Garrett’s hands clenched into fists and his heart rate accelerated.
Through the leaves, he saw Milo’s arm swing up and hold something against Parker’s neck until her knees give out.
Garrett’s fist connected with the wall next to him, his hand easily breaking through the drywall. Brady ran into the office just as Garrett swept everything within reach off of the table, sending it crashing to the floor.
“McCarthy! Calm down man,” Brady shouted as he ran into the office after hearing the commotion. His words were ignored as Garrett lashed out at the wall on the other side of the table, leaving another fist-sized hole in that one as well.
Brady hurried up behind him and wrapped his arms around Garrett, holding his back against his chest until Garrett stopped fighting him.
“It’s okay, I found her. I found Parker,” Brady told him.
Brady felt the anger drain from Garrett as he unclenched his fists and his shoulders relaxed, and he finally felt confident that he could let him go. As soon as he let him go, Garrett turned to face him.
“What the hell are we waiting for then? Let’s go get her,” Garrett said as he started backing towards the door.
“It’s not that simple,” Brady told him.
“What the fuck do you mean it’s not that simple? You found her. We’re going to get her. Right now.”
Brady ran after Garrett as he stalked out of the destroyed office and past the handful of resort employees who stood just outside with their jaws dropped.
“Garrett, we have no team left. No back-up. We’d be going into this alone. You need to stop and think about this.”
Garrett whirled around to face him, the anger back and flashing in his eyes.
“There is nothing to think about. The woman I love needs my help. I’ve already failed her too many times to count. I’m going, with or without you,” Garrett threatened. “Now, where is she?”
Brady sighed, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head in frustration. He knew Garrett didn’t make idle threats. He really would do this alone if he had no other option. Knowing he couldn’t keep it from him forever, and that he’d follow Garrett anywhere and help him with anything, Brady shared the news he’d uncovered moments ago.
“She’s in the palace, Garrett.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“The one thing I’ll take from him is his poor, sad, beating heart.”
The words Milo had spoken close to Parker’s ear echoed over and over in her head long after he had left the room and made one of the guards stay behind to keep an eye on her. They were smarter this time. She was cuffed with her arms behind the wooden support beam, and her legs were tied together at the knees.
She had no doubt that what he said was true. If Garrett got anywhere near this place, Milo would kill him. For the first time since he walked away from her earlier, Parker hoped Garrett was still angry. She hoped he still doubted her and had given up on her. As much as it would kill everything inside of her, at least she knew it would keep him away from there and keep him safe. She knew her chances of getting out of the room alive were down to nothing at this point. Parker knew she could handle dying as long as Garrett would be okay. A world without Garrett in it should never exist.
She had no idea what time it was since there were no windows in the room. She wondered if Garrett realized she was gone by now. She wondered if he had assumed she left with Milo essentially chose him instead of Garrett. Her heart physically ached at the thought even though she knew it would be for the best if it was true.
The shuffling of feet off to her left reminded her that she wasn’t alone. She turned her head to see the guard Milo left behind leering at her. Parker quickly looked away, not wanting to give him any ideas, and shifted her shoulders in an effort to ease the ache from her arms. Even though it hurt less now that she didn’t have her arms suspended above her, it still wasn’t any picnic being tied up the way she was. The rough edges of the wood cut into her arms every time she moved, and painful cramps started to vibrate through her shoulders and biceps from being stuck in the same awkward position. Parker winced in pain as she wiggled and flexed her fingers behind her in an effort to get some circulation into them.
“If you knew your place, quierda, you wouldn’t be in this position right now.”
Parker snorted in amusement and cast an annoyed glance at the guard.
“And where would my place be, exactly? In one of the whore houses your piece of shit boss sends little girls to be sold as slaves? Or maybe it’s right here, being a brainless lapdog like you, bending over so Fernandez can fuck me in the ass.”
The man’s hand flew out and smacked her across the mouth, reopening the split lip from Milo.
“You don’t speak of El Presidente that way!” the guard yelled. “He is a man to be honored and respected.”
Parker laughed out loud, right in his face this time. She knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn’t help herself. All of these people who thought Fernandez was a God disgusted her.
In true thug fashion, the guard tucked his gun into the waistband of his pants and then brought both of his hands to Parker’s breasts, palming them roughly.
“You need to be taught a lesson. One that will make you think twice about disrespecting the man who has brought money and power to this small country,” he said quietly, his hot breath hitting Parker square in the face and making her stomach roll with the smell of stale cigarettes and rotting teeth. Her hands clenched into fists behind the pole and she bit her lip, reminding herself to be patient. Contrary to what the man might think, she wasn’t some helpless female.
His dirty hands slid up to the neck of her t-shirt and with the material clutched in his fists, he ripped the cotton right down the middle. His eyes swept down the front of her, paying extra attention to her white, lace covered breasts that were now on full display.
“El hijo pródigo is a lucky man to have tasted your flesh. I think I will enjoy the sounds of your screams.”
