

  He spoke into his wrist mic. “All set on snipers and detonation?”

  “Yes.”

  He heard the response and didn’t recognize the voice. “Dawson?”

  As he said the name, Mahem caught sight of a group of men making their way toward the senators and congressman. They were showing ID, and that was when he spotted Sacha.

  “Hit it now. Hit it now,” he said into the mic.

  He stood up and prepared to leave. Nothing happened. No explosion went off.

  He looked ahead and saw the group of men. Military, two who called him by his name.

  “Stop right there, Mahem. It’s over,” he yelled to him.

  Mahem ran down the stairs and headed toward the open field. To the right he could see the government agents ushering out the congressman and two senators. He didn’t have a clear shot. He pulled out his gun as he scaled the fence. He started to run, heard the gunfire, turned a few feet from the fence, and saw her. She leaped over the fence, flew through the air, and tackled him to the ground.

  She surprised him, and he retaliated, striking her hard. They exchanged blows, and she struck him back. The bitch was strong and determined. He used his weight, and they began rolling around on the stage floor. The sound of chairs knocking over and the blows against his side from rolling into them had him gasping for breath. She was struggling for control too and countering his every move. She slammed his head, stunning him. She was relentless and just kept fighting. She wasn’t going to win. He was in control here. He had to get his gun in position. A bullet would stop the bitch. She decked him again, right in the nose, shocking him. Her teeth were clenched as she fought for control of the gun, and he knew he was running out of time. He gripped it tight, felt the trigger, and pulled blindly. He pulled the trigger again, twice more, and then he felt the shots. His eyes widened in disbelief. She pulled hers, and his gut burned. She maneuvered over him, knocked the gun from his hand, and held her gun to his head as numerous men surrounded them.

  “It’s over, asshole. It’s over.”

  * * * *

  “What in God’s name did you think you were doing? I told you to take position on the other side, away from the explosives,” Damien reprimanded her as he ran his hands along her body, rechecking her.

  Toro and Elwood did the same, and they all looked so wild, so freaked out.

  “I was over here securing the senators and the congressman when I caught sight of Mahem sitting in the stands. He ran, and the others were too far to catch him,” she told them.

  “You jumped a fucking fence and dove on him,” Elwood said to her.

  “He fired his gun and could have killed you,” Toro added.

  “Well, in my family, we don’t worry about the what-ifs and the could have-should have. We celebrate a win and that everyone is safe and sound.”

  “God damn, woman. When we get you back to Wellington…” Elwood reprimanded.

  “Whoa, remember that I’m on the mic here. Sacha, we have a situation,” Franco said, and they held their fingers against their receivers by their ears so they could hear him.

  “Dupree is missing. Disappeared. Chris and the team found a lot of evidence at his home. They’re tracking his vehicle now.”

  “Where is he headed, Franco?” Damien asked. They all started to walk out of the stadium and up past the seating to head to the parking lot.

  “We don’t know. I’ll have confirmation soon.”

  * * * *

  The moment they got into the back of the SUV, Toro pulled Sacha onto his lap and kissed her deeply. He ran his hands along her body to ensure she was indeed safe and unscathed. She kissed him back as Elwood undid her vest and then ran his hands up her shirt to her breasts.

  When he released her lips, they were panting.

  “I—” She started to speak, and he stopped her, reminding her about the ear- and mouthpiece and how her brother could hear them.

  He was frantic with need to be close to her, to make love to her, and he knew it would be hours until they could finally all be together.

  She eased up, and Elwood pulled her into his arms next and kissed her. She kissed him back and then hugged him as Damien drove the SUV out of the parking lot and out of there. Toro glanced back at her from the passenger seat. Their jobs were done. Now all they needed to do was wait to hear that Dupree was caught.

  * * * *

  Franco was frantic as Chris called him into Dupree’s office. The rest of the team was there, searching through the home.

  “He knows your father, Franco. He’s been drinking, and a gun is missing from the case he left out and there’s a box of bullets on the floor.” Chris told him as he opened up files and showed Franco pictures of him, of their father, and Sacha.

