“Holy shit,” Cage replied. “You crazy bastards are gonna get us booted out of HOT and into the darkest basement Mendez can find. Heads in the game. Now.”
“I know, I know,” Dirty said. “Just blowing off steam.”
“All I want is my wife and daughter back,” Neo said. “I don’t care what happens to Gentry and his sick fucks so long as they never come after my family again.”
Camel clapped him on the back. “Amen, brother.”
Neo closed his eyes and thought of how good it would be to hold Kayla again. To spoon with her in bed, and to see little Ana’s face light up when she held her arms out to him and wanted to be picked up. His stomach was in knots but that didn’t matter. It wouldn’t affect his ability to operate. He knew how to push that shit down deep and do what had to be done.
All he had to do was pray that Kayla was still alive and Ana was with her and not headed for someone’s nursery. If either of them were gone, then he wouldn’t be responsible for what he did to Dal Gentry. And he wouldn’t care how dark a basement Mendez threw him in, because nothing would ever matter to him again.
When the door opened again, Dal swaggered in with Steve on his heels. Kayla hugged Ana closer and tilted toward Chloe, who’d stiffened at the appearance of the two men.
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” Dal said. “Two bitches ripe for fucking and a brat that’ll bring some good money from rich people who can’t have kids.”
“Fuck you, Dal,” Kayla said, anger flaring bright. She’d spent a year with the Kings of Doom and she knew how they operated. How a biker wouldn’t respect you if you cowered before him. Oh, he might still hurt you if you talked back—probably would in fact—but he’d take a bit more time to toy with you.
And time was what they needed. Kayla still didn’t have Chloe’s faith that Zach and Ryan would come, but if there was the slightest hope then she had to try and prolong whatever this was. Even if it ended up costing her more pain by the end.
“Go ahead and talk back to me, bitch. It won’t save you. If that military dick of yours doesn’t give me my money, then I’m sending you back to him in pieces.”
“I would have gotten the money if you’d given me until Wednesday. You broke your word.”
Bikers like him didn’t like it when someone accused them of going against their word. Dal snorted. “That wasn’t my deal, bitch. That was your fucking ex-lover’s deal. But he’s dead, and I’m in charge now.”
Kayla’s heart thumped. “James is dead?” Her gaze slewed to Steve. He didn’t show any emotion, but she wouldn’t have expected him to. He and James were related, not close.
“Hanged himself this morning. Damned shame, ain’t it?”
Kayla processed that. James was dead and she felt nothing. Gladness maybe. Relief. He would never try to claim Ana, never show up one day and say he’d been deprived of being a father. But hanged himself? No, not James. He was too selfish and too scheming to ever give up.
“I can’t say it’s a shame,” she said. “But I doubt it was his idea.”
Dal laughed. “No, probably not. Can’t say whose it was, but it’s amazing what you can get done when you know folks on the inside.”
“What are you going to do with us?” she asked. Chloe was silent because Kayla had convinced her that she needed to be the one to do the talking. She understood bikers, and she understood the complex systems which had dictated their lives. It was all about honor and duty and the club. These men were a feudal system, and their loyalty was to the king. And Dal was angling to be the king. James was dead, and he’d been a VP. The president of the club was in jail as well. How long before Dal greased the right palms and had him killed too?
“Well, doll, if I get my money, then I suppose I could let you go. Or, more fun, you and the swinging dick you’ve shacked up with could end up dead in a murder-suicide.” His gaze shifted to Chloe and then back again. “Such a shame that you caught him with that bitch right there. Shot them both and then turned the gun on yourself. Though maybe the two of you are the lovers, and he’ll be the one dead. You two can run away together.”
Which was code for making them into sex slaves for the club’s business and pimping them out to anyone who could pay. Kayla’s heart throbbed and her belly roiled. She wanted to spit on him, but she wouldn’t. That was carrying things a little too far. She met Steve’s gaze. Glared.
“And you’re okay with this? Your brother was VP. You had a path to the top of the club laid out for you already. Hell, you’re more likely to command allegiance than Dal simply based on who you are.”
