by Tess Summers
“I’m simply concerned he might not use the best judgment.” His commander turned to him, “It’s not an assessment of your abilities, Luke. You’re one of the best in the department, but I worry you’re too close to this and would be willing to take unnecessary risks to get them out.”
“There’s no way I would do anything stupid when it comes to my family’s safety. If anything, I’m going to triple-check everything to make sure they’re safe.” Luke replied, his tone urgent. He needed to be included in this.
The lieutenant turned back to Keni. “If you think it’s a good idea…”
“I do.” She didn’t waste any time and gathered her paperwork before heading toward the door. “Grab your gear, Rivas, but dress in tourist clothes—that’s going to be our cover. Can you be ready in thirty?”
He’d have to make a quick trip to Target down the street, but he could be ready when she was. “I’ll be waiting.”
She nodded. “We’ll update the rest of you when we’re able,” then breezed out of the conference room.
Luke watched the door close behind her. He was used to a strong woman, but damn. This one was a force to be reckoned with, and she was going to help him get his woman and kids back.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Cassie
Having Lucas actually helped her observe her surroundings easier when Dante was around because she could position herself to watch the boy while she figured out the guards’ schedule and patrol routines, the servants’ shifts, and when there seemed to be the least amount of staff on duty.
Unfortunately, that was late at night until early in the morning, before Lucas was awake and functioning. That might not be a bad thing, actually; she could carry him without him knowing what was going on.
She decided it didn’t matter the time. When she saw her next opportunity, she was taking it. In the bathroom away from the camera, she experimented making a harness sling to carry Lucas, trying both the top sheet from her bed and a beach towel. The sheet seemed to work better even if was a little big. Maybe she could rip it.
Rosa and Maria were the quintessential Mexican grandmothers when it came to Lucas and were great about making a fuss over him. Every time Cassie and her boy sat down at the table, his juice or milk was ready, and the women quickly learned Lucas’ favorite snacks to bring him throughout the day. They were wonderful about taking care of her too, making sure she stayed hydrated and fed and bringing her lotions and concoctions for her skin.
“For no stretch marks,” Maria told her when she handed her the latest bottle while mimicking rubbing it on her own belly.
Cassie laughed and hugged the matronly woman. “Gracias.”
They were having dinner on the patio by the pool. Although they were still always under careful watch, Dante had been a lot more lax about restricting her movements now that Lucas was there. She guessed he thought she wasn’t going anywhere without her little man. He was right about her not leaving without Lucas, but he was wrong if he thought they weren’t going anywhere.
Maria brought Lucas his food before Dante arrived for dinner. Cassie pulled the napkin from the table to put into her lap and a small piece of paper the size of the fortune in a fortune cookie fluttered between her legs onto her seat. She moved her thigh over it to hide it, then waited until Maria left before slipping the paper from under leg to read it, looking around first to make sure Dante was nowhere in sight.
Say you’re having morning sickness and use the bathroom in the pool house, it said in feminine writing
She slipped the paper into her bra.
“Maria?” she called. The sweet woman appeared in her snug gray uniform, wiping her hands on her apron.
“Yes, Miss Cassie?”
She pushed her chair away from the patio table and stood, putting her hand to her mouth. “Would you mind sitting with Lucas? I think I’m going to be sick,” she said as she rushed to the pool house.
Once inside, she approached the bathroom with trepidation and flipped on the light at the same time she closed the door. A hand covered her mouth and pulled her back into a hard body. She knew instantly by his smell it was Luke before he even spun her around to face him.
“It’s me,” he harshly whispered then turned her around, groaning, “Oh, doll,” as he held her face in his hands. He searched her eyes with his beautiful green ones. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, and he urgently kissed her everywhere above her shoulders—hair, eyelids, cheeks, ears, neck, and finally lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him.
What the hell was he wearing? He was dressed in tan cargo shorts and a black polo shirt. Not at all the normal bad-ass attire he wore to work.
Reaching between them, his hands moved to cradle her baby belly. “Thank God you’re okay!” he hissed against her lips.
“I knew you’d find us,” she whimpered, tears streaming down her face as she burrowed into his performance-blend polyester covered chest.
Luke pulled away, planted a quick peck to her stomach, then stood up straight with a serious expression and grasped her elbow.
“Listen to me. We don’t have much time. Go back out there and finish dinner and act like everything is fine. What do you usually do after dinner?”
“We go back to our room and play or read before bed.”
“Good. Okay, do what you normally do until it gets dark and things are quiet. Once it’s dark, be ready—keep your shoes on and jackets nearby if you have them. A woman, Kennedy is going to come to your room and give you instructions. You can trust her—she’s a federal agent, and you need to do exactly what she tells you. We’re getting you and Lucas out of here tonight.”
“The cameras…”
“Don’t worry about the cameras, we’ve got it covered.”
Cassie nodded her head and took a deep breath. Luke clutched her hands between his. “You can do this, doll,” he reassured her.
“Damn right, I can,” she whispered.
The front door of the pool house opened, and Rosa’s voice called out. “Miss Cassie… are you okay?”
