He disconnected the call.
“What was that about?” Tiek mumbled in that extra deep voice he had. It drove the women wild and made him the worst person to whisper in the fields of battle. He used hand signals more often than the rest of them. At six feet three inches tall and filled with muscles, the man was intimidating.
Lee took a deep breath, and then explained what he just heard from Mercury.
“Holy shit. I don’t believe it. Not Keith.”
“Don’t believe what?” Stitch asked as he walked into the kitchen carrying his laptop. He placed it onto the island in the kitchen and then grabbed an apple from the yellow fruit bowl and took a bite. He chewed and stared at Lee and Tiek.
Stitch was their medic in the field and was always trading stocks online, his new hobby after hitting it big over the years as a day trader.
Lee explained and Stitch appeared just as upset as he placed the apple down on the island.
“Do you think it’s true?” Stitch asked.
Lee shook his head.
“What did Mercury say?” Tiek asked.
“I asked him if he could look into it. I mean, if Keith fucked up, then so be it, but if he’s in trouble, if he worked some mission and screwed up, then I need to know. There are things that need to be done.”
“Like what, Lee? He never showed up here as we all planned on settling down on this ranch. He never wanted the things we talked about. You had that job all set for him to work for the US Marshals with Tex and he didn’t take it,” Tiek said.
“We need to tell Tex. Is he stopping in for lunch?” Stitch asked, and Lee nodded his head.
“Why would Keith go rogue? I mean, I know he doesn’t have a family aside from us, so what the hell? Was it the money?” Tiek asked, sounding so angry. He was the biggest of all of them. With wide shoulders, lots of muscles, he worked part-time with the academy to train law enforcement officers in hand-to-hand combat techniques.
Lee swallowed hard. The rest of the team didn’t know what Lee knew. That Keith indeed had a family member. His one baby sister whom he adored.
Just then Mercury walked into the room.
“What is it?” Lee asked.
“I assume you told the others about Keith.”
“Yes, sir, he did. What did you find out?” Tiek asked.
“There are no leads on him whatsoever. I got nothing. I’m sorry, guys. I did ask that my friend contact me if he hears anything at all, even mild chatter.”
Lee ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. His heart was heavy. His gut clenched and he knew that there was more to this.
“Lee, you’re taking this hard. I understand that you and Keith were close, but shit like this happens. As much as my gut is telling me there’s something more to this, we have to prepare for the worst,” Mercury stated.
Lee felt the anger hit his gut. “This shit doesn’t happen to our team members, to any of us. He’s not guilty of treason or aiding terrorists or whatever some federal bureaucrats want to pin on him. I’m not just going to sit around and do shit. He was part of us. He should be here right now.”
“Well, he isn’t. And what the fuck are you going to do? No one knows where he is. Like Mercury said, Keith didn’t have a family,” Stitch stated.
“Just wait it out, Lee. If Mercury gets a heads-up to where Keith is and we can help, then we help him,” Tiek added.
Lee looked at Mercury. “Keith does have someone. He has a sister.”
“What?” Mercury asked, looking shocked and sounding insulted. Lee knew that Keith only shared that he had a sister during a time when Keith thought they were going to die. It was a very brutal and terrifying time in their military careers and they truly thought they were dead. But their team came through and pulled them out. They rescued them.
“He never mentioned a sister,” Tiek stated first. He seemed insulted, too.
“Listen, he told me about Shawna when we were held captive for those three weeks in Morocco. We didn’t think you guys were coming. We thought we were dead.”
“Where does she live? Do you think Keith would go see her and hide out with her?” Mercury asked.
Lee shook his head. “They had a really tough life. She’s all he’s got and he’s all she’s got. I don’t know much about her. She’s got to be in her twenties. I just don’t know.”
“Shit. Maybe I should call my connection and have someone check in on her?” Mercury asked.
“No. Don’t even give up the information. I’m telling you, Mercury, we don’t know all the facts in this. I don’t trust it. I know Keith, and he is no traitor.”
“We don’t believe it either, but if he’s in trouble why wouldn’t he come to us for help?” Tiek asked.
“To keep us safe, just like he probably did with his sister,” Mercury said.
“I’m not sure what to do right now,” Lee stated.
“There’s nothing we can do but wait and see if he’s spotted or if he contacts us. Then we’ll make a decision,” Mercury said.
“Make a decision on what?” They all turned toward the doorway as Tex entered the kitchen, Stetson in hand.
“We’ll explain,” Mercury said.
Lee looked out toward the window, hoping that his best friend wasn’t dead already and that he would call him for help.
Chapter 2
It had been three weeks since Keith had stopped in to see her. Since then she had been paranoid about every single person who came into the bar and flirted with her or tried to ask her questions. Tonight was no different as two Hispanic men watched her from a table and then headed over for a closer inspection.
She jumped the second Mike bumped her elbow. “Hey, sweets, what’s with the angry expression on your face? That’s no way to get the big tips.”
She locked gazes with him. “Angry? I look angry?”
“Hell yeah, but still sexy as anything. You sure you won’t take me up on the friends-with-benefits thing? It could work well for both of us.” He winked and she rolled her eyes and then gave him a slap with the clean white rag she had just pulled from her waist.
