I.N.E.T 1

by Brenda Cothern

  Knight didn’t need the agent to say any more. If Fernandez got in their way, he was a dead man.

  “Fasten your seatbelts,” Sam’s voice came over the speaker. “We are approaching the airfield.” The three men did as they were told.

  The plane touched down smoothly and when it finally stopped, they all exited to find a black SUV waiting for them.

  “I’ll be here ready to go when you get back with Slade,” Sam informed them.

  “If you’re called back to HQ, don’t wait for us, Sam.” Lita gave Sam a serious look. “Your job isn’t worth helping us out.”

  “Let me worry about what my job is worth, Eddie.” Sam grinned. “Just get Slade back.”

  Lita didn’t reply before all three men walked to the SUV and climbed inside.

  When Slade resurfaced from the drugs again, he was alone in the room. He didn’t think he had been trapped in the drug haze for as long as he was from the previous shots that had held him captive. He glanced at his arm and grimaced at the red line of puncture marks.

  Slade tried to get his eyes to focus enough to count the punctures along the track, but all he could see was the red line. The red line that was the evidence he had been shot up several times with whatever the hell concoction Fernandez mixed in the syringe.

  A noise outside the bedroom door made Slade drop his arm back onto the bed and strain to hear. He thought he heard a raised voice, a voice that sounded like Knight, but before he could even consider if what he thought he heard was real or just another hallucination, exhaustion claimed him again.

  Knight, Hunt, and Lita were led into the same study where Lita had last seen Slade. Unlike the previous time Lita had entered the house, they were ordered to hand over their weapons before they crossed the threshold.

  However, Fernandez’s idiots, Zeb being one of them, didn’t have the detection wand on them when they were searched. So they handed over the weapons from the shoulder holsters and Knight bitched just enough about having his only fucking weapon taken away that Fernandez’s men didn’t do a pat down.

  “Carl, watch them while I get the wand,” one of Fernandez’s men ordered Zep who had his gun aimed at them.

  “Make it quick, Marco,” Zep growled back. Once Fernandez’s man left the room, Zep lowered his weapon and spoke quickly and quietly.

  “Fernandez has five others here. Slade is on the third floor, the second bedroom on the right. Fernandez has been keeping him drugged up on coke and some kind of new compound he’s been working on that is like LSD and ecstasy combined. I was able to fake most of his last dose, but I don’t know how much good it did. He didn’t seem real with it and that was about an hour ago. What’s the plan?”

  “We’re getting Slade out,” Knight growled.

  “You can tell me who you are later, but I need more than that to go on, asshole.” Zep frowned at Knight and Knight ignored him.

  “Where is everyone located?” Lita asked.

  “Fernandez has been keeping at least two of us with him at all times. He spends most of his time in the home theater that also serves as an office.”

  “So, there are only two who are currently on guard?” Hunt asked.

  “Two of us roam the house and grounds while the third is posted at Slade’s door,” Zep informed them hurriedly.

  “Does Fernandez think Slade is in any shape to go anywhere while he’s doped up?” Lita inquired.

  “He’s taking precautions because of the hallucinogenic effect of this new mix.”

  “Shit,” Knight cursed at the same time a loud bang sounded on the door next to Zep. All four men shared the same look. It was a look that screamed their cover was blown.

  “That better be someone bringing my thieving ass brother to me!” Knight yelled. “Because I want to see him right fucking now so I can kill his fucking ass!” The door opened and Fernandez’s man stepped in, but Knight didn’t stop his rant. “This is the last fucking time that piece of shit cuts me out of a deal!”

  “Settle down,” Fernandez’s goon ordered. “Once we verify you are unarmed and not wire tapped,” he waved the metal detection device in front of them, “you can meet with Mr. Fernandez to discuss Mr. Ruiz.”

  “Make sure I’m unarmed?” Knight asked incredulously and waved his arms out wide. “I am fucking unarmed because you took my fucking gun you asshole!”

  The goon stepped closer and made a calming gesture with his hands. “It is just a precaution and for the safety of Mr. Fernan…”

  The man never finished his sentence because Zep stepped behind him, pointed his Glock at the center of his back, and pulled the trigger. Simultaneously, the sound of the shot echoed through the room startling Knight, Lita, and Hunt.

