by Becca Van
One guy got off a shot but as soon as Adam had the door open he dove and rolled. Hunt ducked and didn’t even flinch when he felt the heat and air as the bullet passed by his head and embedded into the wall behind him. Adam took out the first guy and he shot the second in the shoulder. The asshole dropped his gun and screamed in pain. Adam shook his head after checking the pulse of the man he’d shot, letting him know he was dead. Hunt restrained the bastard he’d shot with handcuffs behind his back.
“Help me,” a female yelled from the bedroom.
Thorpe gave him a nod as he hurried through the living room toward the open bedroom. Hunt followed to back him up. He stopped at the door but stayed out of sight. He took a breath and held it and then crouched down into a squat and peeked around the doorframe.
Yvonne Butters was crouched on the bed near the headboard and the other asshole had a gun pointed at her, but what surprised him was that she didn’t look scared.
Hunt figured she must be one of those people who kept their fears hidden and used bravado when in a bad or dangerous situation. He sent a picture of the situation to the rest of their teammates with his mind. Law sent back a picture of his own using his skills to connect with them mind to mind. His teammate went back outside to the bedroom window. It was his and Thorpe’s job to distract the fucker so Law could take him out.
“Drop your weapon. You can’t escape, you’re surrounded.”
The Asian man glanced at him and then Thorpe. Hunt saw his muscles tense and his eyes widen. Just as he was about to raise his gun, the bastard turned from Yvonne toward him. A gun fired, glass shattered, and then the enemy fell to the floor face-first. There was a bullet hole in the back of his head.
Hunt rushed into the room, stepped over the dead man toward the bed and then slowed his pace when Prue’s friend whimpered.
“It’s okay, Yvonne. We’re here to help you. You’re safe now, honey.”
“Oh, God,” Yvonne sobbed and tears began to track down her cheeks. “I thought I was a dead woman.”
“Shh, Yvonne, they can’t hurt you anymore.” Hunt held his hand out toward her, letting her decide on the next move. She’d already been through hell, the last thing he wanted to do was frighten her more. She reached out and took his hand and then launched herself at him.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Yvonne chanted.
“Let’s get you out of here, honey. You don’t need to stay in here with these assholes.”
Thorpe whipped out his cell phone and called the Chadron sheriff. Cal and Fletch went back to get their trucks. Just as Hunt carried Yvonne out of the house and onto the front porch he heard a ticking sound. After handing Yvonne over to Fletch he jumped from the porch and got onto his hands and knees. What he saw there made his heart stutter and then beat hard against his chest walls.
“Everyone out now, bomb,” he yelled.
Cal and Fletch along with Yvonne got into their trucks and backed them up, away from the house. Law came running from around the side of the house and kept right on going until he was out of range.
Thorpe and Adam came running out of the house, just as Hunt turned back to watch for them, carrying the injured, cuffed man between them. Just as they reached the driveway the bomb detonated. The blast was big enough to throw everyone except Cal, Fletch, and Yvonne off their feet, and the only reason they escaped was because they were inside the trucks.
Heat assailed Hunt and fire shot into the air. Thorpe was already on his cell phone calling 9-1-1 for the fire brigade and as Hunt looked over at his fellow teammates to make sure they were all okay, the sheriff arrived on scene. The firemen arrived not long after and began to douse the flames.
By the time everything had been wrapped up with the local law, they were all exhausted. Cal had contacted Whit and let him know what had happened. Apparently, after cursing up a storm, their team leader told them to hurry back to Alliance and to bring Yvonne with them.
Yvonne rode with the Garton brothers in their truck since she seemed to be comfortable with them. Hunt didn’t argue. He was just happy that they had Prue’s friend back safe and sound and that none of the team had been injured.
Two hours later they pulled into the parking lot of the motel. Now he, his brothers, and the Garton men had to report to their team leaders.
Chapter Five
Thorpe had just given his report on what went down at the house in Chadron to his team leaders and the rest of the team. As he waited for the fallout from his exposition, Dalton checked Yvonne over while he listened. He walked over to them to see how she was doing.
“Are you all right, Yvonne?”
“Yes,” she replied and then reached out to touch his arm. “Thank you so much for rescuing me. I was so damn scared. I have no idea what they wanted with me but whatever it was couldn’t be good.”
“No, I doubt it was.” Hunt turned to Dalt and raised an eyebrow with his nonverbal question.
“She’s fine, Hunt. Other than some bruising on her arms there are no other injuries.”
“Good. Prue won’t freak out as much when she finds out that she wasn’t hurt too bad.”
“Prue? Do you mean Prudence Peters?” Yvonne clutched his arm now and he tried not to flinch when she dug her long nails into his skin.
“Yeah, we rescued Prue a couple of months back. She’s alive and well.”
“Oh, thank God.” Yvonne released his arm, covered her face and began to sob. “I thought she was dead.”
“No, she’s safe and sound.”
“Thorpe, Dalt listen up.” Whit drew their attention. “Did you notice if anyone was following you back from Chadron?”
“No, after what just happened I figured it was all a setup to get to us. We made sure that we didn’t have a tail.”
