by Rebecca Deel
Josh chuckled. “That’s the same op when I took a bullet to the thigh.”
“That mission changed our lives,” Alex said. “After we healed from our injuries, we decided as a unit to leave the military.”
“Best decision we ever made.” Rio stretched his legs out in front of him. “Delta was hard on our bodies and minds. It was time to pursue other options.”
Sasha’s breath caught in her throat. Durango was a Delta unit. She’d read about them in books, but never thought she’d meet one. Turned out she knew five. She considered what she’d learned from their wives since opening Perk. They were careful not to give specifics. Sasha was a good listener, though, and with this new information had a good idea of this unit’s capabilities.
“Does Maddox hire units like yours often?”
“If he can,” Josh said. “Some former military personnel want to leave that life behind. When Maddox pitched the idea, we decided we all joined Fortress or none of us would.”
“Why?”
“We worked together a long time,” Alex said. “We have each other’s backs no matter what.”
“We’re more than teammates and friends,” Quinn added. “We’re brothers.”
Before she could respond, a rapid-fire knock drew her attention to the door. Sasha smiled and slid from the stool.
“Who is he?” Josh asked, his gaze locked on the man waiting to be admitted.
“My brother. It’s okay. He would never hurt me.”
The Otter Creek cop didn’t look convinced by her assurance. The rest of his team stood and spread out.
Appreciating their vigilance, Sasha unlocked the door with Quinn at her side. “What are you doing here, Dean?”
His gaze swept the interior of the shop, assessing each operative. “What’s going on, Sash? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
He looked skeptical at her words. “Who are these men?”
“Friends. If you’re looking for coffee or a snack, I don’t have anything ready. Stop in tomorrow.”
“Heard you had more trouble. What happened?”
She glanced at Josh who shook his head slightly. “Someone broke into the shop overnight. We were cleaning up the aftermath.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “You expect me to believe that?” He inclined his head toward the operatives watching the exchange. “These men aren’t just friends, little sister. They look and act like bodyguards. What kind of trouble are you in?”
Sasha stiffened. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Nothing except involve yourself with the wrong man.”
Fury boiled in her veins. “Stop.”
“You can’t tell me you had problems like this before you started dating Ramsey. He’s bad news. Kick him to the curb.”
Her fists clenched. “And if I don’t?”
“I don’t want to see you hurt, Sasha, and you will be if you stay with a loser like him. He collects enemies who don’t care about collateral damage.”
The front door opened again. This time Cade walked in followed by Matt. Cade’s eyes darkened when he saw Dean. He moved to Sasha’s side. “What are you doing here, Ingram?”
“Giving my sister some friendly advice.” Dean shifted his gaze to Sasha. “Don’t forget what I said. Cut your losses and ditch this bum. I’d hate to call our parents to tell them you’re dead because of Ramsey.”
Pain speared Sasha’s heart. The brother she’d grown up with had never been bitter and filled with hatred. “Cade used to be your friend. He hasn’t changed who he is. Why are you saying hateful things about him?”
“Because it’s his fault my wife is dead.” Dean stormed from the store.
Sasha turned to Cade and saw he was as stunned by the news of Emily’s death as she was. She wrapped her arms around his waist, hurting for him.
“That man has a lot of hate inside.” Rio leaned back against the coffee bar. “How well do you know him, Cade?”
“We were best friends until I went to Ranger school. Dean didn’t make the cut.”
“Watch your back,” Josh said. “Ingram is dangerous with that much strong emotion roiling inside.”
“Do you know what he does for a living now?” Alex asked.
Cade shook his head.
“Find out.” Josh started for the door. “And do it fast.” As he reached for the knob, multiple cell phones signaled through the room.
Sasha frowned as all the men pulled phones from their pockets.
Alex was the first one to react. Blood drained from his face. “There’s a hostage situation at Otter Creek Community College. Ivy’s teaching a class right now.”
Josh held up his hand. “Ethan activated Durango and Bravo. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Cade turned to Sasha. “We have to go.”
She nodded as the other men raced from the shop. “My purse is in the kitchen.”
While she was gone, Cade turned off the lights and made sure everything was ready for Sasha to open the shop in the morning. His girlfriend ran into the dining area with her purse slung crosswise on her body.
As Cade sped toward the community college, he considered the safest option for Sasha. The college would be chaotic, an easy place for someone to take advantage of the distraction and zero in on Sasha. “You’ll be safe if you stay inside the SUV.”
Her soft hand squeezed his arm. “Focus on what you need to do. I’ll be waiting in the SUV when you’re finished.”
He squeezed her fingers. “I don’t know how long this will take.” Cade held her hand a moment before returning his hand to the wheel. He weaved through traffic until it thinned, then floored the accelerator.
When they arrived on campus, he parked in the center of a semi-circle of PSI vehicles. Matt moved his vehicle behind Cade’s.
Relief swept through Cade. Although his ride was reinforced, Sasha would have better protection with PSI vehicles surrounding his. He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and exited the SUV.
Cade opened the hatchback and suited up. “Sit tight, Sassy. I’ll be back.”
“Be careful.”
