Nico's Heart (RARE Book 1)

by Dawn Sullivan

Jaxson was on his computer. His weapons were ready to go. He was getting the vehicles ready for Chase and his enforcers to grab as soon as they got off their plane.

  Once everything was packed and ready, they geared up and headed out to the airport. On the plane, they went over everything twice. They were in the zone and ready to rock n roll. The team bailed out of the plane over the Shenandoah Mountains and landed near the 10 mile mark they had set. Then they all took off under the cover of the dark at a fast clip up the mountain towards the building where the women were being kept.

  When they were a couple of miles out, they slowed down and moved in silently. It was very important that they did not attract any unwanted attention this early in the mission.

  When they were a mile out Nico shouted, Find cover now! Chopper coming in fast and low! They all quickly found cover in the bushes and trees. They heard the helicopter and watched as it flew in and landed on a ridge near the building. As they watched, the General himself exited the helicopter and climbed down the steep ridge moving towards the building.

  Let me take him out now, Rikki demanded raising her rifle, but he was already inside the building before she could get a bead on him. Dammit!

  Proceed with the plan, Angel said. Do not deviate from the plan. I mean it. Now fan out, but be very careful. Phoenix, get your toys set quickly. Everyone else fan out and surround the building. I want eyes on that place now. Trace and Rikki, find your homes and stay there.

  Phoenix grabbed his third bag from Nico and moved silently closer to the building watching carefully for trip wires, motion lights, and guards. He was going to get all of his toys hidden around the outside of the building and once all of the women were out, he was going to light this place up like the fourth of July.

  Trace and Rikki found their spots. Trace went around to the other side of the building where the back entrance was, and Rikki found the perfect perch in a tree near the ridge where the helicopter was sitting up above the building. She was going to pick the bastards off when they ran out for the helicopter.

  Angel moved towards the back of the building going in a different direction than Trace had. Nico was going to scan the south side of the building while Jaxson checked out the north side. RARE wanted all their bases covered, and to do that they needed to know where every door and window was in the building. They were also hoping to find out where the guards were posted on the outside of the building and what their routines were. That way they could easily take them out before moving into the building later.

  Two guards at the back door, Trace said. No windows back here. Guards are smoking and jacking around.

  One guard over here on this side, Nico said. Walking the perimeter back and forth. Five windows. Three on the first floor all with bars. Two on the second without. Nobody in them.

  One guard on this side, too, Jaxson said. Same routine. Two windows on the first floor, two on the second. Bars on all of the first floor ones, not the second. Have to be a spider monkey to get up the wall. Good thing Phoenix isn’t the only one with toys. I see movement in both windows on the second floor.

  Movement up front, Rikki said. Two more guards coming back out. Two windows on the bottom floor here with bars, two on the top without. Left window has one woman. Right window looks like some sort of lab.

  Ok, spider monkey, get up on the roof and tell me what you see, Angel said. Jaxson slipped his special gloves on, along with the special covers that went over his shoes. When the guard turned around and was headed back down the wall away from him, Jaxson sprinted across to the building and was halfway up it within seconds. He stopped and glanced down at the guard, but the dumbass was oblivious. Jaxson quickly moved the rest of the way up the wall and peered over the edge before pulling himself over and onto the roof.

  He dropped low and swiftly ran around the flat rooftop, checking it out. All clear, boss. It’s a flat top. Open. No guards up here. I don’t see any cameras anywhere, either. I need to get in that building. I want what’s on his computers.

  Can you get in from up there? Angel asked. Yeah, there’s a door. I’m going to sneak in and see what I can find. Jaxson stripped off his gloves and feet covers, stored them back in his pack and moved towards the door. Cautiously, he opened the door and silently moved down the flight of stairs to the second floor. There was a window in the door, and he peered through it carefully. When he didn’t see any movement, he slowly inched the door open. As he did, a woman in a white lab coat walking down the hall glanced up and saw him. Her eyes widened and she shook her head once. Jaxson quickly shut the door and watched as she walked past it followed by a guard with a gun. He watched as the woman opened a door and the guard shoved her hard. She fell onto the floor and the guy followed her into the room unbuckling his belt. No way was Jaxson staying put when a woman was about to be raped. He didn’t care who she was.