Dal stalked over and loomed above her. Her instinct was to put Ana down in case he attacked, but she couldn’t risk doing anything that aroused his predator instincts toward her baby. It’d be like dropping blood in the water with a great white shark swimming nearby.
“Watch your mouth, whore. Stevie doesn’t have the stomach for what it takes to lead, do you, boy?”
“Nope,” Steve said. But he was standing behind Dal, which meant that Dal didn’t see the venom in his eyes.
Kayla nearly laughed. Steve Dunn was no fan of Dal’s, no matter what Dal thought. Given time, he’d turn on the hand that fed him and strike like a cobra. Too bad it wasn’t going to happen right that minute. Not that she’d be any better off, but maybe she would. Maybe she could prevail on Steve’s relationship to Ana to get him to let them go.
Probably not though. Dunns didn’t care about blood family, only about their motorcycle family. And that only because it make them feel like something other than the lowlife douchebags they were.
Dal rubbed his crotch and eyed her up and down. Then he stepped closer, his crotch right in her face. “Let’s see your game, baby,” he said as he unzipped his dirty jeans. “Suck me off and maybe I’ll be nice to you.”
She’d rather stick a fork in her eye. He correctly read her militant look because he arched an eyebrow and fondled his cock. “You bite me or do anything aggressive, I’ll throw that kid against the wall so hard she’ll splat like a melon. You got that?”
“Yes,” she said, trembling with rage and fear. Not fear for herself, but fear for Ana. For her baby, she’d do anything. Suck every dick in this place if she had to.
And Dal knew it. He dropped his pants to his knees and his dick sprang free.
“Now give the kid to this bitch and suck me good, Kayla. Suck me like the good little whore you are.”
“Fifteen bikes and one car,” Viking said over the earpiece. “It’s Chloe’s.”
Neo gripped his gun and waited for the signal. They’d arrived in the area fifteen minutes ago and humped in from the drop zone to surround the dilapidated tobacco barn and the rusty garage. It was daylight, but the sun was starting to sink to the west and the woods were heavy enough that it made the area darker than if they were in the open.
Good conditions for a raid.
“Heat signatures in the building. There are eight people in the garage, five lying down in the upstairs part of the barn, and five in a room on the lower floor. Four adults and one baby. They’re alive.”
Neo’s knees would have gone weak if he weren’t so focused on what came next. One way or the other, he was holding his wife in his arms tonight.
“We’re a go, men,” Jace said in their ears. “Commence Operation Team Bonding. Over and out.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kayla placed Ana into Chloe’s arms. Chloe’s eyes were wet and angry as she stared back at Kayla.
Kayla gave her head a little shake, warning Chloe not to speak or do anything to stop what was about to happen. She didn’t want to do what Dal wanted, but she didn’t have a choice. If she were lucky, she could close her eyes and think about Zach.
“Hurry up, bitch,” Dal growled. “I got shit to do.”
“You want this fast or you want it good?” Kayla threw at him as she wiggled on the mattress as if finding a better position.
Dal didn’t say anything, just stepped in closer w
ith his dick in his hands. “Open your fucking mouth and shut up.”
Kayla’s heart throbbed. She gritted her teeth hard. She would get through this. Somehow. Some way. She closed her eyes and started to open her mouth—
And the room exploded.
Instinctively, she rolled backward away from Dal. Chloe rolled too. Ana was still her in arms, wailing with fright. The walls shook. Around them, dust flew and splinters rained down on their heads. Kayla covered Ana’s ears as explosions sounded in the distance.
Chloe’s eyes met hers. Kayla realized with a shock that Chloe was grinning.
“Told you so,” she mouthed.
Kayla’s heart skipped and then soared. Was she right? Was it Zach and Ryan and the SEALs?
As the dust settled, a man in black military gear stalked toward them. He looked like something out of a futuristic movie with a helmet, goggles, a black vest, a rifle slung over his chest and a pistol in his hand. When he reached them, he dragged the face covering he’d been wearing down and pulled the goggles up.