Parker closed her eyes and counted to ten while the guard unzipped his pants with one hand and unbuttoned her jeans with the other. When she felt sweaty fingers sliding into the waistband of her underwear, she mumbled something under her breath.
“Did you say something, quierda?” he asked, halting the downward movement of his hand into her pants.
Parker opened her eyes and stared right at him, nodding her head in answer. He angled his head towards her, right where she wanted him. With a split second to brace herself, Parker thrust her head forward, slamming her forehead into the bridge of his nose as hard as she could. She saw stars on impact and heard the crunch of cartilage. The spray of blood from his broken nose splattered across the front of her as he collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap.
“Here’s a lesson for you, asshole. Don’t fuck with me,” Parker muttered into the quiet room.
<> ~ <>
“Don’t be a dumbass, McCarthy. You can’t do this by yourself,” Brady argued as they walked into the room Garrett and Parker shared.
“We don’t have any other options. I am not waiting another minute to get her the hell out of there,” Garrett replied as he stalked over to the nightstand, pulling out his Beretta Jetfire backup weapon and his Navy SEAL issued MK3 MOD knife. He lifted his foot and rested it on the edge of the bed, placing the gun safely into his leg holster and tucking the knife into his boot.
“This is suicide, McCarthy, plain and simple. Fernandez gets one look at you, he’s going to shoot first and ask questions later,” Brady stated.
Garrett smoothed his pant leg down over the weapons, put his foot back on the floor, and turned to face Brady.
“That’s why I need you to stay here, get me some back-up, and make sure that doesn’t happen. The longer I wait to get over there and get to her…” Garrett stopped, placing his hand over his mouth to keep from doing something stupid like breaking down.
In the middle of their argument, they hadn’t noticed the door to
the bathroom opening or Margarita coming out of it.
“I want to help,” she stated calmly.
Both men turned to stare at her.
“Out of the question,” Brady replied as Garrett dismissed her and turned back to face him.
“Just figure out a way to get me into the―”
“STOP!” Margarita yelled, throwing her hands in the air and interrupting Garrett. “This is my fault. I should have done something before now. I shouldn’t have been such a coward. I need this chance to make things right. Please, let me fix this.”
Brady glanced over at Garrett to see what his decision would be, and Garrett stared in contemplation at Margarita.
“Not that I’m agreeing to this, but what exactly do you propose?” Garrett asked.
Margarita took a deep breath and walked closer to the two men.
“Emilio is expecting me back any moment. The only vehicle that will be permitted into the palace is mine, especially now that they have your Parker. They won’t take any chances,” she told Garrett, before turning to face Brady. “I’m assuming you have access to some kind of recording device, correct?”
Brady nodded in response before muttering a curse and rushing over to Garrett’s laptop that sat open on the table.
“What’s wrong?” Garrett asked as Brady continued cursing under his breath, tapping rapidly on the keys.
“Give me a second,” Brady replied distractedly as he typed in passwords, opened several different programs, and entered the appropriate parameters.
“Son of a bitch,” Brady finally said in astonishment.
Garrett came up behind him and looked over his shoulder.
“Is that the bug Parker was wearing earlier when we were waiting for our mystery guest to arrive?” Garrett asked in shock. He ripped his off at the hospital and threw it in the trash, assuming Parker had done the same thing.
As he stood there staring at the screen, he almost couldn’t believe his eyes. A small, black box stood out in the center of the page, the audio graph filling the box with white lines and jagged strokes to indicate speech patterns. The word “recording” blinked in the upper right-hand corner, right next to the word “Parker”.
Garrett lunged for the button on the keyboard that would turn on the sound. Parker’s voice was right there, within his reach. There was nothing stopping him from being able to hear her.
Except for Brady.
His hand shot out and latched onto Garrett’s before he could press the speaker button.
“What the fuck, Marshall? Let go!” Garrett shouted as he struggled against Brady’s grip.
“I think you need to let me listen to this first and see what’s going on,” Brady told him calmly as he held onto Garrett’s wrist.
‘Fuck you!” Garrett yelled irrationally, yanking his arm out of Brady’s clutch. “She’s right there! Parker is there on the other end of that God damn computer. Let me hear her!”
Brady sighed and shook his head.
“And what if it’s not her? What if that thing is just picking up dead air or it got ripped off of her at some point and thrown out the window and it’s recording traffic driving by? Or what if it is her and you hear things that you don’t want to? What are you going to do then, Garrett? Fly over to the palace alone in a rage and get yourself killed? Be smart about this.”
Garrett got into Brady’s face, keeping his hands down at his sides so he wouldn’t punch him. Brady was his friend, his teammate, and one of the few people in the world he would trust his life with. But right then, he was crossing the line.
“What do you think is going to happen if you listen to that recording first and find out one of those things is true? You still have to tell me. I still have to know. Do you think the fact that you breaking the news to me is going to make it better? Make it easier? Do you think that if I don’t hear her voice, hear what she’s going through, that I’m not going to imagine something a thousand times worse happening to her in my head? I’m already in a rage, Brady. I already want to kill every fucking piece of shit that has come anywhere near her. Regardless of whether or not I hear it for myself, or you tell me, my life means nothing if she’s gone. So get the fuck out of my way.”
