by J. M. Dabney
“Alex,” he called his friend’s name and took a seat on the coffee table in front of where Alex sat. “We have to talk.”
“My baby isn’t dead.”
“I’m not saying she is, but leads have dried up. She could’ve been smuggled out of the states. There’s ways to do so. Alex, we have to prepare for the worst.”
“How the fuck am I going to tell Margo? I promised to bring her home, and I fucking failed.”
Alex clenched his fists, and Gage laid his hands over them. The tears that were streaming down Alex’s face killed him. He’d promised Alex the same thing—that he’d bring Cameron home. They were suffocating under the weight of their guilt. He remembered the moment she was born, the weight of her the first time they’d allowed him to hold his goddaughter. The joyous sound of her sweet laughter. She’d never known fear believing they’d always protect her and they’d failed her. If she wasn’t dead, he was terrified of the girl they’d get back. How broken would their Cameron be?
“I have to know, Gage, either way. At least give us closure, I don’t want my baby laying out there alone.”
He wrapped his left hand around the back of Alex’s neck and pulled the man to him. Strong arms wrapped around him and he bit back his own tears as his friend sobbed, clutching at the back of his shirt. He turned his head to kiss the side of Alex’s neck and waited while Alex broke and mourned.
“Alex.” Linus’ voice came from too close.
He turned his head to find Linus crouched down beside them, and Alex shifted to look at Linus, too.
“We’ll find your baby, and dead or alive, those fuckers will suffer. You’ve worked with us, became a member of our Crew and with that, we take care of our own. They fucked with one of us. We can’t make the decision for you, you tell us now, do you want their heads?”
“Yes.”
Linus nodded and straightened. “We leave in a few hours, Alex, why don’t you go get some rest.”
“I want to hear the rest. What about the boy?” Alex asked.
He almost protested but figured his friend needed a distraction. He spun to take a seat on the couch between Alex and Derrick, and he didn’t miss the pressure of a knee and toes against the side of his thigh. He glanced at Derrick to find the boy giving him a small, reassuring smile and he appreciated the silent support.
“The boy was abandoned at the hospital. All reports say he was born prematurely addicted to heroin and wasn’t expected to survive. Kray Doe. He was reported as a runaway two years ago at the age of fourteen. He didn’t return to the group home after skipping school.”
“So, he’s sixteen?” he asked.
“Yep, in the end, he was just another runaway and cops didn’t think twice about writing him off. He was taken off the streets in Houston. There’s nothing. Apparently, his birth mother didn’t give her real name. As soon as she was left alone, she snuck out. He was court ordered to become a ward of the state.”
“No one took him?” Alex’s shock deepened his voice.
“Man, they expected him to die within hours of birth, and he had health issues. He wasn’t perfect.”
“Doesn’t mean no one could take him. He was just a baby.” Alex’s shock had turned to anger, and Gage loved that for at least a moment his best friend had his fire back.
“Do we know if there are others?” Derrick asked.
He watched Derrick lean forward to place his tablet on the table and then shift until his back was to the arm of the couch. His boy looked tired, and he wanted to tell Derrick to go lie down, but it wasn’t his place to care for Derrick.
“What we could find is Arsenault has some pretty shady friends, and more than a few have been charged but never prosecuted for using underaged prostitutes. So we’re sure they’re pedophiles. I want to take them all down.” Linus growled and clenched his fists.
“We can’t have a lot of bodies on this one, Linus. One or two, we can spin that shit that we were sent in to extract a client’s daughter and things went sideways.” He knew they didn’t give a shit about the body count. It wouldn’t be the first time they buried a body in the desert. They weren’t above vigilante justice when the operation called for extreme prejudice.
“Hunter is gathering every bit of information that they find. Evidence in the way of encrypted communications and suspicious activity in offshore accounts. He’s following the money trail. It will be turned over to a contact Pelter has in the FBI for them to build a case, but Arsenault, he dies and anyone with him.”
Everyone in the room agreed, and they finalized a few plans. But as they were all about to go their own direction, Alex stood and squared his shoulders. “I want Kray,” he announced strongly, his voice was filled with conviction Gage rarely heard from him.
“What?” He shifted to look at his best friend.
“Peaches can arrange everything, right? I want the papers in place for me to take custody. I’ll put her in contact with my lawyer. Money isn’t an problem. That boy is going to have a family no matter what I have to do.”
“Alex, don’t be rash, this isn’t the time to…”
“Linus, I’ve seen the pictures. When he gets rescued, they’re going to lock him up or throw him back into some group home. They won’t give a fuck about him, and I won’t let that fucking happen.”
“I’ll get you in contact with Peaches. She doesn’t do family law, but I think she might be able to work something out. Don’t get your hopes up.”
“That’s all I’ve heard for weeks, and I’m tired of it. Make it happen. I don’t care what you have to do.”
He started to call Alex’s name, but the man left the room without another word. He watched the man’s broad back as he disappeared. When he glanced at Linus, he found the man staring straight at him.
“Is your man there going to keep his shit together?” Linus asked.
“He’ll be fine. I suggest we all get some rest, but first I’d like to talk to Pure in private.”
