Cruz
I was up early the next morning, letting Lydia sleep in after the chaos of the evening. She’d been amazing, caring for Cade and then taking down a man twice her size. Let no one say anything negative about Krav Maga. The woman was a warrior, and I fell a little more in love each time I saw her in action.
The team met early, since Cade was now out of the lineup for the evening. Typically his fights were met with little resistance, and besides a few bruises and cuts, he was up for action quickly. But a concussion, regardless of how mild, and swollen eyes wouldn’t do us much good for the op.
“Cade’s out, which means you’re in, Jolie.”
“What?” Ryder stood, his hands fisted at his sides. Levi gave him a warning look, and he sat down immediately. Jolie looked as if she was ready to fly away, she was so happy. She opened her mouth to say something, probably a lot of somethings, but Levi held up a finger, stopping her.
“You’ll stay in the van but be ready to drive us away. Cade can stay with Lydia.”
“And what happens if someone comes after her?” I didn’t like leaving her there unprotected.
“If someone could get through the front doors, which I find unlikely with the amount of security we have in place, as well as bulletproof glass—but if they did, Cade is fit enough to fight them off.” Levi raised an eyebrow, a grin tugging at his lips. “Plus, your girl is no joke when it comes to fighting for her life. Cade said she dropped that guy last night with one blow.”
“She did. It was pretty incredible.” I was proud of her, even if the thought of leaving her alone with Cade tonight went over with me like a bad case of chickenpox.
“Jolie, we have small Kevlar vests for Piper, so you’ll need to try one on and be comfortable with it. Ryder has assured me you know how to use a gun and use it well.”
“Yes, sir. I won’t let you down.” She looked ready to spring out of her seat.
“I’m regretting every single one of those lessons.” Ryder huffed, resting his head in his hands. Jolie rubbed his back and smiled.
“You can’t stand it that I might be a better operator than you someday.”
“Yeah, that’s it.” Ryder rolled his eyes while the rest of us tried to control the laughter. It was clear that there were sparks flying between the two; sexual tension was bouncing off them in waves.
“Lydia’s not going to be happy about being left out,” Jolie piped in.
“She’s going to want to go with Jolie.” Piper raised a brow, clearly understanding Lydia better than I’d anticipated. The two hadn’t spent a lot of time together, not like Lydia and Jolie. Piper had been mostly tied up with Cade these days. Newlyweds and all that.
“No, she’s not. But I’m hoping she’ll take her medical duties seriously and stay, for Cade’s sake and her own. It’s your job to convince her of that.” Levi directed the comment to me. If he thought I could control that woman, clearly he didn’t know who we were dealing with.
I snorted and shook my head. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Levi shot me a smirk that told me he’d happily give me crap whenever possible. He put both hands on the table and stood.
“Okay, boys and girls. We’ve got about ten hours before we roll out of here. Double-check your gear, walk through the op, and be ready to go.”
***
It was eight p.m. before I made my way back to the dorms to take a shower and try to relax for a couple of hours before we headed out. When I walked into the living room, Cade was propped up on one of the couches with Lydia sitting on the other. They were laughing easily together, and if I wasn’t so confident in Cade’s love and adoration for Piper, I might have felt a little threatened. Cade had that whole rebel-bad-boy look that so many women liked down to a tee.
Lydia looked up from the couch as I entered the room and immediately jumped up and ran into my arms. I caught her and kissed her and didn’t come up for air until Cade cleared his throat. Multiple times.
“Sorry.” I looked over Lydia’s head at him, the grin on my face saying I was anything but sorry.
“Yeah, sure you are.” Cade laughed good-naturedly, just as Piper came in. He slowly got up from the couch and wrapped her in his arms as they walked back to their room.
“I need to get a shower.” The day had been warm, and even though the garage behind the gym where we kept all our gear was air-conditioned, the metal building greedily siphoned the heat.
Lydia licked her lips, and I couldn’t help the groan that escaped.
“What?” The wicked grin she shot me said she knew exactly what she was doing to me.