  “I’ve wanted to do that since I met this asshole,” Zep replied casually at the same time Fernandez’s voice yelled, “What the hell is all this yelling?”

  All three INET agents and Knight looked through the open door before Fernandez’s man even hit the floor. Fernandez’s angry expression turned to one of shock seconds before he reacted. The kingpin trafficker reached behind his back to grab his weapon at the same time he turned and fled.

  “Shit,” someone said, Knight didn’t know who, as they all rushed toward the now open study door.

  None of them were stupid enough to blindly run into the hallway to chase Fernandez without making sure the asshole wasn’t going to put a bullet in them.

  “Knight, take out the guard at Slade’s room and get Slade to the car,” Lita ordered. “We’ll take care of Fernandez and his other two men.”

  Knight didn’t argue. He gripped his .9 mil and from his crouch, looked around the door into the hall. There was no sign of Fernandez or his men so he bolted toward the front door where he saw the stairs that led to the upper levels of the home.

  As knight ascended the stairs, as quickly and quietly as he could, he gave no thought to the INET agents below who were going after Fernandez. His thoughts were solely on Slade and getting his new partner the hell out of here.

  Shots echoed from below as Knight squatted at the top of the stairs and peeked around the corner in the direction Zep said he would find the room where Slade was being held. There was a guard standing outside a bedroom door and looking tense from hearing gunfire below. More shots sounded from the first floor when Knight stood and stepped into the hall.

  “INET! Drop your weapon and get on your knees,” Knight ordered, his voice only loud enough to ensure that he was heard by Fernandez’s man.

  The guard held his gun in his hand and met Knight’s gaze. Knight tried to read the man’s body language to determine which way this confrontation was about to go down.

  “Do it or I’ll shoot your fucking ass,” Knight said calmly enough that he was surprised the guy wasn’t following the order from fear alone.

  That lack of reaction told Knight everything he needed to know about the man. So when the goon moved to raise his gun and fire, Knight didn’t hesitate to put two rounds dead center in his chest. The thought of the guy hitting the floor barely registered in Knight’s mind before he was opening the bedroom door.

  The smell of vomit and sweat almost stopped Knight in his tracks, but it didn’t. It was the sight of Slade sprawled out on the bed that kept him moving into the room. Slade’s designer clothes were a rumpled mess. One pant leg was pushed almost to his knee and he was missing a sock. He wasn’t wearing a shirt but for once Knight wasn’t distracted by Slade’s toned chest.

  It was Slade’s arm, which hovered almost stiffly off the side of the bed that drew Knight’s eye. Even from the distance of the doorway, Knight could see the angry red track marks from where Fernandez’s goons had shot up his partner repeatedly.

  Knight cautiously approached the bed and Slade slowly because there was no telling what Slade’s reaction would be if the man was hallucinating.

  “Slade,” Knight called out quietly while he approached and watched as Slade opened his eyes.

  The beautiful blue eyes that Kn
ight had become so familiar with in such a short time looked glazed and unfocused. So glazed and unfocused that Knight stopped a few feet away from the side of the bed and stared down at Slade.

  “Slade,” Knight repeated again and watched his partner turn his head toward him.

  Slade heard yelling and shots. He thought both were his imagination. He thought the same the first time he heard Knight’s voice call his name. The second time the voice he longed to hear called out to him, he turned his head. There stood the man who did funny things to his heart and made his body ache with desire.

  “Knight?” Slade groaned and grabbed his crotch in an attempt to ease the pain of his sudden erection. “Oh fuck!” Slade pressed the bulge between his legs more roughly.

  “We’re getting out of here, Slade.” Knight relaxed slightly when Slade recognized him. If Zep hadn’t mentioned ecstasy being a component in what they were drugging Slade with, Knight would be seriously alarmed over his partner’s spontaneous erection.

  “God, this fucking hurts!” Slade practically shouted while he pushed his palm against his throbbing prick.