The two men stood toe-to-toe, staring each other down for several seconds. Brady knew there was nothing he could do to shield Garrett from whatever he would hear. The man was stubborn as a mule and would do whatever he wanted. Brady stepped aside, tapping the “play” button as he went.
There were no sounds at first. Garrett held his breath and prayed for some sign that Parker was okay. After a few seconds he had to strain his ears, but he could finally hear something - rustling, something that sounded like cloth being ripped and heavy breathing. Soon after, voices followed, echoing through the computer’s speakers.
“El hijo pródigo is a lucky man to have tasted your flesh. I think I will enjoy the sounds of your screams.”
Garrett’s heart stopped at the sound of a man’s voice so close to the microphone, which meant he was close to Parker. There were some more sounds of shuffling and then he finally heard what he’d been waiting for. It was mumbled and completely unintelligible, but he'd know Parker’s voice anywhere.
“Did you say something, quierda?”
Nothing could be heard but the sound of what he assumed was Parker, taking slow, deep breaths. Then suddenly, without warning, a loud cracking sound burst through the speakers, followed immediately but a heavy thump.
“Here’s a lesson for you, asshole. Don’t fuck with me.”
Garrett let out the breath he’d been holding with a small chuckle. “That’s my girl.”
He turned around to face Margarita.
“Okay, what’s the plan?”
<> ~ <>
Parker’s legs had given out not long after the guard had his nose shoved up into his brain courtesy of her CIA training. She slid down the wooden beam, ignoring the splinters that bit into her arms as she moved and sunk to the floor. She lost track of time as she faded in and out of sleep, jerking awake each time her head dropped down and her chin bumped into her chest. The chaos of the last twenty-four hours, the fear, the adrenalin, the shock…it all came crashing down around her, and she had to fight to stay alert. It was a losing battle she finally gave up on, letting sleep consume her until the pounding of footsteps on the stairs woke her some time later.
Parker quickly struggled to get back on her feet, feeling too vulnerable sitting on the floor where she’d have to look up at everyone who entered the room. Her exhaustion, the numbness in her arms from being cuffed together behind the beam, and the awkward way her legs were tied together at the knees made it impossible for her to get any kind of leverage to stand. She huffed angrily in irritation and let her head thump back against the wood as the door to the basement opened.
Fernandez and Milo walked into the room followed closely behind by two guards and what looked like another person sandwiched between all of them. From Parker’s position, she could only see an extra set of legs.
The group stopped short when they got into the room and took in the scene before them.
“Jesus Christ!” Milo yelled as he stared down in disgust at the passed out guard with dried blood caked all over his face and shirt.
Fernandez simply shook his head in annoyance, motioning with his hands for one of the guards to remove the offending sight from the floor. When the man stepped out from behind Milo, Parker was finally able to catch a glimpse of who was behind them.
<> ~ <>
Garrett didn’t bother to struggle against the man who held his arms securely behind his back. Having a small army of guards with automatic weapons aimed at his head made him think twice about doing anything stupid.
He knew the plan of smuggling himself into the palace by way of Margarita’s trunk wasn’t foolproof. He had no elaborate strategy in mind about staying hidden until Brady was able to send help and jumping out at the last minute and saving the day. Garrett simply wanted to get into th
e palace without any fuss; he wanted to get one step closer to Parker.
Mission accomplished.
As soon as Margarita had driven through the palace gates, the car was searched, the trunk was popped, and Garrett was dragged out by his shirt, punched in the face a few times for good measure, relieved of his gun that he’d hidden in his ankle holster, and then hauled into one of the palace sitting rooms where he now stood, awaiting his fate. Margarita played her part well, the shock at having an extra passenger in her car clearly evident as she ranted and raved to the guards about her lack of personal safety.
Fernandez and the man he used to call a best friend stood from their respective chairs when he was brought before them. Every guard in the place raised their weapons as soon as they saw the whites of his eyes.
“Carlos, have my wife meet us downstairs in the holding room,” Fernandez said to one of the gun-toting men in the corner before he finally turned to face Garrett.
“Lieutenant McCarthy, so glad you could join us,” Fernandez said with a smile.
“Oh, it’s entirely my pleasure,” Garrett replied with sarcastic cheerfulness. “I didn’t want to miss out on a chance to congratulate you on your bouncing baby boy.”
Garrett’s eyes trailed over to Milo who stood tall with an arrogant smile on his face next to his father.
“I’m not sure on the protocol over here, though, is it customary to celebrate bastards?”
Garrett’s comment hit the mark just like he knew it would. The smile was wiped from Milo’s face, and he stalked right up to Garrett and threw a punch at his jaw.
His head flew to the side with the force of the blow. Garrett let out a chuckle and turned his head back to face Milo, licking the blood off of the cut that now adorned his bottom lip.
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