The room cleared out as he met Pure’s glare from the big man’s seat on the floor. Pure gently laid his rifle on the towel spread out that he was working on and he took the three steps that separated them. He lowered to the carpet. The rage in the other man’s eyes was so foreign because Pure was always the most controlled of them all. To do the job Pure did, the man needed nerves of steel.
“We have to work this shit out. Whatever it is we have to talk.”
“Nothing to talk about.”
“Bullshit, Pure. This operation fucked with you and I need to know why. It’s just between the two of us.”
“Did you like hurting him?” Pure’s asked coldly.
“I didn’t hurt Derrick.”
“You spanked him. Exposed him so other people could look at him. That’s not respectful.”
“How long have you worked with us, Pure?”
“What’s that gotta do with anything?”
“Have any of the partners of the Crew ever acted as if something they do together is shameful?”
Pure glanced away. “No.”
“What partners do together, as long as it’s safe, sane and consensual is okay. I know there’s more going on with you than you just wanting to wait for the right man to come along. What Derrick and I did was part of the operation. Your wishes were respected because it was something you weren’t comfortable with and we’d never take that choice away from you.”
“Did he like what you did?”
“Between you and me?” Pure just nodded. “I hope so because I don’t regret it. We all have our secrets. Shit, we won’t share, and mine are a bit darker than most. If I was a different man, I’d try to make that boy mine, but that’s not possible. There’s something broken inside me...a part of myself that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to control. If you ever want to talk about what you’re hiding, you say the word. No one else would need to know.”
“I’m sorry, I know y’all have this whole sexual freedom thing going and sometimes I’m jealous of it. I just w
ant a man who’ll love me and not leave when I’ve served my purpose.”
“And you wait for that, that’s what you deserve. Are we good though?”
“I was an asshole, we’re good.”
“I think being on this team requires you to be an asshole. Get some rest. You look like you need it.”
“Yeah, I don’t sleep real good in strange places, and Raul snores.”
He laughed loudly as Pure’s impish grinned returned, and the tension eased from him. He wasn’t sure if they were completely back on the same page, but it was good enough for now. He pushed up from the floor and returned to his room. He needed a nap, but he doubted if he’d sleep. Too much was clouding his head—Derrick, where Cameron was and the new operation to get Kray. He was going to take a nice long vacation when all this shit was over. He was getting too old for this shit.
Derrick Hated Stakeout Duty
Little was on the other side of the enclosed space with his phone pressed to his ear and whispering dirty talk to Poe. Livingston was smirking at his tablet on the other side. He didn’t want to know what Liv was watching because he was sure it had something to do with Fielding with no clothes on. He was put in charge of watching the monitors while the other two men said goodnight to their men. Okay, he’d admit he was a little jealous. As soon as they’d landed, they’d been mission ready. And since they’d arrived at the suite the day before after leaving Forester’s, he hadn’t found a minute to talk to Gage.
Occasionally he found Gage watching him, but as soon as their eyes met, the other man looked away. He didn’t let it bother him too much. His plan was when they returned to Powers that they’d have a private talk where they weren’t worried about someone interrupting. He smiled as he raised his hand and tugged at the tiny lock on his collar. Gage hadn’t removed it yet, and even if he wanted to, Gage still had the key hanging around his neck. He was dreading the day Gage asked for it back.
He loved where it was, and he could pretend that everything would work out when everything there ended. Two growly moans made him push his chair back against the far wall and point at the two fuckers he was trapped with.
“One of you even looks like you’re gonna grab your dick, I’m out.”
“Don’t be jealous we get to have our sexy men say goodnight and your old man is out there in his gear with his big ol’ gun.”
“Fuck you, Little,” he grumbled as he flipped off the crazy man.
They weren’t wrong. Being away and Gage pulling out of the field, he’d never had the opportunity to see Gage in his tactical gear. Gage had entered the main room where they were running the operation. Gage had been dressed in all black, Bail Enforcement Agent across the back of the bulletproof vest. The pants had hugged the muscular curves of Gage’s perfect ass. His Glock was in a thigh holster and he wanted to tackle the man and drag him in the nearest room with a lock. Gage looked sexy as fuck in his suits, but in his gear, it was instant hard-on.
His Daddy was definitely wearing that the next spanking he earned, and he thought of all the ways he could have Daddy punish him. He wasn’t a stranger to a man in uniform, and none of them affected him the way Gage had just walking into the room.
He’d only done a double-take over Alex once because the man looked so odd out of his thousand-dollar suits and his expensive casual wear. Alex looked elegant whatever he wore while Gage appeared dangerous. He could develop a fetish for Gage all decked out for a takedown.
They’d run a week of recon on Arsenault’s home and businesses. The bastard was a creature of habit. Left for work at the same time every day. Went to a private club for drinks and a lap dance before returning home. He’d had several guests over the week. Not once had they seen Kray or evidence of any other captives in the house. They were trying to get someone in to place cameras and bugs, but the fucker had more security measures than they’d thought for a residential home. Arsenault had things to hide—he had no doubt about that. Hunter had tried to tap into the signal, but the only cameras he could get access to were the ones around the perimeter of the house and nothing on the inside.
