Team 52 Box Set: Books 1-3

by Anna Hackett

  Brooks’ deep voice in her ear made her jerk. “Uh, hi, Brooks.”

  “I’m just testing your earpiece. You can touch it to open a line direct to me.”

  “Can everyone hear me?” she asked.

  “Nope, just me unless I patch you through. I’m the master of the comms.”

  Seth stepped back, and Lachlan turned to look at them. “Let’s get to Terminal 3.”

  January spotted Kinsey striding toward them out of an ugly, squat-looking building. The sunlight glinted off her hair, and she gave them a jaunty wave. A large, black SUV was parked nearby.

  Moments later, January and the team were striding into the terminal. They bypassed security, flashing some sort of ID at a bored-looking woman sitting on a stool. This was handy, since January knew all of Team 52 were armed under their casual clothes.

  “In and out,” Seth murmured.

  He didn’t touch her, probably in case someone was watching. She gave a tiny nod and watched him turn and blend into the crowd.

  January pulled in a breath and glanced at the signs. She turned and headed down the concourse toward Gate E3. People around her moved in a steady flow—some dawdling, others walking at a fast pace, a few dragging tired, reluctant kids along with them, others in suits and holding briefcases. She spent a fair bit of time in airports, and loved the variety of people that could be seen there.

  She spotted the Starbucks and glanced at gate E3. She scanned the area, looking for Josh.

  No sign of him. She turned slowly, looking for Seth and the others. No sign of them, either. Damn, they were good.

  She wandered around, trying not to walk too fast. She stopped at the Starbucks and grabbed a white-chocolate mocha. She sipped her coffee and almost moaned aloud. She’d missed fancy coffee when she was in the jungle.

  Overhead, a woman’s smooth voice made a flight announcement, and a crowd of teenagers pushed past January, clearly on some school trip. She strolled past the row of slot machines, and shook her head at the loud dinging sounds and annoying music. Only in Las Vegas.

  She leaned against a support post, sipped her coffee, and looked out the large windows, watching as a plane was pushed back.

  “January.”

  She turned.

  Josh looked terrible. His hair, usually groomed within an inch of its life, even in the jungle, was a mess. It looked like he’d been running his fingers through it repeatedly. His clothes were creased, and he was sporting a black eye.

  “Josh, what the hell happened to you?”

  He moved forward, his walk twitchy, and he glanced around nervously. “Look, you need to come with me.”

  Her pulse kicked. “Tell me what’s going on. I’m sorry about bailing on you and the others back in Guatemala after the attack—”

  He waved a hand. “The Guatemalan military took care of us.”

  “And the others are okay?”

  Josh looked harried and annoyed. “They’re fine. Look, I have things to tell you.” He wrapped his hand around her bicep, and dragged her behind the slot machines. Her coffee slipped from her hand, spilling on the floor.

  January stumbled. “Josh, stop! Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I never meant for things to get so messed up.”

  Her blood chilled. He sounded desperate and terrified.

  She yanked her arm away. “Tell me what’s going on, Josh.”

  His jaw tightened. “I didn’t want it to be like this.”

  He grabbed her again and yanked her so hard, she hit his chest. She opened her mouth to blast him, but was distracted by a sharp, stinging sensation in the side of her neck.

  “What the hell?” she bit out. She pulled away from him.

  “Sorry, January.” His face looked ravaged. “I never wanted you dead.”

  Pissed off, she swung at him, but suddenly her moves were sloppy and uncoordinated. Her fist missed him by a mile. Her vision started to fade, and her muscles went lax.

  She collapsed, and Josh caught her. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.

  His mouth was moving, but she couldn’t hear him anymore. Then everything went black.

  Seth didn’t like this. Not one fucking bit.

  Josh Andelman was a douchebag who couldn’t be trusted. The guy set all kinds of alarm bells screaming in Seth.

  He sat at a table, flicking through a newspaper and pretending to read it. He watched Dr. Douche approach January. Then suddenly, he yanked her behind some slot machines.