“Good, but just to be on the safe side I want you to go over your trucks and make sure you aren’t carrying any bugs. While you lot do that, we’ll order in some take-out.”
“Sure.” Thorpe, Adam and Hunt headed out with the Garton brothers on their heels. Once they were sure no bugs has been attached to their vehicles they headed back into their team leader’s room and were just in time to hear Hay questioning Yvonne.
“Yvonne, did any of them say any names while they held you captive?”
“Not that I’m aware of. They all spoke some Asian language and since I’m terrible with anything other than English, I don’t have a clue.”
“Where did they take you from?” Whit asked.
“I went to the café that Prue and I used to frequent.” She paused to take a ragged breath. “I missed her so damn much and didn’t think I would ever see her again. Anyway, after having a coffee I was walking back toward my car which was in the parking lot out back. I was nearly at the end of the alley when I was jumped from behind.” Yvonne began crying again. “I was so scared, I froze. By the time I came out of my fear-induced stupor it was too late. They had me in the back of a van and tied my arms and legs with rope.”
“It’s okay.” Hunt patted Yvonne on the shoulder awkwardly, obviously trying to offer her comfort.
“Did any of them try to hurt you?” Whit asked from across the room. Thorpe turned to see all the Elite Dragoons team members watching Yvonne with concern. None of them, him included, liked how women were being taken from the streets of their home towns to be eventually sold off as sex slaves.
“No. Other than the bruises on my arms and being restrained none of them touched me. What did they want? Why did they kidnap me?”
Dalt explained to Yvonne about the Japanese Underworld criminals and the sex slave ring, and Thorpe cursed under his breath when she began crying even harder. “Is Prue all right? My God, what she must have been through. I can’t believe she was kidnapped by these assholes too.”
After convincing her that Prue was fine and that she would see her friend again later tomorrow evening, the take-out food arrived and was handed out. When they’d all finished their meal they decided to head back to their own rooms.
Yvonne would sleep in with Thorpe, Adam and Hunt so they could keep an eye on her and also so they could tell Prue that they had looked after her friend. Since there were only three beds in the room, Thorpe opted to sleep on the floor. It didn’t matter to him that he wouldn’t have a bed for one night. They’d served in the military and learned to sleep anywhere, in any condition and in any place.
Yvonne was in the bathroom while he set up his bed on the floor. He had offered her a T-shirt and a clean pair of boxers to sleep in but she had refused. He wondered what drove her. Any other woman would have jumped at the chance for clean clothes after showering.
Prue had been found naked and tied up in that house and she had been beaten so badly it had taken weeks for the bruises to fade and finally disappear. Yvonne had been left in her own clothes and when Hunt had found her she wasn’t tied up, but maybe it was because one of the perps had been in the room with her. Maybe that asshole had held a gun on her the whole time. No wonder she had tried to make herself as small a target as possible against the headboard.
Yvonne came out of the bathroom and Thorpe did a double take when he saw that she only had a towel wrapped around her. She looked away shyly when she saw him watching her and then climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. He turned his back on her and got into his makeshift bed of a blanket on the carpeted floor and pulled the other one over him. His brothers were already in their beds and from the sound of it were slipping into slumber.
Thorpe couldn’t turn off his mind. He and the rest of the team had spent most of the day with their shields down which was exhausting in itself but what really bugged him was that he couldn’t get a reading off of Yvonne. He’d had no problems feeling the malicious intent rolling off those other assholes, but when he tried to feel what Yvonne was feeling he got absolutely nothing. Of course he and the rest of the team knew there were people out there who had the natural ability to block and although they could usually get something from most people, some men and women were just naturally inclined to blocking their thoughts and feelings from others.
Something about Yvonne Butters was bugging him but for the life of him he couldn’t work it out. Putting it down to her natural block he turned over with a sigh. He tried to quiet his busy mind. Tomorrow was going to be a long day but he couldn’t wait to get back to Prue.
Hopefully one day soon they would break this sex slave ring wide open and have more time to spend with their woman.
* * * *
Prue had just finished helping May, Sara, and Nicole clean up the kitchen after dinner when she heard the trucks on the gravel drive. She threw the dishtowel onto the counter and followed the other women out of the main house to the verandah. Sure enough, four trucks pulled into the big carport off the end of the house. She wished she could see into the vehicles but they all had darkly tinted windows. Sara and Nicole hurried down the steps to meet their men and as much as she wanted to do the same she wasn’t sure if the Lathan brothers would appreciate the same sort of welcome.
The men came from around the side of the house. Prue shifted from foot to foot with impatience. She wanted to see Thorpe, Hunt, and Adam. She’d missed them so damn much and they’d only been gone for two days. Prue knew then that no matter what happened between them she would always care for them. Whatever came, they would always be entrenched in her heart. The breath in her throat hitched when Thorpe, then Hunt and Adam walked around the corner. She didn’t even remember making a conscious decision to go to them but that was what she found herself doing. When she was only a few feet from Thorpe she stopped and looked up into his handsome face.
His eyes were hungry as they roamed over her from head to toe and then he opened his arms wide. She was just about to close the distance between them and jump into his arms when a familiar voice caught her attention.
