Savage Secrets (Titan #6)

by Harber, Cristin

  She tapped her teeth together. “And that’s…where?”

  “Well, we’re in Virginia. So west.”

  “Now’s not the time, Sugar. Work with me.” She shook the paper. “What are you saying here?”

  “I’m saying nothing because I’d like to stay married. But, this is a… present. Welcome to America, where all your dreams come true. You deserve it.” Sugar patted the case and cleared her throat. She stared at the case, and when she looked up, there was a cold, hard strength in her eyes that Caterina respected. “Look, Senorita. I’m not the girl you talk to about feelings or whatever. But I am the girl who will sit you down and say that fucker needs to pay for hurting you. I know your history, your family and then… he rapes you? Fuck him. I’m giving you the one-way ticket to send his ass to hell.”

  A lump formed in Cat’s throat. Sugar pushed the case to her side of the desk, and Caterina stood, tracing her hand on the case. When she looked up, Sugar nodded, and Cat popped the buckles. It opened but not all the way, and her hands rested on its top. Looking inside was almost too good to be true. She’d been so close so many times that it scared her how close she was again. A location and a weapon. Caterina could do this.

  “Open it. It’s all yours. And whatever else you need. Comprende?”

  She lifted the case lid and pulled out an assault rifle.

  “From my personal stash.” Sugar pointed a pink fingernail at the weapon. “And you can’t go wrong with a—”

  “You made these?”

  “Well… yeah.” She shrugged. “It’s all mil spec quality, and shit, Caterina. I don’t know. This is what I’d want if I were you. I’m not assuming to know how you feel. I just.” She nodded to the case on the desk. “I’d want someone to load me up with a whole lot of firepower and point me in the right direction, so that’s what I’m doing.”

  Caterina glossed her hands over the weapons, and Sugar pulled a black bag onto the desk. It made a heavy noise when she set it down. “And ammo. Grenades. A pistol and a backup. Some holsters. And a flashlight. Every girl needs a good solid Mag light in her pack.”

  Grenades? Her mind couldn’t wrap around the enormity of the gesture. “This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say this will stay between you and me until I tell Jared. Say that you’ll engage and eliminate, and it will make you feel better.”

  “I promise.”

  “Smart girl. If you need to talk feelings, talk to Mia. If you need a drink, call Nicola. But if you ever just need to pull a trigger until your ears are bleeding, your body’s aching, and you’re spent, call me.”

  “Okay.”

  “If you want help or even someone to road trip with, I'm game.”

  A genuine smile curled on her lips. “No, this is all me.”

  “Figured as much. I’ll help you load up and see you off.”

  Five minutes later, both the case and the bag weighed down the back of Rocco’s truck. She slammed the tailgate up and pulled the bed cover back down, securing it into place. “Sugar?”

  “Senorita?”

  She scowled, rolling her eyes. “You’re a pain.”

  “I know. But I’m the best kind of pain to have.”

  True. “I’ve been out on my own for so long. It’s nice to have people to talk to and have them accept me.”

  “Takes some getting used to. Trust me, I know. But we get you.”

  They did get her. It was nice.

  Friends, a man, and a house to call home for the foreseeable future. Her hands still rested on the back of the tailgate. Well, it was nice, at least until he found out what she was about to do. Then, there was no telling.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Titan HQ wasn’t that close, and when there wasn’t a job, they didn’t really hang out at the office. Well, Jared and Parker did, but they had office work. When there wasn’t a job to plan or debrief from, they all trained, slept, and caught up with life. But Jared pulled them in this morning with a text message reading, “get your asses in,” and Rocco was more than familiar with what they would discuss.

  El Mateperros.

  They’d all arrived, and Rocco knew only what Jared had mentioned. Parker had found the Dog Killer. Titan had been contracted to provide intel on any upcoming attack on the royal family’s visit to the White House. They hadn’t been contracted to specifically locate El Mateperros. All the ACG intel on potential threats had gone straight to Homeland Security.

  Yesterday, Jared had been ninety percent sure they’d found where Yassine Harhour was bunkering down. Today, Rocco had no doubt that Jared was one hundred percent certain. Rocco had already told Boss Man that he wanted El Mateperros, and Jared had agreed with no discussion, and now it was time for a game plan. But he was starting to second guess taking the kill from Cat.