  Knight approached Slade and sat on the bed next to him. He brushed sweaty hair back off Slade’s brow and was caught off guard when Slade grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. Knight’s balance was fucked by Slade’s yank on his arm and he dropped his gun on Slade’s chest to free his hand in order to catch himself. His palm slammed into the mattress and Knight held himself off Slade while he tried to free his other hand from Slade’s grasp.

  “We’ve got to go, Slade,” Knight said sternly in hopes to break through the sexual haze caused by the ecstasy.

  “Kiss me, Knight,” Slade begged and grabbed the back of Knight’s neck with his free hand in an attempt to pull his partner’s lips closer. “I need you…my heart needs you…”

  Slade’s attempt failed. It failed so epically that Knight didn’t move at all. In the end, Knight’s lack of movement caused Slade to pull himself up from the bed in order to crash his lips into Knight’s.

  The press of Slade’s lips to his felt like heaven to Knight, even though he smelled and vaguely tasted of vomit, but he knew that now was not the time. Now was not the time to think about his new partner’s words either, even though they were ringing in Knight’s ears. Now was actually the worst fucking time, but his heart didn’t agree. His cock didn’t agree either. Knight got hard. He couldn’t help his body’s reaction to Slade, but he forced himself to pull Slade away from his mouth by brutally fisting his hair.

  “We have to go,” Knight repeated, and stared into Slade’s drugged, glossy, heat filled gaze. “Now.”

  “Okay,” Slade replied. He had to look down his nose to see Knight because his partner had his neck craned back so far. “Okay,” Slade repeated.

  Twenty-Four

  Bang!

  The shot rang out loud in the room. Low ringing in Knight’s ears registered before the flair of pain in his shoulder. The impact from the bullet pushed him against Slade, but it didn’t stop him from frantically trying to locate his gun.

  “You and your brother are fucking dead,” Fernandez’s voice boomed around the room. “Whether you fuckers set me up or not, you’re both dead.”

  Knight could hear Fernandez approaching from behind while he still tried to locate his gun that he had dropped on Slade’s chest. Slade hadn’t fallen back onto the bed when Knight was shot and Knight was sure that his partner was the only reason he was still semi-upright.

  Being shot hurt like hell and he tried to focus through the initial fiery blast of pain to comprehend what Fernandez was still ranting about. He wasn’t able to, but whatever Fernandez was saying didn’t matter because Knight didn’t know a lick of Spanish.

  The sound of the shot and Knight’s fall against him from the impact of the bullet burned away the last dredges of high that Slade felt quicker than the sun would burn the fog from the ground. Slade felt Knight patting him and knew that his partner was trying to locate his gun. He wouldn’t find it because Slade already held the weapon in his hand.

  Fernandez continued to rant in Spanish about the betrayal and all Knight could think was, if he’s talking, he isn’t shooting.

  Carefully, Slade pressed Knight against him and in the process maneuvered his hand that held the gun closer to Knight’s waist.

  “You are part of this set up weren’t you?” Fernandez shouted in Spanish at Slade and tried to pull Knight away.

  That was Fernandez’s mistake. Slade had been holding Knight against him tight enough that when Fernandez pulled and Slade let go, Fernandez was caught off balance. Fernandez stumbled and Slade pushed Knight to the side before he fired three rounds. All three hit Fernandez square in the chest.

  Knight shouted from the combination of sudden movement that caused his bullet wound to send shooting pain through his arm and from the gunshots that fired so close to his fucking ear it was now ringing. His balance was fucked and he fell off the bed to hit the floor with a hard thump.

  “Knight?” Slade called out to his partner and scrambled to the floor when the only response he got was a groan.

  “Knight?”

  “Fuck, Slade,” Knight growled and leaned his uninjured shoulder against the bed. “A little warning next time, huh?”

  “Sure, next time I’ll give you a safe word so you can stop me when I’m about to save our asses.” Slade smirked, but his smirk fell when he saw lust flair in Knight’s gaze. “Humm,” Slade couldn’t help the sound that escaped his throat. “Guess we’ve got something to talk about later.”

  Knight snorted. “Yeah sure, when my shoulder isn’t on fire and blood isn’t coating my fucking arm like suntan lotion.”