  Seth forced himself not to leap up, charge in, and possibly screw things up. “Brooks?”

  “They’re talking.” Then Brooks cursed. “He just told her that he never meant for things to get so messed up.”

  Shit. Seth pushed his chair back and stood. “Lachlan?”

  “Moving in,” Lachlan said.

  Seth strode straight toward the slot machines, their cheery tune setting his teeth on edge. He glanced at Smith, powering in from the other direction.

  Seth still couldn’t see January. He spotted the spilled coffee on the tiles. “Brooks!”

  “Shit,” Brooks burst out. “Andelman just did something to her. Said he never wanted her dead.”

  Seth broke into a sprint. He circled the slot machines. There was no sign of January, or Andelman. Seth’s pulse jumped like crazy.

  “Don’t see her,” Smith growled.

  Seth spotted Lachlan, Blair, and Axel closing in.

  Where the hell had Andelman and January gone? Seth spun in a circle, scanning the shops, cafés, and the crowd.

  “I’m following her tracker,” Brooks said.

  Seth knew the small earpiece he’d given her had a tracker implanted in it. The only problem was that it didn’t have a huge range. “Where is she?”

  “Heading east.”

  East. Seth strode that way and his gaze fell on a door built flush into the wall. It had “Airport Staff Only” written on it. The door was ajar.

  He slapped his palm to the door and shoved it open. His team fell in behind him.

  The door led into a narrow corridor that ran along the concourse. A cleaning cart was parked nearby.

  There was no one around.

  Lachlan touched his ear. “Brooks, talk to me.”

  “Head south.”

  Seth swiveled and broke into a jog. Their boots were squeaky on the polished floor, and up ahead, the corridor split. He looked in one direction and saw nothing. He looked the other way, and caught a glimpse of a man as he turned a corner…with a limp woman draped over his shoulder.

  Seth growled and broke into a sprint. The man had a head start, but he was carrying dead weight.

  The word dead made his gut coil. She better not be hurt.

  “Keep your cool, Lynch,” Lachlan said.

  “We’re with you,” Blair added. “And we’re getting her back.”

  An alarm started blaring.

  “Brooks?” Lachlan asked.

  “Hang on…yep, someone’s gone through an external door out of the terminal.”

  Seth rounded the corner and skidded to a stop. There was no sign of Andelman or January. Seth’s chest hitched. Shit.

  There. A set of double doors. He shoved the locking bar and barged outside.

  Hell. It was the front of the terminal, and in front of him were several lanes of busy traffic. Cars, taxis, and shuttle buses were pulling up and leaving, dropping off some passengers and picking up others.

  Beyond that, there sat a parking garage, several stories high.

  “They’re heading toward the parking garage,” Brooks said.

  Seth broke into a run, scanning the busy chaos.

  “There!” Blair pointed.

  Seth’s gaze zeroed in on Andelman across the lanes. He was now holding January in his arms, and her head lolled, her brown hair falling loose. Andelman disappeared into the parking garage.

  She had better not be dead.

  The thought made Seth’s gut tighten. He started running, barreling through the crowd on t
he sidewalk.

  “Seth.” Lachlan fell into step right behind him. “Slow down.”

  “Fuck that. He’s got her.”

  Seth raced across the traffic lanes. Horns honked and tires screeched. Seth leaped out of the way of one SUV, narrowly avoiding being hit.

  Suddenly, another car screeched to a halt in front of him, missing him by an inch. Seth jerked to a stop. The driver honked.

  Ignoring the driver, Seth pressed a palm to the hood and leaped over it. He kept running.

  Seth raced inside the parking garage and stopped, sucking in a breath. He’d lost sight of Andelman. Fuck. He could be on any level.

  Swiveling, Seth searched the rows of cars. “Brooks, I can’t see them.”

  “Thirty feet away from you. Northeast.”

  Seth turned, striding forward. “Can you tell if he went up a level?”

  “No, but it doesn’t look like he did.”

  At that moment, a blue sedan, clearly a rental, screeched out of a parking space. It sped past him, and Seth dived to avoid being hit. He rolled, came up on one knee, and smoothly pulled his SIG. He fired on the car, aiming for the tires.