There standing behind Adam was her best friend Yvonne Butters. Yvonne screeched when she saw Prue and began to cry. Prue rushed passed her men and hugged her friend. They were both crying now and then both began talking at the same time.
“Yvonne, I can’t believe it. Are you all right?”
“Prue, I thought you were dead. God I have missed you so damn much.”
Prue tightened her hold on her friend and finally they stepped back. “What happened? Why are you here?”
“I was kidnapped by those fucking assholes.”
“Oh God,” Prue covered her mouth with horror and listened as Yvonne went on to explain what had happened. By the time she had finished explaining she felt sick to her stomach.
“Come on inside, ladies.” Thorpe placed an arm around Prue’s waist. “You can catch up in the dining room while we file our report to Tony.”
Prue let Thorpe guide them inside and after making sure they were comfortable with the other women in the living room, he headed toward the conference room. Adam and Hunt must already be in there with the other men since Thorpe had been the only male left in the room. After introducing Yvonne to the other women and helping to make coffee, Prue sat next to her friend and bombarded her with questions.
“Did they hurt you, Yvonne?”
“Other than a bit of bruising on my forearms, no. I think those men arrived just in time. One of those bastards stayed in the room with me and held a gun on me the whole time.” Yvonne began to cry and Prue hugged her trying to comfort her. “I have never been so scared in my life. I thought they were going to kill me.”
Yvonne was finally able to get her emotions under control and then began asking Prue questions. She told her how the men had found and rescued her.
“They are all very handsome.” Yvonne glanced toward the hallway. “If I didn’t love my Billy so much I may have had to try and snag one of them.”
Jealousy surged through Prue but she tried to hide it with a smile. Normally she loved spending time with Yvonne but she didn’t want her friend to begin flirting with her men. Prue had met Yvonne Butters two years ago and even though they were complete opposites they had become fast friends.
Prue had been working in one of Alliance’s major real estate offices when Yvonne had been looking for a place to lease. After finding her and Billy a house which suited their needs, Yvonne had asked her out for coffee. She’d finally agreed when Yvonne persisted and from then on had been friends. They had just sort of clicked. So why did she have a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach? She put it down to her unreasonable jealousy and pushed her envy aside.
* * * *
Adam sat and listened as each team member told from their perspective what had happened in the town of Chadron. They tried not to think how their budding relationship would be affected now the Prue’s friend Yvonne was here. He had a feeling that their woman was going to insist that Yvonne stay with them, too. As much as he wanted to make Prue happy, he had a feeling having Yvonne in the house was going to curtail how much time they got to spend with Prue.
Something was niggling in his mind and gut about Yvonne, but he couldn’t work out what. Maybe it was because he couldn’t get a read of her emotions but he didn’t think that was it. It just didn’t add up. Why would the Japanese Underworld assholes kidnap her when she wasn’t even a true blonde and didn’t have blue eyes? The only scenario he could come up with was that they had snatched her because they had mistaken her identity. It could have been that they hadn’t seen her face since she was grabbed from behind and of course they couldn’t let her go when they had already taken her. She would have been able to file a report with the cops.
During the drive home Whit had been contacted by the Chadron sheriff and told him that the asshole they’d managed to take alive wasn’t talking. It was damn frustrating to him and the other team members knowing that they had managed to arrest two men from the sex slave ring but not able to get any information out of them. The feds hadn’t stopped working on the first guy they’d captured and had no doubt they would work over the other fucker too. Now that the CIA was getting involved, hopefully they would be able to make those
two bastards break.
Adam couldn’t figure out why the Japanese government and authorities weren’t able to give them a list of names of the criminals involved. Surely someone had to know what was going on and who were the worse lawbreakers? He hated that the team still had no idea who the ringleaders of the sex slave ring were. And he hated that more innocent blonde-haired, blue-eyed women would probably be targeted before this mission was wrapped up. Until they had something to go on they were searching blind, looking for a needle in a haystack. He felt so goddamn useless and he hated feeling like he was adrift at sea. If they didn’t find out who the masterminds of this ring were soon, they could be searching for these fuckers for years.
Now that he and his brothers had found Prue, he wanted to be able to spend more time with her. There was still so much he, they, didn’t know about her. His first priority was to keep her safe but he was going to make sure he learned everything there was to know about her. He knew he was already in love with her. Adam had never felt the way he did about her for any other woman. Even though he had so much to learn, he felt like he’d known her for years.
He couldn’t wait until he had her in his arms and bed, and hoped it wouldn’t be long before he found his way into her heart. Adam wondered if the Garton brothers would be willing to offer one of their guest bedrooms to Yvonne and then he quickly vetoed that idea. Prue would probably have his balls if he even suggested it.
Yvonne had to sleep sometime. Even if Adam had to stay up half the night so he could sneak into Prue’s room for weeks on end, he would. Prue was important to him and his brothers. Now all they had to do was convince her they wanted a lifetime commitment.
* * * *
The Infiltrator watched the women talking in the kitchen, through the window. Making sure to stay in the shadows so not to be seen, the Infiltrator sneered. It had been a lot easier to get onto their base than they had thought.