“You know what. I’d much rather spend the rest of the evening showing you just how much I love these lips.” I kissed her lightly, licking her bottom lip with the tip of my tongue. “How much I love this neck.” I moved my lips down her neck to her collarbone. “What it feels like when I have these hips in my hands.” I palmed the sides of her hips and pulled her closer.
“There’s quite a lot back there to have in your hands, I’m afraid.” Her eyes were closed, her head tilted back as I nuzzled her neck.
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Backing her up down the hallway, we reached my room, and I slammed the door shut. My fingers thrust into the thick lusciousness of her hair, and I grabbed a handful and tugged gently. Her mouth opened on a gasp, and I took full advantage.
My tongue darted in, sliding against hers, warring for control. She would always fight me for control, even in this. I smiled against her mouth, resting my forehead against hers as we both breathed heavily.
“I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
Instead of a smile or loving words from her, she took a step back and punched me in the arm.
“Ow! What the hell was that for?”
Anger lit her eyes, fire sparking, cheeks reddening. She was stunningly gorgeous standing there, with passion fueling the red in her cheeks and her hair mussed-up from our make-out session.
“You do not get to say goodbye. Do you hear me?”
The fury turned to tears in a matter of seconds, and I rushed to her, wrapping her in my arms.
“Shh. It’s okay.”
“You’re damn right, it’s okay. You come back to me, Cruz. I refuse to lose you again.”
“I will.” I stroked her hair, murmuring nonsensical sounds in her ear.
“Promise me!” The words were launched at me with the force of a thousand daggers straight to my heart.
Love shone in her eyes, and I knew that letting me walk out the door was going to kill her inside. I also knew there was nothing in this world that would keep me from returning to her.
“I promise.”
My lips met hers, the fire and passion gone from before and replaced with a gentle tenderness that broke my heart. Everything I couldn’t say or express was funneled into that one kiss.
Lydia pulled away first. “We will finish this. When you return, we’ll finish this, but for now, I need your mind on the mission and not on me.”
She took my hand in hers, squeezing gently as she reached for the door. I tugged on her hand, pulling her up against me once more, and took her mouth in a punishing kiss.
“Tease.” The word was meant to lighten the mood, and her answering smile was all I needed to give me the strength to let her walk out the door.
“See you soon.” She blew me a kiss as she left.
I knew I wouldn’t see her at the van when we loaded up. It was too hard for her to watch me leave headed straight for danger. I got it. I respected it.
Lydia Ayala was one hell of a woman, and I would return to her. We would start our lives together tonight after we took Chavez out of the picture. And I would spend the rest of my life making up for the years we’d lost and the hell I’d put her through.
***
“Everyone in place?”
Levi’s voice was low on the comms as we all took our places surrounding the warehouse.
“Good on the north side, folks.” Johnny’s southern twang rang crystal clear in my ear.
“Jolie?”
Oscar had trained Jolie on the basics of how to operate Shirley, both for surveillance work and for if we found ourselves in a tight spot and needed the firepower.
“All clear.” Jolie’s voice floated over the airwaves, and I readied myself for battle.
There was no other word for it. We were heading into battle. Men would die tonight. We just needed to be sure it was none of ours.
“Let’s roll.”
At Levi’s command, I pushed forward, Ryder on one side and Piper on the other, as we approached the southernmost point of entry. Oscar and Levi were a little further down, so we had the entire side of the building covered. Johnny Carter and his team took the north side, so we’d flank the enemy once we were inside.
The place was quiet, almost too quiet, as we entered, guns up and ready. The warehouse was dark and humid with no AC circulating, and after a long day in the fall Georgia sun, the place felt like a sauna.
“Anyone think of flipping on the air conditioner?” Oscar’s joking never stopped, even in the midst of imminent danger.
Ryder snorted in response. “Guess not. It’s hot as balls in here.”
We kept close to the perimeter, looking left and right and sweeping the place for any movement. We should have been interrupting a deal, but the place was deathly quiet.
