by Lea Hart
“Give me a rundown of what’s happening. I’m about to jump in a car, and I need to tell my driver where to go.”
“Come to the office. We’re going to head out in forty-five minutes. The team is finalizing the op and getting the gear together. You can ride with Trevor in the van. He’s running coms, so you’ll be able to see everything from the van.”
“Right. I’ll have my people in Chicago gather intel about the Baldaccis. I need to find out what their orders are and see if we can nail them for anything while they’re here in Miami. Might as well clean up some trash if I can. Maybe get them to roll for immunity. I’m sure we have enough to hold them for a good amount of time.”
“All I care about right now is getting Sara away from Angelina. Her father finally told me what her diagnosis is, and right now she is the biggest threat Sara is facing. The mob is the least of our problems.”
“Shit,” Sam hissed into the phone.
“See you in a while. I’m going to pack my kit and get ready to move out. This is all my fault, and I need to fix it.” Before Sam could respond, Grady ended the call and moved toward the room where they kept the supplies. He breathed in and got rid of any negative thoughts. They wouldn’t help in the next several hours, and Sara deserved his best effort. So that’s what he was going to give her. Everything he had.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Tuesday
Two AM
The team was loaded into Dane’s truck as well as the van. As they drove through the dark, deserted streets, each man gave his equipment a final check. The ritual each one of them went through had been perfected over hundreds of missions over the years. The men collectively probably had over a hundred years of experience in life-and-death situations. Rescue ops were the bread and butter of a SEAL’s life. The one they were about to embark on was relatively easy, but that didn’t help Grady’s peace of mind. The usual banter and insults were noticeably absent, and he appreciated this. Joel nodded to him from his seat and gave him a thumbs-up. He probably got what Grady was going through, because it hadn’t been that long ago that he’d been protecting his wife.
The soft patter of rain drummed against the truck windows, and Grady hoped that the elements would help them. They didn’t plan on cutting the power, because everyone agreed that it would spook Ang and perhaps motivate her to lash out at Sara. But if the storm knocked it out, then that would certainly benefit them. Grady would take every advantage he could.
Joel tested his coms and made everyone check in. They were set, and as far as Grady was concerned, it couldn’t happen fast enough. He checked his watch and knew they were ten minutes out from arriving at their insertion point. They were going to park down the street, where they wouldn’t be visible, and approach on foot. The advantage of entering a warehouse was that there were very few windows. The security system was laughable, and the office area where they thought Ang was keeping Sara had windows. They couldn’t have asked for a better scenario. The rain continued to fall, and the clouds did them a favor by covering the stars. All they needed was for Ang not to have a complete breakdown before they got there.
The cars slowed and the lights were cut as they rolled silently down the street. The warehouse could be seen about a click and a half down the road, and Grady could feel his nerves settle. He was a man of action, and the hours that they had spent finding her and planning the op had been torture. Necessary, but torture nonetheless.
“Stay frosty and let’s keep the body count at zero,” Joel said into his mic.
Everyone lowered their night vision goggles as they jumped out of the truck and van. Harris and Sam were going to stay and feed intel while overseeing the coms.
Trevor sent his drone up and waited until he got an image on the tablet. “Give me a second and I’ll have an image of the warehouse.” He watched his tablet and gave a thumbs-up. “Ready.”
Dane and Grady started a slow jog in the direction of the building with Joel, Ben, and Kyle following. Their boots thudded softly against the wet, cracked pavement. The rain had slowed to a drizzle as they moved down the dim street. Nothing seemed to be moving. The rain seemed to have driven even the rats inside.
They approached the chain link fence that bordered the back of the building. Grady pulled out a cutter and quickly made an entrance. Each man went through, and Grady rolled the fence back in place.
They progressed to the back of the building, and Joel checked in with Trevor. “How many heat signatures do we have in the building?”
“Two. They’re located on White, Charlie. According to the building plans, that coincides with the location of the office.”
“Copy,” Joel responded quietly. Grady moved to the door and worked on the lock. It took him a minute, and he released the lock. “Any signal from the alarm system?”
“Negative,” Trevor responded. “Jammed the signal.”
Grady silently opened the large door and slipped inside. Quartering the cavernous space, he called, “Clear,” quietly into his mic. Standing on point, Joel entered silently as Kyle and Dean followed.
The light from an office could be seen at the other end of the massive space. “Fuck,” Grady silently said to himself. Ang must be awake, and if he guessed correctly, she was about to lose her shit. His mind flew back to the many late-night arguments that she engaged him in. It seemed that her demons roared the loudest in the wee hours of the morning. Now that he knew what she was suffering from, her behavior made a lot more sense.
The plan was for Ben to scale the racking directly across from the office. They wanted him set up before they approached the office. The only way in was a staircase, so they needed an additional option to subdue Ang if she didn’t release her weapon right away. Ben was a last resort, but they would use him if necessary.
The moments that passed seemed like hours to Grady. He knew he couldn’t ask for an update because they were maintaining silence as much as they could. He figured that Ben was scaling the racking and getting into position while Joel and Dane silently mounted the stairs. Ben was going to be their eyes into the office, and once they had that, they were going to be operational.