  Got a problem boss. Just about got made. A scientist saved my ass, but she’s about to get hers taken by a guard. He has her cornered in a room. I’m taking him out.

  You need back up? Angel asked. I can be in there in five. Jaxson moved silently into the corridor. She doesn’t have five. I’m going in now. He drew out his Glock and slowly pushed open the door that the woman had gone through. She was on the floor with the guard on top of her. He had shoved her skirt up and was pulling his pants down. She was struggling to get free when she saw Jaxson. But instead of giving his presence away, she made sure the guard’s attention was on her by reaching up and raking her nails across his face. “You fucking bitch,” he roared. He wrapped his hands around her neck, squeezing tightly. Jaxson quickly moved up behind him and snapped his neck.

  As he pulled the guard off of her, the woman gasped for breath clawing at her throat. “Calm down,” Jaxson said. “It’s ok, calm down and breathe.” As she pulled air into her lungs, she started coughing. Her eyes filled with tears as she watched him. “Who are you?” she croaked. “Someone who is getting you out of here,” Jaxson responded.

  Jaxson glanced around and saw he was in a lab. He stood up and grabbing the guard by his ankles, he started dragging him towards a desk. “Wait,” she said. “Put him in here.” She opened a closet door and held it for him, shutting it once he had dumped the guard in.

  “Your name?” Jaxson asked her. “Becca, my name is Becca. We have to get the women out of here. We need to hurry,” she said, clearly upset.

  “How many women are here?” Jaxson asked her. “There were over 20, but he’s been moving them. Something happened and he’s moving everyone,” she whispered hoarsely. “Now there are only nine left.”

  “Why are you still here?” Jaxson wanted to know. “Because they haven’t taken the time to kill me yet,” she responded bitterly. “Kill you?” asked Jaxson.

  “Yeah, when you refuse to do things they tell you to, or you try to protect the women, they kill you,” she said. “The General showed up to make sure the rest of the girls are ready for transfer. There’s a young girl here. She’s barely 17. I locked her in her room tonight and refused to let any of the men near her. Then the General showed up. He told me that if I wouldn’t unlock her door, that I could take her place. I told him I had to come to the lab to get the key card.”

  Jaxson nodded. “Do you have it? We will need them to get her out soon.” Becca nodded, tears in her eyes. “You really are getting them out of here? Thank God.”

  Seems the General knows something is up, boss. The lady says there are only nine women left. He is here to make sure they are ready to be transferred to a new location, Jaxson told the team.

  Can you do what you need to do quickly so we can move in, Jax? Angel asked. Glancing around the room Jaxson found two computers. Yeah, I will get it done. Give me ten minutes.

  “I need to get all of the information on the computers quickly,” he told Becca. She held out a hand and he handed her a USB flash drive to transfer it onto. Jaxson downloaded everything from one computer as she did the other. He was trusting one of the scientists in this whole fu
cked up operation, but she had proven herself so far. And he was not leaving her here.

  “I’m done,” she said a few minutes later handing it back to him. “Let’s get out of here,” he said as he finished up.

  I’m done. We are going to collect the women on this floor and head down. Get ready. Quietly they moved out of the lab and down the hall. Jaxson stopped at the first door and went to open it. Becca grabbed his arm, shaking her head. Moving around him, she glanced up and down the hall. Then she reached over and knocked twice, waited and knocked once more. Using a key card, she opened the door. A woman slipped quickly out and followed as Jaxson and Becca moved down the hall. They stopped at six more doors doing the same thing. When they headed over towards the doors leading downstairs, Jaxson grabbed Becca and whispered, “You said nine women. Where are the other two?”