Kayla cried out. Then she scrambled to her feet and threw herself into her husband’s arms.
“Hello, beautiful,” he whispered into her ear before he kissed the daylights out of her.
When they finally stopped kissing, she cried out again and turned to get Ana from Chloe. But Alexei was there, holding Ana and grinning. “Hey, Kayla. You looking for Ana-banana?”
“Yes. Oh god, yes.”
“I checked her over quick. She’s not hurt. We didn’t use a flash-bang in here, so her hearing will be fine. I know it was loud though. Couldn’t be helped.”
Alexei handed her over and Ana clung to Kayla’s neck. She was sniffling, not wailing anymore, which was a relief. Zach put an arm around them both. It was a little awkward with all the guns, but it’s where she wanted to be.
“Za!” Ana cried when she looked up at the tall man standing so near.
Kayla blinked. Was this kid for real trying to say Zach? It wasn’t just an attempt at pizza? Or maybe she associated Zach with pizza. Kayla laughed with wild love and relief and joy, and Zach hugged them close.
“Yeah, baby girl, I could use some pizza too. Maybe tonight, huh?”
Zach led them from the building and out into the fresh air. Chloe and Ryan were there, and a bunch of other men in black too. The SEAL team.
Emotion flooded her. She loved them. Every single one of them. She could never show them how much, but she was going to try. No wonder Chloe cooked for these guys all the time. She was still thanking them in the best way she knew how.
Fourteen men knelt on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Scalding fury roared through her at what Dal had tried to make her do.
“Where is he?” she growled. “I want to spit in his face.”
“Too late, Kayla,” Zach said softly. “He’s dead.”
Kayla hugged Ana tight and closed her eyes for a second. “Good. Saves me from having to kill him.”
Zach led her over to a big black SUV that pulled into the clearing but he didn’t open the door. Instead, he turned her. He searched her face, his green eyes filled with the kind of worry she hadn’t seen there before.
“I’m sorry you suffered even a moment of fear, Kayla. I’m fucking pissed as hell that I didn’t stop those assholes from taking you. I let you down, and it kills me that it happened—”
She put trembling fingers over his lips. Love swelled in her heart, in her soul. She couldn’t let him think he’d failed her. It was the furthest thing from the truth.
“You came for me, Zach. You didn’t abandon me. You told me you would protect me, and you did. Chloe was right. She had faith, but I have to admit that I wasn’t sure. I’ve never been able to count on anyone but myself and Bailey.”
“I didn’t protect you the way I wanted to,” he said.
She hated to see him this way. Hated the remorse in his eyes. Love was so huge inside her that it had no choice but to spill free.
“I love you, Zach. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, besides Ana. Without the two of you, my world wouldn’t be the same.”
He tugged her and Ana closer and kissed her swiftly. It was a hot kiss with tongues and desperate need, but it didn’t last. He broke the kiss and then kissed Ana’s forehead.
“I love you both. When I thought I might lose you—” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I would have torn the world apart with my bare hands to get to you, Kayla. Nothing was going to stop me from finding you.”
She smiled, and everything was right and perfect. Her whole world, for the first time ever, felt exactly the way it should. Full, beautiful, bright. Because of him.
“I can’t wait to see what the future brings with you, Mr. Anderson. I’m thinking it’s going to be amazing.”
He opened the door for her and helped her inside. Then he climbed in beside her and drew her close. “It’s already amazing, Mrs. Anderson. Because I have you and Ana-banana.”
Two months later…
* * *
Neo stood beneath a pergola crowned with white flowers, wearing his US Navy dress uniform, with a view of the Chesapeake Bay in the background. Beside him, Camel stood with the ring box that contained platinum wedding bands in his pocket. Camel and Bailey had gotten married a month ago, in a beautiful ceremony in a Russian Orthodox church, and now it was Neo’s and Kayla’s turn.