Headlights appeared as the doors of the garage opened and the car that Arsenault used drove up to the front of the house. He tapped his earpiece.
“We have movement.”
“Team One be ready to move.” Linus' voice was low in his ear.
Raul had the best experience to enter the house without notice, and they’d timed the patrols. Arsenault never left the house without at least two bodyguards. They’d run facial recognition on all of them, and each one had some tie to organized crime or spent a good portion of their lives in prison. These were men who wouldn’t think twice about shooting first.
“Sniper, you have eyes?” he asked.
“Affirmative, on your command.”
Pure was positioned at the back of the house where Raul would make entry. “I want eyes on.” They identified themselves as the monitors lit up with infrared images, and once Raul made entry, they’d switch his camera. Arsenault’s security team would return to a guest house out back where they ran their operation, and he kept his eyes on the camera. They’d have a twenty-minute window for Raul to get in, place the cameras with mics, and then get back out before the next round.
Linus ordered radio silence as Arsenault and his bodyguards left, then they sat there impatiently waiting for the next patrol. He counted bodies, and the last guard disappeared inside the small cottage.
“Team One move.”
It was nerve-wracking to wait and just watch Raul’s progress. Linus, Gage, and Little would cover Raul, Pure would oversee taking anyone out, and the others would extract Raul if needed. Raul avoided every camera and approached a side door, then the man turned the handle and made entry. The lights were out, and Raul kept low as he moved through the rooms.
“Fuck, we got a man inside…Raul hug the wall.” He barely caught movement at the backdoor. They had an extra man that hadn’t been accounted for this week.
“Did the fucker hire extra security?” Livingston was right beside him staring at the cameras.
“It appears so, but I don’t know how the hell we missed him.” He was pissed at himself for missing that. He held his breath as the big guy in the cheap suit made a round of the house from the new camera that he’d brought online. Raul skirted the edges of the rooms and hallways staying behind the guy patrolling the house.
“None of us caught it, don’t beat yourself up over it.”
Raul’s camera lowered as the man crouched down and tried the handle of a door he was leaning against. “We have a locked door. Appears to lead down to a basement. Should I chance it?”
He remained silent as he waited for Linus or Gage to answer. From the outside of the house there appeared to be no exit from the basement. One way in or out was dangerous especially when they were outnumbered. The Trenton Team were some of the best, but Raul would be trapped and depending on what or who was in the basement, they couldn’t chance civilian casualties.
“Negative. I’m not going to chance it yet,” Linus responded.
He checked his watch. “You have five minutes.” Raul needed to make his way out now, or his chances of detection increased.
The man straightened and moved around, placing the last of the equipment. The last one was in Arsenault’s upstairs bedroom, and with barely a minute to spare, Raul exited through his entry point. The darkness shielded him.
“We’re on the move,” Gage said.
He killed the dim light in the van waiting for the team to return and the back door creaked open. Too many bodies crowded inside. Pure was the only one that held position. They’d placed a signal booster, and while the house was in the middle of nowhere, their motel was close enough to read the signals. “Hunter, do you have eyes?”
“Yes, I do. You did good gentlemen. Although you could’ve tried not to make it so close. I’d like my husband home in one piece.”
“What about me, Dad?”
“You too, Derrick
.”
“Derrick, Little and Livingston, I’ll need y’all to stay here until we’re sure everything is working at base. I want the three of you back at the motel before dawn. A few more days and we’re going in, I need everyone rested and fucking ready,” Linus ordered.
Calloused fingertips stroked along the chain where it rested on the back of his neck, and he bit back a groan as it was pulled slightly. The lock dug into his skin. Little started laughing then covered it with a cough. Asshole. He needed new friends. Too quickly the pressure ceased, and the cramped interior cleared out.
“When you two actually get around to fucking, you’re going to kill each other.” Little barely got the words out through his laughter.
“Little, I’ll kill you and hide your body with Arsenault’s.” Gage’s growled.
“Fuck,” he hissed and quickly cut communications as Little made sounds like a dying hyena beside him. “You’re such an asshole, Little.”
“Dude, you should be thanking me, that fuck of yours could earn you a spanking. Daddies don’t like when they’re boys have dirty mouths.”
He removed his earpiece and threw it at Little. Linus and Hunter weren’t making a big deal about what happened at Forester’s, and he’d like to keep it that way. They’d keep everything professional until the operation ended and then he knew there were no guarantees. He slumped down in the uncomfortable chair and kept his gaze glued to the monitors.
His stomach knotted with nerves a few hours later when Arsenault returned and went straight for the locked basement door.
Every horrific act that could be occurring in that room played through his head and by the time Arsenault reappeared he was ready to puke.
“We’ll get him out, and we’ll find Cameron, we don’t give up once we start,” Livingston whispered only loud enough to be heard over Little’s soft snores.
“I know, but the longer we take to make sure everything is safe for us to move in, the more that boy is probably being abused.”
“Arsenault dies, and Kray gets to watch as we slowly destroy the fucker. It’s the only closure we can give him, but the monsters will be dead. It’s up to him to move on.”