  More gunfire joined his, and he saw his team advancing, all of them with their weapons raised.

  The car tore out of the garage and onto the road.

  “Fuck.” Seth kicked the tire of a parked car.

  “Smith,” Lachlan said. “SUV.”

  Seth looked up and saw Smith sprinting away.

  “We’ve got a tracker on her.” Lachlan was watching Seth. “We’ll get her back.”

  They would. Seth wouldn’t stop until she was safe. And he was going to take great pleasure in slamming his fist into Dr. Douchebag’s square jaw.

  A moment later, their SUV jerked to a halt in front of them. The team leaped in, and Seth climbed into the passenger seat.

  “Go, go.”

  Smith accelerated, and they screeched out of the garage.

  “I’m putting up the map with the tracker location on it.” Brooks’ voice came through the SUV’s console. The screen in the center of the dash flashed, Seth stared at the map of Las Vegas, and the glowing, blue dot that indicated January’s location.

  They sped through the traffic and onto the main road. They couldn’t fall too far behind, or they’d lose her signal.

  “Faster, Smith,” Seth said.

  The big man turned his head, smiled, and nodded. Then he put his foot down.

  Chapter Eleven

  January came awake with a start, propped up in the passenger seat of a car.

  What the hell?

  She felt groggy and her head was throbbing. She tried to work out what was going on. She turned her head and saw Josh in the driver’s seat.

  Shit. She straightened. Now she remembered. “You asshole!”

  His hands flexed on the wheel. He was holding it in a death grip.

  “What did you do to me? What the hell is going on, Josh?”

  He stared straight ahead, sweat beading on his forehead. “I never meant for this to happen.”

  She huffed out a breath. Seth and the others were going to be pissed with a capital P. She looked out the window. Sand and rock, with sparse vegetation told her they were heading out of Vegas and into the desert.

  “Tell me what’s going on.” She tried to keep her voice calm and rational.

  “Where’s the artifact, January?”

  Her stomach curdled. “What?”

  “They got one and they want the other. Where is it?”

  “You sold us out.” Her voice was a harsh whisper. “Sold me out. I almost died.” She leaned over and slapped him.

  Josh jerked his head and his jaw tightened. “I didn’t know! I’m in too deep now.”

  “With the Knights of Gaia?”

  His eyes widened. “You know.”

  “I know you’re a damn idiot. They’re dangerous, Josh.”

  “I know. Now.” He flicked on the indicator and turned onto a smaller road.

  “Why?” she demanded. “Why sell out our dig, your work, your career?”

  “I had a chance for my own TV show, January.” His eyes lit up. “Dr. Andelman’s Archeological Adventures.” He grinned. “They told me I’d be famous, a modern-day Indiana Jones.”

  Idiot. “You sold out your career to be on TV?”

  “To be famous. To share history with the world.”

  January was certain he’d practiced that line to help convince himself. She knew this wasn’t about history, it was about him and getting what he wanted.

  “How did they contact you?”

  “Email. They knew we’d found the jade spheres.”

  “How?”

  “Um…I may have told a few people.”

  Big fucking idiot. Calling colleagues and bragging.

  “They told me they had some document of Mayan origin and knew about the spheres.”

  January pushed her hair back. Hmm, that was new. “And you sold the spheres out, all for a chance at fame? They almost killed me!” Her voice rose to a shout.

  He winced and turned the car again, this time onto a dirt road. They were in the middle of the desert. There wasn’t a single building, road, or vehicle in sight.

  “I never meant for this to happen.” He pulled the car to a stop and thrust his hands through his hair. “They have me over a barrel now.”

  “They’re blackmailing you.”

  He nodded. “I’m sorry, January. Where’s the artifact?”

  “Where you’ll never get it.” She shot him a smug smile. “It’s locked up in a top-secret military base.”

  Josh’s face blanched. “No.” He pushed the door open and staggered out of the car.

  January opened her door and got out, watching him. “No, what, Josh?”