“Yes, I’ll be right out!” she cried as she flushed the toilet and turned the faucet on, splashing her face with water as Luke slid into the shower to hide. She blew him a kiss then opened the door wide like nothing was amiss and shut the light off as she stepped out.
Offering a weak smile at Rosa waiting in the entry, she wiped the corners of her mouth with her fingertips and offered an explanation in Spanish. “I got a little light headed and felt nauseous.”
“Are you okay?”
“I think maybe if I eat, I’ll feel better.”
“Dinner is ready. Mr. Dante is waiting for you.”
They walked out of the pool house, and she found Dante sitting in a patio chair, helping Lucas eat his dinner. It killed her the little boy adored him. Part of her refused to believe Dante would actually go through with assisting in selling her children or even her, but there was no way she was risking it.
Now that Luke and federal agents were here, she wouldn’t have to make her escape on her own.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, his voice full of concern as he stood when she approached.
“I think I just need to eat,” she offered, amazed at how normal she managed to sound.
He kissed her cheek before she sat down, something he had never done before. That’s weird.
“Let’s get you fed, then.”
She didn’t remember much regarding what they talked about at dinner, she was too nervous about what was going to transpire later. But she did remember he was exceptionally attentive, both to her and Lucas. They sat at the table longer than usual after they finished eating.
He knows.
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I’m being paranoid. He doesn’t know.
“Feeling better?” His question interrupted her paranoia.
She offered a smile. “Much, thank you.”
He reached over and squeezed her fingers
. “Good, I’m glad. Let me carry Lucas to your room.”
“Oh, um, okay. Thank you.”
Dante escorted them to her room, stopping outside her door, which wasn’t unusual. He always made sure they made it into their room, then locked the door behind them once they got inside. He kissed Lucas’ forehead before setting the little boy on his feet, then leaned over and kissed her cheek with a smile.
“Goodnight, Cassandra.” Ruffling Lucas’ hair, he said, “Goodnight, buddy. See you at breakfast.”
A tiny part of her wanted to thank him for being so kind to them but knew that would be suspicious, so she responded, “Goodnight, Dante. See you in the morning,” then stepped inside the room. Hearing the door lock behind them, she released a shuddering breath, but then remembered Lucas was watching her and tried to give an upbeat smile.
“Do you want to read a story?”
She pulled Lucas into her lap and started to read Goodnight, Moon, the book he’d chosen.
Now they wait.
****
She dozed off next to Lucas. Having no idea when to expect her rescuer, she’d made sure they left their shoes on when they slid between the sheets. She’d tried to keep him awake, reading book after book until Lucas started to whine he was tired, so she reluctantly put him to bed.
She shut the lights off before climbing into bed and hoped whoever was monitoring the cameras in her room didn’t notice their lack of pajamas.
“We’re going to play a game later, so let’s leave our shoes on, okay? We’re going to play hide and seek, and we’ll have to be really, really quiet when we play,” she whispered, in case they were listening too.
“Okay, madrastra,” he yawned. He was asleep in seconds, and she was dismayed to say she was right behind him. Growing a baby inside you kind of wipes a person out.
Cassie was startled awake and sat up like a shot. Looking around and seeing no one, she started to lie back down when she heard a woman’s soft voice say her name.
“Cassie, are you ready?”
She laid perfectly still when she responded, “I think so.”
“Good,” the voice said, and Cassie slowly sat back up, moving to set her feet on the floor.
A stunning, petite woman in black yoga pants, black t-shirt, and grey running shoes with an auburn ponytail pulled high on her head appeared out of nowhere at the side of her bed. It looked like she was picking Cassie up to go to spin class instead of rescuing her.
Kennedy wasted no time with pleasantries, instead launched right into her instructions.
“On my signal, you’re going to follow me with Lucas down the back stairs, to the right, and through the kitchen. We’ll wait at the back door and watch for the guard. When he walks by, the count will be fifteen, then we’ll slip out the door and run toward the driveway. Luke will meet us at the second hedge and guide us the rest of the way. Do you think you’ll be able to carry Lucas and keep him quiet?”
Cassie was already adjusting the top sheet around her center, creating the makeshift sling as the woman spoke. Quickly fastening it around her waist, she simply replied, “Yes.”
Kennedy grabbed her arm to get her attention and look her in the eye.
“Under no circumstances are you to stop for me should something happen. I can take care of myself; you focus on getting out of here safely with the boy. Understand?”
Cassie nodded her acknowledgment, and they got a sleeping Lucas situated against her chest without even waking him, he was such a sound sleeper. The auburn-haired beauty began to pick the lock at the door leading into the hall. Cassie heard the lock click, but Kennedy made no attempt to open it, instead scrambled back as if startled.
She understood what surprised the agent when the door opened from the outside and Dante stood in the threshold, still dressed in his grey suit and open-collared white shirt from earlier.
“My little assassin, I knew you’d come,” he murmured with a smirk as he stalked toward the woman with the ponytail who was backing away toward the middle of the room.
Without warning, Kennedy threw a punch, which Dante easily blocked then gripped her wrists and spun her around to pull her back hard into his front. The woman began to struggle, and Dante escalated his hold to a bear hug.