“Yes, ma’am. Don’t leave the SUV for anyone but the members of Bravo, Durango, Ethan, or Nick, even if you know them. Lock the doors.” He shut the hatchback, waited for the locks to engage, then joined his team at the front of Ethan’s SUV.
“The perps are holed up in the Arts building in room 314. Amphitheater setup with the instructor’s platform at the front of the room. Ten students. One teacher.” Ethan paused, fury burning in his gaze. “Ivy Morgan is the instructor.”
Alex was gearing up with Josh at his side, the sniper’s face devoid of expression. Oh, man. Whoever was stupid enough to take Ivy hostage would be lucky to survive this night. And Cade wouldn’t take odds on that happening.
Alex was a world-class sniper with endless patience and fiercely protective of the woman who owned his heart. He’d become more protective when he learned Ivy was carrying their first child. Any goon who hurt Ivy signed his own death warrant.
“Why activate Bravo and Durango?” Trent asked.
“We have eight perps in that room with ten college kids and a woman due to give birth any day now. Can’t afford stray shots. I wanted two medics on scene in case of injuries needing immediate treatment, particularly to Ivy. My cops are good, but they’re not good enough for this situation. You’re my SWAT teams.”
Alex and Josh joined the group of operatives.
Ethan spread a schematic of the Arts building on the hood of his vehicle. He pointed out the two doors of the room in question and the location of the gunmen and hostages. “Four men have the students and Ivy at gunpoint. Two are guarding the doors. Two are watching for approaches to the building from the windows.” He pointed to an entrance on the far side of the building. “Enter here to avoid being seen.”
“Orders?” Josh said.
“Take them alive if you can. Your priority is the safety of the hostages. A
s of this moment, you’re on a Fortress mission and an inactive Otter Creek police officer. Clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Cade exchanged glances with Matt at those words. The constraints Josh faced as a police officer had been removed.
“My officers will maintain a perimeter. Nearby campus buildings have been evacuated. Do what you have to. However, my budget would appreciate minimal repair bills. Josh, you and Trent put together a plan and bring me into the loop. When you’re ready, I’ll try to open a dialog with the gunmen. No promises. I’ve been unsuccessful to this point. We’ll act as though we’re mobilizing to breach the building in view of those windows and keep them occupied.”
Cade frowned. Why had the men taken Ivy and her students hostage, yet not demanded anything? Made as much sense as the bank robbers who dumped the money in the alley behind the bank.
Josh handed Ethan an ear piece. “Turn it on now. You’ll hear the plan and its execution.”
With a nod, the police chief slipped the communications device in his ear and left to confer with Nick and a number of his other officers.
Durango’s leader turned to the operatives. He and Trent laid out the plan and timing. “Comments or suggestions?” Josh asked. When the men shook their heads, he looked at Alex and Liam. “Find the best line of sight, and get eyes on that room. I want a sit rep yesterday.”
“Yes, sir.” The two men jogged away.
“Let’s move,” Josh said to the remaining members of the teams.
With one final glance to be sure Sasha was safe, Cade headed for the entrance Ethan recommended. The door was locked.
Trent pointed at Cade who grabbed his lock picks and went to work. Seconds later, the operatives surged into the building, AR-10s up and ready. Using hand signals, Trent motioned his team to the south stairwell while Josh’s team moved toward the stairs at the opposite end of the hall.
On the third floor, Trent activated his comm system. “Bravo in position.”
“Copy,” came Josh’s response. A moment later, he said, “Durango in position. Nate, Cade, prepare the charges.”
Both men acknowledged the order. Cade slid the pack from his back and assembled the small bomb.
“Sniper 1 in position,” Alex murmured.
“Sniper 2 in position,” Liam said.
“Sit rep.”
“Two at the windows, watching the parking lot. One in front of each door. Small window in the top quarter of the doors. Their line of sight is limited. Should be able to reach the doors without detection if you stay low,” Liam reported. “The other four gunmen are spread out around the students and teacher.”
“Hostages?”
“Huddled on the floor in two rows in the center of the seating section twenty feet from the teaching platform,” Alex said. “Ivy is in the second row with male students on either side of her.” His voice grew thick. “Looks like they’re protecting her and the baby.”
“Ice in your veins,” Josh reminded his friend.
A pause, then, “Yes, sir.” In those seconds of silence, he’d wrenched his emotions under control.
“Alex, Liam, acquire your targets. Nate, Cade, go.”
The EOD men moved silently from the stairwells to the doors with their teammates keeping eyes and weapons on the room in case the gunmen noticed the activity. Cade attached the C-4 and blasting cap to the door at the front of the classroom while Nate wired the second door.
When he finished, Cade whispered, “EOD 1 ready.”
A moment later, Nate reported his door was ready.
“Copy,” Josh said. “Sniper 1, report room status.”
“No change.”
“Ethan, go.”
“Roger that.” Over the comm system, the operatives heard Ethan give his officers orders to move three police cars closer and break out the rifles while he called the classroom again.
A minute later, he said, “Josh, no dice on the phone call. I’m breaking out the bullhorn. Cutting power now.”
“Copy. Bravo, Durango, into position.”