He’d asked her if she wanted the wedding like Bailey’s, with the white dress and the big reception, but she’d said no, she really didn’t. She’d wanted a princess wedding as a little girl, but she wasn’t a little girl anymore. What she wanted was a ceremony with her friends and family, with a beautiful view and a catered reception, and here they were.
The music started, and Neo’s insides twisted.
“Relax,” Camel said. “You’re already married.”
“I know. But this is important to Kayla.”
“Yeah, and you got it handled. She’s happy. Bailey said so.”
He was glad to know it, though he was still somewhat nervous. She hadn’t talked about her dress, so he still didn’t know what she’d chosen to wear. She wanted it to be a surprise.
Bailey came down the aisle carrying Ana in her arms. Ana could walk now, but not so well that she’d stroll the length of the aisle in anything resembling a timely manner. She liked to explore along the way.
Ana was dressed in pale pink and she threw handfuls of flower petals from a little basket that Bailey held as they walked. Everyone in the audience laughed softly as she passed by, chattering and tossing.
Her first word had indeed been Mama. She was working on Dada. And Neo was her daddy legally now because he’d formally adopted her. She still said Za sometimes, and they still didn’t know if she meant pizza or Zach. They’d probably never know.
The music swelled and Kayla appeared. Neo went numb at how blindingly beautiful she was.
“Breathe,” Camel said under his breath.
Neo sucked in a breath obediently and the stars he’d started to see faded away.
Kayla was wearing white. Not just white, but a traditional wedding dress with a train. It was simple and beautiful, clinging to her form like a caress. She walked down the aisle on General Mendez’s arm, and Neo had a moment of envy for his commander.
Mendez’s wife and child were in the audience, as well as all the SEALs and their women. Ghost was there, and the guys from the Bandits, including Ian Black, who’d tipped an imaginary hat at Neo when he’d first walked into Money and Ella’s backyard. Some of the guys from Alpha and Echo squads were there too, including Jake Ryan and his talented tattoo artist wife Eva. Eva had covered Kayla’s tattoo. Instead of a motorcycle tattoo, Neo got to look at the HOT logo with the globe and eagle and rifles every time he did his wife doggy style. It was fucking hot as hell.
There were too many other people to name, but suffice it to say if anyone stormed the property, they’d get a very unpleasant surprise when a shit ton of special operators desc
ended on them.
Life had been better than he could have ever dreamed these past two months. He’d deployed twice, both short assignments, and come home each time to a beautiful wife and baby daughter he adored. Lesley and Kayla had talked several times and seemed to really like each other, and he and Kayla were planning a trip to Missouri soon.
Neo wrote Kayla notes every morning. He hadn’t slacked off on that and never would. Almost losing her had affirmed to him how important it was to tell her every day how special she was and how much he adored her.
Dal Gentry was dead and the Kings of Doom were once more without a leader. Neo didn’t think they’d be a threat to Kayla again. The ones who’d cared were done, and the rest didn’t have the stomach for it. They’d been following orders without quite knowing what Gentry intended. Kidnapping Kayla, Ana, and Chloe had been a breaking point for them.
Gentry’d had scouts watching all the women at the salon. When he’d realized that Kayla and Chloe drove out of the city together to drop Ana off, he’d started making a plan to intercept them before they reached their destination.
In the end, Neo and Kayla had stayed in the house across the street from Dirty and Chloe. Kayla wanted to, and he didn’t see why not at that point. It was a good thing too, because Kayla was learning to cook from the master. And so was he, because Kayla taught him what Chloe taught her. He wasn’t too good to work beside his wife in the kitchen. In fact, he enjoyed it.
Kayla reached his side and the general put her hand in his. Neo’s skin leapt at her touch. It always leapt at her touch.
“You look incredible,” he told her.
She smiled shyly. “So do you.” Her gaze dropped over his chest. “So many medals. My goodness.”
“I’ll let you take them off me later,” he told her, lowering his voice so the minister didn’t hear.
Speaking of minister, Ian Black lifted his arms and began, “Dearly beloved….”
Neo grinned like a fool at Kayla. She grinned back.
HOT SEAL Devotion Page 22