“In position,” Ben whispered into his mic.
Several minutes passed as Ben prepared himself. “Operational.”
A couple of more minutes passed, and Ben spoke quietly into the mic again. “Tango has gun pointed at victim. Appears agitated with arms flying around. Sara is sitting quietly with very little movement.”
This was bad. If Ang had completely lost touch with reality, then they couldn’t enter without taking a chance that she would fire on Sara.
“Sam,” Grady called into his mic.
“Talk to me,” he responded.
“We need someone to call Ang’s phone. Get her off the rant. That’s the only way to distract her so the guys can go in. Even if they throw a flashbang, she probably won’t flinch. She’s completely disassociated from reality. Get her dad to call her…something.”
“On it,” Sam responded.
“Sitrep,” Joel said into his mic.
“Tango continues to gesticulate wildly with the gun in her hand,” Ben responded.
“Dad is on the line. I gave him the number to her burner phone and he’s calling,” Harris reported.
“Get ready,” Joel said.
If there was a God, then Grady hoped he or she was listening. Because he was sending up some desperate prayers. Please let Mario connect with his daughter and pull her out of whatever delusion gripped her. Bowing his head, he closed his eyes and prayed that Ang wouldn’t implode.
“She’s picked up the phone…and flipped it over,” Ben reported into the coms. “Sara is standing, and her head is lowered.”
Good move, honey, Grady said to himself. Don’t give her a reason to take a shot. No one moved as Joel and Dane waited on the stairs, ready to enter. “What about a distraction? Get her focus off of Sara?” Grady said into his mic. “Maybe I can call out to her, give you enough time to enter and subdue h
er.”
“Let’s see what happens in the next thirty seconds,” Ben reported.
No one wanted to take a shot, but they didn’t want Sara killed because they had hesitated. The team stood down as Ang continued to rage. “Okay, Sara is slowly stepping backward toward the door. Ang is pointing the gun at Sara.”
“Tell me when she gets close enough to the door. I’ll swing it open, grab her, and throw in a flashbang. It should give us enough time to subdue her,” Joel said into his mic.
“On my count,” Ben whispered into the mic. “Five, four…three. Hold.”
All that could be heard were the quiet breaths of the men. Poised. Ready.
“One…now,” Ben commanded.
Joel pulled the door open, grabbed Sara, and threw in a flashbang. The deafening crack of the explosive and a brilliant flash of light filled the small space. Dane streaked past Joel and leapt for Ang.
As the smoke cleared, Ben saw Ang raise her gun, and he discharged his weapon. The bullet flew across the warehouse and hit Angelina’s hand. The gun sailed out of her hand as Ben watched her crumple. Dane landed on Angelina and then kicked the gun out of the way.
Grady sprinted across the warehouse and met Joel on the stairs. He lifted Sara out of his arms and held her tightly against his body. She was racked with tremors as she collapsed in his arms.
Sam spoke over the mic. “Called an ambulance. If anyone asks, this is a Federal operation. No one speaks but me.”
Grady descended the stairs with Sara grasped firmly in his embrace. Striding across the warehouse, he walked out the door and crouched against the wall of the building. The clouds had started to part, and a sliver of moonlight fell across Sara’s cheek. Grady finally took a moment to gaze into her face. His sweet Sara stared up at him with more pain than he’d thought possible. Whatever had happened over the last twelve hours had cost her. Bending his head, he kissed her hair and cradled her as she wept and wept. “We’ll get through this. I promise you.” The sound of her misery was all that could be heard in the empty parking lot.
The SAI van drove through the gate, and Lance parked it next to the open door. Trevor ambled around the building and landed his drone. Grady watched as he collected it and stepped into the van as Sam climbed out. For this night to end as well as it had was a blessing and one he would never forget.
Joel walked out with the Team and Angelina. As he passed, he tipped his chin at Grady and raised his eyebrows. Grady shook his head in response. Sara hadn’t been physically harmed, but he had a feeling that the emotional trauma was going to be horrific.
Ben climbed into the van and divested himself of his rifle. If this was a Federal op, then he didn’t need to be standing around with his sniper rifle on display. SAI had an excellent relationship with the Miami Police Department, and they operated with mutual respect for one another. But it had always been Joel’s policy that they shouldn’t advertise when they colored outside the lines. It allowed everyone the chance to continue a mutually beneficial relationship. Grady was relieved to note that all the men were following protocol.
***
Dane held onto Ang while Joel packed his gear into his bag. When he was done, he pulled out the first aid kit and took Angelina off Dane’s hands. As he guided her to the front of the van, he noticed all of the fight had left her. He set her down on the ground, slipped his flashlight out, and flashed it across her eyes. No reaction. If he had to guess, he would say that she had gone into a catatonic state. Whatever she was fighting seemed to have won.
Leaning back on his knees, he shook his head. There was no good answer here. Hopefully she would go into a state mental facility and get the help she needed.
He glanced over his shoulder and watched Grady hold Sara as she sobbed uncontrollably. Nobody was going to come out of this night unscathed. Angelina’s actions were going to be felt for some time to come.