The operatives moved to their respective doors, NVGs giving them clear vision in the darkness.
Alex murmured, “Ethan is moving into position.” A pause, then, “Gunmen at the doors have turned toward the bank of windows.”
“Snipers, EOD, on my count. Three, two, one, now.”
Cade and Nate blew open the doors as the snipers shot the gunmen standing at the windows. Josh and Trent tossed flashbangs into the room, then the teams rushed inside.
Gunfire erupted. Shouts of pain and screams filled the classroom. In less than two minutes, five gunmen were dead and the other three were in restraints.
“Ethan, lights,” Josh said.
The operatives shoved up their NVGs as light flooded the room.
“Josh.” Alex’s voice broke.
“You’re clear. Liam, stay in position.”
“Roger that.”
Matt checked the students for injuries while Rio hopped a row of seats to reach Ivy. He motioned for the boy who’d wrapped his arms around Ivy when the shooting started to move aside.
“Are you hurt, Ivy?” he asked.
While the medics tended to the hostages, Cade and Nate checked the room for explosives. The rest of their teams searched the gunmen for weapons.
A moment later, Alex ran into the room. “Ivy!”
“Alex.” His wife’s voice was thick with tears.
Rio looked up. “No injuries, Alex, but she needs to go to the hospital.”
The sniper’s face whitened as he handed Josh his sniper rifle and rushed down the side aisle toward his wife. “You said she wasn’t injured.”
A grin from the medic. “She’s not, but your baby is anxious to meet you. Ivy is in labor.”
The students cheered and called out encouragement.
Between them, Rio and Alex helped Ivy from the floor and into the aisle where Alex picked up wife, cradling her in his arms as he hurried from the room with Rio on his heels.
Ethan strode into the room with Nick Santana. He took in the situation at a glance. “Move the students, Nick. There’s a reception area on the first floor large enough to provide comfortable seating for them. Take their statements.”
“Yes, sir.”
Using his radio, the police chief requested three officers to accompany the cuffed men to the hospital, then called the coroner. That done, he turned his attention to the carnage. “This room will take hours to process.” Ethan rubbed the back of his neck. “I want to transport the bodies soon. Would Zane run pictures of the gunmen to ID them?”
Josh grinned. “Since this was a Fortress operation, he’d be happy to oblige.”
“I’ll send Stella to the hospital to take photos of the other three. I need statements from all of you before you leave the scene.”
Cade flinched. Every cell in his body urged him to check on Sasha. He didn’t want to leave her alone much longer.
“Is the room safe for the crime scene techs?”
“Yes, sir.” Josh shifted his hold on Alex’s .408 Chey Tac rifle. “I’ll take the teams’ statements at the SUVs. Sasha is on site.”
Ethan nodded. “Email the statements to me. If I have questions, I’ll track you down. Bring your sniper off the roof. Good job, all of you. The only casualties were five gunmen. No civilian injuries. Thanks for your service to Otter Creek.”
Josh signaled the operatives to follow him.
Cade caught up with Durango’s leader on the stairs. “We need to update Ethan on Gerard.”
A nod. “I’ll take care of it after I have the statements. I’m on shift in three hours. With the activity here, I can’t be late. Someone has to guard the town while most of the force is here. Let’s hope the town’s criminals plot mayhem tonight instead of act on it.”
They returned to the knot of PSI vehicles. Someone in a dark uniform stood by Cade’s SUV on the passenger side. The man glanced over his shoulder and walked away.
“Stop!” Ca
de broke away from his unit and ran after the man. A fire truck drove by, blocking Cade’s line of sight. As soon as the truck moved, he searched for the man, but he’d disappeared, lost in the chaos of the parking lot.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Cade jogged back to his SUV and found Sasha standing beside the vehicle with Trent and Liam on either side of her. As soon as she saw Cade, she broke away from his teammates and threw herself into his arms.
He wrapped his arms around Sasha. Cade breathed deep, inhaling the peach scent of her hair. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, tightening her grip around his neck.
“What did he want?”
“He claimed you were injured and had asked for me.”
“Did you recognize him?”
She shook her head. “He wore the same black fatigues and t-shirts the operatives wear at PSI. His shirt had your logo. If you hadn’t warned me to stay inside the vehicle except for the people you trusted with my safety, I would have gone with him. He was convincing.”
Cade frowned. Someone could have copied the design of their logo onto a black t-shirt. What if it wasn’t a copy? He needed to notify Trent and Josh, then ask Zane to run searches on the trainees and staff.
Another possibility occurred to him. What if the t-shirt came from Gerard or Gary Westbrook?
“Everything okay?” Trent asked.
“We might have another problem.”
His team leader dragged a hand down his face. “As if we haven’t had enough lately. Talk to me.”
Cade discussed his concerns with the Navy SEAL.
“We have to find Gerard and Westbrook, fast.”
“Should I contact Zane?”
“Have Z call me with the information. Josh goes on duty in a few hours, and he’ll be concerned about Ivy as well as his wife. I’ll update him when we know something definitive.”
“Yes, sir.” Cade kissed Sasha’s temple.