  The team gathered around the war room table. They’d spent enough time there that they all had unspoken assigned seats with Jared at the top of the table. Brock was back in his regular seat. He and Rocco flanked Jared.

  “Brock’s bringing Delta in a little closer to home than they’ve been,” Jared started. “So while not on this job, the teams will be working together in the near future.”

  Roman, Winters, Cash, and Nicola nodded.

  Boss Man continued. “I’ve never been one to sidestep situations before. You all know we’ve been contracted to monitor chatter on ACG. Parker’s all over it. Other than feeding Homeland Security any intel we find on the Royal family-White House shindig, we’re hands off. Not our job. Not our mission. No contract, nothing.”

  A huge but loomed.

  “But. Parker found the Dog Killer. He’s remained stationary for almost twenty-four hours, and we got a visual confirmation. I gave Rocco two options. We pass the intel along today, or we pass it along tomorrow. Taking down Yassine Harhour tomorrow won’t endanger anyone, won’t move up the timeline on their presumed attack.”

  All eyes landed on Rocco.

  A gift from Boss Man. Jared slapped his arms across his chest and waited.

  Rocco nodded, ready to repeat what he’d already told Jared. “And I said we tell them tomorrow.” His hands formed fists under that table as he thought about El Mateperros and how he’d worked through the real complication of Jared’s offer: did he take care of that asshole, or did he let Caterina? Because there was no way he or Cat would just let the federal government arrest the bastard.

  Rage, white hot and blinding, grabbed hold of him. For a hot second, Rocco thought maybe it was a flashback, acid trip-out from before. But it’d been weeks, and this was different. This was internal pain, anguish, and a bloodthirsty need to take revenge out on the fucker who did his woman harm. That was simple enough. Guilt too. Caterina had wanted her whole life to end El Mateperros’s. And that was before the son of a bitch hurt her.

  Help her. Jared’s words from weeks ago rang in his head. Doing this on his own was most likely the wrong decision, but that was the way it had to be. Or was it?

  “Let’s do it and be done with it.” Helping her might just kill him. His alpha gene stoked a caveman urged to go fix shit, Titan-style.

  Jared nodded, tight-lipped. “All right, we’ll do this one overnight.”

  They nodded, talked logistics, and disbursed. He had to be ready to go in four hours, but until then, he’d at least spend time with Cat. Hell, it may be one of his last times doing so because, when she found out, she’d walk.

  Rocco dialed her as he drove home. One phone call went unanswered. Then another. He was on the fourth unanswered call when he pulled into the empty driveway and the fifth when he heard the phone ringing in the kitchen.

  The house was empty. It wouldn’t have been alarming—Cat had taken to using the truck when she went out—except for the abandoned phone. He circled around the table, staring at the phone, wondering where—

  A note taped to the fridge had a heart at the bottom of it.

  I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice.
<
br />   XO

  He rocked back on his heels, a sudden restlessness taking hold. Rocco snagged the phone off the table and scrolled to her phone log. Other than his number, the last call in was GUNS.

  Everything moved too quickly in his mind. All the what ifs and maybe nots. But Caterina was gone. Phone at home. And the last person she spoke to was Sugar? Bad news. Bad fucking news.

  Using her phone, Rocco hit redial. The phone rang once.

  Sugar answered immediately. “Everything okay?”

  “Goddamn it, Sugar. What is going on?”

  She sucked in a breath. “Rocco.”

  “Yeah. What’s going on?”

  “Well…”

  “Spit it out, Sugar.”

  “No.”

  He choked out a harsh, angry laugh. “I’m not playing. What the hell is happening?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Bull.”

  She huffed out again. “Fine. Whatever. Titan knows where El Mateperros is.”

  “I know, damn it.” He scrubbed the scruff on his chin. “Why do you, and what have you done about it?”

  “I overheard and told Cat,” she rushed out her words. “She needed to know.”

  “I fucking know. I—” Rocco slammed his palm against the wall. “Damn it, Sugar. Jesus fucking Christ. What’d you do, send her packing with a gun and some ammo?”