The sound of sirens echoed off the buildings as the sky lightened. Sam strode over to Joel. “Let’s talk before the local guys arrive.”
“Sounds good.” He nodded to Dane and motioned for him to come over. “Keep an eye on her until the ambulance shows up.”
“You got it. I called Lance and asked him to get ahold of her father.”
“Thanks.”
Joel and Sam walked around the other side of the van and waited for the MPD to arrive. Sam crossed his arms and stared straight ahead. “I had the local office call the MPD when you all came out of the building. They told them that this was part on an ongoing investigation. Let me give them my spiel and hope that will be enough. I don’t want them crawling up our asses over this.”
“SAI has an excellent relationship with all of the local departments, and I plan on keeping it that way. We have a few friends around, so I don’t expect them to dig too deeply.”
“That’s good news. I want to get through this as quickly as I can, because I have a couple of hit men that I need to deal with.” He lifted his arm and checked his watch. “They are due to land in an hour, so they should be in our local office within two. I’m hoping this gives me a chance to end the threat against Sara once and for all.”
“How are you going to manage that?” Joel asked.
“I don’t know yet. But I plan on coming up with something in the next couple of hours.”
“Let me know if we can do anything. I know Grady is not going to let Sara out of his sight until this is solved. Hell, he may never let her out of his sight regardless of what happens.”
Sam’s phone buzzed, and he walked away as he answered the call. Two ambulances and two squad cars flew through the gates with a dark sedan following. Joel knew that the next several hours were going to be long and tedious. He slipped his phone out and texted Vivi. He didn’t want her to worry and knew she would. Smiling to himself, he thought about how she was going to make sure that he was unharmed. As a doctor, she believed in a thorough physical examination, which he enjoyed the hell out of. There were so many reasons that he loved his wife, and her attention to detail was on the top of the list.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Tuesday
Twelve PM
Sara stepped into her house and almost collapsed. Exhaustion and grief slid over her bones as she moved slowly toward the bedroom. All she wanted to do was get in the shower and wash away the last twenty-four hours. Grady wasn’t pressing her to talk, and she could tell that he was blaming himself for what had occurred. Every time he looked at her, regret and remorse filled his gaze. As she stepped into the bathroom, she realized that she didn’t have the energy to make it better for him. Maybe after she slept for a couple of hours, she could start to deal with what had happened. Right now it was still too raw.
Leaning in, she turned on the water and then heard a knock on the door. Grady opened the door and handed her a glass of orange juice. “Thanks.”
“Drink it up before you get in the shower. I don’t want you to faint in there.”
Nodding her agreement, she picked it up and took a healthy sip. He seemed satisfied and stepped out. Once the door was closed, she stripped off her clothes and dumped them into a pile. She stared at them for a moment and then grabbed a garbage bag from underneath the sink. As the room filled with steam, she shoved the clothes into the bag and then tied it. She never wanted to see them again. Yesterday had been horrific for many reasons, not the least of which was being threatened at gunpoint. But the truly awful part had been listening to Ang talk endlessly about her relationship with Grady. When Angelina had woken her up at midnight to talk, she never would have guessed that she was in for hours and hours of her disclosing every last detail about her relationship. There was no way to stop the endless sharing. It was like she wanted to relive every moment of their time together in vivid detail. As Sara stepped into the shower, she felt a wave of nausea rise up. As far as she was concerned, that had been a lot worse than having a gun pointed at her head.
Leaning her head under the water, she visualized everything about the last twenty-four
hours washing away. Especially all of the details of Ang and Grady’s sex life. God, that shit was lodged in her brain and playing on an endless loop. She heard the door open and Grady walk in. What was he up to?
“Honey, I’m coming in.”
Before she could respond, the door slid open and he stepped inside. The shower wasn’t big enough for her to step away, and it didn’t seem like he was going to let her. His enormous arms encircled her, and she was pulled into his embrace. As much as she wanted some distance from him, she couldn’t deny how comforting it felt to have him wrapped around her. Her head was at war with itself. There was the truth of who she and Grady were together and the truth of him and Ang.
“I need to hold on to you before I fall apart,” he said quietly against her head.
“I’m okay, Grady.”
“I brought this to your door, and I don’t know how I’ll make it up to you. But I promise you that I will, even if it takes the rest of my life.”
“Grady, you are not responsible for Angelina’s mental illness. I just happened to be caught up in her disintegration.” His arms tightened as he lifted her head. They stared into one another’s eyes, and she could see that he wasn’t going to forgive himself for a long time. Somehow he was shouldering the responsibility of Angelina’s implosion. “She was on this path long before I arrived.”
“But…”
“But, nothing. She told me that she had a friend put cameras up on the streetlights in front of your house when you started to pull-away. Apparently she’s kept a close eye on you for a long time.”
“What the hell? How could I have missed that? I’m a trained operator, and I didn’t see any of the signs.”
“I doubt being a SOF operator teaches you about the many varieties of psychotic disorders.”
“I guess you’re right, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I’ve told you that I’m going to protect you and I failed, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop trying. Nobody is ever going to put you in danger again.”