Without a glance toward Cassie and Lucas, he casually ordered. “You better go, Cassandra, Luke is waiting for you.”
She was torn, shouldn’t she stay and help the woman who had come to rescue her?
“Go, Cassie, now,” the woman barked as she continued her struggle against Cassie’s captor.
Cassie remembered the woman’s edict and was out the door and down the stairs the servants used without a second glance back, precisely following Kennedy’s instructions until Luke grabbed her arm and tugged her down to a crouched position next to him by the manicured hedges.
As if unable to resist, he grabbed her face and kissed her, then tried to take Lucas.
“It’s okay, he’s in there pretty tight.”
“Can you handle him?” he whispered.
“I’ve got him,” she assured.
Luke peeked over the shrub, then positioned himself closer to Cassie.
“Okay, on the count of three, we’re going to make a break for the next set of hedges. Ready? One, two, three!”
They dashed to the next set of bushes, undetected.
“Luke! What about Kennedy? Dante has her!” Cassie exclaimed while Luke seemed to be preparing for the next step of their journey.
“She was crystal clear, Cass. Get you and Lucas out of here, no matter what. She assured me she could handle herself, regardless what happened, and I believe her. Now, get ready. We’ve got two more rows of hedges to cover this time, then we’re home free.”
They were safely off the compound and keeping in the shadows of the trees lining the road as they made their way to a waiting black Mustang convertible with the top up, when Lucas woke and yelled excitedly, “Papa!”
She yanked him to her chest, and they both shushed him at the same time, but the boy’s little voice had echoed loudly in the quiet night. They started to run, Cassie half expecting alarms to sound and floodlights to inundate their surroundings.
But, nothing.
Once they were safely at the car, Luke took his son from her and hugged him tightly, kissing his hair and murmuring how much he’d missed him, then quickly got him fastened in the car seat in the back. Of course, Luke would think to bring a car seat to his son’s rescue.
God, she loved him.
He had started the car and slipped it in drive when the adrenaline started to wear off, and she began to shake uncontrollably. Luke reached behind him, produced a blanket, and helped cover with it as best he could while driving. Once she was snuggled underneath, he gripped her hand and confidently told her, “It’s going to be okay, doll. I’ve got you. I promise.” He continued offering soothing words of comfort, stroking her face and hair with one hand, while his other hand steered the car.
As they drove, Luke filled her in on how he found them, and about his and Adriana’s marriage not being legal.
“That’s such good news, Luke,” she murmured. “I’m glad she did the right thing for her son. Where is she now?”
“She’s currently in jail, but I suspect she’ll be out on bail by the time we get back.”
Cassie nodded, closing her eyes, hearing his last words before slipping into slumber,
“I love you so much, Cass. I thought I was going to die without you.”
She tried to tell him she loved him too, but the exhaustion took over before she could.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Luke
He wasn’t sure if Kennedy’s intention the entire time had been for the two of them to get Cassie and Lucas without backup or if she merely saw an opportunity and decided to take it.
They had been doing surveillance on Dante Guzman’s mansion, and his lack of security seemed almost too easy. Luke had been convinced it was a trap the entire time until he was crossing
the border into the U.S. with Cassie and Lucas in his car.
He’d briefed Cranston on his secure line about what transpired and how Kennedy seemed to have been captured by Guzman. Luke thought for sure he’d be returning with a team to get her as soon as he got his family home safely, but Cranston was evasive about coming up with a plan to rescue his fellow agent. Luke knew there was a big piece of that puzzle he wasn’t privy to and decided he needed to focus his attention on making sure Cass and Lucas got home safe.
Rather than going to the station, Luke drove straight to the hospital to get his baby mama and son checked out. They both seemed in good health-both physically and mentally, but he wasn’t taking any chances. His team, Nathan, his lieutenant, and the chief were there waiting for them when they arrived.
The hospital staff was great and whisked Cassie and Lucas immediately into an exam room in the E.R. where a doctor assessed their health and determined they were fine.
“I told you,” Cassie chided Luke from behind a curtain while she got dressed.
“You can’t blame me, doll.”
She pulled back the blue curtain and smiled. “No, I can’t. Thank you for caring.”
There was a soft knock on the door, and Luke checked to make sure Cassie was completely dressed before opening it to find Nathan waiting.
“I’d like to ask you a few questions, Ms. Sullivan if that’s alright?”
“It’s fine,” she took a deep breath and pointed at Lucas who had fallen back asleep on an exam table waiting for them, “but if he wakes up, we need to stop.”
“Well, I need to talk to him too.”
She narrowed her eyes at the detective and pointed her finger at him. “Under no circumstances is he to know he was kidnapped, do you understand? You’re not going to talk badly about his mother or suggest she did anything wrong. As far as he is concerned, he was on vacation at his Uncle Dante’s.”
Nathan slowly nodded, which was not good enough for his Mama Bear.
“I’m not kidding. If you even insinuate something, your interview with him will be over.”
“Well, technically, you don’t really have the legal authority…”