  “Well, not quite, prick. I gave her a couple handguns, a rifle, some grenades—”

  “What?” he roared. “Wait. What did you just say grenades? Are you out of your mind? We’re in the fucking United States. You can’t send her to West Virginia with a goddamn arsenal.”

  “No one said she’s going to use everything, but she needed options.”

  He put the phone on speaker, sat at the table, and rubbed his face. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

  “Nothing. Let her do her thing.”

  “Christ. Shit.” He tore his hands into his hair. “How long ago did she leave your place?”

  “Like five hours.”

  “Five hours…” He did the math. Assuming she’d stopped at home to write the note and was driving reasonably, she’d be nearly half way there.

  “So… Are you going to mention this to Jared?”

  “Am I going to mention this to Jared? I’m going to freakin’ ask him to warm up a chopper.” He blew out an exasperated breath. “Bye, Sugar.”

  He ended the call and grabbed a Diet Coke out of the fridge. Fake sugar wouldn’t kill him today. He cracked the top off and flung it into the sink. Without looking at the screen, he called Jared and already hated the conversation that was about to happen.

  “You think twice about leaving Cat out of this?” Jared barked into the phone.

  “I made the wrong choice. She should be the one to do it. But now we have a change of plans, Boss Man, and I need to get to West Virginia before she gets herself killed.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  A half kilometer from the coordinates, Caterina pulled off the winding highway and down a steep mountain road. The sun had set, blanketing her in the cover of a dark dusk. No one could see her. Wearing black from head to toe, she strapped on a thigh holster, secured a pistol onto a tactical belt, and holstered two combat handguns with enough ammo to blow up a West Virginia trailer. Then she slung the tactical rifle over her shoulders. Tucked into her ankles were her two favorite knives. She was ready.

  The forested space between her and El Mateperros was dense. Thick trees decorated a sharp incline. She’d be going up on the way there, making it easier to retreat. Her blood rushed. Excitement tingled in her palms. This was the day she’d waited for. Running the first thirty seconds was smooth—graceful and exhilarating—as if she’d been meant to end up there, on the side of an Appalachian mountain, armed from ankles to collarbone.

  The quiet thump, thump, thump of a stealth helicopter registered before she could even identify the sound. Cold shivers sliced down her spine. A waterfall of anger and apprehension streamed into her limbs. She picked up a steady run, hopping over downed limbs and ignoring the scratching bushes and branches.

  Had Titan come to stop her? Had the United States government decided that tonight would be the night they showed up and dismantled the ACG? She ran faster, the steep incline slowing her down more than she’d expected. The rhythmic thump of quiet rotors soared above her, passing.

  No! She was too close. Caterina pounded the ground faster, running harder than she should with barely healed ribs. She wasn’t losing El Mateperros. Not this time. She’d get to him first if it killed her. Whoever was in the chopper could have the ACG. She just needed El Mateperros. Was that too much to ask?

  Outrunning a chopper was impossible. She lost track of the whirring of blades as they bounced off the mountain walls. Straining to hear… Maybe she didn’t hear it anymore? Maybe paranoia was getting to her, and the noise had been an echo of a farther away aircraft. She listened. Not much. She pressed forward again, attributing the sounds to road noise from the nearby highway. Or it might’ve been a commuter plane, a puddle hopper or a—

  The stealth copter swung back over her head at the same time she hit a clearing, dropping… One. Two. Three. Three men. They melted into the ground, away from her line of sight, and the helo disappeared. Holding her breath, she looked at the house El Mateperros was likely in, waiting for lights to come on or gunfire to erupt. Her heart slammed in her chest, pounding her sore ribs. Nothing. No lights. No gunfire. No—

  A solid knock to the back of her legs took her down. A hand clamped over her mouth.

  “Oh, Kitten, we have to talk about this later.” Rocco’s soft lips brushed her ear. The warm moistness of his breath tickling her neck made her blood rush all over again, and that had nothing to do with him knocking her down and catching her fall.