He gave a nod toward the bar, and she didn’t have to look to see the two Hispanic guys were there. “You got two new ones. They’ve been watching you all night. Maybe a ménage is what you need?” he teased and she felt her cheeks warm.
“Can you take them?” she whispered as a group of four people walked up to Mike’s side of the bar.
“Hey, Mike, we need some fancy drinks for the ladies. Can you hook us up? Marley asked for your Mikey special,” one of the guys stated, and Mike waved then looked at Shawna.
“Forget it,” she said. “Go ahead and take their order, I’ll handle these two.”
“Hey, you let me know if they bother you.”
She gave a wink. She may have been five feet six and petite, but she was well trained by Keith. Not that she was cocky, but she could put up a hell of a fight if the circumstances called for it. She swallowed hard. God, she hoped the circumstances didn’t call for it. She just wanted to live her normal, boring life alone. Why was she feeling on edge tonight of all nights?
“Can I get you gentleman something to drink?” she asked, wiping down the bar as both men eyed her. One had a very dark expression on his face. His cologne was pungent and she had to hide her distaste so as not to be rude. The other was husky and sort of smiled or maybe smirked. When he spoke, he sounded like he had a thick Spanish accent.
“Three shots of tequila,” he said as he held her gaze and looked over her body. She was well endowed and it certainly helped in the tips department, but something was off about these guys.
“Why three?” she asked as she pulled the bottle from the top shelf and then placed the three shot glasses onto the bar.
“One for each of us,” the other guy said.
At first she thought he meant that they wanted her to have a shot with them, which wasn’t uncommon at the bar. But then she saw the big guy. Holy shit, he was huge. He was ugly. His
face sort of distorted maybe from overuse of steroids. The only thing that was attractive about him was his suit he wore. It was strange seeing a man that muscular and big in one. He stared at her and she felt that creepy alert go off inside of her. These men were not from around here. These men were trouble.
She continued to work at the bar, not really ignoring the three men but not exactly keeping too close. She served them their drinks and they tried having a conversation with her. As the night went on and the bar became less and less crowded, she started to worry about them leaving when she left. She had a three-block walk to her apartment and it was a late night.
“Hey, if you want to head out in another hour, I’ll close up,” Mike asked her.
She debated about what to do. Was she just being paranoid? She knew she had the backpack with her. The one that Keith told her to carry everywhere just in case she needed a fast escape.
“I’ll let you know in a few minutes,” she told him and he shrugged his shoulders as he wiped the inside of a glass he’d just cleaned by the sink.
She walked back over to the three men who had polished off a full bottle of tequila themselves. Never mind that they had beers in between.
“Another round?” she asked. The one guy nodded as she fixed the drinks and he placed a hundred-dollar bill down on the bar. She reached for it to get him change and he covered her hand with his. She looked up and tried to move her hand, but his large, heavy hand held hers in place. “Keep the change, Shawna.” He said her name and it gave her the chills. He could have heard Mike call her by her first name, but it was the way he said it and held her hand. It was like he was messing with her. She remembered what her brother said about how bad these men were if they came.
She smiled. “That’s so sweet of you. Are you sure?” she asked, and he lifted his hand and stared at her as if he were trying to figure out how to respond to her.
“He’s sure. You’re real sweet,” the other guy said. They each downed their tequila shots then stood up.
The one who lost his voice and had held her hand, telling her to keep the change, looked her body over again. “See ya around,” he said, and they headed out.
She released a sigh, aware of how truly unnerving the situation was now that they had left. She looked at Mike.
“Big tippers, huh? I thought for sure they were going to hit on you,” he teased.
“Nice. I guess they realized I’m not easy,” she stated sarcastically. Mike raised his eyebrow at her.
“You sure as shit ain’t. Far from it actually. I’ve been trying to get you to go out with me for nearly a year and I never hear you talk about any boyfriend.”
She smirked as she wiped down the bar. Truth was, she wished she could have a boyfriend, someone to cherish her and love her, but she just couldn’t seem to trust anyone. She knew it was because of her past, and she could forget about trusting anyone now. Not with Keith in trouble and the possibility that she may have to skip town in a hurry.
“Well, maybe I do.”
“No way. You’re just playing hard to get, but I’ll get you to come around. I’ll keep wearing you down until you say yes to me.”
She chuckled. “In your dreams, Mike.”
* * * *
Keith listened to the message numerous times. His best friend, one of his fellow team members, Lee, offered his help. He couldn’t call him. He wouldn’t put his friends, his fellow soldiers in harm’s way. But things were getting worse. Montoya’s men were in the vicinity. They wanted the thumb drive he confiscated off of Guazipan in Morocco.
Chavez threatened to take them all out, including Keith’s sister, if Keith didn’t cooperate. He knew he was working undercover. Keith had done this before, but never so intense and never this close to Montoya. But he took the assignment because he wanted revenge. Revenge on Montoya for killing all those innocent people, and justice in being part of eliminating a terrorist cell group determined to spill blood on US soil. That just wasn’t acceptable. Chavez was an informant gone bad. Or so he thought until a few days ago. Chavez was a spy, an agent, and his loyalty lay with the bad guys. Keith had been gathering evidence, and recordings on Chavez, too. He documented everything so that whether he survived this or not, at least his team, his sister, Shawna, would be safe and the bad guys would be behind bars or dead. He was hoping for the latter one. It was a mess.