“I don’t like this, guys.” Levi shot me a worried expression, his words the same ones flitting through my mind.
Crates were piled in the middle of the room, reaching for the ceiling, and we started in that direction just as the light flipped on and all hell broke loose.
Shots sounded with loud reverberations through the warehouse, bullets pinging the concrete floor.
“Fall back!” Levi screamed as we all pushed our way back outside the warehouse. It was like shooting fish in a barrel, with us packed into the space and the gunmen overhead. Had we made our way closer to the crates in the center, we’d all be belly-up.
We reached the outside door just as a lock clicked into place. I pulled on the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.
“We’ve got a problem. We’re locked in.” I glanced over my shoulder at Levi, the anger and concern on his face matching mine.
“We’re in the same boat,” Johnny confirmed.
“I’ve got Shirley waiting in the wings. Jolie, do your worst.” Oscar’s voice was the only comfort we had at that moment, especially when two torches were thrown into the midst of the pile of crates in the center of the room. The crates took to the fire like a dog to a bone. Flames licked the ceiling in seconds, and the place filled with smoke.
“What’s the status?” I was getting antsy, but I knew if we went outside, we’d be ambushed. And if we didn’t get out soon, we’d die of smoke inhalation in a matter of minutes. We needed Shirley to take out the bad guys fast so we could get the hell out of there.
“Twenty seconds.” Jolie’s voice was calm and cool, and I was impressed with her control. No one knew how she’d do in a pinch, but it seemed the girl had chops.
“Ten seconds.”
Ryder and I dropped to the floor. Not only was the air cleaner, but if Jolie was about to drop some bombs on the thugs outside, being lower to the ground wasn’t a bad idea.
Ten seconds later, three explosions rocked the building. We waited for the proverbial dust to settle, maybe sixty seconds or so, before I jumped to my feet and aimed my gun at the lock on the door. With two quick bursts, the knob fell off, and we ran outside into blessedly fresh air. Well, as fresh as it could be with the smell of dynamite hovering in the atmosphere.
The ground was littered with bodies, at least ten or twelve just on our side of the building.
“I’ve got several down over here.”
“Same on this side,” Johnny agreed.
“Shirley is badass!” I guessed that meant Oscar was pleased with her performance.
“Let’s get out of here before we meet any new friends.” Levi gave the signal for us to file out, and we followed.
Before we could ask, Jolie had the van pulled around and the back door swung open as she popped her head through.
“You guys need a ride?” She grinned widely, her rainbow-colored hair a stark contrast to her all-black, GI-Jane get-up.
We piled in the vehicle and swung around to the other side of the building to pick up Johnny and his team. It was a tight squeeze, but we made it work since we just had the one getaway driver.
“So, apparently that was a setup?” Levi pulled at the Velcro closures of his bulletproof vest and rested his head on the side of the van.
“Looks like it. How’d they know we were coming?”
“I’d say there was never going to be a deal there. They must have found the bugs and set it all up.” Ryder’s face said it all; he was pissed that we’d been duped. Yeah, me too.
“So, what now?” Six weeks of undercover work down the drain. Two years of tracking this guy down, and finally, when we had enough intel to take him out of the game for good, we hit a freaking brick wall.
“Back to the drawing board. We need to figure out where those drugs and guns went.” Levi pushed his hands through his short-cropped hair. We were all frustrated. So much time invested, and it was like starting all over again.
The one bright light in it all was getting back to Lydia. Although with Chavez still in the picture, we weren’t out of danger yet. I hated that thought, hated that I couldn’t let her go back to work or be close to her dad and sister. We’d have to live under the radar until we could find something to put Chavez away for good.
But I would make this work. Living without her wasn’t an option. I’d keep her safe, and we would find a way to get to Chavez. Somehow. Someway.
We pulled into the parking lot and offloaded our gear. I stripped out of the Kevlar, so anxious to put my arms around Lydia I could hardly stand it. I was the first one finished, and I raced through the arena and gym and had to swipe my card twice before I could get the door to the dorms to open.