  “First floor. There are two more guards, plus the General and his personal guard. The young girl is locked in one room and Serenity is in another. One of them got to Serenity and gave her something after she attacked him. I couldn’t get to her in time. She’s so full of drugs I don’t think she is even lucid at this point.”

  “Give me the key cards to their rooms. I want you to take the rest of the women out the back door. Wait until I tell you to, then slip out. My team is out there. They will keep you safe,” Jaxson told her. “But what about you?” she asked.

  He gave her a cocky grin. “I will catch up with you. You won’t even know I’m gone.” She watched him in concern, but then seemed to realize that the women needed her more. They moved silently down the stairs to the door heading out onto the first floor. Jaxson glanced quickly out through the little window on the door. It was clear. “The rooms are toward the front,” Becca whispered. “They will all be up there. One of the guards, the blond one, is telepathic. The other is a precog, but it is very random. Be careful of the telepathic one. He can warn the guards outside. Jaxson put his hand on Becca’s shoulder to let her know he had heard.

  I’m sending them your way, Trace. There are eight of them, including Becca, the scientist. There are two more in with the general still. One is a young girl, the other is someone named Serenity. She’s drugged up and unable to move or defend herself. Phoenix, if you are done playing, I could use you in here.

  You got it, he heard Phoenix respond. I just unwrapped my last toy and am ready for the party.

  Hold off on that, boys, Rikki said. Front door is opening. Shit, it’s the General. He is carrying a woman. She’s not moving. Such a tiny thing.

  Damn, that must be Serenity. He couldn’t get into the other girl’s room, Jaxson replied.

  We can’t wait any longer. Trace, take out the guards in the back. Phoenix, get the women moving down the mountain to Chase. Rikki, take out anyone you can that is not a friendly, Angel ordered.

  Done, Trace said. “Go,” Jaxson told the women. “Now!” They took off out the back door running toward the tree line. Jaxson saw Phoenix motioning for them to follow him. Turning, Jaxson ran up to the front of the building that was now empty except for the young girl pounding on the door of the room she was locked in. Running over, he unlocked it with the key card and pulled her behind him toward the back door. Trace was waiting at the tree line and Jaxson pushed her to him.

  Nico took out the guard on his side of the building while Angel took out hers. Something was wrong. This was too easy.

  All of the sudden they heard a shout as an army of men came at them from the trees. Holy shit, there were so many of them. Rikki was up in her tree picking them off as quickly as she could. Phoenix came back around the front of the building shooting left and right. Jaxson helped Trace defend the women in the back. Angel’s throwing stars were hitting their targets as quickly as she could let them go. When she ran out, she pulled out her gun and started shooting.

  The General was scrambling up the hill to the helicopter. He had almost made it. Rikki tried to take the shot, but it wasn’t there. Nico was running up the ridge trying to catch the General and get to Serenity. Rikki took two more shots before dropping her gun.

  It was just like in Nico’s vision. He was almost to the top of that fucking ridge. He was trying to get to the General who was carrying a very small woman. The General reached the helicopter and turned just as Nico scrambled over the top. The woman in his arms was blocking any shots to him.

  Phoenix fought to get to Nico. The bastards were not taking his brother. He had Jenna and Lily waiting at home for him. Phoenix could not let it happen. But no matter how hard he fought to get through the army of men and get up the steep incline to Nico, he knew there was no way he would get there in time. It was all just how Nico had described it. Utter chaos. “No!” Phoenix screamed as he clawed his way up the hill. “Nico, run!”

  Phoenix watched as a guard rushed Nico and Nico’s blade sliced through the other guy’s neck. He fell to the ground leaving Nico standing wide open on the edge of the incline. Suddenly, Nico was falling down the incline toward Phoenix as he was shoved roughly from behind. Phoenix watched in horror when the bullet meant for Nico slammed into Rikki. What the fuck was she doing there? She was supposed to be up in a tree picking off the General’s army.

  Bright red spread across her chest and her pain filled gaze met his. Neither of you are expendable, my brother, she whispered into his mind. Love you both so much. Then she was gone.