  “What the hell do you mean he knows my father?” Franco asked as he looked through the material. He didn’t know about any of this. About some sort of mission years ago when his dad had been a young Marine. He’d accused Dupree of treason and smuggling and selling U.S. weapons to African guerilla fighters to kill innocent people in villages. It was all there in the documents, along with how someone else had been held responsible.

  “Jesus, this guy is bad news. Does your father still live at this address?” he asked him.

  “Yes. Shit, do you think he went there to kill him?”

  Chris swallowed hard..

  “Let’s go. It’s twenty minutes from here. In the car, call your dad and warn him.”

  * * * *

  Devan Smith was sitting in his living room watching TV. He was waiting to hear from Franco or even Sacha. Something was going down. Franco had gone missing, and he just knew that it had something to do with Sacha and her mission. He didn’t dare try to contact anyone, but he’d heard from Sparrow that some shit was going down, that his kids were safe, and they would call him as soon as it was all clear.

  He had paced the porch for a while then headed inside. The sound of his cell phone ringing made him reach for his hip, and he realized he’d left the phone on the kitchen table. He got up and headed that way, and as he did, he saw Bobby Dupree standing there, pointing a gun at him.

  He looked like hell.

  “What’s going on, Dupree?” he asked calmly, despite the fact that he could tell the man was fucked up. He looked a mess with red-rimmed eyes, his shirt undone. He was white as a ghost, and his hands shook. He looked unstable, and Devan wondered what in God’s name was going on.

  “You and your fucking shit-ass kids ruined everything. Everything.”

  Devan felt his anger immediately rise. So this asshole had something to do with Sacha nearly getting killed and Franco disappearing?

  “What are you talking about? What the hell are you doing here, pointing a gun at me?”

  “Because you should have died years ago. I should have hunted you down in Africa and killed you then. You caused me shit there, and now your kids fucked up a three-year plan.”

  “I don’t know what you’re rambling on about. I don’t know why you’d hold a grudge after all these years. You got away with murder, with selling guns to those killers.”

  “They were men working to make a better place for the locals.”

  “They were killers, eager to hunt innocent prey and get money, drugs, and power from some self-centered senator
from the United States. What did you get involved in now to get so many American soldiers killed?” he asked and eased toward the right. If he could get to the door and shove through, he might have a chance of running out then reaching for his ankle gun.

  “Your daughter, the bitch, killed a lot of men.”

  “All bad guys I’m sure.”

  “Men who worked for me and the team I created to secure this country’s freedoms.”

  “Don’t you mean to secure your election?” Franco said, joining them.

  Devan was shocked, and so was Dupree as he turned the gun on Franco. He fired his gun and Franco ducked and weaved. It gave Devan the opportunity to grab his ankle gun and fire back. He hit Dupree in the chest, and Dupree went down. The gun fell from his hand, and Franco grabbed it.

  “All clear,” he yelled out, and a group of other men, agents, entered the scene.

  Franco went to his dad.

  “Good timing, son.”

  “You had it covered, but it was taking too long. Sacha wanted to wrap things up.” He smirked.

  He hugged his son. “Jesus. What the hell did they do to you?”

  “I’m fine, Dad. Sacha and her men rescued me.”

  He pulled back and squinted at his son. “Sacha and her men?”

  “Long story, but I don’t think she’ll be living around here anymore.”

  He looked at Franco sideways.

  “There’s no way the Vancouver men are going to let her out of their sights.”

  “All three of them?” he asked, feeling shocked but not completely surprised. He knew of a lot of such relationships. He just wanted his daughter happy and safe.

  “Yup, so prepare yourself.”

  Devan didn’t think he was quite ready for that, but all he cared about was seeing Sacha and holding her in his arms and knowing she was safe and alive. He got that wish twenty minutes later as she ran into the house, her three big military men in tow and a smile that told him she was more than okay. She hugged him tightly, and he spun her around then set her down.