  “You said you were getting me outta here,” Slade reminded as he carefully stood. He had to brace himself against the side of the bed and fight off a wave of dizziness.

  “I did.” Knight pushed himself off the floor. “Lita, Hunter, and Zep were taking out Fernandez’s men and were supposed to grab Fernandez so we could get to the car.”

  “There’s a car?” Slade asked sarcastically and watched a spark of anger flair in his partner’s eyes.

  Slade’s semi-hard cock came back to life painfully. He groaned and palmed his dick without any thought. Slade was pretty sure his body’s quick arousal reaction was due to the drugs that still lingered in his system, but he wouldn’t bet his life on that being the sole reason for his cock now being painfully hard. Knight’s anger, his partner’s temper, was hot and usually made him hard as a rock so Slade knew it wasn’t just a response due to the drugs that were forced upon him.

  “Let’s go,” Slade held out a hand to Knight.

  After Slade pulled him closer, Knight accepted Slade’s arm around his waist even though he didn’t need help walking. In return he wrapped his arm around Slade and was glad he did when Slade’s balance seemed to waver as they descended the stairs.

  “We were just coming to find you,” Hunt said from the hallway just as Slade and Knight stepped down off the last stair.

  “And here we are,” Slade wise cracked in a tone that indicated he was still high as a kite regardless of how sober he had just seemed.

  “Shit,” Hunt muttered when he glanced at Knight.

  “You’re shot,” Lita commented casually. “Now why’d you go and do something like that? You were going to be in enough shit if Fish found out you were part of this and now there is no way he won’t know you were here with us.”

  Knight shrugged because he didn’t give a flying shit at the moment. The movement was instinctive and he hissed in a breath.

  “Shouldn’t do that with a bullet hole in your shoulder,” Zep commented dryly.

  “Fuck you,” Knight grumbled. All four agents chuckled as they walked out the door and climbed into the SUV.

  Knight’s shoulder had finally stopped bleeding by the time they boarded the plane. Sam said nothing at seeing Knight’s bloody arm and Knight wondered if it was because the pilot was used to seeing ag
ents covered in blood board his plane.

  They had just hit the altitude for Sam to turn off the seatbelt sign when Lita plopped down across from Knight and Slade. The huge Thor-looking agent held a first aid kit in his hands and leveled a serious glare on Knight.

  “Take off your shirt,” Lita requested.

  “Fuck you. Band-Aids won’t fix a bullet hole. I’m fine,” Knight growled back and ignored Slade’s hand that suddenly rested on his forearm.

  “Look Knight,” Lita began and leaned forward to brace his elbows on his knees while he held the first aid kit in one of his large hands. “Let me look at it. Chances are it’s a through and through. If that’s the case I can patch you up and you won’t need to see the doc.” Lita paused and let Knight’s intelligence do all the work to persuade him to accept Lita’s help.

  “Fuck,” Knight grumbled.

  Lita was right, Knight knew. If Lita could stitch him up, he could avoid the INET docs and fake his way through being injured. If he could do that then maybe they could keep Fish from knowing he was part of retrieving Slade.

  “Fuck,” Knight cursed again and leaned forward to pull off his shirt. Hunt appeared next to him and helped him out of the T-shirt.

  “Shit, nice ink,” Hunt complimented. “Bet it hurt like a bitch when you had that piece done.” Knight didn’t bother to comment.

  The blood around his bullet wound was almost dried and caused his T-shirt to pull. Knight winced, but didn’t react otherwise. Once the shirt was removed, Lita knelt before him with the open first-aid kit. The agent quickly and efficiently numbed him with Novocain before cleaning the entry and exit wounds then stitched him up.

  “You’re lucky it was a through and through,” Lita said when he stood after cleaning up the medical supply mess.

  “Yeah, real lucky,” Knight deadpanned even though he knew Lita spoke the truth. If the shot hadn’t gone through his shoulder or if he had been hit anywhere else, things for him would have been much worse.

  Lita snickered. “You’re the perfect partner for Slade.” Lita glanced at the man in question who sat next to Knight sound asleep.