  The link severed as she fell to the ground. Two men grabbed her roughly from behind and ran quickly to the helicopter throwing her in. Just like that, the fighting stopped. As soon as the helicopter was safely gone, most of the General’s men retreated. RARE quickly picked off the ones that were left, but they were all running on auto pilot now. Rikki was gone. Their little sister, the youngest of the group, had just sacrificed herself for the two brothers she loved more than anything in the world, and now she was gone.

  Chapter 43

  “Let’s go,” Angel told everyone. “We need to get to the extraction point.” They took off down the mountain as fast as the women could move. When they were far enough away Angel ordered, “Blow the fucker, Phoenix.” Phoenix detonated the explosives and the building blew sky high.

  It took them almost two hours to get to Chase and his enforcers. Once there, they piled into the SUVs and headed towards home. Chase had asked where Rikki was, but Angel just clenched her jaw and shook her head, tears in her eyes.

  Nico still could not believe what had happened. Rikki had given her life for him. No, he would not believe she was dead. She was not dead. And they were going to find her. They were going to tear apart every fucking place associated with the General until they found her. Pain filled his heart as he thought about her.

  Rikki hadn’t had a family before she came to RARE. Another foster kid that had slipped through the cracks, just like Phoenix. She hadn’t told any of the team her whole story, just that she didn’t have anyone and had ran away from her last foster family at the age of fifteen. She had been on her own since then. Angel had done a thorough background check on her, just as she had on all of them, and Nico knew that she knew everything there was to know about Rikki, otherwise she wouldn’t have hired her. But no one else knew the details of Rikki’s life before RARE, and Angel respected her privacy.

  Phoenix and Nico had adopted Rikki right away. She had been a tough little thing with a chip on her shoulder. She was still tough, but she had attached herself to Phoenix and Nico and was learning to chill out more, even acquiring a sense of humor. She was the little sister they never had. The team was her family. Rikki had finally found a place she belonged, and she had finally found out what it was like to love and be loved. Before them, she hadn’t really known what love was. But she loved her family more than life itself. And she loved Phoenix and Nico more than anyone because they had taken the first steps in accepting her. They had been there for her when fighting her personal demons had become too much and she just needed someone to be there. She had spent many nights at their place, crashed out on their couch because she
didn’t want to be alone. She loved her family, but she lived for Phoenix and Nico.

  Nico looked over at Phoenix where he sat with his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. “We’re gonna get her back, Phoenix,” he growled. “We are going to bring her home.” Phoenix raised his head, and Nico saw the raw pain in his gaze. “She knew the plan, man. She knew I was going to take that bullet for you and get them to take me instead. How the fuck did she know?”

  Angel looked back at them, “The trash,” she whispered. “What?” Nico said. “The trash. After our meeting, she took the fucking trash out. I thought she was putting it in the dumpster. She took it home and found something that showed her what you saw and what you planned. Why didn’t I catch that? Why the hell didn’t I catch that?” she cried. Chase reached over and placed a hand on hers. He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he was slowly piecing it all together.

  God, Nico needed Jenna now. He needed his mate. He needed to hold her, and to let her shoulder some of this burden with him. To help take the pain away, just for a little bit. And then he was going hunting. They were all going hunting. And they would not stop until Rikki was back home where she belonged.

  Chapter 44

  It took them a full day to get home even driving straight through, but there were too many of them to fly. When they pulled into the compound, Nico didn’t stick around. He headed for home and Jenna. “Nico, Phoenix”, he heard Angel call. He swung around. “My house tomorrow. Be there as early as you can.”

  “Wait,” a woman called out as she exited the SUV. “You’re Phoenix?” Phoenix turned toward her. “Yeah?”

  “Oh God,” another woman cried out as she took a step towards him. “I told her he was coming. I told Serenity he was coming for her.”

  “Serenity?” Phoenix asked. Who was Serenity? “Serenity,” the woman said. “Your mate.” Phoenix just stared at her blankly.