Chavez figured out that Keith was a soldier working undercover. He also was tied to Montoya and recently became partners in a small business venture. When Keith showed up at a meeting as part of the security team hired by one of Chavez’s associates, he recognized Keith immediately. Keith thought he was a dead man walking, but then Chavez did nothing.
A day later he found Keith and told him that the only reason he didn’t give Keith up was that then Montoya would know that Chavez was a rat, paid by law enforcement agencies to give up information. But now Chavez owned him until Keith was able to confirm the terrorist cell, pinpoint a manufacturing site, or even confirm a delivery of weapons. Time was running out for him.
Keith made the copies of the thumb drive, minus the specifications for making the weapon and the specific location of that weapon. It was sealed up and packaged along with the other evidence that Keith would mail to his team, the only men he trusted Shawna with. At least she would have a place to stay and men who could protect her if Keith died.
Originally, Keith was after information of smuggling and general terrorist activities like training facilities, names of members, locations of key terrorist cells, but he got way more. He had been shocked to realize that the drive also contained information on Montoya and Guazipan’s newest endeavor. The specs and the location of the hidden lab in Mexico where Montoya and Guazipan’s money helped fund the development of a weapon of mass destruction. This was heavy shit. He fucked up when he took that thumb drive, read its contents, and then called it in to headquarters. Commander Louis Smuthers was bad, too. He immediately called Chavez.
But in all honesty Keith thought the thumb drive would contain some of Montoya’s secret drug manufacturing facilities, his bank accounts abroad, perhaps a list of the members of his organization. Shit that could help put the fucker in jail for life or get him executed by his disloyal affiliates. No such luck. Instead he stole this damn thumb drive the moment the opportunity presented itself.
His obsession with capturing and killing Montoya had ruled his every thought.
The man was a ruthless killer, a womanizer, and a heartless bastard. But Montoya was smarter than Keith anticipated. Now Keith had a bull’s-eye on his forehead and had placed his sister, his only family, in jeopardy. Chavez was working Montoya over in a double covert operation. He was paid off by a competitor, a sworn enemy to Montoya, who wanted to take over Montoya’s assets, as well as his ideas for the weapon. These sick fucking terrorists were now fighting over whose name would be attached to the destruction they caused and the innocent lives that would be lost. Keith was stuck in the middle, uncertain how he was going to get out of this, help to put Montoya and Chavez behind bars for good, and ultimately survive.
He swallowed hard as he watched Shawna walk from the bar to her apartment. The poor kid suffered enough. She lived in a bad neighborhood, struggled to put herself through college, and now her life was in jeopardy because of him. He had to do something. Just then he saw the SUV. So did Shawna as she started to run.
Tires squealed and Keith jumped from the car to head toward them. It was too late when he felt the gun to the back of his head and heard Chavez’s voice.
“Don’t be stupid or weak. This is exactly what Montoya wants. Your sister will survive for at least a few days. You need to think things through before you fuck up everything.”
Keith heard his sister scream, saw her fighting for her life, and then he saw the big man strike her hard. She fell to the sidewalk and didn’t move.
Oh God, Shawna. I’m so sorry.
* * * *
Shawna knew she was in trouble the moment the SUV
pulled up alongside the curb. She turned to look as the window went down and she recognized the man from the bar. She took off running, trying to keep the backpack in place. The strike to her shoulder came out of nowhere. She knew she needed to either run faster or try to stand her ground. The decision was made for her when the one guy grabbed her hair and struck her in the cheek. She struck back, breaking his nose and making him holler. As she went to escape she turned and took the hit to her jaw from the big guy. It was lights out instantly. The last thing she felt was her body hit the concrete pavement with a thump.
* * * *
Jerry Chavez brought Keith back to the car where they watched the three men gather Shawna off the ground and dump her into the SUV. It took off with tires squealing as they both watched. Keith felt like vomiting. Shawna was going to die because of him. How could he let this shit get this far?
“You need to focus on the objective at hand. Your sister will only die if I call Montoya and tell him that you are in fact a spy.”
“You’re such an asshole. He’s using you like you used him. You were a federal agent, a spy for our government, and now you’re selling them our secrets? You’re part of the development of that missile?”
Chavez struck Keith in the back of the head, surprising him. “I need that thumb drive.”
“Where are they taking my sister?”
“Someplace safe and where her screams won’t alert police of any kind.” Chavez chuckled.
He was a traitor and the one person Keith least expected to be double-crossing him and the United States. He was still working undercover and coming up with squat. Especially while Montoya and Guazipan kept Chavez on the payroll.
“What do you want from me? I don’t have anything you need.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I know about the thumb drive and about the secret operations going on. I need those specs. My associates will pay big money for them.”
“You already know everything about the missile, the terrorist cells. You’re part of them.”
The American Soldier Collection 9: Password to Her Heart (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) Page 2