Cade was lounging on the couch, his feet propped up on the armrest watching a movie on the big-screen TV. His head swiveled around, and he grinned widely.
“Well, you’re all in one piece, even if you do look like a lovesick fool. I’m assuming everyone else is good too.”
“I know Piper filled you in. Tonight was a bust. Where’s Lydia?”
I didn’t have time for small talk. I needed my arms around her fast.
“She’s working out.”
“I didn’t see her when I came in.” Maybe I’d rushed past her somehow, but I highly doubted it.
“Did you check the locker rooms?”
“Why would she use those when she could come in here?”
Cade shrugged and sat up, concern lighting his face.
“She’s been gone about an hour. Said she needed to blow off some steam, that sitting here doing nothing was driving her crazy.”
I ran out the door, almost barreling into Levi on my way out. “Lydia’s not here, and I’ve got a bad feeling.”
Levi followed me to the gym area, where there was no sign of her. I raced back to the locker rooms and stuck my head inside.
“Lydia? Are you in here?” I waited a few seconds for any noises that would indicate she was in there. When I didn’t hear anything, I strode in.
The place was empty.
“I don’t like this.”
“I know, man. Let’s go talk to Cade again. See if anything seemed off before she left.”
We returned back to the dorms where Cade was sitting on the couch with Piper, their heads pressed together in conversation. When we walked in, his gaze shot to mine.
“Not there?”
“No. Anything out of the ordinary happen before she left?”
“I don’t think so. She got a phone call. Said it was her dad. Then she went to her room and changed. She had on leggings and a T-shirt, so it seemed legit. She said she’d be back shortly and left.”
“Ten bucks says that phone call wasn’t her dad.”
“Who else has that phone number?”
“No one. No one except her dad.” My blood went cold. “Dammit!”
“What?” Levi asked, no one following my line of thought—but how could they? I wasn’t even sure I was right. Still, if I were a betting man, I’d bet the whole night was a setup to get to her.
“Chavez got to her dad. That’s the only reason she would have left here.”
“I loaded a tracker on her phone before we gave it to her. Let’s pull up the GPS coordinates.” Thank God for Ryder and his forward thinking.
I followed him to his bank of computers and paced the floor as he pulled up the program.
“There’s a signal at a small, private airport just outside of Atlanta.”
Airport? Dammit. We didn’t have much time. She’d been gone an hour. This was bad. “Let’s go.”
No one even blinked an eye. We took off at a run to the back of the parking lot and grabbed our weapons and vests, then loaded into the van. The whole team except Piper piled in, Oscar behind the wheel. Ryder had his laptop with him as he watched the signal and typed in something that I didn’t understand.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking the recordings from the listening devices you planted. It’s been quiet for a couple of days, which means no one is there, but I wanted to be sure. And I’m checking a couple of other sites to see if there’s any chatter about the guns and drugs we were supposed to take down tonight.”
I nodded, leaning my head back against the side of the van. He had her. The bastard had her, and that knowledge was driving me crazy.
It took half an hour to get to the airport, too long. Way too long.
Oscar crashed through the locked gate, and we flew onto the tarmac on two wheels. When it came to a stop, I threw the door open and ran inside the plane terminal. It was a small airport, so there were only a couple of storage buildings that housed planes and the tower.
It looked like a ghost town. No one was milling about, no planes coming or going. The lights were off in the buildings, and only the tower lights shone in the darkness.
I ran to the closest building and pulled on the door. It was locked. The rest of the team followed my lead as we checked each door of both buildings, but they were locked up tight.
Ryder called my name as he stood on the tarmac with his computer in his hand.
“What is it?”
He was staring at the ground, his eyes full of sorrow.
“It’s her phone. She’s not here, man.”
I bent down and scooped up the phone, swiping it open with my finger. The security code had been taken off and the screen opened to the notes app, a message left for me.
If you want to see her alive again, come alone.
An address was printed below the line.
An address in Venezuela.