  She pushed him away and rolled to her stomach in the damp grass. Her strapped weapons dug into her thighs, hips, and chest. Uncertain apprehension made her stomach drop. Rocco wasn’t going to let her take the shot, and she’d resent him for the rest of her life.

  “Sorry about that. Didn’t want you to scream.” His voice rumbled over her.

  “I am not a screamer.”

  He chuckled low. Rocco’s hand slipped off her cheek, down her neck, over the ammo and guns strapped to her, and ended around her waist, pulling her close. “I’ll have to disagree with that.”

  She huffed, not in the mood for his jokes. “Go home, Roc.”

  “What are you doing out here all alone?”

  “I didn’t have a choice.”

  “Wrong, woman. It might have taken me until the last second, but I want this for you. I want you to be happy, and fuck it, if this does that, then that’s what I want to.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. You’d better believe your sweet ass, I’m not going to let you get killed, and you sure as hell aren’t going in alone. Guess that’s love between the two of us. Your fight is my fight, and baby, I want you to pull that trigger.” He pulled in heavy breath. “As much as it kills me not to be the one, it’s your fight.”

  She swallowed the knot in her throat. “But you brought a team.”

  “Jared’ll be back when we need him. Winters and Roman are in position.”

  Her eyes went to the sky. Jared was manning the chopper. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to face him after this. “I don’t know how to operate with a team.”

  “You’re not going without strategic cover.”

  “I’m not going in to take him out alive.”

  “Not a problem, but I’ll be with you. Partners.”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Cat, it’s not a debate, and we don’t have time.”

  He was right, and she had no idea how many ACG were inside. She needed their help. “Okay.”

  Rocco took her hand. She expected a kiss or a hand hold. Something. Instead, Rocco handed her a comm piece. “Mic and earbud. You’ll be live to a
ll of us. Jared too.”

  She slipped them on. “Test.”

  “There’s our girl,” Roman whispered.

  “Crystal clear,” Winters added.

  Her ear piece crackled, then Jared came on. “I’m not happy with you and Sugar, and don’t give me any of that lo siento bullshit.”

  “Ah, don’t be mad.”

  “Whatever,” he grumbled. “Get it done then get on board.”

  She looked toward where she came from. “Your truck’s here.”

  Rocco nodded. “No prob. We’ll drive back. Let’s do this.” They advanced. “Roman.” He pointed to the south side. “And Winters.”

  Thirty seconds later, they’d ducked and run to the back door, pressing against the wall and sidestepping. She came to the back door and rested her hand on the knob, testing. “Locked.” She pulled a lock kit from her pocket, slipped out two toothpick-like pieces, and slid them into the lock. The night was quiet. Cool. She listened for clicks and felt for tumblers, adjusting her tools. Time flew. Pressure made her hot, as if all of Titan watched her pick the lock. Working alone had its benefits: her own schedule and lack of a peanut gallery.

  Click. The last tumbler moved. She tried the knob and it twisted.

  “Good girl.”

  His praise soothed her nerves. “You go high right.”

  He nodded, spoke to Winters and Roman, pulling them in to join them, then nodded. Four of them versus whatever was in the house. A twinge of guilt surfaced. They’d already lost Delta men because of her. Now they were walking into an unknown situation because she’d decided to come here alone.

  “We’re good when you are, Kitten.”

  She pocketed her kit and withdrew a high-powered handgun, twisting a silencer into place. Fingers counted down. Three. Two. One.

  Rocco charged in from behind her. She dropped, scanning, gun outstretched. They cleared the room. Not a peep from the house. Were the occupants asleep? It’d be an early night, but they had a big couple of days coming up. Or had she missed them? Was it an empty house?

  Rocco pointed, and they crossed a kitchen. Leftover food sat on a counter. People had been here recently enough. Great sign. Stairs ahead. She chopped her hand through the air. She would go up; he could cover. Rocco nodded, and Winters and Roman rolled in behind them. The first step creaked. She cringed and looked at Rocco. He was positioned at the base, gun pointed up, watching out for her. Another step. Another. Creak. She swallowed a groan. In her head, the sound was a trombone blaring, but no one came running. At the top of the stairs, she motioned Rocco up. She eyed four closed doors and guessed which one was the master bedroom. Rocco summited and creak—