  He shook his head, looking sick. “They wanted it. Told me I had to get it for them.”

  She threw her hands in the air. “You’ve successfully proved that you aren’t half asshole, you’re one-hundred-percent certified asshole.”

  He circled the car, leaned into the passenger side, and reached in to the glove compartment. When he straightened, she saw the handgun.

  She stiffened and her mouth went dry.

  “They don’t want you alive.” His hand was shaking, and beads of sweat rolled down his temple.

  January was beyond pissed now. She thrust her hands on her hips. “Oh, my God, you are so far beyond asshole it isn’t funny. You’re also a coward. And crap in bed.”

  His head jerked up, his face tightening. He lifted the gun.

  She shook her head. “You don’t have the balls.”

  “January.” Brooks’ crackly voice echoed in her ear. She barely controlled a surprised jolt.

  “Quit baiting him and hang tight. The team is on the way.”

  “I just wanted what I deserved,” Josh whispered.

  “Jesus, no one is entitled to anything in this world, Josh. You earn it. And if you don’t like what you have, you work harder and smarter.”

  He aimed the gun at her chest. “I can’t go back now.”

  Screw this. Anger fueling her, she charged him.

  She bent over, her head hitting his stomach. They stumbled back, and the gun went off. She paused for a second and gave her head a quick shake. Damn, that was loud.

  Then, she pulled her arm back and punched Josh in the face. He gave a shout and she cradled her fist. Hell, that hurt.

  “Dammit,” Josh bit out.

  “You’re scum.” She kicked his leg. She heard Brooks’ frantic words, but couldn’t process them.

  Josh lurched sideways, and swung out clumsily with one arm. She dodged his swing easily, and charged him again. She careened into him and they both lost their balance. They smashed into the ground.

  The gun went off again and Josh dropped it into the dirt.

  January scrambled up, and kneed him between the legs. Josh let out a sharp cry, and she darted over him to grab the gun. Her fingers closed on the butt, but Jo
sh’s hand clamped onto her wrist. She gritted her teeth, fighting to push the gun in his direction.

  “January—”

  “You’re a selfish coward. I can’t believe I ever let you touch me.”

  She decided that even though she knew it was going to hurt, she wanted to punch him again. She lifted her left hand and hit his face. His lip split.

  He grunted. Then he reared up and tipped her off him. She ended up flat on her back in the dirt, with Josh on top of her. Shit, he was a hell of a lot heavier than her.

  He shifted, forcing the gun back in her direction. Dammit. She gritted her teeth and strained. She didn’t want to die here in the dirt with this asshole.

  Then, all of a sudden, Josh was jerked off her, and went flying.

  Startled, January looked up into Seth’s seriously pissed-off face.

  He scanned her once, then turned, and advanced on Josh.

  His rage was molten hot.

  Seth reached down, gripped the front of Dr. Douchebag’s shirt, and dragged him up.

  The man looked at Seth, eyes widening. “You.”

  “Me.” Seth landed a hard punch directly to Andelman’s gut.

  The man doubled over and groaned. Seth shifted, and aimed a jab at the archeologist’s kidney. Andelman arched his back and let out a pained shout.

  The desperate man lifted his head, taking in the rest of the team standing around watching.

  Callie moved over to January and helped her up.

  “You were going to shoot her.” Seth’s voice was low and lethal. “And leave her here to bleed out in the dirt.”

  Seth’s tone registered and Andelman’s face blanched. He swallowed audibly. “I…I…”

  Seth landed a punch to the man’s other kidney and Andelman howled.

  “I never meant for things to get this out of control—”

  Another punch to the gut and the man dropped to his knees.

  “Seth.” Lachlan’s tone held a warning.

  Sensing allies, Andelman looked up. “Help me. Stop him!”

  Seth hit him again with a punch to his jaw. Andelman’s head snapped back

  “You had her pinned down, ready to kill her.”

  “She was fighting me!”

  “I beat you up because you were trying to kill me!” January surged forward, but Callie managed to hold her back.